The King's Wrath
Terta (3). As Eclipse brought down his sword strike, a distant thunderous roar erupted, and the ground in the path of the blade flipped over entirely. Yet Terta did not retreat. Instead, he charged forward and swung his axe straight into Eclipse's descending strike. The fierce mana from the axe collided with the sword aura erupting from Eclipse's greatsword, unleashing another deafening explosion. Everyone watching the scene covered their ears as the sound threatened to tear their eardrums apart, and they soon lost their words at the sight of the devastated landscape. The very boundary where sword aura and mana had clashed had split the earth and sky apart.
Terta's mind went blank for an instant under the immense pressure radiating from the sword aura. If he had been even slightly lacking, his body would have been cleaved in two in a single blow. The thought rose unbidden in his mind. Without realizing it, he glanced at his axe. The weapon that had been whole moments ago was now riddled with cracks and heavily damaged. Still, Terta did not back down. Instead, he stoked his fighting spirit even higher and advanced toward Eclipse. Crimson mana enveloped his entire body.
The mana he had gained while struggling to regain his composure after setting foot on Earth and enduring the agony of nuclear weapons had now become his most powerful weapon. An emotion he had forgotten for decades began to consume his thoughts once more—an emotion far more intense than his goal of saving the orcs who had been reduced to slaves and exterminating humanity. Battle lust. The primal instinct of the orc race took hold of him. Reason fled, and madness began to fill the void.
“Kwoooaaargh!” A roar burst from his mouth. Raising his axe reinforced with crimson mana, Terta charged straight at Eclipse. In contrast, Eclipse's expression as he watched Terta remained calm. He coldly calculated how many more times he could swing his greatsword in his current state. Two more strikes.
Eclipse focused his mind. If he failed to finish Terta with these two blows, it would be over. He raised his sword once more, his gaze locking onto Terta rushing toward him. The orc's momentum as he tore across the ground was extraordinary. Eclipse could tell the creature was going all out.
Terta swung his axe violently at Eclipse. Crimson mana surged like a storm, sweeping toward Eclipse's front. Eclipse brought his raised sword straight down. The sword aura met the storm, cleaving it in half and engulfing Terta's entire body.
“Kwoorgh!” Terta let out a pained scream and tumbled backward, far more wretchedly than when Eclipse had been sent flying earlier. His axe was already broken beyond use. The handle had snapped, and the blade had shattered into pieces. Terta felt his consciousness fading. Pain raced through his entire body, and simply standing seemed impossible. But so what? To forget the pain, Terta wrapped himself in crimson mana once more. Losing his axe was no problem. An orc's weapon was not limited to forged arms alone. He possessed a body tempered through countless battles. That was weapon enough.
Terta clenched his fists. Cloaked in crimson mana, he rose again and charged at Eclipse. A crimson storm trailed afterimages as it advanced. Everything in its path began to explode. His massive frame moved with surprising speed, and shockwaves rippled outward from his advance. Terta gathered every ounce of strength in his body and thrust his fist toward Eclipse's front. The strongest blow he could currently deliver without his axe hurtled straight at Eclipse.
Eclipse felt veins bulging across his body. As he had calculated, this would be his last strike. His arm felt heavy as he swung the sword, strength draining away. This would have been impossible before. He finally realized just how weakened he had become. If he swung the sword any further, his body would not endure it. Gritting his teeth, Eclipse unleashed his final sword aura at Terta.
The crimson fist and the greatsword collided. All remaining sound in the surroundings vanished at once, and a brilliant light erupted from the point of impact, forcing everyone to shut their eyes. It took a moment for their vision to return. When their eyes finally opened, what they saw was Terta rolling across the ground with one arm severed by the sword aura. Eclipse's condition was no better. The backlash from swinging the greatsword had left him on his knees. Anyone could see he could no longer move.
Yusoha, the orc shaman, and Shahan instinctively realized what would happen next. Both sides would move. They would move to end this fight. The first to act was Hwanryeong Team 2. Shin Seongmin and Yusoha leaped from the barrier, drawing their weapons. Adein manifested and fused with Shin Seongmin's body, while armor began to form around Yusoha. The orc shaman Shahan and the great warrior Turha moved as well. Following them, the elite orc warriors charged to protect their king.
Shahan immediately used his sorcery to pull the one-armed Terta toward them and began chanting a healing spell. The power of the orc ancestors descended upon him, and an abnormal amount of mana gathered around Shahan. The mana soon flowed into Terta, gradually healing his wounds. However, Terta had also suffered severe internal injuries and remained unconscious.
