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CHAPTER IV
(Into the land of despair)
In the barren land…
The moon in the sky seems to wail as it appears to be bleeding with blood, the surrounding color is red-orange reflecting the light from the moon, and the entirety of the land were red as though it was bathe in blood of many men that fell in a great battle that had transpired in this desolate land.
The mountains were tall, sharp and steep – an extremely treacherous mountains.
The earth emits foul energy; it is so dark that any mortal men will get touch by it will be corrupted. Thousands of human skeletons impaled in a long pole and monsters by the hundreds that scattered throughout the vicinity which deliver a message to those that entered in this cursed land, that they 'd know despair once they entered, such was the land of Helmurus.
From these perilous mountain range is a passage that leads to the inner most of the land. It was very wide that a great army could march in this passage in their complete battle formations.
In this passage, hundreds of orcs can be seen marching. It was an unpaved path but it is traversable as it has indications that it was frequently being used for travels that it paved its own path. These marching orcs are following a certain path that leads to the darkest place, in the dwellings of their great master – the castle of Aegremont.
They brought with them 30 carriages that was being pulled not by horses but by the orcs themselves. These carriages were prison carriages with iron cages that could hold 30 prisoners each were pulled by 10 strong orcs. It was big and very sturdy that not anyone from the prisoners that they had brought had managed to break free.
In one of the carriage that holds 7 human prisoners and 3 elves, an unconscious woman was awakened by the sound and the movement of the carriage. Her hair was disheveled, her face has traces of blood and abrasions, and her armor has lost it shine as it was stained of blood and dirt. This woman was Anastasia.
"What happened?" She asked the person next to her – Nigg.
Then, she noticed the chains that bind her and the other prisoners and the orcs that pulls their carriage and the marching orcs on their side. "Orcs! We were captured!"
"Oh. Our princess finally wakes up. And yes… we were captured by orcs, as you can see." His reply is sarcastic as he showed the chain that links to hers.
"How?" She didn't have an idea how they were captured. She only remembered their desperate struggles from the orcs.
Nigg response was cold shrug of his shoulder. He then rested his back in the hard cold iron cage, and then closed his eyes.
"It was the song." The wizard Relline answered her question.
"What?"
"The song we heard was magical. It put us to sleep."
Nigg partially opened his eyes and listened to their talk.
"The song?"
"You don't remember? During the fight with Mur-ag the great orc and his warriors, we heard a magical song that put us to sleep."
For a moment, Anastasia was in deep thought as she tried to remember what had happened. It was not just her but Nigg and the rest were in their moment of contemplation.
"I remember, but it's vague."
"Don't worry, I just realized it myself." Relline answered.
If not for Relline's deep knowledge and understanding of magic, she wouldn't have realized what had happened. However, she didn't have a single idea of what kind of magic it was as she only felt the effect of this magic because of the change of her mana flow.
"So are we captured by Mur-ag and his men?"
"No. Mur-ag and his men were also taken as prisoners." Nigg answered her question.
"What?"
"Look further. Mur-ag and his legion were in those carriages." He points at them. "They are not in better position than us. We were all taken as prisoners."
"How is that possible? These are orcs?"
"This orcs were different. You can see it in their movements and their armors and weapons. They are fully equipped and extremely organized like an army of men. Just imagine if there were really an army of them, let's say an army of 10,000 strong; then our army will be defeated any day."
"!"
"But why bothered anymore? Our fate is already been decided. We will all die here tonight."
The others, who are awake some time now, already realized their impending doom as they made their way deeper in the valley. They thought it to be the valley of death from skeletons and unknown scary looking monsters that they occasionally met along the road, but these monsters never dared to attack them instead it simply stared back at them and these orcs seems to not minding it at all or have any worries of being suddenly attack. They felt that this monsters were powerful than the orcs but in some cases it appears to be docile.
One time, one of these monsters, a terrifying giant lizard-like with many horns suddenly jumped between these carriages, it seems hungry as it eyed the prisoners while salivating. From the looks of it, this monster is very strong, stronger than these orcs combined.
