Chapter 851: The Great Battle of Mountain Beasts (30)
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.
The Orc King’s aura solidified further, encasing him in thick, crimson crystal armor that covered his shoulders, chest, and legs, granting him an almost impenetrable defense. His cleaver, now a terrifying blend of red crystal and steel, glowed ominously as he swung it with murderous intent. Opposite him, the Troll King had fortified his stone armor with earth magic, the rocks around him constantly shifting to close any cracks or breaches from the Orc King’s attacks. With each step, he used his control of the earth to root himself firmly or slide fluidly out of reach, channeling the land’s power to keep pace with his relentless foe.
With a guttural roar, the Orc King launched himself at the Troll King, cleaver raised high. He brought it down in a brutal overhead strike, aiming to split his opponent from shoulder to hip. The Troll King sidestepped, his stone armor grinding as he pivoted, barely evading the lethal edge. He countered immediately with a vicious horizontal swing of his spiked club, but the Orc King raised his forearm, letting the crystal armor absorb the blow as shards flew off. Without hesitation, the Orc King stepped in close, ramming his knee into the Troll King’s side. The force of the blow made the Troll King stagger, but he quickly grounded himself, using his magic to stabilize and recover, breathing heavily but undeterred.
The Troll King retaliated by conjuring a series of jagged stone spikes from the earth around him, launching them at the Orc King in rapid succession. The Orc King charged through them, the crystals on his armor absorbing the impact of the sharp stones as he broke through the barrage and closed the distance. With a primal snarl, he delivered a sweeping slash aimed at the Troll King’s neck. The Troll King ducked just in time, spinning low to deliver a powerful backhanded strike with his club aimed at the Orc King’s knee. The impact landed solidly, denting the Orc King’s armor and forcing him to drop to one knee.
But the Orc King was unyielding. He swung his cleaver upward from his lowered position, catching the Troll King across his stone-armored chest and cracking it. The Troll King staggered, feeling the shock of the blow resonate through him, but he quickly regained his footing. He stomped down, creating a fissure in the earth that split toward the Orc King. The ground crumbled beneath the Orc King’s feet, forcing him to jump to avoid the fall. Seizing the opening, the Troll King lashed out, aiming to crush him mid-air with a downward strike of his club. The Orc King twisted in the air, dodging the brunt of the attack, and retaliated with a brutal kick to the Troll King’s shoulder, using the momentum to land solidly on his feet.
As the fight continued, both kings were visibly wearing down, but their resolve burned fiercer than ever. The Orc King let out a roar, his crystallized cleaver flaring with raw energy as he swung it in a deadly arc aimed at the Troll King’s waist. The Troll King parried with his club, but the force of the blow cracked his stone armor even further, sending pain lancing through his body. Summoning the earth’s power, the Troll King reinforced his armor, filling in the gaps, and retaliated by launching a wave of earth spikes toward the Orc King’s chest.
The Orc King blocked most of them with his cleaver, but a few managed to pierce his armor, causing him to falter briefly. In that split second, the Troll King charged forward, swinging his club in a powerful uppercut aimed directly at the Orc King’s torso. The Orc King blocked the blow, but the impact sent him stumbling backward, his armor beginning to crumble from the repeated impacts.
Seeing his foe weakened, the Troll King gathered all his remaining strength, channeling his magic into one final, devastating strike. The earth trembled as he raised his spiked club overhead, infusing it with every ounce of power he had left. With a deafening roar, he brought the weapon down, aiming to finish the fight. The Orc King, blood-red crystals flickering dimly as he too reached his limits, raised his cleaver in a desperate block. The clash of their weapons sent shockwaves through the battlefield, and for a moment, it seemed that both kings might collapse from the sheer force of their final exchange.
But the Troll King’s blow proved to be the stronger. His club shattered the remnants of the Orc King’s crystallized armor, driving the cleaver from his hands and forcing the Orc King to his knees. The Troll King staggered, barely able to stand himself, but his grip on his club remained firm. He loomed over the defeated Orc King, breathing heavily as the echoes of their epic struggle faded.
With the Orc King vanquished, the Troll King, battered and exhausted but victorious, let out a final, triumphant roar, claiming the battlefield as his own. The sight of their leader’s defeat broke the orcs’ morale, and the remaining orc warriors scattered, leaving the Troll King and his few surviving warriors standing amidst the remnants of the fierce, unforgiving clash.
As the Troll King surveyed the battlefield, his gaze fell upon the remaining orc forces. The sight of their fallen king had shattered their morale. Panic swept through their ranks as the once-organized orc warriors broke into a chaotic retreat, desperation evident in their every step.
With a deep, guttural growl, the Troll King raised his spiked club high above his head and let out a thunderous war cry that reverberated across the field. His surviving warriors, inspired by their king’s victory and fury, joined in with primal roars of their own. Emboldened, the trolls surged forward, relentless and merciless, pursuing the fleeing orcs with renewed fury.
The trolls moved swiftly, their immense strides closing the distance as they hunted down the scattering orc forces. Some trolls swung their clubs in wide, devastating arcs, crushing groups of orcs in a single blow, while others stomped the earth to create tremors that knocked orcs off balance, leaving them defenseless. Those who stumbled were swiftly set upon, struck down with brutal efficiency by trolls who spared no mercy.
The Troll King himself led the charge, his presence a force of terror as he bore down on the orcs. With each swing of his mighty club, he felled clusters of orcs, the spikes rending armor and flesh alike. When orcs tried to regroup or turn to make a stand, he would drive into their ranks, scattering them once again, showing them that there would be no escape, no sanctuary.
For the remaining orcs, the battlefield became a slaughter. They cried out in vain, tripping over one another in their desperation to flee, but the Troll King’s forces encircled them from all sides, cutting off every escape route. Troll warriors flanked the orcs, collapsing inwards with ruthless precision and finality.
