Imsh leaned on his lionheart sword and finally ceased attacking.

Then, he leaned against a withered tree and looked at the increasing number of elves surrounding him, seemingly lost in thought.

With each passing tense second, more players gathered around the Orc King. However, at this point, the once rampaging boss had already refrained from attacking, leaving the players bewildered and hesitant to initiate an assault.

After all, during their previous clashes, every player who attacked him have quickly met their demise.

Such quick and brutal way of killing left a profound impact on every players mind to point that they were still reluctant to face such demise even after this Orc Boss ceased his onslaught.

Everyone feared becoming the target of this Boss and make a mockery of themselves.

Thus both sidesended up in this strange kind of standoff.

There was no longer an orc standing next to Imsh.

The last dozens of orcs who fled alongside him have all been killed, and even their corpses have been reduced to nothing but ashes

Observing the equipment scattered on the ground after the death of his subordinates, Imshs expression became somewhat distant.

Even now he could still identify which piece of clothing belonged to which Orc, and which weapon he had originally bestowed upon whom.

Despite being an Half-Orc, Imsh boasted exceptional intelligence as well as a remarkable memory and this was something he had always been proud of.

Yet at this moment, all that he wished for was for his memory be worse

Gazing at the equipment now rendered ownerless, King Imsh recalled all the familiar faces of the owners of these abandoned items alongside the thirty thousand Orcs who had willingly followed him to their deaths.

If only

If only I hadnt initiated the war of faith in accordance with the oracle of their Divine Fatherwould all those fellow tribesmen of his will still be alive at this point?

Suddenly, this absurd thought crossed his mind.

However, Imsh soon sighed wistfully.

How could that be possible?

This was a war of faith, a racial war, wherein everything was at stake!

In the Mortal realm of Seiges, the outcome of such war always ends up with like this

War of Faiths have always been a brutal and cruel affairs.

Only the victors survive

Only the victors could retain their own faith!

Their Divine Fathers orders could never be broken nor be disobeyed.

Because

The future of their Patron Deity is also closely intertwined with the future of their kind, the Half-Orcs

Yet, thirty thousand Orcs perished, the Chief Shaman sacrificed herself, and even the legendary Totem Guardians has disappeared

In the back of his mind, such profane whispers rang about, but King Imsh dared not entertain such blasphemous thoughts.

As the king of the Half-Orcs, even though the Chief Shaman hadnt fully disclosed their Divine Fathers true plan unto him, he could still infer a lot from their actions and behaviors.

But ones things for sure, this war was of great importance to their Divine Father.

He would surely employ most of his strongest subordinates, and the mere fact that the three legendary Totem Guardians were still missing at this point clearly indicated that all these higher-ranked beings had already clashed, and the resultwas sadly quite evident.

This warhas been lost.

Although he really reluctant to admit it, Imsh had no other choice but to accept this harsh realization.

What will be the future of our kind, the Half-Orcs?

Observing the elves before him, with each and every one of them entirely alert and excited, Imshs expression became somewhat bewildered

The eyes of these elves

It was a set of eyes Imsh was all too familiar with.

During their hunts and plundering of the Kingdom of Aries, even during capturing elves in the Elven Forest, the Orcs have always wore such similarly looking sets of eyes

That gaze.

It was the gaze of a predator!

And their excitement mirrored the same fervor Orcs typically displayed when their prey was about to be caught!

Soto them, he was nothing more than a mere prey?

For a moment, Imsh felt this was the greatest irony in the entire world.

Unexpectedly, those who had always seen themselves as hunters would one day find themselves as the prey

And unexpectedly, those who had always been seen as prey would also had a day of reckoning

Looking at these elves as they become more and more excited with his prolonged silence, Imsh couldnt help but pull out a self-deprecating smile.

Perhaps

This was also a form of punishment.

Imsh thought sadly.

Tired.

Im really amtired.

The strength in my body is getting weaker and weaker, the bone-eroding pain is getting more severe, and my consciousness is getting blurry

Leaning against the withered tree, whilst holding on upon his dear lionhart longsword

King Imshs gaze slowly and fadingly lost its focus.

On the opposite end, as Lionheart King Imsh ceased his assault, players initially breathed a sigh of relief, only to transition into excitement, and eventually, bewilderment.

Huh? Why isnt the Boss moving anymore?

Hmm could it be preparing for a big move?

Maybe its dead? a player teased.

However, as soon as he spoke, no one followed up with a response.

For a moment, everyones gaze towards the Orc Boss became somewhat peculiar

This scary Orc King, whom had battled against them for a long time, still stands tall at that very moment. He resembles a formidable statue, yet clearly, it is now devoid of any signs of life.

What theCould it be really dead? Hes a Golden-rank NPC for fucks sake! And if hes really dead thenwhy does he didnt turned into ashes?

The player who initially teased that the boss might be dead was taken aback.

Simultaneously, Tomato, who was also attacking the boss alongside these players, displayed a slightly intrigued look and asked in a deep voice,

Did anyone receive any EXP?

