"Haah…huff…hah!" Gilthru rushed through the forest, using his Wind Mana from time to time to gain a lead. As he didn't have enough mana reserves, he couldn't fly far enough.
After all, Orcs had exceptional tracking senses, able to track someone they had marked for hundreds of kilometres at a stretch.
And worst of all, the Orcs chasing him were wild Orcs, not under anyone's control. Daka Felera only influenced their hunger using his scent. Due to that, until he ends up in their tummies, they would chase him no matter how far he flees away.
If he had enough mana, he could have flown as quickly as possible until he left their tracking range. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough and hence had to run as quickly as possible.
Growl!
A stray Magic Beast ambushed him, intending to bite his head off when it was unable to open its mouth. A metal strap wound its mouth, preventing it from opening it. Its forearms flashed in a flurry, pulling out the strap.
But by the time it managed to free its mouth, Gilthru had fled far away. Moreover, the Orcs had arrived in its vicinity.
And upon seeing another prey, they jumped upon the Magic Beast, ripping it apart to partake in a messy feast.
Considering the sheer number of Orcs that had taken action, the Magic Beast was devoured within ten seconds.
'That only bought ten seconds?' Gilthru frowned as he jumped up from one tree branch to another, slashing at the trunks to extract the tree sap that he spilled on his body.
This was in an effort to mask his scent as much as possible to throw the noses of the Orcs off. It was somewhat effective as the Orcs weren't able to target him as accurately as before. But they were still chasing after him without any problem.
"Ugh!" Gilthru grunted in pain as his wounds hurt, bleeding blood from time to time as he exerted his body. He was feeling somewhat light-headed due to the blood loss.
If not for his Warrior physique, he would have fainted long ago. 'No, I have to persist until someone comes to save me.'
Those were Daka Felera's orders. It was like a mental cue that constantly resounded in his mind, influencing his actions.
Otherwise, if he exerted all his strength, he had the means to trap the Orcs and slaughter them all eventually.
Roar!
A group of Orcs closed in on him as wind revolved around his body, causing him to flicker long distances with every jump. He then noticed a cliff before him, intending to scale it up and get some rest first.
Gilthru kicked the ground and leaped off, reaching the peak of the cliff with a single jump. But just as he landed above, he noticed a bird's nest, one that contained three baby birds.
The mother bird was feeding them worms while the father bird was perched on a tree nearby, keeping watch over the surroundings.
The moment Gilthru arrived, the father bird was alarmed, rapidly swooping in on him as a cone of mana formed around its body. This was the Magic Beast's ability as Gilthru hurriedly strengthened the layer of air around him.
He didn't have enough time to condense a shield of metal. His Metal Mana just began to seep out of his body to erect a shield over the layer of wind when the mana cone slammed into it, piercing through within an instant.
The father bird was a Grandmaster Magic Beast. And at Gilthru's current condition, he wasn't its match, shouting in pain as a part of his stomach got pierced through by the mana cone.
If he hadn't riled up his wind to move to the side, his body would have been shredded in half.
Bang!
Gilthru slammed into the ground due to the force of impact, coughing out blood as he saw the father bird circle the air once before zooming in on him once again, intending to destroy him.
His figure flew towards the cliff as he thrust with his hand, yanking out a hole large enough to hide inside as he jumped in, covering the entrance with a layer of metal. He reinforced the cave with metal, collapsing to the ground as he was out of mana now.
Boom!
The father bird had attacked the entrance with a Magic Cone, unable to pierce through fully. Just as when it planned to attack again, the father bird noticed the group of Orcs rushing into the region.
Afraid that they would target its children, it took off into the air and moved above the cliff, standing guard as it watched the actions of the Orcs.
The Orcs rushed towards the metal cage and began to bombard it with punches and kicks, also using their stone hammers to target it.
Boom! Boom! Clang!
Thunderous sounds resounded as the metal cage began to dent. In response, Gilthru meditated, intending to absorb as mana from the air as he could, hoping to recover enough to flee from the place.
As long as he forced the Orcs to fight the father bird, most of them would die, allowing him to escape. But the thought didn't even finish forming in his mind when rumbling sounds resounded as suddenly, the entire metal cage was yanked out, causing rocks to collapse along the cliff side.
"What the…?" Gilthru was shocked to see a group of Experts among Orcs yank out the metal cage as they now surrounded it, attacking it nonstop as some parts already shattered.
In the tiny hole, the Orcs gazed at his figure within, snorting as their drool leaked through the gaps. They planned to devour him today, and that they will.
"Die!" He thrust forth with a finger through the hole, piercing a wind blade through the Orc's head, splattering it in response.
But immediately after, he collapsed to the floor as the entire metal cage jerked violently. This time, the Orcs were ramming into it, preventing him from standing stably. Moreover, his vision was turning cloudy from the blood loss and the injury to his stomach.
This was the weakest he had felt after the time when his home village was attacked, "Maybe this is where I'll die."
He muttered, fainting while ignoring Daka Felera's command. After all, even if his mind willed it, his body wasn't able to cooperate, too injured and weak to even move. Just before he fainted, he watched the entrance collapse as the hand of an Orc pierced through, grabbing his head as a victorious cheer erupted from outside.
