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A lone Drainliar fluttered about at the back of the pit, the torches illuminating its red wings. It went away from sight when a massive silver knight returned, not excluding other smaller fiends like the Tarou. The Lord of Death tied Silver to a corner of the chamber, then flexed his bulging arm muscles. As he stretched, the crack of his bones echoed through the cavern.

He sat with eyes closed, thinking ahead of things. Abyss and Storm had left Death earlier this evening, heading to Glast Heim to seize the Intelligence Trait without delay, as instructed by him. The two's absence suddenly brought about a heavy silence in the pit, besides the scratching of a Tarou's nail against the floor, or the flapping of a Drainliar's wings.

Death paced the floor of the small chamber, heaving a sigh, one of impatience. He had already laid out plans to assassinate the Orc Lord and the Orc Hero, whoever possesses the Strength Trait and leads the orc forces. He looked at his thick, muscular arms, then at his torso. Yes, he was in top shape, his massive frame portraying nothing but sheer supremacy. But was this actually enough? He may be one of the most outstanding superiors among the aristocratic demons, but the Dark Lord and Baphomet somehow made him feel smaller. He needed much more, to make up for whatever inferiority he felt in him.

The great silver knight was to work with the Doppelganger, and head south past Geffen to the orc camp. At first he yearned for the quick return of the phantom swordsman, but a fleeting idea slowly became elaborate in his head. Half the Strength Trait seemed insufficient. If he was to absorb the Strength Trait all by himself, not only would he be usurping control over the orc forces, the power he had in his hands would develop inconsiderably. Now the problem was whether he could steal it all by himself without the Doppelganger sticking to him every moment. But he did not worry one bit, for he had the whole night to think it through…

Death spun around suddenly when he sensed a distortion in the air. A young boy with blonde hair emerged from a cone of light, the diaphanous form walking up to him at ghostly speed. His walk alone was more than enough to outrun the fittest knight in the Prontera army. The great silver knight raised a brow dubiously.

"I expected you to return the next morning since you know no limits when it comes to gallivanting."

Doppelganger ran a hand through his messy blonde hair after the butterfly wing flight.

"Hmm… are you hiding something around here? Or are you just not happy to see me around?"

"That was what you said, wasn't it? Returning only the next morning. We have an important task at hand!"

"Sheesh, I said latest by tomorrow morning, big knight. Isn't it good that I returned early? We'll bust the orcs wide open tonight. The night is the best time to assassinate a person, that's what you normally see or read about. Am I not right?"

"What business have you in Izlude?" Death probed.

"Sword-shopping for Storm," the swordsman replied innocently.

"In that case, get ready, Mister Vuvuboo. It won't be long till we march for Orcville."

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"It sure looks pretty bad," Doppelganger commented when the two marched past Geffen. "Work of your zombie masters."

Death rode on silently, his mind concentrating on the assassination of the two orc leaders, abstaining himself from side distractions. But in actual, he was focusing on means to keep Doppelganger away while he hunted for the Trait solely, absorbing it for himself. Of course, Doppelganger did not bother about his silent and grim partner, neither was he aware of his plans. The phantom swordsman marvelled at the ruins of Geffen, occasionally straying off to other fanciful sights, only to be yelled by Death to stay in track.

"You better tie Silver somewhere before we barge into the orc camp. This big animal's hooves alone could've waked the dead in the depths of Glast Heim!

Death raised a hand to stop proceeding any further.

"We draw near the camp. Don't wander away or go off on your own while I tie Silver."

The great silver knight made this sentence more to refrain the phantom swordsman from seeking the Strength Trait on his own, rather than being genuinely worried that he might go off to gallivant. He started to be very sensitive to Doppelganger's every movement, some time along the way he even had a notion that Doppelganger might share his same intensions, much to his worry and caution. Finding a suitable tree, he tied his mount around the thick trunk.

Death let out a breath of relieve when he found the swordsman where he last left him, absent-mindedly chopping the grass as he sat. Uttering a call to indicate that he had safely tied Silver, the two continued southwards on foot, sighting for signs of an orc along the way. But they found nothing. No orcish footprints, no stentorious breathings, nothing was found.

"Quiet down now, back there Silver indicated that the Orcville is within a hundred yard radius," the massive silver knight jerked a thumb to where he tied Silver.

