In the middle of the forest, where a hastily made Orc's camp is situated, Kairos' slim figure appeared behind a large tree, hidden from sight.

With his superior soul perception ability range, he had managed to sneak out of camp by avoiding Alan's Soul Perception and reached this place without anyone's notice.

The Orc camp is, as expected, a simple clearing made by removing the trees, and woefully unprotected from the elements.

The War Beasts sat on logs and large rocks gnawing on thick slabs of meat on the bone that they managed to burn, yet somehow remained uncooked at the same time.

Carefully scrutinising through this make-shift camp, Kairos found the target of his purpose; conveniently seated at the centre of the clearing was the young Orc leader.

He removed a magnifying glass, a pair of flint stones and a thin reflective foil from his commander's pouch, intending to send a beam of light to gather its attention. But while he was preparing, a rustling of leaves behind him made him dropped his tools and quickly turned about for a fight. But what greeted him was a most surprising sight.

The same young Orc he was trying to contact, walked out from the shadows of an undergrowth and stared directly at him as if it already knew he was there.

“What the hell, was it teleportation? And, had it been expecting me?”

Numerous questions entered his mind. It was an impossible distance for the Orc to cross in an instant, and besides, he was confident that he had moved without being detected.

Little did he know that it had nothing to do with the way he snuck through the forest. In fact, his Soul Perception enabled him to move silently for the most part.

The actual reason was more magical in nature. The moment he stepped into the woods, his presence had been detected by the mana-sensitive Orcs. Especially since they had been specifically tracking him.

The Orcs fully intended to destroy him - the source of their rage - there and then, but the boy's audacity piqued the curiosity of their King, and it ordered the rest to act oblivious to find out what this boy wanted.

Kairos silently berated himself, "I've been careless. But, why couldn't my Soul Perception detect it?!”

Even now the Orc is invisible to his second-sight. He quelled the panic that rose within him. An almost mechanical calmness washed over him as his inhuman willpower kicked in. A boon that he had been getting used to ever since practising the Origin Cultivation Method.

Cold logic dictates that already coming this far - right into the middle of the enemy's encampment - there is little use in freaking out. Instead, he gave the young Orc a pointed look, then walked away from the Orc camp towards a more remote part of the forest.

He was confident that it would follow. If it wanted to attack him, there is no need to appear alone.

He stopped when they reached a small moonlit area with the privacy he wanted. This place appears to be the perfect location, not too far from the Orc camp that the young Orc might have reason worry, nor so close the War Beast could get him in an instant. And, most importantly, he is near enough to George's camp to get help if he needed.

He turned around, and for the first time, he carefully observed his company. The result caused Kairos to tremble involuntarily. Against the shadows of the forest, the boy noticed with fright that a barely visible small crown of light was dancing on top of its brows.

Is... is this a legendary Orc King? No... way....!

It was an incredible existence before him. A being that was only found in the history books. A fearsome, ancient, archenemy of humanity; one that was thought that would never return.

But despite the immenseness of the situation he was in, Kairos somehow remained calm, and he asked in a flat voice, "Can you understand me?"

The young Orc looked at Kairos curiously but did not respond. A disappointing result in his attempt at communication.

At the same time, in Orc King observed how the very essences of nature danced delightfully around Kairos. Both the mana in the air, and the coagulation of powers - Heavenly Energies - seemed drawn to the boy.

It felt a strange, almost foreign sensation in its heart. Jealousy, like biting venom, not unlike that of a child whose parent gave her attention to another. Such emotion had always been there, it just never realised before.

It is unusual for the Orc species to develop this kind of sentiment since they hardly consider anyone their 'parents'. Their race lives in a collective community, where everyone is part of the family, and none has their own. In such a society, their young were raised together and its hardly surprising that the War Beasts grew up without human-like dependency on another individual.

