Chương 123: He Definitely Picked the Wrong Neighborhood

Sieghart stared at the towering Orc King while the remaining mist drifted around them, revealing broken ice, shattered crates, severed bodies, and several warriors watching their ruler cautiously. Finding the enemy leader had been the entire purpose of entering the camp, yet Sieghart immediately realized that locating him and fighting him were very different achievements.

The King stood nearly three meters tall, carried a weapon heavier than Sieghart, and had just created a crater simply by landing somewhere particularly aggressively. Sieghart slowly stepped backward while maintaining Phantom Image, making himself appear older and taller while quietly gathering Wind Magic around both hands in preparation for sudden movement.

"You've got the wrong guy." The Orc King's expression barely changed, though one eyebrow shifted slightly as if Sieghart had responded in a language somehow stranger than the one they shared. Sieghart gestured casually toward the surrounding camp, including the frozen battlefield and several freshly decapitated orcs whose bodies provided unfortunate evidence against his innocence.

"I just got lost in the wrong neighborhood." The King stared at him for several seconds, clearly wondering why someone surrounded by murdered soldiers had chosen pretending to be lost as his first defense. Sieghart maintained an innocent expression while strengthening the wind around his palms, hoping confusion might buy several additional seconds before the inevitable attempt to flatten him.

The Orc King glanced toward the bodies, then toward the lingering mist and shattered Frozen Field before finally returning his attention to the suspicious teenager standing before him.

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Not really." Sieghart had never expected the lie to work. His only objective had been making the enemy hesitate long enough for him to study his stance and prepare an escape. Unfortunately, the King seemed considerably less interested in talking than Sieghart hoped, and whatever tiny advantage confusion provided was already disappearing from his expression. Then something changed.

The Orc King's nostrils widened slightly as he inhaled, and the confident amusement across his face abruptly vanished beneath a much more complicated reaction. Sieghart stopped moving when the enormous warrior stared directly at him, no longer examining the illusion but seemingly trying to sense whatever existed beneath it. The King inhaled again. His dark-red eyes narrowed. For the first time since arriving, something resembling genuine unease appeared across the ruler's otherwise fearless expression.

Sieghart recognized hunger first because it resembled the way the unfinished Dungeon Guardian had reacted after sensing the impossible amount of mana inside his body. The second emotion was stranger. Fear. The Orc King was afraid of something inside Sieghart. That realization was considerably more disturbing than flattering because Sieghart possessed absolutely no idea what the creature had sensed strongly enough to produce that reaction.

The massive fingers around the King's weapon tightened while his shoulders lowered slightly, changing his posture from casual superiority into something prepared for immediate violence.

"You…"

"Me…" Sieghart narrowed his eyes. Before he could ask what exactly the Orc King sensed, an overwhelming killing intent erupted from the enormous warrior and washed over him like invisible pressure. Sieghart flinched instinctively. Every survival instinct inside his body screamed that the creature in front of him could kill him with a single clean hit. Several nearby orcs stepped backward as well, proving that the pressure was not entirely inside Sieghart's head and apparently frightened the King's own warriors.

The enormous weapon slowly shifted into a proper fighting position. Sieghart immediately understood that his attempt to gain time and make the King underestimate him had failed completely.

"Uh-oh...." The Orc King moved. One instant, nearly twenty meters separated them. The next, the enormous warrior was almost directly in front of Sieghart, moving with speed completely unreasonable for something that large. Sieghart barely saw the weapon descending toward him. He blasted Wind Magic downward from both hands and launched himself backward before the enormous cleaver-hammer reached the ground. The impact detonated through the frozen earth.

Ice shattered outward, stones jumped several meters, and a crater appeared where Sieghart had been standing less than a second earlier. The shockwave struck his Protection spell even from several meters away, making the barrier tremble while broken ice and dirt scattered harmlessly across its surface.

"That would have killed me." The Orc King charged again before Sieghart finished speaking. Sieghart landed with one foot first, immediately released another burst of Wind Magic, and threw himself sideways before the King could close the remaining distance. The huge warrior missed Sieghart by less than a meter and crashed shoulder-first into a wooden supply structure positioned behind the previous battleground. The building did not merely collapse.

Thick support beams snapped like dry branches while crates exploded outward, weapons scattered, and the entire structure disappeared beneath the King's momentum. Sieghart stared for perhaps half a second. That was already too long. The Orc King turned and swung horizontally, sending the massive weapon toward Sieghart's torso with enough speed to produce a visible distortion through the air.

