I ran away shortly after, yet again using shadow walk. I ended up on the roof of a close-by building and started following them.

Suddenly explosion shook the ground. A fireball struck the ruin I just moved from. Debris shoot everywhere, but it was not the end. More explosions just decimated that piece of architecture, throwing smoking and burning pieces into the sky.

I clearly managed to piss off the mages. It actually brought a smile to my face. Our plan was working.

While tailing my friends I tried to scan through the horde of orcs, to find where, or if, the boss was hiding among them, but because of the distance and thick black smoke obscuring my view, it was simply impossible.

I gave up on that, and jumped down, as more fireballs went flying my way. We stopped after a solid minute of sprinting.

Boris was a bit wounded, just like Hailwic and Martin. I still had a bit of life energy to help them, Will also. I also immediately focused on breathing to help replenish my Ki.

- We need to go back there - said Nobuo. - We did an amazing job, but that's not enough.

- You have no idea. Behind those armored orcs is another type. They might just massacre our defenses if we let them go past us. They don't die easily, and you actually have to wait for them to die from blood loss, or probably deliver a really deadly hit, but they have sturdy bodies. They also seem to go in some kind of trance if you keep hurting them - I quickly explained.

- Fuck - said Will. - How many?

- I killed maybe a dozen or more, but there is still plenty. Not as many as the regular orcs we just dealt with, but it's still too many.

Blue started transforming back after I finished my sentence.

- Argh!

He cried out of pain, and curled up, finally ending on the ground.

- I have a plan how to deal with them - he said through his gritted teeth. - Somebody just needs to deliver the message.

- What do you have in mind? - asked Boris.

- Oil. A lot of oil spilled on the ground. On a long-distance, and we will set it on fire as they go. Some of them should die before they manage to reach the city center.

- There is no time for that - argued Will.

- We can make the time for them. I and Peter will go deep into their ranks, you hold what manages to go past us.

- I'll deliver the message - said Sanders. - And join you as soon as I can. I'm a good runner.

- Go then - said Blue, and started transforming again.

I was kinda impressed after witnessing how much pain it brings to him. I originally categorized him as a pompous asshole, but either he changed, or from the get-go was actually one tough guy, still an asshole.

Nil started running without waiting for a signal.

- The whole fucking city will burn - Will pointed out.

- But we will be the ones to burn it down, not them - said Nobuo. - Let's go Will-san. There are enemies to cut down.

I jumped on the roof using shadow walk. Blue followed me. We quickly made our way to the enemies. At some point fireballs started flying our way, so we had to watch out for those. Explosions yet again shook the entire city.

I landed between those red orcs, trying my best to repeat what I managed to achieve before. Those monsters were not the smartest. Clearly dumber than the regular greenskins, but also way stronger. I cut as many as I could, and kept doing so while pushing towards those annoying mages.

They had to be pissed too, as a few fireballs actually went my way, and exploded harming their own. I easily dodged with shadow walk.

They had to realize it somehow because they didn't send any more spells my way after the initial fail. The damage they've done was quite nice. As a 'thank you' I made it all the way to them and started cutting. My enraged berserker friends followed me. Blue also joined, leaping down from the roof.

This time, though, I had a bit of a different approach. I didn't focus so heavily on killing as many as possible but rather tried to go as deep as I could. That's when I saw him. A giant grey-skinned orc with a bald head, black beard, and two large tusks coming out of his mouth. He had probably around three meters and was basically build-out of entangled muscles. His skin was covered in scars, and he had a giant cleaver that he had thrown over his shoulder.

I started running away as soon as my brain registered his presence, still cutting as many as possible on my way.

I joined Blue soon after, and we did our best to thin the numbers of mages, but eventually, we had to evacuate again.

We ran on the roofs, and joined the others, doing their best to hold the armored troops. Still, they were systematically pushed back. We jumped down again in the middle of enemy ranks and did our best to kill as many as possible.

At some point, Nil joined us.

- I delivered the message - he yelled and jumped straight to action.

He got uncomfortably close to one of the orcs and avoiding its attacks focused on the joints between the plates, cutting and stabbing, eventually killing the monster. But that was just one of many.

We held up for a couple of long minutes and again had to give up some ground.

- Let's just slow them down! - yelled Boris.

And that became our tactic. We gave up on trying to kill as many as possible, and instead heavily focused on steadily giving up space, while still delivering deadly blows. It was the best we could do, as many of my friends were already exhausted by the continuous battle.

I have no idea how much time we bought at the end of the day, but at some point, Amit came running.

- Retreat, retreat!historical