Stuck as a Dungeon Mob

The following day obviously came quickly for Ed and his orcs. The ones drunk only recalled the night as a blur and those anticipating it made sure to get a goodnight's sleep.

Of course, there were always the orcs willing to stay up a bit later to have a warm-up battle. Whether such a type of match was helpful was questionable, but it had to at least raise morale if nothing else.

The morning breeze was cool and refreshing. It seemed that the days fraught with bloodshed always were the prettiest. It went to show that reality was harsh in its every action.

The warrior orcs were slowly gathering in the Sanctuary plaza and the 50 or so kids coupled with some orc moms were there to watch it.

Out of the orcs standing around, Ed was the most outstanding with his aura that seemed to suffocate everyone else. He was the type of orc to ignite a fighting spirit into the minds of those that witnessed him. That meant that all the orcs couldn't help but feel pumped for what was to come.

"Ed, are you sure you don't need me?" Sharog asked, holding her staff with a tinge of disappointment. The equipment Ed made for her would go to waste if she never got to use it in battle.

"Unfortunately" To Ed, Sharog was a very valuable asset and also a great friend. The risk of battle was high and her actual combat power was low. While Ed could cast spells like meteor rain, Sharog could only cast wind-related skills.

'This is partly my fault' He was supposed to start her magic lessons by now but got distracted with the currency shenanigans. Ed's thoughts were soon interrupted by the outgoing Shel, however.

"ED! I made this weapon! What do you think!?!" She had just come bursting out of the smithy showered in sweat. Ed raised a brow looking at the weapon gleaming in the morning sun.

[Radiant Orc Iron Waraxe]

{ A radiant orc iron axe capable of easily cleaving enemies in half with its hot capabilities}

'Radiant?' Ed asked inwardly. Why would an orc iron axe be radiant? The assessment already gave him a good hint.

"How did you make this thing?" Ed asked curiously while also hoping to prove his conjecture.

"Hehehe, are you interested?" Shel said dumbly, this was Ed's best response to one of her weapons yet!

...

But Ed didn't change his expression and only stared at her waiting for an answer. Shel had no choice but to spill the beans without any suspense.

"I used orc iron as a base and used ignite for the sharp edges" Shel said disappointed.

'Hmm… Just like I thought, it can emit some heat like this. Put that with the decent craftsmanship… the assessment seems correct in saying it can cleave others in half' Ed still believed it greatly depended on the capabilities of the person but he supposed for him, there was no doubt he would be capable.

Realizing he was thinking of the weapon as his own already, Ed took a step back.

"Are you giving it to me?" Ed asked Shel who jumped back in fright. An extreme response, Ed's hand which was about to stretch out to receive couldn't help but freeze as Ed's face twitched.

"No!" She declared giving Ed an indirect blow. Her reaction was also definitely his fault.

'I needed a new axe…' He was looking to improve his axemanship so he wouldn't use the dragon blade, he needed an axe for that. With his current attributes, it would be easy for him to accidentally break a regular one.

'I should have kept one of her axes' Axes were apparently not as popular as swords in the vicinity as a large chunk of the adventurers he had killed in the dungeon did not give him one.

Having realized two faults in a matter of minutes, Ed could only conclude he was a faulty orc. But that didn't stop him from challenging the humans.

"We will be setting off soon!" Ed declared after spotting his out from the awkward situation. Gurln and Dakgu had entered the group of orcs awaiting his orders. They had all war personnel now and it was just a matter of setting out.

The orcs became excited knowing that they would soon be returning to the battlefield. The traditions of fighting to display strength and attract respect was still deeply embedded into their bones. There was no number of Eds that would change this!

'Good' Ed thought with a smile. He only conversed a bit more with Shel and Sharog before bidding farewell. Not much later, the orcs numbering 155 set off through the Sanctuary gate under the fanfare of the 120 or so orcs staying behind.

Ed believed these numbers would suffice. He also believed any losses would be manageable. The majority of the attacking orcs would be the outsiders after all. They had all been given armor and placed at the vanguard, it wasn't like he was sending them to their deaths.

