Rematch!

However Kace discovered that his prayer was not to be answered. Kharja made his appearance by bursting through the surrounding orcs. Rapidly placing himself next to Kace, he swung his warhammer.

Kace barely avoided having his head blown off. The force from the swing had blown his hood down revealing himself to Kharja.

"You!!!" Kharja growled, swinging his hammer with new found fury.

'Shit!' Kace thought as he avoided another lethal blow.

The situation had now taken a turn for the worse. Kharja would never let him escape. Steeling his nerves he did what he knew what had to be done. He stopped running.

"Get out of here! I'll hold him off!" Kace roared at his squad.

Durz had a difficult look on his face as he heard this. On one hand this was the best option to reduce casualties. On the other Kace had more potential than the rest of them combined.

"I'm staying too!" Gyn suddenly called out. "Durz we'll hold out as long as possible. Get us reinforcements!"

Durz grunted in acknowledgment. He had no excuses now to keep the squad back. He lead the rest onwards with foreboding in his heart. He was not optimistic about the pair's chances.

Kace on the other hand had a bit of hope in him. After killing the Orc in the tent he had been given a notification.

[Orc Captain Slain: Awarding +20 Exp]

[Notification: You have reached Level 3]

[Awarding +20 HP, +20 AP, +10 MP, +1 Strength, +1 Endurance, +1Intelligence, +1 Willpower, +2 Speed and +2 Agility.]

Now his level would at least be on par with Kharja's even if his Rank was not. Kace had to admit that the gains from a level were nowhere near those from Rank increases. But anything was better than nothing! 'It's a shame that it didn't refill my MP while it was at it.' he thought with a hint of sorrow.

He stood facing down Kharja as some of the Orcs spread out around them while the rest continued to chase the goblins. Gyn looked a little awkward as he stood off to the side of the pair. 'Idiot!' Kace thought furiously to himself. If Gyn had just went with the rest there was always a chance he could have escaped. Now however he would not be able to while dragging Gyn along.

"Finally accepted your fate have you? Your going to pay for our last encounter!" Kharja roared as he rushed forward.

Kace responded by furiously throwing out the daggers he had stored in his coat. This forced Kharja to halt his advance and go on the defensive. As Kharja blocked or avoided the daggers Kace made his move to flank him. Lunging at him from the side where he had been left open while defending Kace thrust out with his shortsword.

Kharja had been expecting it though with his vast battle experience. He stepped back completely avoiding the incoming blow. As Kace fell forward Kharja swiftly drove his knee into Kace's gut, the force was so much that it lifted him off the ground. Blood flew from his mouth as he seemed to hover there. Like using a baseball bat Kharja swung his hammer once again. Connecting the head with Kace's ribs he launched him through the air. He slammed heavily into a nearby tree causing him to yell out in agony.

-20 HP

-30 HP

'Fuck!' Kace swore, realising he only had 130 HP left. "This guy hits like a god damn truck." He managed to cough out.

Kharja gave him an evil grin as he walked towards him. Every step seemed to spell his doom. Kace struggled to his feet glaring at his opponent. 'I guess this is the real difference between us. I was too naive.'

Kharja's next step left a crater where he had stood as he put all his strength into launching himself forward. Kace's mind blanked from the massive difference in the orc from before.

Luckily everyone had been ignoring Gyn and he was not as slow as everyone assumed. He took this moment to lob one of his devices between them.

As it went off it releases a sound wave towards the Orc, destabilising his equilibrium. Kharja would have described the effect of tossed around on a very fast rollercoaster, if he actually knew what those were. The sudden shock to his system caused him to keel over and vomit violently.

This bought Kace the opportunity he needed to recover. He threw out his palm to face Kharja, casting [Spider Thread] hoping to use its stickiness to pin the orc to the ground. Kharja ungracefully managed to roll out of the way. Not wanting to miss the opportunity that Gyn had given him Kace then cast [Mind Numb] to catch the orc before he could stabilise his new position.

