Leo and the Seventh Ruin Ch. 01

"They couldn't have them themselves. Goblins ain't not that smart to even learn to do that, unless... there's someone who's leading them." Leo responded, his expression turned serious even while he was still calm.

"You think they have a leader?" Henrietta asked, surprised by his claim before she looked back at the wooden fence with spikes, until she spotted to the left side the main entrance to the camp. "Look, there are the gates! If we could find a way to get them open, we can get inside."

"I can send Roxy as a decoy. She can provoke some of the goblins into chasing her and leave the camp. Can you do that?" He asked his companion, who just nodded with confidence. Leo then turned back to Henrietta. "Can your men create some sort of trap for them?"

"Of course, as long as we find an advantage to take them by surprise." The knight said with confidence.

"Great, then, while you're dealing with them. I'll sneak into the camp and find the woman. If I find the leader, I'll take care of him first to demoralize the goblins." Leo continued with his finger, pointing at the camp.

"Wait, you're thinking of going there by yourself? That's suicidal!" Henrietta argued, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I'll go with you. The life of that woman is also my responsibility."

Leo cast a glance at the knight as he seemed hesitant about letting her tag along, but aware that he can't change her mind, he sighed in resignation. "Fine, but a little warning. Don't underestimate those little rascals. They might be very stupid, but they're not that stupid, especially if there's a bigger monster among them."

****

Standing on the parapet, a goblin was letting out a yawn as he was bored out of his mind in the middle of guard duty. Since their camp had been settled in the middle of a forest, it was highly unlikely that some human would pop up out of nowhere unless they got a death warrant.

His constant complaining suddenly got interrupted when he noticed something rustling. Walking closer to the edge of the palisade, trying to spot through the thick bushes. With a blink of an eye, something just flew straight at him, and it was too late to react when a knife just pierced between the eyes.

The goblin rolled his lifeless eyes through the skull and fell limply off the parapet, landing on the ground with a loud thud and alerting the other goblins nearby who were sitting around a campfire.

"We are under attack! Arm up ya lazy slugs!" Another goblin shouted as he picked up a spiked club.

"Finally! Me gonna kill some humans!"

"Open the bloody gate!"

Once the main gate was opened, a batch of goblins sprung outside of the camp, ready to face the intruders, only to stop from charging when they found no one nearby, much to their confusion as they looked around until they heard the rustling sound coming ahead.

"Oy! Manflesh iz over there!" A goblin alerted before a silhouette was seen running away "Don't ya stand there, you mutts! After them!" And soon the rest of the goblins gave chase, drawing themselves away from the camp they were supposed to defend.

Suddenly, two figures emerged out of the bushes before coming out of hiding.

"Now's our chance, let's go." Leo muttered as he and Henrietta approached the camp.

"How can we get inside? They just closed the gates." The knight asked with a hint of frustration as there was no opening to slip through the fences.

"I'll take it from here." Leo replied, heading towards the wooden wall.

Before Henrietta would ask how, he started climbing up the fence all the way up until reaching the opening. She held her breath as she heard the sound of swords clashing, followed by the grisly sound of the flesh tearing and some screeches of agony. After that, just when the knight was about to prepare the worst outcome, the sturdy gates creaked open, revealing Leo the one who was opening the path.

"Come on!" Leo shouted, holding his shortsword with its blade already stained with blood.

Unsheathing her sword, Henrietta met up with Leo at the main entrance and they both paced across the barren field of the camp, looking around to find the missing woman as soon as possible. Glancing to the side, Leo spotted a bonfire with a large body of fried meat hanging above the flames, but the distinctive shape of its scorched muzzle, he immediately guessed it was the missing horse. Besides that, they found nothing more than small huts made with animal skin and bonfires, making it difficult to find any signs of the missing woman.

A goblin suddenly came out one of the huts after hearing the ruckus earlier, before uttering out a yelp when he spotted the humans.

"Manflesh! They're here! They-" The goblin was cut off when Leo lunged in and swung out the sword, cutting the head before the creature had the chance to run away.

"Dammit, I thought the others who left were all of them!" Henrietta growled before hearing more chattering, looking over her shoulder to see more goblins coming out of the huts and drawing out their weapons. "Now what?"