Leaving Shahan to heal Terta, the great warrior Turha swung his massive axe-spear at Shin Seongmin, who had fused with Adein. Shin Seongmin cloaked himself in flames and caught the axe-spear. The tremendous force behind the weapon made his body stagger for a moment. Turha was the second-greatest warrior after Terta. Naturally, Shin Seongmin was being pushed back. Against the overwhelming pressure, Adein poured her power into Shin Seongmin with a scream, and Shin Seongmin burned the flames covering his sword in response, breaking free from the axe-spear's suppression.
Sword and axe-spear clashed once more. The rest of Hwanryeong Team 2 gathered together, pouring every ounce of their mana into stopping the elite orc warriors from reaching Eclipse. Bullets rained down, and mana swept across the battlefield, striking the orc elites. Yet the orc warriors pressed forward despite their injuries, advancing toward the team blocking their path.
The ground trembled as the elite orc warriors charged Hwanryeong Team 2's front line. They drew their weapons and leaped. The mana shields formed by the Awakened held for an instant, but the orc warriors' assault was too fierce. Crack—! The mana shields shattered in a moment. However, the Awakened were veterans of countless battles. They did not fall easily. The frontline warriors drew their Soul Armaments and took the place of the broken shields. The gunners and mages in the rear poured all their mana into their Soul Armaments. They knew that if they were pushed back here, everyone would die. With desperate resolve, they held off the orc warriors' advance.
Through the gap, Yusoha, clad in armor, shot toward Shahan. She knew exactly what she had to do. She had to stop that shaman. The moment the shaman restored the orc king, everyone here would be annihilated. It would not end with just the people present being wiped out. The being who had matched Eclipse in strength was that absurd orc king. If he recovered, all of Korea would be in danger. And more than that… Yusoha did not want to see Eclipse lose to someone or collapse from exhaustion. If Terta recovered, Eclipse would be the first to fall. If a Guardian Star received damage beyond its limit, it would be unsummoned and could even be destroyed. An Awakened whose connection to their Guardian Star was severed could die as a result.
It was not merely to avoid death. How could she lose the Guardian Star she had obtained in a place like this? Moreover, Yusoha had always believed her Guardian Star must be perfect. In truth, Eclipse had always shown her that side of himself. Though it had only been two months, that time had been enough for Yusoha to develop admiration for Eclipse. She did not want to lose the one she acknowledged and admired. As she charged toward Shahan, who was holding and healing Terta, she channeled her mana. Vast amounts of mana began to control the metals embedded within the earth. The lava fields around Shahan collapsed, and massive fragments of the ground began to rise into the air.
Yusoha immediately manipulated her mana to hurl the earthen fragments at Shahan while gripping her sword. However, Shahan was one of the key figures who had exterminated humanity alongside the orc king Terta. His sorcery, further enhanced by mana, blocked Yusoha's attack. A barrier formed precisely where the earthen fragments struck. Yusoha gritted her teeth and cloaked her sword in mana. The now stronger blade struck the barrier. Kaang! But it was not enough. As Yusoha was repelled, the barrier began to change form. Shahan created a domain around himself and summoned the souls of the humans they had killed. The horrific voices of the twisted souls shook Yusoha's mind. Furthermore, Shahan immediately drove mana-formed spikes into the souls' bodies, wounding them. The thick resentment flowing from the wounded souls struck Yusoha directly.
Though the distant grudge began to shake her mind, Yusoha resisted. To the souls screaming that they had died unjustly, she shouted, “Shut up!” Her desperate resolve hardened her mind, pushing back the grudge as a will of steel stood firm. She was not someone who would be toyed with by such petty tricks.
“If you're dead, stay dead and go to the afterlife!” Yusoha formed swords with her mana and cut through the oncoming wave of resentment. Dozens of blades danced according to her will. Then, gripping the sword in her hand, she charged straight at Shahan's front. Thanks to Shahan's sorcery, Terta's external wounds had improved considerably. However, his severed arm had not been restored. Shahan looked at Yusoha rushing toward him with a grave expression. Shaking off the resentment clinging to her sword, Yusoha charged fiercely. Shahan activated the final sorcery he had been preparing, using all his mana. Crimson mana identical to Terta's seeped into Terta's entire body. And then—Terta's eyes opened.
“Uwoooaaaargh!” With a roar that shook the battlefield, a storm of crimson mana swept the surroundings. Yusoha, Shin Seongmin, Turha who had been locked in fierce combat with Shin Seongmin, and the elite orc warriors fighting Hwanryeong Team 2 were all sent tumbling backward. Yusoha gritted her teeth and stood up. A sword formed of mana shot toward Terta's front. But her blade was effortlessly crushed by the crimson mana storm. Yusoha looked at Terta with a despairing expression, then glanced back briefly at Eclipse. Eclipse remained completely motionless.