Glory

Orc.

Xia Lin had only heard of these things from the drunken old-timers at the Adventurer's Guild.

Green-skinned, fanged, worshipping the one-eyed main god Gruumsh, chaotic by nature, fond of plunder and war, usually only appearing in groups in the wilds east of the kingdom or in some godforsaken deep mountains.

Appearing in the heartland of the Aria Kingdom to attack a merchant caravan heading to the provincial capital? This felt incredibly wrong.

It was like hearing that Ogres had started studying celestial mechanics, or that Cyclopes had learned to write sonnets; it made one feel like something was a little off with the world.

But these green-skinned monsters, brandishing bloody battle axes and roaring as they charged, wouldn't give you time to ponder geopolitics or migration patterns.

When the Orc leader, clad in piecemeal plate armor, joined the fray with his reinforcements, the tide of battle immediately turned.

Seven or eight fresh troops crashed in like heavy hammers. The two remaining caravan guards couldn't even mount a proper resistance before being chopped into pieces by furious axe blades amidst sickening bone-cracking sounds and screams.

Shamir's face was pale, but professional instinct made her quickly raise her longbow, her icy killing intent re-forming.

"Swish!" Another feathered arrow left the string, aimed directly at the Orc leader's eyes.

The leader merely snorted contemptuously, not even bothering to look at the incoming arrow. He casually picked up a stone from the ground, his arm muscles bulging as he hurled it like a catapult!

The stone whistled through the air, arriving faster than the arrow, and struck precisely towards Shamir!

"Careful!" Xia Lin only managed to half-shout.

Shamir's pupils contracted. At the last possible moment, she lunged sideways in an extreme dive, clumsy but effective.

The whistling stone grazed her scalp as it flew past. The gust of wind even broke the leather tie of her high ponytail, her black hair cascading down like a waterfall, covering half her face etched with horror.

She rolled on the ground, taking cover behind a cargo cart, her chest heaving. The hand holding her bow trembled uncontrollably.

"This is still an Orc?!" Xia Lin cursed inwardly, but his longsword didn't stop moving.

He weaved through the chaotic battlefield like a slippery loach.

The Orc leader's attention was clearly not on "small fry" like him. Using carts and corpses for cover, he ghosted around behind an Orc that was hacking at Kyle's back.

His longsword extended silently, Pierce!

Squelch! The sword tip accurately pierced the gap under the Orc's armpit where there was no armor, and he twisted it viciously.

The Orc stiffened. Xia Lin immediately pulled his sword out and retreated, disappearing into the shadow of another cart, not even glancing at the collapsing corpse.

This was the third one he'd taken down.

Meanwhile, the Halfling Pip also played her part.

She ghosted to Kyle's side, her two daggers flashing up and down, constantly harassing the Orc attacking Kyle, forcing it to divide its attention and relieving much of Kyle's pressure.

"Roar!!!" Kyle's eyes turned bloodshot. He knew this couldn't go on; the stalemate had to be broken.

He took a deep breath, his arm muscles bulging. He raised his two-handed greatsword high above his head. The blade seemed to be covered in a heavy halo of power.

Using all his strength, he brought the greatsword down with earth-shattering force! In this strike, he abandoned all defense and technique, pursuing only ultimate power and destruction!

This was precisely the move many warriors comprehended when breaking through bottlenecks and nearing the threshold of true professional status—sacrificing accuracy for greater lethality.

Mighty Attack

"Clang!!!"

The greatsword smashed down onto an Orc's hastily raised axe, sending sparks flying!

The Orc's battle axe was directly cleaved away, and the arm holding it was also shattered, emitting a painful howl.

The might of Kyle's strike finally drew the attention of the Orc leader.

His cold eyes, filled with a glint of intelligence, fell upon Kyle. He sized him up, as if appraising an interesting toy.

"Stop!" the Orc leader suddenly growled in stiff but barely understandable Common.

The Orc Warriors who were surrounding Kyle, Xia Lin, and the others, though somewhat confused, immediately ceased their attacks. They retreated a few steps, revealing the open space in the middle, their fierce gazes fixed on these "prey."

The leader casually dropped the stone in his hand, which landed with a dull thud. He pounded his chest, covered in ill-fitting plate armor, with his massive fist, which was fitted with iron knuckle dusters, making a "bang bang" sound.

He pointed at Kyle, baring his yellow fangs, a look of mixed cruelty and admiration on his face. "You, good. Fight me."

A one-on-one duel?

Xia Lin paused for a moment, then understood.

This was an Orc tradition. For opponents who displayed strength and courage, they sometimes granted the "honor" of a one-on-one duel.

