Chapter 264: This is a Life-or-Death Fight. (1)
Ghislaine suddenly shouted at the sullen people around her.
“Get it together! Eliminate the nearby monsters quickly!”
The battle was still ongoing. Some of the monsters facing the soldiers turned around and charged at the enemies behind them.
The knights and hunters regained their senses and attacked the surrounding monsters. But their faces weren’t looking too good.
“What’s going on? Why are we coughing up blood when we haven’t even been hit?”
“Did we get hurt without realizing it?”
“Then how are we supposed to handle the monsters charging at us?”
Worries filled their minds. They were starting to consider if they should run away.
Swoosh!
Kaor cut down a monster approaching Ghislaine and urgently said, “Lord! Are you scared? What’s going on all of a sudden?”
Kaor felt a bit anxious too. He had seen symptoms like this before.
It was when they caught the Blood Python. At that time, Ghislaine had exerted a lot of energy and fainted for over a day.
“Damn! Is it similar to that time? Did she overexert herself?”
But the situation was slightly different from then. Back then, she had been poisoned after entering the Blood Python’s body.
This time, it didn’t seem like that. She looked like someone who was just wearing herself out alone.
Without knowing Ghislaine’s true power or the penalties she faced when exerting herself, he couldn’t accurately judge how dangerous the situation was.
However, seeing all the spears that were flying around earlier now dropped to the ground, it seemed she had truly exhausted herself.
Ghislaine wiped the blood off her face and said, “I’m in a lot of pain right now.”
“…What are we going to do about that guy running at us?”
“You handle it. You can take it out alone.”
“How am I supposed to take that on alone?!”
“Are you scared again?”
“I’m not scared!”
“Then go and fight. You can definitely take it down. There’s no time. Move!”
“GRRAAAAHHH!”
Boom! Crash! Bang!
The Twin Head Ogre approached, smashing aside other monsters in the process.
The knights and hunters recoiled in fear.
“Damn, what do we do about that thing?”
“Don’t we all have to swarm it?”
“What about the other monsters? If we focus on that thing, we’ll end up getting taken out.”
The ogre was a monster that couldn’t be easily defeated, even with dozens of knights piling on. It was no wonder it was called the king of the forest and mountains.
Due to its immense strength and speed, even a single hit could shatter the bones of a typical knight.
The Twin Head Ogre also had higher intelligence and was much larger than regular ogres.
They could potentially take it down if all the knights and hunters attacked, but more than half of them would definitely die in the process.
When everyone was scared, someone needed to step up and fight.
Ghislaine coughed up blood and knelt down. That meant the next strongest person had to step up.
Everyone’s eyes turned towards Kaor.
“W-why are you all looking at me?!”
Kaor was flustered. He had no confidence in defeating such a monster alone.
“GRAAAAH!”
“Kwaaah!”
The Twin Head Ogre had now approached right in front of them. Even the monsters, overwhelmed by its intensity, were falling back.
“Cough!”
Ghislaine spat out blood once again and turned to Kaor.
“Hurry! You’re the only one who can stop that guy!”
Kaor’s gaze wavered. It was the first time he had seen the lord show such weakness. It was unbelievable.
His heart softened. The lord, who always seemed as strong as steel, was actually asking him for a ‘favor.’
In his life, he had rarely been placed in such high expectations by anyone, let alone someone as powerful as a lord.
As a man, he couldn’t possibly let these expectations go unfulfilled.
“Leave it to me!”
“Grahhh!”
Boooom!
The Twin Head Ogre, now right in front of him, swung its massive club.
KWAAM!
Kaor raised his greatsword to block the strike. The ogre’s strength was so immense that he nearly lost grip of his weapon.
“Ugh!”
The tremendous impact made his insides churn. There was no way to win with sheer strength. Kaor decided to rely on speed and made a quick retreat.
Boooom!
“Ugh!”
But the follow-up attack came too fast. How could something that massive move this quickly?
KWAAM!
He barely managed to block again, but this time his body lifted off the ground and he crashed backward. It was unbelievable strength and speed.
Kaor thought he might actually die this time.
‘Still, it has to be me!’
Excluding the lord, he was the strongest here. If it wasn’t him, there was no way to stop it.
The lord seemed to have taken internal injuries. Fighting that enormous ogre would require plenty of space. First, he had to get the lord to safety.
Kaor turned his head and shouted loudly.
“My lord! Get to safety! Everyone, take the lord and…”
“Hey hey hey! Kaor is taking on the ogre, so everyone clear out the surrounding monsters first! Move it, move it!”
