Assimilate All Talents

Chapter 37: Reinforcements

One hulking giant of a man wielding a ridiculously large sword led the charge as the soldiers ran behind him. Orcs were never one to turn down a fight, but when they saw that huge brute running at them, they knew they were screwed.

The moment the man reached the orc group, he slammed the flat side of his large sword into the chest of the nearest orc, sending him flying back, knocking down 16 orcs behind him.

Daruck, who was overseeing the fight from the back, stumbled back in fear when he saw that man.

"Why?! Why are you here?! What happened to Champion Teldgulg?!"

The giant man laughed and spun his blade in a circle, taking down 4 orcs before responding.

"Teldgulg? Haha! You should have seen his face when the A-Ranker we recruited and I beat him to a pulp! I have never seen an orc run away so fast!"

Daruck’s face paled, knowing he had failed the mission entrusted to him by his father. The moment this man showed up, all hope was lost.

The soldiers who followed behind the man caught up and joined the fight. They broke into the group of orcs and made a beeline toward Sol to rescue him. The orcs stood no chance as they were against the elites of the army.

One of the soldiers who broke the encirclement around Sol spoke to him.

"Follow us, kid!"

Sol nodded and ran behind but not before using [Siphon] on all the bodies that had just dropped, courtesy of the giant man.

[Basic Axemanship] leveled up! (7 -> 9)

[Endless Vitality] leveled up! (1 -> 2)

Learned [Increased Health Regeneration] Lv 3!

[Cross Slash] leveled up! (2 -> 3)

Learned [Charge] Lv 4!

Sol saw many notifications appear in his vision, but he had to ignore them for now. He followed the soldiers that cleared the way and quickly escaped the fight.

"Sorry about worrying you all, but I had to do something. If we didn’t stop the orcs at the tunnel exit, they would have killed everyone and destroyed the fort."

"Yeah, but-"

"It’s okay, I survived. Speaking of which, what of the other soldiers who joined me?"

Nataly froze at his question, not knowing how to answer. Before she could say anything, a deep voice answered for her.

"Dead, only you survived."

Sol looked to where the voice came from and saw the giant man who single handedly beat over a hundred orcs. Having heard of the fate of the other soldiers who went with him to protect the men and women of this fort, Sol looked downwards and clenched his fist. His nails dug into his skin, almost drawing blood, but Sol did not notice.

’I wasn’t strong enough...’

Suddenly, a big callused hand slapped him on the back with a strong force that almost launched him off the bed.

"Cheer up, kid, you’re a survivor. Celebrate the fact you are alive."

While Sol knew these words were to make him feel better, it didn’t help.

’I only had enough strength to protect myself, and even then I could have died here if they took any longer.’

This event showed just how weak he truly was. That no matter how strong he was against individuals when against an army or those who were truly strong, he does not stand a chance.

’What a fool I was to think I was strong. I am only stronger than the average C-Ranker, maybe B-Ranker if they’re on the weaker side. Even if I am strong, I can still be overwhelmed by numbers... If I was stronger, none of those soldiers would have died...’

Seeing his encouraging words did not improve the young man’s mood, Olfred was unsure of what to do. He wanted to help Sol feel better since he knew how hard this young man fought to protect everyone but felt helpless.

’Man... I am a fighter, not a therapist...’

No one said anything as they did not know how to comfort Sol, but someone spoke up.

"Why the fuck are you blaming yourself for their deaths?"

"Huh?"