Run, Sir!

Malone was indeed lucky—more precisely, he wasn't lucky enough to die and come back to life; Kaldara had never intended to kill him.

Kaldara had only placed his blade against Malone's neck as a formality.

When the Burning Blade Clan defeated an opponent they didn't intend to kill, they performed this ritual to make their foe remember the terror of standing on the brink of death, and to rob them forever of the courage to oppose a Burning Blade Blademaster.

"You lost, Death Knight." Kaldara sheathed his blade and said mockingly, "I thought you allies whom Orgrim values so highly would be powerful. Turns out you're nothing but fools with plenty of strength and no idea what fighting means."

Kaldara had a strange, inexplicable feeling about the Death Knights. For some reason, Orgrim hadn't told the Orcs much about where these allies had come from.

At least with the Trolls, everyone knew they were the rulers of the jungle and that their leader was called Zul'jin.

The Burning Blade Clan had been on close terms with Gul'dan's Shadow Council. They had always been loyal to the Warchief of the Horde, The Destroyer Blackhand, until Orgrim changed everything.

Orgrim had slaughtered the Shadow Council in a frenzy, killed Blackhand, the Horde's Warchief, and become the new Warchief.

The Burning Blade Clan—the Burning Blade Blademasters who had come to Azeroth with the Orc army—chose to pledge their loyalty to Orgrim. They didn't want the Horde to begin splitting apart, and besides, Gul'dan himself hadn't put up much of a fight.

But Orgrim didn't entirely trust these Blademasters. Otherwise, Kaldara wouldn't have been sent out on watch with Orcs from other clans despite being a Blademaster.

Malone knelt on the ground. Just moments ago, he had felt the threat of death.

Having grown up in a peaceful society, Malone had never been so close to death. When the blade pressed against his neck, he had been so terrified he'd almost wet himself.

Of course, he hadn't actually wet himself. He had no idea how much these Orcs would laugh if he had.

The moment Kaldara's blade left his body, Malone gasped for breath, bracing himself with both hands against the ground. He was ashamed of his cowardice, but more importantly, he understood that he couldn't save the human girl.

Kaldara looked at Malone and shook his head slightly.

"Pathetic..." Kaldara murmured.

Before earning the title of Blademaster, every Burning Blade Blademaster had suffered countless defeats. Even now, with the title, Kaldara didn't believe he could defeat his own teacher.

But Kaldara had never doubted his own abilities, nor had he ever let a defeat shake his confidence.

Seeing Malone crumpled and trembling, Kaldara could tell his opponent had never received any combat training or seen blood.

There was nothing worth boasting about in defeating an opponent like this... Kaldara sighed, then stepped over Malone.

Kaldara's foot, enormous by human standards, landed on the hay without a sound. But Malone knew he was walking toward the human girl.

Malone didn't look back at the girl. He tried to get to his feet and stop Kaldara, to fight him again—anything to keep him from approaching her.

But Malone couldn't move. His legs were stiff, and his fingers trembled uncontrollably.

Until now, Malone had always thought that stories in movies and novels about people being unable to control their bodies from fear were made up. But now he was experiencing it firsthand.

"Get out of the way, you coward." An Orc passing by kicked Malone to the ground.

The other Orcs laughed contemptuously as they walked past him. Like Talrama, they might not have been able to withstand a single blow from Malone. But with Kaldara there, they could stand around mocking him, because they had a powerful ally.

Still, that Orc's kick helped Malone move his uncooperative body. At last, he could move again.

With a little feeling returning to his limbs, Malone roared and charged toward Kaldara. He had to stop the Burning Blade Orc before he reached the girl.

But Malone couldn't do it. A few Orcs seized him, and sharp axe blades were once more laid against his neck—this time, two enormous battle axes.

The blood on the axes was still wet, and bits of flesh clung to their saw-toothed blades.

An Orc shouted, "Kaldara, let me cut off his head!"

Kaldara, who had already reached the human girl, turned around. He frowned at Malone, then shook his head.

"Don't do anything unnecessary," Kaldara said.

Malone didn't struggle. He watched the human girl and saw that she was looking at him, too.

What a look... Her beautiful, pale blue eyes were filled with despair and fear. She wrapped her arms around her rounded shoulders, as though trying to hide herself from Kaldara.

"Please, stop!" the girl suddenly cried.

She wasn't speaking Orcish. It must have been Common, used by humans and some other races. As it happened, Malone could understand it, too.

Was she speaking to Kaldara? Was she trying to stop this Orc from assaulting her?

"Please, stop, sir... sir! These beasts really will kill you! Don't... don't worry about me! If you can, run! Please!"

The human girl suddenly let out a piercing scream.

She was talking to me! Malone's eyes widened. She knew I was trying to save her! She was worried about me!

Malone didn't know the human girl's name, but he was sure it must be a brave one. Even he had been so terrified by Kaldara's blade that he had nearly wet himself, but this girl...

This girl was telling Malone to run and leave her behind.

Sacrifice? Gratitude? Malone didn't know what to call this. But he bit down hard on his lip, so hard that he tasted a trace of blood.

Malone had bitten his lip until it bled. He didn't know how else to vent his rage.

"Don't move! Move again and I'll cut your head off!" An Orc felt Malone's body trembling. He didn't know the trembling came from rage, but he sensed something was wrong with his captive and shouted a warning.

Malone's left wrist twisted slightly, and a blue-green light flickered over it.

The next Death Coil was ready. Malone silently repeated the words in his mind, his gaze fixed on Kaldara's back.