Unlucky, Unlucky, Unlucky

Xia Lin felt he was as unlucky as one could get.

Ever since he'd crawled into that damned sewer, fighting a bunch of overfed rats for a few clinking copper coins, he felt like an invisible hand had grabbed him by the scruff of his destiny and dragged him, step by step, into a deeper mire.

Once he caught his breath, he swore that if he ever found out which blind idiot was messing with him from behind the scenes... he'd chop that guy to bits, burn him to ashes, and then shove it all up a kobold's ass.

But right now, thinking about such useless crap was meaningless.

Seven bloodthirsty Orcs, plus an Orc leader who had just diced Kyle like a vegetable, were eyeing him menacingly.

Shamir, that bastard, had run off faster than a rabbit, leaving him alone here to die.

Xia Lin had no doubt that as soon as these green-skinned monsters swarmed him, he wouldn't even feel the process of becoming mincemeat before directly "logging out" of this damn world.

It's now or never!

"Hey! Green-skin bigmouth!" Xia Lin wiped the blood and sweat from his face and shouted at Gorgash in Common, "Don't you Orcs value honor? Dare you... fight me one-on-one?!"

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" The Orcs behind Gorgash were stunned for a moment before erupting into deafening, barbaric laughter. The sound was as unpleasant as half a dozen rutting male donkeys wailing in unison.

"This little bug... wants to fight the boss one-on-one?"

"Who does he think he is?"

Gorgash raised a massive palm wearing a crude knuckle duster. The palm was larger than Xia Lin's head. He casually pressed it down, silencing his subordinates' pointless mockery.

He looked at Xia Lin with interest, his eyes gleaming with cruelty.

"One-on-one? Sure," he grinned. "Consider it... after-dinner entertainment."

To him, this was just a cat-and-mouse game. Although this human had killed many of their kin, it was mostly through sneak attacks and agile movement. Direct combat? He didn't take it seriously at all.

An old Orc, who looked quite aged, with crisscrossing old scars on his face and one blind eye, carrying a battle axe with a chipped edge, walked out with a sinister grin.

He exuded a strong stench of blood and sweat. Every step he took carried an oppressive aura.

"I'll do it! I'll tear you apart!" The old Orc let out a guttural roar, drool dripping from his tusks. Without hesitation, he charged at Xia Lin like a cannonball, swinging his battle axe.

The instant the old Orc's battle axe whistled down, Xia Lin's footwork slipped like a phantom. The faint glow of the Ring of Swift Wind lit up.

Xia Lin sharply dodged to the side.

He narrowly avoided the powerful axe strike, the blade passing so close it almost grazed his nose, smashing into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

Immediately after, he shifted his center of gravity forward, pushing off with his right foot. His waist and hips moved in unison, transferring all his strength through his arm to the sword tip!

The longsword in his hand seemed to transform into a coiled viper, letting out a faint whistling sound as it cut through the air.

Schwing!

The sword tip pierced unimpeded through the old Orc's exposed armpit during his upward swing, sinking in up to the hilt!

"Ugh..." The old Orc's sinister grin froze on his face. His single eye was filled with disbelief. He looked down at the sword tip protruding from his chest, opened his mouth, but only spat out a mouthful of green blood mixed with internal organ fragments before crashing to the ground.

Clean and swift! A single blow kill!

"Cheating!"

"He used magic! That ring!"

The remaining Orcs, seeing this, immediately became agitated. They raised their weapons and looked at their leader.

Xia Lin flicked the blood off his sword, deliberately pointing the tip at the corpse on the ground, a provocative smile on his face. "Is that all? Is that all you Orcs are capable of? Who's next to die?"

"Enough!" Gorgash roared, stopping his subordinates who were itching for a fight.

His gaze towards Xia Lin finally changed. It was no longer playful or contemptuous, but tinged with a spark of ignited anger.

"Interesting..." Gorgash stretched his limbs, making cracking sounds. "Little bug, you've angered me. I'll do it myself."

He took a step forward, his makeshift armor emitting a dull grinding sound with his movement.

An oppressive aura far exceeding that of the previous Kobold God-Chosen washed over him.

Xia Lin even felt his breathing becoming difficult.

