Chapter 17: A Sacred Duel
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 17: A Sacred Duel
It wasn't the most useful experience—at best, it was just killing goblins—but I had ten years of it. On top of that, I had fully completed my experience as an Orc ‘Warrior.’ I quickly began to assess the state of my body. I could feel the faint stirring of a magic circuit inside me.
My opponent was a powerhouse beyond all measure, one of the continent's ten strongest in my past life. But right now, she was just a rookie who had barely taken her first step into power. Still, the person before me was undeniably a ‘genius.’
But I wouldn't be broken so easily.
I wanted to test myself. I wanted to fight. That urge began to surge within me. It was the same feeling I’d had when I first locked eyes with the Queen of the North. An emotion I simply couldn't suppress.
A lust for battle.
My breathing naturally grew ragged. A cold sweat broke out across my body, and it felt as if every single one of my cells was screaming.
“You're that monster from before. It's been a while.”
The ‘Queen of the North,’ Han So-Hye, muttered as she began to stare me down. It seemed she remembered me. The dagger painted on my face was a mess, but the fact that she recognized me anyway proved she had a sharp eye.
An honor to be remembered.
I wanted to say it, but of course, I couldn't. I wanted to hide the fact that I could speak the human tongue for as long as possible.
The fact that she had bothered to come all this way, ignoring Goff, the members of other clans, and every other Green Skin who seemed even remotely strong, must have meant that I was the one who had piqued the Queen of the North's interest.
She might have judged me to be the most dangerous of all the monsters that had started to swarm in. If that was true, I was incredibly grateful. And it made my blood boil. I wanted to charge in and fight her this very instant.
“Krrrrrrk…”
The ever-loyal Five Goblin Siblings looked at me and began to nod. Seeing the current situation, they had instinctively realized that the ‘woman’ standing before me was the one who had ignited my fighting spirit.
The Queen of the North’s gaze remained fixed on me. That look, which pushed my will to fight to its absolute limit, was truly unbearable.
In the end, I had no choice but to charge headfirst toward Han So-Hye.
“Kwwaaaaaaah!!!”
I hadn't intended to scream. But the sound escaped me anyway. Hearing my cry, human warriors rushed in to protect their queen.
But every Green Skin in the vicinity crashed into them on my behalf. The Five Goblin Siblings did the same. It was their own way of showing consideration, of ensuring nothing would interfere with my battle.
A large circle naturally formed around me and the Queen of the North, with the Green Skins continuously pushing back the enemy.
“A sacred duel!”
“A sacred duel that no one may interfere with!”
“Kkireuk! Chieftain Blood Dagger of the Blood Dagger Clan desires a sacred duel!”
Some of them even started to announce it to everyone around. Eventually, even Goff, who had been slaughtering humans like rats, and the members of other clans who had scoffed at me, all began to focus their attention this way.
Most of the humans had already been swept away by our forces. One by one, the Green Skins turned their gazes toward us. They were gathering to bear witness to a sacred duel.
In an instant, a great arena was formed, its walls made of a sea of green. The Queen of the North looked at me, a hint of surprise in her eyes, and opened her mouth.
“I see what you want.”
I hadn't said a word, but it was impossible not to understand the situation. We didn't need to speak; a single glance was enough to know what the other desired. She knew I wanted a one-on-one fight.
“Kwaaaaaaaah!!!”
I closed the distance with a burst of speed and swung my heavy sword, but the Queen of the North instantly widened the gap. Her weapon was a spear. Typically, it's common sense that a spear has an advantage over a sword. While that wasn't always the case on the continent, having a longer reach was certainly a slight advantage. And since I was bigger, I was an easier target. Besides, my style was nothing like Goff's, who fought by taking hits.
My body was burning, but I knew I had to fight smart to have any chance of winning.
I parried the incoming spear and advanced. It was the most basic and reliable strategy. I had the advantage if I closed the distance; she had it if she maintained it.
The spear that repeatedly thrust toward me was a veritable flash of light. In the blink of an eye, it aimed for every single one of my vital points.
It was hard to believe she was only on her 90th day of understanding this world. These weren't the panicked, random thrusts of a novice. She understood.
With my own meager skills, I couldn't possibly comprehend it all, but she, the Queen of the North, instinctively knew which attacks were the most difficult for me to block, which were the most fatal.
As the fight wore on, I, the one trying to close the distance, found myself being forced to create it instead.
Fuck… was the difference in our levels… this huge?
My ten years of experience were being shattered by a rookie with less than ninety days under her belt. The path of the sword, my swordsmanship, everything I remembered from my past life began to break apart, piece by piece.
“Kwaaaaaaaah!!!”
My swings were nothing more than desperate roars of frustration. Naturally, Han So-Hye, who gave me no opening, deflected my attacks with incredible ease.
It was enough to make me laugh. A bitter, empty laugh.
