Chapter 57
Chapter 57
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: 27. Ant (2)
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The tunnel entrance caved in, and flames spread rapidly. Even without proper kindling to burn, the magical fire scorched the ground and set the orcs ablaze.
The orc troops that had burst out with such ferocity were now stranded in the middle of the camp.
"Akuak Kai! Ko ome tun!"
The Orc Warrior, bearing a flag on his back, bellowed something. At his cry, the eyes of the entire orc force turned toward Yuri, who stood among them.
With things as they were, they seemed determined to kill Yuri even if it meant charging right into the heart of the camp.
"Hey, cut me some slack here..."
Yuri's mutter went unheard.
The orc horde surged forward immediately. Even the orcs holding the front lines from outside turned their backs and rushed in.
Brioll's troops, realizing the situation, shouted out.
"Save the prince!"
But the Orc Warrior had overlooked one thing.
Dispels had prevented it until now, but on a battlefield where magic worked, anything could happen.
The flames that had collapsed the tunnel snaked across the ground toward Yuri, enveloping him in a protective ring.
A few orcs got trapped inside the wall of fire with him, but it was no big issue. Yuri stabbed them with his sword and hurled them outside, where they writhed in agony amid the blaze.
"Phew, that was close."
This was the power of a master mage.
Usually stuck dispelling spells, but reliable when it counted.
Under the fire's protection, Yuri waited for the Allied Forces to mop up the orcs.
Then, suddenly, a gust of wind stirred.
Yuri glanced back.
There stood the Orc Warrior amid the flames. He had leaped right over the fiery barrier.
"Akuak Kai."
Calling Yuri by his moniker, the Orc Warrior ripped the flag from his back and tossed it away.
It caught in the flames and burned to ash.
"Okuma kurutu akamaiku."
No idea what it meant, but probably something like "You're dead."
"Okudoku."
Yuri spat the orcish curse he'd learned from Cory and raised Guilty.
The Orc Warrior grinned, loosely swinging his halberd.
For an orc, he was remarkably composed. Yuri had never seen one shrug off an insult like "okudoku" without exploding in rage.
"Come to think of it, what's that even mean?"
Every curse had its origins.
Yuri made a mental note to ask Cory later as he eyed the orc.
The spear and axe heads on the halberd's tip danced back and forth, alternately aiming at Yuri.
A tricky weapon to wield.
For him to charge into battle with it meant he had surely reached a high realm.
Yuri circulated his Mana Circulation Method, lightening his body, then channeled mana into Guilty.
A faint sheen of mana coated the blade.
While fending off the Allied Forces, Yuri had continued to grow.
Who would believe an eighteen-year-old had reached this level?
"Come on."
The Orc Warrior eyed Yuri's sword and bared his tusks in a grin once more.
His muscles bulged.
Yuri could sense the mana flowing within the Orc Warrior.
This one was a mana user too.
Orcs were strong to begin with. With mana, their raw power doubled.
"Kuaak!"
Roaring a battle cry, the orc charged. The moment their distances closed, he swung the halberd.
A straightforward strike, but the power behind it was beyond what Yuri could block head-on.
Parrying with Guilty, Yuri deflected the force aside.
The Orc Warrior's stance wavered briefly before recovering.
"Kuhuhu..."
Unlike most orcs, his laugh sounded almost human.
Yuri glanced around sidelong.
Trapped in the flames, the space was cramped. Not ideal against a brute-force foe.
But asking to douse the fire? The area outside was crawling with orcs.
"In times like this..."
Yuri narrowed his eyes, sword at the ready.
He immersed his senses in the memories of the ancient orc hunter from the ruins.
The path through the fight suddenly clarified.
Yuri knew exactly what to do.
"Hoo..."
He advanced on the Orc Warrior.
The orc pulled his halberd back. Yuri could see his muscles contracting sharply.
Yuri pressed forward.
The halberd swung.
