## Chapter 265 – 265. Unidentified Gate (2)
#265. Unidentified Gate (2)
With magical beasts, even those of the same species often exhibit extreme differences between individuals.
Accordingly, magical beasts are classified into general individuals, elite individuals, sub-boss level individuals, and boss-level individuals.
The Minotaur, once called the nightmare of Crete, was a boss-level individual, but the Minotaur I defeated in the underground labyrinth was a sub-boss level individual.
However, the Orc Champion that appeared before my eyes was a truly undeniable, boss-level magical beast.
‘This reminds me of the special gate incident.’
At that moment, the High Orc Warriors guarding the Orc Champion all rushed towards me at once.
Thwack!
I dodged the attack by leaping backward. Dozens of streaks of light glittered in the dust scattering in all directions.
As befitting elite individuals, the power contained in their swords was considerable. Of course, they hadn’t mastered systematic swordsmanship, so dodging wasn’t too difficult.
But I chose to charge forward, covered in protective energy (護身氣) over my entire body.
‘Dodge what I can, block what I can’t.’
Fourth level of the Boundless Adamantine Body, the realm of so-called invulnerability to swords (刀劍不侵). Of course, it can’t block sword energy.
But with my vast internal energy as a foundation, I could thicken my protective energy enough to block the High Orc Warriors’ sword attacks.
Clang!
“Krrk?!”
“Kaaack!!”
Clearly, skin and blade collided, but the sound that echoed was metallic. Ignoring the Orcs who recoiled from the impact, I swung my sword at the Orc who had thrown a spear at me earlier.
A golden sword energy traced a path in the air.
Slash!
“Kuh-erk?!”
Tch, the leather was thicker than expected, so the cut was shallow. Considering the Orc’s regenerative abilities, it was just a scratch that would heal quickly.
Instinctively frowning, I prepared for the onslaught of other Orcs.
I had no intention of taking attacks head-on like before. Considering I had to face the Orc Champion, I needed to avoid attrition as much as possible.
Unleashing both the Boundless Step and Boundless Body simultaneously, I evaded the pouring attacks. But at that moment, I saw a sharp spear tip piercing through an opening.
I can’t dodge this.
Of course, I had no intention of taking it willingly either.
As I moved through the horde of nearly 100 High Orcs, the Adamantine Energy that had spread in all directions reacted simultaneously. In the sensation of the dominion over space shifting to me, a glint flashed in my eyes.
Boundless Sword Art (無相劍訣) Infinity (無窮).
It was an extreme range of 1.5 meters, but I was clearly dominating the space around me.
The spear tip that had been flying towards my solar plexus stopped in mid-air. I swung my sword at the bewildered Orc.
Swoosh-
‘One down for now.’
Immediately after, I released my grip on the sword hilt.
Crimson Lightning Qi, coursing through my entire body, roared fiercely. The lightning, imbued with extreme yang energy, soon reached a single point and extended towards the Orc.
Crimson Lightning Fist (赤雲雷拳).
Kwarumble!!
The red lightning boasted overwhelming destructive power, burning the Orc alive.
But it wasn’t over yet.
One of the things you must never forget when facing magical beasts is the finishing blow.
Especially since this one was a notoriously tenacious elite individual of the High Orcs.
The moment my fist touched the well-cooked shell, the Crimson Lightning Qi that had been spreading in all directions gathered back into one place.
Reverse Lightning Palm (逆雷掌).
-!!
Thunder that could collapse a cliff exploded inside the Orc’s body. The being that had been an Orc until just now turned into hundreds of pieces of flesh, scattering in all directions.
[8/10]
As soon as the notification appeared before my eyes, the space control was released. With two Orcs falling in an instant, the others charged with even more ferocious killing intent.
‘A greatsword, an axe, and a blunt weapon, huh.’
Bang, thwack, thud!
I exchanged blows, dodging or parrying the relentless attacks. As expected of Orcs, the power contained in each strike was no joke.
Perhaps because I had restricted my magic, it wasn’t easy to face their weapons head-on.
Besides, these Orcs, despite being extremely excited, didn’t just rush in recklessly.
Rather, based on their high intelligence, they covered each other’s gaps and displayed excellent teamwork.
I felt it every time, but Weakness Detection was indeed a double-edged sword. Perhaps because I received it as a trait exclusive to mages, it was useless except when reverse-engineering.
Clicking my tongue, I drew up Adamantine Energy.
I needed to break that teamwork first.
