The Orc Great Warrior's Duel (2)
CRACK! Kyle's body shot forward from behind the waves of snow and dust, absorbing the full force of the shockwave. He had been unable to completely dodge it. Yet a smile curled at the corner of Kyle's lips. Not bad at all.
The Orc Great Warrior was no mere brute of raw power. Startled by the incoming onslaught, he quickly adapted within the chaos.
He found the exact method the cult warriors use to handle such attacks.
If the vision was obstructed and the senses were scrambled, the answer was simple: destroy everything around you. The advantage of such a ruthless approach lay precisely in that.
I’ll take on a few more exchanges and quickly grow accustomed to it. There was no need to prolong the fight any further.
The blood flowers blooming around Kyle’s sword instantly withered. It was time to stop relying on the shockwave as the primary weapon.
Grk. The Orc Great Warrior bared his teeth at the sight. “Has the flower withered already, human?”
“Yes.” Kyle raised his sword, and around him the wind gently parted.
“Let us move to the next.”
“Next?” The Orc Great Warrior’s eyes flashed. He must have sensed that Kyle was about to unleash something even more bizarre.
Kyle’s momentum shifted.
“Grk, what are you doing?” He merely held the sword aloft. His body appeared relaxed, as if he had no intention of facing the opponent head-on.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I will only attack!” The Orc Great Warrior stomped the ground.
BOOM! The massive frame charged across the snowfield toward Kyle.
The axe soared high and descended.
Kyle showed no sign of dodging. It was nothing like the flamboyant attack he had expected moments ago. The Orc Great Warrior’s strike looked overwhelmingly powerful. One direct hit would crush Kyle’s body along with his armor.
The soldiers on the wall forgot even to breathe in the tense atmosphere.
“The Grand Duke Heir!” Someone screamed, but Kyle did not retreat. He lifted his sword.
CLANG! The axe and sword collided, the boom echoing across the snowfield. Yet the next instant, the Orc Great Warrior’s pupils dilated.
“Grk?” The axe failed to pin Kyle down. It was not the blade that had blocked the force head-on. The sword’s edge had slid along the axe’s power, flowing sideways.
The Orc Great Warrior’s axe sliced through the snowfield.
BOOM! Snow and ice exploded where the axe had struck. The impact weakened even further because the force had been deflected.
Kyle had sidestepped the attack by mere inches. Using the soft sword after such a long time.
Soft Sword. It does not resist strength with strength. An endlessly gentle sword art that lets the opponent’s force collapse beneath it. The mysterious principle behind the Taiji Wise Sword of the Unorthodox Sect was not unique to that technique; it was also the core of flower-shifting and branch-grafting.
The Orc Great Warrior’s strength was immense. The stronger it was, the greater the force would become if its direction was misaligned. There was good reason the ruthless style was called the enemy of the soft sword.
Of course, depending on the wielder, even the soft sword could shatter ruthless martial arts. At the very least, there would be no breaking of his soft sword against the Orc Great Warrior.
Kyle told himself this as the enormous body of the Orc Great Warrior briefly leaned forward in an instant that felt eternal to him.
Switch. The sword that had been flowing gently transformed into a sharp edge.
SLASH! The blade erupted like lightning. The moment the soft sword became a fierce blade.
SLASH! A spray of dark red blood erupted from the Orc Great Warrior’s side. Thick muscle split, and the gap in the beast-bone armor widened.
The Orc Great Warrior tried to hammer his elbow down to pin Kyle, but Kyle slipped away the instant he landed the blow.
“How shallow.” The voice came from beside him.
The Orc Great Warrior’s eyes blazed with savage fury. The axe swung down in a diagonal arc.
“Switch again.” Kyle smoothly transformed the sword once more. The axe deflected once again.
“Grk!” The Orc Great Warrior stamped the snowfield. He was forcibly gripping the center, leaving natural openings.
“Switch again.” The sword turned fierce once more.
CRACK! The blade shot upward from below and carved a deep wound into the Orc Great Warrior’s forearm.
SPLAT! Blood sprayed. A crimson line was drawn across the snowfield.
“Ooooooooooh!” Cheers erupted from the wall.
The unexpected spectacle of Kyle’s assault sent the soldiers on the wall into turmoil.
“The Grand Duke Heir is pressing forward?”
“Impossible. The opponent is the Orc Great Warrior…” Karon could not hide his shock at Kyle’s unexpected performance.
“KRRRRAAAAA!” At that moment the Orc Great Warrior roared. It was not rage but exhilaration. His entire body’s muscles swelled. The blood pouring from his wounds steamed in the cold air.
“Good!” The Orc Great Warrior gripped his axe with both hands. “Truly good, human!” He was laughing. Even with wounds and bleeding, he seemed more excited than anything.
“I have walked countless battlefields and fought countless human warriors. But I have never seen a warrior like you. I thought your tricks were crude, but I withdraw that judgment. Your technique is fun and fascinating!” While marveling, the Orc Great Warrior’s fighting style changed.
The Orc Great Warrior’s eyes flashed.
