Chapter 83: Hero is Late
On the way, Ethan reviewed the available skills and spells.
————————————
[ACTIVE SKILLS]
[Ghost hands Lvl 3] [Active skill] [MP Cost: 10] [Effect: 40 seconds]
[Kiss of love Lvl 2] [Active skill] [MP Cost: 6] [Effect: Instantaneous]
————————————
Why did he have only two? Ethan remembered he received Ghost Hands as an active skill after using a special item with the same effect. Perhaps it was the only way to earn one.
Right now, Ghost Hands at Level 3 was perhaps his most effective and affordable ability with an MP cost of merely 10.
————————————
[PASSIVE SKILLS]
[Stealth Lvl 3] [Passive skill]
[Poison Resistance Lvl 3] [Passive skill]
[Jelly Skin Lvl 3] [Passive skill] [Can resist up to two strikes]
[Lewd radar Lvl 2] [Passive Skill]
————————————
Poison resistance really helped him suffer through the Orc poison gas, or he'd be caught as well. Jelly skin was invaluable. Now, at level 3, if the attack was weak, his skin's invincibility had two layers.
————————————
[SPELLS]
[Dark] [Vanchsneff Nachtaal—Reveal the secret] [MP Cost: 5]
[Holy] [Periroas Kiklae Mutatium—Hero Cycle Revision (Cooldown: 1 year)] [MP Cost: 200]
[Holy] [Reditus Anima—Return Soul (Not applicable presently)] [MP Cost: 200]
[Decree] [Lapor—Boil and fry] [MP Cost: 20] [Requirements: Target within ten feet and user's eyesight]
[Decree] [Liquisha—Melt] [MP Cost: 20] [Requirements: A solid material within user's eyesight]
[Decree] [Secas—Cut] [MP Cost: 10] [Requirements: Target within fifty feet and user's eyesight]
[Nature] [Anima sans—Self-healing] [MP Cost: 10] [Requirements: None]
[Elemental] [Magmatis stagnum—magma puddle] [MP Cost: 50] [Requirements: None]
————————————
Magma puddle was probably Ethan's most powerful attack, but burned MP like a bitch. He needed more versatile spells and skills urgently.
The boy crept through the woods silently. The camp loomed ahead, a thousand torchlights flickering like angry eyes in the night. Four burly Orcs guarded the gateway. They carried heavy axes and probably were veteran fighters, indicated by scuffed tusks protruding like daggers.
Ethan hunkered down behind a thicket, peering through the leaves. On cue, a soft haze began to roll in from the pond's direction. It was Beatrix's magic at work. It was like a gentle mist, swirling lazily. Obscured mildly were two girls, still clothed. Then, he heard voices—feminine, playful, and giggling. Athena and Beatrix were playing their parts well.
"Oh, sister, this pond looks perfect for a bath!" Athena's voice carried to him. "The water's so clear, and no one's around. Let's strip and soak our weary bodies. Then we can find shelter."
Beatrix's reply was muffled and more constipated. "Yes, let's. It's been ages since I've felt water on my bare skin."
Ethan almost chuckled aloud at the terrible acting. He strained his eyes, cursing the rapidly thickening haze. The boy could make out their attractive silhouettes.
Athena's tall, muscular form shed her tunic. Her heavy breasts bounced free as she bent to remove her boots. Beatrix was smaller, more delicate. Her gothic dress slipped off her shoulders to reveal pale, smooth skin. Behind the haze must be a tight ass he wanted to spank.
Ethan felt his dick stir. "I'll have you both some day, dammit. But now isn't the time."
The girls waded into the shallow pond, splashing the water lightly. Their laughter echoed as far as the northern gate quite easily.
The Orc guards perked up immediately. One grunted, sniffing the air. "Humans? Females? Am I dreaming? I smell them fresh and naked?"
Another strained his eyes and licked his tusks. "Look by the pond! Naked human indeed! Maybe they are lost travelers! Lucky us! Let's rape them first, and drag them back to eat after."
Ethan's stomach twisted at their words, but this was the plan. The four guards patted each other's back excitedly, dropping their alarm horns and weapons. They abandoned their posts without a second thought and lumbered toward the pond with lust glazing their eyes.
Now! Ethan darted forward, using the shadows for cover. His stealth was not amateurish anymore. It had been upgraded to level 3 after sneaking into the white hills.
