Emperor's Reckoning

"Huh? What are those?" asked one of the guards with his sword drawn. He squinted his eyes to better focus his vision. "Huh?! Tusk?" his pupils shrunk before his armor jittered. He gulped. "Orcs! There are orcs!"

His shout quickly courted the attention of his surroundings. The guards promptly came to his aid and stood by his side. Their eyes were horrified by what was coming at them. The wild bloodlust in those green-skinned creatures was creeping on their skins.

"Why would the orcs attack us?! Nostria is a free kingdom for all races!" uttered one of the guards as his hands started to tremble.

"The hell should I know?!"

"We are outnumbered! Immensely!" one of them gulped.

"Don't waver now!" a hoarse voice traversed through before an old man with a simple robe jumped right in front of them.

"Grandmaster Zitian!"

"There is no need to fear, those creatures are the same as humans, they are made out of flesh and blood... plus tusks, that is all."

(That's the more reason to be afraid don't you think?!) thought the guards.

"There are hundreds of them! Grandmaster, we are going to die in vain here!"

"Haha, it's too soon to speak about dying!" Zitian laughed before he step forward. "Come!"

(Damn, he is so cool despite the gray hair, but this is not the time to fantasize!) thought the first guard who noticed the oncoming orcs.

Zitian frowned before he leaped forward.

"Grandmaster don't!" shouted the guards to no avail.

Zitian creased his forehead before he stepped in a zig-zag pattern.

"Hahaha! What are you going to do old—" a loud crack bang was heard as Zitian's wrist met one of the orc's jaws.

The orc spun as his eyes blurred for a second. The other orcs were stupefied. Their mouths gaped open. They couldn't believe what had just transpired. The momentum was theirs but the old human merely smashed his wrist against the defined jaw of the orc, almost knocking its tusk against its own eye.

(Hm?!) Zitian frowned as he noticed the orc was still standing. "You're still alive?"

"That one stings, old man!"

"?!" Zitian opened his weary eyes wide before an incoming fist with nature's momentum struck his mana-coated crossed arms. (Heavy!) Zitian gritted his teeth before his feet left the soil.

"Woah, woah, woah!" The guards could only catch him with their bodies before they tumbled down.

"Thank you, young ones," said Zitian as he stood up and hid his blood from their darting gaze.

"Old man, out of the respect for your old age and tenacity, I will let you kill yourself, how about that?" The orc smiled. "From that single punch, you know you wouldn't stand a chance!"

The orcs merrily laughed their heart out, the proof of their confidence. Their numbers may be small compared to Nostria's real power, but the precaution that happened turned the tide quite easily.

The guards were terrified. Someone at the level of Grandmaster Zitian was blown back by a single blow. Their morale fell to a greater depth as they all gulped looking at the back of the old man. Even if the old man killed himself, they won't be saved.

"This is the difference between me and your kin," answered Zitian as he hardened his stance.

"Huh?" The orc grimly looked at the old man.

"I will not back down even after the draw of my last breath, especially the draw of my last, breath," said Zitian as he tried to boost the morale of the guards.

However, the guards were unfazed. The terror of the number of orcs standing in front of them was suffocating enough even without them lifting their weapon against the sky.

"Then draw your last breath old man!" the same orc charged forward without the care of the world with grins in his smile. "Die!" he took out an ax by his waist before hacking it down against him.

"Too straightforward! Amateurs" said Zitian before his old brows raised as a shadow leaped over his head.

A golden shimmer stupefied the guards before a shout of an art ensued.

"Shattering Palm!" a palm was struck against the bare chest plate of the charging orc as his feet jumped a little.

"Kh?!" the orcs gawked at the sight of the uninvited guest, but more so as the ax didn't manage to hack down. It was only a hair away from decapitating Zitian's poor strained shoulder.

"Little Karina..." Zitian raised his brows before his pupils shrunk.

Karina put her feet together as she stood up straight with her brows furrowed.

"W-What just happened?" asked one of the orcs.

"Oi, Mardu! What the hell are you doing! Hack it down!"

"Yeah hack it do—!!"

Mardu the orc slowly leaned back before falling with a thud, revealing Karina's ghastly eyes.

The orcs gasped at her sight before their surprise was further enhanced by the sight of his fellow orc. Blood from the orc's orifices spurted out uncontrollably as its head twitched from left to the right. The frightening spasm didn't stop at all even as Karina calmly walked past him.

"Ah! Golden Demoness!"

"It's the Golden Demoness!"

Zitian smiled wryly as he looked at Karina's back. (It seems like my generation is ending, I will do what I can here).

(It works, they really are cultivating Anti-Mana, no wonder my mother... kh!) Karina furrowed her brows.

"Tch! How dare you kill one of ours!"

"You will pay for that dearly!"

"DIVINE MAGIC!" Crux shouted in the middle of the city with thousands of his students backing him up. (Thank you, Lyon!) "Scabbard!"

The rainbow spell brought hope to the panicking citizen before it flashed a magic brand at the sky of the kingdom. The invisible barrier was formed like a dome as the entire kingdom was tightly caged.

The orcs were stupefied but they saw nothing standing between Karina and them.

"O-Oh thank god!" said one of the guards as he sighed a heave of relief.

"With this, we should be safe for a long time," Zitian nodded. "Good work, Crux."

"No use," uttered Karina.

"What?" Zitian frowned as the guards did the same.

"They are cultivating a special type of mana that could counter mana itself. It is called Anti Mana, they will be able to rip this strong barrier like a stack of thin papers."

"You're joking," said the guards.

Zitian frowned as he saw the morale was depleting down. "How did you know of this?"

"Because I have the same energy within me, that's why," answered Karina.

"What?" Zitian raised his brows. "Bu—"

"You should notice it by your initial contact with them, your mana-coated wrist didn't do that much damage against them did it not?"

"That's... true," Zitian nodded. "Then, are you going to handle them all?"

"As much as I want to kill them all, I couldn't," Karina shook her head, "Not when they are this many."

"Ah shit, we're going to die," muttered one of the guards.

Karina didn't leave her eyes as she glared at the army of orcs standing in a bit of a fright.

"Hey, what just happened?"

"I-I have no idea, but she is standing there and not taking another step forward, a trap perhaps?"

"You guys heard the spell, right? But it didn't do a thing."

...

Meanwhile, several kilometers away from the place was a precipice where three elves stood with two of them carrying a bow.

"Your Majesty, I think they are confused by what just happened," said Connak, the braided elf.

"Of course they are, they could do nothing to detect mana-fueled magic," the king of the elf chuckled. "Look at them standing fools, all brawn but no brains."

"But it still surprises me that Your Majesty would go all the way here personally just to watch."

"This is a grave matter that requires my attention, and also both of your skills and opinion of the situation." The king furrowed. "That blonde woman, she is definitely half-elf for sure."

"I was thinking the same thing, Your Majesty," added Connak. "Especially with how cold her gaze is toward the orcs."

"Seems more like a personal grudge to me," added Agist. "Maybe they share a bitter history."

"I agree with Agist here," the king nodded. "Though, I wonder where those 'core members' he spoke of will come out."

"There is no way that they are bluffing now," Connak shook his head, "They are throwing everything in the line."

"The woman that they are after, which one is it?" asked the king.

"It's actually the one we are talking about, Your Majesty," added Agist. "The blonde woman, the half-elf as you mentioned her."

"What? I see, what a twist of fate, to think someone with elf blood would cultivate anti-mana as their source," the king added. "However, the Legion is playing a dangerous game here. If they stall any more time, and words somehow reached his ear then, heh, it's been a while since I'm eager about a show."