Dark Fantasy: Magical Eye Knight – Chapter 116

Chapter 116: Ogre (2)

TL: Potato-tan

Proofreader: Asianpotato

 

Two looming shadows flickered inside the crater. Russell and the ogre, Lashe, had their fists and hands locked together.

 

Russell’s eyes glowed.

 

Lashe’s once enormous height and physique had shrunk noticeably.

 

It wasn’t that he had become smaller than Russell. He had simply shrunk from 6 meters to about 3 meters, which was half his original size, but he was still a meter taller and bigger than Russell. It was just that his initial size was so enormous that his current, shrunken form felt even more alien.

 

Crrrck, crrrck.

 

Currently, Lashe’s left hand is blocking Russell’s right fist, and Russell’s left hand is blocking Lashe’s right fist. They continued to struggle in that position.

 

Kwadddddd!

 

The earth began to shift. The magical wave emanating from the two powerful beings widened the already deep crater, sending sand flying and exposing tree roots that promptly crumbled.

 

“Have you finally come to your senses?”

 

Russell asked. It was an incongruous question in the midst of crumbling earth and roaring air, but there was a reason for it.

 

The ogre’s eyes, fixed on Russell, had lost their fierce, murderous intent.

 

“I’ve been in my right mind since the beginning. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have introduced myself.”

 

“It seemed like only your mouth and vocal cords were working as you pleased.”

 

Lashe’s lips twisted.

 

“You have keen eyes.”

 

“I hear that a lot.”

 

“Keen eyes alone won’t save you from that devil.”

 

“Who’s going to die?”

 

Suddenly, the balance of power shifted. Russell relaxed his left arm, pulling Lashe’s upper body with it.

 

Russell’s knee shot up and slammed into the ogre’s abdomen, sending the giant flying into the air.

 

Russell didn’t let go of the airborne Lashe, and with a powerful push off the ground, he shot out his fist. Lashe, despite his unstable position, also managed to extend his fist. When their fists collided, a ring-shaped shockwave resonated, sending leaves soaring into the sky.

 

Two distinct thuds echoed. There was a thud in mid-air, followed by another as Lashe fell to the ground.

 

“Cough, cough.”

 

Lashe coughed up blood from the pit. Sticky black blood and pieces of entrails were splattered on the damp forest floor.

 

“That’s right. . . . . . It seems certain that you are not the one who will die here. I can already see that Kelpag going wild.”

 

“Is Kelpag the grand shaman? Is Kelpag the one who struck a deal, or a contract, with Geliotos?

 

“You know quite a lot. Cough, cough!”

 

Russell’s magical eyes scanned the ogre’s body. Russell observed the abnormally concentrated life force within Lashe gradually dissipating.

 

Lashe’s insides had been a mess ever since he threw Final Frost and then engaged in close combat, causing internal shock. Lashe had a Stone of Life within him too, but Russell had gained considerable experience dealing with those stones.

 

Russell had faced bandit gangs in the wilderness, battled a warlock in the village, and slain the orc Jadmu here. Russell’s mind and body had neatly organized all those experiences, and he had now mastered the most efficient way to deal with them.

 

The Stone of Life currently in Lashe’s body is being hit by Russell’s internal power fist and is entering a state of self-recovery.

 

The stone’s container itself was broken, and its power was leaking out, so the mana and magical power that were not properly condensed were just flowing out and spreading throughout the body, but they could not become usable power.

 

Lashe’s height, physique, and muscles were shrinking, returning to their original form, because the Stone of Life was unable to function properly.

 

Suddenly, Lashe spoke.

 

“Do you know our kind?”

 

“Ogres?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Russell shrugged in response.

 

“As much as anyone else.”

 

“You’re pretentious when you say you don’t know much.”

 

Lashe slowly rose from the pit, pulling himself out.

 

“Thousands of years have passed since the dragons disappeared and the giants declined. The dragonkin, descendants of the dragons, roam the corners of the continent, seeking the pull of blood. They are better off than us. They are born with a powerful innate talent for magic. But the giants couldn’t do that. They only had a strong resistance to magic. Only the ogres carried on the faintest trace of that lineage, as the remaining members of our kind failed to prosper and went extinct without any notice.

 

“Do you want to find your ancestral rights too?”

 

Lashe shook his head.

 

“I’m not interested in finding something that has already become a legend. I just wanted to live longer. I wasn’t content with simply devouring creatures from the forest or mountains, or consuming humans in large quantities. I wanted to do something more meaningful. I wanted to leave a mark on the world, even just one, during my lifetime.”

 

Russell stared at the ogre. Pale gray skin and bumpy flesh. The face is rough, with blunt eyes, nose, and mouth. Slightly pointed ears.

 

“And it seems I’ve found it now.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“Russell, fighting and defeating you. It’s the meaning of life I’ve found now. If I don’t win, my life will not continue.”

 

As Lashe stood tall, a powerful magical wave surged around him. Russell came to understand that the magic was a result of burning all of his remaining life force.

 

Lashe’s hand slowly clenched, forming a hard, large fist. The swirling magical wave concentrated on his fist, making a humming sound.

 

The ground around the ogre cracked, scattering grains of dirt everywhere. Trees swayed and swayed, and leaves poured down from the branches like a waterfall, swirling in the vortex of the magical wave.

 

Russell felt the tingling magic coursing through his body. His skin tingled. This was the power of a being who had resolved to die and put an end to his remaining life.

 

“Meanings can be found anywhere. My meaning is nothing special.”

 

Just walking on the curved ground under the vast sky. Solving unexpected things. And meeting unexpected relationships in the process.

 

That encompassed his current sense of purpose. It was something he couldn’t achieve before.

