Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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>Translator: Lord First
>Chapter: 105
>Chapter Title: Real Combat is Standard for the Academy's Summer Vacation Event (10)
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*
“That one’s build is a little strange…”
“That must be the leader.”
Isabelle and Oskar narrowed their eyes, observing the approaching orc horde.
The orcs were eyeing the surrounding bushes with suspicion, prodding them with swords and spears.
As if they had no concern for stealth, they approached while making all sorts of noise. Watching the scene, Isabelle furrowed her brow.
“Isn’t it strange?”
“Pardon?”
“Just a little while ago, that horde of theirs… they were tiptoeing around, scared out of their wits. Remember?”
“That’s true.”
“So what’s making them so bold now?”
“Perhaps their morale is high because they’re with their leader?”
“Something feels off.”
Isabelle took her position in the bushes, glaring at the approaching orcs.
There were five of them. A manageable number, except for the one with an excessively large build.
On top of that, the large one was leaning on a long staff. A mage-type? If so, that would be a relief.
How skilled could an orc be with magic? They had Elfihera, an undergraduate hailed as the greatest genius in the entire history of Saint Yansk University.
With her proper support, magical defense wouldn't be difficult. It would be far more unsettling if that large body was used for close combat…
“Ugh?!”
The large orc was looking right at her.
The orc immediately pointed at the bush she was hiding in and roared. The surrounding orcs gripped their spears and swords and charged straight for her hiding spot!
“We’ve been spotted! Oskar!”
“I'll take the leader! I'll buy some time!”
The pre-planned strategy was completely scrapped. The plan for Isabelle and Oskar to draw attention while Elfihera sniped with magic to cause confusion, and Esidis used traps and ambushes to gain an advantage, was no longer important.
They had failed to even lure them to the first trap. The creatures had approached the campfire, yet turned away right before the trapped area.
As if they could see it!
“Elfiheraaaaa!!”
Isabelle screamed and charged forward. With the plan failed, the outcome of the battle depended on the ambush from the two in the rear. Even for her and Oskar, she wasn't confident in a direct power struggle against five orcs.
-Klaaang!!
Isabelle's first attack was blocked, crushing the orc's pauldron. Despite the powerful blow that half-split its shoulder, the orc swung its spear as if it felt nothing.
-Klang!
As she barely twisted her body to dodge the spear, a follow-up attack immediately rained down. Four orcs were rushing her, while she had only two hands and a single sword.
“Hngh!!”
-Klang! K-k-k-k-k-klang!!
A spear blade coming for her head, she dodged.
>An axe swinging at her chest, she parried.
>Two spear blades aimed at her thighs, one after the other with a slight delay.
With movements akin to acrobatics, hearing her joints scream with a creak, Isabelle barely managed to pull back. And that was just a single exchange.
*'I should have cut its neck with the first strike!'*
The opponent's reaction was too fast. But there was no time to think. The attacks of the four orcs were precisely coordinated as they pursued her.
“Elfi!! Esi!!”
Isabelle quickly retreated and shouted. Should she use the 'Realm of the Transcendent'? Not yet. The neural overload through mana had a short duration and severe after-effects. It was due to her absolute lack of mastery.
Considering the exhaustion that followed the neural acceleration, unless she could kill all the orcs in that short window, it was a skill she couldn't use in the middle of a fight. Not yet.
She had to save it for a more decisive moment. For now, she had to hold back.
“Kuaaaaargh!!”
The orc standing in front of her stiffened and let out a scream. Though she couldn't see past the orc's massive body, she could tell Esidis had arrived.
“Elfi!!”
Esidis was holding her *kwang-kwang-i* (steel baton: it hurts) upside down like an awl, having driven it into the orc's back. She used the gauntlet she had taken from an orc and wore it to hammer the baton deep into its back.
Bang, bang! With two punches, the long baton sank halfway into the orc's back. The fact that she had hammered a bladeless steel rod through armor proved she was undoubtedly Einar's daughter.
And then.
“Get back!!”
Who was she talking to? The question was unnecessary. This was the turning point.
Isabelle struggled to parry the attacks of the three panicked orcs and quickly leaped backward.
*'This wasn't in the plan. What kind of attack did she prepare? A trap?'*
Her hair, her fine hairs, her clothes answered her question.
Her flowing hair stood on end. The fine hairs on her skin rose, and a chill ran down her spine.
Static electricity crackled wildly from all directions.
It's coming.
A colossal wave of mana surged like a tsunami.
Isabelle instinctively dropped to the ground. To a place the flow of mana wouldn't reach. Abandoning all defense, but desperately.
And immediately, a flash of light engulfed her vision.
*
Far away, in a corner of the forest. Sitting on the branch of a giant tree.
Closing her left eye to focus.
>Her right hand, cupped before her right eye, was a dual spell of [Dark Vision] and [Farsight].
>Using it as a scope to magnify her target. Through the dark forest, past the chaotic obstacles of the undergrowth, and toward the small 'steel baton' behind them.
Raising her left hand, she loaded the spell.
Click. Mana extending from her heart interlocked like gears, once. The prepared spell was [Call Lightning].
It was a high-intensity attack spell, but she took it a step further. Click. Interlocking the same gears again for a stacked spell. [Call Lightning].
And clank. One more time. Pounding mana into it, she bound the gears together again for another stacked spell.
A triple-stacked [Call Lightning] in total. Therefore.
