Sun's Blessing

No matter how cunning the Ogres were, it could not change their weakness of being slow-moving. As long as he targeted that weakness, he definitely had a chance!

The battle became even more difficult. The Ogre no longer attacked recklessly and exposed openings, while Harrot found it hard to strike.

In the end, Harrot came up with a plan: circle around it and keep it entangled!

Harrot moved at full speed, circling around the Ogre's body. The Ogre was already slow, and with its groin injured, its legs became even more cumbersome.

It truly could not keep up with Harrot's speed. Harrot constantly darted into the Ogre's blind spots and launched rapid attacks.

The Ogre howled in pain. Harrot was like an agile monkey, darting around it, and it simply could not catch him!

Harrot moved and attacked with all his strength while watching the Ogre's turning direction and low kicks. The pressure on him was immense.

He could only hope the Ogre would fall soon. He could not sustain such intense, nonstop exertion and could only hope he could last longer than it.

After taking several blows, the Ogre also realized it could not keep turning after Harrot. It had to rely on luck!

The Ogre threw aside its wooden club, wildly swung both hands, and spun its body erratically. Finally, one punch struck Harrot before he could dodge.

-22, HP: 2850

Harrot cried out in pain and was sent flying. Fortunately, the Ogre could not put much force into such wild attacks. Its strength was only seven or eight times that of a human, nowhere near as monstrous as a troll's.

Although Harrot had been sent flying by that punch, the "+30 Armor" buffered the blow, and he had not lost his fighting ability.

Harrot tightened his grip on the greatsword and hurriedly got to his feet. The Ogre was already charging toward him excitedly.

The Ogre was covered in blood. It had taken more than a dozen of Harrot's sword strikes. Though none of them were very deep, the combined wounds had left it seriously injured.

The Ogre charged right up to him. Harrot had no time to dodge again. He swallowed the blood in his mouth, planted his feet firmly, and steeled himself as he swung at the Ogre with all his strength.

"Come on, monster!"

The Ogre had thrown its wooden club aside long ago and now attacked Harrot barehanded.

Facing Harrot's attack, it casually raised its left hand to block while clenching its right hand into a fist and smashing it toward Harrot. How much power could one slash from a little monkey possibly have?

It soon learned the answer. The power of that slash far exceeded its expectations. Harrot actually severed the Ogre's left hand, and blood sprayed out, drenching Harrot from head to toe.

Harrot, meanwhile, took the Ogre's iron fist head-on—a fist larger than his head.

-22, HP: 650

"Pfft! Cough, cough..." Harrot's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. That punch broke several of his bones and shook his internal organs, but he had endured it!

His semi-datafied body allowed him to retain fighting ability even with barely any health left. He could keep fighting!

Ignoring his injuries, Harrot swung his greatsword with all his strength, chopping the Ogre's chest into a bloody mess and forcing its massive body back several steps!

"Die, monster! Die! Die! Die!"

Harrot shouted at the top of his lungs, swinging the greatsword again and again at the Ogre. His hands were drenched in blood from the backlash of the Ogre's blocks, but he did not care in the slightest.

His previous attacks had all been delivered while moving at high speed, leaving him in awkward positions that made it difficult to unleash his tremendous strength and destructive power. He was not used to fighting that way.

Now that the Ogre had thrown away its huge club, Harrot could finally gain a slight advantage in a direct confrontation. He had to press his advantage and bring it down!

The Ogre wailed as it retreated again and again. It could not understand how the enemy that had been hopping around like a monkey moments ago had suddenly become so ferocious. Every casual slash left it in agony.

If expressed as attributes, the Ogre's strength was 50 points, while Harrot's strength when attacking was only a little over 40. The main reason he could force the Ogre back again and again was his weapon.

Barehanded, the Ogre could hardly face Harrot's sword head-on and could only defend and retreat. If it still had its club, a single blow would have sent both Harrot and his sword flying!

The more Harrot chopped, the more fired up he became. "+30 Defense" helped him withstand much of the backlash, while Weapon Mastery let him wield his weapon with ease. He barely paused to recover or withdraw his strikes, fighting more fiercely with every exchange like a mad dog.

The first few strikes merely cut through the Ogre's flesh, but later, every slash reached bone, sending splinters of bone flying.

The Ogre's pain and fear overwhelmed its anger, and it desperately kept dodging backward to flee.

Harrot pursued mercilessly, slashing left, slashing right, slashing left, slashing right, whirling the greatsword in his hand like a windmill!

Harrot had completely shed his previous sorry state of rolling across the ground and fleeing in every direction. The once savage and berserk Ogre had become nothing more than a punching bag, hacked apart by Harrot without any ability to fight back.

"Die!"

His momentum had reached its peak, and the fighting spirit in his chest surged higher than ever. Harrot's mental state had never been better as he unleashed his ultimate move.

