The orc chieftain was in trouble too, but he reacted quickly. The instant his mount began to fall, he leaped forward. Unfortunately, he landed in an area scattered with iron spikes, and each foot came down on one.
Worse still, the spikes pierced his soles, but the plate armor covering the tops of his feet hid the wounds. He did not know whether there were more spikes around him, so he could only stand still.
"Chieftain..." An orc who had just been thrown from his mount had been lucky enough to land clear of the spikes. He hurried toward the chieftain.
But he was forced to stop halfway through his sentence. The sharp pain in his sole diverted his attention.
He looked down at the foot he had stepped forward with. A bloody iron spike protruded from the top of it. Then he looked back at his other foot, which was completely unharmed.
"Are there any spikes behind you?" the orc chieftain asked.
The orc shook his head woodenly.
"Very good!" The chieftain nodded coolly, pulled his rear foot free, and took a long stride forward onto grass without iron nails. Then he yanked his other foot free.
The orc stared wide-eyed at the spot where his chieftain had just stood. All that remained were two bloodstained footprints, each with a bloody iron needle sticking up from its center. The blood on the needles was rapidly turning black.
"I wanted to warn you just now, but you moved too quickly. You're a good soldier!" the chieftain said.
You bastard! Could I possibly run faster than you could speak? Weren't you just using me to test the traps? Of course, the orc did not dare voice his thoughts. His face green, he could only pull his forward foot off the iron