They thought they will die this instant, be eaten alive by this monster. However, what the orc did was, simply shooed it away by waving and brandishing his weapon. They thought that the orc is going to be eaten, however, the monster dejectedly left. They got this feeling that these monsters never see these orcs as food but everyone in the carriage!
How could that be?
Because of this, their plan of escaping was destroyed by this fact.
Meanwhile, the three elves are having their own quiet conversation, as they are afraid of being discovered. Their beautiful faces with resemblance to one another is hidden behind their dark-green cowl and are wearing green clothing of fine silk with light armoring made of beast pelts and some rare metals. These elves were the elite members of the elven corps that specialized in assassinations, espionage, guerilla warfare and intelligence gathering.
They have long dirty blond hair, long and pointy ears, dark golden eyes and fair skin. In their forehead is a thin headband made of metal and leather with a smooth stone on it, one had the green stone, the other has blue and then red. They were wood elves of the great forest.
"A song?"
The three of them had heard what Relline just told to her party.
They too didn't have a slight idea how they were captured. They were all high-level assassin, unrivalled in this world. They believe that no one would notice once they do their deed – killing their target.
Their skills had allowed them to become virtually invisible even in daylight. Nevertheless, how could they be captured, let alone spot them?
What they remembered was they are hiding in plain sight and far from the fight as they wait for an opportunity that will enable them to kill their target, Mur-ag and two of his greatest warriors. They do not think that they could defeat Mur-ag in normal circumstances, thus, they will wait patiently and strike like a true hunter.
They are not in a hurry, however, when Mur-ag decided to go for a hunt they knew this would be their chance, because Mur-ag will be fighting a group of knights and adventurer whose strength rivaled theirs. In this fight, it will considerably weaken Mur-ag then they will step in and kill Mur-ag and his men.
During the fight, they commended the strength of these humans that had managed to prolong the fight to a considerable amount of time and killed a number of orcs.
Nevertheless, Mur-ag sure is on different level than them as he mowed his way through, killing men in the process and destroying their battle formations that put the humans in a disadvantage.
Still, the humans fought bravely and Mur-ag is now facing 3 very strong men of adamantium class, this battle is what they are anticipating. Thus, they readied their weapons of bows and arrows, and short and long daggers. Any moment now and they will dash through the battlefield and go for the kill.
They cannot afford to lose this chance.
They didn't plan to save these humans for they are a threat as much as the orcs. Humans and elves aren't in good terms to begin with for they despise humans for being greedy and corrupt. If they are lucky then they might survived; however, they won't tend their wounded and carry their dead for them.
Killing Mur-ag is enough to return their favor of weakening this monster as it will put a stop to the orcs invasion for a few years, then the humans will regain their strength so they can defend their homeland.
Some would say it is a shameful way of fighting; however, it is part of the art – their art. And also, at the end of the day, what matter is success and honor comes second.
*BoOM!*
A fireball had hit Mur-ag and did significant damage to the mighty orc.
It's time! The elves thought.
However, just as they were about to make a jump and dash towards Mur-ag, they suddenly felt their body froze. It seems that their muscles had failed them as their vision became blurry. And then, they all lost their consciousness and fell to the ground.
When they regained their consciousness, they were now chained in the iron cage along with the other humans as prisoners of war.
"The humans are right sister. This army is very strong and heavy armed, then there are monsters in the vicinity, I don't think that we can make it out alive if we'll fight our way out." The elf on the left side whispered to her sisters. Her name is Aaminah.
Their whispering has mystery behind it as their words are being carried by the wind; therefore, they were the only ones who can hear it and communicate with each other without rousing a suspicion.
"You are right sister. These orcs were stronger than the orcs we had fought for ages." Responded by the elf at the middle, her name is Kisara.
"But we must escape, even just one of us. We must warn the elders of this horrendous threat." The elf on the right whispered, her name is Rielle.
Just as these two groups are having their own small conversation, a large gray orc with long cut across his deformed face, had come in their carriage.
It spread it sight upon them.
Then, it took out his nasty looking huge saber that made them all looked terrified!
He's in for the kill!
They all thought and struggled hard trying to get loose from their predicament. They would've run or fought back; however, these chains are completely binding them and can't do anything about it.