“Grikenkos Style, Lightning Flow.”
-Kzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!!!
*
Not a current, but a flash of light struck down. Using the steel baton Esidis had driven in as a lightning rod.
Her hair stood on end from the aftershock of countless electrical charges discharging in the air. Static crackled, and a stray wisp of the flash touched the fine hairs on her skin, turning them to dust.
Even getting up was difficult. The powerful aftershock of the lightning caused her muscles to sporadically tense and relax. The fine tremors made it hard to even grip her sword.
“Leave it to an elf to drop something like that right on top of us!”
Isabelle laughed in disbelief at the incredibly bold 'broken arrow' and shouted. The four orcs that had been standing before her had collapsed, their forms grotesque.
The orc that took a direct hit was blown to pieces, and those caught in the aftermath were scorched black, their skin split open. It was a gruesome sight for a teenager, but fortunately, everyone here had been hardened to their core by the 'training retreat' of the past few days.
“Wait, four…?”
Isabelle whipped her head around. Oskar! Where was Oskar?
“Kuh…”
Some distance from the point of impact, the large leader was gripping Oskar's head tightly, looking down at her.
“Oskar!!”
“Kul…rgh!!”
Oskar was painfully coughing up blood.
*
“Should I take the shot?”
“No.”
Ivan shook his head curtly at his adjutant, who was holding a scope.
“Commander. But right now…”
“Mikhail. Do you know why that creature isn't killing Oskar?”
“Sir…?”
“With just a twitch of its finger, Oskar would be dead. Orcs are not a particularly patient race, and that one, in particular, is enraged.”
Ivan raised his pistol, extending his arm straight. He exhaled half a breath, tilting his head slightly to align the sights. His index finger slid along the trigger guard and into place.
Click. The trigger moved slightly. He held it there, waiting without firing.
And at that moment, the orc at the end of his line of sight could be seen flinching.
“It's because it can see the future.”
“The future… sir?”
“Mm.”
Every time it showed killing intent toward Oskar, Ivan raised his muzzle and aimed at the beast. And each time, the orc would flinch and pull back its hand.
It was because it saw a future where it would certainly be killed. By the power of the artifact, the 'Demon King's Eye'.
But he would offer no further assistance. A moment of struggle where one must exert 100% of their power, pushing their skills to the limit, experiencing the brink of death but without the actual danger—how common could such an opportunity be?
It was a more effective training method than he had anticipated. Ivan decided he had to incorporate this training process into the regular curriculum of the Counter-Intelligence Command.
“It's a beast that knows neither how to sense a line of fire nor how to use neural acceleration.”
Ivan lowered his muzzle and continued.
“But by borrowing the power of an artifact, it can do something similar.”
Neural acceleration is, after all, the power to move the body faster, stronger, and more agilely.
It is the minimum requirement for sensing an opponent's movements and path in advance, and landing a counterattack even a fraction of a second faster.
However, if one can see the future—if one can 'predict' an opponent's attack just five seconds, no, even one second in advance—then they can effectively fight in a way that is no different from using neural acceleration.
And a transcendent who has reached the realm of using neural acceleration can only be faced by another transcendent. At least in close combat, this is almost an absolute rule. Numbers below a certain threshold are meaningless before a transcendent's battle.
Therefore.
“To even have a chance of victory against that thing, they must know how to use neural acceleration, even at a basic level.”
Ivan raised his muzzle again.
I'll give you plenty of chances, so fight with your lives on the line and seize it. That was the message.
This is the fastest way to learn neural acceleration. It is a sense that awakens alongside survival instincts during a life-or-death struggle, in the moment one fights against an absolute superior.
Those kids were already sufficiently trained. They had the aptitude and the mana.
So, the only thing they lacked was experience.
And filling that gap was his duty as an excellent educator. Ivan humbly acknowledged his role.
*
Tumoru of the Mountain. The Incarnation of Rage, the Giant King. One of the Seven Dragon Generals, killed by Maximilian.
The army he led destroyed a total of two kingdoms, thirty-seven cities, and one hundred twenty-nine villages. He was the vanguard of the Demon King's army and the first of the Seven Dragon Generals humanity had ever encountered.
His legion, known as the Second Dragon Army, possessed no special abilities compared to other legions. This meant they lacked any 'singularities' like bizarre magic or curses, special unit types and strategies, or strange and grotesque tactics.
The reason their military achievements were so overwhelming compared to other legions was for one reason alone.
Only struggle.
The legion led by the Incarnation of Rage was composed of orcs, giants, and tauren. Only battle, only advance, only annihilation. They ran, broke, and killed only for that purpose as they marched forward.
Because of his glaring military feats, the Hero pointed his sword at Tumoru as soon as he set out. On the eastern front, in the battle alongside the knights of Tilles, Tumoru was destroyed along with his legion.
Therefore, all orcs are survivors of that era. They are the warriors who were led by the Incarnation of Rage. Though they may have lost their fighting spirit and fallen into decline after Tumoru's death, their instincts and souls still harbor the memories of that glorious time from over a decade ago.
So now.
An orc warrior, terrified from suffering isolation and torture, slowly closed its eyes as it saw the 'future' whispered by the artifact.
Realizing that no matter what choice it made, there was no way for it to survive.
>Understanding that it was nothing more than a puppet for training.
Suffering from the guilt of having pushed its own brethren into a trap to be annihilated with its own hands.
-Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!!
Soon, the wildness of old times awakened.
*