Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

Elton\'s eyes remained eerily calm as he watched the axe getting closer to him, craving for his blood. He utilized the momentum from his previous attack and drove the fiery sword into the icy ground beneath him, nimbly lowering and rotating his body. At that moment, his right leg shot forwards, sweeping like a monkey\'s tail, aiming to shatter Grok\'s balance.

His movements were so fast that Grok had no chance to evade or counterattack. He only felt his surroundings spinning as he fell to the ground with a powerful thud, the axe slipping from his hands and landing not far away. These movements happened in the span of a single breath, leaving no time for the others to reach, only to watch as their comrades got beaten.

When the world around Grok finally stopped spinning and his eyes regained focus, he tried to look at Elton. He expected to see the man take advantage of this to kill him, however, the man\'s gaze was fixed on Zahra with annoyance and anger evident in his eyes. The woman had managed to hit his sword from that distance while he was moving at a fast speed, causing him to be bothered.

Zahra already had another arrow nocked in her bow, ready to strike again at the captain. On the other hand, the other archers were preparing themselves to shoot down the other enemies, who were still climbing the steep slope. The other close-quarters warriors had formed a line in front of them, ready to protect the archers as Zahra commanded. In the end, the responsibility of stalling the enemy\'s captain until the king arrived had fallen on top of Zahra and Grok\'s shoulders.

"Roll, barbarian!" – Zahra\'s voice echoed, causing Grok\'s eyes to widen as he saw Elton running towards him, his fiery sword raised and ready to sear his heart.

Grok could practically feel the heat of the blade as it sliced through the air just above him. In that moment, all his muscles seemed to contract simultaneously, granting him enough strength to propel his body to the side. However, it wasn\'t sufficient to completely evade injury as the sword left a gash on his arm.

Grok got up and assumed a fighting stance, preparing to engage the man with his fists only, his great axe lay near Elton, out of reach. He could feel blood streaming down to his elbow and trickling onto the snow, but it swiftly healed as his Tribal Tattoo began to work its wonders. The Tribal Tattoo allowed him to inherit two characteristics of Orcs, their remarkable healing power and their immense strength, which could help him fight against this man.

"Your persistent lowly pests!" – Elton gnashed his teeth in anger, glaring at the woman and the barbarian - "I will be sure to impale your heads on top of this mountain."

From the moment his feet touched this frozen ground of Stahl, Elton felt as if his status has been constantly sullied, by Zuna and even by bandits of Stahl. It had reached the point where even two tenacious ants dared to stand against his sword, refusing to die. Elton clenched his fists around the sword, causing the aura around his sword to burn brighter. There was also a red aura covering his feet as he kicked the ground and charged like a wild hog towards Grok.

"Barbarian! I\'ll provide cover for you. We just need to stall until our king arrives!" – Zahra yelled, fear and anxiety evident in her eyes. This man was undoubtedly a Fourth Stage Warrior, and there was no way she and Grok could defeat him. There was an unbreakable wall between Fourth and Third Stages, a barrier defined by the quality, volume, and control over mana. They only hope was their king.

Upon hearing the shout, the barbarian took a brief glance at Zahra and nodded, showing his agreement. Despite having nearly died a few moments before, Grok\'s eyes still held a hint of yearning and excitement, but deep down, there was a lingering anxiety. He wanted to fight. He desired to face off this man. Driven by those wishes, Grok kicked off the ground and charged towards Elton, still holding an aggressive fighting stance.

Realizing she had to provide cover for the barbarian, Zahra roared to the soldiers – "Maintain your distance and concentrate on the others! Shoot them down and prevent them from approaching the Barbarian and their captain. We will deal with him."

The other soldiers, who had already assumed their position to attack the others, nodded. They had been undergoing strict training for two whole years, under the General and had learned a lot about fighting in unison. They had already comprehended their roles on this mission.

*Breath*

Zahra took a deep breath and aimed her bow at the pig-like figure dashing toward her barbarian comrade. She channeled mana into her hands, particularly her fingers, as she drew the string closer to her chin. Without a second thought, she released it, sending the arrow hurtling toward the enemy.

Elton, who had been paying attention to the woman ever since the previous attack, spotted the fast arrow coming at him. He somewhat sensed that he had no way to dodge as if the shooter had read his mind and closed all retreating option. Elton resolved to block the arrow first and then deal with that huge man running to him. With that decision in mind, he abruptly stopped his movements and twirled the small sword in his hands, drawing an arch on the air and easily blocking the arrow.