Doppelganger nodded without a word, tip-toeing to catch a glimpse of an Orcville structure, a brown igloo-like structure with a staircase leading downwards into the basement of the orc dungeon, where masses of undead orcs and skeletons roam about. Recalling about previous adventures in the orc territory, he began to whisper to his partner that the main orc camp lay beyond the orc dungeon, while sentry camps were established around the orc dungeon.

And sure enough, a pair of orc sentries was in sight. The two hulking figures stood very still, which made Doppelganger suspect that they were sleeping while standing. He wrestled with temptation and curiosity to confirm his hunch, Death laying a restraining hand on him.

"Do not even try, and do not underestimate them even though they appear unintelligent. We are within their sight. If they turn around, we would be found out."

They were taking small steps forward on a small trail leading to the sentry camp, while dense woods flanked the path. Doppelganger crossed his hands, looking at his partner questioningly.

"What?"

"I'm not much of a strategist, but I suggest you hide in these shrubs now. I'll take them on," the swordsman said confidently.

"I will allow nothing of the sort," Death retorted in a deep voice.

"Shh! You'll wake them! I wasn't serious when I said that, and let me do the luring. Hide yourself, big knight!"

Death grunted his approval unwillingly. Before the great silver knight went for the shrubs though, an idea struck him abruptly. He could "lure" Doppelganger to absorb the Strength Trait all by himself…

"Doppelganger, after the two sentries are done with, we will part. I will use the woods as cover while I keep a lookout for their main leader, Orc Lord."

The swordsman nodded his agreement in his excitement of his plan. He did not think that being a thinker for once was not too bad, he could put forth his brains into use after all. Making sure that Death was well-hidden, he stalked nearer to the two unmoving sentries, then hid himself in the plantations. Finding a long twig, he took an aim, and hurled it towards one of the two's head.

A smug crossed the blonde swordsman's face when the first phase of his plan succeeded. The twig knocked against the back of a sentry's head, snapping him up from his nap. The irritated sentry glanced around him. Noticing no one, he slapped his hands on his partner's back.

"Wake up durned fool! Somebody here! Intruder throw stick at me!"

The other sentry began arguing with his partner, assuring him that he was imagining things.

"No! I sure that somebody here! Better check."

The two sentries, awakened by a disturbance from a twig, began strolling down the path, peering over the bushes to spot the culprit. But they found no one. The sentry who awoke after the first started launching into loud, crude shouts that he was right; nobody was here, and he was imagining things!

"Listen to your friend for once, green skinned fool," a voice belonging to those of a teenage boy spoke out.

"Who there!? Show yourself!"

Doppelganger came dashing out of the shrubs, one of the sentry's fist smashing into a shadow of him.

"Catch me if you can!" he said as he stole a hit on a sentry's back. Confusing both sentries by creating more shadows with his dash, he scored a vicious slash on the first sentry's vital organ. He grunted as he clutched his chest area, then fell limb onto the ground.

The unexpected death of the remaining sentry's partner distracted him for an instant. But that instant was more than enough for the ghostly swordsman. His sword arm went in and out the orc sentry's heart less than a split second, and another limb form lay beside the first.

Shaking his head as if this task was a child's play to him, he wiped his scimitar of the orc blood.

"You may come out now, big knight."

No answer came. Doppelganger went over to where Death last hid, peering over the shrubs. But nobody was there. He's sure eager for some orc meat, he thought. He had no time to contemplate any further, when he suddenly remembered that his next task was to assassinate the Orc Hero and absorb the Strength Trait. He then let out his breath in realization and surprise. He was going to indulge in it all by himself!

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Death stepped out of the shrubs at silently as possible, so as not to cause even a slight rustle. It was not his nature to underestimate even the most inferior of creatures, so he took precaution nonetheless. The panorama of the sentry camp gave him the knowledge that not many orc sentries were on duty this night; two of them had been taken out by his swordsman partner, leaving the already few number sentries patrolling the area. The orcs were certainly foolish for letting their guard down tonight…

The sentry camp was not what Death sought. The great silver knight wished he had his horse here, to provide him with a farther view of things atop the tall steed. Then, he spotted another path further down where he was, which was guarded by two sentries who were, unfortunately, wide awake. The two had orcish sword hung at their sides, hands clasped readily on the hilt if danger arises. Deciding to hide himself once again, he began crossing out the idea of barging down the path that looked likely to lead him to the Orc Lord's camp, since it was guarded.

