In uneasy anticipation, we endured a sleepless night, setting out again at dawn, meticulously cautious as we traveled. The surrounding scenery remained largely unchanged—the blue sky, white clouds, green trees, and grasslands, punctuated by the brutal clashes between wild beasts and grazers—yet none of it significantly affected us. Perhaps drawn by more desirable prey, the apex predators like lions and wolf packs entirely disregarded us, leaving us in relative peace. For three consecutive days, this quiet journey continued without incident.

“Strange!” Long Zhan frowned, utterly perplexed. “Not even a shadow of an Orc. I thought the heart of the Woma Forest was their homeland!”

“It’s our good luck that we haven't met any!” Long Xin snapped back. “Running into them would be a massive headache!”

“Orcs always move in large groups! And they are experts at setting ambushes! By the time we realize it, we’d already be surrounded!” Long Qi’s expression grew solemn. “Even if things have been quiet these past few days, we cannot afford to relax for a moment!” Long Qi hesitated slightly. “I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I’ve had this persistent feeling of being watched these last few days!”

“What!” Long Qi’s words struck me like a cold shock. I had felt it too—a constant sensation that unseen eyes were fixed on us from some hidden corner, though scrutinizing the surroundings revealed nothing unusual.

The sun blazed overhead, a few white clouds drifting across the heavens where the occasional hawk or similar bird circled continuously. Under the vast blue, scattered around were several twenty-meter-tall, unfamiliar trees, interspersed with grassland that sometimes hosted leisurely herds of antelopes and wild horses. The entire world seemed transparent, leaving no place for anything to hide.

Nothing seemed outwardly wrong! Yet, what was the source of that prickling, inescapable feeling of being spied upon, clinging stubbornly to my mind? This feeling was profoundly unsettling!

“Xingchen! Do you feel it too?” Seeing my tense demeanor, Long Qi couldn’t help but ask.

“Yes!” I nodded slowly. “I thought it was just a hallucination brought on by my own nervousness, but if you feel it too, then this sensation must be real!”

“In any case, let’s stay vigilant,” Long Qi stated deeply. “The Orcs couldn't have dominated the Woma Forest for so long without possessing remarkable strengths!”

“.......” The siblings, Ziyue and Ziyun, shared similarly tense looks but offered no comment.

We pressed onward!

“The forest ahead is much denser than the surrounding area!” Long Zhan pointed toward the thicket ahead with concern.

“Looks like a perfect spot for an ambush,” Long Qi murmured to himself.

“If only we could go around it,” Long Xin analyzed.

“That’s impossible,” I surveyed the area. While the density wasn't comparable to the thorny undergrowth we had navigated days prior, this forest was significantly thicker than the neighboring woods, indeed making it an ideal ambush location. More critically, it lay directly in our path forward. And just by looking at it, one could tell the expanse was vast; viewed head-on, its cross-section seemed endless.

“To detour might mean days of wasted travel,” I hesitated, “and we might not even manage to bypass it!”

“It seems we have no choice,” Long Qi mused.

“Then we charge straight through!” Long Xin’s expression hardened. “Even if there’s an ambush, we have to force our way in!”

“Right!” Long Zhan and I nodded slightly, simultaneously moving to the very front of the group.

Despite our apprehension, we braced ourselves and plunged into the forest!

The scenery gradually darkened. Due to the thick canopy, most sunlight was blocked by immense shadows. While the clearings within lacked the thorny bushes and stinging vines of the outer woods, if given a choice, we would have preferred the dense, outer thickets of Woma Forest, at least there, we wouldn't have feared an ambush.

After about an hour!

We still hadn't seen any sign of an ambush!

Were we just overly tense? I exchanged a quick, unconscious glance with Long Xin and the others.

Whoosh-whoosh-swoosh! At nearly the same instant, countless sharp, air-piercing sounds erupted!

“Get down!” Instinctively, I lunged, tackling Ziyue, who was still stunned, to the ground.

Thump! A soft weight pressed against me as I held her firmly beneath me. Almost the moment we tackled her, a volley of arrows zipped inches over our heads.

Dong-dong-dong-dong! After a dense barrage of impacts, the several large trees where we had been standing were suddenly riddled with arrows.

That was close; half a second later, we would have ended up just like those trees. At that moment, Ziyue, pale with terror, clung tightly to my waist—a somewhat intimate posture! A fleeting, absurd thought crossed my mind, but rationality reminded me this was hardly the time for daydreaming. Almost as we fell, I instinctively rolled sideways while holding Ziyue, narrowly dodging a second wave of arrows aimed at the ground. Then, seizing an opportunity, I pulled her swiftly toward cover behind a large tree nearby.

On the other side, Ziyun had been tackled by Long Qi. They too were now hiding behind a tree, just like me! As for Long Zhan and Long Xin, I didn't need to worry about them.

