“HAMMERING WAVE!”
Ebony’s body twitched when the Gao’larg’s muscles bulged a little, he saw 5 sword paths. ‘I'll take it.’ He opted not to Flicker away. He needed his body to remember, he wasn’t a genius like Ning Xin.
He stomped the ground and attached himself with magnified gravity, all his Will worked to force him to stay grounded. Gao’larg stuck true to his words about overwhelming power and attacked with a wide swing from the right. Icicle received the numbing blow and Ebony’s muscles screamed to redirect the blow slightly. He was pushed back a great deal but it was within Gao’larg’s expectations.
The first blow was just the beginning as Gao’larg treated his greatsword like a twig above his head but as ridiculous as it seemed, Ebony could only see it as a polished move. The next blow after one full rotation was even stronger. Gao’larg’s already accounted for where Ebony would be sent flying to, even if he stood his ground it would make it easier for Gao’larg.
Ebony was forced to go in a rough circle as each attack he received to try and redirect or parry only had his feet painfully digging through the ground. Every attack came from the same direction and he was glad Icicle was holding up.
He couldn’t feel his arms anymore but that was normal, he could shut off such sensations at will if he wanted. The injury sealed up in ice and he couldn’t afford to unfreeze it to let it heal as Gao’larg didn’t give him the opportunity. It might take a few minutes for his physical portion to regenerate. After his flesh and bones regenerated, he needed to face a period of weakness from those injured portions to let his Vitality catch up in healing.
Maybe if he learned how to direct Vitality as well as the Trolls he could reduce this period or weakness of a hastily regenerated body part.
The skill took quite a bit of stamina as Gao’larg didn’t push further after he noticed that Ebony had taken every hit. Ebony wasn’t going to let the chance go. He was quickly getting the hang of casting Frostblaze Augmentation without any flames seeping out. Keeping everything within him gave him the illusion that he was a tiny bit stronger and faster. Stalwart Endowment was going strong as well, the injury was fixed with ice just so that his runes could flow in his shoulders without interruption. The biggest problem with Stalwart Endowment would be that a large cut or injury would cause the runic formula to be cut off and essentially useless. However, his Glacial Models could sustain the runic enhancement. So he just had to conjure his injured body part with ice and run Stalwart Endowment through it in the exact same fashion.
Stalactite Drop!
Ebony matched Gao’larg’s fierce charge with his own. He didn’t put any ice mana into the skill and only used gravity and sound. Unlike Gao’larg, his skill mostly consumed mana and stamina wasn’t that big of an issue to him. Only Phantom’s Flicker greedily consumed stamina and a bit of mana.
Gao’larg’s eyes brightened and he grinned while doing the same as Ebony. He took the overhead slash by supporting his single-edged greatsword with his other hand. Ebony had to let Gao’larg’s attack dig into his shoulder or his palms would’ve been sliced off by Icicle.
It wasn’t as if Gao’larg could dodge the attack, Ebony already timed the movement of his retreat and his attack would land right after Gao’larg’s feet came off the ground. These guys couldn’t create platforms to jump off.
The small Troll’s ankles cracked and the ground gave in as a crater formed. Gao’larg couldn’t control the blood welling up his throat and he coughed out copious amounts of blood as Sonic Intrusion devastated his flesh, bones and organs alike.
The proud warrior actually pulled his life force to enforce his greatsword so that it wasn’t damaged instead of protecting its body.
A large grin could be seen on Gao’larg’s face and the Troll could see something similar in his tiny opponent’s eyes.
Ebony had to jump to get an overhead strike to hit his tall opponent at the right angle and Gao’larg kicked at him. Not expecting that Ebony already had his feet return the kick with one of his own.
He somersaulted and landed a hundred or so metres away. He could see a kick coming with his eyes and mana sense closed.
“Raging Torrent!” Gao’larg promoted his skill names that Ebony hadn’t seen any Benumbed Tribe member use. This was a tradition even amongst some Imperial citizens or freelancers who wanted to craft a reputation to open an academy or to market skill books.
‘Uh oh,’ Ebony blinked as he predicted the next set of moves.
Gao’larg already switched to a single-handed grip and raised his greatsword like a blacksmith raising his hammer. The Troll dashed forward and rammed his weapon into the ground. He charged at Ebony while randomly smashing his greatsword like a club. There was nothing to predict, Gao’larg mutilated the earth in a large cone ahead of him while charging at Ebony.
He didn’t know if he could take the hit, Calculated Hunch was a bit too slow to keep up. But Ebony didn’t care about possible damage any more. His body ignored its natural instinct and danced instead. Ceaseless Onslaught raged on along with the waterfall of slashes. They were all aimed as overhead strikes and easier to glance off to the side, the single-armed swing made it slightly less numbing as well.