Just before the orc's motion fully committed—before full power loaded—Yuri struck the halberd first.
Clashing from an advantageous spot, the Orc Warrior was pushed back instead.
"Kraaak!"
The Orc Warrior whirled the halberd again. Yuri preempted the acceleration once more, striking first.
The exchange repeated.
The Orc Warrior stumbled back repeatedly.
It looked simple, but closing on an overwhelmingly stronger foe required bold nerve, exceptional dynamic vision, and animalistic reflexes—a high-difficulty technique.
Yuri taunted.
"That all you got? Pfft, okudoku, you bastard."
Overpowering him with skill and then mocking—the Orc Warrior's face twisted. Raw strength must have been his pride.
Yuri locked eyes with him and closed in again.
Gauging the fury in those pupils, he read every enemy movement.
The Orc Warrior bent his knees, coiling for another full-body spin.
Excited orcs telegraphed poorly. His mind was solely on splitting Yuri's skull.
He reared the halberd back and slammed it down.
Yuri dodged sideways, but as if anticipating, the orc reached out to crush his throat.
Yuri thrust Guilty into the orc's gut.
The blade sliced skin and plunged in.
Victory.
But the Orc Warrior ignored it, shoving his hand forward anyway.
Yuri blocked with his arm, but the massive grip seized his neck and forearm together.
"Kuh..."
The vise-like strength was crushing.
The Orc Warrior shook Yuri wildly while holding him.
Guilty slipped free.
The size difference made repositioning for another stab impossible.
Air was cut off.
Yuri gritted his teeth and endured. He couldn't let his mind fade.
He slashed at the orc's wrist with Guilty.
But dangling in midair without leverage, the blow lacked power.
Repeated strikes failed to pierce the thick hide. He must have known a way to harden his skin with mana.
"Kuhk..."
Yuri recalled a butchering technique from the hunter's memories.
If slicing won't work, saw it off.
He laid Guilty's blade across the Orc Warrior's wrist.
Bracing his neck and arm as best he could, he sawed the blade up and down.
At first, no effect—but soon, the mana-coated edge frayed into the wrist through friction.
The Orc Warrior's eyes bulged red.
"Kuooh!"
He didn't release, squeezing Yuri's throat harder.
Yuri clenched his jaw and kept sawing.
The deadlock dragged on.
"Kraaak...!"
Yuri won.
The Orc Warrior howled, flinging Yuri away.
He tried to retrieve his ensnared hand.
But Yuri held fast.
Grabbing the receding hand, he hit the ground, raised Guilty high, and drove it down.
Aiming precisely at the sawed spot.
Without a millimeter's error, the blade struck true.
The Orc Warrior's wrist flew off.
"Kraaaak!"
Clutching the stump, he toppled backward.
Yuri shook off the severed hand. In his haste, he'd gripped it thumb-in.
"Shaking hands with an orc? Gross."
Still, it had let him hold firmer.
Grinning, Yuri slapped the hand onto the orc's face.
The Orc Warrior thrashed.
Spitting curses, it seemed.
"Akuak Kai! Akumet! Yukka ma..."
Guilty pierced between his eyes.
Drained of fight, the Orc Warrior didn't even try to dodge. His pupils twitched, then went slack.
"Okudoku."
Yuri withdrew the blade from the limp orc.
"Hoo..."
Yuri wasn't unscathed.
Bruises bloomed large on his neck and arm where gripped. Movement hurt.
Kneeling with hand to knee, he peered through the flames at the outside.
"What?"
The situation hadn't improved at all. Still swarming with orcs.
And suddenly, the encircling flames vanished.
"Huh?"
As the curtain lifted like a lie, Yuri was exposed again.
Dozens of eyes snapped toward him in unison.
A chill ran down his spine.
"Damn it..."
Yuri realized.
Hernando hadn't withdrawn the spell—another shaman had appeared.
Meaning the tunnels weren't just one.
