Chapter 70: Red Orc Final
"Creeaakkkk..." the younger Orc grunted, looking down at its rusty blade. Seeing no sign of blood on the iron, it checked the spot where it had just slashed. There was nothing there but settling dust.
"Looking for me?" Ian called out from right behind the beast, tightly gripping his broken left arm with his right hand.
’My whole body hurts like hell. Tch, and my left arm is in the absolute worst condition. It was already severely injured from that punch earlier, and now with the heavy stomping this guy did, it seems I won’t be using it at all for a while,’ Ian thought, wincing as he let go of the limp arm.
"Creeeakk!!" The Red Orc screamed furiously, acting like it wanted to tear Ian apart. Without hesitation, it dashed toward Ian, raising its sword with the absolute intent to slash him in two.
"Oh, now you don’t care about using your fists fairly, or are you in a hurry to just end this fast?" Ian said, smoothly dodging to the right side of the blade. "Right back at you! I’m also exhausted. I just want to go home and sleep."
THUD! Just as he finished saying those words, Ian planted his feet and violently punched the Orc in the jaw with a brutal right hook. The massive beast actually lifted off the ground slightly before crashing heavily into the dirt.
"You really thought it was going to be exactly the same as the last time we clashed, right?" Ian chuckled darkly, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "I actually had some time to really train while I was unconscious earlier. It feels like ages have passed in my mind."
...
"H-how..." Isaac muttered, leaning against the tree trunk in utter shock. "How could he possibly still have that much raw strength left in him? To actually send that massive Orc flying away with a single punch..."
"Yeah, and he seems completely different somehow," Zena noted, staring down at the clearing.
"Different? How so?" Isaac asked, confused.
"I don’t really know how to put it into words... but his entire presence feels different now. Even the way he is looking down at the Orc. There is pure confidence in his eyes, and... enjoyment," Zena said, shivering slightly.
"Is the extreme stress making you see things? Because all I see down there is a battered kid who only has one arm that’s working, one eye that is actually open, and of course, who is extremely tired," Isaac deadpanned.
"Sigh. What would you know? You have never been in a real life-or-death fight before. That is exactly why you don’t get it," Zena sighed heavily.
"..." Isaac didn’t reply. He only looked down at the Orc that was slowly getting back up and shaking its head to clear the dizziness.
...
"Creaaaakkkkk!!!!"
The Red Orc screamed with intense anger just after getting back to its feet. Its bloodshot eyes suddenly turned a glowing, terrifying red once again.
’Its eyes are glowing red again! I should be ready to dodg— no. I should face it head-on! No more dodging!’ Ian thought. A wild, battle-hungry smile crept onto his bruised face as he stared at the beast. ’I don’t really know why I’m getting so excited just looking at its completely pissed-off expression... but I’m pretty sure it is the exact same thrill I felt when I was fighting that Friggy guy.’
Without warning, the glowing Orc suddenly dashed at Ian. But Ian didn’t stand still either; he charged straight back at the massive beast! The Orc was visibly surprised by the suicidal charge, but it did not think much of it and continued its assault.
As they were about to clash, the Orc started to slow down slightly to ready its blade. But Ian didn’t slow down at all. In fact, he explosively increased his speed!
"Creaakkk..." the Orc grunted, stopping its feet and raising its sword high into a devastating slashing stance.
"I don’t really understand what you just said, but I’m pretty sure you just said you want to completely cut my head off with the way you are standing!" Ian yelled, closing the distance.
Just as he was about to reach the Orc, the beast swung its heavy sword down.
’Now...’ The exact moment Ian saw the Orc commit to the downward slash, he violently slid into the dirt, sliding directly between the massive Orc’s thick legs. While sliding underneath, Ian aggressively grabbed the back of the Orc’s ankle and yanked with all his physical strength, causing the massive beast to completely lose its balance and crash face-first into the dirt!
"So much for that crazy strength and speed boost if you just fall down!" Ian mocked, instantly jumping onto the back of the fallen Red Orc. "I have been trying to figure out how to properly use this technique ever since I woke up!" Ian yelled, raising his right fist high into the air.
’Boulder Crushing Fist!!’ Ian thought, throwing a devastating, full-power punch straight down at the back of the Orc’s head.
The Orc saw the terrifying punch coming. Desperately, it raised its rusty broadsword over its head to try and block the blow. But it was completely useless.
CRACK! SHATTER!
The iron sword completely shattered upon contact with Ian’s Draconic knuckle. The broken blade didn’t even slightly reduce the speed or heavy momentum of Ian’s punch.
"Crea—"
THUD!! The Orc tried to scream, but its face was smashed violently into the dirt by Ian’s fist. To make matters worse for the beast, several sharp shards of the shattered sword had been driven directly into its thick skin by the sheer force of the blow.
’Not as powerful as I thought it would be. It didn’t make a massive impact crater like It it did in the simulation. Did I punch it wrong?’ Ian thought, quickly raising his hand high to strike again.
"Let’s try this again!"
Ian threw another devastating punch.
BOOM! This time, the entire ground actively shook beneath them, and the Orc’s head was almost entirely buried in a small crater in the dirt. Dark red blood splattered all over Ian’s torn clothes. When he raised his right hand again, his knuckles were completely coated in a thick layer of the beast’s blood.
"Creaaak... creakk..." the Orc groaned weakly, struggling to move while pinned to the ground.
"I still can’t believe that you are actually still conscious after that second punch. Do you even know how long it took me to figure out how to do that?!" Ian yelled, slightly shocked by the defiant, murderous death stare the Orc was still giving him from the dirt.
"Aaaahhh! That hurts, dammit!" Ian suddenly screamed.
