“Attack!”

  Noah bolted from his chair, grabbing his hammer and armor as he made his way outside. The voice was coming from the east, no doubt one of the sentries patrolling their vicinity. He began running down the east road, throwing his armor on as he ran, joined by fellow orcs throwing open their doors and falling in step behind him. It took less than a minute to reach the scout, who had been sprinting with abandon. She came to a stop before Noah, taking gasping breaths.

  “Over the hill. Coming. Rats.” She managed. Rats? Noah frowned but patted the scout on the shoulder and continued toward the river. There was a bridge crossing the water, more for convenience than necessity, and as they stepped on it they heard terrible screeching from ahead. It really did sound like rats. Noah grimaced as he shuttered involuntarily. He hated rats. The warriors sprinted through the grassy plains, hoping to reach the hill before any of the enemies crested the ridge. All of a sudden, the ground began to shake beneath them, and loose dirt was thrown into the air as furry brown figures emerged from the earth. Noah stared in shock as the dirt cleared, revealing tentacle-faced rats. Wait, they’re moles! The realization barely had time to set in before the foot-long claws of the first creature swung toward him. He met the claws with his gravity-warping hammer and sent the two-legged mole flying in a superhero pose.

  The other beasts seemed to notice Noah’s prowess and froze for a moment, allowing his warriors to find their bearings. The interlude was interrupted by a shrill voice coming from atop the hill.

  “Kill them you trash! The next one of you to hesitate dies by my claws!” the creature screamed. Noah glanced at the figure. It was also a mole but had silver fur and stood a full two meters high, nearly a head above the others. He couldn’t stare for long as the other beasts sprung into motion, brandishing their hideous claws and bearing their teeth beneath the tentacles.

  “Die!” they screamed in unison as they rushed forward in attack. Noah had a mix of feelings as he began to hammer in the skulls of the tentacle-nosed moles. First of all, he really didn’t like their leader. He definitely had tyrant vibes. Secondly, the moles were dying too easily. It was almost like they weren’t warriors. His brow furrowed as he searched the horde of brown and pink. He found what he was looking for. Dispersed amongst the others were larger moles, with silvery fur and sharp glints in their eyes. They seemed to watch the others but didn’t join the fight themselves. His stomach turned at the implication. More oath slaves. He plowed his way through the fodder and reached the nearest silver, who seemed surprised at his appearance for a moment before snarling.

  “Attack him, you worthless fur bags! Or your children will never see the dark of night again!” it screeched. Noah’s frown turned steely. Children? You’re keeping children hostage? His hammer met flesh with a thunderous impact, and the mole slammed into the surrounding horde like they were little more than reeds in the wind. To Noah’s shock, after the beast finally stopped skidding along the ground, it stood up and spit a wad of blood at the nearest mole.

  “Hehehe,” it cackled before charging forward through the carnage. Noah frowned, and batted away the feeble attempts at attack from the other moles.

  “Take down the silver ones! The others are enslaved!” He shouted above the clamor. By now more of his warriors had shown up and he hoped they caught his message. He turned toward the charging monster and grinned, before sprinting toward it. The clash didn’t go as well as the first, and when the mole dodged his hammer he knew he was in trouble. All 1300 plus dexterity didn’t give him enough time to dodge the ridiculously long claws that stabbed into his side. His saving grace was the hastily adorned armor that stopped its claws from going straight through him. It did not however keep him from flying through the air. Crap.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  He was happy to note that he didn’t fly as far as the rat had, but it was close. He picked himself up and dashed back into the fight, this time feinting with his hammer and driving a knee into the beast’s gut. It let out a grunt as it doubled over. To Noah’s horror, its tentacles wrapped around his leg and he felt pressure as its teeth began to work at his armor. He slammed his hammer into the back of the beast and the force drove both of them into the ground. His foe spit out several bloody teeth as Noah drove his hammer into the beast’s skull. It let out a low whine and Noah got back to his feet, swinging his hammer again for good effect. It took another two blows to the head before the System recognized its death.

  [ 100,000 XP Gained.]

  Noah was relieved to see the message but knew he couldn’t waste more time. He scanned the battlefield and saw several orcs being tossed through the air as they attempted to take on the silver moles. He began to move toward the nearest one, doing his best to incapacitate the weaker moles without killing them as he went. The silver slaver grinned wickedly as it noticed him and moved in his direction. As the two were just about to trade blows, a flash of white passed through Noah’s vision and slammed into the rodent’s neck. His hammer connected an instant later and the mole was thrown into the ground. There was an arrow sunk halfway into the beast and Noah grinned as he heard Kyle cheering from some distance away. He finished off the beast, a task made much simpler with the assist.

  [50,000 XP Gained.]

  The silver-furred moles began to die as his warriors worked in groups to take them down. The brown moles began to hesitate as they realized their captors were being eliminated around them, but their leader continued to shout down at them from above. Noah knew that the System would enforce their oath with brutal consequences if they didn’t obey, so he didn’t hold their continued attacks against them. He saw Recter and Gerald high-fiving in the distance as an arrow-laden creature was impaled for the final time with Recter’s spear. As the final specks of silver fell, Noah turned his attention to the ridge where the deviant mole screamed out his tirade. He began to run, pushing through the crowd of furry bodies as he went, thankful for the protection his armor offered as claws bounced harmlessly off him. The mole began to point at him and yell, causing the others to crowd around him, hoping to overwhelm him with numbers. It wouldn’t do, however, as arrows began to fly, cutting the mole’s screeching short.

  Noah watched as it deflected the first two arrows with its claws and expertly evaded the next. His warriors let out a warcry as they streamed past Noah, who was rendered mostly immobile as he tried not to kill the enslaved moles. Their orders had been to stop him, not the others, and they seemed content to let them pass. Noah witnessed flashes of silver as the mole king danced around his warriors, sending several flying as he frantically warded off the numerous attacks. Recter scored the first blow, a shallow stab into its lower leg. The hit was followed by two arrows, however, that dug into the gut and throat simultaneously. The king screamed in rage, demanding that the slaves help him, and all of a sudden Noah was free. He sprinted toward the action but missed his opportunity as Ne’Ja’s axe cut through the back of its neck. They shouted in triumph as the mole’s body toppled over. All at once, the brown-furred moles sunk to their knees, some falling on their faces. Noah had a moment of panic as he tried to imagine what had happened. Some kind of kill switch? Death by System? His questions were answered however as he heard the soft sobs of a nearby mole woman.

  “Are you alright?” Noah asked tentatively as he approached.

  “Exhausted.” she whimpered, explaining their sudden collapse.

  “I see. Are your children going to be alright?” Noah questioned. He saw the mole go stiff for a moment before nodding ever so slightly.

  “Yes, I believe so. They were being held by others like us, the fighters were required to join the raid,” she replied. Noah nodded, relief crashing in. The last thing he wanted was to be responsible for a bunch of dead children. He turned to his tribe and grinned.

  “Everyone, gather around!”