Chapter 339
Chapter 339
Chapter 339
BANG!
When the Paladins frantically swung their shields and swords, the Orcs were rather taken aback.
"Th-These humans are crazy!"
"Fall back for now!"
A fierce holy war broke out where it was impossible to tell who was Orc and who was human.
Thanks to the efforts of the Paladins who gave their all for atonement, countless Orc corpses piled up in front of Vadoka's castle walls.
Faced with an unexpected defeat, the Orc chieftains leading the Steel Legion held a meeting.
Orc meetings were simple.
Following the words of the chieftain who wins in combat.
Since the chieftains had similar abilities, results often varied depending on their physical condition on the day of the meeting.
After an intense duel, the victorious Orc chieftain shared his opinion.
"Nothing beats a one-on-one duel when morale is low. Let's break their spirit by having our powerful special forces fight against their weak warriors."
Other chieftains agreed with his opinion without objection.
The Orcs sent a human they had captured as food/prisoner to express their desire for a one-on-one duel with Vadoka.
Soon after, the castle gates opened and a knight emerged for the duel.
It was none other than Zeke wearing Hersion.
The Orcs held their bellies laughing, showing their molars, when Zeke came out as the duelist, looking not at all strong by their standards.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
When the Orcs stomped the ground with their feet, it felt like the entire earth was shaking.
The Orc chieftain who suggested the one-on-one combat shouted.
"Special forces! Abuka! Come out and crush that human!"
Abuka was the strongest special forces warrior among the thousands of warriors under his command.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
A giant Orc with a head several sizes larger than other Orcs stood before Zeke in full armor.
Just standing there, Abuka, wearing thick armor and wielding a giant axe, gave off an intimidating presence.
Abuka let out a battle cry toward Zeke.
"KRAAAAAAAGH!"
It was an eardrum-bursting battle cry, but Zeke showed no reaction.
Zeke spoke while looking at Abuka.
"Are you done yelling?"
Since the system automatically translated to Orcish, Abuka understood Zeke's words.
"Human! I'll rip off that insolent mouth of yours along with your jaw!"
Abuka shouted and stood before Zeke holding his axe.
Soon, the Orc side rang a gong to signal the start of the duel.
DING!
As soon as the gong rang, Abuka charged at Zeke with his axe.
"HAAAAAAH!"
Looking at his large build alone, one might think he would simply rely on brute force, but surprisingly, his axe-wielding form was precise.
CRASH!
Abuka skillfully swung his axe and pushed Zeke back.
Zeke used Shadowless Step to dodge Abuka's axe.
The axe blade, as large as his upper body, passed by narrowly.
WHOOSH!
Abuka, an experienced special forces warrior, immediately noticed from Zeke's movements that he was no ordinary fighter.
He didn't move hastily but stepped back and gathered his strength while holding his axe.
Seeing Abuka's calm fighting style, Zeke abandoned his prejudice against Orcs.
'This isn't just mindless attacking. It's simple but powerful axe techniques. Perhaps this is commonly taught in Orc legions.'
While Orcs enjoy destruction and plunder, they were once a race that prospered even more than humans in the physical realm.
They are an intelligent race with their own culture and way of life.
In ancient times, Orcs' castle-building and metallurgy skills were far superior to humans'.
They were naturally skilled at building fortresses and making weapons with their innate strength and instincts.
Those who went into battle thinking of Orcs as simple monster groups often lost their advantage, getting caught up in their solid organization and calm coping abilities.
Then, an unfamiliar energy flowed from Abuka's body.
'That energy is?'
Surprisingly, Abuka used fighting techniques that only demons or warrior gods could learn.
Zeke showed a surprised expression at the wave of energy flowing from his body.
He called out Arataso, which he had kept in his inventory for a long time.
'Arataso, can Orcs originally use fighting techniques?'
Arataso, who had been sleeping, replied in a voice still drowsy.
[An Orc using fighting techniques. What kind of Cerberus bone-gnawing nonsense is that?.]
