Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 112

Chapter 112: Orcs (3)

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

 

Kyaaaaaaaaa━!

 

Jadmu’s scream, mixed with a roar, echoed through the air. With the echo, a wave of magic spread out, pushing everything back.

 

Russell, who had raised his Nahilnir to deflect the magic wave, looked forward. His black coat fluttered in the strong wind.

 

“Hmm.”

 

A low hum escaped Russell’s lips.

 

Jadmu’s body was regenerating. He could see light penetrating through the skin on his chest.

 

It was the light emitted by the Stone of Life implanted in Jadmu. As the light’s wavelength touched his severed limbs, they floated in the air and flew towards Jadmu, reattaching themselves to their original positions.

 

“I can’t. Break, here!”

 

With a declaration that seemed to chew the words, Jadmu, who had finished regenerating, rushed forward with his greatsword raised. Russell didn’t back down.

 

“Come then.”

 

Beings with the cognitive ability to split moments, perceiving them as longer durations, clashed once again.

 

There was a tremendous roar and explosion, followed by magic and shockwaves. Exchanges of sword strikes.

 

The atmosphere trembled and the ground shattered in a fierce battle where no one dared to intervene.

 

Russell’s and Jadmu’s phantoms appeared throughout the battlefield. Monsters caught in the boiling magic wave floated into the air, then fell back down.

 

“Khhheeeuk!”

 

Jadmu was clearly overexerting himself. Blood vessels burst from his muscles, swollen due to the rampant Stone of Life.

 

Bones that had regenerated repeatedly could no longer bear the burden, creaking and cracking. Despite this, Jadmu gritted his teeth and controlled his magi.

 

It was too late to turn back now.

 

With blazing eyes, Jadmu stared at the man in front of him. The man had a sculpted face and eyes that shimmered with purple light. The man had black hair and was dressed in a black coat.

 

Jadmu thought of his kin. They gradually lost their sense of reason, failed to identify their families, and began using weapons against their friends and comrades.

 

It had to stop. He was determined to halt the transformation of his kin. In place of the unresponsive gods of the heavens, he would dig into the earth and join hands with the devils below.

 

He wouldn’t give a damn about the amount of blood or life lost in the process. After all, human beings were not worth considering.

 

“Gyaaaaah!”

 

Jadmu swung his greatsword. Russell met the blade with a stoic gaze.

 

Russell thought of Tumelun. Kai and Vulcan’s holy power cleansed the orc of all magi and caused his death.

 

As he died, Tumelun, who had his soul liberated from the devil, left behind a story.

 

‘Among the orc shamans, there’s a great shaman named Kelpag. He has observed the orc race’s continuous decline for a very long time. He tried everything—magic, shamanism, all sorts of methods—to prevent the extinction of our race, but he failed. Finding the forgotten god of our race was also a long shot. The world was vast, and the orcs were transforming into monsters at an increasingly rapid pace. Even if we found the god, it was questionable whether they could prevent our extinction. He was, after all, a shaman who wielded spells. That’s why he joined hands with the devils.’

 

‘There are four tribes. Chenpa, Riadun, Jadmu, and Kelpag. Four orcs take the lead. Chenpa is a strong orc, but he’s skeptical of borrowing power from devils. He was called by Kelpag, but he may not participate in the invasion.’

 

‘Despite Riadun’s neutrality, Kelpag’s words seem to have swayed him lately. But he hasn’t completely decided. He’s weaker than the average orc, but he was able to ascend to the position of chieftain because he has a keen sense of the flow of things.’

 

‘Jadmu, along with Kelpag, was one of the first orcs to reach out to the devil. He believes that humans are responsible for the orcs’ destruction. It’s not entirely wrong. He will be the first to lead the invasion and slaughter the humans.’

 

Russell looked at Jadmu, who continued to charge at him. A monster, increasingly swayed by the devil’s power, stood before him. Russell asked,

 

“What is your purpose?”