However…
'Dang!' 'Dang!' 'Dang'
It was the sound of the iron cage being struck by the orc's weapon.
"Grr… No talking!" The orc intimidated them that they all cowered in fear.
Meanwhile, in one of the cage filled with orcs, a large orc of brownish skin is sitting with chains across his entire body; this chain is slightly bigger and darker than the other chains.
He tried breaking this chain but it proves to be a futile effort.
He is wearing some primitive armor made of beast skin, metals, and bones. This was Mur-ag, one of the most feared orcs, the renowned hero, and leader of the Lone Wolf Clan, the clan of the brown orcs.
The names of great orcs are extended, thus, the name Mur has the extension of Ag, which means 'great' in orc's language. Therefore, Mur-ag means the Great Mur or Great Orc Mur.
Sitting and chained right beside him where two of his strongest and mightiest warrior, Gog and Kol.
They were with him since the day Mur-ag had made his legend, in wars between humans and orcs, and orcs against other orcs. They had helped him to stand atop the rest of the orcs and like Mur-ag; they are orcs of great strength.
"Chieftain, look at these orcs. I never had seen an army like this." Gog told his brothers.
"Mm… Each of this orcs strength rivaled ours." Mur-ag answered back.
"To have so many powerful orcs like this, I wonder how powerful their chieftain would be." Kol interjected.
"Perhaps, their chieftain is more powerful than me."
"At least I could see someone powerful than our chieftain before I leave this world and make it into the Valhala. Hehe." He maniacally let out a small laugh and the other orcs followed suit.
"Same thought with me here. Hehe." Kol responded to Gog.
"I wonder if I could fight with their chieftain." Mur-ag said.
Orcs are naturally born battle maniac that they do not cower in battle.
In fact, falling in battle is the most glorious death an orc could have ever dream. They believed that once they are dead, their souls would reach the other realm where their fallen ancestors will judge them of their great battles in this world. And for an orc who didn't die in battle is the most shameful death that their ancestors will denounce their orcish blood, the sacred blood of great warriors.
Their journey continued without a stop until they reached their destination, the dark castle of Aegremont.
However, they are still kilometers away.
*RoAR!* *RoAR!* It was an earsplitting roars like thunders that echoed in the sky.
"D-dragons!" One of the human prisoners loudly exclaimed.
Everyone panicked and felt fear the instant they saw what was above them.
In the dark sky, tens of thousands winged creatures were flying freely and they formed a dense cloud of demonic flocks. However, what greatly caught their attention was the ginormous size of legendary monster – the dragons.
Dragons are creatures of great strength and magic which is impossible to defeat. They could raze a kingdom to dust with their powerful breath, some can breathe fire that could disintegrate everything and some can breathe cold which carries the whole winter with it.
One of the famous dragons is the dragon of apocalypse that lay siege in the world that almost put an end to it, but thanks to the heroes the dragons was defeated.
In this day and age, most dragons are asleep and it will take another century for them to wake up and move down the great mountains.
However, what they saw greatly terrifies them as they saw not one dragon but dozens of dragons and thousands of smaller versions of dragons known as firedrakes.
"Are those winged demons too! Look!" Another man shouted when he saw at a closer look at the herd of flying creatures of various sizes and figures.
And they looked ahead, and since they are in the higher ground, they saw a massive hoard of army and like sands in the beaches it cannot be counted.
Then they realize what this army is composed of, they felt even more terrified that they lost all hope.
This army are consists of various undead, orcs, and demons; in their battle formations and they move in perfect unison. Just this sheer movement capability of the army will outclass the army of men, it's perfect rhythmic movements that can only be achieve through absolute discipline in the army, but this army is massive; therefore, this level of perfection is certainly overwhelming.
And then they all saw the strange looking castle of epic proportion standing tall beneath the stormy night sky. Its height almost touched the heavens, everything in it is clad in black and some strange lines that covered the entirety of its sides and every time the lightning strikes it, these strange lines glowed as though it absorbs the power of lightning.
War drums and the sounding of horns in stone towers strategically positioned can be heard at such a distance. These armies are rallying at the base of the dark castle while dragons and other flying creatures encircles around it in the sky.
