17 Big canine required (1/2)

Terror was written all over Joonbum's face. It was a sound that he could never forget.

'Orcs!'

It was an orc, or something that resembled it. The roaring of a ten-foot walking monster resounded in the forest. It was the monster that crushed Galfus' front and back legs with the swing of a club. He remembered the fight it put up against the gigantic wolves. Just hearing it roar made him freeze in fear.

A loud, thundering voice echoed throughout the forest. The voice that taught him the brutal truth of other world started closing in.

”Ah... ahh!”

Joonbum screamed in fear. He ran towards the watchtower he had built inside the fortress. He quickly climbed up the ladder as if he were in a fast-forward video.

”Ahh! Ahhhh!”

He could not stop screaming. Time after time, he had prepared for this moment, but he forgot most of what he knew once reality hit. The fortress was reinforced to defend against such a monster. The orc, which was the name he chose to call it, would not easily launch an attack against such a prepared fortress.

Even then, just a sound from it made him lose all conscious and instead filled him with fear and terror. His mind raced chaotically.

”Ahh! Where's the weapon. Weapon!”

He wore the tactical vest as soon as he walked up the tower, put on a belt with a sword tied to it, and picked up his rifle. His face was drenched with sweat and he was breathing heavily. He found relief coming back to him as he stared at the forest, ready to fight.

The thick tactical vest, along with the weight of the sword at the waist and the rifle in his hand gave him a sense of security that helped him overcome some of the fear.

”I-I don't need to be afraid. It's like a wild boar.”

Joonbum mumbled as he touched his rifle. He felt his fear fading away as he talked.

'It's coming!'

Joonbum's eyes were wide open as he noticed the forest shaking from a distance. Something was closing in, carrying a noisy clatter with it.

”It's coming! It's coming!”

Something was running toward him. Joonbum aimed his rifle.

”Wh-agh!”

Joonbum screamed as a black, shadowy figure jumped out of the forest. He almost pulled rifle's trigger before he dropped it, screaming.

He stood up quickly.

”Galfus!”

It was Galfus. He could not mistake it with something else. She seemed to have lost some weight and fur and had some more wounds, but Joonbum quickly recognized her.

'She lost weight! I knew it. It's not the same outside home right? You think I'll take you in after all this time? Hah!'

Joonbum's mind raced with thoughts. However, a loud, terrible sound and the shaking of the forest made him stop. He became puzzled – there were multiple sounds.

'A signal?'

Loud roars came from all directions, and soon Galfus was surrounded by the five monsters that jumped out of the forest.

”The monster!”

It was the monster he had first seen during his first visit to this world. Dark green skin covered its terrible looking face and its ten-foot tall body. Galfus roared at the monsters, bearing its teeth. It was not like the friendly gesture it showed to Joonbum in its captivity. It was a warning.

He felt every single hair rising and he had goosebumps all over his skin. It was a terrifying roar. Galfus readied itself against its enemies as if it would bite its enemy's neck at any time.

Then something changed. The orcs stopped closing in and looked around, sniffing the air. The five orcs closing in on Galfus didn't seem to be bothered by Galfus' aggression. Their clubs were colored red with dried blood all over as they raised them.

”Is that-?”

Joonbum noticed a necklace on an orc. It was made out of wolf tusks and claws. It seemed to have sewn it together with wolf hide, as if it were a battle trophy. That orc was bigger than the rest with multiple scars all around its body. It meant that it was an experienced fighter, and all of these orcs were pretty much the same with the amount of scars.

'They must have some intelligence.'

Maybe it wasn't smart as a human, but it still seemed to have some kind of intelligence at least. It seemed to be smarter than the ones he saw before.

'They're higher in rank!'

His instinct knew it was stronger. Although Joonbum never encountered these monsters before or had prior knowledge of them, it was easy for him to recognize these orcs as warriors of its kind.