BRAND NEW WORLD-Chapter 57: A New Being Beyond the Battlefield

After being shocked by what I saw, I immediately shot back through the air toward the caravan.

As soon as I saw the caravan, I went straight to Rima.

"Rim, this is bad! A group of High Orcs and an Orc General are heading this way!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa... can you repeat that?" Rima replied.

I took a breath first. "Just now I saw a group of High Orcs and an Orc General moving toward this place."

"You’re not joking, right?" Rima still looked unconvinced.

"Do you think I’d joke at a time like this?"

"Hm..." Rima thought for a moment. "True... you are the serious type," she said. "Wait, didn’t you say earlier there were only two High Orcs?"

"That’s right, at first I only sensed two presences. But after I chased the High Orc that ran away earlier, I felt many High Orcs and an Orc General moving toward the place where I chased that one."

"How did they avoid your detection? Don’t tell me your skills are getting rusty?" Rima replied with a grin.

"You’re joking at a time like this?!"

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry. Your face is just way too serious," Rima laughed. "Explain again?"

"So, the Orc that ran earlier had already gone more than a kilometre when Fenrir killed it, and I only used my search skill up to two kilometres. That’s why I didn’t detect them."

After hearing my explanation, Rima fell silent, deep in thought.

"So, Rim? What should we do?"

Before long, Rima walked over to Clive.

"Clive, how are the horses?" Rima asked.

"They’re fine now, Miss Rima. Thanks to the potion you gave earlier, their wounds have healed, and they can run again," Clive replied.

"Good! Tell the others to get ready to depart! And please drive the carriage," Rima said.

"Did something happen again, Miss Rima?" Clive asked.

"Lun, come here!" Rima called me.

I then explained what had happened. Clive’s calm expression instantly turned serious after hearing my explanation.

"In that case, I’ll inform the others," Clive said, then went to tell the other passengers.

"Do you have a plan, Rim?"

"The distance from here to the next city is about one and a half days, the same as going back to Zarua. But if we go back to Zarua, our speed will slow because the road goes uphill. The road toward the next city slopes downward a bit so that the journey will be easier," Rima said.

"So we’re heading to the next city?"

"Yes. I want you to escort the caravan while I fly ahead to warn the next city," Rima said.

"Alright."

"Then be careful. Let me know if anything unexpected happens. I’ll catch up soon," Rima said before shooting south through the air.

As I turned around, four adventurers approached me.

"Miss Rima! I’m such a huge fan of Miss Rima!" the female mage said, immediately grabbing my hand.

"Ah, well..."

Before I could finish—

"Miss Rima was so cool earlier! What kind of magic was that?" she exclaimed.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down. She won’t be able to answer if you keep bombarding her with questions," said the male healer.

"Eh! I’m sorry!" the female mage cried, bowing slightly.

"Ah, it’s fine..."

"Please forgive our friend, she’s just too excited to meet her idol..." the healer said.

"It’s really fine," I replied bitterly.

"By the way, Miss Rima, what about the blue Orc?" asked the swordsman.

"We’ve taken care of it. You don’t need to worry."

Hearing my answer, there was a hint of dissatisfaction on their faces—as if they still wanted to help even though they’d been stopped earlier.

"Oh, right, you should get on the caravan now. We’re continuing the journey," I added.

They were about to say something, but held back and decided to board the caravan. I went with them.

As soon as we boarded, the carriage moved south, descending the mountain. The worry and unease made my heart pound. This restless feeling tormented me. But after more than two hours, our journey remained smooth and safe. We didn’t encounter a single monster. I felt it was because of the Orc General—a new, powerful predator that had appeared in this region.

We were currently descending the mountain with forests on both sides. They said once we reached the valley, we’d leave the forest area and enter vast grasslands. From there, we’d cross a large river, then another forest, before finally arriving at the next city: Cymahee.

One hour later

Looks like we’ll soon leave the forest area and enter a more open region.

My heart was still pounding, my chest felt tight. A bad premonition still filled my heart. Before long, we finally exited the forest. Wide green plains now replaced the scenery of trees on both sides.

After entering this area, everyone’s faces gradually returned to normal—the tension eased a little. I felt the same. But it seemed that wouldn’t last long.

Just as things were calming down, a black shadow flashed across the sky. When I looked up—

"CLIVE! Keep moving until you reach the city, and don’t look back!" I shouted.

Without waiting, I jumped off the carriage and flew toward the black figure in the sky, drawing out my red staff.

CLANG!

An unavoidable clash. The shockwave compressed the air, and my breath stopped for a moment. My body was pushed back several meters above the ground, while the other figure was sent flying dozens of meters. I then landed on the ground with one knee bent.

