Chapter 52 It Is Time
The second rocket flew out with equal tenacity. It rushed towards the orc, reflecting Xzavier's own urgency and vindictive zeal. Unfortunately for Xzavier, the second shot also missed the target. In his defense, it wasn't for lack of skill or focus, Xzavier was an excellent shot. But it seemed like the stubbornness of the giant orc was proving to be his backup shield, having lost the original metal plate that covered the back of his head.
The second rocket fired by Xzavier may have missed its original target, but some act of providence brought it to another point. The orc's right had was caught in the cross fire, multiplying his pain, inevitably causing him to let go of his large axe for that was his weapons hand. The extraordinarily massive axe dropped to the ground with a violent thud. The impact was so impactful that is completely changed the layout of the ground.
Amused, Xzavier observed that in the area where the heavy axe had touched down on the earth, a massive crater had taken form there. It looked like the kind of topographical interference on Mother Nature that one would expect from a catastrophe of a much higher significance. Anyone who passed by in the future might see the crater and immediately think that it had been caused by a meteor that had crashed into the earth.
Xzavier took stock of the damage he had inflicted on the chief orc, and as he did, he discovered that without even trying to, he had actually managed to injure not just the toes and feet of the chief orc, he had also inflicted a reasonable amount of damage on both of his arms. If it wasn't for the unnatural tenacious build of the chief orc, he should have been incapacitated already.
The damage was negligible. But that didn't mean that the pain wasn't there.
The blackness of the night kept visibility to the bare minimum, but thankfully, Xzavier had the soft silvery rays of the moonlight to work with. Because of the unnatural size of the giant orc, and from the vantage point where Xzavier had tactically positioned himself, he had a firsthand view of the orc's reactions and movements.
The chief orc tried his best to hide his pain, but the deep grunt which escaped his throat sounded like something between the cawing of a raven and the deep croaking of the amphibious toad. As he dropped the axe, he lifted up both of his hands high up above his shoulders and positioned them in a defensive position behind his head.
As Xzavier observed the orc's reaction, his mind quickly connected the dots, giving him a much clearer understanding of the situation. Despite the fact that both of the chief orc's hands had been obliterated by the two consecutive attacks of the explosive force of the rocket, despite the fact that the was actively in pain from the flash bang, the RPGs and the hidden land mines, the chief orc had still chosen to lift up his hands to the back of his head to block any further nefarious intentions that his attacker might be nurturing.
Xzavier took in all of this information and processed them at the speed of light. The only logical inference was that the chief orc was hell bent on protecting the back of his head at all costs. The observation only strengthened Xzavier's theory the more. If he somehow managed to strike a lethal blow, all of this would be over.
In that moment, Xzavier proved that hope was the ultimate drug. Every part of his mental and physical biochemistry flared up at the prospect of completely decimating this abominable foe. Faced with this tiny window of opportunity that had momentarily presented itself, Xzavier knew that he had to find a way to separate the chief orc's hands from the back of his head, real fast! If his hands stayed firmly stuck to the back of his head in defense, there was little to nothing Xzavier could do. He had to strike, and he had to land a lethal blow!
So, in light of recent events, Xzavier began to brainstorm, and soon, in no distant time, he came up with one of his classic plans that was guaranteed to ensure the best possible outcome for him. In that moment, Xzavier proved that he was indeed worthy of being a part of the Special Forces unit. This kind of quick thinking was something that was a major requirement for being part of this elite unit of soldiers. Xzavier had proved himself twice over.
Armed with fresh resolve, and equipped with basically every relevant information there was to know about the enemy Xzavier pressed on. Victory was sitting right at the edge of the horizon for Xzavier, he could feel the end of this joust drawing near. It filled him with both a climatic and anti-climatic fore brooding sense of an epilogue.
Meanwhile, while Xzavier had been nurturing his plans and experiencing another epiphany, the orc leader slowly began to regain his sight just as Xzavier had anticipated. As fate would have it, that was the very moment Xzavier descended from his lofty place to charge into battle.
After being temporarily blind for what seemed like an eternity, after living in the darkness of his own fear of getting blown to pieces in the one place that could end him, his eye sight began to recover- and the first thing he saw was the puny form of the human rushing daringly at him on his metal steed. The whole scene seemed farcical to the chief orc, here he was, over twenty five feet tall, hovering over the nearby trees and bearing down on all creatures in the surrounding region. And yet, the little human still dared him by choosing to charge headlong, throwing caution to the wind and surrendering himself to his wrath. He must be truly mad!
But the chief orc had no time to be amused by the foolhardy audaciousness of the human. If the human was so desperate to meet his end, he would gladly be the instrument which the fates would use to kill him. The chief orc was well aware of the pressing need to safeguard the back of his head from any more crafty attacks the human would spring up on him, but he was also aware of the fact that he had one free hand which could be used to crush the daring little man-child.
All things considered, the chief orc knew that this was a pretty risky gambit, considering the fact that he would be battling with one arm literally behind his back. But this was a juicy opportunity that he just could not afford to miss. From his perspective, the little human was now within his killing range, he concluded that one arm would suffice to do the dastardly deed.
A wicked sneer crept across the chief orc's face. Once again, he pictured the image of the human's splattered corpse dripping with blood beneath his powerful hand- that was enough to spur him on. At that moment, only one thought was on the minds of both parties as they charged towards each other;
"It is time to end this!!!"
Each party was well and truly aware of the fact that by the end of this altercation, only one of them would be alive. But ego and all its ugly, deep seated allotropes dominated every part of the thinking faculties, fueling their individual pride and enflaming their sense of worth even higher than they were.
So, they both rushed at each other. Each passing second brought them to the conclusion of their protracted battle. The time to settle the score was long overdue.
The entire host of creation within and around the region seemed to be holding their breath in anticipation of the clash between both parties. With the constellations and the heavenly bodies hanging overhead in the night sky like thousands of light bulbs littered all over the sky, and with a deathly calm that pervaded the atmosphere, the whole stage was set for the battle…
Under the faithful watch of thousands of invisible peeping eyes, the battle began. What happened next can best be described in slow motion;
As Xzavier got closer, he leaned forward on his armor motorcycle, racing forward with increased speed. The motorcycle responded in accordance with Xzavier's need for top speed and zoomed forward. Aided by gravity, he furiously descended down the slanting hillside and flew off of the cliff, briefly soaring in the air in the direction of the twenty feet tall chief orc before him.
The waiting chief orc was fully prepared to welcome Xzavier, as Xzavier leapt out with his motorcycle, the chief orc swung his right arm midair and violently grabbed Xzavier's motorcycle with a long awaited ferociousness. At the last minute, Xzavier leapt out of his motorcycle, sacrificing it as the scapegoat for the chief orc's indignation. As the chief orc's arm made contact with the motorcycle, Xzavier landed on his arm having jumped out a few moments before.