However, the instant his sword deflected the arrow, a powerful force struck his side. Grok had taken advantage of the man\'s distraction and rapidly closed the distance, dealing a powerful punch towards his kidney. Despite Elton\'s superior strength, he couldn\'t help but feel that some of his ribs had been broken, causing blood to surge on mouth, which he swallowed back.

Furious that someone he deemed as an insignificant ant managed to injure him, Elton\'s chest burned with wounded pride. He angrily channeled his whole strength into a lightning-quick slash, his blade burning the air as it aimed to chop off the barbarian\'s head from his shoulders.

But then, taking advantage of the wide motion, Grok jumped into action. His movements were quick and precise, like a well practice dancer. He timed his moves just right and punched at Elton\'s nose with his fist as soon as a gap showed in his defense. The punch landed with a loud thud, like a heavy club smashing a watermelon, pushing Elton a couple of steps back.

*Drip*

Blood dripped from the captain\'s nose, which led Grok to flash a satisfied grin. This small win gave Grok enough confidence to win against this man, to proof his worth. He looked back at Zahra with a winning gaze, but was met with desperate eyes, which led him to focus on the man again. However, before he could even understand what happened, the sight of a bloody blade flashed in his eyes. A giant wound had opened on his chest, causing the hot blood to pour down, melting the snow and coloring it red.

"GROK!" - Zahra\'s desperate scream pierced the air as she released another arrow as the uncontrollable enemy raised his sword again.

However, the arrow seemed to be slowly crawling towards Elton, leaving Zahra to helpless watch the man\'s sword piercing through Grok\'s hear. The barbarian\'s face was a mixture of shock and incomprehension. Elton had moved too fast, as if he had been playing with him until this moment. He had covered thirty feet in the blink of an eye and slashed at him with an incomprehensible speed, then he pierced his heart before he could even blink.

Grok felt strength leaving his body as he crumbled to the ground, under the man\'s eyes, which were brimming with hatred and resentment. The blood which flowed from his nose seemed to be the catalyst of such hatred. That red color was the shameful stain that would be remembered by Elton for his whole life.

"I WILL TIE YOU UP TO HORSES AND DISMEMBER ALL OF YOU!" – He crazily said as his eyes diverted from the crumbling figure, looking straight at the woman standing on top of the slope.

Although he killed the barbarian, painting the mountain\'s snow with this blood-red color, anger wouldn\'t leave his mind until he annihilated all of them. Decided to kill them, Elton stepped forwards, ready to rush climb the slope and kill the woman.

Slowly, he pulled the sword from the man\'s heart. The mountain\'s purity was stained by blood, a stark contrast. He watched life fade from the barbarian\'s determined face. Without hesitation, Elton stepped forward, ready to rush toward Zahra.

Suddenly, when he lifted his feet to take the first step, something gripped his ankle. He looked down only to see the barbarian pest, who had managed to roll close to him, trying to restrain him with eyes filled by determination. There was no fear of death in those eyes as blood colored his whole body, even the ragging clothes covering him.

"You… not... leaving! Cough" – Grok said, struggling to form those words as blood mixed with his coughs.

Elton gave him an annoyed yet sadistic smile as he said – "You are truly a resistant pest, aren\'t you? I will allow you to linger a bit longer…to witness as I slaughter all your comrades."

Elton exerted a bit more of strength in his legs and easily freed himself from the barbarian\'s grasp, his eyes fixed on the woman. She was already with another arrow nocked and aimed at him, her eyes brimming with hatred, a sight that seemed to please Elton.

"It appears that you\'ve had your share of fun with my soldier!" – An angry voice echoed across the mountain, accompanied by a hot wave that caused Elton to sweat, even though they were in such a cold environment.

Elton could see Zahra\'s expression changing from a desperate face to a relieved one as she slowly lowered the bow in her hands. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The King has come. Hey there, everyone!

So, I got a serious question for you all. I really want to know what you think so I can make some changes to the book and the chapters ahead.

So, here\'s the deal: Do you think the story is dragging? Do you want me to speed things up? Previously, I\'ve had a couple of readers telling me to slow things down, but honestly, I\'m feeling like things are moving a tad too slow right now. My gut\'s telling me to kick things up a notch and get back into the exciting Kingdom Building aspect.