Phantom’s Flicker was forced to make short-distance moves which cramped up his calves a bit. The insane pressure was pushing him beyond his limits. What he didn’t expect was that Gao’larg wasn’t stopping at all.
Blow after blow that was screeching off Icicle and shaving off a bit of its sharp edge. It almost seemed as if Gao’larg wanted to shave off Icicle!
Raging Torrent was a befitting name, Gao’larg roared at the top of his lungs as his greatsword was repeatedly raining down without a single bit of precision or accuracy. All it aimed for was absolute destruction.
Ebony protected Icicle with tiny Imperishable Frost Scales that layered over the sharp edge and Frost Edge to deal any amount of damage to Gao’larg’s weapon he could. Every one of Gao’larg’s blows that he deflected would cause pain or discomfort due to the vibrational reflection.
The heavy blows kept on coming and he wasn’t able to break free even if he wanted to. The injury of his shoulder was torn open over and over again as he repeatedly added ice to refreeze the wound and have Stalwart Endowment working overtime. He was glad he skimped on mana expenditure.
The longer Gao’larg kept it up, the worse it would be for the Troll if Ebony survived. Gao’larg persisted with increasing fervour when Ebony’s injury continued to worsen. Firm Path and Chaotic Repulsive Membrane had long been working overtime but the sheer strength behind every strike was barely affected.
Neither of them knew whether 5 minutes passed or 30 but Gao’larg backed off, leaving himself some energy as he noticed that it wasn’t going to get Ebony with glancing blows. Ebony’s feet were revolting and it didn’t let him push for an attack. His shoulder wound tore open at least twice as wide, but it was mostly a flesh and tendon injury. Instead of attacking, he quickly unfreeze his wound to let it regenerate. Gao’larg was panting hard and didn’t appear to go on the attack.
Ebony’s stamina already hit rock bottom because of his inefficient use of Phantom’s Flicker but a moment was all he needed to regain some stamina. Another second was enough for his trembling muscles to quieten down. He held Icicle with just his right arm and used all his strength for a flimsy Phantom’s Flicker.
He had been ready to cast Stalactite Drop for a long time, ice mana took the longest to get ready after all. This time, Stalactite Drop was half overlapped with Ceaseless Onslaught as he rained down blows on Gao’larg in an oddly familiar fashion. He didn’t hold back with Blazing Deep Freeze Petals flowing out with every swing. It didn’t matter if they stuck onto Gao’larg, floated in the area due to his domain’s hold or froze the ground. All of it helped.
Even Battle Song seemed to be coming back strong.
Unlike Gao’larg, every one of his attacks was accurately going for vitals. The Troll used its advantage of strength to break his flow but a deep reverberation dug into his flesh and bones that weakened its exhausted body even further.
Every one of his blows had a small portion of Stalactite Drop’s effect kicking in. Perhaps due to exhaustion, Gao’larg made a few mistakes in blocking as he still had Frigid Refraction making his after images more solid. However, the Benumbed Tribe upheld their reputation of a durable body.
Ebony’s attacks were scratching off bones already but Gao’larg didn’t follow in the footsteps of many Trolls. He wasn’t healing light cuts and not even some deeper cuts that weren’t vital. He flexed and tightened his muscles right before he was hit, protecting his vitals without much use of life force. Ebony didn’t want to throw a stab in, he wouldn’t dig deep and a blast of flames strong enough to cause lasting effects would leave him pretty much empty. He could just risk it like stuffing his hand down the King Troll’s throat and it would likely kill Gao’larg but his body and mind didn’t even consider it. He was having too much fun to ruin it that way.
“Muscular Bolster!” Gao’larg expended his life force as the red aura resurfaced. He regained some of his muscle mass but it wasn’t noticeable for most people.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Ebony felt like he was hitting a rock but it didn’t discourage him. He kept going till he felt most of his flesh regenerate and then he added pressure after refreezing his shoulder. He would let it heal up more when he had the chance but he wasn’t going to let up. If he let up, Gao’larg might unleash another fierce skill so he had to prevent Gao’larg from getting into a good position or stance. Gao’larg had attempted to grab him multiple times but he saw the release of the greatsword and shifting of shoulders, tipping of toes far in advance.
Gao’larg would only catch Petals in his fist so he quickly gave up and put his efforts into swatting other petals aside while using his forearm to block Ebony’s heavy onslaught. Even so, Ebony didn’t place too much mana in his flames. He was using a ton for augmentation, endowment, gravity assistance, mana vibrations and he wanted to drag out the physical exchange. Phantom’s Flicker probably got refined once already but he didn’t take note of any notifications.