If I charged forward, ready to trade flesh for bone, she would retreat three steps as if she'd read my mind. If I decided to fight defensively, she would press her attack fiercely. A distance of no more than six steps.
I couldn't close those six short steps.
Fuck… Fuck…
*
Come to think of it, I used to be incredibly numb to being surpassed.
“Hey! Kim Taesung. Did you hear? About that rookie who was just summoned. The Saint Knights Order already has their eye on him… I heard he went out hunting and took down an Ogre all by himself.”
“Oh? Really. Well, that has nothing to do with us…”
*
“Kim Taesung!! Kim Taesung!! That old man who lived in the junkyard. He finally decided to join the Red Cross Clan. He’s been sucking up to them for days… Ha… who would’ve thought he’d end up like that.”
“Well… I’m jealous.”
*
“You okay, Kim Taesung? I told you not to be so stupid. Why’d you pick a fight? That guy’s only been here two years, what’s his problem… right?”
“Ugh… it hurts.”
*
“Fuck…”
It should have been like that… I should have been numb to being surpassed and defeated… But now… now, I'm furious. It's driving me insane. I can't stand how pathetic the time I wasted in my past life was.
I focused solely on advancing, keeping my sword as close to my body as possible to block her attacks. I let the strikes aimed at my head and torso graze past me, using my tightly gripped sword to parry only the most critical blows.
I held my sword in a reverse grip. There was no special reason for it. It was just easier to block and advance this way. I chose it because it made parrying more manageable.
When she took one step back, I took two steps forward. When she took two steps back, I closed in by three.
I narrowed the gap, one step at a time.
The excitement coursing through my body was still there. This fighting spirit. The determination to close the distance no matter what fueled me.
“Hmph.”
The Queen of the North continued to wield her spear with an expression devoid of any emotion. I kept pushing forward, again and again.
The distance of six steps became five, and five steps soon became four. At some point, we were fighting at a range where my sword could also reach her.
“Krrrrrrk.”
I raised my sword high and swung. Even if she backed away, she was definitely within range. This attack, she would have to block. I was sure of it.
CRACK!
She blocked, just as I expected. She held her spear vertically, gripping it firmly with both arms. I clearly had the advantage in strength. As I thought, her expression twisted as her hands must have hurt.
I have to catch her.
“Kwwaaaaaaah!”
This was a hard-won opportunity. I knew instinctively that if I didn't capitalize on this timing, things would get difficult. I took one step. Just one more step forward. I immediately swung my sword from top to bottom, and she raised her spear horizontally with both arms to block the attack. I swung with enough force to shatter the spear shaft itself, but she instantly bent her body to absorb the shock and slipped away from my attack.
Then one more step.
I could see blood trickling from her grip. Blocking those last two attacks had clearly wounded her hands.
It was difficult, but it was undeniably fun. My heart pounded relentlessly because I felt like I was getting closer to the Queen of the North, one step at a time. It must have been the hope that I, too, could close the gap.
But this time, the Queen of the North didn't remain idle. She began to attack relentlessly, aiming for my lower body to hinder my movements.
The distance of three steps widened again, and just as I caught up, it widened once more. By the time it felt like we had clashed dozens, no, hundreds of times, the same thought as before struck me:
'This is fun.'
It was incredibly fun. The corners of my mouth crept up without me realizing it. My body was reacting on its own. Around that time, I looked at the Queen of the North. Without a doubt. The Queen of the North was also smiling, one corner of her mouth turned up.
“Krrrrrrk.”
Elated, I charged like a wild boar. The distance between us was four steps—close enough to land an effective hit. And close enough for me to take one, too.
If I could just keep chipping away at her stamina like this, I definitely had a chance. First, I had to create a situation she couldn't escape. I was an Orc. I might be lacking in other areas, but when it came to stamina, I was surely superior.
Just as I felt the Queen of the North's body growing more and more fatigued…
I swung my sword with the intent to slice through her torso in a single blow. She would block it. She would raise her spear with both arms and block it.
CLANG!
For a brief moment, the Queen of the North's body wavered.
The real fight starts now. Because she blocked by holding the spear shaft vertically, her other side was completely defenseless. My hands couldn't reach, but my leg could. It didn't even have to be a perfect hit. A mere graze would be enough to rob the queen of her mobility.
And so, I thrust my left leg out, aiming to shatter the Queen of the North's leg.
Contrary to my expectation of hearing bone shatter, my leg, aimed at the Queen of the North's right leg, cut through empty air.
Damn it…
As if she had predicted the attack, she leaped perfectly into the air, landing on top of the very spear shaft she was holding. In the blink of an eye, she was airborne. The sight of her suddenly thrusting her spear down at me was the very image of the ‘Queen’ described only in tavern tales.
Instantly, a searing pain, like being burned, erupted in my chest.
I've been pierced.
The body that had been brimming with explosive power suddenly crumbled. Grasping my fading consciousness, I saw the Queen of the North's spear piercing my chest and had no choice but to accept that I had lost this fight.
I lost.