Return of the Woodcutter

"What are they doing?" Sheyla asked, confused at the orcs' moves. They've been staying at the center of the arena for almost an entire hour. 

"Is it possible that they are waiting for us?" George said. 

"This is a certainty more than a possibility," Aito replied. Now that he thought about it, there was never a fixed time limit to the fights. This meant that orcs if they so desired, could simply wait it out until the humans launched an attack. "The question is, why?"

Ogoro took off his new helmet he had taken from an orc since his old one had been reduced to a pulp. Wiping off the sweat on his face, he said, "Damn, it's getting hotter by the passing minutes." 

"Here," George said, conjuring a lower pressured water bullet on top of Ogoro's head, splashing the grey-haired man. 

"How refreshing. I'm truly glad you joined our team for the sixth floor. Don't know how we would have managed in that heat without you." 

George chuckled, "No problem." 

Aito watched the two men converse. He frowned, watching the beads of sweat mixed with water on Ogoro's face. In just about an hour, it seemed that the... 'Temperature rose, oh for fuck's sake. Those cunning bastards,' he thought. 

"Prepare to fight," Aito said. 

Sam turned towards him, confused. "Uh? Have you lost your mind?" 

"No, but we've lost precious time," Aito replied. "They are doing it on purpose. Can't you feel like it? The temperature rising drastically? If we wait for too long, the temperature will reach higher than 100C°. Fighting under such conditions will be detrimental to us who aren't used to the heat." 

"He's got a point," Roisin said, her freckles moving with her frown. She used her spell Frost, freezing the sandy ground. The ice immediately started melting, albeit very slowly. "The heat will become unbearable. That might be what they're aiming for." 

"We can't simply attack them with the seven of us," Ogoro said, eyeing Sam's team, "I don't even trust my back to you bastards." 

"Don't worry, we won't be seven," Aito said. 

"What do you mean? That bastard Lucius clearly chose to play it solo this round too," Sam shamelessly said, wiping his bald head with his gloved hand, he who did not even ask Aito's permission to stick with him during this final round. 

"Sure, but who said I was asking for his permission?" Aito replied, smirking. "Let's pay him a little visit, shall we?" 

'I hate that smirk,' Sam thought, drawing his zweihander. 

Seven challengers advanced together towards Lucius's wooden fortifications, then stopped in front of the entrance. 

"What are you doing here!?" Lucius asked from atop a wooden structure. "Didn't I say I won't cooperate today?" 

"Yes, yes, you did say you'd risk the lives of your men over your pathetic pride!" Aito replied, making sure his voice was heard in Lucius's entire wooden fortress. "Anyway, we just came here for a stroll, don't mind us. I don't need a cowardly bastard ready to sacrifice the life of his entire team to satisfy his own cupidity." 

At those words, Lucius turned towards his men, who had doubts in their eyes. In such a dangerous situation, it was easier for people to doubt their chances of survival.

They also all knew Lucius was a prideful man, so Aito's statement made sense to them. Although that wouldn't be enough for them to jump ship, it certainly sowed seeds of discords. 

"Sheyla, can you start shooting at our dear orcs waiting like sitting ducks? Try to aim for their archers if possible," Aito said. 

"They have no archers," Sheyla replied, her improved vision allowing her to see the opponents as if they were nearby.

"Ow, all the better, then. Just shoot at will," Aito replied. 

Sam turned towards the only archer alive of his team, then said. "Zephyr, show them how it's done." 

Zephyr wanted to object, but Sam's menacing gaze told him it wouldn't be a good idea. 

Both archers got into position. Nocked an arrow on their bowstrings, aimed, infused it with their skills, and shot. The two projectiles flew straight to their respective targets, two bulky orcs with numerous scars and two war hammers.

The orcs suddenly activated durability, their armors shone yellow, repelling both arrows. 

"That was predictable enough, black challenger," Roisin said to Aito. 

"Indeed," he said. "Still, do it again." 

Zephyr hesitated, but Sheyla immediately nocked another. This time, Aito came close to her, infused the arrow with an overloaded Durability and Impact. 

Sheyla nodded as thanks, then overlapped Aito's skills with her own. 

—Active Skill: Piercing Shot—

—Active Skill: Frozen Arrow—

The arrow vibrated with golden, yellow, blue, and transparent energies. It started trembling with that excess of power. Aito worried it'd affect the shot's accuracy, but Sheyla looked confident. 

Stable and focused, she released her bowstring. The projectile propelled at high speed towards its target, traveling 100 meters. Like before, the orc simply activated its durability skill. 

However, to its surprise, the arrow tip pierced through its armor, creating an icy shockwave that obliterated metal, creating a large hole in its abdomen, freezing its organs from within. 

The orc collapsed immediately, attracting the Khan's attention.

Sheyla immediately took a new shot, killing yet another orc. The Khan frowned, ordered its soldiers to bring her a spear. Grabbing the weapon, it infused it with Durability. Her arm seemed to bulk as veins bulged in multiple places. 

'This isn't good…,' Aito thought, deploying his shield. 

The spear practically disappeared from her hand as the Khan hurled it at full power. It reappeared soon after in Zephyr's chest who dropped dead. 

"Zephyr! Fuck! What is that monstrous strength? And why is it always one of my teammates that dies!? Can't it be one of yours for once!?" Sam said, eyeing Aito who walked to the challenger's corpse to grab the spear. 

It was made entirely of metal and was quite heavy. The perfect throwing weapon for him. 

"Hey, what are you doing? You aren't thinking of provoking that monster further, right?" Sam asked. 

"Yeah, just keep talking," Aito said, infusing the spear with Durability, increasing its weight and adding Impact for more… impact. 

"Keep talking? What do you mean by keep talking? Are you throwing off my opinion? That's quite rude even for you!" 

Thanks to Sam's yapping, his anger went past its limits, activating Fury—the original Sam was better than the memories Aito had in mind to trigger his anger. 

He took one powerful step, bringing him seven meters forward, then two rapid steps to give his throw more energy. At the fourth step, he stopped, focusing the momentum in his spear, hurling it with all his strength. 

Aito's projectile flew straight, impacting an orc standing in front of the Khan who burst apart, passing through it. Sensing danger, the Khan brought down her ax on the deadly spear targeting her, severing it in two pieces, deviating its trajectory. 

The Khan roared, her blood boiled with the desire to fight. Continuing that game of throw would lead her nowhere but reduce the number of her soldiers. The Khan already knew Aito was capable of dragging this for a long time and could probably turn the table in his favor by just using projectiles. 

Three orcs had already died. To hell with strategy.

"They are coming," Aito said, gazing at the orcs charging at full speed towards them. "Prepare yourselves."

"No shit?" Sam replied sarcastically.

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