Art of Creation

"Orcs! Orcs are attacking!"

Everyone left their tents immediately. Since this was always a possibility, everyone slept ready to fight.

The weapons weren't left far away, and the tents were placed in an orderly manner. My axe was on a barrel just outside the tent.

When we all got out, I looked back at Elaine. But she seemed okay. Of course, it wasn't the time to think about anything else.

"Gather around! We will form a circle!" Ray shouted.

Everyone obeyed without question. Even if an order was a mistake, in the midst of the war, not obeying the leader's order would bring bigger issues.

Luckily, Ray wasn't an amateur. He was 29 this year, and he had experience. This wasn't his first Orc attack. He had survived three in his life before.

"How many Orcs are there?" he asked.

"We don't have a certain number, but at least 30," one of the other grown-ups answered.

"Sh*t!" This was bad. Even though our group was 40, only 30 were grown-ups. And not all could take on one Orc.

So, even if there were only 30, the situation was dangerous.

"Where are they coming from?"

"From the west of the forest. All of them we saw were in that direction."

"We will retreat to the east slowly. Kids will stay inside the circle. Lana, you also position yourself inside the circle. Grey, you stay outside with us!" he ordered.

Even though it wasn't midnight yet, it would be in half an hour or so. So, I was basically a grown-up.

Also, I had already proved myself by taking on an Orc by myself, so it was only logical I wasn't protected like a child.

The circle got smaller as the kids left the outside ring and positioned themselves inside the circle.

Elaine was also inside since she was counted as a kid. But since she was an archer, she could help even from inside.

Lana, whom Ray ordered to stay inside the circle, was also an archer. Women who joined the ceremonies generally chose to be so.

The other woman who wasn't using a bow and arrows, though, had chosen to use a short sword since it was hard to use a long sword continuously in a fight.

"We will retreat together. Don't break formation. If an Orc gets too close, the two closest will leave the circle to handle the Orc, and the others will fill their spots, completing the circle, until they come back.

Use the trees as cover if needed. Don't get scared and stick to the group. Don't forget, no matter how slow they are, when you are alone, you are in danger!"

I realised once again why Ray was the leader. I used to think that he wasn't scared, but that wasn't correct.

Actually, he was probably more scared than most since everyone's life rested in his hands.

But what made him the leader was his determination and his ability to make good decisions even when he was scared.

Of course, his strength and charisma probably also helped. But no one cared about them in this situation.

We started retreating to the east since that was the closest exit from the forest. But no Orc approached us from the west for some reason.

I looked at Ray and saw that he was frowning, probably also thinking something was weird. The night guard had told them the 30 Orcs were coming from the west.

But the reason why we weren't followed didn't stay hidden for long. When we moved east, we encountered more Orcs.

"Damn, we must have been surrounded!"

"How? The Orcs aren't intelligent enough to cut off our escape route. Especially without us realizing."

"There must be an Orc Chieftain among them. Did we kill too many? Orc Chieftains don't leave the inner forest normally."

"What are we going to do? If we fight an Orc Chieftain, we can't leave together."

Ray looked around. It was a sad look, and I understood the meaning behind it. Not all of us would leave this forest alive.

Damn it! Just when I achieved something in this life...

"Change of plans! Taek, Grey, Mark, Lana! Protect the children. We will create a path for you. Don't wait and leave through there."

"What? What are you-"

"Stop it, Lana! This is an order."

Lana tried to reject, but Ray didn't let her.

I didn't know they were like that...

Even though Ray was 29, he was single. Also, Lana was only 22. So, I didn't think this would be the case, but...

The formation changed, and we started following the others from behind.

Orcs couldn't catch us from behind unless we were stalled from the front, so this formation made sense.

But the Orcs were also going for this tactic. The ones in the front would only stall us until the ones behind caught up with us.

Ray approached me as we walked. "Do you know why I am letting you go?"

"No, I don't," I answered.

"Sigh... It seems like we won't be leaving this forest," he said silently. I didn't object. "This is the reason. You didn't answer with something like 'No, you can't.' 

You are level-headed when needed. You can be the next leader. Also, you are one of the stronger ones. You have potential. It will be hard, but you need to survive so that the village can continue to exist."

I understood what he meant. Most of the grown-ups would die, leaving only the children and him.

Of course, there were many other grown-ups in the village. But most of those who could fight were here.

I can't leave the village if they die...

If I were to become the leader, I could only stay here, leading the ceremony each year.

I didn't want that, but I couldn't reject his determination. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't save them. I didn't have a proper Art. No one did in this village.

"I understand."

"I trust you, Grey. You will be strong." With that, Ray left for the front of the group. Not long after that, the sound of a fight rose.