While Ian was distracted, the younger Orc had desperately grabbed a large shard of its shattered sword from the dirt and stabbed it directly into Ian’s already broken left arm!
"You are gonna pay for that!" Ian roared, raising his fist to smash the Orc’s face in permanently.
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
Ian kept on punching relentlessly with his right hand, completely refusing to stop. The ground beneath them was practically shaking with every brutal impact, and blood splashed everywhere across the ferns.
"CREAAAAKKKKK!!!!!!" The younger Orc screamed so loud, it sounded exactly like a dying, desperate beast.
"You still have the strength to scream? Let’s fix that for y— huh?!"
Ian raised his bloody fist high to deliver the final, killing blow. But before he could swing it down, the massive older Orc that had been resting by the boulder suddenly appeared right behind him. It gently touched Ian’s shoulder and easily lifted him entirely off the younger Orc.
’When the hell did it appear right behind me?! I didn’t even hear a single footstep! It’s exactly the same as before... it can just show up whenever it wants!’ Ian thought, aggressively clenching his bloody right fist as pure anger showed on his face. ’Is it gonna kill us all now that its own kind is losing?!’
"Crk..." the older Orc rumbled, starting to speak in its own guttural language to the battered younger Orc on the ground. The younger beast was showing intense anger, aggressively glaring up at Ian as it bled.
...
"What the hell is going on down there? I thought you said that the loser would die and we would all go home free!" Zena complained, turning to Isaac.
"That is exactly what the books said! You saw how extremely defensive it was earlier to anything that interrupted the match, so I am just as shocked as you are seeing it step in like that!" Isaac whispered, staring down in disbelief. "I bet it was also surprised by how Ian suddenly became incredibly strong mid-match and almost killed one of its own."
"Sigh, I was completely shocked too by the raw power in those last few punches. They were so vastly different from his sloppy strikes earlier," Zena said, exhaling heavily. "But putting all that aside... what do we do now? What if that massive thing plans to just kill us all in revenge?"
"What else can we do but just watch? Even if we desperately try to run, I don’t think those hiding beasts in the shadows would let us go that easily," Isaac pointed out, looking nervously at the dozens of glowing eyes surrounding the clearing. "And besides... maybe by some miracle, this massive thing could actually let us go. So we have to be ready to run fast, and grab Ian. Look at him down there... I don’t think he is in any condition to run after taking all that damage."
Down below, the older Orc suddenly unhooked its pristine, massive broadsword from its belt and gently handed it down to the beaten younger Orc.
"Crkk.. creakk.. crk," the older Orc grunted softly, gently patting the younger beast on the head.
To everyone’s shock, the smaller Orc started violently crying. Clutching the heavy sword tightly to its chest, it slowly started walking backward, heading deep into the inner shadows of the forest.
’Why is that Orc crying?’ Ian thought, breathing heavily as he watched the bruised, battered younger Orc back away into the darkness.
Suddenly, the older Orc slowly turned its massive body and started walking directly toward Ian. It stared at him deeply with intelligent, solemn eyes.
Near the edge of the trees, the young Orc stopped walking. It stood there in the shadows, watching the whole thing unfold with thick tears flowing down its monstrous face.
When it was finally close enough, the older Orc slowly raised both of its massive hands to its sides, exposing its broad chest.
"What the hell is going on? Are you gonna kill me with a simple slap?" Ian chuckled nervously, stepping back.
But then, without warning, the older Orc violently plunged its massive claws directly into its own chest!
It didn’t make a single sound of pain. It just stood there, still staring deeply into Ian’s eyes as it ripped its own flesh open. In the distant shadows, the younger Orc squeezed its eyes tightly shut, completely refusing to watch its elder stab itself.
Ian, Isaac, and Zena were completely paralyzed by shock at what they were witnessing.
"Crkk.. crkk.. rk," the older Orc rumbled softly to Ian.
Its massive legs finally gave out, and it collapsed onto its knees in the dirt. Slowly, it reached a bloody, trembling hand out toward Ian. Resting in its massive palm was a glowing, intensely bright red stone that it had just ripped from its own heart. It gently dropped the stone into Ian’s hand, and then its massive body slumped heavily to the dirt. It was completely dead.
Ian was left standing in complete silence, staring blankly at the warm red stone resting in his bloody palm. He then looked down at the massive monster that had just willingly killed itself.
’What the hell is going on here? And is this the magical beast core I always hear people talking about?’ Ian thought in absolute bewilderment. He then slowly looked over to where the younger Orc was still standing in the shadows.
"Creakk.. creakk..." the young Orc screamed at Ian, completely glaring at him with a deep, unbridled fury.
’That look...’ Ian’s breath hitched. ’It is exactly the same look Zena had yesterday and I had also. I never thought I would be looked at like that in my entire life... and by a magical beast, of all things. This world really is sick.’ Ian looked back down at the beast that had just killed itself to satisfy the tradition and save the young one’s life.
"Should I just kill it right now so it doesn’t seek revenge against us? Because if it is given enough time to grow, it will definitely come back for me," Ian muttered coldly, his eyes turning dark as he stared at the young Orc.
"IAAANNN! RUN!!" Isaac suddenly yelled from the tree above, pointing frantically at the dark edges of the clearing.
With the older Orc officially dead, its terrifying, oppressive pressure had vanished from the clearing. The massive swarm of mutant beasts and goblins that had been hiding in the shadows were now flooding out into the light, drooling and charging straight toward the dead Orc’s body—and Ian!
"Tch... lucky bastard," Ian cursed, glaring at the retreating young Red Orc one last time.
Clutching the glowing red beast core tightly in his right hand, Ian immediately turned and sprinted toward the trees, desperately running in the direction of the forest exit!