He also made sure to place all the elite soldiers he modified at the front alongside them. Unfortunately for Dakgu and Gurln, that included them. In battle, only those that survived could claim they attained victory. A dead orc told no tales.

So while he was hoping they gave an excellent performance, he was also looking to evaluate their ability to think and keep steady in battle. A passing mark would probably mean they would survive by default.

But before Ed was even given a chance to evaluate the two on this standard, he managed to catch an oddity from the corner of his eye. An oddity wasn't quite right though.

He had this odd sense of incongruency as he stared at a far-off tree.

"A human?" Ed muttered to himself.

The distant canopy suddenly shook, the person there must have noticed Ed's prolonged gaze and sprinted out of their hiding spot.

"F*ck! It must be a scout!" Ed cursed and thought. If he allowed the scout to relay his intentions to attack their base, or just to leave, the humans could very well try and eliminate the orcs left at Sanctuary. They weren't so weak as to die instantly especially with Sharog holding the fort but Ed knew they also weren't enough.

"Dakgu, lead everyone back in!" Ed made sure to relay a command before bolting towards the direction of the peeping monkey.

Without hesitation, Ed looked at one of the tall and sturdy trees and pressed his feet on the ground before jumping into a leap. Like a beast running on instinct, he used both hand and feet to quickly climb the tree until he reached the highest branches.

'You've made a poor choice!' The humans weren't faster than him before, now with even more attributes, he was a blur!

Ed placed one foot on a branch and held tightly onto the thick tree trunk before leaping towards the next. His heavy body grasped onto the neighboring tree, causing it to shake and creak.

He continued to do this before quickly catching up to the scout. Now separated by nothing but a single leap, Ed jumped towards the human and the branch he stood on.

Jumping freely, the scout never expected to suddenly find themselves falling towards the ground. Panicky but not lost, the scout reinforced their entire body and shot off water from their body like a water balloon to soften their fall.

But all the scout could hear was a pop as Ed shattered his bubble. The reason why he was falling was that Ed's jump had broken the branch into two parts the moment he landed on it! Falling alongside the human, not only did Ed reach the ground faster, but he also managed to push his hand right through the protective bubble and grab the man directly.

"AAAARGH!!!" The tough grip caused the man howl out a scream of pain. Ed held the man by his neck, the man continued to struggle as his face turned red and purple.

"K-" He would try and speak to no avail and he would try to struggle to no result.

[You've been dealt damage. -81 hp]

Suddenly, a spell came whizzing by and pierced right through Ed's chest. Funnily enough, Ed was one of the few orcs not wearing armor. 

That being said, to him who had 2,000 hit points losing 81 was painful yet insignificant. It was only about 4% of his total health and that was for a clean attack that the caster would not be landing again.

Ed quickly spun. He would make sure to kill the mage, the spell definitely wouldn't land again then. He swept his eyes around the land searching for the caster of the dastardly spell before finally noticing the silhouette of a human being wearing a robe.

The body of the scout was hurled towards the silhouette without a second thought and a thought soon entered Ed's mind.

'WHAT THE HELL!!?!' Ed heard himself say causing question marks to appear… this wasn't quite the right reaction.

The man who he thought was an enemy did not have the chance to defend himself but fortunately, there were others that did have the chance to defend him. Two lizardmen shot into action.

One pushed away their target for protection, Brennan Bosque, and the other tried to take on the hurled projectile. The heavy scout's momentum was transmitted onto this lizardmen sending him skidding backward before eventually tripping up and breaking the fall of the human.

The lizardmen quickly tossed over the human off them feeling slighted.

<"Insane! What a crazy monster!"> Another of the lizardman exclaimed. But they also gnashed their teeth angrily. Who was this impertinent brute? They had no idea, but they looked forward to beating it to a pulp!

<"Hahaha! Eon! Please grant us merciful hearts!">A lizardman said angrily. They had no intention to hold back, not until his target was a pool of blood!

Ed however was now more confused than before. Why were there lizards there?

'W?' Ed asked recalling and identifying the spiritual mark.