Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Rachel wasn't entirely wrong. If the enemies came in a similar formation to the previous wave, they should be able to defeat them easily—if it was just a small group of strong commanders with lots of weaker soldiers.

The real issue would be if the composition of the enemies changed drastically.

'I don't expect it to happen, but if any unusual creatures appear or the overall quality of their army improves…' Justin thought grimly. In that case, they could be in real danger.

His grip on his staff tightened as tension crept into his body.

"Ding! The third Green Skin Wave will begin shortly."

"Ding! Afterward, some monsters will be able to invade safe zones." Your journey continues on empire

"Ding! The wave will continue until the monster army is annihilated or a certain number of humans have died."

Gulp

Someone swallowed nervously as the system message echoed in the air. This was the infamous third wave—the hardest one yet. What kind of enemies would appear this time? Every pioneer stared intently at the forest, filled with a mixture of tension and anxiety.

But nothing came out of the forest.

"...?"

"What's going on? Why aren't they coming?" someone asked in confusion.

Suddenly, a loud screech echoed from the sky. Every pioneer looked up, their eyes widening in shock, and Justin did the same, his gaze narrowing as he saw what was above them.

"System, you crazy thing. This is going too far," Justin muttered under his breath.

A winged reptile with two legs flew through the sky—it resembled a dragon but was clearly something else. Mounted on its back was an orc rider.

Justin rubbed his temples, feeling the onset of a headache.

"Wyvern Rider!" he groaned. It was the only flying unit among the Green Skins.

"Screeech!"

"Grrr!"

Fortunately, there was only one Wyvern Rider. After the dramatic appearance of the Wyvern, the orc army finally emerged from the forest. Their numbers were still around 200, accompanied by two orc shamans and a single troll. The only differences from the second wave were the addition of thirty more orcs and the appearance of the Wyvern Rider.

Despite the similarities, the mere presence of the Wyvern Rider was enough to prevent Justin from feeling optimistic.

"Dammit."

"Justin, should we consider offering the settlers as sacrifices?" Derek muttered, approaching Justin as he cursed under his breath.

Rachel and Nathan's eyes went wide at the suggestion.

"Derek!" Rachel shouted.

"What are you even saying!?" Nathan added, incredulous.

"No, Sang-gu might have a point this time," Ethan said, defending Derek's suggestion.

"Ethan, you too?!" Rachel glared at him.

Ethan remained firm, his expression serious. "The Wyvern can use breath attacks."

"Breath attacks?" Rachel asked.

"Poison Breath. It can release toxic gas. Do you know what that means?" Ethan explained.

The realization dawned on Rachel and Nathan, their faces turning pale. A single breath attack could wipe out every pioneer. Their eyes darted to Justin, seeking confirmation, but all Justin could do was nod grimly.

"Poison resistance gear becomes common in the later stages of the game. Even if someone gets poisoned, they can easily recover with antidote potions. But right now…"

"We don't have any resistance gear, nor do we have the means to recover," Ethan finished for him.

"Damn it. Why is the difficulty so unbalanced?" Justin grumbled.

Ethan and Derek both chimed in with their frustrations, while Justin silently wrestled with the dilemma.

'What should we do?' Justin thought. If the Wyvern descended low enough for them to attack, they could handle it. But if it stayed in the air and used its breath attack, there was no way to defend against it. Justin furrowed his brow in deep contemplation.

Just then, a booming voice echoed from above. "Wurna! Warchief! Urgulra-da!"

The Wyvern Rider's shout made Justin blink in confusion.

"Warchief? What's he saying?" Justin wondered aloud.

"I think he said Warchief," Ethan replied.

"...Damn. If it's an orc Warchief, that's on the level of a dungeon boss—much stronger than a normal orc warrior," Justin muttered.

Dealing with a Wyvern was bad enough, but now the rider was a Warchief? It was almost as if the system was actively trying to kill them off for advancing too quickly.

As Justin cursed internally, Urgulla, the Warchief, called out again. "Humans! I offer you a choice!"

"...?"

"First option! Sacrifice one hundred humans to us! Second option! Fight us now! Third option! Your leader fights me one-on-one!"

"...!"

"If you choose the first option, we'll leave peacefully. If you choose the second, all of you will die. And if you choose the third…"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The Warchief paused for dramatic effect before continuing.

"If your leader wins, we'll leave! But if I win, we'll take two hundred humans as sacrifices! You have ten seconds to decide!"

Silence fell over the walls. No one had expected an orc to offer choices like this. The pioneers stared at each other, dumbfounded. Then, as if coming to their senses, their eyes turned to Justin, seeking guidance.

Before Justin could respond, Zachary spoke up. "Option one. There's no other choice but option one."

"What?!" Rachel gasped.

"If you consider the Wyvern's breath attack, option two is out of the question. And option three is even worse. How could a warlock like our lord stand a chance in a one-on-one fight against a Warchief?" Zachary explained.

"Why can't I?" Justin interjected calmly.

Zachary's eyes widened, and the others stared at Justin in shock, as if asking if he was seriously considering option three.

But Justin merely smiled—a genuine, confident smile, not one born of arrogance.

'I take back what I said, system,' he thought to himself. 'Thanks to you, I'll have an easy time with this third wave.'

"Don't worry too much. Even though it's the third wave, Nathan and I have completed our job changes. We should be able to handle it," Rachel said with confidence.

Justin hoped she was right, but doubts gnawed at him. He held back his concerns, knowing he couldn't afford to show any weakness. As the leader, he needed to maintain his composure. If he started to panic, the others would too.

"Yeah, you're right," Justin said, masking his unease with a smile. After all, part of being a leader was pretending everything was fine, even when it wasn't.