The Prince of Heaven's Gate - Last Stand At World's End

Two hours later…

Most of the patrolling Orc Warriors had returned to the Orc Encampment after hearing the signal horn. Because of this, the total number of Orc Warriors inside the camp now numbered a hundred.

All of them gathered to watch the battle between Barca and Baronar, interested to see whether they would have a new Warlord to follow. Duels for the position of power usually ended with one party’s death. No defending Warlord liked to have their position taken away from them, so they would do their best to kill their opponent to ensure that they wouldn’t challenge them again in the future.

Of course, Baronar could have refused the duel entirely. However, after suffering losses from Barca’s night raid, the Orc Shaman wanted nothing more than to kill the upstart Half-Orc who thought that it could win against him.

Under the gazes of over a hundred Orc Warriors, Barca stood with his greatsword in his hands. He looked so intimidating and powerful that some of the Orcs were impressed by him.

“Are you ready to die, Barca?” Baronar asked as he held the skull staff in his hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll be sure to add your head to my collection.”

“I didn’t come here to die,” Barca replied as he pointed his greatsword in Baronar’s direction. “I came here to kill you.”

“Big words from a Half-Blood.”

“You’ll soon see what this Half-Blood can do.”

Lux and the others were watching the battle from a distance. Although Barca assured them that the Orcs wouldn’t attack them because a duel was sacred, he still didn’t like taking his chances against over a hundred words with Barca’s assurance.

The Dwarves had solemn expressions on their faces because they didn’t know if the serum that Baronar had drunk was going to work. Usually, when Fighters and Magicians fought, the magician always had the upper hand.

The reason for this was mainly their ability to use powerful range attacks that could potentially kill the Fighters before they could even come close.

The two combatants stared at each other for half a minute before their battle officially began._-.

The first thing that Baronar did was to summon two Elite Orc Spirit Warriors to fight for him. They were Rank 3 Monsters, which were capable of stalling the Orc Shaman’s enemies, while the latter chanted his curses and offensive spells to whittle down their opponent’s health.

That was exactly Baronar’s plan. However, after he summoned his two Elite Orc Spirit Warriors, he felt that something was wrong with his body. He couldn’t gather mana as fast as he wanted to, which caused the spells he cast to get delayed.

This delay didn’t escape Barca’s gaze, as he used brute force to make his way past the two Elite Orc Spirit Warriors. He didn’t waste his time attacking them because he didn’t want to miss the golden opportunity that was presented to him.

“Frostfire!” Baronar shouted as he unleashed an icy blue flame at point blank range. Sadly, the power of the flames was halved because he wasn’t able to gather enough mana to activate its full destructive power.

Barca roared as he swung his sword and split the blue fireball into two halves, making them explode.

Although the Half-Orc received damage to his body, he ignored it and continued to charge at the Orc Shaman who had just barely managed to summon his Soul Shield.

“Die, you old turtle!!” Barca shouted as he swung his great sword towards the barrier that prevented him from taking Baronar’s life.

A crack appeared on the Soul Shield’s surface after receiving Barca’s full strike. A moment later, the Half-Orc swung his sword again, shattering the shield completely.

“Envenom!” Baronar roared as he fired a green glowing dart from his fingertips.

The green dart pierced Barca’s chest, but the latter shrugged off the pain and swung his sword with fury. His high resistance prevented the poisonous effect of the skill from manifesting, making Baronar’s last resort futile.

A scream was heard in the night as the Half-Orc’s greatsword sliced through the Orc Shaman’s right arm, cutting it off completely.

Barca was initially going to cut Baronar in half, but the Orc Shaman managed to twist his body just in time. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to dodge the attack completely, losing his arm in the process.

“Stop! I concede!” Baronar shouted as he kneeled on the ground. “I recognize you as the new Orc Warlord. Don’t kill me!”

Barca stopped his greatsword mid-swing, and looked at the Orc Shaman that had surrendered.