His entire body burned as he was running dry on stamina, just moving through sheer will and Sustained Optimum Condition like old times. It was one of the reasons he pushed his physical stats beyond his endurance by so much. It pushes his skills and body far easier this way.
Hours must have passed by in such a fashion.
His body didn’t listen part way through so he Willed and manipulated the ice mana in his body to move as if he was a Glacial Model. There was essentially no real difference except a drop in speed and power but Gao’larg was just as drained. The Troll was riddled with injuries but any fatal injuries were healed explosively fast and protected again.
As if a light shone in Gao’larg’s eyes, the switch and lapse in Ebony’s overhead swing was a tinge slower. No, Gao’larg sped up. “MOUNTAIN CLEAVE!”
Ebony's wide overhead swing left his belly open. It wouldn’t have been an issue if Gao’larg had kept up at the same weakened pace but he suddenly exploded with power. A low horizontal sweep accelerated towards his belly as Gao’larg used his half-squatting position to burst forth with all the power in his legs.
Ebony’s Will reacted and so did his domain. His robe was fully scaled up and layers upon layers of Imperishable Frost Scales flew out of his robe’s storage of ice mana. Multiple ice hands were shaped to pull back Gao’larg’s sword and arms but the blow still landed cleanly. His body folded as his consciousness came and went. It was definitely the hardest physical attack he received so cleanly.
He literally bounced off the earth and somersaulted through the air for a full minute. The circular ray of light was forced to expand and chase after his limp body. It overlapped into someone else's duel but that didn’t seem to be an issue.
His Will and domain didn’t even have the strength to give him a proper landing.
‘Ugh. My spine isn't broken, right? My health..a quarter left.’ Ebony felt that one. He tried to sense pain and touch in his legs and hands, relieved that he could cause them to twitch a tiny bit.
His body wasn’t listening but his mind was still working, he hoisted his body up by controlling his scaled robe. Well, his belly area didn’t have any scales remaining as a large portion of the robe itself was torn. His sleeves, back and the lower portion also had crushed ice dust with lighter tears and cuts.
‘Roya’s going to get mad.’ He couldn’t suppress the blood and had to cough it out. He didn’t immediately seal his internal bleeding in ice. The wound was too big and simply sealing it in ice would cause healing to stop and blood flow to certain areas be affected. Gao’larg didn’t jump after him.
He hobbled back instead of floating, hoping to heal and regenerate as much as possible while he still could. Surprisingly, Gao’larg didn’t come after him.
Ebony spared a glance at the other fights. Lucas was in a pinch but he was surviving against 2 Kings. ‘Cool water dragon spear…’ That was what he thought when he saw Lucas summon what he imagined a dragon head was like and the long water dragon roared out as he thrust his spear.
The Frost Elves, Cap Dwarf and party’s fight was too far away from his current spot. They must have gotten further away before they started fighting.
Athena…wasn’t in sight.
Ning Xin already slayed her opponents and was taunting the Trolls for another one-on-one. Perhaps she already went through multiple duels.
The group battle with Mallory and General Bernand seemed to be in a stalemate from a glance but he wasn’t sure. The scale of the battle was a bit too big for him to be sure.
He also saw General Impes who seemed to have the upper hand in her 1 vs 10. 6 of them were Shamans but they only used life force-based magic. Those that used elements were a sign that they employed spirits but those seemed to be concentrated in the battle with Mallory. There were a few other solo fighters from the Imperial Army and not just Commanders or Generals. At least, none that he recognised.
Ebony might have been ‘hobbling’ back but every step pushed him forward a dozen metres or so. He took a few steps before simply floating and carrying himself with mana manipulation.
3 to 4 minutes of peace brought him to Gao’larg who regained his size and was using the larger greatsword as a clutch with his entire body steaming. The Troll widened his eyes in shock, “I felt my mountain cleave landing…”
“It did. I suppose I‘m a tougher mountain than what you’re used to.” It was clear that Gao’larg’s move was weakened quite a bit but he must have been confident of his attack.
Ebony’s feet touched the ground and he painfully raised Icicle overhead again.
Gao’larg straightened his back and picked his greatsword out, getting into a low stance again. He didn’t compress his frame again, probably out of stamina or whatever energy the skill uses.
“Gao’larg. Tiny Brute.”
“Ebony. Hopefully, a proud warrior.”
Both of them were barely standing straight but they mustered all their strength in silence. Ebony could have spun about to build some momentum but he couldn’t really pull that off without risking getting hit. Gao’larg had a tougher time aiming a small opponent now that he regained his size and both weren’t able to draw out most of their strength.
Stalactite Drop!
Mountain Cleave!
Ebony moved first, Gao’larg caught up with his advantage in speed.