 

Kwang!

 

Their greatsword and greatsword clashed. The ground sank beneath the two men, both gripping their hilts with both hands. Russell’s purple eyes gazed at Jadmu, as black magic consumed his body.

 

“My kin. . . . . .”

 

Jadmu stammered, covered in dark blue energy up to his neck.

 

“This entire devil contract concept lacks reliability.”

 

‘But now I understand. . .Kelpag and Jadmu made the wrong choice. We shouldn’t have borrowed the power of the devils. . .’

 

“Gyaaaaah!”

 

Jadmu’s greatsword aimed at Russell like a storm. The essence of swordsmanship, which one orc had accumulated throughout his life, unfolded. The solid, black magic-laden, ominous sword energy hummed as if it would tear Russell’s body to shreds.

 

Russell’s Nahilnir deflected the attack repeatedly. He, too, had a foundation of techniques he had accumulated throughout his life.

 

From the instant he realized he was reborn, he unleashed the abilities of his body, and occasionally harnessed the power of his eyes.

 

As Russell deflected the black magic contained in the greatsword, the power lost its target, causing the air and the earth to rumble.

 

Two beings swung their weapons at each other in the plains beneath the brightening dawn sky.

 

Jadmu was stronger and more ferocious than before, trapping Russell in a relentless assault. The same attack had hit him earlier due to a moment of carelessness, but now he wouldn’t let up, relentlessly pushing.

 

Jadmu rotated his body, using his left foot, which extended forward, as an axis. The blazing black magic corrected his imbalance, compensated for his lack of strength, and propelled the orc’s massive body forward.

 

The rotating greatsword stabbed forward once, twice, three times, four times, and beyond.

 

Kagagagagak!

 

Dozens of sword strikes that were delivered before he could even catch his breath bared their teeth to cut Russell’s throat.

 

The battlefield was a whirlwind of speed, where a single blink could mean the difference between life and death. The battlefield was filled with the thick scent of blood and death; even the moths, drawn in by the fight, were now retreating, their tails tucked in.

 

“Kyaaaaaaaaaak!”

 

The orc’s sword, wielded with all his might, revealed his desperate resolve. The strike didn’t contain the logic of combat. It was filled only with the will to crush whatever was in front of him.

 

The Stone of Life, burning like an engine in his chest, poured all its magic into its owner’s will.

 

Jadmu intuitively felt that he was at a crossroads of victory or defeat. He felt it from the hilt of his greatsword, which had accompanied him through his long years of combat experience.

 

Now or never. He needed to break this monstrous human right now, in this very moment.

 

If he didn’t, the extinction of the orcs would speed up and their existence would become inevitable.

 

His nerves were strained to their limits, acutely focused on his opponent, his black magic writhing and surging.

 

For a fleeting moment, their shadows, darkening in contrast to the brightening dawn sky, overlapped.

 

In a state of trance, he twisted his waist, swinging his greatsword, gripped in both hands.

 

Swaaaak!

 

The air, torn apart by the greatsword, let out a desperate cry, and Russell’s greatsword, which was too slow to keep up with its speed, moved one beat too late.

 

‘I’ll kill him!’

 

Immediately after, Jadmu’s eyes met Russell’s.

 

Even in the face of imminent death, those purple eyes held a cold composure.

 

Why?

 

Why is this man so calm and composed even when his heart is about to be pierced?

 

The answer was immediately clear.

 

Geee-ee-eing. . . .!

 

Jadmu couldn’t move his body. A terrible pressure was crushing his entire body. Magic controlled and dominated everything around him.

 

The flow was not powerful. It was rather gentle. It was akin to a powerful wind that doesn’t shatter the reeds, but instead gently sways them.

 

The source of that magic was, naturally, the man with black hair in front of him. His threads of magic held the air, the earth, and Jadmu.

 

Russell, feeling as if he held everything within his domain, smiled.

