Orc Chieftain Egor and the Aura Swordsman's Techniques
It was far too massive to be an orc. Yet too small to be an ogre. Still, its stature that clearly exceeded three meters, its ferocious blood-red skin that looked as if drenched in gore, and finally the sight of it wielding two different weapons in each hand was more than enough to send a shiver of tension through the body.
With a spiked morning star in one hand and a double-bladed axe gleaming with a cold edge in the other, the giant orc stood before them. Elsid knew at a glance that this orc was the chieftain. He also understood why the exposed muscles on Bernard’s arm—where the armor had been split open—had turned a bruised purple. They had clearly been ruptured by that morning star.
“After getting beaten like that a year ago, you’ve come crawling back, human.”
The orc seemed to remember Bernard; he spoke the word “human” like a title while referencing their past encounter.
“Egor… You still remembered me.”
Surprised that the orc recalled him, Bernard called out the name in return.
Egor. So that was the orc chieftain’s name.
Upon hearing it, Elsid thought to himself, ‘If I attack right now, would it even work?’
He hated to admit it, but it was impossible. His stamina was nearly spent, his fighting spirit at rock bottom. He judged that he wouldn’t be able to deal any meaningful damage to the orc chieftain before him. Therefore…
“How long are you two going to keep chatting? Fighting isn’t done with words—it’s done with action!”
Elsid charged forward, deliberately drawing the orc chieftain Egor’s attention.
“Another foolish moth flies into the flame.”
Elsid closed the distance in an instant and swung the wooden sword in his grip. Seeing the strike, Egor answered with a metaphorical sneer and brought the axe down in his right hand.
Clang!
The axe and sword collided with a metallic ring.
“Amusing. However…”
“Ugh…”
After their weapons met, Elsid felt the violent wind generated by the axe’s swing slap him across the face. Forcing his eyes to stay open against the gust, he kept his sword locked against the blade.
“Not enough.”
With their weapons still crossed, Egor poured on even more power and shoved the axe forward. Sensing the overwhelming force traveling through his sword, Elsid deliberately relaxed his body, jumped, and let the impact carry him backward. He had turned the opponent’s attack into his own launching force.
“Seriously. What are you doing, acting on your own like that? I assume you have a plan, right?”
“You already know there’s only one method anyway.”
Bernard scolded Elsid as he landed after flying back. Elsid answered with a grin.
“I’ll draw its attention. You attack.”
“So that really is our only option…”
In terms of injury, Elsid was in better shape than Bernard, whose arm was completely wrecked. But even so, it was impossible. Drawing the orc’s attention required speed, yet Bernard was still wearing full-plate armor. Of course, if he used his aura the armor would weigh no more than a child’s toy, but in a situation this unpredictable they could not afford to waste aura recklessly.
“Come, you moth-like humans.”
The moment their strategy was set, the orc chieftain provoked them, and—
“Fine! Let’s go!”
Elsid took the bait without a shred of hesitation.
As Elsid charged, Egor swung the morning star in his left hand instead of the axe. Naturally, Elsid did not meet it head-on. He slipped past the morning star by a hair’s breadth and struck at the orc’s wrist as it swept by.
Clang!
Once again the sound of steel rang out.
“As expected, it’s useless.”
While running in, Elsid had noticed the red aura wrapped around Egor’s entire body. It was Tugap, the technique used by aura blade masters who had reached the Tugwi level. By coating the whole body in aura as if wearing thin armor, the technique dramatically increased the body’s defensive power.
He had anticipated it, but because of that Tugap his wooden sword—hard as steel—was completely ineffective.
“Well then, I just have to keep trying!”
Recalling the words his grandfather had shouted while teaching him to swim—“If it doesn’t work, keep going until it does!”—Elsid swung his sword again.
Clang! Clang!
Each strike produced the same metallic clang.
“How irritating.”
Although none of the attacks worked because of the Tugap, the noise must have grated on Egor’s nerves—or perhaps the one making the noise did. The orc, who had been keeping both Elsid and Bernard in his field of vision, now turned his back completely and fixed both eyes on Elsid alone. It was proof of absolute confidence in his own Tugap.
Or rather, it wasn’t mere confidence.
“How fortunate. I happen to have the perfect technique for swatting flies.”
Those savage eyes and that vicious grin told Elsid that Egor was about to try something.
“Behold my aura art!”
“What?!”
While Elsid was still reacting, Egor raised both his morning star and iron axe high overhead.
The aura that had enveloped his entire body vanished, rushing instead into both arms and both weapons. The morning star and axe blazed with a ruby-red light, dense and scorching.
“Danger!!”
The Tugap had been released for a single instant; striking Egor’s back now could have dealt real damage. Yet Bernard chose to shout a warning and rush toward Elsid rather than attack.
Egor swung both weapons, carving a savage X through the air. The slash carried an aura so thick it felt like a guillotine flying straight at them.
Remembering how the creature he had smashed into meat paste with the castle gate the day before must have felt, Elsid comforted himself by raising the wooden sword in front of him in a desperate attempt to block the terrifying strike.
Boom—!
The sound of two weapons crushing and slicing a human body rang out, like dozens of bombs detonating at once.
“Good thing I wasn’t late.”
A moment later, the astonishing result became clear: no one had been injured.
“Human… you…”
Egor spoke, stunned.
“When did you reach the same realm as me?”
“After you beat me a year ago, I trained like hell and broke through.”
Unbelievably, Bernard had stepped in front of Elsid and blocked the devastating aura slash.
“Sir Bernard, you—!”
Elsid stared in amazement at the man who had shielded him. Formless aura coiled around the sword in Bernard’s hand, forming a menacing blade that held back both of Egor’s weapons.
If that had been all, Elsid would not have been so shocked. After all, he could wield an aura blade himself. What truly astonished him was that the full-plate armor Bernard wore had transformed. Blue, formless aura now covered it, turning the steel into something with terrifying defensive power.
“You weren’t at the same level as me?”
Elsid asked, stunned.
“I don’t recall ever stating my realm out loud.”
“…”
Only then did Elsid realize Bernard had never actually told him. He had simply assumed after hearing the story of the man’s miserable defeat a year earlier. In that single year, Bernard had overcome his loss and stepped into a higher realm.
Tap.
After their exchange, the orc and the human each took a step back, opening distance between them.
“Impressive. But if all you’ve mastered is Tugap, you are still no match for me.”
“What nonsense.”
Egor, having retreated, sneered at Bernard. Yet Bernard only smiled coldly.
“There’s no way I would challenge you again after learning only that much.”
It did not take long for Egor to understand the meaning behind those words.
And from that single sentence, Elsid instinctively knew his own part in the fight was over.
“I’ll show you as well. My aura art!”
Shuuu—!
The next instant, the aura that had wrapped Bernard’s sword reversed direction and flowed into the armor he wore. It was the complete opposite of Egor’s technique. Where Egor had drawn the aura from his whole body and condensed it into his weapons for a powerful strike, Bernard poured the blue aura from his sword into his armor, reinforcing it even further.
If Egor’s condensed crimson aura had burned like ruby flames, Bernard’s deepening blue aura felt like hundreds of rivers gathering into a single mighty waterfall.
“Thousand-Pound Slash!”
A moment later, Bernard—cloaked in blue aura from head to toe—swung a plain steel sword that carried no aura of its own.
“Haha! Magnificent, human!”
Of course, right before the sword reached him, Egor poured aura into both weapons and reactivated his Tugap, covering his entire body once more.
From Elsid’s side, the swing did not look like a sword strike at all. It felt more like swinging a blunt weapon—an incredibly heavy blow carrying the mass of hundreds of kilograms. It was a sword that struck like a mace.
Kwaaaaaang—!
The earth-shaking roar had barely faded when the dust cloud rose and then settled. What Elsid saw next left him speechless.
Crash!
“Splendid…”
Bernard’s sword had shattered both of Egor’s weapons with a sound like breaking glass. The blade continued its path, slicing diagonally through the orc chieftain’s body and cutting him cleanly in two.
“And yet… it is a shame.”
Thud.
A moment later, Egor’s severed torso and lower half collapsed to the ground.
“Ah… if I had known it would end like this…”
With death closing in, Egor lay on the ground and forced out his final words.
“I should have… tried a little harder…”
The sentence came in broken fragments. Those were the last words of Orc Chieftain Egor.
A will drenched in deep, lingering regret.