They may obey their King, but it was in the same way a soldier does to their liege. However, the same could not be said of the Orc King. Made more of magic than of flesh, it considered Gaia as its mother. Since it was but an egg, nature herself sang to it, nurtured it and guided it gently.

Now looking at how the world seems to love Kairos had left it with a feeling of confusion. At this distance, it could see how the elements playfully flew around the boy like nature herself was thrilled to be close to him.

But a wild wind carrying the boy's scent broke it out of its trance. It was reminded of the vengeance that the blood of its brethren demands. Wrath burned in its veins, snuffing out any more interest it had in the boy.

A slight shimmer abruptly appeared on the body of the young Orc; then along with the gust, its image faded away like it never existed.

“ASTRAL PROJECTION! Not good, this is a trap! I need to go back at once!”

Even Kairos who had not much schooling know of this famous technique. It was one of the rare few magical abilities high-ranking Orcs had that once drove fear into the hearts of man. He had heard stories of it, but this was his first time seeing the spell. After all, the Orcs that could do such a thing had ceased to exist for centuries.

Knowing what it entails, he urgently directed his Soul Perception towards George's camp. To conserve energy, he had kept his detection range to a 100-meter radius around himself. Anything more would dangerously lower his reserves. But, at this crucial moment, he had to scout out a way to escape.

He steadily increased the range while reducing the radius.

120 meters.

130 meters.

150 meters.

To his horror, his path was crawling with Orcs.

“Damn it! Every. Single. Route. Blocked!”

He spun on the heel of his foot and dashed straight into the undergrowth, trying to outmanoeuvre the orcs that are lying in ambush. When Kairos was meeting the Orc King, the latter had somehow communicated to its troops to block off all exits while being far away enough from detection.

"By Gaia’s beard! Magic is a cursed thing… Even with soul force, I couldn't notice it is just a projection."

Moving quickly and nimbly in the darkness of the undergrowth, Kairos rushed towards George's camp without misplacing even a single step. It was the one advantage he had over his foes that could prevent them from catching up to him.

For the cover from both sight and sound, he picked the most treacherous path, filled with roots and rocks hidden by darkness and thorny brush with a strong fragrance that tore at his clothes. Fortunately, at his rank, the usual things that could scratch a non-cultivator, would hardly harm him.

Yet, despite his desperate efforts, the Orcs that are still tracking him closely.

Having been a step behind the Orc King at the start, every step he made after felt a step late.

The net tightens until his enemies finally surrounded him at a narrow pass. He was still a good distance away from safety, and regardless of his unnatural mental fortitude, he felt despair gripping his heart.

Gritting his teeth, he tightly held the Swallow in preparation for deadly battle. He can wallow in regrets after it is too late.

Unable to avoid them, he tried for a breakthrough. The boy rushed towards the ambush waiting for him, valiantly. It was a speed too swift for cumbersome Orcs to react.

He twisted at a sharp angle and aimed at the small of the neck of the closest Orc. His target traced his magic signature, yet was unprepared for the lightning fast attack made in near-complete darkness.

The gleaming edge struck out like a viper, and before it realised, the Orc's eyes dimmed with regret as it wheezed its last breath.

Its companions roared with unbridled rage at the viciousness of his strike, and over twenty Orcs charged at him at close quarters.

"Why are your race always so angry?" He mumbled to no one in particular.

Fending off their maddened, chaotic strikes, was easier than he expected.

Their mingling, thickly-muscled, limbs worked against themselves, and he deftly avoided their awkward attacks. Though each time he dodged, he felt like he was going to be blown away by the resulting force of their strikes.

“This amount of strength is really unreasonable!”

*Tut* *Tut* *Tut*

He retreated. An eyeball-to-eyeball brawl is too risky at this point. A single, solid, hit at a bad location would place him six feet under. Kairos had no choice but to, hastily, disengage at the first chance he gets.

Just that short exchange left him with numerous terrible cuts made from glancing blows, even though he had dodged everything.

“All of them, Mid-D grade, Orc Masters!”