Chapter 14: Night Raid — Part 2
Fire arrows traced burning arcs against the stars.
The first hit a supply tent, oil-soaked canvas catching instantly. The second struck a weapon stack—dry wood and oiled leather going up like kindling. The third missed its target and buried itself in dirt, but by then the camp was already burning.
"CHARGE!"
I led the rush down the slope, sword in hand, voice raw from screaming. Thirty fighters followed—a wave of steel and desperation crashing into the chaos below.
The orcs were scrambling. Half-dressed, half-armed, stumbling from shelters toward flames and shadows and the screaming tide that fell upon them.
I reached the first one before he'd drawn his weapon. My blade took him across the belly. He folded.
Keep moving.
A massive orc loomed from the smoke—bigger than me, bigger than most humans, swinging an axe that could have split me from crown to crotch. I brought my sword up, barely catching the blow.
The impact jarred my arms to the shoulders. My feet skidded on bloody ground.
Too strong. Can't match him blow for blow.
I dropped low as the axe came again, rolling under the swing. My blade sliced across his calf. He roared. Stumbled.
Grimbeorn's hammer materialized from nowhere, crushing the orc's skull in a spray of bone and brain.
"FOCUS, BOY!"
The half-Beorning was already turning to the next enemy, hammer rising and falling with mechanical precision. I found my feet and followed.
The camp had become a killing ground.
Fire spread from tent to tent. Orcs ran in every direction—some toward weapons, some toward the fighting, some toward the western ravine where Grimbeorn's blocking force waited with hungry spears.
I killed two more before reaching the cages.
Maeglin's team had done their work.
Two orc guards lay dead near the prisoner cages, throats cut clean. The iron bars hung open—lock shattered by a well-placed axe blow. Figures stumbled out, blinking in the firelight.
Eight prisoners. Starving, beaten, barely able to stand.
"MOVE!" Maeglin was pushing them toward the northern treeline. "Don't stop! Don't look back!"
One man couldn't walk—leg bent wrong below the knee. A scout slung him across his shoulders and ran.
But orcs had noticed.
Three of them broke from the main fight, charging toward the fleeing prisoners with the single-minded fury that made orc tactics so terrifying.
"WITH ME!"
I intercepted the lead orc at full run. Our blades clashed. Sparks flew. I twisted left, letting his momentum carry him past me, and opened his back with a wild slash.
The second orc reached me before I could recover. His mace caught me across the ribs.
Pain exploded through my side. Something cracked. I went down.
Get up. GET UP.
The orc raised his mace for the killing blow. Through blurred vision, I saw it descending—
An arrow sprouted from his eye socket. He toppled.
I rolled clear as the third orc leaped over his fallen companion, blade aimed at my throat. My parry was weak—injured ribs screaming protest—but enough to deflect the strike. I kicked at his knee. Missed. Kicked again. Connected.
He stumbled. I drove my sword up through his jaw.
The prisoners were clear. Maeglin's team melting into the trees, carrying and dragging those who couldn't run.
Good. That's good.
I pushed myself upright. The world tilted. My ribs felt like broken glass grinding together.
But the battle wasn't over.
The orc captain found me.
He was massive—head taller than Grimbeorn, scarred from dozens of battles, wielding a blackened blade that had clearly tasted human blood before.
"MAN-THING." His voice was a grinding rasp. "LORD OF GRUBS."
He knew who I was. He'd been waiting for this.
I raised my sword, ribs protesting every breath. Around us, the battle continued—orcs dying, men dying, fire consuming everything—but this felt separate. Personal.
"You speak," I said. "The refugees mentioned that."
"SPEAK. THINK. REMEMBER." He advanced, blade testing the air between us. "REMEMBER YOUR KIND BURNING OUR TUNNELS. YOUR RANGERS HUNTING US LIKE ANIMALS."
"You are animals."
He roared and charged.
I couldn't match his strength. Couldn't match his reach. But I'd learned something in the months since waking in this borrowed body—survival wasn't about being stronger. It was about being smarter.
I let him come.
His first swing was meant to split me in half. I sidestepped, letting the blade pass close enough to feel the wind of its passage. His second swing aimed for my knees—I jumped back, barely clearing it.
He was faster than he looked. Stronger. More skilled.
But he's angry. And angry makes mistakes.
"Your camp is burning," I said. "Your warriors are dying. You've already lost."
"MEAT." He spat the word. "YOU ARE MEAT. YOUR FOLLOWERS ARE MEAT. THIS PLACE WILL BURN AND I WILL—"
I feinted left.
He committed to the block.
I struck right.
My blade entered his throat below the jaw, angled upward. The point emerged from the back of his skull.
For a moment, the orc captain stood frozen—eyes wide, mouth working around words that would never come.
Then he fell.
[ORC CAMP — DAWN]
Silence crept in with the light.
The fighting had stopped minutes ago, but my body hadn't gotten the message. I stood over the captain's corpse, sword still in hand, breathing in ragged gasps that sent fire through my cracked ribs.
A bird sang somewhere in the forest. Dawn birds, welcoming the sun.
"It's done." Halbarad appeared beside me, face spattered with black blood. "They're broken. The survivors scattered—Grimbeorn's team caught most of them at the ravine."
"Casualties?"
"Five dead. Eight wounded." His voice was flat. "We won."
Five dead.
I looked around the ruined camp. Bodies everywhere—orc and human, tangled together in death. Fire still burned in places, smoke rising to meet the morning sky.
Five families that will never see their people again. Five graves I'll have to dig.
"The prisoners?"
"Safe. Maeglin got them all out." Halbarad studied my face. "You're hurt."
"I'm fine."
"You're lying." He put a hand on my shoulder—gentle, fatherly. "You killed the captain. The men saw it. They'll follow you anywhere now."
I didn't want followers. I wanted the five dead men walking back up that slope.
But that wasn't how this world worked.
Author's Note / Support the Story
Your Reviews and Power Stones help the story grow! They are the best way to support the series and help new readers find us.
Want to read ahead? Get instant access to more chapters by supporting me on Patreon. Choose your tier to skip the wait:
⚔️ Noble ($7): Read 10 chapters ahead of the public.
👑 Royal ($11): Read 17 chapters ahead of the public.
🏛️ Emperor ($17): Read 24 chapters ahead of the public.
Weekly Updates: New chapters are added every week. See the pinned "Schedule" post on Patreon for the full update calendar.
👉 Join here: patreon.com/Kingdom1Building