"We can take them all, just stick with me!" Leo shouted as he quickly drew the shield off his back before blocking an incoming stone that was thrown by a goblin with a sling. He then blocked an aggressive strike from another goblin armed with a cleaver, before parrying another swing and smacked the goblin across the face, leaving the opponent dazed and took the chance to swipe his shortsword, plunging it into the collarbone with a vicious crunch before he drew the blade back.

Henrietta sidestepped to dodge an axe coming down before it could split her in half and struck the goblin with a slash across the face, killing the creature instantly. Glancing to her side, she saw another goblin lunging at her and about to stab her with a spear, but she quickly dodged it and launched a kick to the face. She then thrust the blade beside the neck, cutting a deep gash on the throat before pulling it back to leave the goblin choking on his own blood. Snatching the spear, she turned around and threw the spear to the slinger goblin before he tried to hurl another rock at her. "Didn't you say the goblins have a leader who's not one of them? Where is he right now?!"

"How should I know? He's probably not here at this moment or maybe turns out to be much of a coward!" Leo retorted, clearly not in the mood to answer that kind of question as he's busy cleaving another goblin.

"WHO SAID AM I COWARD?!"

A booming, deep voice startled Leo and Henrietta, yet they kept their guard up as they watched the remaining goblins scurrying away while regrouping to the far side of the camp, but then they saw they were rallying to a gray-skinned hulking orc, almost seven feet tall with squarish head and large fangs. The orc was dressed in some kind of leather armor covered in fur with hardened shoulder pads and braces around his wrists, with a large skeleton jaw of a lion tied on the right shoulder.

"So you came here to die, flesh sack? I will enjoy breaking your bones and mounting them on my hut while I plow your whore!" The orc roared, slamming the staff of his two-handed longaxe to the ground as the goblins cackled mischievously at his words.

"Okay, that's their leader alright." Leo remarked with an unamused look.

"Why did you have to provoke him?" Henrietta hissed, thinking the mercenary just jeopardized the rescue plan.

"Because some orcs are really dumbasses and value strength. Too much that they can't literally think of anything but kill and rape." The young mercenary replied calmly, yet his words were tinged with a hint of bitterness.

"Well, you're not wrong about that at all." Henrietta sighed, having to agree with his point even at the worst possible moment. "I wish Roxy is now coming back with the reinforcements. You sure it was a good idea to send your companion as a decoy?" She questioned the decision he made earlier.

"I am, because I trust her. We just have to hold on until she comes back." Leo replied without a second thought.

****

Roxy had no trouble outrunning the goblins from pursuing her, but then she reached the dead end as she was facing the rock face of a boulder blocking her path. Furthermore, she found herself trapped in the middle of a crevice that she couldn't just try to climb out, even if she tried it.

Letting out a breath, she turned around to face the goblins who were now surrounding her, yet they didn't seem like they had the intention of killing her on the spot.

"Well, well, look what we have here, ladz. This puppy girl has some nice tits!" One of them sneered, wearing a pervy grin as he ogled at her humongous chest.

"Ooh yes, it would be a huge waste if we have to kill her." Another one said, fondling the loincloth with his hand without a shred of decency. "Shall we capture her alive and take her to the boss?"

"Are you kidding? He'z gonna keep her to himself, that's fer sure! No, we're gonna be the ones to get some taste first. Round up, boyz!" The goblins then approached the demi-human slowly, with malicious glee glinting in their eyes, probably thinking what kind of dreadful things they want to do with her.

Roxy, however, remained calm as she leaned her back against the surface.

"I call dibs!" One goblin shouted before leaping towards the girl. But suddenly, a bolt just pierced his skull before his body fell lifelessly in front of her.

"W-What-" Another goblin was cut off when another bolt was shot and pierced in his throat.

The five remaining goblins were taken aback by the unexpected attack as they looked around in a mix of panic and confusion. But as they glanced up the rocky walls, they froze when the first thing they saw was a group of armored men coming out of the trees and bushes, aiming their crossbows down at them. It was now too late for the goblins to realize they were ambushed as the armored men rained down their bolts upon them. One by one, they fell down with more than a few bolts all over their bodies.