He thought fast, dismissing ideas that would draw the sentries to sound an alarm, alerting the whole camp into action. Time was not on his side, so he had to risk his latest plan. He circled around the shrubs to draw nearer to the guards, then began rustling the bushes slightly with his great sword drawn.

As he expected, the two alert guards would not be likely to alarm the whole camp over a slight disturbance. They withdrew their orcish sword with a soft ringing sound and walked briskly to where he hid. He readied his sword…

At the instance when the two peered over the shrub, a flash of the shimmering silver sword blinded them briefly, then the lethal blade swung to lop two green heads off. He had no time to admire his work. Death made sure that no other sentries were around, then he crept down the path surprisingly silent, considering his bright and easily distinguished form in the night.

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Three sentries lay dead in an awkward position, Doppelganger tip-toeing to sight a larger camp that marked the main camp, where the Orc Hero was. Noticing a significantly larger camp of different colour a few feet from the orc dungeon, he literally relocated himself right in front of the camp, not one sentry noticing that he had just dashed past them. They could only assume that their sleepy eyes were playing tricks on them.

The phantom swordsman leaned forward, placing his eyes properly so he could see through the thin slit in between the flaps. He almost cried out triumphantly when he made out the extremely brawny Orc Hero by his trademark headgear; a golden headband with long strips of gold attached to it, the gold strips shooting up over his head. From what he heard, this was the symbol of the hero among the orcish society. Moreover, the Orc Hero was physically and significantly taller and larger than any other normal orc soldiers. Apparently he had the brains other than brawn too, for he was also treated as the strategist.

The interior was rather dim. Doppelganger's sight into the tent was very limited as the slit was way too thin. He then lifted the flap slightly, and he saw the Orc Hero planning something on a large piece of map unrolled on a table, his back turned to him. The rather spontaneous swordsman restricted himself from being the head-charger he always been, reminding himself to become the strategist once again.

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully as he closed the flaps, thinking quickly so as to get this over and done with. His handsome face seemed to flicker with light when a thought came to him. Yes, douse the light, and kill the might, he repeated the plan over and over again in his head. Doppelganger almost gasped loudly when he saw the Orc Hero stood up and stretched. Urging himself not to miss this perfect opportunity to catch the Hero off guard, he dashed through the flaps and blew off the candle in the corner. However, the gleeful swordsman was all over himself, because this was a bad move, Doppelganger overlooking the fact that the Hero was nothing of a bat even when in the dark…

Orc Hero's eyes flared a yellow light as the angry orc superior brandished a custom made two-handed sword. Apparently he was just as overconfident, if not more, for he made no attempt to alert the camp. Doppelganger made a pre-emptive strike, smashing the table into smithereens as the Orc Hero leaped nimbly off his spot. Doppelganger hoped that the sentries still slept soundly despite the commotion.

The Orc Hero, who was now standing on a stool, leaped towards Doppelganger with a cleaving attack. The blonde swordsman easily blocked the overhead blow by raising his scimitar horizontally above him. Before the large orc extracted his sword from his scimitar, Doppelganger lashed out a hand at ghostly speed, slugging the orc hard in his jaws.

"Give it up, Orc Dolt!"

The large orc snarled in irritation when he did a back flip to evade another slash from the offensive swordsman.

"What brings you here, weak swordie? After the Strength Trait I suppose?"

Doppelganger jabbed his curved blade angrily at the comment, but he hit air as the orc dodged once again. If this duel were to continue any further, the swordsman feared that this was going to wake a few sentries sooner or later. Moreover, he promised himself that he would be done with this and return to the smelly pit.

He began to launch into one of his wily tactics. Doppelganger dashed around the house for a few rounds, creating grey duplicates of himself due to the inhuman speed in which he ran. This tactic had little effect on the orc. The Doppelganger was running all around the house, so if he could…

The Orc Hero put out a foot at a random spot, and the next thing he heard was a loud crash and a yowl. Doppelganger lay on the floor, rubbing a sore nose, his scimitar lying a forearm's length away from his reach. Laughing triumphantly to himself, the gold strips on the Orc Hero's headgear danced madly as he leaped onto the blonde swordsman with another fatal downward cleave. But Doppelganger was faster. Springing to his feet with the scimitar already in his hands, the two superiors crossed swords once again, a sharp ringing noise from the collision of steel woke a sentry up.