The Players exchanged glances among each other before shaking their heads.

No experience gained

As well as it didnt dissolve into ashes

So, he might not be dead after all?

At that moment, another figure walked out from the crowd.

It was a fully armed player sporting a hunters attire. Half of his entire gear set consisted of golden-class equipment, and his overall demeanor exudes an intimidating feel to it.

With a cold expression whilst holding a dagger, this player boldly walked straight toward the Orc Boss amidst the surprised gazes of other players.

Its Boxlunch!

Senior Boxlunch is here!

Oh my god! Be careful, Senior Box! This Boss is really tough! Dont get close to it or you might get bitten back!

Instantly, players all around him began to remind him.

After experiencing such a fierce battle against this formidable boss, no one dared to underestimate this high-level expert anymore.

However, BoxLunch didnt stop at all.

Instead he even went directly and stood in front of Lionheart King Imsh.

The surrounding players immediately quieted down, watching Boxlunchs bold actions with widened eyes.

Boxlunch first made an attacking motion.

However, there was still no reaction from the opponent at all.

Then afterwards Boxlunchs gaze hardened, and he decisively reached out, directly gripping the longsword in Imshs hand.

But to his surprise, the opponentstill held it tightly.

Nonetheless, with Boxlunchs touch, the Orc Kings body finally lost balance and fell directly to the ground.

Yet despite the fall, the Orc Kings hand still held his own longsword. His eyes, wide open, seemed to be contemplating something, but there was no trace of life in them anymore.

The Orc Boss really had died.

Hes dead.

Boxlunch said solemnly.

Instantly, the players exploded.

Oh god! Is he really dead?

He was killed by us just like that?

Wait guys, if the boss is really dead then why didnt we gained any EXP at all? Plus, the boss body didnt turned into ashes too!

Could it be a bug in the games system?

At that moment, Boxlunchs expression slightly stiffened.

He crouched down again, carefully examining Imshs body.

Seeing this, Tomatos eyes partly widened. He walked a few steps forward and asked, Did you find something?

Boxlunch remained silent for a seconds and replied, Hes dead, but not killed by us.

Not killed by us?

Players were entirely left bewildered by this sudden revelation.

He was poisoned by Rose. Boxlunch said.

Holy shit! Poisoned?

Roses poison? Well, no wonder!

Players within the vicinity let out shouts of exclamations.

Of course, some were left feeling regretful.

Ahh! If only we knew he was poisoned! We should have finished him off in time! We entirely missed the opportunity to kill him!

Dammit give us our EXP, garbage system! Effing devs!

But when was he poisoned?

Someone asked in confusion.

It should be after Rose killed this boss mount, I guess? I saw her chasing after this boss several times afterward, but he still managed to escape each time. Tomato said.

Ugh Roses poison is a real pain. The more you exert movement, the worse it gets! But, if the dose isnt too potent, then you take it easy just by moving less around, proper care, and getting quick treatment. Anyone can definitely pull through Calabash explained while touching his chest as he recalled his experience with a hint of anxiety in his tone.

Pfft why do you know so much?

Dont ask! Just know that Im quite knowledgeable in this area! Calabashs face turned dark.

Even Boxlunchs expression became slightly awkward.

And hearing Calabashs words, some players looked at him strangely.

Since this boss was poisoned, why didnt he just escape then? And from the looks of him earlier on, he was still quite agile and lively despite being poisoned. He could have just avoided us and dealt with the poison while hiding, right?

Yeah, surely he too mustve realized that the more he fought, the worse his injuries would gonna get, and in the end, he died of poison without any of us getting the kill. What a loss

After hearing this, Boxlunch silently observed the rest of the players as they go around frantically looting the equipment dropped by the Orcs, before glancing down at the Lionheart Longsword still tightly held in Imshs hand.

He then focused his eyes on the face of the Orc King before stating,

Becausehe is the king of the Orcs. He didnt want to abandon his people even at the last moment.

So even though he knew that turning back to fight would worsen the poison and might even led to his death, the Orc King still chose to turn back.

Upon hearing this, many players stopped their actions in unison.

They suddenly recalled the loud roars of the Orcs at the beginning of their battle

They wanted to fight together, to go home together

Players then looked again at Imshs fallen body, with their gazes showing a complex array of emotions.

For a moment, the lively mood around them also stagnated as a solemn atmosphere engulfed the entire vicinity for a couple of minutes.

Tomato eventually sighed.

Lets bury him.

After saying that, he couldnt help but let out a self-mocking laugh.

Dammit, its obviously just a game. Why do I care so much

Although after saying this, he still reached out and solemnly closed the Orc Kings eyes.

Despite being an enemy

Despite being just an NPC

He was also a king worthy of respect

257

BURY HIM

TL/N : I couldnt post anything last week due to being busy with my new job. Things are still hectic as it is, but hopefully i could return to my normal schedule asap.