[Berserk]
The rate of stamina consumption increased, but my entire body overflowed with power.
Black flames rose above the sword’s blade.
The sword energy imbued with black flames created a bizarre streak of light.
‘Cut down a wide area at once.’
The moment I parried an attack, I deliberately took two steps back and took a stance.
Adamantine Energy, erupting like an explosion, shone within the black flames. Like a full moon rising in a night sky thick with clouds.
Boundless Sword Art (無相劍訣) Wide Moon (廣月).
-!
Following a single horizontal trajectory, the Orcs were split in half. With their eyes wide open, they met their deaths without even realizing the change that had occurred to them.
But there was still one left.
The Orc wielding the greatsword had used the flat of his blade to block the attack. Of course, he wasn’t unscathed.
“Cough!!”
I extended my fist once more towards the Orc who had vomited a mouthful of dark red blood. Even if he was going to die, he had to make up the numbers.
Crimson Lightning Fist (赤雲雷拳).
Thwack!
A fist imbued with red lightning pierced through the Orc’s solar plexus. And then, the release of lightning energy.
Zzzt!!
Even a High Orc with outstanding regenerative abilities wouldn’t be able to withstand being fried by lightning from the inside.
[9/10]
Thud-
With a smell like grilling pork, the giant body collapsed. I put my palms together towards the Orc’s corpse and chanted a Buddhist prayer.
I hope that in the next life, you’ll be reborn not as a pig that kills people, but as a livestock that gets eaten by people.
“Namu Amita Buddha.”
I casually shook off the blood on my sword and hands. Indeed, facing five B+ grade elite individuals with my magic restricted made me feel breathless.
But ironically, my mind was clearer than ever.
My senses had become extremely sensitive, to the point where I could clearly see even the subtle movements of insects crawling through the grass.
Then suddenly, the technique of the Boundless Sword Art I had just unleashed came to mind.
A clean strike without a trace of excess. Although it hadn’t cut down all the Orcs at once, it was the most complete of all the techniques I had unleashed so far.
‘How did I do that?’
With my magic restricted, I should be inferior in every way compared to usual. Not to mention, I couldn’t even receive the assistance of magic, let alone auxiliary magic.
The answer was surprisingly close.
I remembered what Duke Rutland had said.
-You have too many杂 thoughts. Discard them all.
He wasn’t talking about choosing and concentrating. He was telling me to completely exclude the option of magic when wielding a sword.
Until now, I had thought that if my sword was blocked, I could just respond with magic. And I had never once thought that was wrong.
It’s only natural for a mage to keep magic in mind.
But that complacent thought had made my sword dull.
Of course, that didn’t mean I shouldn’t use magic. It meant that at the moment of wielding the sword, I should pour all my focus solely into the sword. The same goes for magic.
At that moment, something flickered before my eyes.
I instinctively reached out to grab it.
Boom!!
But the intrusion of an uninvited guest cut off my concentration. The Orc Champion, who had been observing the situation from the hill, had jumped down.
The ground shook with his enormous bulk.
“Krrrl…”
He growled lowly, as if threatening me, but I only drew up my fighting spirit even further.
The magic power sleeping in a corner of my dantian reacted, writhing in response to the seething emotions.
“Kraaaaraaaack!!!”
Thump, thump, thump!
Whether it was reacting to my killing intent or not, the Orc Champion roared savagely and began to charge towards me. The ground shook with every step he took.
In a situation that felt like an earthquake, I quietly pointed my sword at him.
Whoosh!
Golden sword energy, imbued with black flames, surged up as if burning.
It could no longer be called sword energy.
It was sword fire (劍火).
“I’ve decided.”
I’ve decided to slice that pig bastard, who interrupted at a crucial moment and ruined everything, into thin slices and make pressed meat.
***
Bang, bang, thwack!!
The Orc Champion charged, swinging a giant blunt weapon as big as himself. Thanks to that, only the innocent ground was dented.
With the power to even cause small earthquakes, I had long abandoned the idea of facing him head-on. Evading him was the best option.
Despite his enormous size of 3 meters, the Orc Champion was much more agile than I had expected.
Of course, even so, he wasn’t fast enough to keep up with my speed. Besides, perhaps because he was only swinging a blunt weapon, most of his attacks were linear and monotonous.
But that didn’t mean he was an opponent to be taken lightly.
I briefly turned my gaze towards the remaining High Orcs nearby.
