## Chapter 139 – Arena Barbarian
The clash of metal sent sparks flying.
ㅡClang!
My full-force sword strike was blocked by Bulverza’s axe blade. This bastard blocked my attack with one hand? A brief probe, followed by a series of attacks. I twisted the blade, wrapping it around, aiming for the orc’s wrist.
ㅡSwish!
The essence of swordsmanship isn’t in the cut.
It’s in the flow after the cut, wrapping the sword around like water, thrusting in to disarm the opponent. The brutal training with Karin, a hefty investment of 10 silver, was etched into my very being.
Truly, the realm of the mind-sword.
If an attack fails, attack again. ㅡClang! Clang! Clang! But my attacks were useless. They were blocked, one after another. Bulverza skillfully deflected my snake-like blade with his club and hand axe.
This guy… he’s skilled!
“Shweeeeeek!”
Swish! Bulverza, seizing the moment, swung his hand axe in a short arc. It was just a hand axe in his hand, but the attack seemed enormous, like a murderous fisherman casting a deadly net.
“Kyuwaaaaaaaaak!!!!!!”
Screaming as if to shatter the world, I leaned back, narrowly dodging the attack. ㅡBulverza followed with a relentless assault. Before I could regain my stance, his club hurtled toward my upper body.
ㅡThwack!
“Kuh-ack!”
I instantly raised my arm to defend. A heavy impact reverberated through my arm. Despite wearing scale armor, I felt a pain that threatened to shatter my forearm.
But the attack didn’t end with one blow. Bulverza raised his hand axe again. And like a guillotine, the axe blade fell.
“You, you son of a bitch!!”
Suppressing the pain, I raised my sword to deflect the attack. ㅡClang! Sparks flew once more. I was lucky. A gap appeared in the narrowly deflected attack.
ㅡI won’t miss it.
“Die!”
Regaining my balance, I brought the raised sword down like lightning. If this attack lands, it’ll inflict a serious wound. If I can just induce excessive bleeding, I can win by simply running away!
“Shweeeeeeeek!!!”
In that moment of life and death, Bulverza recoiled his hands, crossing his weapons in a defensive stance ㅡHa! Foolish! With such a clumsy stance, there’s no way he can block my two-handed strike!
I’ll shatter his defense and split his head open…
ㅡClang!
“What!”
The blade didn’t cleave Bulverza’s skull. With a shocking metallic sound, my sword was pushed back instead.
“This, this motherfucking cock!”
I’m being overpowered?
My judgment faltered for a moment at the unbelievable situation. Not only had Bulverza blocked my attack, but he was now pushing me back. Shweeeek! The orc’s foul laughter grew closer. The one-eyed Bulverza was grinning at me.
A killer smile. No!
A slaughter smile!
ㅡBang!
“Kuh-ack!”
I was sent flying.
I momentarily lost my balance and almost fell backward, but I simply rolled back to avoid the danger. Thud, thud, thud! Sensing the threat, I rapidly backstepped, putting distance between myself and Bulverza.
“Shit… almost died there.”
I caught my breath.
I was overpowered. To think there’d be an opponent who could overwhelm me with sheer size. Fighting weak enemies had dulled my senses.
I never imagined I’d be overpowered.
If that’s the case, then instead of trying to overwhelm the enemy with my physique, I should use something else to attack.
My brain raced to its limit in the fight against this formidable foe. I analyzed the situation. But shit, I’m too stupid to figure out what to do. I’m screwed.
With no other choice, I slowly backed away.
“Shweek, shweek.”
Bulverza simply advanced slowly toward me. The one-eyed orc, who had seemed like nothing more than a green idiot just moments ago, now appeared like a moving fortress.
There are no openings.
I’m at a disadvantage in close combat. What am I better at than him? Maybe the length of my sword and my height. Is my arm length slightly longer? I don’t know. Should I just use the length of my sword to chip away at him with quick strikes?
…No.
I could tell from our earlier clash.