Orcs were pouring into the Allied Forces' camp like ant swarms.
Yuri swept Guilty around, scanning.
A mix of orcs and Orc Warriors approached.
Breaking through looked dicey.
Having seen Yuri's agility, the orcs formed multiple tight layers of encirclement.
Slip one gap, and another line would close around him.
"Hoo..."
Yuri took a deep breath.
Entering to kill the shaman had been a mistake.
Multiple tunnels.
Underestimating orcs had backfired.
Returning to the past and gaining achievements had made him complacent.
Just like the Orc Warrior, arrogant to the end, pierced between the eyes—Yuri had failed to doubt himself.
Time to pay.
Lips set firm, Yuri glared at the orcs.
A body that had died once before.
He now knew pains worse than death.
"Yuri Brioll. Even if I die today, it won't be in disgrace."
Yuri murmured.
Circulating Heart-Soul Severing, mana surged fiercer than usual.
And he roared.
"Come on, you vermin! For Brioll!"
Someone answered.
"Fine resolve ya got there."
Yuri's eyes widened.
"Exhaust human effort and await heaven's will—where desperation breeds life, and overconfidence spells death."
"Ooh...!"
Yuri felt his swelling heroic resolve deflate in an instant.
Moyong Chan approached through the air, hands clasped behind his back.
Like an immortal strolling the heavens.
Yuri muttered.
"Knew it. No way I'd go down easy."
The venom left his eyes, his lips relaxed. He casually crossed his legs.
Back to his usual laid-back Yuri Brioll.
"Perfect timing. Heh heh heh..."
"You little..."
At Yuri's sudden shift, Moyong Chan looked exasperated.
"Spirit crumbles in a blink. Wrong-headed pup ya are. Tch..."
"Hahaha, I figured you'd come save me, Master."
"Was thinkin' of lettin' ya fend for yerself."
"What're you saying? Gotta purge evil with your one and only disciple, right? Let's wipe these fiends out! Hahaha!"
"Tsk tsk..."
Moyong Chan drifted over languidly, standing beside Yuri, and clicked his tongue.
Yuri grinned, unperturbed.
Just not being alone bolstered him—and it was Moyong Chan, no less.
"Half."
Moyong Chan said.
"Just half. Won't help more'n that. Got it?"
"Yes. Of course."
Thus, the two stood back-to-back against the orcs.
Facing dozens at once wasn't easy. But Yuri had the ancient hunter's memories.
The hunter had lured orcs with a red gem, then slaughtered them in a flash.
Recalling that, Yuri circulated his Mana Circulation Method.
Sensation returned to his grip.
Heart-Soul Severing was both mana method and swordsmanship.
Meaning no fixed forms in Yuri's bladework. It could adapt fluidly.
He overlaid the hunter's techniques onto Heart-Soul Severing.
Yuri felt his sword path transform entirely.
Swifter, more cunning, guiding him anew.
"Hoo..."
Moyong Chan, watching Yuri's movements, tilted his head.
He knew the kid's mana method was unique, but switching sword styles so abruptly?
Felt like someone else entirely.
Veteran. Practical.
Odd.
In the glimpses of motion, he sensed the aura of one who had mastered their path.
Something had happened.
No other explanation for such growth.
"Ahem..."
Moyong Chan cleared his throat and averted his eyes.
His disciple returns with some unheard-of mystery swordplay—and damn if it isn't solid.
Didn't sit right.
"Today, I'll show ya the true blade of the Qingcheng Sect."
Moyong Chan drew his sword and circulated his inner energy.
The pure qi of the Clear Bright Heart Void flowed a full circuit through his body.
A pale azure gleam gathered on his rugged blade.
"Watch close!"
He swept the sword in a perfect semicircle.
Celestial Cloud Crimson霞 Swordsmanship.
Half-Moon Stance.
Sunset hues bloomed from Moyong Chan.
Blood misted atop it.