Sieghart dropped low and blasted himself backward along the ground, allowing the weapon to pass above him by less distance than he wanted. The pressure trailing behind the swing tore through the remaining mist and split several nearby tents despite the weapon never physically touching them. Sieghart rolled across the ground and pushed himself upright before the King could reverse the attack, already creating Earth Bullets around his shoulders.

Three projectiles launched toward the King's face while Sieghart used another wind burst to continue retreating across the ruined section of camp. The first Earth Bullet shattered against the King's cheek. The second cracked against his forehead. The third broke apart after striking one enormous tusk. The Orc King barely moved.

"That's…." The creature smiled. Then he accelerated again. Sieghart immediately changed direction, blasting himself sideways while the King crossed the distance with the momentum of a runaway carriage loaded entirely with iron. The enormous weapon swung. Sieghart escaped. The blade struck a nearby tree whose trunk was thicker than Sieghart's entire torso and snapped it instantly.

The upper half crashed through another tent while several startled orcs scattered away from their ruler's path, apparently understanding that standing nearby offered no protection. Sieghart landed beside an abandoned wagon and immediately changed direction again, refusing to let the King predict where his next wind-assisted movement would carry him. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

He had expected the enormous warrior to sacrifice speed for overwhelming strength. Apparently, reality considered that kind of reasonable balance unnecessary. The Orc King grabbed the broken tree with one hand. Sieghart immediately disliked whatever idea followed.

"No..." The King threw it. Sieghart blasted himself upward just before the entire trunk crossed beneath him like an oversized spear fired from some ridiculous siege weapon. The tree smashed through two wagons before disappearing inside the surrounding darkness, producing several distant crashes and enough shouting to prove it had found something unfortunate.

Sieghart remained airborne and briefly considered staying there, where the Orc King's enormous weapon could not reach him without solving the inconvenient problem of gravity. The King crouched. Sieghart immediately understood.

"Oh, come on…" The ground cracked beneath the Orc King's feet when he jumped, launching the enormous warrior upward with enough force to erase Sieghart's temporary aerial advantage. Sieghart blasted himself sideways while the weapon swept through the air, passing close enough that the pressure struck his leg despite the blade missing. The force spun him violently.

Sky and ground exchanged places several times while Sieghart lost orientation and threw wind downward almost instinctively to prevent an uncontrolled fall. He finally landed on one knee. Pain immediately shot through his ankle where the awkward impact strained something despite Protection supporting the joint. The Orc King landed nearby. Another crater appeared.

Sieghart activated First Aid while already retreating, forcing healing mana through the injured ankle before the King could exploit even that small weakness. There was barely any time to think. That bothered Sieghart more than the destruction because his usual fighting style depended upon observing opponents and gradually turning their habits into exploitable weaknesses. The Orc King refused to give him those seconds.

Every attack demanded an immediate response, every mistake threatened death, and every missed swing destroyed enough terrain to create another obstacle. Sieghart spread Frozen Floor across the King's path. The Orc King charged directly onto it. For one encouraging moment, the enormous warrior's front foot slipped several centimeters across the magically hardened surface. Then he drove the end of his weapon into the ice.

The weapon became an anchor, and the King used it to pull himself forward without losing enough momentum to matter. Sieghart stared.

"That's too skillful..." The King swung from the awkward position. Sieghart escaped again. The weapon smashed through the frozen ground, throwing jagged chunks of ice in every direction and opening another deep crack beneath the impact. Several fragments passed directly through the illusion surrounding Sieghart without touching his actual body, making the Orc King's eyes narrow immediately. Sieghart noticed the reaction. That was another problem.

Phantom Image changed his apparent proportions, but attacks passing harmlessly through sections of the illusion revealed information about where his real body actually existed. He needed distance. Three Wind Blades formed around him while he moved backward. Sieghart launched them from different angles toward the King's exposed upper body. The King raised one forearm. Two Wind Blades struck the arm and opened shallow wounds through thick skin. The third cut across one shoulder. Sieghart frowned.

Wind Blade had removed ordinary corrupted orc heads without difficulty. Against their King, the same spell barely produced several thin lines of blood. The Orc King looked at the wounds. Then he looked at Sieghart. His smile widened. Sieghart disliked that response immensely. The King charged again. Sieghart blasted himself backward through the enemy camp while the enormous warrior followed without bothering to avoid anything standing between them. Tents collapsed. Crates shattered. Weapon racks disappeared.

Several unfortunate orcs threw themselves aside before their own ruler could run directly over them. Sieghart continued moving in short bursts, changing direction constantly enough that his path never became predictable for more than several seconds. Left. Backward. Upward. Right. The King swung again. Sieghart escaped. The weapon struck the ground and opened a crack several meters long while broken earth erupted around the enormous warrior. Sieghart used the debris as temporary cover. Ten Earth Bullets formed.