Those kinds of tricks won’t work on him.
That orc was a ‘warrior.’
“Shweek!”
Bulverza snorted aggressively.
ㅡA clear provocation.
“…You son of a bitch.”
ㅡThud.
Backing away, my back hit the wall. I’ve already been cornered? Bulverza’s eyes gleamed like a monster about to devour its meal… This is fucked!
“Ah! Barbarian Katt! Is this where you fall?! The barbarian hasn’t been able to do anything against Bulverza since the beginning! Is it impossible for even a savage warrior to defeat an orc?!”
The announcer shouted excitedly.
Her voice, as if wishing for my death, ignited my murderous intent. That bitch! I’m about to die, and she’s talking like that? You’re dead, you whore!
ㅡBulverza! Bulverza!
ㅡExecute! Execute!
ㅡWoooooah!
The audience also wanted the barbarian, who had been so fierce, to die. That was the ‘impact,’ after all. You goddamn bastards. They flip their hands like they’re swatting away flies.
In that seemingly frozen moment, I strained my eyesight to the limit, searching for a way out. What? What can I do to defeat an opponent stronger than me? No, he’s not just stronger. The orc’s skill in wielding that club and hand axe was clearly superior to mine.
Isn’t he just a stronger opponent?
What…
“Kuh…”
Bulverza was getting closer and closer.
What can I do to win? At least…
Wait.
That’s when something caught my eye.
“…Gravel?”
It was gravel at my feet.
The arena floor was made of sand. But the edges, where these large walls stood, had patches of gravel remaining. Did they clear the stones away from the center? The gravel varied in size, from pebbles perfect for throwing to ones that looked good enough to chew on.
It was a gravel pyramid. The smallest grains were at the bottom, with larger gravel on top of them. And even larger gravel on top of that. This was a gravel yard.
“Gravel!”
ㅡSwish!
There was no need to think any further. I contracted my leg muscles to the limit and explosively ran along the edge. Now is the time to get away from Bulverza!
“Ah! The barbarian is running awayyyy!!!! Is he no match for the orc after alllll?! Death! It’s death! The savage warrior will meet his death without defeating Bulverza!!”
Shut the hell up.
I just found a way out.
“Shweek.”
I looked back. Bulverza was simply advancing slowly toward me. Can’t he run? Or does he not need to chase? It doesn’t matter. Bulverza will soon regret not running.
At a safe distance, I stopped.
And picked up a piece of gravel that was easy to grip.
I recalled my baseball memories.
As a boy, I was known as the hyper pitcher Kim Geun-tae. As the word ‘hyper’ suggests, I was just a pitcher who was popular among boys of that age, but I was different now that I was an adult and a warrior.
ㅡSwish.
I tossed the gravel slightly upward and caught it in mid-air.
It felt good in my hand. Bulverza walked closer. Could it be that the orc’s small brain couldn’t understand my actions? He still seemed relaxed.
“I’ll show you hell.”
I raised my arm.
I extended my leg.
ㅡAnd.
“Projectile Meteor Strikeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!”
I threw the gravel.
ㅡWhoosh!!
The gravel, slicing through the air, rotated fiercely as it flew toward Bulverza. Bulverza, who had been walking, paused. And, ㅡThwack! The sound of flesh tearing was heard, along with the orc’s scream. I immediately prepared the next stone.
“Sh, shweek!”
Bulverza raised both arms to protect his vitals. The gravel struck his arm and flew off into the distance.
No matter how strong orcs are as a race, they are still made of bones and flesh. So there’s no way they wouldn’t feel pain from being hit by a stone thrown with tremendous energy. It’s common sense that it would cause muscle rupture and even break bones.
ㅡWhoosh!
Sensing the danger, Bulverza kicked off the ground. But
ㅡToo late.
I was already prepared with the next stone.
I raised my arm and fired againㅡ
“Shweek!”