 

A colorless wave of magic rippled outward. The wave didn’t stop at one; it continued, rippling through the domain twice or three times.

 

Ultimately, it granted Russell dominance, allowing him to control all kinetic energy. By honing his mana flow as seen through his magic eyes and his magical sensitivity, which interfered with that flow, Russell was gradually reaching a new level.

 

“Khh, haaaa!”

 

Jadmu let out a roar once more, expanding the black magic wave in all directions. However, its momentum was clearly weaker than before.

 

Russell absorbed the energy and dispersed it. Then he released the magic threads that had bound Jadmu’s entire body. Jadmu kicked the earth, unaware that Russell had deliberately released him.

 

The ground weakened and crumbled with a rumble, sending dirt flying. Jadmu’s greatsword flew towards Russell’s crown, as if to cleave it in two.

 

Russell lightly swung his Nahilnir. Kwang! At the moment the blades clashed, Russell’s magic flowed through Jadmu’s great sword and into his body.

 

The magic transformed into a piercing electric shock, striking Jadmu directly and disrupting his magic flow.

 

“Khhuek. . . . .!”

 

Jadmu barely remembered Russell using the power of electricity when he was fighting the monsters earlier.

 

‘You mean to tell me that he was holding back, not using any other power, and he almost killed me with a single blow?’

 

He couldn’t continue pondering. With his black magic, Jadmu dispelled the electric shock and swung his greatsword down from above. Russell’s left hand caught the blade.

 

Jadmu was horrified to see that his sharp sword couldn’t even cleave a single palm. Russell’s large, strong hand radiated a chilling cold.

 

The greatsword, freezing with a clack, clack, clack, Jadmu hurriedly unleashed his black magic.

 

“Khhuek!”

 

His insides churned. Jadmu spewed black blood, reeling from the blow, and rolled across the ground.

 

His chest bore a clear fist mark.

 

“This, how. . .?”

 

Jadmu couldn’t comprehend the sequence of events.

 

Russell stood before him, wiping his greatsword and sheathing it in his coat.

 

Black blood flowed from Jadmu’s wounds, dripping onto the grass. The ink-like black liquid touched the green grass, and a faint smoke rose.

 

His muscles wouldn’t respond. The torn muscle fibers caused his nerves to burn intensely. Every creaking joint in his body ached and fractured.

 

Jadmu looked up at Russell with a dazed expression.

 

“How can a human, Krk, be so strong? Did you also make a contract with the devil?”

 

“Do you think I’m like you?”

 

A grinding sound of teeth came from the orc’s mouth. He ground them so hard that white shards fell off, mixing with the black blood.

 

“I can’t. . . . . . I can’t end my life here. . . .”

 

Blood flowed freely, and white smoke puffed up. Jadmu was slowly dying, but the red stone that pulsed like a heart inside his chest wouldn’t allow him to die.

 

But his soul was at its limit. Russell could see his shattered body and soul escaping; he was unable to withstand the black magic.

 

Once the soul vanished, what would possess the body?

 

The shamans’ main force was swirling around the battlefield, sucking away life and morale.

 

Krrr-r-r-r-r-r. . . . . .

 

Clouds gathered from the corner of the brightening dawn sky. They weren’t ordinary clouds, but they were imbued with evil magic. They were a gathering of evil energy visible only to Russell’s eyes.

 

Russell’s magic eyes calmly observed the flow of magi, which sought to darken the sky that was about to brighten.

 

TL: We used the term “magi” instead of “demonic energy” because it works better with the sentence structure of the translation.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

The monsters on the battlefield were retreating, but not all of them went into the forest. The monsters and beasts that had returned, avoiding the central clash, charged towards another target. Latham’s territory lay at the end of their conflict.

 

The strangely deformed beasts, goblins, imps, and kobolds rushed towards the walls. Their red eyes were still wide open, as they had not yet been released from the spell.

