Chapter 103: Assault (3)
TL: Potato-tan
Proofreader: Asianpotato
A cool wind blew—the night wind of early June. The night sky was clear, then cloudy, then clear again. The stars and moon occasionally grumbled at the clouds that obscured their view, yet they could not stop themselves from peeking at the world below.
Russell and Tumurun stood with their backs to each other. The area was quiet. Russell frowned as he held his greatsword at the ready. His hands felt numb.
There were no visible wounds on Russell’s body. However, the nameless orc’s unleashed magic was enough to shock his insides.
Russell calmed his churning stomach. It was the first time he felt uncomfortable following the fight with Logos and the battle with Iscalia. However, it was not as serious as those two.
Then his senses blared a warning. In an instant, his body turned around.
Russell moved his feet, then his waist. The attack that his senses warned him about struck him an instant later.
Kwaaang!
An enormous heat wave. It was the blue flames that he had seen earlier. The heat was so intense that it could be considered hellfire.
It was not comparable to the flames emitted by the troll, which had previously awakened its magic. It was similar to the dragon’s breath of Ismenios, the dragon he had last fought in Calisden, but the component that made up the flame was the power of a devil.
Nevertheless, Russell’s ‘eyes’ saw through it all. Russell’s purple eyes flashed as they absorbed the magic and began to burn.
Then the flame serpents that were consuming and trying to devour all the space around Russell, in front of him, to the left and right, above and below, stopped.
With light streaming from his eyes, Russell raised his other hand while holding Nahilnir in one hand.
He possessed the sensitivity to magic, the magic perception that allowed him to detect magic, and the enlightenment that allowed him to control all energy within a certain radius.
He now combined all the experience and knowledge he had gained from the battles and fights he had encountered while traveling and wandering.
His left hand radiated magic. He had activated his field.
Kuung-.
In an instant, Russell’s presence permeated the area. By controlling the energy with the sudden explosion of his magic power in all directions, Russell even diluted the devil’s magic power that made up the blue flames.
The control over magic power was astonishing, even to a wizard. The mana that made up this world, the refined power of mana, magic power, and the dark magic power of devils were all different in nature.
Devils extract, refine, and forge their magic power from the souls of living things, negative emotions, and grudges. Its inherent strength made the link unbreakable. That’s why purification was difficult unless the gods in heaven bestowed their divine power.
However, Russell’s magic perception broke all common sense. Under his delicate touch, even the hellfire, which seemed to hold an endless hatred for all living things on earth, eventually subsided.
Soon, the devil’s fire died down as it ran out of fuel. There were no casualties thanks to the quick response, but due to the intense heat, the surroundings were filled with a hot wind.
Russell, who had blocked the hellfire, had also created two deep ruts on the ground. The surroundings were chaotic because of the aftermath, which turned everything upside down and tore it apart.
Russell, who was emitting heat and white smoke from all over his body, stabbed the greatsword that had been shielding him into the ground. The heated greatsword pierced the ground, burning the soil.
When he opened his palm, he could see that the heat had spread to the hilt, causing severe burns. The pus sizzled. It was a terrible pain, but Russell endured it.
He clenched his fist and circulated the magic power in his body, and a faint white smoke rose as he regenerated. Soon, the pain disappeared.
Russell raised his head.
Surprisingly, the orc was not dead. The orc, wearing bear skin and a feathered hat, was panting and trembling. He soon collapsed with a thud.
A small blue flame flickered from the skull of the bone staff that the orc was holding out.
As he analyzed what was happening to the orc, his eyes glowed. He had the answer.
Just before Nahilnir sliced his neck open, a very thin seam between the sword and Tumelun’s neck turned into flames and deflected Russell’s attack.
Tumelun must have been proud of himself for saving his life, but he was in no condition to express his pride now.
“Kuk, puff, keuk! Kahaak!”
The spell’s backlash appeared to be substantial. Of course, it was the devil’s spell that turned part of the body into an immaterial substance and delayed the certain moment of death.