'Then what is that?'
Arataso fully awoke and read the energy from Abuka standing before Zeke.
[Huh? It's real.]
Even Arataso, a high-ranking demon, found it fascinating to see an Orc using Ki techniques, as if seeing it for the first time.
Arataso spoke while looking at Abuka.
[I've heard that Orcs are a lower-tier subspecies of the Tuma tribe. So it might be possible for those who have undergone ancestral regression. Though it's utterly insignificant compared to the strong wave resonance technique I've mastered.]
Even if it was just an imitation, Combat technique was still Combat echnique.
If it had been a regular knight using Aura, they might have been defeated by Abuka's Combat technique without being able to properly use their strength.
Just as Arataso confirmed it was a Combat technique, Abuka raised his wave-infused axe and charged at Zeke.
"KUAAAAA!"
Abuka swung his axe at Zeke with a powerful battle cry, emanating an overwhelming pressure.
WHOOSH!
Zeke unleashed Infinite Sword Technique against the wave-infused axe.
Since the Infinite Sword Technique was combined with wave resonance skills, it was possible to neutralize the waves of the Combat technique.
CLANG!
When Zeke's sword deflected his axe, Abuka was startled.
"How can a human use Combat techniques?"
Unlike with ordinary knights, he seemed confused when his combat technique didn't work.
Zeke didn't miss that opening and dove in using the Shadowless Step technique.
SWISH!
Moving to Abuka's flank into his blind spot, Zeke swung his sword infused with golden power.
SWISH!
One side of Abuka's thick armor crumpled and shattered under Zeke's sword strike.
"KUGH!"
Abuka stepped back, feeling the force of over ten thousand jin behind Zeke's sword strike.
'How can a human have such strength…?'
In terms of physical strength, humans could not match Orcs.
However, the human before him was destroying even such basic common sense.
Abuka raised his axe again and steadied his breathing.
"KUAAAAH!"
With a powerful roar, waves of energy spread from his body.
Zeke realized this was similar to the wave barrier Arataso had used when fighting him before.
'Though Arataso's barrier was incomparably stronger than this.'
Moreover, it wasn't much of a threat to Zeke, who had become twice as strong since then.
Zeke immediately jumped into Abuka's barrier.
Then Abuka bared his fangs and shouted.
"Human! You've fallen for it!"
Thinking Zeke had fallen into his trap, Abuka charged at him without hesitation.
He thought Zeke wouldn't be able to use his power properly since his waves had the ability to seal Aura.
He leaped into the air and swung his massive battle axe at Zeke.
He intended to cleave him in half along with his armor in one strike.
"KUAAAAH!"
As Abuka charged at Zeke with his axe, he suddenly noticed something strange.
The look in Zeke's eyes as he held his sword was too calm.
WOOONG!
Vibrations rang out from Zeke's sword.
Abuka sensed something was wrong, but his axe was already falling toward Zeke's head.
"Die!"
Just as Abuka's axe was about to make contact, Zeke's form became blurry.
Having dodged Abuka's attack instantly with his footwork, Zeke swung his sword.
Soul Technique
Double Spell
Will of Cutting
Zeke's sword, imbued with the Will of Cutting, surged upward and split Abuka's body.
THUD!
Abuka landed on the ground and slowly turned to look at Zeke.
"Human... strong..."
In that moment, Abuka's body split vertically along with his armor as he collapsed to the ground.
THUD!
When Abuka, the special warrior, fell to a human's hand, the Orc camp was shocked.
"G-good heavens, Abuka has fallen!"
"Impossible!"
"That human must have used some underhanded trick! Despicable human!"
The Orcs bared their sharp fangs and growled while glaring at Zeke.
Then Zeke shouted at the Orcs.
"The warrior you sent has fallen to my sword! If you wish to maintain your honor as warriors, withdraw from the Holy Kingdom's territory immediately!"
Hearing Zeke's words, the Orcs became even more excited, shouting battle cries and causing a commotion.