“RAAAAAGGHH!!” Their foothold couldn’t withstand the shockwave but both of them grounded themselves well. Gao’larg yelled and wasn’t about to let a smaller creature push his blade down. His skin burst as all his small wounds exacerbated, Sonic Intrusion tore open every cut and burst a large portion of veins and arteries on impact. Gao’larg’s hand was a bloody mess but he continued to roar and put every bit of strength he could muster.
Ebony didn’t shout but his mind and body were screaming to resist the giant. The clash shook him up as much as it shook Gao’larg.
It happened in mere moments, they were blown apart from each other when Gao’larg’s weapon of rock blew apart and Icicle’s edge ruptured outwards.
“...I lost. Kil-” Gao’larg laid on his back after bouncing off and creating tiny craters that were repaired with each bounce. Ebony skidded on his robe’s scales that melted from friction but he managed to stand with magic controlling his body.
“Are those your tribe members? Ask them for another, we’re not done.” He wasn’t about to declare that a victory. He hadn’t had enough. He released his mental hold and let his body lay limp on the ground as well.
Most if not all the Imperials were within the rays of light but there were still Trolls standing around and watching their leaders fight. All of them appeared young but Ebony couldn’t tell a Troll’s age from their appearance. A few of the Benumbed Tribe members who stood beside Gao’larg previously were obviously worried but most others frowned and scoffed at the weakness their heir had shown.
Gao’larg continued to pant, only shouting in his language after seeing that Ebony didn’t have any intention to kill him.
Ebony didn’t want to stay lying on the ground so he conjured his elaborately designed chair. He noticed that someone finally accepted Ning Xin’s challenge.
Within 5 minutes, Gao’larg sat up and faced the same direction. He didn’t have any open wounds or cuts anymore.
“Who’s that?” Ebony asked. The Troll Ning Xin fought against dual-wielded huge curved-bladed tonfas or something. He was actually holding his ground against her aggressive offence.
“Baldur. Son of Vigiot’s Patriarch but of the same generation as me. Who’s that warrior? Savage beast!”
“Scarlet.” It seems like even Trolls recognise her swordplay’s ferocity.
Gao’larg’s stomach grumbled loudly. Ebony slipped his bag out from under his robe and brought out ready-made dishes. Although dishes can be kept warm for pretty long in their containers, they would still degrade in taste or so his chef states. So he only had a bit of hot food stored. He ate the sandwiches and offered meaty stir fry with peppers to Gao’larg. Thankfully, ‘a bit’ of food was using his chef’s measure. A table full of meaty dishes should at least sate the giant more than snacks.
“It’s not poisoned,” Ebony added. He helped to pour out the dishes onto a large serving plate so that the giant could eat it with ease. He saved his favourite pan-fried dumplings for himself.
“I know. You, honourable warrior. Not shifty shaman. Many thanks!” The giant sat on the floor but he was still much taller.
The circular ray of light had decreased in size greatly as if to give other fighters more space.
“GOOD GRUB!” Gao’larg roared in pleasure before praising. He seemed to have gained life as his vitality leaked out with a roar.
“Mmm. Scarlet made it.” Ebony was proud to hear another race praise her food. He had no personal grudge with these man-eating Trolls. The Empire had shields and equipment made of Troll's bones. He didn’t see a difference between the two. It had the same rules as the jungle and he was used to it. There might even be Troll-eating people but he hadn’t done so and neither did Ning Xin.
“Your broad? She can fight and make good grub? Lucky man. Is she just as aggressive in bed?”
Ebony was stunned silent for a moment, unsure how he was supposed to reply. He was opening up jars and jars of dried jerky as he thought of a reply.
“We haven’t gotten to that stage in our relationship.”
“Human, weird. A good catch is hard to find. Any proud warrior needs a good broad, a good broad gets taken fast you have to be quick! You just have to show your strength and rouse their instincts to procreate to make them yours!” Gao’larg shot up and flexed his muscles in bodybuilder poses. Ebony had to say, these Trolls were experts at flexing out the best of their bodies. Most of them went for bulk but Gao’larg was considered lean. The Troll had a similar build to Ebony in that it allowed for more flexibility and range of motion.
Ebony truly didn’t expect to get relationship advice from an opponent that he was duelling to the death. ‘I’m not sure that’s how it works for humans but…I guess that's the natural way?’
“You’re right. What if someone stronger comes and steals her heart…”
“I’ll show you some of the techniques passed down in my tribe in exchange for the grub!” Another Troll had already put their greatsword right outside the ray of light. Gao’larg reached out and took the sword before showing Ebony his pose.
The mood of their duel was very out of place compared to the bloody battles taking place.