As soon as Nox said those provocative words, Chieftain Borok charged at him like an unstoppable force. In the blink of an eye, the orc chieftain covered the distance and swung down with all his might!
The immense power behind the swing made a sharp whistling sound through the air. From Borok's perspective, he saw that his staff had made impact. However, during that critical moment, he noticed his opponent's body shimmer with a golden light.
The staff slammed into the ground, having missed its target. Borok hastily turned around only to find Nox above him, his legs descending in what could only be called a devastating axe kick.
'Slippery bastard! He was so fast just now, I couldn't even follow up,' Borok cursed as he brought his staff above his head. The staff radiated an ominous green glow.
Nox's instincts screamed at him. He had always suspected there was something strange about the staff. In fact, he believed the staff the orcs wielded was a much bigger threat compared to them.
Now that he saw the unmistakable glow on the staff, he made a split-second decision. Retrieving his leg, a pair of tiny blood runes manifested just above him. From there, two blood threads shot out.
The blood threads moved swiftly like bullets shot from a muzzle. With his fast reflexes, Nox gripped onto them and swung himself out of the trajectory of the staff.
He skidded to a stop.
"Tsk, it seems you have quite the trick," Chieftain Borok praised as he played with his staff. "And very cautious."
The orc chieftain had clearly seen through Nox. He had noticed that Nox was wary of his staff and was trying to stay as far away from it as possible.
This… this only amused the chieftain. He didn't need to make physical contact to strike down his enemy. In truth, Nox suspected this as well, but he still decided to play it safe.
And so, Borok lifted his staff high, its gemstones flashing violently.
"Then let's see how you handle this."
Lightning crackled along the staff's length before condensing into a spear of black thunder. Borok hurled it forward, and the projectile screamed toward Nox with terrifying speed.
The ground beneath Nox exploded as the spear made contact, sending a shockwave through the village. Dust and debris shot into the air, momentarily obscuring him from view.
"Too fast!" Nox was caught off guard by the attack and couldn't react in time. As a result, he was sent crashing into a tent. Solora, who had been observing the fight, slithered close, anger and worry clouding her eyes.
Nox groaned as he got up. He patted the python's head and told her that he would be fine.
'So it's a magical staff.' Nox's eyes narrowed as he stared at the jewel-encrusted staff. 'A very powerful one at that. That attack… it's comparable to an advanced-tier skill.'
Nox had tried copying it, but it had failed—probably because it was not a skill, rather it was an effect of the staff.
The orc chieftain didn't idle. He quickly fired another pair of blasts, this time greenish in color. Nox easily evaded the blasts. He activated Divine Velocity and charged forward.
'Not again!' Borok cursed in his heart when he noticed that Nox was no longer where he was. It was the same exact thing that had happened when he tried to finish him off the first time.
One moment he stood still, the next—
Borok's body whipped to the side as a red-tinged fist slammed into his face. He skidded across the battlefield, smashing through the wooden totems marking the center of the village.
A deep silence fell over the orcs.
The chieftain coughed, spitting out a broken tusk. He barely had time to comprehend what had happened before—
A spear materialized mid-air and pierced into the ground beside his head. A hair closer, and it would have split his skull if he had not moved.
This shocked not only Borok but also the onlookers. None of them had seen Nox move. Stay updated through My Virtual Library Empire
"That hit should have kept him down for a bit." Nox mused as he looked at his fist, which was currently encased in a red-colored gauntlet. These gauntlets were made with blood and reinforced by his mana, so they packed quite the power behind them.
With his enhanced strength stat, it should certainly keep Borok down for a few seconds. Nox strongly suspected it was because of the effect of the array.
The orc chieftain was visibly enraged by the violent attack to his face and his near-death encounter.
Borok's fury erupted like a volcanic storm. He slammed his staff into the ground, causing a ripple of dark energy to explode outward. The veins along the staff pulsed like something alive, responding to the orc chieftain's rage.
"Curse of the Withered Soul!" Borok roared.
A sickly black mist spiraled out from his staff, coiling like spectral serpents before lunging at Nox. Of course, Nox wasn't stupid enough to find out what would happen if those serpents made contact with him.
Oblivion Edge appeared in his hands, and he slashed at the first serpent. His blade cleaved through it, causing it to explode in a violent shower of black mist. He repeated the same process with the rest, dealing with all of them.
So far, Nox had held his ground against the orc chieftain, which left the other orcs restless. The array was supposed to double all of the orc chieftain's strength, so why… why did it seem like the effects were not working as intended?
What they failed to realize was that Borok was going against someone who only had maxed-out skills in his arsenal. Unless they found a way to place shackles on his skills, the array was practically useless.
What's more, Borok was mainly a magic-type fighter. He depended heavily on ranged attacks, unlike Nox, who was proficient in both close combat and long-range combat.
While the fight was raging outside and beginning to pick up pace, with the orc chieftain finally pushing Nox back, inside a secluded space in the orc encampment…
An old orc with gray hair was seated cross-legged beside what appeared to be a lake. His eyes were closed, and he seemed to be in a meditative position, his breath rising and falling rhythmically.
Suddenly, the orc opened his eyes, revealing a profound gaze.
"What is this noise…? Is the settlement under attack again?"