KWAAM! KWAAM! KWAAM!
Before he knew it, Ghislaine was cutting down the surrounding monsters with a greatsword. The knights and hunters breathed a sigh of relief as Ghislaine returned to the fray.
Everyone had completely forgotten about Kaor.
“……Damn it?”
Ghislaine had already lowered the core to Level 2 in the fight. He could no longer sustain Level 3.
Of course, he could still handle the Twin Head Ogre at Level 2, but he deliberately chose not to.
This time, it had to be Kaor who faced it.
“Hey! If you’re okay, the lord can…”
Kaor couldn’t finish his sentence. The Twin Head Ogre didn’t give him a moment’s peace to continue its assault.
KWAAM!
“Ugh!”
Every time he blocked, he was pushed back. Blocking wasn’t enough. He had to fight while dodging.
The space behind him was clear as everyone else had taken care of it. Kaor quickly backed away.
“GRAAAH!”
The Twin Head Ogre charged at him, absolutely intent on not letting him escape.
“Damn… how on earth…”
The Twin Head Ogre, brandishing its club high, looked all the more menacing due to its massive size.
Kaor began to succumb to fear without even realizing it.
Boooom!
The Twin Head Ogre’s club came crashing down again, slicing through the air. Kaor concentrated as hard as he could to barely dodge the attack.
Swooosh!
Kaor’s greatsword slashed the ogre’s side. Packed full of mana, yet the thick, tough skin prevented it from cutting deeply.
In the end, it only fueled the ogre’s rage further.
“GRAAAH!”
Boooom!
A rapid series of attacks followed, and Kaor couldn’t dodge in time. He hurriedly raised his greatsword to block, but his stance was compromised.
KWAAM!
“Guh!”
Having been struck, Kaor was sent flying, rolling back across the ground. He was absolutely outmatched.
‘Ah, no. There’s no way I can win.’
Poison or not, the enemy had to be manageable to make use of it.
You can only control something if it can be fought against.
In fact, up until now, he had been full of confidence and enthusiasm. Fighting alongside the strong, there was nothing to fear.
The lord was a monster in itself, and his other companions were no different. Gillian and Belinda could hold their own anywhere, and although Vanessa was conditionally limited, her destructive power could be considered the strongest in the territory.
With the strong enemies taken care of by them, Kaor was unknowingly losing his edge and becoming lazy.
And now, faced with the harsh reality, he suddenly felt a wave of fear.
Boom! Boom!
The Twin Head Ogre’s attacks showed no signs of stopping. Kaor ran away, trying to create as much distance as possible, shouting.
“Lord! I can’t win! A monster like this is something you have to handle!”
In that moment, Ghislaine’s voice echoed in his ears.
― If you want to grow, you must risk your life to fight and win.
“Damn it! I fought Doncard with my life on the line and won!”
― That’s not enough. This is a fight that truly risks your life.
“I can’t do it with my skills! Help me!”
― No one will help you, and you have to overcome a situation where you can’t rely on anyone to grow to the next level.
“This is just a pointless death! What do you expect me to do against an opponent I can’t possibly beat!”
― I’m telling you that you can win. You can win, which is why I’m leaving it to you.
“Damn it! How am I supposed to do that!”
― You are weaker now than you were before you met me. It only has meaning if you realize it yourself, so do your best.
With that final remark, Ghislaine fell silent. Kaor cursed repeatedly while dodging the Twin Head Ogre’s attacks.
Anger, injustice, fear, humiliation—various emotions consumed him.
Yet, amidst all this, one thought lingered in his mind.
‘I am weak right now.’
His skills had certainly increased, but he felt weaker than before. He was aware of the points Ghislaine had pointed out.
It wasn’t a matter of physical ability. The poisonous energy, once known as the mad dog of the North, had diminished drastically as he spent time with Ghislaine.
There was no need to fight stubbornly and risk his life like before. He had many strong companions by his side.
It’s not bad to rely on others. Being together isn’t a bad thing either. That’s what companions are for.
But trusting them and becoming lazy was a problem. All that remained was a filthy temper.
‘Damn it, how did I end up like this…’
He had felt it during his fight with Doncard, but he knew he easily got bored and became lazy. He only reacted when problems loomed right in front of him.
Thanks to his good improvisation skills, he had managed to survive until now.
But now, with an insurmountable problem right in front of him, his mind began to crumble in an instant.
Kaor bit his lip. Since his difficult childhood, he had lived carrying a poisonous energy to survive alone.
