Chapter 86: The Cat And Mouse Game

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: The Cat And Mouse Game

Victor knew barbarians. He knew how they fought, and what they would die before becoming. A Barbarian could be weak in a fight, but a Barbarian could not be a coward. So he wasn’t worried about the melee on the other side just yet. Jaja and Lego were out there, and Kiki would be joining the fray soon enough. All he had to do was handle the one in front of him.

Vrok.

Even as the orc thundered toward him, he wasn’t alone. Riders flanked him on either side. Victor was Level 2, and his battle experience was thin. But thin didn’t mean helpless.

He kicked the Dire Lion’s side. It surged, closing the gap fast.

"A mere Level 2!" Vrok roared, fat face shaking with rage. "How DARE you look down on me!" He dug his heels in and drove his boar harder.

Victor smirked. He slapped the Lion’s neck. "Give it to them."

It opened its jaws and unleashed Frost Maw, a blast of freezing air that swept across the charging line.

Vrok threw himself off his boar at the last instant. Skarn jumped clear too. The Lion sailed over their heads, skidded on the ground, and swung around. Victor kicked again, and it tore back through, claws raking two, maybe three orcs open in one pass.

Then Victor wheeled away, racing for the main fight.

Vrok howled. Every pass bled his numbers. They had the greater force, yet the barbarians were toying with them, and he couldn’t stand it.

"Forget capturing the slave!" he barked. "KILL HIM!"

The orcs roared. One launched himself off his boar in a flying leap, a long bone claw raised over his head.

Damn. They can do that?

Victor summoned Vigil into his hand from his inventory, and drove it clean through the orc’s skull mid-air.

He heard a chime from the system, but there was no time to check it out.

Besides, three more landed on the Lion’s back. One plunged a blade into its side. The Lion shrieked and bucked, flinging Victor off.

He hit the dirt, rolled, and came up grunting. The Lion was still fighting, shaking off orcs, snarling.

If only someone in the tribe had an AOE. If we had a damn mage... Coco came to mind, but she was a Spiritualist. And she hadn’t bonded with a spirit yet. Even if, she would be too young. Too untrained. If she were ready, she’d have been a monster in a fight like this.

As if answering his thoughts, fire arrows rained down, striking the battlefield and dropping more orcs. It was Kiki.

Then danger prickled at Victor’s back again.

He spun just in time to see Vrok’s weapon coming down. He threw Vigil up to block.

CRACK.

The blow knocked him sideways and he rolled. His hands buzzed. It wasn’t as heavy as Popo’s strike, but it was still brutal. He judged Vrok to be somewhere around Level 3 or 4. Not bad, since Jaja was Level 6 and on his side. But it also meant stronger orcs were around. Victor remembered what Vrock had said. He was the chief’s son. There was no way he rode without guards.

Two orcs lunged at Victor. One look at how they moved told him they were at least Level 5.

Hell no you fuckers.

He ran.

He whistled sharply, and two Dire Lions came bounding in. They breathed ice at the two chasing orcs behind. It only slowed them. These Orcs were heavier and fatter, yet somehow still faster than all the others.

At this point, Victor knew that he could not judge them with just common sense.

"Don’t stop!" Victor shouted. The Lions kept breathing, twice more, before their breath entered cooldown time. Fortunately, it bought just enough time. Victor leapt onto the nearest Lion’s back.

Vrok saw this, and his jiggling face turned purple. "If you are a true honorable Barbarian, face me and fight!"

Victor heard it loud and clear. But he merely snickered.

That might have worked on other Barbarians. Victor cared about honor about as much as he cared about losing. He looked at Vrok like he was an idiot.

Why would he fight a battle he’d lose? Not to mention the orc wanted to do... weird things to him.

"Kiki! Cover me!"

Three flaming arrows streaked over his shoulder, protecting his rear as the Lions bolted.

He rode toward the main battle. He could see it now. Jaja and Lego fought from Dire Lion mounts. The rest were on foot. They were killing plenty, but they were also getting swamped. Kiki couldn’t help much from her distance, since her archery was still unrefined and a miss could hit their own.

And then another thought caught him.

Where’s Popo?

The strength of a level 5 Barbarian would do wonders in such a battle.

As he reached the line, Victor threw his head back.

"RETREAT!"

The Barbarians obeyed, peeling off and falling back toward the village, with Jaja and Lego covering their rear on the Direlions.

An orc screamed in triumph. "They run! After them!"

Vrok froze. A bad feeling crawled up his back. Hadn’t this been happening all along? The bait, the retreat, the pursuit...

"HALT!" he bellowed. "STOP!"

But it was already too late. Besides, this was a very noisy battlefield, and Vrok did not have the kind of skill that could command his forces through the noise, unlike Victor could.

As soon as the last barbarian had cleared into the village, Jaja turned to Lego. "Go. I’ll cover you."

Lego nodded and kicked his mount forward. He was a Level 3, not so strong, but not weak either. The Dire Lion leapt into the clearing, and Jaja followed right behind. The instant its paws hit the ground inside, the orcs came pouring in after them.

"WE ARE READY!" Jaja roared.

"Kiki!" Victor shouted across the field. "The village!"

She understood at once. A single arrow of flame arced through the air and slammed into a barrel of oil sitting near the village edge.

BOOM.

(Author’s note: I really hope that you are enjoying the WAR... now RAWWWR Barbarians and give... Reviews!!!)