Chapter 850: The Great Battle of Mountain Beasts (29)
The Orc King jumped, narrowly avoiding the club as it whooshed past. As he landed, he stomped the ground, unleashing a shockwave that destabilized the earth beneath the Troll King. The Troll King staggered but recovered quickly, using his earth magic to stabilize his footing. He then raised both arms, and the ground split open beneath the Orc King, trying to swallow him whole.
But the Orc King reacted instantly, leaping into the air just as the earth collapsed beneath him. With a battle cry, he came crashing down, cleaver first, aiming for the Troll King’s head. The Troll King crossed his club overhead in a defensive block, catching the blade inches from his face. They were locked in a deadly standoff, their muscles straining, faces mere inches apart as they glared into each other’s eyes.
Snarling, the Orc King twisted his wrist, pulling his cleaver back and slashing sideways. The Troll King leaned back, but not before the blade grazed his shoulder, drawing blood. Enraged, the Troll King released a burst of raw magical energy, sending a shockwave of earth that forced the Orc King back. But before the Troll King could capitalize, the Orc King charged back in, feinting high before bringing his cleaver low in a brutal upward slash aimed at the Troll King’s gut.
The Troll King, seeing through the feint, stepped aside and drove his club forward, aiming for the Orc King’s chest. The Orc King, however, twisted his body just enough to avoid the direct hit, instead letting the club glance off his armor as he spun around to deliver a vicious elbow to the Troll King’s face.
Reeling from the impact, the Troll King staggered back, blood trickling from his nose. He raised his hand, summoning sharp stones from the earth and flinging them at the Orc King in rapid succession. The Orc King’s red aura deflected most, but a few struck his armor, denting it. Growling, the Orc King swung his cleaver in a wide arc, forcing the Troll King to retreat or risk being sliced in half.
Undeterred, the Troll King planted his club in the ground and chanted a spell, causing vines and roots to erupt from the earth, coiling around the Orc King’s legs, threatening to immobilize him. But the Orc King roared, his aura flaring violently, and he tore through the vines with sheer brute strength. In one swift motion, he raised his cleaver high and brought it down toward the Troll King.
The Troll King rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the deathblow, and retaliated with a brutal kick aimed at the Orc King’s midsection. The blow connected, sending the Orc King stumbling backward, but he recovered quickly, using the momentum to pivot and swing his cleaver in a reverse grip, aiming for the Troll King’s side.
The Troll King blocked with his club, but the impact sent vibrations through his arms. He growled, summoning a boulder from behind and launching it toward the Orc King. The Orc King slashed through the boulder mid-air, shattering it, his face a mask of fury as he closed the distance once more.
As the battle intensified, the Orc King’s blood-red aura thickened, condensing and hardening into jagged crystalline armor that encased his torso, limbs, and even his cleaver. The weapon, once a mere blade, transformed into a brutal, crystalline instrument, each edge sharper than steel. The weight of this crystallized aura bolstered his strikes, adding a deadly momentum with every swing. Across from him, the Troll King used his earth magic to conjure a suit of rock-plated armor, stones fusing seamlessly across his body, each plate connected by tendrils of living vines. At his feet, the ground molded and shifted, lending speed and fluidity to his movements as he prepared to meet the Orc King’s next assault.
With a feral roar, the Orc King launched himself forward, swinging his cleaver in a low, sweeping arc. The crystalline blade sparked as it sliced through the air, aiming to sever the Troll King’s legs. The Troll King responded in an instant, pressing his foot down to create a stone ramp beneath him, propelling himself up and over the cleaver. In mid-air, he twisted his body, driving his massive spiked club downward toward the Orc King’s head.
The Orc King raised his cleaver above him just in time, the two weapons clashing with a force that sent shockwaves through the ground. He shoved upward, forcing the Troll King to stumble back as he landed, and immediately followed with a relentless series of strikes. Each swing was calculated, powerful, and aimed at breaking through the Troll King’s stone armor. Left, right, and downwards, the Orc King’s strikes came in rapid succession, forcing the Troll King to defend as he took careful steps backward, parrying each attack by angling his club and adjusting his stance.