The skill connected with the orc but there would be no way of knowing when or if it would take effect during their battle. Just having it in play though made Kace feel a lot better. From the corner of his eye he spotted Gyn dancing around lobbing all sorts of devices making the other orcs wary of advancing. Two of the Orcs were unfortunate enough to get some kind of corrosive substance on them that had been releases. The sight of their skin and muscle melting down to the bone was grisly.

Gyn had also managed to land a device near the group that was further away from him. It released a poisonous gas preventing them from giving their support. Kace was now silently grateful this oddball had stayed behind. His support actually turned out to be better than having a few extra bodies on their side. 'Just please spare me from knowing where he's been keeping all of them though.' Kace grimaced.

By this point Kharja had recovered from the effects he had been suffering from. Though there was a cloudiness in his eyes when he stared at Kace. 'Guess that means [Mind Numb] is definitely active.

Kace decided to have another stab at the weakened Kharja. However this was to no avail. The orc landed a clean punch directly to his jaw before he could swing his blade.

-20 HP

Kace bit his lip in frustration. Kharja had almost depleted his health by half and the only damage that had been done to orc had been caused by Gyn. Kharja became relentless in his follow up. Having no other choice Kace activated [Kinetic Vision]. 'This has to end before my AP runs out!'

As the flow of battle slowed for him he began his counter attack. He was amazed with Kharjas instincts and reactions though. Even though he held the real advantage the orc showed no signs of struggling. The pair swiftly exchanged blows. Kharja would use his hammer to block Kace's blows and would strike out with his free hand forcing Kace to dodge or parry. Time was running out on his [Kinetic Vision]. Although the exchange had been brief they had both managed to land a few blows but mostly came out roughly even. All in all he had lost a further sixty health points. Another blow from Kharja pushed him back, creating some breathing space.

-20 HP

Kace really felt the pressure now as his health dropped to critical levels. 'Only 30 HP left. One good blow and I'm done for.' With no other options left, and Kharja closing the distance, Kace gathered his mana. His throat began to glow stunning the orc. Kharja felt a dangerous vibe and became cautious.

Kace opened his mouth wide and spewed out three consecutive [Flame Spit] sealing the Orcs movements by turning the ground between them into molten lava. If Kharja had not stopped his advance where he had then his life would have been over. Grinning at Kace he then began to laugh.

"Was that your final struggle? You've put up a good fight but it's all over!" Kharja roared.

Surprising Kace, the orc leapt clean over the lava. Swinging his hammer downwards, intent on turning Kace into meat paste.

Kace let out a malicious smile. He had only acted surprised. When in fact this was what he wanted. Kharja had just been too good with his feet planted on the ground. In the air however... there was only one direction he could travel. Straight towards him.

Kace drew the [Airgun] that he had kept concealed throughout the fight. Pointing the barrel at the airborne Kharja. With a mocking smile he pulled the trigger.

The stone on its handle let out a blinding glow that lit up the night sky. As air mana gathered violently around the barrel Kharja began to sweat freely. How could he not notice his mistake! Raising his arms and hammer across his chest he prepared to receive the blow.

As the pistol released the gathered mana a sonic boom sounded with a blinding light. The magic engulfed Kharja. Kace stared with baited breath. Desperate to see the results. Gyn and the Orcs had also put their conflict on pause to watch. As the light began fade a shadow flew backwards out of it. Landing on one knee Kharja was still alive. However defending himself had cost him an arm. The wind pressure had completely ripped it off.

[Kinetic Vision Deactivated]

'Fuck!' Kace swore. As the pair stared at each other nobody could believe that such an attack had been blocked. Kharja's eyes turned scarlet as he roared. In that moment he disappeared. He moved so fast it was impossible to track him with normal vision. Kace resigned himself to his end.

Kharja's face reappeared directly before Kace. Wielding his hammer single handedly he swung it.

BOOM!

Kharja was blown off his feet before it could connect as a fiery explosion erupted from where he had stood. From the woods a man wearing a set of red mage robes casually walked out. Silhouettes of others could be seen behind him.

"That's him Phillip. The target, Orc Warlord Kharja, has been confirmed." One of the shadows said.

"This should be easy with his current state." Phillip replied, grinning maliciously at all of the monsters before him...