The camp was alive with revelry, and no one noticed the lone figure slipping through the gateway. Inside, the air reeked of smoke and Orc BO. Tents dotted the landscape with those green creatures milling about.
However, the main focus was a massive bonfire in the central clearing. Drums thundered there, mingled with chants in guttural Orcish. Some kind of ritual was underway. Flames leapt high as the shaman, Jibreel, tossed herbs into the fire, creating bursts of colored smoke.
Ethan crept closer, hiding behind crates and tents. The ritual centered on a wooden platform where Garkash stood, his massive frame clad in tribal furs. He roared something about unity and conquest, and the crowd cheered.
"Tonight, I claim Luka Voltha as my mate! I'll fuck and impregnate her in public, before all of you! It will seal my right to the Crown!"
The Orcs howled in approval. Ethan's blood ran cold, imagining Luka going through the ordeal. "No way you're getting my new girl."
He slipped away from the bonfire, searching the tents. The Orc Queen had to be in custody nearby, probably in Garkash's personal quarters.
After dodging a few patrols, he found what he was looking for—a large tent adorned with bones and trophies. Slipping inside, he froze on witnessing the scene.
There she was. Luka Voltha, chained to a post in the center, but not just as a prisoner. They had stripped her naked, her ivory skin tainted by Orc grime.
The Orc Queen had been humbled, her powerful, curvaceous body bound in crude BDSM-style restraints. Leather straps crossed her full breasts, binding her wrists behind her back, and a gag was in her mouth. It looked like a flaccid dick from a dead Orc, perhaps.
Her legs were spread by ankle chains, exposing her hairy groin, now looking defiled with Orc semen and piss. She looked heartbroken with eyes downcast and lips blood and bruised. Perhaps she had been raped for hours.
And the one responsible was—-him—who had been too late to come to the rescue.
"Luka!" Ethan whispered, rushing forward with a trembling soul. His heart ached at the pitiful sight. This proud queen was reduced to a plaything, a fuckdoll. She was unconscious, so he fumbled with the chains, trying to free her. "Hold on, I'll get you out."
But as his fingers touched the metal, Ethan's system sent him a message.
[System advice: Trap detected]
Luka's form shimmered and dissolved like mist. What the hell was going on? Was it an illusion! Yes, of course. And like his system communicated, it must be a trap!
Laughter echoed from the shadows as six Orcs emerged, led by the wizened shaman, Gibreel. He wore garlands of bones and right now the runes on his parched skin glowed. "Foolish human! Did you think we would let the Orc Queen out of sight for a moment? It was a trap for pathetic rescuers like you to be caught! Now it's time to die!"
Ethan cursed loudly and backed away. They surrounded him, grinding their axes against the ground. "Ghost Hands!"
Invisible limbs lashed out, grabbing two Orcs by the throats and slamming them together with bone-crushing force. Blood sprayed on the tent walls as their necks snapped.
The shaman began chanting and hurled a bolt of dark energy towards him. It was definitely bad news. Jibreel's abilities were rather unknown. There was no time to fight such an odd and unpredictable variable.
Ethan dodged out of the way, weaved between ax swings. He crushed another Orc's skull against a pole with Ghost Hands. As reinforcements arrived, the boy panicked and burst out of the tent.
Drum rolls, and horn alarms were blaring already. The camp was stirring, aware that they had an intruder. Where was Luka Voltha? Perhaps Garkash kept her close? Ethan dashed toward the bonfire, hoping to find the real Orc Queen there.
He was accurate. There, on the platform, the ritual had progressed. Luka was chained to a tall conjugal mast, her bruised body on display for the howling crowd. She hadn't been molested yet, as Jibreel showed him in the sick and disgusting illusion.
Garkash stood before Luka and bellowed like thunder. He stripped off his furs to reveal a massive, erect member, veined and throbbing like a club. How could any female body handle that thing without ripping herself apart?
Garkash grinned ferally, dripping with lust. He stepped closer to the bound and helpless Luka. "Your Highness, you escaped my clutches for long. Tonight I'll make you mine!"
Ethan's blood boiled, and his mind reeled. He couldn't let this happen. As Garkash positioned himself for the deed, Ethan's vision flashed with a system notification.
[Challenge: Prevent the Rape of the Orc Queen]