His green skin was completely charred; blood was gushing out of his eyes, nose, and ears, and pieces of burnt entrails were pouring out of his mouth.
Tumelun soon shook his body and got up from his seat. Black energy flowed out of the orc’s skin, like smoke, and consumed the surroundings.
With his hand, the orc wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and glared at Russell. Again, a blue flame flickered in his eyes.
“I will not be stopped here. Our orcs will rise again. We will revive, regain our intelligence, and have our territory. Under Geliotos’ care, the orcs will gain an overwhelming power that no one can surpass.”
It was boastful, but it was also true. Russell spat.
The fight inside the lodge was now at a standstill. Russell had killed most of the reinforcement goblins. There were still some left, but they would not be difficult for the remaining soldiers and mercenaries in the lodge to handle.
Outside the collapsed palisade, other monsters from the forest were coming in, but Calia, Aellasis, and Kai were joining forces, so they were no match.
Russell could see the group killing the monsters from a distance. Calia was slaughtering the monsters by shaping and forging weapons using blood, and Aellasis was also supporting the mercenaries by creating several ice spears and awls in the air.
Kai was fighting with his usual red aura wrapped around his body. His brown skin and the black tattoos on it wriggled, crushing several monsters to death.
Russell, who was watching everything with his eyes, turned his head again. Right in front of him, the orc was swinging his staff. It was Tumelun’s desperate attack. He thought it was an opening, but his senses caught it clearly.
Russell’s greatsword and Tumelun’s bone staff clashed.
Kwaang!
The shockwave from the bone staff, infused with the devil’s energy, was canceled out by the shockwave that Russell unleashed. A hemispherical shockwave spread out from the two of them with a loud bang.
The air inside and outside were moving at different speeds, pushing out something akin to white steam. Tumelun’s size had grown significantly compared to before.
His bones and muscles were strengthened by the devil’s magic power, which grew with a rattling sound and gave him unimaginable strength.
Kwakwakwakwakwa!
Russell and Tumelun engaged in dozens of attacks in real time. At some point, the bone staff in Tumelun’s hand had turned into a huge sickle.
Every time the greatsword and the sickle clashed, a deafening roar and shockwaves occurred. However, the pusher was clearly visible to everyone.
” K, Keuk! Human, how the hell. . . . . .!”
With his body fortified by the devil’s magic power, the orc Tumelun, wielding a sickle staggered backward, his entire body covered in wounds.
There were many wounds all over his body, and the sickle was cracked here and there. It was a completely different result from when he confidently transformed himself and attacked.
“What good is speed and strength alone? Your technique is terrible.”
Tumelun’s strength was definitely strong, and his body movements were fast. He used magic, but his original body did not go anywhere. The power of dark magic further strengthened it.
But that was it. Without proper skills, the number of opponents he could defeat with just his physical strength was limited. Russell was a warrior with physical abilities that matched Tumelun’s and skills that far surpassed his.
He could now see the trajectory of the sickle that Tumelun was swinging. The sickle’s trajectory extended beyond his vision. Before the trajectory could fully form, he interrupted it, caused a wobble, and used an awl-like attack to stab the body that had lost its balance.
“Keuk!”
Tumelun spat blood from his mouth and swung his arms wildly. The huge sickle swung down, leaving a deep scar on the ground. However, Russell blocked all of his attacks with his greatsword and pressed Tumelun.
Tumelun, who was sweating profusely, suddenly shouted.
“Commanders, come to me!”
The void drew in a sickle of bones. Then, starting from Tumelun, a black ripple spread out, and pale figures rose from the corpses that were lying dead.
It was sucking the soul and death energy from the corpses that had died by dark magic power. In an instant, Tumelun gathered and absorbed the auras that rose up like fireflies.
The large wounds on the orc’s body began to regenerate, and the bone scythe was repaired. At the same time, spirit soldiers with physical strength shot out in all directions like bullets, pressuring Russell.
Tatatata!
