After killing both of the Orcs, both Taek and Grey started breathing erotically.
Even though it was easy, they were already tired. Swinging swords and axes was harder than it sounded, especially when they were doing it all night long, almost without resting.
They also looked at Mark. His face was not in a recognizable state, so the two didn't look at them long.
"Your sacrifice worked, Mark! I promise, I will save as many as possible," Grey said, taking Mark's sword.
Thanks to Mark's sacrifice, Grey had run away and come back stronger. Also, the four children and Lana could run away from the forest. So, his sacrifice really saved the day.
Grey's promise wasn't only to Mark. He also promised himself. He needed to save as many as possible.
"Taek, you should rest a bit. I will go first."
Since Taek was exhausted, he didn't want to break him.
But...
"Don't make me laugh. You are barely a grown-up now. Let's go." Taek followed Grey without hesitation.
Mark was his friend. So, he wanted to kill more of these Orcs.
---
They continued their way and encountered many Orcs. Sometimes, they were fighting against other fighters from the village, but sometimes...
Anyway, they sent the seriously wounded ones back to the east exit, telling them the villagers would come soon and to wait there.
The ones that were in better shape joined Taek and Grey instead. They were much stronger now.
But there weren't many...
The entire group that came to this forest was formed of 40 people. Including Elaine, four of these were children.
Those four and Lana had escaped safely.
Unfortunately, they had also found 20 bodies on their way. Excluding Grey and Taek, that left only 13.
Thankfully, 12 of them were found alive. Even though 7 was injured, they could be saved when they met the villagers, so they were sent to the east.
And five remained with Grey and Taek. And there was only one person they hadn't found yet. The first one that stayed.
The one who was probably still holding all the Orcs, since most of the Orcs reported to be coming from the West reached this side yet.
Ray...
He was definitely strong. Grey had always wanted to be like him before traveling the world. But he wasn't strong enough to last this long.
He was probably already holding to his last breath. The other six coming with him also knew this, so no one asked to rest.
Even though they were all in a bad condition, they ran after Grey without stopping.
When they reached the opening they used as the camp area, they saw it. Orcs. At least 13 of them. In front of them was Ray.
His left arm was gone, probably ripped apart. But Ray was still fighting as if nothing was wrong.
It was already hard for a human without Art to fight against a single Orc. But he had been fighting 30, killing five or six of them, looking at the number of corpses on the ground.
Of course, the rest of the 30 had escaped somehow, going toward the east and helping the other Orcs.
But no one could blame Ray since he was alone here. This, instead, enraged them much more than the dead bodies they had seen.
Ray had been fighting by himself for the last two hours.
But Grey raised his hand, telling them not to move. The advice from Taek was still in his mind. He needed to think first.
Again, no one opposed since he was the leader right now. Even if they didn't like it, the chaos from not obeying the orders would make it even worse.
Grey knew that they would lose if they fought against 13 orcs, even if Ray joined them.
Not all of the six behind him could kill an Orc in one versus one. So, he whispered to them,
"Listen to me, our goal is not killing them. We just need to save Ray. The best thing to do is to run away, but we are too tired. And I don't think Ray can run.
Also, if the Orcs follow us, the villagers waiting outside the forest will be in danger."
The others nodded. They also knew this.
"So, we will go around them, try a surprise attack. Of course, even then, we can't kill them. So, don't focus on killing them."
This time, they were surprised by what Grey said.
"What do you mean we don't focus on killing them?" one of the fighters asked.
"Sigh... Can any of you kill an Orc with only one strike?"
Everyone looked at each other, shaking their heads.
"Then, trying to kill them will only ruin our surprise attack. Listen to me. We don't need to kill them. Instead, focus on their legs. If we can immobilize six of them, we can fight against the others."
"Why six? We are seven," Taek asked this time.
"I won't be coming with you. Ray can fall any time now. I will go help him."
Taek almost shouted, "What?" but Grey stopped him. If he shouted, the Orcs would find out about them.
"I have to. Don't worry, I will be okay." Even at this state, the others didn't think Grey wasn't fit to be a leader.
They already knew that Ray was planning to turn him into a leader. They understood why now.
But normally, it was impossible for a fifteen-year-old to make these decisions. It was only because of his past life that he could make these decisions.
Even though they didn't know this part, the others had to accept Grey's order. They didn't have a better way anyway.
After Taek showed them exactly where to attack, they started going around the opening.
At the same time, Grey jumped out of the trees and attacked the closest Orc with his axe.
Now that he understood his Art better, he knew how to use it. Two colors, light and dark gray, were added to the colors of the rings.
He understood that the color changed depending on which weapon, the blunt axe or the sharp sword, he chose to attack with.
But, either way, there wasn't a black ring on the closest Orc. So, he sacrificed his axe and stabbed it into the Orc's right hand, where there was a dark gray ring, and left it there.
"Grey! What are you doing here?" Ray shouted. Grey didn't know how he still had the power to shout.
"Don't worry, everything is okay now. We will get out soon."
Rey wanted to ask more, but there was already an Orc attacking him.
Grey also didn't focus on Ray too much. He couldn't interfere with his fight to save him. He wasn't here for that anyway.
He was here to at least pull the aggro of some of the other Orcs before they attacked Rey.
Even though he wasn't accustomed to using a sword, Grey had learned how to use it before. He had to if he wanted to travel the world and fight against the monsters.
But he always felt like something was missing when he used a sword. He didn't know why, but this time, it didn't feel that way.
Is this another benefit of the Art of Creation?
Whether it was or it wasn't, he had only one thing he needed to do, and it was to kill these Orcs in front of him.