Then twenty. He fired everything. The Orc King protected his face with one arm and continued advancing while stone projectiles shattered against armor, muscle, forearms, shoulders, and exposed skin. Several new wounds appeared. None mattered enough. Sieghart clicked his tongue. Whatever corrupted reinforcement existed inside the King was clearly stronger than what ordinary warriors carried in their cores. That made the King's core increasingly interesting. Assuming Sieghart survived long enough to obtain it.

The Orc King suddenly stopped pursuing. Sieghart immediately became more nervous. Enemies like this did not stop charging because they had suddenly remembered somewhere else they needed to be. The King lifted his weapon with both hands. Dark-red energy gathered around the metal. Sieghart's instincts screamed before he understood the technique. The Orc King swung downward from nearly thirty meters away. The weapon never touched Sieghart, but the earth between them exploded anyway.

A wave of compressed force tore forward in a straight line, ripping through tents, ice, dirt, trees, and abandoned equipment directly toward Sieghart. He blasted himself sideways. The shockwave passed beside him. A deep trench remained behind where solid ground had existed moments earlier. Sieghart stared at the destruction.

"So you have ranged attacks too…" That felt unfair. Good at melee fighting as well… pick a lane. The King charged immediately behind the shockwave, using the cloud of debris to hide his approach. Sieghart almost missed him. Enhanced Smell saved his life. The overwhelming scent of blood, sweat, leather, and something corrupted rushed through the dust before the enormous silhouette became visible. Sieghart released Wind Magic from both palms and launched himself sharply upward.

The King's weapon passed beneath his feet. Then the Orc King reversed the swing. Too fast. Sieghart twisted in the air. The flat side of the massive weapon clipped his Mana Shield. The barrier shattered instantly. Sieghart became a projectile. He flew across the camp and crashed through the wall of an empty wooden building, breaking boards before slamming onto the floor. Pain exploded through his back. For several seconds, his lungs refused to work properly while his ears rang from the impact.

Protection absorbed part of the damage, and Muscle Reinforcement kept his body from folding somewhere inconvenient, but neither made being struck by a moving wall pleasant. Sieghart immediately activated First Aid. His ribs hurt badly. Nothing seemed broken. He pushed himself upright. The Orc King was already approaching. Sieghart stepped through the shattered wall while forcing his thoughts to organize themselves faster than the enemy could reach him. Direct defense was useless. Trading attacks was impossible.

Remaining grounded allowed the King to close distance too easily. Flying made Sieghart predictable. He needed another approach. The King entered the ruined building. Sieghart created several Fireballs and launched them upward instead of toward the enemy. The spells struck the ceiling. The entire upper structure exploded. Burning timber collapsed between them while smoke and debris filled the small building. Sieghart blasted himself through another wall.

The Orc King smashed through the falling wreckage seconds later, covered in flames and pieces of burning wood that barely seemed to irritate him. Sieghart had expected that. Fire resistance was obvious by now. Blocking sight was still useful. He altered Phantom Image. Instead of maintaining only his disguised appearance, Sieghart created three false versions of himself running through different directions inside the smoke. The Orc King paused. Finally. Sieghart immediately used the opening.

Wind blasted from both hands. He crossed thirty meters. Then forty. Then fifty. Sieghart landed behind several trees near the camp's outer edge and began preparing something stronger while the illusions continued moving. The Orc King emerged from the smoke. His eyes shifted between the false figures. One disappeared. Then another. Sieghart kept the third running while concentrating mana between both hands. A Giant Fireball formed.

This time, he compressed the spell instead of allowing it to expand normally, forcing the flames into a smaller and denser sphere. Heat distorted the surrounding air. The spell became harder to control with every second. Sieghart waited for the King to follow the remaining illusion. Instead, the enormous warrior suddenly turned directly toward him. Sieghart frowned.

"How?" The Orc King inhaled. Sieghart understood immediately. Smell… The bastard could track him that way too. The King charged. Sieghart released the compressed Giant Fireball. The enormous sphere crossed the clearing and rushed directly toward the advancing warrior. The Orc King did not dodge. He swung his weapon. The collision detonated the Giant Fireball before it reached his body completely. Flames swallowed the entire clearing.

Sieghart immediately blasted himself backward as the explosion expanded across the area, setting trees and nearby tents ablaze. For several seconds, he could not see anything inside the inferno. Then something moved. The Orc King walked through the flames. His armor was blackened. Several exposed areas had burned badly. One side of his face was blistered. He was still smiling. Sieghart stared.

"That's ridiculous…"