Of course, this honor usually ended with one party's gruesome death.

"Quick! Fall back to the carriages!" Xia Lin immediately whispered to Pip and the injured Sera, while pulling Shamir, who was still in a state of shock, towards the rear carts.

The merchant Borin was already close to soiling himself from fear. He peeked out from under a cart, his face deathly pale, his voice trembling. "Don't... don't be afraid! I've already... sent out a distress signal with the magic beacon! As long as... as long as we stall for time... the nearby patrol or other Adventurers will arrive soon!"

On the field, Kyle panted, his sword-wielding hand trembling slightly, but there was no trace of fear in his eyes. Instead, a resolute fighting spirit burned within them.

He knew this was their only chance of survival.

Without any wasted words, he adjusted his breathing, gripped his greatsword tightly with both hands, and launched the first attack!

He no longer used Mighty Attack. Instead, relying on his relatively agile human physique, he moved rapidly around the towering Orc leader, his greatsword slashing out like a storm, creating streaks of cold light, specifically targeting the joints and gaps on the Orc leader's body not covered by armor.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of rapid metal collisions rang out.

Kyle's attacks were like a storm, each sword strike sharp and vicious.

The Orc leader seemed caught off guard, or perhaps disdained to dodge, merely blocking casually with its thick arms or the haft of its axe.

For a time, Kyle actually held the upper hand, pressing the Orc leader back.

"Good! That's it! Hack him to death!" Pip, hiding behind the cart, couldn't help but cheer softly.

However, Xia Lin keenly sensed something was amiss.

Although the Orc leader had been blocking, and even sustained a few superficial cuts, its footing remained steady, its breathing even. In its cold eyes, there wasn't a trace of panic, only a growing impatience.

It was playing.

Kyle also saw through the Orc's intentions.

He abandoned his previous idea of relying on agility and maneuverability, pouring all his Strength, all his anger, all his hope into the next strike!

Ignoring his own exposed defenses, ignoring the Orc leader's abyssal cold gaze, his muscles bulged, veins writhing like earthworms beneath his skin.

The two-handed greatsword in his hands was raised high above his head. The blade hummed slightly under the immense power, and the surrounding air seemed to thicken with the condensed energy!

Mighty Attack!

The greatsword, carrying the force of a thunderbolt, cut through the air with a dull roar, slashing down towards the connection between Gorgash's crooked shoulder pauldrons and his neck!

The Orc leader didn't even move its feet, nor did it use its massive battle axe to block.

Just as the greatsword was about to fall, its wind already ruffling the coarse hairs on its forehead.

The Orc leader moved.

It casually raised its massive left fist, adorned with crude iron knuckle dusters, its arm muscles tensing sharply.

Then, with what seemed like a casual motion, it punched out towards the spine of the greatsword, which carried all of Kyle's Strength and was capable of cleaving rock!

The moment the fist met the sword's spine, there was no earth-shattering clash of metal as expected.

Only a muffled "thump!", like a heavy hammer striking wet mud.

Kyle felt a colossal force surge back through the blade, erupting like a volcano! The power was so pure, so brutal, it instantly shattered all the Strength he had gathered!

His arms felt like they'd been hit head-on by a battering ram. His bones let out a cry of overload, and he could no longer hold the greatsword. With a "clang," it flew from his grasp, tumbling like scrap metal and embedding itself in the muddy ground far away.

His entire body, propelled by the momentum of his charge and the recoil force, lost balance completely. His chest was wide open, and his face was still etched with the shock and despair of having his full-power attack so easily nullified.

Too slow, too weak.

The massive battle axe held in the Orc leader's other hand, with a speed and precision utterly unfitting its huge frame, shot up from below like a viper striking from its den!

No fancy techniques, only pure, unadulterated Strength and speed!

Schlick—!!!

The expression on Kyle's face froze. He looked down in disbelief.

The blood-stained battle axe had already severed his entire upper body cleanly at the waist!

Blood, entrails, and broken bones erupted like confetti at a festival, scattering across the grass.

Kyle's upper body, with a bewildered and pained expression, slid off his lower half and crashed heavily to the ground. It twitched twice before falling silent.

The Orc leader casually flicked the blood and gore from its axe blade, letting Kyle's still-standing lower half spray blood like a grotesque fountain.

It turned its head, its cold eyes sweeping over Xia Lin and the others, who were staring dumbfoundedly from behind the cart.

It bared its blood-stained mouth, revealing a row of fangs, and spoke in heavily accented but remarkably clear Common, word by word:

"This is what you call a Mighty Attack."