The blonde swordsman knew he had two options; abort his plan and crush a butterfly wing, or kill the Orc Lord as of this instance. Deciding that by doing the latter, he would not feel insulted and he could finally seize the Strength Trait.

"Enough is enough…" he whispered inaudibly.

The suddenly serious Doppelganger gave everything he had. He heard approaching footfalls from a sentry, then slowly more series of footsteps followed behind. Raising his sword arm, he flung the scimitar at the Orc Hero with all his might. The orc, standing in a martial stance, sent the blade flying off harmlessly with a swipe of his two-handed sword. This was the moment to strike. The blonde swordsman dashed at his quickest speed possible, slugging the orc's jaw with a balled fist, the other burying into the bestial face. He lifted his knee up at the same time, landing a blow to his groin.

The Orc Hero doubled over after the attack on his groin, then landing onto the floor on his backside. He saw the swordsman advance right in front of him, but he was no pushover. He was an orc superior after all! A green fist came out for Doppelganger –and went right through him. This was then he realized the ruse, what he hit was the shadow of the blonde superior.

"I'm going to… to kill you and take your Agility Trait!" he shouted.

Doppelganger emerged in front of him again, the scimitar in his hands indicated that this was the real deal. The curved blade sent the golden headgear flying into a corner, and around it wrapped a green head.

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The great silver being did not have to put up too much fight. The two guards guarding the camp shouted a warning for the Orc Lord in it, before leaping onto Death. The attacking leap immediately turned into two fallen, headless sentries lying dead on the ground.

The Orc Lord, dressed only in a pink orc helm, flipped open the tent flaps and stepped out calmly. What greeted him first were two headless guards standing just outside his tent a second ago, instead of the Lord of Death they warned him of. This orc leader detested trickery of his opponents, preferring them to fight him face-to-face. A swooping noise made him jump forward and spinning around at the same time. But that object still managed to score a hideous slash along his spine. He grimaced in pain, snarling dangerously at the great silver knight.

"What do you want, knight!? You'll pay for breaking the pact!"

Death stood atop the tent, glancing downwards at the injured Orc Lord. Hollering a war cry, the orc planned to extract his foe's sword planted deeply into the earth, only to receive a crushing club to his skull when Death leaped from the top. That had little effect on the green skinned leader, considering that he was wearing a hardy orc helm that defended his head well. Death pulled out his great sword and advanced, but bolts of fire and jagged ice shards came falling before him, the unexpected spell almost piercing him.

The brief distracted had the Orc Lord planting a head butt on the silver knight, the front spike on the helm barely missing Death. The great silver knight stood calmly, measuring his opponent from head to toe. The Orc Lord readied himself in a defensive stance, with a palm extended out before him. Seeing the Lord of Death taking no action, he broke into a run and leaped skywards, then down came a fist. Death sidestepped the aerial attack, raising a boot to the orc's face. The moment he waited for came unexpectedly. The Orc grabbed his foot, flinging him onto the floor. Sticking out his tongue in anticipating, the green skinned leader attempted another devastating head butt, hoping to drive the spike right through his adversary's face.

That move which he thought was unavoidable became a disaster. Death pulled in his shimmering blade at the last moment, the great sword piercing through the pink helm, and impaled deep into the orc leader's brains. The spike on the helm was only half an inch from his face, when it stopped.

Death congratulated himself for succeeding in both plans, sending off the Doppelganger and successfully slaying the superior who possessed the Strength Trait. He sheathed his sword, eagerly opening his mouth to inhale the essence of the Trait. A flash of white light connected the Orc Lord to Death's opened mouth, the transfer of the Strength Trait commencing. Death closed his mouth when the white light diminished, indicating the end of the transfer.

The silver superior shook violently as his body was unaccustomed to absorbing so much power at once. His body began to undergo a change that increased his mighty frame; veins popped from his arm, his bulging muscles swelled. The space on his armour was entirely filled when his chest puffed out, his shoulders broadening inconsiderably. His thigh muscles became more obvious, and more importantly, he felt his raw strength developing by two fold. He was purely unstoppable…