Gladiatorial Combat

At this moment, the interaction between Blade Tusk and the moose leader finally drew the other Trolls' attention. Several Witch Doctors stepped forward to ask what he intended, only then learning of the possibility of "cavalry."

With expressions that said, "So it can be done like this," the Witch Doctors organized the warriors according to Blade Tusk's instructions. The hunters formed a circular shield wall, creating an arena for him.

The shield-bearing warriors stood in the inner ring, using massive shields that could block nearly half their bodies to form the "wall itself."

The more numerous hunters stood in the outer ring, bracing their arms against the backs of the warriors in front of them as the "wall's support."

By the time the shield wall took shape, most of the moose leader's restraints had already been removed.

Stubbornly, the instant it could stand, it pushed itself upright on all four hooves.

Anger flashed in its eyes as it stared at Blade Tusk before struggling, trying to break free of the remaining vines.

"Maybe you can't understand what I'm saying, but you must possess intelligence. Look around! Look at my mighty warriors, my friend."

Whether the moose leader could understand Blade Tusk's words remained unknown, but its gaze did follow his as it swept around the area.

Then it quieted down. But this quiet was not resignation—the fire of fury still burned clearly in its eyes, and its fighting spirit remained ablaze.

Seeing its appearance, Blade Tusk was not angered but delighted. This beast's intelligence held tremendous promise.

He kept the last of the moose leader's restraints in place while continuously staring into its eyes and backing away step by step. Only when nearly forty meters separated them did he finally stop.

At this point, the shield wall was four or five meters behind him, and he could clearly hear the warriors' heavy, powerful breathing.

The Trolls forming the inner and outer layers of the wall also understood, from this preparation that resembled a "gladiatorial match," what was about to happen.

This Witch Doctor, famed for his wisdom, was actually planning to fight this huge fellow?

"Brawn is beauty, big is good, strength is right"—this had always been the truth upheld by the tribe.

Though in recent years, with the rise of the Witch Doctors, that belief had faintly begun to waver under outside influence. Yet ice three feet thick is not formed in a single day; the ideal of revering bravery still ran deep in the hearts of the Trolls.

And so, at this moment, they grew excited.

The warriors thrust their weapons over the tops of their giant shields and beat desperately upon the Steelwood shields, producing wave after wave of clanging metal. The hunters joined in with shouts.

Thud, thud, thud.

"Ha! Ha!"

Thud, thud, thud.

"Ha! Ha!"

Thud, thud, thud.

"Ha! Ha!"

The sounds gradually formed surging waves that rolled deep into the forest, their tremors frightening off crowds of large and small animals that had no idea what was happening.

Within those sound waves, the moose leader inside the ring was affected even more strongly.

But rather than being frightened, it became increasingly agitated and enraged.

Its four hooves constantly pawed at the ground, the muscles all over its body gradually tensing. It tilted its head, aiming those two racks of antlers straight at Blade Tusk.

In short, it looked ready to gore its opponent to death at any moment.

Naturally, Blade Tusk could not possibly be unprepared in the face of such a threat.

Originally, he had planned to "ride it into submission," like taming a wild horse. But considering all the uncertainties of stamina, effectiveness, and more, he had ultimately decided to confront it head-on—to beat it into submission in the most direct way possible, fist against flesh.

Since Blade Tusk had made that choice, he naturally had the confidence to back it up.

First, Witch Doctors were a dual-balanced "profession" whose physiques and spirits developed in tandem. Blade Tusk was one of the best among Witch Doctors, which already gave him first-rate physical qualities stronger than those of the vast majority of warriors.

Second, after several recent months of work like an ox or horse, his body had gained several more "purple skin" boosts. His overall abilities were now nearly comparable to those of the very strongest First Consul.

Third, although the effects of similar spells diminished when stacked, they still provided an enormous boost.

Brute Force Spell, Giant Strength Spell, Localized Hardening, Agility Enhancement, Buffering.

He cast nearly every physique-enhancing spell without a weakening period, as well as every defensive spell the tribe possessed, all over himself.

