[Tristan]

[Battle power 50 - critical]

[Blood Elf Monarch - second stage]

[Blood essence - 25]

With his limited blood extraction, Tristan was finally able to get some points on his blood essence, however, his battle power has not returned yet.

Ten more orcs came in from the gate, each snarling and armed to the teeth with a variety of crude yet still threatening weapons. With them in the fray, now his exit plan has been compromised. Without finishing the newly incoming orcs, there would be no escape.

Bang!! Bang!!

Two shots rang in the air, and another orc dropped to the ground, tainting the land with a sticky puddle of blood.

From the corner of his eyes, Tristan saw that Layla's face had turned even paler. The dozens of shots had already taken a toll on her. Meanwhile, a passing glance at Barry revealed that the captain was occupied on fending off the new champion orcs, while Borin and the others are all busy with their respective opponents.

Tristan gritted his teeth, readied himself, and reached for his weapon. There was no choice but to fight those incoming orcs all by himself.

In his current state, it was clear that the heavy claymore was no longer suitable for him. Fueled with adrenaline, Tristan thought quickly and decided to store his claymore before taking out the sword he bought beforehand.

The sword was nowhere near as heavy as the claymore, meaning he would lose a significant amount of attacking power. However, it was much lighter and not less sharp, meaning that he would still be able to retain his speed as if he was back on his previous strength.

He gripped the sword tight on one hand, and a small dagger on the other, before charging at the orcs with a loud battle cry.

Clank!

Swish!

Splat!

He no longer had his battle power advantage, thus the battle had turned into a test of wits and skill, Though Tristan had no sword skills nor experience wielding one, he patched his weakness with sharp wit.

He quickly jumps towards the closest orc, parry the saber with his sword and stab the orc eyes with his dagger. He didn't pull the knife nor let go of the orc, instead he pushed the dying orc towards the others and used its body as his shield.

Threwing his body weight to the front towards two other orcs, making them stumble and fall to the ground.

Splat!

He made a wide swing and hurt two of the closest sword before finally able to swung his sword towards one and critically slash its neck. The orc gasped and tried to claw on his throat, before dying in a puddle of blood.

However, although Tristan was able to kill the orc, his sword was stuck in the neck of the dead creature.

He was defenseless and now in the center, right in the line of sight of three orcs. The three creatures roared and jumped at him at the same time.

Tristan threw the dagger he had in his hand, and the dagger stabbed right through one orc's head, killing him on the spot.

He then dodged the attack by leaning to the side before start hitting with his bare hand. Without his weapons, the fight had turned into a brawl, just like the fights he had faced and witnessed almost every day in prison before.

Thanks to his 50 battle power, Tristan still had the speed advantage, and he used that power to dodge, kick, and punch the orcs every time he had a chance.

Splat!

A spear was able to pierce his chest.

Tristan felt a sharp pain. Instantly, his knees buckled, and he fell down kneeling on one hand. One orc saw a chance and swung down a massive saber towards his head.

Before the orc was able to kill him, a hole opened in its head.

Bang! Bang!

Another hole appeared in its chest. As the orc stumbled down and fell lifeless, Tristan saw Layla standing behind the orc, her body trembling and her face covered with sweat. It was clear, Layla used the last of her strength to stand steady enough to make those two shots.

Before Tristan was able to sigh in relief, he saw Barry was thrown across his line of vision by the orc champion. Blood splattered as Barry's back hit the nearest hut.

Attracted by the sound of Layla's last shot, the huge orc started to swing its axe before charging towards her.

"ARRRGGGHHHH!!!"

Tristan let out another battle cry, braved the pain, and broke the spear sticking out of his chest, before swinging it and charging towards the orc champion. He jumped as high as he could, with the spear head on his hand, and stabbed the champion orc in the neck.

Growwwllll!

The orc howled in pain, but the strike seemed to be insufficient to kill the monster, as it turned its attention towards Tristan with rage-filled eyes. It stopped charging, grabbed Tristan's head, and tried to crush his head open with a pair of large hands.

"Argh!"

Tristan screamed in pain, he tried to grab the orc's hand and outmatch its strength. Try as he might, however, he was unable to make his opponent's hands budge at all. The orc's skin felt as hard as stone, and its crushing grip felt like heavy machinery.

His head started to hurt as the orc's large hands crushed it harder. Through the pain, Tristan suddenly thought of something that might able to help him out of this trouble.

Tristan concentrated and chanted a few sentence, and a notification came into his mind.

[20 Blood Essence used]

[Fire Touch - Enhanced]

Energy started to coalesce from the air and onto his fingers and palms, and slowly but surely, the air started to get hotter and hotter. The orc's thick skin started to give under the heat of his touch, and before he realized it, the touch had melted the orc's two hands into a puddle of burning skin, blood, and bone. The smell from the puddle was unbearable.

Despite the smell and the heat, Tristan grinned with joy. Unwilling to let this opportunity go, Tristan quickly grabbed the orc's neck and let the heat on his hands do the work.

The orc's eyes started to shine, and flames started to come out of its eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. The skin and bone melted next, until the orc champion fell with blood gushing from all the 6 holes of its head.

The orc champion that brought trouble to them so far had finally died under his hand.