Dragon Slaying Sword Qi!

A streak of white sword qi flew from the greatsword. It was more powerful and faster than the sword qi he had used at the Training Ground that night.

The sword qi struck the Ogre squarely. Its power was fierce and unstoppable, cleaving the already dying Ogre cleanly in two!

The Ogre's nearly one-ton body split in half and collapsed to either side, blood gushing out and staining the ground red.

Experience +800, level increased to 7!

Harrot stood amid the pool of blood, one foot on the Ogre's corpse. Covered in blood, he raised his greatsword high and roared, looking every bit like a god of war!

The entire audience, including the noble lords, was stunned. He had actually hacked down an Ogre head-on?

At that moment, a beam of sunlight descended vertically from the sky onto Harrot. He felt incomparably warm and comfortable.

The sunlight lasted only a dozen seconds. When it ended, all of Harrot's injuries had healed completely. His mind felt incredibly alert, and his entire body brimmed with strength. Harrot was astonished by the miraculous scene.

The spectators cheered for Harrot and shouted about Sun's Blessing. The nobles in the VIP seats also cried out in surprise:

"An awakening of bloodline! No, that's not right. Awakening a bloodline would bring other extraordinary phenomena as well!"

"This is Sun's Blessing. He defeated an Ogre alone, and this heroic feat has been rewarded by the sun!"

"When was the last time I saw Sun's Blessing? I think it was on the battlefield in the Kiat Empire. This kid is incredible!"

Count Sarik also revealed a rare look of surprise.

Sun's Blessing. The reason this world had no chaotic assortment of divine faiths was because the sun's radiance covered the land. The sun was the best faith of all.

It was said that all energy and all life in the world originated from the sun.

Any living being had the chance to receive Sun's Blessing. The Heroic Bloodline of nobles was also bestowed by the sun!

Marcus gave Harrot a thumbs-up before returning to his seat. He said to Count Sarik, "That guy received Sun's Blessing. No matter what crimes he committed, he can be pardoned, and his slave status must be revoked! Don't pretend you don't know!"

Count Sarik snorted and replied, "Of course I know. I don't need you to tell me!"

Count Sarik had actually wanted to use his status as the owner of the Gladiatorial Arena to make Harrot's freedom another condition for winning him over. Now that Marcus had brought it up, he could only abandon the idea.

His younger brother Marcus never gave him any face. If he still tried to deceive Harrot, Marcus would only expose him and make things worse.

Listening to the spectators shout about "Sun's Blessing," then recalling how the various races of this world generally worshipped the sun, Harrot came up with a bold guess.

Harrot planted his greatsword in the ground and roared, "Praise the sun!"

He had originally thought that the nobles of this world were simply too powerful, causing Divine Power to decline so that people could only worship something like the sun without being suppressed.

But damn it, the sun was not some made-up thing. It really was a great god that shone upon all creation!

Surviving a great disaster would surely bring future blessings, Harrot thought happily.

After being bathed in the sun's dazzling radiance, Harrot's attribute panel underwent enormous changes.

Level 7, Defense 30

HP 5858 (35 base, 23 Strength bonus)

Strength 23

Agility 13 (14-1)

Intelligence 9

Charisma 10

Free attribute points 1

Skills... Free skill points 1

Not only had the maximum health he had lost for various reasons been completely restored, he had also gained an additional 2 Strength, 2 Agility, and 3 Charisma!

More importantly, there was the notification below.

The system has been infused with unknown energy and upgraded. "Achievement System" unlocked.

Now, besides the character panel, inventory, and character list, Harrot's system interface had gained an achievement tab. When he opened it, he found that he already had two achievements.

Ogre Slayer: Kill an Ogre alone. Reward: "Ogre Gauntlets."

Sun's Blessing: Receive the sun's blessing. Reward: "Sun Orb."

Ogre Gauntlets: +12 Defense, +1 Strength.

Sun Orb: Valuable item. Effect unknown.

Harrot had no time to study the system's new changes when The Bald Man rushed over, wrapped a muscular arm around Harrot's neck, and shouted excitedly, "Well done, brother! You really defeated an Ogre, and you even received Sun's Blessing!"

Harrot noticed tears in The Bald Man's eyes and could not help feeling touched. Still, he said calmly, "It was only an Ogre. I never took it seriously. Why are you so excited?"

Harrot had completely forgotten the pitiful sight of himself trembling in despair after being frightened by the Ogre at the beginning.

The Bald Man pulled Harrot away to celebrate. Harrot had survived a great disaster and instead gained a great deal. He also wanted to share the joy in his heart, so of course he would feast and have a few drinks with this good brother.

As for the red-haired noble who had given him the sword, that noble would come looking for him again later. He would think of a way to repay him then.