When the figure stabilised itself, its form became clear: a 2.5-meter-tall Orc with dark green skin, wearing a horned Viking-style helmet, silver armour covering its body, and a large double-bladed axe in its right hand.

"So you’ve finally come out, Orc General. I thought you wouldn’t show yourself like a proper warrior."

After standing up, the Orc General stretched its neck and arms. Not long after, six High Orcs emerged from the forest.

Great, now the situation’s more troublesome. Should I call for help?

No. If I’m truly in trouble, then I’ll call.

While I was lost in thought, two arrows shot out from the forest and headed straight toward me.

THUD!

My invisible barrier stopped the arrows.

"A half-hearted attack like that won’t work on me." I looked at the Orc General with a sly smile.

Realising his strategy had failed, the Orc General’s expression turned serious. He raised his axe at me.

GRAAHHH!!

After his roar, the six High Orcs behind him charged at me.

"You think you’re the only one with troops? I have some too."

With a snap of my fingers, two magic circles appeared in front of me. One was yellow—out of it emerged a lion whose body was made of yellow lightning. The other was the Ice Wolf I had summoned before.

"Go!"

The two creatures immediately rushed to intercept the charging High Orcs. Since the battle had begun, the Orc General walked toward me while swinging his axe. His steps quickened, then suddenly he ran and leapt into the air, raising his huge axe overhead. This time, the blade glowed a reddish hue.

Is he going to use a skill?

I quickly jumped far backwards. Moments later—

BOOMM!!

The Orc General slammed his axe into where I had been standing. Upon contact with the ground, a small explosion occurred. The earth shook, followed by a powerful gust of wind spreading in all directions. When the dust cleared, cracks were visible in the ground.

After retreating, I swung my staff forward. Several red magic circles appeared, launching fireballs at him. The Orc General swung his axe and split the incoming fireballs.

Hey, that’s cheating!

"Then try blocking this..."

I released more fireballs the size of truck tyres, along with one that was three times larger than the others. Again, the Orc General deflected them. When the largest one came, he swung his axe vertically from top to bottom.

SWOOSH!

As the fireball split, an Ice spear appeared behind it, flying toward his head. The Orc General swiftly tilted his head left. Though he avoided a fatal blow, the Ice spear grazed his cheek.

"Oh! So you can dodge that too," I muttered.

When the Orc General wiped his cheek, red blood flowed from the wound. Instantly, his aura changed. His killing intent grew denser. His gaze became sharp. The Orc General roared to the sky—a thick aura poured from his body. His body heated up, mirages appeared around him, and his eyes glowed red.

Using the ’Berserk’ skill, huh...

Berserk is a skill that increases the user’s strength, but with the side effect of losing self-control. The user goes on a blind rampage until the effect duration ends.

The Orc General dashed toward me and attacked wildly. Because he was out of control, his attacks were easy to avoid. While dodging, I stored my staff and drew a kris.

This kris had a wooden hilt and a blood-red blade—a cursed weapon capable of destroying weapons below mythical class. When the moment was right, I swung the kris and clashed with his axe.

CRACK!

The axe split apart, and its blade fell to the ground. The Orc General was shocked to see his weapon destroyed. Without waiting, I chanted and fired Aeroblast at him. At such close range, he couldn’t dodge. His body was thrown far back, rolling several times before finally stopping.

"Time to finish this," I muttered.

I walked toward the Orc General lying on the ground. As I got closer, suddenly a large black shadow appeared on the ground. Instinctively, I turned and looked up.

In the sky, a large figure was diving toward me while swinging a huge sword. Just as the sword was about to hit me, another black figure suddenly appeared like a ghost—blocking the attack.

CLANG!

The clash of metal rang out. The figure from the sky was thrown far back but stabilised upon landing, leaning on his sword. When my vision cleared, it turned out to be an Orc Hero.

He was about 2.5 meters tall, his entire body covered in gold armour with Aztec-like engravings. Then my gaze shifted to the black figure in front of me.

The one who had protected me was a 2.5-meter-tall Draconian with a dark body and—most strikingly—four arms. In those four hands, he held two large axes and two greatswords.

The moment I recognised him, my body stiffened, and my heart pounded hard.

Tiamat! Why is he here?!

Tiamat is one of the strongest bosses in The New World Online. His level is maxed—500—because he can transform into a giant black dragon. It takes a 25-person raid team just to defeat him.

Don’t tell me I have to fight him too?!

As I stood frozen in my thoughts, Tiamat turned and looked at me.

My heart pounded faster, and my body felt stiff as if rooted to the ground. Tiamat opened his mouth...

"Milady, are you alright?" Tiamat said.

"Huh?"