 

Soon, the wave of energy emanating from Russell began to clash with Lashe’s. Neither of them attempted to find each other’s weaknesses. Only the time of patience for a single attack remained.

 

A series of thuds, akin to striking leather, filled the air, followed by crackling sounds. It was as if they were exchanging invisible blows—intense and fierce.

 

The wind spirit, having sensed a new flow, returned and danced in a frenzy.

 

Lashe’s magic pressed down on the atmosphere and the earth, as if trying to crush everything standing. The wind wouldn’t even blow around the ogre, and the spirits only hovered outside a certain boundary, unable to penetrate.

 

Russell’s wave of energy, like a thick, dense darkness, quietly encroached on the surrounding space. Startled by their alien origin, the grass and wildflowers stopped swaying and fell silent.

 

Unlike the eye of a storm that holds different silences, the surroundings were completely desolate.

 

Lashe’s eyes glowed red with magic, while Russell’s pupils shone a quiet purple.

 

“Keuk, Heueueuk. . . . . .”

 

A low groan escaped the ogre’s mouth. His power should have overwhelmed Russell, but he stood there, seemingly unchanged from before, simply looking at Lashe.

 

Despite not taking any action, Lashe felt the pressure. The atmosphere was still roaring, colliding, rubbing, and crashing.

 

He let out a roar, shaking off the feeling of overwhelm.

 

“Krrraaaagh!”

 

The floor burst open and the giant body narrowed the distance with incredible speed. Stepping on his left leg, supporting his body with his right leg, twisting his waist, and putting his shoulders and elbows back as much as possible.

 

His left fist was tattered by Russell, so the fist now loaded like an arrow on a ballista was his right arm.

 

The muscles in his right shoulder, upper arm, forearm, and the area below swelled as if they were going to burst. Lashe’s right fist, concentrated with all his life force and magic, was so powerful that it seemed to bend the very space around it.

 

Russell stood still. With his legs spread apart and his arms hanging down in an ordinary yet comfortable position. Nowhere was it a suitable attitude to catch the attack that was flying in right now.

 

Lashe didn’t question or let that posture distract him. He simply unleashed the fist that held his life.

 

Three shockwaves exploded behind the ogre, shattering the path he had taken. The fist, distorting space, slammed into Russell before the scattered dirt had even fallen. The battle of fleeting moments necessitated the perception of a moment within a moment in order for it to exist.

 

━!

 

A deafening roar that defied description.

 

Something beyond sound reverberated through the heart of the forest. A blinding flash illuminated the surroundings, rapidly expanding into a perfect spherical explosion.

 

The air, imbued with unstoppable speed, met the unready air outside, creating layers of white walls that roared.

 

The shockwave that pierced the space crushed everything, both living and non-living. The aftermath of the attack, exceeding the speed of sound, spread its sound and vibration hundreds of meters out, so vast that it was almost unimaginable.

 

Fortunately, they had ventured deep into the forest, preventing them from reaching the battlefield.

 

Above the crater, now wider than ever before, Lashe stood frozen in the posture of his fist strike. Russell stood with his fist connecting with Lashe’s chest, having dodged the ogre’s attack.

 

His heart pounded. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and his body swayed from the aftereffects of unleashing such immense power. His magic had completely depleted, and the overheated magical circuits were begging for cracks.

 

Russell wouldn’t have been able to guarantee his survival if he had taken a direct hit from that attack due to its speed and power.

 

If it hadn’t been for the activation of his domain and his magical eyes that could read the flow, and if his body hadn’t been able to keep up, he would have been dead.

 

“You’re not human. I can tell. The blood flowing through your body is alien.”

 

“Did the devil tell you that?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Lashe’s body slowly crumbled. His knees buckled, his damaged joints and muscles sagged, and his bones collapsed. It didn’t stop there. His body’s extremities shattered, turning to dust and scattering.

 

It was the price for attempting an unauthorized attack.

 

“I am human.”

 

“Why? You’re like us. You may look like them, but your true nature is that of dragons, giants, gods, devils, and monsters. You are an alien. You don’t belong to this dimension. . . . . .”

 

Russell said.

 

“That doesn’t matter. I can’t be defined by other people’s eyes and gossip. I define myself. Not others.”

 

“Such. . . folly.”

 

The wind blew Lashe’s body away, turning it completely to dust. Russell collapsed to the ground.

 

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

 

Underneath the dense, interwoven branches that dared not allow sunlight to penetrate, a large clearing lay open. Orcs stood guard, alert to their surroundings, while shamans stood further inside, observing the situation outside.

 

The shamans’ faces were dark and gloomy, a stark contrast to their skin color. There was no trace of the hope and optimism they had held before.

 

A magical mirror, capable of seeing even the most distant objects, floated before them, reflecting the battle between the ogre Lashe and a human warrior.

 

The shockwaves constantly erupted with deafening roars. The 6-meter giant seemed to be overwhelming the small human, but the human was blocking the giant’s fists with his massive sword, sometimes dodging and landing effective blows.

 

The shaman Kelpag’s plan was nothing short of a mess, just by engaging in close combat with an opponent more than twice his size.

 

In fact, Lashe’s deployment was never part of the plan. Only the four orc tribes, the uruks, and the mutated beasts and monsters enhanced by shamanism and magic were to achieve the occupation of Latham’s territory.

 

A single man shattered their belief that preparation was sufficient to conquer a single territory.

 

“. . . “

 

The silence descended heavily upon the surroundings. The orcs felt the seeds of anxiety and fear pricking their skin. They turned back.

 

Five stone towers, meticulously built with stones at their five apexes. The ground beneath them bore various runes.

 

In the center of the magical formation, Kelpag knelt, clutching his staff. His eyes were white, and a constant stream of eerie, low incantations flowed from his mouth.

 

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