WHOOSH! The massive axe cut through the wind toward Kyle.
This was the moment Kyle had intended to unleash the soft sword’s mystery.
SWOOSH! The Orc Great Warrior poured strength into his arm and pulled the axe back. Kyle’s sword sliced through empty air. The soft sword’s principle of absorbing force vanished the instant the opponent withdrew their power.
“KHAHA!” Laughing, the Orc Great Warrior swung the axe again. The moment Kyle looked like he would defend, he quickly pulled it back. A feint. A gap before the sword could return. He aimed precisely at that opening.
Yet Kyle remained unfazed.
“Protective King Qi.” A blood-red aura clung firmly to the surface of Kyle’s Black Ice Iron armor. It was not as dense as the aura guards worn by Sword Saints, but it protected only vital points.
“Come.” Kyle did not dodge the axe. He willingly offered his flesh, evading only the vital spot.
SLASH! The axe edge grazed Kyle’s left shoulder. The Black Ice Iron armor cracked, and the flesh beneath tore. Crimson blood sprayed across the snowfield.
“……” Kyle did not even groan. A smile remained on his lips.
“KRRRRAAAAA!” The Orc Great Warrior unleashed a continuous barrage of axe strikes. CLANG! SLASH! SPLAT! Blood sprayed. Wounds covered Kyle’s body—shoulder, flank, forearm. No fatal injury, but blood poured through the torn armor and soaked the snowfield.
“Aaaah…”
“The Grand Duke Heir is being pushed back!”
“In the end, he cannot overcome the difference in strength!”
“Damn it!” Cheers poured from the soldiers and knights on the wall. The once-glorious display now seemed like Kyle was being slaughtered indiscriminately.
“My lord…” Leina remained calm. She already knew that the more wounds Kyle sustained, the stronger he became. She assumed his current posture was intentional.
Wulfran said nothing, but a strange smile lingered on his lips.
Kyle’s heartbeat remained steady. His breathing did not falter. Even with blood flowing, his momentum continued to grow.
Lumiara watched his composure quietly.
Meanwhile, Karon’s lips curled with deep satisfaction. Yes. Tear yourself apart, Kyle!
Yet doubt lingered in the Orc Great Warrior’s eyes as he pressed the attack. Strange. He had clearly landed blows. He had seen the human’s blood. He had torn flesh. Yet I do not feel I have made a cut. It was as if the man was deliberately offering only the spots he wanted.
In a life-or-death struggle, there was no madman who would deliberately wound his opponent. The Orc Great Warrior’s instincts screamed warnings. This human was not retreating. He was waiting for something.
It does not matter! The Orc Great Warrior suppressed the doubt. No matter what tricks the opponent used or what traps he set, overwhelming strength would crush them all. That was the way of life he had become an Orc Great Warrior.
Even though he had been defeated by that monster and chased, his method remained unchanged.
“Die, human!” Roaring, the Orc Great Warrior raised his axe high above his head. The momentum exploding from his entire body expanded like a detonation.
KRRRANG! Kyle, bleeding freely, watched the scene and smiled. The fuel is more than enough. The power of the Blood Spirit Divine Scripture grew stronger the more wounds and blood it shed. He had grown even stronger.
In truth, he could have continued shaking the opponent with soft sword and shockwave. It would have been far safer and more efficient. But how would that look like I won? This stage was not merely for defeating the Orc Great Warrior.
It was for engraving into the hearts of countless northern soldiers, veteran knights, Volkrik and Graham, and Kaon Hartvalt that he was worthy of being the Hartvalt Grand Duchy’s heir and a true ruler of the north.
“It is time to finish this. Do not die, Orc Great Warrior.” The ruler of the north must not win with tricks. He must crush that overwhelming, ruthless power with even greater dominance and brutality. Only easily understandable strength would suffice.
WHOOOSH! [Tyrant Heaven Blood Sword!] [Third Stance—Tyrant Heaven Destroying World!] A blood-red aura blade exploded above Kyle’s sword.
“……” The Orc Great Warrior’s eyes widened in shock.
“KRRRRAAAAA!” He squeezed every muscle and bone in his body and roared, channeling all his power into the massive axe that came crashing down onto Kyle’s blood-red sword strike.
BOOOOOM! The earth-shaking boom reached even the wall. Yet the outcome was decided.
CRACK! Kyle’s ruthless blow struck the front of the Orc Great Warrior’s axe. The enormous axe forged from beast bones and steel shattered into nothingness.
The Orc Great Warrior’s arms flew into the air with a cracking of bones, overwhelmed by the sheer force.
“K, K-” Between the flying axe fragments, Kyle’s sword did not stop. It sliced diagonally across the Orc Great Warrior’s massive chest.
SLASH! A horrifying sound of flesh being severed echoed. Thick leather, bone armor, and tough muscles were sliced apart like paper.
SPRAY! Crimson blood poured like a waterfall from the long wound. The hot blood instantly dyed the white snowfield red.
“You did not die.” Looking down at the fallen Orc Great Warrior, Kyle stood tall and proud. The moment of victory had arrived.