“No time to explain,” Halbarad called out, already racing off in a particular direction.

Garrett hurried to follow.

After they had run for some distance, Halbarad suddenly came to a halt and dove behind a raised mound of earth.

Garrett rolled in beside him, quickly concealing himself as well.

The travel-worn cloak on his body blended into the surroundings, like sand and stone.

“Look over there.”

Following the direction Halbarad pointed, Garrett saw a dense cluster of dark shapes crowding a spot in the distance. It looked quite active.

“Orcs.”

Halbarad’s expression grew grim. One hand rested on the ancient sword at his waist as he assessed the scene.

“Over a hundred of them, and a good number of wargs too.”

Unlike Halbarad’s battle-ready tension, Garrett remained relaxed, his eyes only slightly curious.

“No wonder we couldn’t find a single orc earlier, they’ve all moved south.”

“What are they doing over there?”

He squinted toward the group.

The orcs were currently gathered around a withered tree. Some wargs were prowling back and forth nearby, heads low.

“That’s one of our refuges.”

Halbarad stared unblinking at the spot, his gaze following the wargs’ pacing.

“A refuge? I don’t see any sign of one.”

“Exactly.”

“If it could be seen that easily, it wouldn’t be called a hidden refuge. It’s strange, they’re blocking the entrance.”

“Maybe the wargs picked up a scent,” Garrett offered casually.

“Yes, that’s very likely,” Halbarad said, picking up on the idea. “We have methods to confuse warg tracking, but sometimes they fail.”

“Blood. They’re exceptionally sensitive to the scent of blood. Even the faintest trace carried on the wind can be detected.”

“If there’s been bloodshed, they will find it.”

“The fact that the wargs are pacing at the entrance likely means the scent trail ends there. In other words, someone wounded might be inside…”

At that, he tightened his grip on the ancient sword.

“Garrett, do me a favor. I’ll lure the orcs and wargs away. Once they’re gone, go to the tree and mimic a barn owl call, four times, short-short-short-long.”

“Stop, stop. I’m not going to bother learning how to mimic a barn owl.” Garrett cut off the eager Halbarad and said, “It’s just some orcs and wargs. Not even a troll in sight. My suggestion? We go in, directly.”

“That’s over a hundred of them, plus wargs!”

Halbarad reminded him, “Don’t you remember? That’s about how many attacked Wayfort last time. This number could easily sack a village, or even a small town. I’m telling you, listen to me. Don’t worry, I’ve got experience with distracting orcs. I think I have more experience than you.”

“You’ve been gone too long, Halbarad. You think Wayfort is still what it used to be? Or that I’m still who I used to be?”

Garrett stood up and strolled toward the orcs, walking openly, immediately drawing their attention.

“Too reckless!”

Halbarad gritted his teeth. After a brief hesitation, he got up and followed behind Garrett.

The orcs turned to look, then burst out laughing.

“Ha! Two maggots came crawling out themselves!”

“Kill them! Fresh meat for dinner tonight!”

An orc riding a warg gave the order. The nearby orcs howled wildly, those with wargs mounted up, the rest charged forward in a disorganized rush, afraid their prey might escape.

Whoosh.

Seeing the enemies surge forward, Halbarad quickly loosed an arrow, taking down a warg. But before he could shoot a second time, the orcs and wargs suddenly stopped. They craned their necks, peering ahead, hesitating.

“What’s happening?”

He was puzzled, his bowstring still drawn.

Garrett stood calmly at the front and turned his head back.

“I don’t know where you heard about me, but clearly they didn’t tell you everything.”

He pointed at the orcs.

“See? They clearly know who I am, and what I’ve done, far better than you do.”

Shing.

He drew his longsword, which shimmered with a bright blue glow, as if to illuminate the entire darkened hillside.

“Aiee!”

The orc at the front shut his eyes in terror and cried out, “It’s Him! The Bane! That ‘Bane’ that cut down over a thousand orcs and slew our war-chiefs!”

With a clamor, the orcs instantly lost all will to charge forward. They finally understood where that instinctive dread had been coming from.

He was their bane.

And that word meant only one thing, standing before them was someone who existed solely to counter and destroy them. Facing him could only bring misfortune and death.

Garrett suddenly charged forward, sword swinging. The orcs scattered in all directions in panic. The wargs tucked their tails and fled.

After cutting down a few orcs who weren’t swift enough, he turned back and said, “You go help your kinsmen. I’ll clean up the rest. I’ll be back soon.”

Halbarad awkwardly put away his bow and took a deep breath. He opened his mouth several times, not knowing what to say.

In the end, he could only respond, “Very well. Your call.”

This fellow was getting more formidable by the day.

Seeing Halbarad nod, Garrett turned and gave chase in the direction where the orcs were densest.

An orc horde that had grown strong couldn’t be left alive.

Garrett’s appearance had only temporarily shattered their fighting spirit. Once he was gone, they would once again become a threat to the Free Peoples.

Watching Garrett’s retreating figure and the fleeing orcs, Halbarad felt a tangle of emotions.

What a situation this had become.

“I’d better check the refuge.”

Beneath the withered tree, a barn owl’s call sounded.

Moments later, Thud, thud, two muffled impacts came from beneath the earth.

Crack!

A patch of turf trembled. Halbarad hurried over and pulled up a wooden hatch covered with sand and dried grass.

It was an entrance to an underground shelter.

As soon as it opened, a hand reached out.

“Ha…”

A man climbed out, gasping for breath.

“Halbarad! I’m so glad to see you again.”

He asked, “What’s the situation out there?”

“It’s safe now. The orcs have been driven off by… reinforcements. They should be eliminated completely soon.”

“That’s excellent news.”

Looking at Halbarad, he added, “Honestly, I never imagined it’d be you out there. Since you began your journey east, it’s been two years. I’m truly glad you made it back safely.”

“I’m happy to see you all again, too.”

Whew.

The man sighed in relief and said, “You have no idea how dangerous things have become lately. Because of certain… influences, the orcs no longer venture to stay in the north, they’ve all come south. The crossing to the Shire has become harder and harder to defend.”

As he listened, Halbarad’s expression grew slightly complicated.

“Let’s not discuss that now. I’ll explain everything later. For now, come help, there are still wounded below.”

“Of course.”

As he climbed down, the man suddenly asked, “By the way, I forgot to ask, what unit are our reinforcements from?”

“What unit? If you must call it that,” Halbarad replied, “then I’d say… from Wayfort.”

“What?”

The man looked confused.

Halbarad explained, “You’ve been stationed here longer than I have, so you’ll understand this better than me. It’s him who lives there. The one who strikes fear into the hearts of orcs.”

While he assisted his kinsmen, not far from the Rangers’ refuge, inside a dim cave…

Thunk, thunk, thunk…

Sounds of a pick striking stone echoed from within the walls.

A terrified orc, huddled in a corner, raised his crude blade shakily toward the source of the noise.

CRACK!

The sound drew closer until a fissure appeared on the wall, widening steadily.

Pop.

A face suddenly appeared through the freshly excavated hole. Eyes that could pierce the darkness immediately locked onto the orc cowering in the corner.

“Found you.”

That day, cries of terror echoed through the cave system.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep