Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Confrontation with the Chieftain
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...Gulp!
The Latent Dragon Squad members watching the situation from atop the cliff swallowed hard.
Even seeing it with their own eyes, they could hardly believe it.
"...Th-that guy's really taking down the orcs?"
On the crumbled ground, Ian stared at the chaotic scene of the rampaging orcs without a hint of disturbance.
From the moment he dealt with the initial orc sentries, up to creating this current situation.
Some might dismiss it as a simple stratagem that anyone could come up with given enough time.
But eliminating the orc guards, then handling the reinforcements that followed.
And grasping the terrain around them to set up the board in an instant—that was no feat just anyone could pull off.
The captain had orchestrated this entire setup the very moment they arrived in the Volcano Range.
And he was just a kid barely out of his teens.
"...What kind of lunatics treated a guy like that as half-witted?"
If the Second Young Lord, showing such prowess, was half-witted, then who in the Southern Continent—or all of Avena—could claim to be worth a damn?
After waves of admiration came anticipation.
If they successfully completed this absurd, near-impossible mission and returned to the clan.
The clan members who saw them only as dead weight—what faces would they make?
While the squad members atop the cliff spun rosy visions, the battlefield below entered a new phase.
KABOOM!
A massive axe slammed into the ground, halting the panicked orcs in their tracks.
"Damn it all, you human bastard...!!"
Urk, who had been observing, finally sprang into action.
"Th-the chieftain's moving!"
"Everyone, get it together!"
With the chieftain stepping forward, the orcs snapped out of their panic and began regaining control.
Even in this unprecedented crisis, his mere presence calmed the chaos.
That alone hinted at the immense stature Urk held in the Red Fang Orc Tribe.
"Useless lot. You think it's acceptable to get trounced so pathetically by some whelp who hasn't even shed his baby fuzz? I nearly ended up groveling under Golden Eye in utter disgrace."
WHOOSH!
Urk yanked his axe from the ground and swung the flat side—not the blade.
A gust followed the swing, slowly scattering the poison dust.
It wasn't enough to clear every last speck, but it sufficiently eased the breathing of the surviving, unpoisoned orcs.
Swipe.
Urk glared at Ian with fury.
But the rage in his eyes wasn't for the slain tribesmen.
Orcs had terrifying reproductive rates.
Even maintaining their current numbers, two years would be enough to replenish their forces.
Yet Urk fumed because his face was about to be lost in front of a "guest."
"Impressive for a young human. To think you'd land one on us in the Valley of Repose. That weapon... fine craftsmanship. Looks like you're someone of status among humans, eh?"
Slow turn.
Urk's gaze shifted to the Latent Dragon Squad atop the cliff.
"Just six of you... greenhorns driven by bravado. All the better. In negotiations with humans, I can demand a king's ransom for your hides, and Golden Eye will overlook this mess without a fuss."
No— it might even elevate the Red Fang Orc Tribe's importance.
After all, the Volcano Range bordered human territory and the Great Cataclysm lands.
Achieving something meaningful against humans in such a place would boost the range's value in Golden Eye's domain.
WHIRR!
Urk spun his axe, the massive blade whipping around like a twig despite its tree-trunk girth.
'...As expected, he's no pushover.'
This explained why no elite strike teams dispatched from the martial clans had ever subdued the orcs rampaging here.
Not only had lower-tier squads without proper aura control never come, but the chieftain's prowess alone was extraordinary.
The Red Fang Orcs' grip on the area owed more than just Golden Eye's backing.
Even the Latent Dragon Squad, if beside him, would tense up—Urk's aura was that ferocious.
But Ian was the exception.
To him, Urk's power as mere aura user stirred no tension.
Ian, once the Hegemon who dominated a quarter of Avena in a bygone era.
His past achievements ran too deep to flinch at a single orc chieftain.
"Brace yourself. For daring to shame me, you'll pay dearly."
Grip tightening.
Urk tensed his grip on the axe and bent his knees.
"Even if your limbs go flying, they won't hinder negotiations much."
KABOOM!
His log-thick legs unleashed, propelling his massive frame toward Ian at blinding speed.
"Hmph."
Ian snorted, hands drifting to his waist.
Shing!
Left hand: a short, thick black sword.
Zing!
Right hand: a long, slender white sword.
"I'll throw those words right back at you."
"Hmmmph!"
Vital veins writhed like living serpents along the green orc's axe-wielding arm.
The tensed axe plummeted toward Ian's neck.
CLANG!
Black sword and white sword crossed to meet it, unleashing a shockwave in rippling circles as Ian's body was shoved back.
"Ho? Withstanding that strike."
Urk's eyes gleamed with odd delight, like finding a fun toy.
"Not like the worthless clan trash I've killed so far. This should be entertaining."
Laughing, Urk charged.
CRUNCH!
His blood-smeared axe spun with added force and speed, slashing diagonally at Ian's torso.
Ian, who had blocked the prior strike, now twisted his waist to evade the blade head-on.
One clash had told him enough.
With his current body, meeting this orc's attacks squarely was suicide.
A futile act with no chance of victory.
His past body could have crushed it with a finger.
'Unfortunately, this one's far from complete.'
Not complete—it hadn't even touched martial arts until recently.
Regardless of not tensing at Urk's aura, charging in blindly without considering his state was foolhardy, third-rate nonsense.
KABOOM!
The axe grazed Ian and cratered the ground.
Even weakened by Blue Haze, debris, and orc weight, pulverizing it with an axe alone was monstrous power.
"Hahahahahaha!"
Emboldened by Ian's dodges, Urk roared with laughter, swinging relentlessly.
Ian kept evading, gradually cornered.
Splat!
"Got you at last, you rat bastard."
Urk grinned viciously at Ian, pinned with nowhere left to flee.
"Don't worry. Stay still, and I won't kill you."
Slow raise.
Urk lifted his axe with a murderous smirk.
"If you dodge and I hit somewhere else, even I can't predict what'll happen. So be good and stay put. I'll cut those limbs off nice and clean."
WHOOSH!
The axe hurtled toward Ian's shoulder with a wicked whistle.
But in that moment of Urk's triumphant, overextended swing.
Ian seized the split-second opening.
"...I've got words for my kids."
Whirl!
"Ruling as hegemon is sometimes a curse. No one thinks anyone can threaten you."
Ian reversed his black sword grip and plunged inside Urk's guard in a flash.
"But the moment you let your guard down, threats are everywhere."
Like right now.
Blood Demon Iron Chain Art, First Form.
Blood Night.
Sinister blood-red aura bloomed from the black blade's tip.
SLASH!
The crimson energy sliced diagonally across Urk's body, spraying from beside his neck.
"GRAAAAAH!"
A disaster born of fleeting carelessness.
Ian landed after righting himself midair, clicking his tongue in mild regret.
"...Tch, a bit short. Meant to sever the carotid in one go. Pity."
Had it hit the aorta as planned, it would've ended instantly.
A shallow cut, it seemed.
No matter.
Blood Night's Blood Demon True Qi worsened wounds over time.
Left alone, it would erode Urk from within.
"You... filthy human dare."
...Grind!
Urk tensed his pectorals against the pain.
His muscles clenched like sutures, stemming the blood.
Forcing a wound shut with raw strength alone.
Monstrous muscular power.
Indeed, ruling even a small Cataclysm domain wasn't for any monster.
But it only bought time.
Without aura to counter Blood Night, Urk's combat power would dwindle.
"I'll kill you!"
Aware of it, perhaps.
Urk charged wildly, eyes bloodshot.
SWISH!
His axe swept left and right.
No space to dodge the horizontal sweep.
Only one empty spot.
Leap!
Ian had no choice but to vault into the air.
"Fallen for it, you bastard!"
Urk grinned victoriously at the sky.
A wound from momentary lapse hadn't rattled him.
He'd calmly swung knowing this human had skill to wound him despite initial disdain.
Forcing a jump was his goal from the start.
Midair limited movement.
Even this rat couldn't freely dodge now!
"Die!!"
CRUNCH!
The axe arced upward to bisect Ian's torso.
Ian seemed trapped in a desperate pinch, no escape.
But Ian had read Urk's intent.
"I knew it already."
Spin!
Ian twisted midair, evading—then kicked off the axe flat to soar higher.
"Hmph! Airborne only extends your life briefly!"
Urk smirked up triumphantly.
In the air, the human had no means to attack either.
Just cleave him on descent.
"Think so?"
Hummm!
Aloft, Ian slowly infused Blood Demon True Qi into his black and white paired swords.
The dormant serpents within stirred from hibernation.
"Awaken."
Shrrr!
With eerie sounds, the swords moved.
Ordinary paired swords transformed into living serpents filling the sky.
Ian's blades bared fangs at his foe.
Chirrr!
The twin serpents coiled around Urk in an instant.
Serpent Belly Sword.
The notoriously hard-to-wield blade regained life in Ian's hands after ages.
CRACK!
The small black serpent pulverized the bones in Urk's axe hand.
The large white serpent bound his muscles, restricting movement.
Unlike ordinary snakes.
Their scales were blades that tore flesh and snapped bone.
No creature could stand unscathed before them.
"GRAAAAAAAAH!"
Urk's death scream echoed through the Valley of Repose at the unforeseen assault.