He had lost even the few advantages he had in this comfortable life.
‘I will kill.’
Kaor gritted his teeth. A killing intent began to fill his eyes.
This was different from the anger he felt when he thought he would lose to Doncard. The Twin Head Ogre was an opponent you couldn’t possibly defeat without preparing for death.
This was a true life-or-death battle.
Boom!
The Twin Head Ogre’s club clashed head-on with Kaor’s greatsword for the first time.
Kaor grimaced heavily. He was still being pushed back, but the momentum was completely different from before.
‘Today is my last fight.’
He sincerely held that resolve. With that mindset, he swung his greatsword.
Clang! Clang!
Dodge if he could, and if not, he would block. Scars gradually accumulated on Kaor’s body.
Every time he blocked, his body would often be thrown back, rolling on the ground. Even when he barely dodged and managed to attack, he couldn’t deliver any fatal blows.
Instead, the Twin Head Ogre’s rage only intensified.
“Graaah!”
The roar felt like it could burst his eardrums. Kaor gritted his teeth and charged in again.
It happened.
KWAANG!
The greatsword clashed with the club, and the greatsword bounced back even harder. Before Kaor could regain his stance, the club came flying at him.
Kaor hurriedly raised his arm to block the incoming club.
KWAANG!
Uddduk!
“Cough!”
With a single blow, his mana-wrapped arm broke. The shock that remained unrelieved spread throughout his whole body.
Maybe the direct impact twisted his insides, as blood started seeping from his mouth.
At this point, he should really run away or give up. But instead, Kaor gritted his teeth even harder.
His eyes were already glistening with madness.
“Die!”
Now he had abandoned all defense. Kaor poured most of his mana into the greatsword, determined that if he got hit again, he would just die.
Ignoring defense and focused solely on attacking, as he swung his sword, the leather was finally deeply cut.
KAGAGAGAK!
The Twin Head Ogre’s chest was cut deeply, and an enormous amount of blood spurted out.
“KRAAAAAH!”
The Twin Head Ogre screamed in agony, experiencing pain for the first time. Then it began wildly swinging its club.
BOOOOM! BWOONG!
As its movements grew larger, it became easier to avoid. Kaor quickly moved back, looking for a gap.
He threw away distracting thoughts. He simply repeated the elementary actions of dodging, blocking, and attacking.
‘The wall…’
At one moment, the Twin Head Ogre appeared to him like a gigantic wall that had blocked his way all this time.
A wall so solid and immense that he could never surmount or break through it.
Putting his life on the line reignited his determination. With the rise of his spirit, fear vanished.
Now, only one thought remained in his head.
‘I will break that wall.’
Fueled by that single thought, Kaor continued to move his heavy body.
KAANG!
The wall didn’t even bear a scratch. At least that’s how it felt.
KAANG!
Again he struck, but the wall remained standing, unmoved.
It stood there haughtily as if to say, “You shall never surpass me.”
‘Kukuku.’
Kaor laughed. Whether he breaks the wall or not didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was that he was moving toward that wall right now.
But was this really meaningful?
KAANG!
No. It was just a meaningless struggle.
KAANG!
Still, he wouldn’t stop. There was no other way. His life could be given up now. He was just stubbornly attacking without pause.
Once more, he heard Ghislaine’s voice.
– I have already taught you everything you were lacking.
– You had a realization, albeit a poor one, that you gained on your own.
– You simply lacked the time and experience to embody it.
– Now gather all of it as one. With who you are now, it is possible.
– In doing so, you will create your own path.
WHAH!
The basics of swordsmanship that Ghislaine had taught him.
Following those teachings, the sword extended outward.
It felt as if the realm he briefly glimpsed while fighting Doncard reappeared before him.
But it was a little different this time. The senses gained from real battles and from fighting for his life were now layered over the swordsmanship learned from Ghislaine.
Slither.
The sword path changed.
It was the realization Kaor obtained, risking his life. It was neither orthodox nor improvisational; it was his unique path mixed with his realization.
And it moved to find the one weakness in the wall.
Swoosh.
‘I cut it…’
The wall was still intact. But Kaor’s sword left a long scratch on the wall.
The scratched wall was no longer invincible. For now, it was just a scratch, but someday it could become the key to breaking that wall.
WHAAAA!
The illusionary wall vanished, and Kaor’s mind returned to reality.
Before him, blood-soaked and thrusting his sword forward, what he saw was the body of the Twin Head Ogre slowly collapsing, both heads lost.