This guy not only possessed monstrous strength but was also a true warrior, battle-hardened and skilled!

His aura was nothing like the empty shells of the Kobolds who only had brute strength.

But this was also... his only, last chance.

Xia Lin took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

He looked at Gorgash, who was slowly approaching, and suddenly made a move that surprised all the Orcs.

He sheathed his longsword and, facing Gorgash, solemnly bowed deeply.

This was the etiquette of a human knight before initiating an honorable duel.

Gorgash's massive body suddenly froze, stunned.

He looked at Xia Lin's posture, a strange expression appearing on his face.

"Human etiquette?" Gorgash seemed to find it amusing. He chuckled and, mimicking Xia Lin's pose, awkwardly and with a hint of mockery, bent over.

The moment Gorgash lowered his head and his gaze inevitably shifted away from Xia Lin.

Xia Lin's left hand darted to his waist, drawing his lightweight hand crossbow and pulling the trigger almost simultaneously.

Whoosh!

The crossbow bolt was loosed!

Thwip!!!

At point-blank range, an unprotected vital spot.

The short crossbow bolt, like the most venomous curse, plunged fiercely into Gorgash's right eye socket, which was completely exposed as he lowered his head, embedding itself more than halfway.

Gorgash's world was instantly consumed by a blinding white light and tearing pain.

He felt something… something sharp and cold… lodged deep within his skull, crushing his eyeball, churning the very thoughts that belonged to him, Gorgash the Bonecrusher!

Warm, viscous liquid poured madly from his eye socket, smearing across half his face.

He could even smell the strong, metallic scent of his own blood.

"ROAR—!!!!!!!!!!!"

A roar, unfamiliar even to himself, filled with endless pain and fury, exploded uncontrollably from the depths of his throat!

The sound was so immense it made his own eardrums ring, and it silenced the entire battlefield!

To be critically wounded by a bug… a despicable bug he hadn't even considered… using such a dirty trick?!

Shame! Unwashable shame!

The pain acted like fuel, instantly igniting the most primal, most savage rage in his heart! Reason? Tactics? What were those?! All he wanted now was to tear this bug, this bug that dared to hurt and humiliate him, into pieces in the most brutal way possible! To grind him into paste!

The moment Gorgash clutched his eye, letting out that earth-shattering roar!

Xia Lin suddenly leaped up, slashing fiercely towards Gorgash's head, which had been thrown back by the intense pain!

However, Gorgash's combat instincts far surpassed Xia Lin's imagination.

Even amidst the searing pain and blind fury, his massive body still reacted.

He didn't even look at Xia Lin's attack, relying solely on beast-like intuition as he wildly swung the great axe in his hand.

Not blocking, not dodging, but a counterattack fueled by the desperate need to destroy everything in front of him.

Xia Lin had no time to change his move and could only instinctively bring his longsword across his body!

Clang—!!!

The great axe fell, the sword body emitting a pained shriek under the immense load, bending instantly!

A colossal force surged down the blade, numbing his arms in an instant and splitting his tiger's mouth.

He was sent flying backward by this savage force.

Xia Lin traced a parabolic arc through the air, rolling five or six meters before crashing heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Cough… cough cough!" Xia Lin coughed violently, more bloody foam spilling from the corner of his mouth. His bones felt as if they had all come apart, his ears were ringing, his vision was darkening intermittently, and the world was spinning.

But he didn't pass out. The intense pain was like a whip lashing his nerves, keeping him conscious.

He used the severely bent and deformed longsword to support himself on the ground, struggling, swaying, and pushing his upper body up.

His eyes, bloodshot from excessive blood loss, stared fixedly at the Orc leader charging towards him like an out-of-control war machine, blood and brain matter flowing from his single eye.

"ROAR!! I'll kill you!! Despicable bug!!"

Gorgash had completely lost his mind. He ripped the crossbow bolt from his eye socket, letting the bloody hole gush with blood and tissue fluid. Pure madness and killing intent burned in his remaining left eye as he charged towards the struggling Xia Lin! His heavy footsteps made the ground tremble slightly!

No one noticed that where Xia Lin had bowed to Gorgash earlier, a small, empty glass bottle lay quietly on the ground.

That cheap strength potion had been consumed by him stealthily at some unknown time.