Return of the Woodcutter
Chapter 171 - Fakes

A few moments ago.

[Get up! It's still alive!] Valinar ordered.

Aito didn't even bother reading her notification window and stumbled to his feet at the impossible happening in front of him. The Khül, despite its injuries, was walking towards him.

His unique skill, One Against Many, hadn't activated yet. Logically, he was facing only one opponent right now.

However, where was he? In a natural coliseum filled to the brim with orcs. There were thousands of them here.

And since he considered all of them enemies and they were within range, his unique skill should have kicked in by now.

It could only mean one thing, the challengers hadn't been able to flee far enough. Last time, he had been around half a kilometer (0.31 miles) away from his allies when One Against Many boosted his physical stats.

'Shit, the orcs must be hindering their retreat,' he pondered, thinking about a solution to this problem.

Touching the suicidal horn strapped to his belt, Aito knew there was one thing he could do to make their escape easier.

While he was unstrapping his horn, the Khül was acting like a cornered beast. Swinging its ax, it created a tempest of steel and sand.

[This... could it be...]

His weapon was spewing barely visible air blades that slashed the winds, creating whistling sounds. One of those crashed against the wooden fortress built by Elizabeth, slashing the entire structure in half.

[Avoid that at all costs or you'll die, mortal!]

Aito widened his eyes when one murderous wind blade dangerously propelled towards him. It impacted his ainium shield, thanks to which it disintegrated. He took a few painful steps backward to absorb the shock, testifying of the sheer power hiding behind the Khül's skill.

He took a quick look at his shield. There were dents everywhere. A particularly recent big one marked it from one edge to the other.

It seemed that ainium wasn't all mighty and unbreakable after all, quite the contrary.

Then the Khül suddenly stopped its rampage and stared at him with fierce eyes reflecting the overlapped suns' murderous grey light.

Sensing danger, holding the horn in his broken hand, Aito enacted his plan.

Bringing the horn closer to his mouth, hoping it would attract the orcs that were potentially blocking his teammates' escape path.

At least he tried.

The pain from his broken hand stopped his movement for merely an instant before he finally moved it.

However, by then, the giant orc was already in front of him. A dreadful feeling alerted Aito of an incoming, ridiculously dangerous attack.

He blocked it, using both of his hands to support his shield. Unable to bear the incredible pressure, his feet dug deep into the sand. His knees pled for mercy, and mercy they were given—in a way.

As soon as the orc's weapon coated in Durability was repelled, he felt a powerful pull lifting him from the ground, unearthing his feet.

Aito instinctively increased his own weight, thinking it would help, a futile effort.

Instead of helping it put more pressure on his neck, the Khül's hand was grabbing firmly, because of the added weight pulling him downward. 

He immediately deactivated Weight Control, alleviating his predicament, but that did nothing to stop the giant orc from strangling him.

It peered furiously into Aito's black eyes and he stared back in defiance, despite the meager odds of survival.

He was trapped, unable to move. Breathed with difficulty because of the Khül's hold on him. His body was in tatters, his broken hand didn't help his case either. And yet he did not lose hope.

The Khül ordered, his voice attuning anger, "Tell me where your gods are hiding!" 

[What is the moderator doing!? Why did he unleash such a monster on promising challengers!?]

Aito wanted to tell that thing one god was nearby, just so it could shut up Valinar. Also, he wondered what that creature was saying, though.

They weren't his gods! If he had known where they were, he would have made it one of his priorities to go there and kick their asses—when capable of doing so, of course.

Instead of replying, Aito brought the horn to his mouth and used the remaining air in his lungs to blow it.

A loud sound reverberated sharply in the entire arena, forcing all other noises to a stop. Silence was the only response as more than half of the orcs in the gallery stared at Aito with sudden murderous glares.

Suddenly, female, child, elderly, male orcs stood up from their seats and ran madly towards the same location.

"What was that? Calling for reinforcement? No one, even your gods, can save you, human," The Khül said, snatched Aito's horn and shattered it into hundreds of pieces.

"Now, tell me everything you know about this place before I snap your thin neck!" It asked. However, sudden noises in the gallery seemed to have attracted his attention.

There, all around the rows of seats, divided into two massive groups, orcs fought each other. One group was trying to get in the arena while others were preventing them from desecrating the sacred event.

It appeared that not all the orcs had succumbed to the horn's mystical power. Most of those with a level 2 were able to resist it, albeit not all.

But a great majority of orcs present were level 1. Krugan—who resisted the horn's call—gathered a few elite and adult orcs, ordering them to stop as many of their kin as possible.

It was forbidden for any third party to intervene during the Sacred Duels. What the orcs were currently doing was basically breaking their own laws.

However, the numbers of sane orcs were too few.

Unable to hold them all, small groups of orcs managed to jump down on the sandy ground and rushed like crazed zombies attracted to premium human meat—bio of course.

Despite gasping for air, Aito smirked, welcoming the distraction. More and more mad orcs arrived in the arena with the same idea in mind.

The Khül grunted when dozens of his kin that surrounded him jumped at his throat—at least it appeared like so to him.

Mistaking it for an attack on himself, it called back his mighty weapon and hacked them all in one fell swoop.

"You… killed your own… people?" Aito asked, surprised.

"They are not my people, human," the Khül declared, tightening his hold to shut him up. "They are fakes created by the gods to keep me here!"

Feeling his airflow blocked, compressed to the limit, Aito gripped his enemy's thick fingers with his available hand and used all his strength to free himself.

Nothing. Not even a finger budged.

Adrenaline sped through his blood vessels, delivering a welcomed rush of energy as his unwillingness to die transformed into anger.

[That's it! Hold on mortal and you shall be victorious! The Khül will not remain in the mortal plane for much longer!]

His muscles bulged, gaining power as his gift Fury kicked in. Aito focused his grip on the giant orc's index finger. It… budged slightly.

Meanwhile, distracted, the Khül fought an orc horde. Using air blades, it slashed twenty orcs in one blow. But more kept coming as the gallery emptied itself.

Despite all that, the Khül still held Aito firmly with one arm, unwilling to let go. At that moment, orcs poured out the challengers' waiting room, weapons in hand, fully equipped.

Soon enough, the arena was filled to the brim with orcs, appearing all grey under the suns' light.

Busy with defending himself, the Khül barely paid attention to Aito anymore, after all, thousands of orcs were heading his way.

Pissed, it roared, unleashing a tempest of wind blades, killing hundreds of orcs in a time record.

While more orc corpses blanketed the ground, translucent energy coated Aito's body, waving on the surface of his skin, confirming that his teammates had fled the area successfully.