CHAPTER 32: WILL THEY SURVIVE?.

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion ripped through the air.

Akhil barely registered it. For a split second, his mind went blank. The sharp claws of the Star Winged Wolf descended in a flash of white light, tearing through the air with blinding speed.

He felt the claws graze his skin, slicing shallow lines across his neck the warm blood seeping out.

And then—

something pushed him.

Akhil blinked, dazed. He stood frozen, expecting the next instant to be his last. But instead of pain, he found himself staring at a massive shadow towering before him.

He slowly lifted his gaze.

A dark green surface gleamed under the sunlight, smooth and metallic—like living steel.

CLANG!

The wolf’s claws slammed into it, the impact ringing like a hammer striking iron.

Sparks flew, let alone an injury, not even a scratch appeared on the figure’s body.

The beast hands recoiled from impact and its eyes went wide in disbelief.

Then came an excited voice.

"It worked! Look how cool I am now!"

A system notification followed, ringing clear in Akhil’s ears:

{Gene stabilization completed}

{New bloodline unlocked!}

{B’han Orc}

{Mutant level: 3}

Akhil finally exhaled, realizing who it was. The metallic sheen belonged to Nibo. His skin transformed into an armor-like surface that shimmered like gem stone.

The orc grinned from ear to ear, flexing his newly reinforced arms.

For a brief moment, Akhil just stared, half in awe, half in relief.

’For a moment, I thought it was over.’

"Idiot," Akhil said with a shaky breath, a small smile tugging at his lips. "You always have the perfect timing."

Nibo scratched his head with a metallic hand, grinning wider. "I had my eyes on you two the whole time. The stabilizer hurt like hell, but I knew I couldn’t black out. The second I could move again, I came straight for you."

Akhil’s gaze softened. He knew how unbearable that pain was...how much willpower it took to not only survive it but to stay aware through it.

’He really pushed himself through all that... just to help.’

"Thank you," Akhil said quietly. He turned toward the settlement. "What about the others?"

Nibo followed his gaze, his tone steady but grim. "They’re still recovering. I managed to take care of the beast heading their way to buy them some time."

Akhil frowned, then looked toward the treeline—and sure enough, he spotted the creature Nibo mentioned. It lay crumpled against a thick oak trunk, eyes glazed white, its massive tongue lolling from its mouth. The dirt around it was cracked and scorched.

He let out a low whistle. "Guess I shouldn’t underestimate a B’han Orc."

Nibo grinned, pounding his chest proudly. "Damn right you shouldn’t."

For the first time since the horde began, Akhil allowed himself a faint smile.

But deep down, he knew this reprieve was only momentary. The Star Winged Wolf was still there—watching, waiting, and now more furious than ever.

The beast growled lowly, baring its fangs at them.

First, it had been focused on Akhil—but then Nibo joined in.

Still, the creature didn’t look intimidated in the slightest.

If anything, its stance shifted—it was getting serious.

The tension between the group grew thick.

The beast’s crimson eyes flicked between the two men, almost as if trying to choose its next target. It lingered on Akhil, its original prey, but when its gaze landed on Nibo, a flicker of excitement flashed in its eyes. It looked like it found the idea of playing with Nibo far more interesting.

Then its attention turned toward Aria, who was still holding it back. It seemed to remember its purpose—the reason it was here.

"Awoooo!!!"

The wolf’s howl tore through the air like thunder.

Instantly, all the other beasts froze mid-motion. Then, bloodlust flooded their eyes. Muscles swelled, bones cracked, and their auras flared with new strength. The transformation happened in a blink.

’This is bad... That’s why we were never supposed to face a general from the first horde,’ Akhil thought, his eyes narrowing. ’It can boost the power of the others! But why is a general even here now? Could it be because there’s a shortage of monsters?’

He clenched his fists. It was the only explanation he could think of. Not everyone had bought the game consoles, so maybe fewer players meant fewer monsters were spawning.

’But that shouldn’t have affected the first scenario this much. The titan in this stage was supposed to—’

Akhil’s thoughts were cut short as Aria lost her grip on the beast.

With their recent upgrades, the horde became even more feral—unstoppable. Aria was no longer able to restrain them alone.

In seconds, the beasts stormed past her, charging toward the settlement.

Akhil’s heart skipped. He turned, fear flickering in his eyes. But relief quickly followed as he saw the orcs who had taken the serum stepping forward to intercept the horde.

"Everyone, don’t hold back! Kill as many as you can!" Akhil shouted.

Aria didn’t hesitate. She slashed through the monsters with everything she had, her strikes sharp and relentless.

Thankfully, while the general was around level 50, the rest were only between levels 10 and 15.

Having triggered the transformation it wanted, the general finally shifted its full attention back to Akhil. Its eyes burned with pure bloodlust.

Akhil’s pulse quickened.

He turned to Nibo. "It’s about to use its abilities. Things are going to get ten times more dangerous. I can’t take any direct hit to my head, but with your upgrade, that might not be the case. So will you—"

"Don’t worry," Nibo cut in, cracking his knuckles. "I’m ready."

They had fought together long enough that they barely needed words. Nibo already knew what Akhil was thinking.

Akhil gave a faint smile, then refocused on the beast.

As his instincts warned, the wolf’s claws began to elongate, its fangs sharpening like daggers.

But that wasn’t all—its body started to lift off the ground.

It hovered in midair, each step steady, as if walking on the invisible threads of the night sky.

There was a reason it was called the Star-Winged Wolf.

And now, the true fight was about to begin.

The creature’s speed surged—it had been holding back all this time.

Akhil and Nibo tightened their grips on their weapons, eyes locked on their enemy.

And though his gaze stayed on the beast, Akhil’s mind was fixed on something else...

{00:01:01:11}

’Just one more hour,’ he thought grimly. ’We only have to hold out for one more hour.’

The tension reached its peak.

The real battle was about to begin.

The clock was ticking—now it was a race against time.

Would they all be dead before it ran out, or would the orcs actually survive the first round?

No one in the orc camp noticed the small, drone-like machine hovering high above while all the chaos was going on. Its mechanical eyes, which were sharp and never blinked, saw everything.

A young boy sat in a dark room in the human settlement, far away, in front of a wall of screens.

Dozens of live feeds flickered on the screens, each showing a different view of the orc camp.

He leaned forward a little, and his face was calm but focused.

He had been watching the fight from the start. He had initially been positive the orcs would lose.

However, now...

"There is a factor that we failed to consider.. Interesting," he muttered, focussing his attention on Akhil’s picture on the main screen.

At that moment, the room was filled with a robotic voice.

"Lady Hale, Sir Samxon, and Master Langdon are coming towards the orc camp."

Langdon’s gaze moved to another monitor, where two figures—leaders of the human forces—came into view as they made their way directly towards the forest.

Langdon leaned back on his chair, "What’s the point of joining them if I can watch everything from here" he said letting out a lazy yawn.