Bulverza immediately performed an evasive maneuver in response to my movement. The orc’s enlarged belly jiggled. His center of gravity was thrown off by the sudden change in trajectory, and at that momentㅡ
“ㅡIt’s a feint, you idiot!”
I threw the gravel.
The previous gesture was just a feint.
ㅡWhoosh!
Bulverza paused and hurriedly raised his arm. But.
ㅡThwack!
“Shweek!”
This time, it hit his abdomen. Magic Missile! Bulverza, dropping his mace, clutched his abdomen. I thought the impact must have reached his internal organs,
But you can’t stop now.
Because I already had the next gravel in my hand.
“Ah, ah!! The barbarian! The barbarian is finally!!! Finally finally finally finallyyy!!! He has regressed to the extreme!!! A return to the primitive!!! Like the first humans, he threw a stone!!!! This isn’t a barbarian, it’s just a primitive man!!!”
ㅡCowardly! Cowardly!
ㅡWhat are you doing!
ㅡFoul! It’s a foul!!!
The announcer was horrified, and the audience jeered. Certainly, there haven’t been any gladiators who fought by throwing stones until now. Good, curse me.
This is my ‘impact.’
I threw the gravel again. This time, it was his elbow. Shweek! Another scream erupted. Bulverza, not even thinking about retrieving the club he had thrown away, charged toward me. If he charges toward me? I’ll run away too. With gravel in hand.
My running speed was superior. Melee dealers are slower than ranged dealers. In that case, he can never catch me, and he can’t deal with it either.
“Die!”
Whoosh! I threw a curveball. The gravel, flying low as if running along the ground, suddenly changed course and embedded itself in Bulverza’s thigh.
“Shweek!”
The old orc’s scream erupted. Respect for the elderly, no!
“Old man assault!”
I picked up gravel and threw it again. I threw and threw and threw. In Iran, there is still a culture of stoning women to death that is explosively popular. I don’t want to follow that evil practice, but I threw stones to survive.
“Dejaaaaaaaat!”
I was a baseball boy.
I’m just a person who feels good just by throwing something. Bulverza began to collapse. I was completely excited and pelted him with stones. Right now, I was a talented pitcher and an orc slayer!
“Shweeeeeek!!”
However, stoning couldn’t end the orc’s life. The bloodied orc, completely consumed by rage, raised his hand axe and charged. A reckless charge. That instantaneous speed, completely abandoning defense, surpassed my running speed!
Run away again? No.
I was a little late.
I grabbed the hilt of the sword that I had stuck in the ground.
I’ve reduced his HP.
I also succeeded in driving the boss into a frenzy.
Then it’s worth taking a chance.
I took a breath.
“ㅡKkieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!”
And released it. “Shweeeek!!” A large motion. Bulverza raised his hand axe and drew a clear crescent. The blade of the axe, honed to the extreme, reflected the sunlight and sparkled. For some reason, it seemed to be moving slowly. As a fanatical confidence surged, things I hadn’t thought of began to come into view.
My senses expanded.
I read the winning move.
ㅡSwish!
This emotion, slowly rising from the depths of my heart, was definitely.
Weakling contempt.
“You eyeㅡdisabilityㅡ!!!!!!!”
Bulverza is one-eyed. His left eye is completely crushed, to the point where he can’t see. According to the announcer, he’s dying from complications because of this. This is a fight that may be his last match.
His left eye is blind.
Doesn’t that mean that’s his blind spot?
“You bastarddddd!!!”
To the right.
Then I’ll dig into the right.
“Shweek?!”
In that moment, ‘I’ disappeared from Bulverza’s world.
The axe blade, swung with all its might, cut through the air. ㅡThe match was decided. I, who had dug into Bulverza’s blind spot, turned the blade and stabbed it into the old orc’s completely exposed back.
“Shweeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!!”
Bulverza’s scream erupted.
“Thousand Demon Art.”
I pulled out the sword.
“Rear Naked Choke.”
I grabbed the struggling Bulverza.