Dong-dong-dong-dong! After a series of impacts reminiscent of drumbeats, a rustling sound swept through the surrounding brush, and dozens of hulking figures emerged.

“Ah! Orcs!”

There was no need for identification; simply looking at their hideous, terrifying visages instantly confirmed they were Orcs. Although their appearance resembled those from the game Legend, in Legend, I never took Orcs seriously; even at low levels, they were my main source of leveling up, and later, high-level Orcs couldn't withstand even a casual swing from me.

But a game is just a game. Facing these Orcs in reality, I truly grasped the suffocating, dense aura of killing intent they exuded! Roughly estimating, there were over sixty of them. Each stood nearly two and a half meters tall, possessing huge heads crowned with long, reddish manes resembling a lion’s ruff. Their faces were much as imagined: abnormally large eyes with blood-red pupils, the whites around which were webbed with grotesque, unsettling blood vessels that caused a pang of dread. Below that was a flattened nose, somewhat like an ape's, but the wide mouths beneath and the sharp canine teeth, as large as thumbs, protruding from the corners of their jaws, all proclaimed their savage, bloodthirsty nature. Their skin was green, but describing it as skin felt inaccurate; a layer of green armor plating seemed more fitting. I could immediately tell the hardness of this green organic covering was no less than the light armor I wore. This was likely related to their long habitation in the Woma Forest. Beneath the green surface, blocks of muscle, the size of fists, emphasized the Orcs' terrifying strength. While their form was similar to Legend's Orcs, in reality, they were more powerfully built with smoother lines, and they were not exactly as depicted in the game—these Orcs actually wielded bows and arrows, as well as greatswords and clubs. Although they wore no leather armor, they had girded their loins with belts of yellow or red animal hides, suggesting their civilization was not entirely barbaric or ignorant; at least they understood the use of weapons and were masters of ambush tactics, making them far superior to the stray Orcs found in the wilderness of Legend. Moreover, judging by their gait and the posture in which they held their blades, they were clearly masters of combat techniques!

Damn it, I knew the game mechanics would differ from reality, but this disparity was too vast! I doubted that such Orcs could truly be one-shotted by a high-level Warrior.

However, I had no time to complain, as the Orcs were rapidly closing in. To consolidate our defense, Long Xin, Long Qi, and Long Zhan instinctively drew closer to me, protecting Ziyun.

The Orcs’ encirclement tightened, forcing the four of us back-to-back, shielding the Ziyue siblings in the center while staring tensely at the surrounding Orcs.

Without need for explanation or debate, anyone familiar with the history of Fama knew that in the world of Fama, humans and Orcs were irreconcilable mortal enemies—a situation where only one side could live. The entire history of the Fama world was essentially a chronicle of war between humans and Orcs, steeped only in bloodshed, extermination, and slaughter.

Roar! Roar! Roar! Several Orcs chose Long Zhan as their breach point, lunging toward him! The four Orcs on the perimeter swiftly filled the gaps left by those who attacked, clearly guarding against any attempt by us to break out.

“Roar! Damn it!” Long Zhan yielded no ground, exploding forward to meet the charging Orcs.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Five figures instantly locked together, and I took the chance to closely observe the Orcs’ fighting style. Undeniably, the Orcs possessed astonishing strength; even Long Zhan, who possessed natural divine strength, could not gain any advantage. After several head-on clashes, the four Orcs were only pushed back a few steps, yet completely unaffected, they continued to press forward, engaging Long Zhan in a fierce struggle! Long Zhan quickly adapted his fighting style, stopping the sole reliance on brute force to engage the Orcs, focusing instead on increasing speed and technique. Sure enough, the four Orcs immediately looked somewhat clumsy and outmaneuvered. A dozen seconds later, Long Zhan’s first Offensive Sword Qi slashed out!

Swish! Thwack! Almost the instant the white light flashed, the foremost Orc was severed in two.

With that, I had gathered the information I needed: these Orcs, despite their immense strength, were slow and their combat skills rather crude; however, they were masters of combined tactical assaults. Even so, just four of them managed to keep Long Zhan tied up for quite a while! If Long Zhan hadn't unleashed the Offensive Sword Qi, killing even one would have been impossible.

Against such opponents, no matter how many there were, they wouldn't be enough to stop me. But I knew these were only the lowest tier of Orcs. Yet, even so, the fact that four could keep Long Zhan occupied for so long was frankly astonishing. While Long Zhan eventually killed one with his Sword Qi, one had to wonder how long that would take in a real battle. Furthermore, I noticed these Orcs were circling without fully committing to an attack, clearly understanding that with their current strength, defeating us would be difficult. That left only one explanation: they were stalling for time, waiting for reinforcements.

Long Xin realized this simultaneously.