Russell’s body turned like lightning, and the greatsword in his extension also rotated. As soon as they touched Nahilnir, the spirit soldiers formed from bullets crumbled. The moonlight’s rune shone faintly on the greatsword’s blade.
“Nonsense.”
Tumelun muttered blankly. Despite the effort to regenerate, Russell’s greatsword flew in and blew Tumelun away.
“Keuk!”
The relentless barrage was pushing Tumelun back.
The wounds that had closed burst open, and the sickle shattered. This was not going to work. This was not how he intended his plan to unfold.
The plan is to first occupy the lodge, kill the humans, and then offer them as sacrifices to strengthen the forest monsters.
He would then use those forest monsters to form an army, join forces with his tribe, wipe out the human punitive force, and occupy the territory.
But fear crept in. Tumelun’s face was distorted.
“This can’t be happening!”
‘To feel fear towards a mere human!’
“What can’t be happening?”
Pa-jee-ji-ji-jik!
Russell’s whole body suddenly flashed. His eyes flashed a blinding flash.
When Tumelun’s eyes widened, Russell’s new form was already kicking off the ground and approaching him. Russell’s greatsword rose from bottom to top with the force of lightning.
Kwaang!
Just in time, a black magic barrier saved Tumelun’s life.
Inside the black magic barrier, Tumelun looked up at Russell, who was pressing down on the greatsword with one hand. It was as if a layer of darkness had enveloped him, but in the middle of it, Russell’s eyes shone brightly, and he looked down at Tumelun.
And surprisingly, the magic power density of the magic barrier that his gaze touched weakened noticeably, and the connection became thinner.
Shocked, Tumelun desperately extended his sickle and poured out his dark magic power to reinforce it, but Russell’s strong physical strength, greatsword, and the real-time analysis of the magic barrier made it seem unlikely he would be able to hold out for long.
Tumelun made up his mind. He could not defeat this person. He’s not in his current state. Light enveloped the bear-skin cape and feathered hat Tumelun was wearing.
Tumelun unleashed a massive vortex of mana and magic power. The powerful shockwave pushed even Russell back.
Push into the air, Russell quickly regained his composure and landed stably. And he looked at the huge silhouette rising from inside the broken magic barrier.
Groooooooooo!
What appeared was a bear of enormous size. It wasn’t just an ordinary bear. It had feathery wings on its back and a long, scale-covered lizard’s tail instead of the blunt tail it should have had.
From Russell’s point of view, it seemed that the magical items Tumelun was wearing had transformed their owner. It has the shape of a huge bear with a long, scaled tail and eagle-like feathery wings.
Even in a four-legged posture, its height matched Russell’s. If it stood on two feet, it would be over 4 meters tall.
Groooooooooo!
Tumelun, who had turned into a monster bear, snorted white steam out of his large nostrils and charged. Russell did not dodge.
Kwaaaang!
The palisade of the lodge broke again, and a huge bear jumped out. Russell stood on top of it, piercing the bear’s back with his greatsword.
Grow, Grooooo!
Every time the monster bear howled and ran, the trees in the forest collapsed with a crash. The sound of breaking branches was the last word the trees uttered.
“Where are you going?!”
Russell infused the greatsword in the back with a significant amount of magic power. The magic power’s nature changed.
Ji-jee-jee-jik!
A sound shattered the emptiness. Lightning burst out, entered the monster bear’s wound, and began to rampage.
━!
It was an unimaginable pain, so great that it could not even scream. But it endured it. Russell confirmed that the monster bear’s outer skin, as well as its inner skin, had strong magic power resistance. ‘Where did he get that bear skin?’
Flutter!
Then, the wide wings attached to the bear’s back flapped up and down. It was huge. The monster bear’s body shook once before landing on the ground.
Despite this, the monster bear continued its charge, crushing and collapsing all the trees in its path. Russell balanced himself on the monster’s constantly shifting back and stood up.
He then raised his magic-concentrated left fist and slammed it down.
Kwa-ang!
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