Chapter 14: An Obvious Betrayal

Chapter 14: Chapter 14: An Obvious Betrayal

Seriously, Ayax sheathed his sword and said:

"I don’t know, but we have to leave as soon as possible, or the orc will catch up to us. Hurry!"

The twins continued forward, but Dorian was somewhat reluctant. In the end, as if he were resisting something, he moved forward alongside his brother, who looked at him with concern but said nothing about it.

Little Linlin was the same as Dorian, but after a second, she followed Ayax. Victor watched them in silence and, nervous about the orc’s presence nearby, had no choice but to continue alongside these people.

’This can’t be happening. At that moment, Ayax...’

Ahead of him, the group ran with all their strength, just as that first group Victor had encountered had done. At that exact moment, he felt a dangerous sense of déjà vu.

Of course... He had seen this before, no, heard this before. What the hell was going on?! Victor felt his heart pounding like crazy as he ran. Behind them, the trees shook, and the creature’s heavy footsteps echoed like drums.

The twins were just as nervous as Victor, but Ayax was different. He was suspiciously calm and focused on the path ahead.

Victor couldn’t be completely sure, but considering everything he had seen over the past few days, the one who was lying had to be the leader of this group.

However, why would his friends, who had been with him for much longer, accuse him of lying? What was Ayax lying about? What was this leader hiding that had little Linlin and Dorian so distressed?

Damn it... There were too many unanswered questions. I mean, everyone was doing just fine in this group! Then why the hell had these two been giving Victor messages?!

Victor looked back.

’We’re getting farther away from the orc. It looks like we’re losing it.’

But that wasn’t the whole truth, was it? He looked at the leader, who remained calm as he slowed down. They suddenly stopped behind Ayax, who had done the same a few seconds earlier.

A small ravine lay before them. Ayax clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"There’s no way through. We have to find another route, and fast."

The twins strangely obeyed and turned around. Linlin followed them, but Victor was too disturbed to simply follow whatever this guy said without questioning it.

He had spent his entire life following what other people told him to do! Why the hell did he have to obediently follow Ayax now?! It was irritating him, but he got his answer when the stench of that beast reached him.

Of course, just like in his life, he had to do what others told him because it was the only way to survive, and it was the same in this case.

Just in case, Victor tightened his grip on his knife as he followed the group. He couldn’t trust Ayax anymore, or anyone else. In fact, he had never trusted any of these people in the first place.

"Let’s continue through here!" Ayax said. "We’ll lose the beast among the trees!"

"Yeah!" the twins replied.

Keeping pace with them, Victor noticed something strange about the area. There were marked trees, as if someone had dragged the edge of a metal weapon across their bark. Several bushes were also crushed or torn apart.

’This is...’

Farther ahead, they crossed a river by walking over a fallen tree that served as a bridge. That was the most suspicious part of all. The cut in the tree had axe marks and was secured with rocks around the edges so it wouldn’t roll away.

’Someone has been here already.’

Unfortunately for everyone, the beast’s stench intensified from one second to the next. Victor felt his nose itch as the orc seemed to be getting progressively faster, accompanied by a loud rumbling sound.

Looking back again, Victor tightened his grip on his knife. He turned his gaze back to Ayax, but the man now had a worried expression on his face. What the hell was that supposed to mean?!

Victor once again felt the stench suddenly intensify, as if the orc were teleporting.

Suddenly, the stench disappeared, and a brief moment later, it intensified immensely. Fleeing with everything they had, the group came to an abrupt stop when the orc emerged from the bushes, swinging its huge deformed hand.

The monster’s first target? Unfortunately for him, Victor was brutally struck by the orc’s arm, which was like a wrecking ball. His scrawny body was sent flying through the trees.

In that brief instant, he could see the orc attacking the group, but still reeling from the initial impact, he couldn’t see anything else. He came to a sudden stop after rolling across the ground and coughed up blood as he tried to get back up.

’This is bad. Really bad. My organs...’

Spitting up blood was a bad sign, but that was the least of his worries. The ground cracked, and before he knew it, Victor found himself at the edge of the ravine. The ground broke apart and slid toward the drop, which wasn’t actually that deep.

With the last of his strength, he grabbed onto an exposed root. This was his lucky break! Right beside him was another formation of earth leading to a lower part of the forest. If he could swing himself over there, he could save himself from falling.

He stretched out his hand, desperately beginning his attempt to save himself, but his eyes widened in disbelief when he saw Ayax appear there.

He extended his hand and said:

"Let me help you!"

Victor saw his salvation, so he reached out his hand, but the ground shook and the orc appeared behind Ayax without attacking him. The beast stopped right behind him. That made Victor pull his hand back.

Ayax, who had appeared desperate, suddenly looked calm and, in a relaxed tone of voice, said:

"It’s so easy to make them fall."

An arrow flew through the air and pierced Victor’s hand, making him fall.

Victor already knew. He knew this bastard was the one who had been lying, but for a moment, he had believed things would be different when Ayax appeared to save him.

He knew it all too well, and the System confirmed it.

[You have fallen victim to the Path: Five-Star Manipulator.]

Just as he watched his final moments flash before his eyes, the beast leaped high into the air as he faintly heard Ayax ordering them to kill him.

’Damn it...’

The stone in his pocket began to glow faintly.