Dragon Order of Flame
Volume 2
Chapter 6 Part 1
The first time Luke fought on a battlefield bare-handed, was when he was 29 years old.
He had fought for 9 years in his family"s internal strife, and when he left the Astal family after its collapse, he was 24 years old. 3 years after that, he had met with his teacher Grayson. When he was fighting against Volkar"s secret organization "Blaze Circle" and tracing after their tracks, he had ended up meeting with Grayson and Lana – the one who Grayson treated like his own daughter.
In the midst of wanting to disrupt Blaze Circle"s plans, Luke ended up building a relationship with Lana when he saved her life. Soon after, he had become Grayson"s student, and 2 years after the h.e.l.lish training that he had received, Luke stood on the battlefield in order to test the result of his training.
"Are you nervous?"
Asked Grayson.
Luke could not answer back with haste. The moment he had heard the question being asked, Luke"s spirit skyrocketed and wanted to ask if he was joking, but thinking about it with a cool-head, he really was nervous.
At this time, Luke had experienced many things, and he had seen the blood of several hundreds of people. However, all of that was done with the sword in hand.
The Sigma Order did not rely on weapons, and was a school that believed in fighting with bare-hands. That being the case, Luke had cast aside the sword that he had trained in for more than 10 years, and trained his fists to become like steel. Because, his foundations in gangchesul were already well built, even with a mere 2 years of training, Luke was able to break apart boulders with his fists and could easily deflect incoming sword attacks.
He knew that he was strong, but because it was his first time in putting the Sigma Order"s techniques to practical use, Luke couldn"t contain himself from being nervous. Grayson had asked such a question after noticing how Luke was feeling internally.
As Luke couldn"t respond back, Grayson spoke.
"The first time I stood on the battlefield, I was also nervous. Can I really win against a sword with my bare hands? Would I still be alive after this fight? Although I was much younger and a rookie compared to you right now, I would a.s.sume that the feeling of nervousness would be the same."
"…..There are no problems."
After responding in such a way, Luke tightly clenched his fists. The 2 years of training was really dreadful. He had even used whatever means he could in order to escape from the training, but after being caught by Grayson, he had received a punishment so heavy that it made him think twice on such thoughts. There was no way for him to fall in such an insignificant battle, after having gone through the h.e.l.lish training.
Grayson spoke.
"That"s good. If you had any problems, then even I would die, so make sure you use all of your strength, my student."
"Hearing your words, I"m thinking of establishing a problem, teacher?"
"It seems you haven"t been hit enough yet. After we go back…….Cough!"
As Grayson was trying to laugh off his student"s joke, he suddenly coughed. Luke turned back as he was startled. Grayson had his hand covering his mouth, and in between his fingers, blood could be seen.
"Ah, that"s why I told you to just stay at home. Why did you have to be so stubborn and follow me here? You have it tough even with just cold air hitting you."
"Huhu, you should act more trustworthy then, so I can leave you to yourself. Either way, it"s a tradition in the Sigma Order to watch the battle of their first student. Don"t forget this when you get yourself a student as well."
"I didn"t know our school had a tendency to be overprotective."
Grayson"s condition was the worst right now. 2 years ago, when Luke had first met Grayson, he was 2 meters in height and was filled with muscles. He was a person that was so overpowering, that no one would dare approach him. However, succ.u.mbing to Blaze Circle"s wicked intents, Grayson was poisoned with an incurable poison and his body continued to change daily. Using the last bits of his life in order to train Luke, one could see how close to death he actually was.
"Teacher."
With rage and sadness, Luke bit his lips.
He knew the reason why Grayson had dragged his sickly body to follow him. Being a deacon within the Sigma Order, Grayson had followed Luke in order to support his first bare handed battle and to see with his own eyes, his last product in this world becoming perfect.
"The elderly should just relax. If you lag behind as you try to follow me, the battle will be over before you even get to see anything."
"You conceited pup. Why don"t you show me something first before you start barking."
"That"s true."
The location where the priests were chatting was in the middle of the battlefield. The lord of this region had gathered mercenaries in order to subjugate a savage Ogre and Orc tribes. Grayson chose this location in order to test Luke"s strength.
In the beginning, the mercenaries were able to cut and break through the monster"s defenses with great vigor. However, the moment the Ogre appeared, the battle line collapsed. With a height of 4 meters, and thick skin which swords could barely cut through, the Ogre was a monster that could easily rip apart countless humans.
Watching the raging Ogre, Grayson spoke.
"If you were to fight intelligently, you could throw a spear at him when he"s focused on something else, and then finish the job with close quarter combat. However, I want you to fight like a foolish person today. I want you to show me how much your strength has grown during your time with me."
"I know, even if you don"t nag at me."
As Luke grumbled, he walked forward. As soon as he joined the fight, one of the Orcs that were fighting the mercenaries yelled and rushed towards him.
"KWUHHHHHH!!"
Having seen blood, the Orc was excited. Just as the Ogre was easily fighting against the humans, Luke also saw the Orc as an easy target. With a lamely built spear, the Orc rushed towards Luke.
In this situation, if Luke responded as he normally did in training, he would have barely dodged the attack, got closer to the Orc, and punched through the Orc"s head. However, he had come here today in order to demonstrate his strength and to confirm something. That"s why, Luke clashed head on with the spear that the Orc stabbed forward.
Crack!