 

Trolls, carrying wooden clubs, also charged forward, their footsteps thudding.

 

Their numbers were too great to ignore. Despite the battle between Russell, Jadmu, and Kai’s efforts, there were still two hundred monsters and beasts remaining.

 

“This is bad!”

 

Kai, who had crushed three trolls, looked back. The monsters that had passed him were charging towards the territory.

 

“Waaaah!”

 

A shout then rang out.

 

“Help the Dragon Slayer! Fight alongside the Champion of Vulcan!”

 

The gate below the tightly closed walls was opened. And soldiers poured out of the gate. Mercenaries, realizing the chaos, charged forward, their faces covered in grime.

 

Tatiana, Latham’s lord, was at the forefront, clad in full armor and helmet.

 

Waaaah━!

 

Less than a hundred soldiers from Latham’s territory, along with the mercenaries, are in attendance. The lord, her gray hair blowing in the wind, was accompanied by two knights who escorted her. The lord, not even riding a horse, ran at the heads of the knights, soldiers, and mercenaries.

 

The dawn sky had turned a clear blue. The darkness receded, diluting the blue into a brighter color. Even though the stars and moon, which could only shine in darkness, had receded, there were still things that shined.

 

Under the blue sky, people drew their swords. The gleaming blades were gently illuminated by sunlight.

 

The rising sun from the east shone on the territory’s people, who had burst from the walls.

 

“Curtain, be lifted!”

 

Just before the clash with the monsters, Sarannen, who was running alongside the lord, emitted light from her palm. She then slammed her hand, overflowing with light, onto the ground. Green light streamed across the ground, touching the monsters’ bodies.

 

In an instant, the red curtain that had obscured the monsters’ vision lifted. The beasts, dazed and confused, stopped in their tracks, looking around.

 

Kyaaak!

 

Kya-r-r-r-r!

 

The monsters, who had been fighting over prey in the forest, were now beside them. The beasts growled.

 

“Woooo-oo-ooong!”

 

“Kyaaaaa!”

 

Confusion arose between the beasts and monsters. The beasts, freed from the spell, charged at the monsters, who were still under the spell, swinging their weapons.

 

“Charge!”

 

Tatiana, who ran with a grace that belied her full armor, cut down a charging monster. The knights shouted, protecting their lord, followed by the soldiers.

 

“Let the light of brilliance shine here and now!”

 

A flash of light erupted. Jess, clad in white holy armor, fought with a shield and sword. The monsters flinched before the sun’s power. The sun’s power weakened the spell upon them, causing them to retreat.

 

Then, the monsters and humans clashed.

 

“Aak!”

 

“Mother!”

 

“Don’t retreat! Don’t forget that your families are behind you!”

 

The lord’s voice echoed as she wielded her sword at the forefront of the battle, urging her soldiers to overcome their fear. Their lord was facing the danger head-on.

 

“Yaaaah!”

 

“Die, you monster brats!”

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

“Kelpag-nim! The spell is being dispelled!”

 

“Keep chanting your spells!”

 

The orc shamans drew geometric formations beneath their feet. Kelpag, standing in the center, roared out a spell with wide eyes.

 

There are now significantly fewer monsters and beasts present. Russell and Jadmu engaged in battle, Kai delivered crushing blows, and the human forces emerged from the walls.

 

In addition, the druids’ magic and the church’s paladin joined the fight.

 

Now, the monsters and beasts were returning to the forest to survive. The previously controlled uruks now had brown skin and were gradually regaining their senses.

 

And on the outskirts of the battlefield, where things were gradually becoming sparse, a white-haired girl was running.

 

“Where is it, old lad━ Kyaak! I got it! I got it, big sister!”

 

━Just a little further, and you’re almost there. And next time, it won’t be this weak.

 

“So, where do we have to go?”

 

━Behind there. That’s where the shamans are aiming.

 

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