Roxy sighed in relief as she paced around the pile of bodies, as none of them were uttering a word of at the least twitching to show any sign that they're still alive. She continued her way to meet up with Henrietta's soldiers.

A goblin suddenly sprung up and let out a screech as he tried to bash Roxy's head with a club - only to be punched in the face by the demi-human and was sent flying until his body crashed on the side of the boulder.

"That one is still alive! Kill it!" A soldier shouted and some other men shot more bolts at the goblin, though at some point it was already dead the moment his brains got splattered over the stone.

Roxy rubbed her hand over the knuckles she just used to punch the goblin, as she wasn't surprised at the fact that one of them was playing dead just to try to take her by surprise, since it wasn't the first time those creatures would use that cheap trick.

"Are you okay, miss?" A middle aged man with a gray beard asked as he walked up to the demi human.

"I am, don't worry about it." Roxy replied with a soft smile, but then she changed it with a serious frown. "But we have to go back to the camp quickly."

The officer nodded in agreement before signaling his men to move out, and so Roxy and the troops made a haste to meet up with the captain and the mercenary. She could feel that they might be in trouble, but she had no doubt that her master had everything under control.

****

"Shit!" Leo cursed as he ducked before a goblin flew over his head and crashed into the wall of a hut. After that, he raised his head up and widened his eyes when he saw the battle axe coming downwards. Following his instinct, he jumped aside before the axe was about to split him in half. "Hey, Captain! I could use some help over here!" He shouted while the orc roared and slashed the axe across, which Leo dodged once more by ducking his head as he tried to keep his distance away from the orc.

"I'm trying, damn it!" Henrietta gritted her teeth as she was struggling with a goblin and their swords grinding together. With a grunt, she moved her sword in a downward grip, letting the pressure of the goblin's shortsword slide down across her blade as he lost the balance, before she used the momentum to twist her sword and strike the goblin down with a cut to the neck.

After finishing off the last goblin, she sprinted towards the orc and took the chance while the leader was distracted by slashing across his back. However, the orc didn't even flinch in pain even when the cut was deep, as he turned over the shoulder and growled at her. Henrietta gasped and held her sword with both hands, blocking a powerful swing from the orc, but that made her stumble down to the ground and lose her grip on her weapon.

Hissing in pain at her aching hands, Henrietta tried to reach over her weapon, as she glanced at the orc approaching her with his hands holding the longaxe-axe over his head, ready to strike her down.

"Henrietta!" Leo cried out her name as he charged the orc to stop him, but the monster just noticed him coming before twirling around and swung the longaxe at him with raw strength.

He raised his shield and braced himself before the axe head went through the wood and almost tore his arm off. Noticing that the longaxe was now stuck to his shield, Leo dug his heels and thrust his sword to stab into the throat. The orc, however, caught the blade with his big hand just before the tip could even reach his neck. Some blood dripped from the orc's fingers as Leo tried to move his weapon back and forth, but the orc held the sword with a strong grip that he couldn't slice the bulky fingers.

"Manflesh always be weak!" The orc growled before taking Leo's sword out of his hand and threw it away.

"Oh no..." Leo muttered before the orc grabbed him by the neck and lifted him off the ground. "H-Henrietta...!" He gagged as he was being choked.

"Damn it!" Henrietta picked up her sword before getting up to her feet and sprung forward to attack the orc and assist the mercenary, only to skid to halt when the orc threw Leo towards her. She sidestepped away as Leo rolled over the ground without any weapons in his possession.

"Are you okay?" Henrietta without looking away from the orc as he pulled the shield off his axe.

"Ugh, yeah, I'm fine. I just lost my shield and my sword." Leo groaned as he got back up. "It's not my first time I faced an orc, but they're sure tough those bastards."

"I'm not gonna lie, this is my first time facing an orc. Not even my rigorous training could make me prepared for this." Henrietta seethed through her teeth as her hands tightened around the hilt of her sword.

Leo gazed at her, as though he wasn't surprised she never told him the truth until now, but he shook the thought out of his head, before he noticed the orc approaching them menacingly. He looked over the ground for a weapon until he picked up a jagged spear. "Alright, listen, the orcs can be hard to kill, but their aggressive strikes are predictable and always leave them exposed. So when he tries to slash us both, we avoid his attacks and strike him back."