With a dull sound, the spear fell apart. As soon as it felt like the spear was going to stab through Luke"s body, an invisible energy wrapped itself around the spear tip. Luke slowly got closer to the unmoving, shocked Orc and spoke.
"Thanks for letting me confirm my defense."
With a heart filled with grat.i.tude, Luke threw out a punch. The moment the Orc had thought that Luke"s fist was moving, a steel like fist smashed through its head.
Shwiiiikk!
And, invoking Sigma Order"s special offensive and defensive like technique - Spiral Stream, an invisible energy wrapped around both of Luke"s arms. Feeling the amplification of his internal ki, Luke kicked off the ground. The ground seemed to form a crack, as Luke flew forward 20 meters in a mere moment, and jumped into the midst of the Orcs.
Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!
A thunderous roar rang out. It was because Luke was punching out with lightning speed, while both of his arms were wrapped in Spiral Stream. And, without exception, any Orc that crossed path with his fists could be seen exploding.
"Oh, oh my G.o.d!"
Everyone that was part of the subjugation was astounded. They had known that gangchesul pract.i.tioners were superhuman, but Luke"s movement speed was unfathomable.
"KUUUOOOOOOOO!"
The Ogre that was fighting against the Knights, howled. With a howl that could petrify the soul, the Knights cowered away. Although they had barely evaded the Ogre"s attacks and were driving in their own attacks, the Ogre had not received any heavy damage.
Luke yelled. It was a yell that filled the battlefield with overwhelming drive.
"Bring it on! I am your opponent!"
The Ogre glared at Luke. As soon as the monster that had a distorted and demonic face caught sight of Luke, it began to ignore the Knights, as it rushed forward.
Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!
As the Ogre came closer, the earth"s axis literally began to shake. It kicked away everyone who blocked its path as if they were stones on the ground, and it threw out a punch. An air splitting sound could be heard, and it was aimed straight towards Luke.
Luke did not evade.
Bang!
Having received the Ogre"s attack, Luke slid backwards and came to a stop. He then raised his hand and wiped his mouth.
"No way!"
Having seen such a spectacle, all the mercenaries and Knights were astounded. Just now, as the Ogre"s attack flew forward, an energy wrapped around the vicinity of where Luke was standing. And, above that, the Ogre"s explosive hand bounced off of it, and Luke slid back.
"Keu! His power is crazy."
Feeling his insides shaking, Luke laughed. The power behind an Ogre"s attack was strong enough to destroy a human. Having ignorantly endured the attack and forced it back, it was a miracle that his body was still fine.
"Keeeuuu?"
As if it couldn"t understand either, the Ogre"s eyes opened wide. It could not believe that an unworthy, puny human had blocked its attack.
Luke"s hair violently whipped around in the air in front of the Ogre. The Spiral Stream that was wrapped around both of Luke"s arms were now wrapped around his whole body, as a gust of wind blew.
"Today, I need to fight with my body in a silly way."
Hooooooooooooo!
The wind began to howl. The strength that had wrapped around Haneul grew more excited, as it began to gather at one spot. That one spot was right behind Luke"s right wrist.
"I won"t do such an idiotic thing ever again. So, think of it as an honor to be here today to witness my strength, you ugly b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
"Kaaaaaaaa!"
There was no way that the Ogre understood what Luke had said. It swung with its other arm and hit Luke. Luke once again invoked an invisible energy and deflected the attack.
Bang!
The sound of a hammer striking a boulder could be heard, as the Ogre"s hand bounced backwards. Enduring the damage within his innards, Luke took a step forward. He looked up towards the figure that was as big as a mountain, and yelled out.
"Here I go! Storm Bringer!"
The power that had grown to its limit had exploded forth. Releasing the ki that had been storing up within himself, Luke punched outwards. A strike that looked as if he was flinging his body, penetrated through s.p.a.ce and hit the Ogre in the stomach.
Bang!
With an explosive sound, the Ogre"s body was bent in this shape ㄱ. Luke"s attack had destroyed all of the Ogre"s bones and had also damaged its innards. Even if another Ogre had attacked it, it was unlikely for such a damage to have occurred.
"G, growl……."
The Ogre was bent forward, a painful groan could be heard from its mouth, as blood and saliva dripped out from it. Down below, Luke mumbled to himself.
"It"s over."
One of Sigma Order"s written divination, Storm Bringer, had shown its true strength. The energy that was focused behind Luke"s wrist exploded, then it spun itself into a spiral and moved towards the tip of Luke"s fist.
Banggg!
The Ogre"s body could not withstand the damage. The real attack behind Storm Bringer was that, as the energy moved towards the tip of the fist, it would transcend the velocity of sound. With one attack, the Ogre"s body was destroyed beyond compare, and the ki that was derived from within Luke, exploded a hole into the Ogre.
Drip drip drip drip.
Seeing the Ogre"s blood and flesh dropping from the sky like rain, Luke sighed. The upper half of the Ogre had flown off and its huge body had fallen.
Boom!
Looking around the battlefield that was shrouded in silence, Luke turned around and asked Grayson.
"…….Is it okay with this much?"
"It was alright. I guess you pa.s.s."
Grayson"s response back was immeasurable cheap. Luke smiled, then looked toward the Orcs.
On that day, Luke was able to confirm that his body was tougher than armor, and that his fists were stronger than a sword. It was all for the sake of qualifying as a true deacon for the Sigma Order.
It was an event that had occurred 8 years before he had lost everything to Volkar.
Chapter 6 Part 1 Completed.