Gravity stiffened the hard skin and crushed the entire body. The scenery that entered his field of view pa.s.sed quickly. The screams of the wind echoed endlessly.
‘Nine…’
Orc Lord Teruchan fell down from the clouds high above him. He was going to collide with the cold and hard ground but he only focused on counting. The thing that made him afraid wasn’t the destruction and suffering of his fallen flesh but the loss of honor.
The Overgeared King. The human being who provoked him to endure 10 blows...
He was indeed strong. His skills, amazing swordsmans.h.i.+p, tricky magic, powerful lightning, and self-moving artifacts made him greater than the previous orc lord. Surprised by this person’s ability to summon a dragon, Teruchan realized that he had to be mindful of defeat.
Lightning accompanied the blue dragon that struck Teruchan. As he felt the exhilarating pain of all the cells in his body stiffening, Teruchan admitted it. The opponent was strong. The t.i.tle Hero King was never false. Yes... He might lose. Even so, no matter how strong the opponent was, there shouldn’t be a vain defeat.
He was the king of warriors. If he was to be swallowed by the dragon then he would bite off the dragon’s tongue. He was the pinnacle of all orcs and the leader of the twilight orcs yet he couldn’t withstand 10 blows? It was an act that insulted all the orcs in the world. All orcs would lose their prestige because of him. Just like the old days. He had to hold on, endure.
‘10...!’
Just before colliding with the ground, Teruchan’s eyes widened. This sum referred to the number of times they attacked and defended. During his brief stay in the sky, Teruchan had wielded his broadsword over 20 times. Teruchan’s sword and roar had torn up nearly 30 of Grid’s s.h.i.+elds.
He had endured. The human’s expression was so imposing he had been worried about losing in less than 10 blows, but it was a pointless worry.
“Guruk!”
‘I can overpower you in 10 blows.’
He met the declaration of the Overgeared King and kept the minimum of his honor. Teruchan’s eyes burned again. His muscles, nerves, and cells, which had been stiffened by the lightning, woke up in response to his strong ‘mental strength.’ It was a movement reminiscent of a predator. Just before colliding with the ground, Teruchan was released from his paralysis and regained his motor nerves. He gritted his teeth and twisted his back, flattening his posture. Teruchan’s giant body fell to the ground.
A deafening roar shook their ears as the 100,000 orc army screamed.
“Ohh...!”
Marquis Veze and the soldiers of Howl Fortress felt admiration. They imagined the orc lord dying beyond the cloud of dust. The orc lord had hard skin and muscles that couldn’t be invaded with a sword but they believed he couldn’t be safe after falling from such a high alt.i.tude. Yet...
“Kuoooooooh!”
Teruchan’s appearance was relatively fine as the dust cleared away. The orc stood with his hands and feet on the ground like a beast and roared madly, enthralling his fellow orcs. The bodies of the orcs, which had been paralyzed by the lightning, woke up simultaneously.
“Teru──chan!! Guruk!”
“Teru──chan!! Guruk!”
Kung kung! Kung! Kung kung! Kung!
The orcs’ habit of submitting to a strong existence was based on survival instincts. It was considered a challenge the moment they chose to disobey so they were forced to obey if they didn’t want to die. Yet at this moment, all the orcs stomping their feet and chanting Teruchan’s name were acting rationally, not instinctively. They were fascinated by the sight of the b.l.o.o.d.y Teruchan, who had fallen from the high sky. They were enthusiastic as they shouted for the second coming of a legendary human. The propaganda called ‘Grid’ united the orc species.
In the sky, Grid started sweating.
‘He is still fine after being hit like that. The damage from Transcended Link Kill Pinnacle was less than I thought.’
Grid did his best to end the battle in less than 10 blows. His fighting energy reached the maximum and he fought with all his items, sword dances and magic. The successive use of Linked Kill Flower Pinnacle and Transcended Link Kill Pinnacle showed how serious Grid was about this battle.
[Transcended Link Kill Pinnacle]
Four sword dances have been sublimated into a single field.
Fires seven energy blades per second that deal 3,700% physical damage. Every time it attacks the target, ‘Disarm’ will be triggered. In addition, there will be a bleeding and desperation effect.
This skill will ignore 65% of the target’s defense.
★ The effect of Detect Force, Wind Cutter and Lightning will be applied.
Skill Usage Conditions: Have a sword type weapon equipped.
Skill Sword Energy Cost: 400
Skill Cooldown Time: 2 hours.
In accordance with the principle that Transcend doubled the attack power, the power of Kill should also have double the attack power. When used on a target with the maximum number of ‘marks’, the 22,560 physical attack + 100% magic attack power meant that Linked Kill Flower Pinnacle had a higher damage coefficient.