They were so excited they didn't even register that he had spoken in the Orc language.
The Orc chieftain stepped forward and spoke while looking at Zeke.
"There's no need to maintain a warrior's honor against human bastards. I'll kill them, eat their hearts, and destroy that castle!"
At the chieftain's words, the special warriors who were waiting behind stepped forward.
They believed that warrior's honor should only be maintained in duels between orc warriors, not with cunning and deceitful humans.
Hundreds of special warriors stood before Zeke with their axes.
They were as large as ogres, emanating a threatening presence.
They raised their axes and shouted.
"The Herald of Blood and Madness watches over us!"
"Let's offer the humans' flesh and blood to our god!"
Though the orcs shouted with all their might, the Herald of Blood and Madness had not been responding to their calls for some time.
Originally, the special warriors were unique beings who could receive power from the Herald of Blood and Madness.
When they charged at enemies with the power of the constellation in their robust bodies, no enemy could stop them.
However, the Herald of Blood and Madness could no longer send its power to the orcs.
This was because after attacking Zeke, part of its source was sealed in Solomon's ring, preventing it from intervening in the physical world.
Unaware of this situation, the orcs simply shouted as usual, hoping to receive power today.
Zeke heard the orcs' shouts and pointed his sword.
"Are you just going to keep shouting?"
Aura Blade rose from his sword.
The orcs charged toward Zeke.
"KRAAAAGH!"
There were no orcs who could use fighting techniques like Abuka.
They simply charged forward, trusting in their physical bodies.
'I guess that orc from earlier was unusual.'
Zeke swung his sword at the orc charging at the front.
SLASH!
The orc's head floated in the air before falling to the ground.
He had cut off both the axe and the head in one stroke.
The orcs paid no attention to their comrade's death and fiercely rushed at Zeke.
Even with hundreds of special warriors charging, Zeke wasn't fazed at all.
Rather, he rushed forward and struck down an orc with all his might.
CRASH!
The orc's head was crushed and its armor split where Zeke's sword struck.
With Zeke's sword empowered by the field of gold force, carrying the weight of ten thousand jin, the thick armor meant nothing.
The three orc chieftains watching became flustered as their special warriors were one-sidedly slaughtered without even touching Zeke.
"Everyone charge and kill that human!"
But then, hundreds of knights began charging on horseback toward the flank of the orc legion.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
"Sweep away these orc bastards!"
The Silver Knights led by Luno attacked the orc legion with swords containing aura.
The White Silver Knights who had been guarding the port immediately rushed to join the Vadoka Kingdom after reinforcements arrived.
Zeke had previously told Luno to keep these forces on standby and attack the flanks when the enemy let their guard down.
The orcs were thrown into confusion by the flank attack.
Moreover, their powerful special warriors were caught up fighting Zeke and couldn't move.
But then the firmly closed castle gates opened, revealing the Paladin unit and Black Sword Knights.
At the front of the Paladin unit stood Arch Paladin Baord.
He drew his sword and shouted.
"For the glory of God!"
As Baord charged forward, the Paladins followed him and rushed at the orc legion.
The Black Sword Knights followed behind them.
Commander Decker led the knights, but there were unexpected figures behind him.
It was Andrei and Aul, the Red Knights of Draker.
Andrei and Aul pushed ahead first and headed toward Zeke who was engaging the special warriors.
"HAAAH!"
Awl's sword and Andrei's sword flashed as they instantly cut down the charging orcs.
Zeke turned his head and spotted the two.
"Sir Aul! Sir Andrei!"
With the two Red Knights joining the battle, the special warrior unit quickly began to collapse.
Even the Orc Steel Legion couldn't withstand the Paladin unit led by Baord charging from the front and the Silver Knights attacking from the flank.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
Just as the orcs were trying to fall back while beating their drums.
However, there was something guarding their rear.
CRACKLE!
Arina's wide-area attack magic, Heavenly Thunder, fell toward the orc legion.