Henrietta looked back at him, as though she felt unsure about taking advice from someone she just met, but considering he's just sharing knowledge about monsters, it's best for her to listen. "Got it."

"Stop blabbering and die!" The orc roared and swung his longaxe horizontally.

They ducked their heads with the axe flying over their heads, and just when the orc left himself open after throwing his attack, Leo thrust the spear into his ribs. The orc restrained a grimace as he gripped the shaft to pull the spear out, only failing to notice Henrietta launching a swift strike to the side of his abdomen.

The orc was forced to step back as Leo withdrew the spear, making the blood gush out of the wound he inflicted on the camp leader. Even so, the orc didn't seem to react to any kind of pain as he just gazed over the wounds. A growl rose from his throat, before the orc raised his head and gave the intruders a death glare, with his hands gripped around the handle of his weapon.

Now that the favor was back to them, Leo and Henrietta charged and split up to flank the orc. Henrietta was the first to strike with her sword, but the orc blocked the attack with the staff of his longaxe. Leo launched another thrust, but this time, the orc warded it off and kicked him away.

The monster threw a wide arching swing towards Henrietta, forcing the female knight to jump away from him. He then brought his axe down with all his might, but Henrietta leaped aside and lunged forward as the orc was prepared to fend her off. Little did the orc know that Leo was standing behind him and took advantage of the distraction to drive the spear into his back.

The orc roared out of anger and pain, and before he realized, Henrietta swung her sword in a diagonal manner and the blade plunged deep into his shoulder. Blood spewed out of the orc's body, but then he lowered his head to cast a fierce glare at the knight and he grabbed her by her neck.

Henrietta's eyes widened as she gagged, before she tried to slash the orc once more, but then he dropped his weapon to grab the blade and threw it out of her hand. He delivered a punch to her stomach, taking the air out of her lungs, before throwing her away and she crashed into a wooden barricade.

"Oh, come on!" Leo shouted frustratingly as he pulled the spear back and tried to stab the orc again, but the orc spun around and grabbed the staff before snatching it from him and snapped the spear in half. "Fuck..." He cursed before the orc grabbed him by his throat and held him off the ground.

Henrietta groaned as she struggled to get up, but she realized she no longer had the sword after that orc took it from her. Because of that, she couldn't do anything more than watch the mercenary about to be murdered by that monster, and the reinforcements still hadn't arrived.

"You fight well for a sheep, but manflesh will always be weaker than a strong orc!" The orc spat as he brought the human close to him so he could stare intensively to see any hint of fear in his eyes. "I made my mind, I'm gonna rip you apart, every limb from limb! And then I'm gonna fuck that knight whore and keep her as my meat slag!"

Suddenly, what the orc didn't expect was to hear Leo letting out a snort before uttering a weak laugh, even though he could barely breathe as he was getting choked. Anyone would think he just lost his mind to laugh at the face of death, even Henrietta thought that way.

"Found something funny, sheepie?" The orc growled in anger with his free fist clenching, ready to wipe the smirk off the human's face.

Gripping around the orc's arm with his hand, Leo cracked his eyes open as he sneered at the orc. "Yeah, you just reminded me that no matter how strong your kind are, you're always gonna be so fucking stupid, no matter what." He pulled his other hand back into a clawing motion.

A narrow blade sprung out of the underside of his wrist before Leo thrust into the neck of the orc, making the orc widen his eyes before dropping Leo down. The orc stumbled back until he fell on his knees, clutching his punctured neck as the blood seeped through his fingers.

Leo got back on his feet and noticed the longaxe laid on the ground which the orc dropped it earlier. Pacing over the axe, he picked it up and approached the orc, trying to ignore the furious look the orc was giving to him.

Without thinking of giving a quip to the monster, Leo took a deep breath as he lifted the longaxe with both of his hands to deliver a devastating finishing blow.

"Thank you..."

Leo suddenly froze as those words reached to his ears, but they didn't come from Henrietta or anyone else. It was the orc who managed to utter those words, even though he just coughed more blood out of his mouth.

"What did you say?" Leo muttered before lowering down the weapon and then walked up towards the dying orc.