The situation in Louisiana had changed drastically with the appearance of the orcs. We had expected the enemy would emerge from the rift somewhere within 10–24 hours, but they came faster.
Unlike our expedition, where we had only two professional Limitless leading us, the Louisiana team was led by four professional Limitless—two B-rated and two C-rated.
Yet they were all wiped out.
The image of the Orc Warlord stepping out of the rift was still etched in my head. I could remember every single movement he made and the cruel smile that bloomed on his face.
That thing wasn't a monster. It was an intelligent being that understood what was going on and had a plan. Louisiana wasn't getting invaded by mere brainless beasts. These were intelligent life forms that came into this world with the intent to conquer it.
As we drew closer to Louisiana, I wasn't sure why, but I was shivering. My palms clutched a piece of my trousers tight to stop my trembling body. However, I wasn't trembling out of fear. This was pure excitement.
"Are you... alright?" Natasha's concerned tone snapped me back to reality.
My eyes fell on the screen, and I saw my reflection—my face had been stretched to its limit because of the crazed smile I had on.
Instinctively, I glanced at Pamela and Viktor. Just like Natasha, they looked at me with strange eyes.
"I..."
Ka-BOOM!
An explosion drowned my voice and stole everyone's attention. We all looked out the windows, our eyes widening as we saw a city drowned in smoke and fire.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" I muttered as explosions rocked the ground.
Deafening rattles of bullets filled the air, while explosions from RPG shots rocked the city hard. One after the other, buildings collapsed, covering the ground with thick smoke that nearly made it impossible to see what was happening.
The evacuation was a complete failure. The enemy had appeared far too early, not giving the military enough chance to move civilians out of harms way.
Now civilians were trapped in their homes, probably hiding under their beds, hoping they didn't get found by an orc or have their homes destroyed by a stray missile.
"Is this how they feel when we invade their world?" Natasha muttered, her voice trailing off.
Pamela and Viktor exchanged glances but didn't reply. They knew that was the truth, but they wouldn't admit it because it would paint humans as the bad guys.
"Does it matter?" I asked in a calm tone before adjusting my sitting position.
I watched everyone's gaze shift in my direction.
"If we don't invade, they will invade. It's about survival, not right and wrong." I met Natasha's gaze with my steel resolve.
Pamela smiled and gave me a thumbs-up, while Viktor gave a brief nod before acting like I didn't exist.
"We will stick to the plan." Viktor shrugged. "Evacuation is still taking place. It's only much more chaotic now," he added.
CAWWWWWWWWW!
Suddenly, an ear-piercing screech made me wince in discomfort, and before I could complain, the helicopter was struck by something heavy.
Bam!
The helicopter shook hard. If I didn't have my seatbelt on, I would have fallen off my seat due to the impact.
"Wh—"
Bam!
Bam!
Bam!
Just as Natasha was about to speak, the helicopter was hit again, but this time we got a good look at the enemy.
My eyes slowly widened in shock upon seeing a massive brownish talon latched onto the helicopter window. Cracks slowly spread across the sealed window.
The monster was big, so I couldn't get a good glimpse at it. All I could see was its leg.
But it wasn't just me.
Crash!
Instinctively, I glanced in the direction of the sound, and it came from Natasha's window. She was bent over with her hands over her head, while the bird leg with massive talons ransacked her seating area in search of her.
"Bastard." I frowned and quickly unbuckled my belt.
Without hesitation, I summoned Rai'ki into my hand and sprang to my feet. However, before I could act, another crashing sound rocked the helicopter. But this time it came from behind, causing my eyes to widen.
Stab!
I felt sharp talons burrow their way through my skin, tearing through my back muscles before clutching hard. A warm liquid ran up my throat almost instantly, causing me to puke a mouthful of blood.
Blegh!
"ADAM!" Pamela and Natasha screamed simultaneously, but it was too late.
Even before I could let out a painful cry, it pulled me in one incredible pull which I couldn't resist.
Everything happened so fast—the world turned into a blur for a moment, and the next moment I found myself over ten thousand feet off the ground, free-falling through the air uncontrollably.
[Health Points: 70/90]
Only now did I get a full glimpse of what attacked us. They were massive beasts resembling Pterosaurs, ridden by orcs wielding bows and arrows. Three of them were latched onto the helicopter, and the rider of the beast that tossed me out had his bow and arrow aimed at me.
"DOOOR!" I roared without hesitation.
Buzz!
The space behind tore open, and the orc let his arrow fly!
Swoosh!
I quickly fell into my pocket dimension and tried to close the door, but I was a tad too late.
Bam!
[-10 HP]
I hit the padded floor of my pocket dimension, causing my vision to blur momentarily while the arrow pierced the upper right part of my chest, just inches away from my shoulder.
"Gaaaaah!" I cried out and grabbed the arrow, but I dared not pull it.
I couldn't even if I wanted to. The fall had left me disoriented and weakened. The stinging pain on my back was too much to ignore, and the ground beneath me was stained with blood.
In just one attack, I had lost over 30 health points, leaving me with 60 health points. If I didn't have [Might of Man]—a talent which boosted my defense and health points—I suspected I would have been dead already.