If You Can't Win, Just Run

In the pitch-black night, Saiyba's camp, which had been quiet until then, was suddenly shattered by a roar.

"He's here! Catch him!"

Saiyba's voice seemed to rise from hell itself, echoing through the entire camp. Every Ogre within sprang into action at the sound.

"Damn it, I've been discovered? That shouldn't have happened!" The hooded Orc looked at the dead Ogre before him, casually flicked the blood from his sword, and muttered.

While he was lost in thought, Ogres carrying torches had already found him.

"He's here! The killer is here!" As the squad of Ogres shouted and rushed toward him, the longsword had already swept across their throats. In an instant, all ten became wandering ghosts.

At that moment, Ginyu had already arrived with his men and surrounded him.

"Hahaha! Found you! I'll use your head to beg Lord Saiyba's forgiveness!"

"Since I've been found, I might as well kill you openly, Saiyba!" In the firelight, the Orc planted his longsword in the ground and slowly removed his hood with both hands. When he raised his head, his eyes were bloodshot and filled with savage killing intent.

"Big words. Be a good boy and let Lord Ginyu take your dog head!"

Ginyu charged forward with his spiked club, swinging it with a howling whistle.

"Idiot." The Orc sprang into the air, drew his longsword, and rolled forward. With an upward flick of his blade, he knocked Ginyu's spiked club away. Then he hooked Ginyu's ankle with one foot, sending him face-first into the dirt.

Just as Ginyu tried to get up, the Orc had already sat on his back, his longsword poised at Ginyu's throat, no more than a millimeter away. Frightened out of his wits, Ginyu hurriedly covered his head with both hands and dared not move again.

"Lord Ginyu!"

"Lord Ginyu!"

"Don't come over! Can't you see there's someone on me? Nobody move!" Seeing Ginyu captured, his men wanted to rush over and help, but Ginyu immediately stopped them.

"An idiot, but one who knows what's good for him." Seeing how compliant Ginyu was, the Orc lowered his head and remarked.

"Of course, of course. Everyone calls me Ginyu Who Knows What's Good for Him, hehe." Rather than refuting him, Ginyu eagerly went along with it.

"May I ask why this esteemed Orc has come to cause trouble for our clan?" Seeing that the Orc on his back had fallen silent, Ginyu could only force himself to ask.

"Your clan? Aren't you all Saiyba's men already?" the Orc replied.

At once, Ginyu began cursing Saiyba in his heart. He had been living quite comfortably with Twilight's Hammer, but when Saiyba came to Blade's Edge Mountain that day, he had brought Ginyu along and ordered him to subdue some Ogres. On the day the trade convention ended, they were to slaughter a clan called the Pebble Clan and capture that clan's Behemoth.

He had already been dissatisfied with all the running around these past days. Now he had provoked a powerful enemy because of Saiyba—how could he not curse Saiyba?

"My lord, Saiyba forced me into this! I have nothing to do with him! Please don't kill me!" Ginyu begged as he kowtowed. "This humble one has an eighty-year-old mother to support above, and young children below crying for food. That's why I came here..."

"Shut up!" the Orc barked, frightening Ginyu into silence.

"Saiyba, since you're here, come out. What are you watching for?"

"Heh. I was wondering who was causing me trouble. So it was you, little rat—Lantresuo Fireblade." Saiyba emerged from the darkness and revealed the Orc's identity.

"Saiyba, you and Kargath used despicable means to imprison Chieftain Dahl Triple Bloodblade, allowing Nilru Fireblade to usurp the position of chieftain. I came to kill you. Once I've killed you, I'll kill Kargath. Then I'll throw both your heads at that bastard Nilru's feet and let him know just how grave a mistake he made." Lantresuo Fireblade spoke viciously.

"Oh? Then we'll see whether you have what it takes!" As he spoke, Saiyba hurled fireball after fireball at Lantresuo.

"You think I was really waiting for you to show yourself, idiot?" Lantresuo showed no panic at the sight of the fireballs. He slowly rose to his feet, then vanished before everyone's eyes.

"Argh!"

With a scream, Ginyu, who had been pinned beneath Lantresuo, was directly burned to ashes by the fireball.

"Tsk, tsk. How cruel. You even kill your own subordinates." Lantresuo's voice came from all around, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Hmph. A Fireblade Sword Saint, yet you're nothing but a mongrel. Even if you restore Dahl Triple Bloodblade as chieftain, would he let you remain with the Fireblade Clan? Huh?! Hahaha!"

Hidden in stealth, Lantresuo saw Saiyba's arrogant expression and gritted his teeth. "When I present your heads to the chieftain, he will surely let me stay with the Fireblade Clan—and be proud of me!"

"Is that so? What a shame you won't live to see it. Do you think I have no way to deal with you just because you're hiding?" Saiyba stepped back two paces and raised a hand, signaling the Ogres behind him to bring something forward.

Seeing what protruded from the bag Saiyba's men carried over, Lantresuo cried out, "Dust of Appearance? Why would an Ogre have something like that?!"

"Ha, so you didn't know. Your Fireblade Clan's current chieftain is one of Lord Gul'dan's men. And I am merely one of Lord Gul'dan's subordinates." Saiyba thoroughly enjoyed Lantresuo's surprise and decided to reveal an even more shocking secret.

"The one controlling the change of chieftains in your Fireblade Clan is Lord Gul'dan!"

"Gul'dan? Why would he do this?!" Lantresuo was even more astonished, and a trace of tremor entered his voice.

At that moment, Saiyba had already ordered his men to throw the Dust of Appearance.

The Dust of Appearance scattered over Lantresuo, instantly revealing his figure just one step away from Saiyba.

Before Lantresuo could react, Saiyba's fireball shot out. But he was a Sword Saint, a man—no, a male Orc—who lived by his agility. He spun aside and dodged it. The fireball he avoided turned another of Saiyba's subordinates into ash. Lantresuo then closed in, swung his longsword, and slashed at Saiyba's neck.

Yet that seemingly fatal blow was blocked by Saiyba's staff. With a movement of his hand, Saiyba knocked Lantresuo back.

"How is this possible?! Why are you Heroic Rank?!"

"I can't tell you that. Stay here!" As he spoke, Saiyba began firing off another barrage of fireballs.

"So what if you've reached Heroic Rank? With trash like these, you can't keep me here."

As he spoke, Lantresuo raised his sword and charged toward the surrounding Ogres.

Saiyba had not expected Lantresuo to be so decisive. After only one exchange with him, he had immediately turned to leave. Saiyba truly could not keep pace with a Sword Saint, and none of his subordinates could hold Lantresuo back. Once Lantresuo's Zephyr Step was ready again, it would be even more impossible to keep him.

So Saiyba decisively unleashed a Chain Lightning into the crowd. The careless Lantresuo was indeed struck. Just as Saiyba hurried forward to capture him, Lantresuo turned and made a throat-slitting gesture at Saiyba before vanishing into thin air once more.