They were all keeping their distance and watching the situation, without taking any particular action. Perhaps they thought that their intrusion would only be a hindrance.
As expected of High Orcs, they were unnecessarily intelligent for magical beasts.
“Chwiiek!!”
Perhaps because he was extremely angry at me for slipping away like an eel so many times, the Orc Champion roared, making a sound like a rice cooker losing steam.
He grabbed the hammer with both hands and swung it wildly.
Because the movement was large, it was an attack that could be easily avoided by simply pulling back like before, but I instead moved forward.
Whoosh!!
Just before the hammer, cutting through the wind, reached my body, I unleashed the Boundless Body to the extreme. The acceleration I gained in an instant allowed me to escape the attack range and reach within striking distance of him.
The sword fire surrounding the sword blazed fiercely.
As if reacting to the internal energy flowing through my meridians, the Adamantine Energy that had been scattered in all directions gathered at the tip of the sword.
A point of light (光).
Boundless Sword Art (無相劍訣) Light Dragon (光龍).
The explosion of internal energy became a light dragon that tore through the Orc Champion’s flesh and advanced forward.
Even the skin, several times thicker and tougher than that of the High Orc Warriors I had faced earlier, was sliced like tofu before the flames of the burning sword energy.
“Kuaaaah!!!”
Along with a scream writhing in pain, a large hole was pierced in the Orc’s abdomen. Thanks to that, I, who was soaked in blood all over my body, frowned at the stench entering my nostrils.
Thump-
The Orc Champion finally knelt and collapsed. Intestines flowed out of the hole.
It was clearly a critical injury that could have killed him at any moment, but I didn’t let my guard down.
Just as I was about to move to finish him off, my entire body creaked and pain surged through me. It was the backlash from recklessly unleashing the Boundless Body.
In the moment I hesitated, a grotesque sight unfolded.
Crackle, crack-
Flesh filled the tattered hole in his abdomen, and in an instant, he was as good as new.
Immediately after, he opened his mouth towards the sky.
-!!!
At that moment, I unconsciously recalled the time I faced the Minotaur in the underground labyrinth.
Along with the thought of ‘no way,’ intense killing intent spread in all directions. I thought my eardrums would burst from the magic-filled shriek.
Above all, the sensation of my entire body’s muscles being paralyzed, a fear (fear) that was the exclusive domain of higher magical beasts.
If it were normal, I would have broken free from the shackles without much difficulty, but my magic was restricted and my legs weren’t in good condition either.
The Orc Champion charged towards me, who was frozen in place. It seemed he was trying to ram me with his body instead of swinging his hammer.
It was too late to dodge now.
There were only two options.
Block it with my sword, or use magic.
The hesitation didn’t last long.
My meridians were screaming in pain, but I ignored them and drew up my internal energy.
A giant weighing at least 2 tons was charging with his entire body reinforced with magic. An ordinary technique wouldn’t be able to offset it, and I would be crushed to a pulp.
Of course, if I unleashed the Light Dragon to the extreme, I could split his giant body in half, but it was impossible in my current state.
Then there was only one way.
‘If it doesn’t work, keep going until it does.’
If one sword strike wasn’t enough, I just had to keep swinging my sword until it worked.
The wildly burning sword fire traced a path in the air. Even though it was broad daylight, a moon rose.
Boundless Sword Art (無相劍訣) No Moon (無月).
Thwack!!
Dozens of slashes collided with the charging Orc Champion. Of course, he didn’t stop.
Rather, his momentum became even more intense, perhaps because adrenaline was exploding as he bled.
But that was the same for me.
The black flames burned even more fiercely, using my internal energy as fuel. Until everything was burned away.
As the distance closed, the Orc’s skin burst from the sword energy, and dark red blood scattered in all directions. It wouldn’t have been strange if he had already been torn to shreds, but the Orc Champion’s regeneration was beyond imagination.
The diagonal cuts were healing in an instant.
‘What is that, a troll, not an Orc.’
I swallowed even the wry smile that was about to burst out of my mouth.
My entire body was screaming that it was at its limit, but I ignored it and swung my sword.
There was no need to think about anything else.
The only thing that mattered now was to cut down the enemy in front of me.
At that moment, something that had been flickering before my eyes until just now came into my hand along with the sword hilt.
It was a sword.
And I remembered.
At the moment of wielding the sword, there was only me and the sword in the world. And only what needed to be cut.
Boundless Sword Art (無相劍訣) No Moon (無月) Sever (斬).
Swoosh-