There was a disadvantage of course. It had a longer cooldown due to its stable power and it was less powerful than Linked Kill Flower Pinnacle against opponents with an overwhelmingly high physical defense. Against Orc Lord Teruchan, it was worse than Linked Kill Flower Pinnacle. His magic resistance was low but his physical defense was high. Teruchan’s defense meant the effect of Pinnacle would surpa.s.s Transcended Link Kill Pinnacle. The initial damage from Linked Kill Flower Pinnacle was also less than Grid expected. It was deadly that Teruchan was an opponent without ‘items.’ The Disarm effect was useless because he wasn’t wearing any armor.
‘His stats are killing me.’
Grid clicked his tongue as he stared at the distant Teruchan. Teruchan’s health was now less than one-fifth but Grid was desolate. Teruchan’s recovery speed was too fast but the bigger problem was that Grid had depleted his sword energy. That’s why Grid couldn’t connect any additional sword dances when Teruchan was. .h.i.t and paralyzed by Come Down! In order to recover his sword energy, he had to keep swinging his sword. However, he couldn’t do this because he declared that he would beat Teruchan in 10 blows.
‘Flower, Transcended Link Flower, Link, Kill...’
Facing the orc lord looking up into the sky, Grid counted how many sword dances he had used. It was seven. He only had three out of 10 blows left. Was it possible to overpower the orc lord with three blows when all his ultimates were already consumed?
It was impossible. Grid trembled.
‘f.u.c.king G.o.d"s Command.’
If it had activated even once then the orc lord would’ve surrendered by now. The 50% probability was no different from the lottery. He really had bad luck... A strong rage was soaring.
It happened when Grid was gritting his teeth.
“Human king! Guruk!” Teruchan called out to Grid. Teruchan’s right arm and left leg were drooping from when they broke as he landed. “I... Guruk! I’ve endured more than 50 blows!”
Teruchan’s expression was full of cheer. A hint of pride even peeked through. He acknowledged Grid’s skills and was pleased to have survived Grid’s offensive.
Grid frowned. “What do you mean? Haven’t I only used seven?”
“Guruk? You swung your sword. Guruk! Many times! It is 40 times! It’s weird!”
What was he saying in front of so many eyes? Grid saw the absurd reaction from Teruchan among the orcs and snorted. “That is an absurd argument. I might’ve swung my sword dozens of times but I only used seven sword dances. So it is seven blows.”
“...?”
“...”
Was he a hooligan? Grid’s logic made the battlefield as still as death. Teruchan, the orcs and the soldiers of the Fold Kingdom shut their mouths. Even the ferocious orc lord had kept his promise to Marquis Veze and honored him. Then what about the Overgeared King who was equal to the empress? Some people were disappointed while others pointed fingers.
Meanwhile, Teruchan looked excited. “Guruk...! I see! It is still only seven!”
It was scary. The Overgeared King was a strong human. This was Teruchan’s honest feeling. This was the reason why.
“Good! Guruk! I wanted to fight more!”
Teruchan’s desire to win burned in reverse. Teruchan wanted to know his limitations. He longed for an extreme battle he could pour all his energy into. He had no regrets, even if it meant dying. If he was afraid then he wouldn’t have become a warrior in the first place.
“Gruruk!! Let"s fight! Until one of us falls! Continue!”
“That"s a great suggestion.”
A duel with no restrictions. It was a proposal that was naturally tempting for Grid, whose sword energy was depleted. Grid smiled like a great demon.
“I am looking forward to it.”
Grid descended. He intended to draw out the time as much as possible while the duration of Blackening was maintained. Grid was unaware of it but as he descended, his body was gradually becoming incandescent. It was the conditional pa.s.sive that belonged to the Blue Dragon Boots. Once he reached the maximum speed, there was a low chance that his body would turn into lightning.
“Kurruk...!”
Was this the will of the world itself? Teruchan’s heart beat faster as he blocked Grid’s sword. Grid’s strike that contained the acceleration from descending was enough to push Teruchan back.
“Human...! Your name! Guruk! Tell me!”
Teruchan’s burning gaze and Grid’s greed-filled gaze intertwined in the air.
“Grid.” Lightning swelled. The moment the duration of Item Combination ended, the Enlightenment Sword returned to its complete form and connected with Teruchan’s broadsword. “I am greedy for you.”
His skin became hotter with every blow exchanged. As expected, Grid was affected by Teruchan’s skill and let out blunt words.
“Kuahahahat! Guruk! A warrior! Doesn’t obey humans!”
Teruchan burst out laughing. It wasn’t ridicule. There were no signs of displeasure. He was thinking about the long history of a lord wors.h.i.+pping humans.
The sound of friction between the sword and broadsword became louder. Grid and Teruchan’s concentration reached the peak and they attacked and defended along all sorts of trajectories. The cameras of broadcasters from all over the world started to miss their movements. It reached the point where they had to give up on any melee shots.
The Lightning G.o.d invaded Grid’s body. The power of the broadsword didn’t touch his body.