"GLORY TO NIVEK RELLIM!" The army roared exhausting their lungs. Even undeads like death knight's known to be unable to speak are going with the flow. They shouted repeatedly over and over all throughout the time. These words left them puzzled this entire time. Just what does that mean? They thought.
"Never in my entire life did I imagine witnessing so many terrifying creatures, dragons, undead and demons banding together to form an army. I can only recognize few of these undeads and all of it is known to have only exists in legend!" Relline exclaimed.
"Just what is this place?" Anastasia said in great awe.
"This is the end for all of us." Nigg mused to himself.
"Sister, this is bad omen." Rielle said.
"I know sister, but what good can we do about it?" Kisara responded.
"Sister, will the world be able to stop the impending doom?" Aaminah asked.
"I don't think so, sister. There is no greater power in our world that could stop all of this." Kisara answered.
"Then, there is no hope for the world?"
"Yes Aaminah. I am afraid that the world is doomed and this fate is inevitable."
"Chieftain, look. So many orcs had gathered here, only a very strong chieftain could command this horde of strong orcs."
"You forgot about the rest of the monsters, Gog. Dragons are legendary creatures known by all; and undead and demons are bad news for everyone."
Because of this great unfolding of the events and of the sight they are witnessing, they all came up with one conclusion. "What kind of existence the ruler of this realm to command dragons, undead, and demons?" "Is this being a god? No, even our great gods do not command this great number of terrifying monsters."
They made their way through this army and the deeper they went, the more terrified they became knowing that the stronger ones are positioned deeper within. These monsters are shouting and taunting them, making sure they got intimidated thoroughly if their ominous grin isn't enough. They also snuffles their scent, it wasn't lustful but simply smelling the meat and judging their quality.
The captured orcs isn't better than the captured humans and elves as they too felt extremely threatened by their taunting. The sound of war drums and blowing of horns had shaken their very bones the moment they arrived closer to the castle.
The carriage stopped a few hundred meters from the massive door of the castle. This iron door is 500 feet high and 175 feet wide, it has scary looking sculptures and intricate engravings of ancient and otherworldly origin. And looking at it is like looking at the gate of hell – it is terrifying and forebodes endless sufferings, there is no way in and there is no way out.
They could only speculate of what terrifying monsters dwells behind that hellish door, perhaps a demon god, they all thought. This is uncertain; however, what they are certain of is they will now succumb to their fate and that is death.
Then they saw four figures standing next to the door; starting from left is an orc, followed by a dark knight, a middle-aged man with battle scar, and then an angel-like existence. Each of them possesses an oppressive aura and their presence is awe-inspiring.
"I could feel the immense power from those beings. It is terrifying!" Relline informed them.
Because Relline is a first class wizard of the kingdom and regarded as genius amongst the geniuses. She is extremely sensitive to the influx of energy in its miniscule scale; therefore, she could sense their magic even if their energy is somewhat contained or sealed within.
However, she is not the only person who felt the threat coming from these beings, the elves too are sensitive to the energies in their surroundings, so how can they missed this fact? Then as a veteran warriors their foreboding instinct are highly develop that they always rely on it, so how can they not feel threatened when faced with these unknown beings?
"Are these leaders gathered their army to launch an invasion? With these large army and dragons they could rule the world." Anastasia said.
"Ruling will be an understatement to it… they plan to destroy it." Nigg answered her.
"Sister, this is bad. I cannot withstand this oppressive power coming from them. I feel like I am standing in the tallest cliff." Rielle nervously said.
"Me too… I think… I'm going insane. I can't take it anymore." Aaminah cried
"To think that these powerful beings are here today will only mean one thing… death to all of us!" Kisara exclaimed.
"Chieftain, these beings are powerful… I feel that my bones are shaking… look! I don't know how to face our great ancestors in Valhala, because I felt fear." Kol anxiously informed the two.
"You are not the only one Kol… I will rather face an army of one thousand than face these beings." Gog responded.
"Get a hold of yourself you two… We cannot disgrace ourselves this time! Our ancestors are watching over us!"
"But chieftain, that one is an orc and must be in command of the orcs army! Is he our god?" Gog said.
"God? Perhaps… he is. This power surely is out of this world."
