Read Online Black Metal: The Orc Wars by Sean-Michael Argo - Free Book Online Page A

ground and sent him sailing through the air until he finally skidded to a halt. Covered in dirt and grime Ma-Gur quickly forced himself to his feet. He grabbed his aching side and spit a gob of blood onto the ground, the pain of his old wound mingling with the new. He turned as he heard the troll snarl and close in for the kill.
    Without his sword he was defenseless, it lay far from him and the troll was not between he and it. Remembering his shield the orc slipped in onto his forearm and braced for the assault. It came as the troll closed in on the young orc, swinging its mace as it advanced. Ma-Gur managed to duck the first swipe, then side step the second. The third however, hit him with a glancing blow to the thigh, knocking him to the ground.
    The troll tried to splatter him as the lay on the ground, but he managed to roll out of the way just in time. While the troll’s guard was down Ma-Gur hurled his shield at the troll’s face, the edged metal breaking its nose. While the troll reeled from the pain Ma-Gur made a desperate run for his sword, hoping his luck held as he heard the troll’s enraged pursuit from behind him.
    The young orc pumped his legs with all his might, building up speed as he dashed for the fallen sword. He could see it lying in the dirt before him, he was almost there. Just as he neared it he felt and heard the troll bearing down on him. With a desperate yell Ma-Gur dove for the blade, but at that instant his injured leg gave out underneath him. The orc hit the dirt face first, his hand plowing a gouge through the loamy earth as he still single-mindedly went for his sword.
    The troll let out a cry of victory as he raised his mace to deliver the blow that must surely finish this onry opponent. Ma-Gur’s bruised fingers found the handle of his weapon and closed around it. As the troll brought the mace down towards the fallen orc Ma-Gur rolled over onto his back, bringing his sword around to parry the blow. The head of the mace buried itself in the soft ground as it missed its intended target. The troll lost his balance and stumbled forward, almost falling completely over. Before the troll could recover Ma-Gur, still on the ground, launched himself upward to deliver a bone crushing left hook punch to the unbalanced troll’s jaw.
    The sound of the troll’s jaw breaking echoed through the night as he stumbled a few steps away from the young orc. This gave Ma-Gur the chance to back away and bring his sword up into a guard position. The troll had managed to regain his balance and get his mace back into both hands. For a moment the two opponents looked silently at each other, then as Ma-Gur saw the half-conscious look in the still punch-drunk troll’s eyes, he attacked.
    The orc warrior advanced on the dazed troll, who managed to snap out of his stupor just in time to block the first sword slash. Quickly realizing that he was faster than the now near blind troll Ma-Gur pressed his attack, hurling strike after strike at the larger warrior. The troll was a skilled fighter, but was wounded and slow. With his heavy mace he wasn’t able to effectively parry the lighter and faster sword assaults. It was not long until the orc’s blade had hacked a large chunk out of the troll’s leg, quickly followed by a deep gash in the troll’s head from a glancing blow.
    Enraged and injured, the troll leveled one last swing at the orc warrior. A blow so powerful that the earth shook as Ma-Gur leapt out of the way, causing the mace to bury itself in the earth once more. Seizing the opportunity, Ma-Gur brought his sword down onto the troll’s outstretched arms. The troll fell back onto the ground as both of its arms were severed midway up the forearm. Ma-Gur finished it off by driving the point of his weapon through the troll’s heart and into the ground below.
    The crowd was silent, knowing better than to cheer or boo at such crucial moments. Reygoth and Ghalik walked out into the circle, each standing next to his