“Xingchen, clear the path!” Long Xin’s reaction was decisive and swift. Undeniably, in such a situation, my strange and rapid Head-Slicing Blade technique was the most suitable move for a breakthrough.

“Long Zhan, hold the rear!” Long Xin commanded, hurling a Lightning Bolt that instantly struck one of the Orcs fighting Long Zhan. Taking advantage of the brief paralysis and momentary halt caused by the lightning strike, Long Zhan’s Asura Battle Axe slammed down hard onto the Orc’s head.

Clang! Thwack! With a crisp sound, the Orc’s head exploded like a ruptured watermelon, instantly turning into a smear of bloody red mixed with pale white brain matter splattering the ground.

As Long Xin unleashed the Lightning Bolt, Long Qi’s Soul Fire Talisman also shot out, accurately striking the face of another Orc.

Roar! The struck Orc immediately clutched its face, which was gushing blood, in agony. But before it could recover, a white figure instantly flashed before it—the long-absent, skeletal Little Rib. The Little Skeleton brandished its axes like lightning, felling the Orc in a few swift strokes.

In the blink of an eye, two Orcs had fallen. The remaining one, still fearlessly charging, lunged toward Long Zhan. With the pressure significantly reduced, Long Zhan stepped forward and brought down his axe with full force!

Boom! The Orc’s towering body was thrown backward into the air! Honestly, the reason I thought Long Zhan was struggling against the Orcs’ strength earlier was entirely due to the intricate coordination among the four Orcs, which forced Long Zhan to hold back and fight cautiously. Now that only one Orc remained, Long Zhan naturally poured all his strength into the swing, resulting in the Orc being violently tossed back. After all, Long Zhan’s physical power, having mastered Offensive Sword Qi, could no longer be calculated merely by his frame. While the Orcs’ physical toughness far surpassed Long Zhan’s, facing his full-force blow, converted by the Sword Qi, they could only be sent flying.

Thud! The flying and fallen Orc struggled to rise again, but Long Zhan had already received Long Xin’s orders and quickly retreated.

I immediately activated my movement technique and rushed toward the Orc blocking our path.

Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!

Just as with Long Zhan, four Orcs instantly surged toward me. I had to admit, their positioning was excellent: spaced about two meters apart, they advanced in a fan formation. This maximized their offensive output while allowing their teammates room to maneuver; moreover, each Orc could focus solely on attacking one side of me, intending to leave me vulnerable on the other. But all of this became meaningless in the face of my astonishing speed and my razor-sharp Hundred Battles Blade. The instant they raised their weapons, my Blade cut a straight arc of light, and four heads simultaneously soared into the sky. The long-absent One-Slice-Multiple-Kills phenomenon reappeared.

Thwack! As blood sprayed, I had already passed through their corpses, continuing the breakthrough, with Long Xin and the others following swiftly behind.

Whoosh-whoosh-swoosh! Slaughtering all the way! It was almost the same as sprinting at full speed. The Orcs blocking my path were wiped out in an instant. Unquestionably, the three days of training in the Skeleton Cave had elevated my blade skills to an extreme state: maximum range killing strikes delivered in the shortest possible time. If the Sword Intent technique was best suited for duels, then my Hundred Battles Frenzy was absolutely the supreme fighting style for mass combat. Astonishing draw speed, bizarre cutting angles, combined with elusive, flowing footwork, formed this specialized technique I named the Hundred Battles Frenzy.

However, due to the stamina limitations of Ziyue and Ziyun, we couldn't completely shake off the pursuing Orcs. Perhaps intimidated by my sharp and fierce blade techniques, they dared not close in for a proper fight, merely maintaining a certain distance and trailing behind us!

“This won’t do! If we drag this out, their experts will catch up!” Long Xin decided instantly. “Zhan, carry her! Ziyue!”

“Ah!” Ziyue gasped, her small face instantly flushing crimson! Before she could say anything, Long Zhan swept her up. Ziyun was similarly hoisted by Long Qi. Instantly, the four of us engaged our movement techniques and sprinted with all our might.

In a flash, we had created a significant distance between us and those Orcs.

Just when we thought we had shaken them off!

Swish! Swish! Several beams of light tore through the air!

Ah! Such incredible speed, such powerful force! In an instant, we determined these were not ordinary arrows.

The four of us scattered to evade, but in that split second, two figures instantly closed the distance to within ten meters behind us!

We can’t keep running! I realized immediately! Whoever these newcomers were, they had to be experts! And fast! If we continued to flee with our backs turned, it wouldn’t be called escaping; it would be suicide.

The four of us immediately turned around, simultaneously catching sight of the two figures before us—tall, imposing bodies.

“Orc Warriors!” Long Qi, Long Zhan, and Long Xin shouted out in unison!

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