In a strategic move, the Troll King planted one foot firmly into the ground, then twisted, shifting a section of earth beneath the Orc King’s feet. The ground tilted sharply, throwing off the Orc King’s balance. Sensing an opening, the Troll King darted in, using his enhanced speed to close the distance in a heartbeat. He drove his fist into the Orc King’s crystallized armor with a thunderous impact, then followed up with a knee to the Orc King’s gut, cracking a layer of the crystalline plating.
The Orc King grunted but quickly regained his footing, his aura crystallizing further to reinforce the damaged armor. In retaliation, he lashed out with a backhanded swing of his cleaver, forcing the Troll King to duck, then drove his knee into the Troll King’s chest, sending him staggering back. Using this brief pause, the Orc King pressed his advantage by unleashing a devastating overhead strike, putting his full weight into the blow.
The Troll King responded with a burst of earth magic, summoning a thick stone slab that erupted from the ground between them. The cleaver struck the stone, shattering it, but the Troll King used the explosion of debris as cover, darting to the side with surprising agility. As he re-emerged, he conjured a series of stone spikes from the ground and launched them toward the Orc King. The Orc King’s crystalline armor deflected several spikes, but a few lodged in vulnerable gaps, prompting a grunt of pain as he yanked them free.
Undeterred, the Orc King’s blood aura surged again, the crystal encasing him becoming thicker and sharper. He swung his cleaver upward, using the edge of his weapon to deflect the remaining stone shards, then charged forward. The ground trembled under his heavy steps, and his blade gleamed with raw energy as he aimed a massive diagonal slash at the Troll King’s shoulder.
The Troll King sidestepped, using his earth manipulation to shift the ground beneath him, moving as if he were gliding. He dodged the cleaver by mere inches and countered with a brutal roundhouse swing of his club, aiming for the Orc King’s exposed side. The Orc King twisted, raising his arm to block, and the club struck his crystal armor with a resounding crack. Shards flew, but he held steady, gritting his teeth as he redirected the force and swung his cleaver in a tight, controlled arc toward the Troll King’s midsection.
In an impressive display of speed, the Troll King leaned back, letting the blade pass mere inches from his chest. Using his connection to the earth, he stomped, creating a tremor that forced the Orc King to step back. Taking advantage of the moment, the Troll King pressed his hands to the ground and summoned a set of spiked roots that erupted from the earth, wrapping around the Orc King’s legs and momentarily binding him.
The Orc King growled, the red aura around him intensifying as he shattered the roots with sheer strength, breaking free in a flash. He raised his cleaver, charging forward and unleashing a flurry of powerful strikes. Each swing was precise, heavy, and brutal, forcing the Troll King into a defensive retreat. The Troll King struggled under the onslaught but managed to evade or deflect most blows by manipulating the ground beneath his feet, shifting and sliding with each strike to lessen the impact.
With each clash, both kings grew more determined, their blows harder and faster, their movements sharper. The Orc King’s crystallized cleaver pulsed with raw energy, and he channeled it into a deadly horizontal slash aimed at cleaving the Troll King in two. The Troll King raised his club to parry, but the force of the impact shattered a section of his stone armor, causing him to stumble. Roaring, he called upon the earth beneath him, absorbing energy that fortified his armor and closed the gap in his defenses.
He retaliated by slamming his club down, aiming for the Orc King’s shoulder. But the Orc King pivoted, narrowly avoiding the attack, and countered with a powerful upward slash that caught the Troll King across his side, drawing blood. The Troll King staggered but steadied himself, his eyes narrowing as he summoned his strength and brought his spiked club around in a brutal arc toward the Orc King’s chest.
In a fluid motion, the Orc King raised his cleaver to block, sparks flying as metal met crystal and stone. They pushed against each other, muscles straining, their breaths coming heavy as they sought to overpower each other. The ground around them quaked from the sheer force of their struggle, a testament to their will and the unbreakable resolve driving each of them to push beyond their limits.