“You recognize me as your new Chieftain?” Barca asked.

“Yes! I recognize you! I will serve you well!” Baronar pleaded.

Lux who was watching this scene blinked because he didn’t think that the Orc Shaman would beg for his life.

Barca then glanced in the Half-Elf’s direction and asked him a question.

“Should we kill him or not?” Barca asked.

Lux naturally wanted Baronar dead because he wanted to gain the Pseudo-Rare item that the Orc Shaman would drop after his death.

However, before he could shout the word “Kill!”, a series of texts appeared in front of him.

—-

< Baronar’s Fate >

The Orc Shaman had pleaded for you to spare his life. What would you like to do?

– Option 1

Kill Baronar.

Receive one random Pseudo-Mythical Equipment that belongs to him.

– Option 2

Spare Baronar

Receive one random Skill from his Skill Set.

Possible skills that can be acquired: Summon Elite Orc Spirit Warrior, Envenom, Fear, Frostfire, Life Drain, Soul Shield, Dim Vision, Amplify Damage.

– Option 3

You can negotiate your terms. The success of the negotiation will depend on your Charisma stat.

—-

The sudden notification made Lux hold back the words he was about to say. Barca eyed him with a calm expression as he waited for the Half-Elf’s answer. The Half-Orc didn’t care whether Baronar lived or died.

This was why he was fine in letting the Half-Elf decide the Orc Shaman’s fate. This would also allow him to gauge Lux’s character more and see if the red-headed teenager had what it takes to help him in his quest for dominion.

‘Um?’ Lux blinked as he gazed at the options before him. Originally, he was dead-set on acquiring a Pseudo-Mythical Weapon after the Orc Shaman’s death.

However, acquiring a random skill was also a good option since his special ability, Skill Evolution [EX], would upgrade the skill without fail.

As for the third option, although he was good looking, Lux didn’t know if he had enough Charisma Points to succeed in the negotiations. There were two hidden Stats that couldn’t be seen using the Soul Book. The two Stats were Luck and Charisma.

Back then, he pestered the God of Games, Eriol, to let him see his Charisma and Luck Stats, but the latter refused. No matter how much the Half-Elf pleaded, the God of Games didn’t budge. This was why Lux didn’t know if he was lucky or unlucky.

‘Option 3 is a gamble,’ Lux thought. It was at that moment when he remembered the God of Gamblers, Max. The old man had once told him that either he went all in or did nothing at all.

However, after remembering how the God of Gamblers’ SIMP Cannon malfunctioned when he sent Lux to Solais, the Half-Elf shuddered uncontrollably.

‘No. I can’t take chances. I’ll just go with Option 2.’ Lux thought. Right now, he couldn’t bet on his Charisma and Luck. since that was the case, he would just choose the option which would work wonders for him.

Lux walked towards Baronar and only stopped when he was two meters away from the Orc Shaman.

“Spare him,” Lux said. “Having an Orc Shaman serve under you when you become Orc Chieftain is better than having none.”

“Are you sure?” Barca asked.

“Yes.”

“Okay.”

Barca faced Baronar and extended his hand to him. The latter looked at the offered hand for a brief moment before clasping it with his own.

The Orc Warriors that were watching from the side raised their weapons and cheered. At that exact time, Lux received a series of notifications.

—–

Quest: Baronar’s Fate (Completed!)

< Rewards >

One Random Skill Ticket received.

– You will obtain one of the skills that belongs to the Orc Shaman, Baronar.

< Bonus Reward >

You gained 125 Orc Warriors under your command!

Baronar became your ally!

+500 Blackrock Reputation Points

10 Medium Quality Rejuvenation Potions

—-

Lux smiled, thinking that the Bonus Reward was truly unexpected. Although he assumed that Baronar and the Orc Warriors would become their allies, this wasn’t a guarantee.

Seeing that they had become part of their team, the Half-Elf became more confident that he would be able to clear the mission faster with the help of the strongest Orc Warlord on their side.