Once all preparations were complete, Blade Tusk undid the moose leader's final restraint from afar.

The leader, which had long been poised to strike, did not hesitate either. It immediately unleashed its innate ability.

Blade Tusk had long understood that he absolutely could not dodge this first attack. How could he have been unprepared?

Many of the spells he had prepared earlier were specifically meant to deal with this first blow.

Moreover, at the very last moment before releasing the restraints, he had applied a delayed-effect spell to guard against the most likely scenario.

The instant the red light flared as he had expected, Blade Tusk let out a breath of relief—then lowered his head and charged straight into it of his own accord.

In almost the blink of an eye, at the very center of the arena, nearer to Blade Tusk's starting point, two figures differing by nearly an entire size class crashed brutally into one another.

BOOM!!

Clouds of dust erupted and spread outward from the point of impact. After a thunderclap-like roar, the two figures were thrown back by the recoil, each retreating a different distance.

The one sent farther was, without question, Blade Tusk. The enormous disparity in weight and acceleration had put him at an obvious disadvantage in the collision.

His body flew straight back, only stopping when it slammed heavily into the shield wall.

That blow even made the shield wall tremble.

The warriors' and hunters' cheers involuntarily fell silent, and every Troll looked at him in concern.

A few hotheads, such as Meiya, snatched up weapons and tried to rush in to help. It took the Witch Doctor's intervention, along with Blade Tusk's and the moose leader's subsequent reactions, to finally talk them down.

Blade Tusk, who had crashed into the giant shield and bounced back, did not immediately lie there playing dead. The dizziness and other ill effects caused by the collision of their heads were cleared away by the Delayed Clarity Spell. After only a brief pause, he flipped himself back to his feet.

The Trolls seemed inspired by his resilience. Their cheers, which had stopped before, rose again and quickly merged into a roaring wave.

Blade Tusk had no time to respond. He knew time was not on his side. Not only did each enhanced spell have its own "shelf life," but the moose leader's charge would soon come again.

Blade Tusk understood that this was both a crisis and an opportunity.

The danger was that he could no longer shrug off its charge almost unscathed as he had before, because there was no longer time to prepare so many one-use defenses.

As for the opportunity... at the tribe's entrance earlier, he had noticed that between two consecutive charges, the moose leader would enter an extremely brief period of stiffness. Back then, he had seized that instant to cast the Vine Spell.

This time, however, in order to make this fellow truly concede defeat, he decided to forgo conspicuous outward-casting spells. He would not use vines to restrain it, but he had another strategy.

In short, he absolutely could not let this fellow launch a second charge.

Seizing that fleeting chance, propelled by the Windwalking Spell and a few other agility- and speed-enhancing spells, he made a snap decision and rushed before the moose leader, whose stiffness had already ended and whose head was already glowing red with the signs of another charge. At the critical moment, he leaped up and swung a full-power hook into its forehead.

The moose leader staggered from the blow. Though it steadied itself and did not fall, the red glow above its head was successfully interrupted.

But it was not over yet. The moose leader was still perfectly fine.

Blade Tusk jumped again and threw a left hook, knocking its head down to the left;

Then, before landing, he drove his waist and abdomen into a knee strike, smashing the moose leader's head sharply upward to the left.

The collision between knee and skull accelerated Blade Tusk's descent. The instant one foot touched the ground, he twisted at top speed, borrowing the force to launch a reverse kick.

His body, strengthened again and again by spells, did not disappoint him at the limit. His planted left leg was powerful and steady, while the waist and abdomen at the core of his movement were even stronger.

In the end, all that power gathered in his right leg and slammed viciously into the moose leader's head as it "voluntarily" came to meet it.

Bang!

Boom!

The moose leader fell, its heavy body dragged down by its own head and crashing onto the ground.

"Blade Tusk!!! Warrior!!"

"Blade Tusk!!! Warrior!!"

"Blade Tusk!!! Warrior!!"

Cheers rose one after another. Amid the warriors' unified cries, his name rang through the Black Forest alongside the last light before nightfall.

Things have been a little busy these past two days, so the next chapter will be later.

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