R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 65 (Patreon)

R-a - Volume 4 - Chapter 65 (note to self for later: consider re-order with 46/47 on Amazon release)

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Orion Thunderfist was having a bad day.

As the newly-crowned Titled Deity reflected on himself, in the midst of falling back into the Sanctum and encountering yet another human attacker, he thought back to where it all started.

‘It was there.’ Orion thought, his eyes narrowing.

‘Ever since this fight started.’

That was when things began to go wrong.

This should have been one of the happiest days in Orion’s life.

He had finally accomplished a goal he’d been working towards for centuries.

After endless years of torment, he finally escaped his old, arthritis-ridden body and obtained a new, healthy form. This Toren body felt as if it was built for martial arts, possessing immense strength and durability.

‘Sure, I’m still adjusting to it.’ Orion acknowledged, accepting his own faults. So many years of his body rebelling against him had dulled his instincts, forcing him to adapt in the moment.

‘But that’s not why things are going wrong.’

‘...’

Time seemed to rewind as memories of the battle flooded to the forefront of Orion’s mind.

.. .. .. .. .. ..

The first thing Orion did, after tossing aside the corpse off the Fourth Lord, was flare his Aura. The crushing weight of his Ki spread out from his body, merging with his killing intent to create a massive show of force. The ground beneath the First Lord shattered as that shockwave spread out, its chaotic force merging with the lightning that had appeared on Orion’s hands.

‘When facing multiple opponents, the most important thing to break isn’t their bones…’ Orion thought, his mind cool and collected.

‘It’s their will.’

He had seen it countless times before in his battles against all sorts of creatures, from the Deities that invaded his homeland to the Blue Drakes he hunted down and eradicated.

Of course, the warriors standing before him did not falter in front of his Aura. They were the best of the best, the strongest Humans, Farians, and Rakkonians that Orion had ever met.

“Not half bad.” Orion muttered to himself as he casually stepped to the side, dodging a beam of molten fire. Getting hit by that would not be pleasant.

‘Great Wizard Shahsta.’ Orion took note of the Rakkonian Wizard’s scepter as he felt the waves of fierce heat that emanated off the beam of fire.

‘She has let her emotions get the best of her.’

The scepter she wielded, the Emberless Scepter, was a special Artifact that amplified the power of her abilities. Orion recognized it from the reports he had received from his subordinates.

In the moment Orion took to side-step the attack, he was immediately met with a second assailant.

‘Fortuna.’

A silver rapier cut through the air, appearing in front of Orion’s neck in a split second. A shockwave followed after the rapier, the sheer concentrated force hidden behind this attack enough to set the air to rippling.

‘A sharp attack.’ Orion observed as he raised his left hand in an instant.

‘However…’

Just before the rapier could pierce through Orion’s neck, the First Lord’s left hand intercepted it. Golden energy gleamed around Orion’s fist as he grabbed ahold of the sword with his bare hand, stopping it in mid-air.

‘Not even a Master.’

The clash of energy on the blade sent out a bright flash of light as Orion’s Master Tier Fist Energy slammed into Fortuna’s Advanced Tier Sword Energy, grinding the weapon to a halt.

“Pathetic.”

Orion clenched his fist, intending to shatter the rapier.

As he took action, however, he was taken aback. The moment he tried to destroy the weapon, it vanished. Orion’s fist crushed down on empty air, sending out a small explosion of energy and air.

‘Not bad. Did he store it in a Spatial Ring?’ Orion’s eyes bored into Fortuna.

From the corner of his vision, Orion spotted several more attacks flying his way. The trio of Knight Commanders of the Purgatory Church had led a charge towards him, while the Rakkonian Great Wizard prepared another flaming salvo.

Before he could respond to any of them, however…

A silver rapier reappeared at the edge of his vision, bearing down on his left eye.

‘He’s got style, but…’ Orion admired the Human’s effort before stamping down on the ground with his right foot.

“Naive.”

‘Thunder King’s Martial Art - 3rd Chapter, 7th Passage.’

The name of the technique resonated in Orion’s Soul, countless centuries of effort and training merging together.

‘Shatter the Earth.’

The world exploded.

With Orion at its epicenter, an enormous 40 meters wide crater blasted its way into existence as the First Lord imbued an immense amount of Ki and Elemental Lightning into the earth, destroying it. The subsequent shockwave from the impact threw Fortuna backwards, sending the warrior sailing through the air.

Likewise, the trio of Knight Commanders stopped their rush and fell back, the wave of energy overpowering them. The Rakkonian Great Wizard also faltered, her Spellcasting interrupted as she stumbled back.

‘Amateurs.’

As shards of rock and stone flew upward, Orion couldn’t help but frown.

‘Are they only at this level?’

In what took only a fraction of a second, Orion reached out with both hands and grabbed ahold of six palm sized clumps of rock that were flying through the air. In another fraction of a second, Orion imbued these rocks with Master Tier Dagger Energy, transforming the rocks from base stone to abruptly hewn rock daggers.

In less than half a second, Orion crafted and threw half a dozen Master Tier Weapon Energy-imbued stone daggers.

The first dagger plunged towards Fortuna, cutting towards him in mid-air. The last remaining of Humanity’s Barons just barely managed to detect and deflect the piecemeal weapon whilst spinning through the air, gracefully landing on the ground as he tried to shake off the aftereffects of the immense shockwave Orion had created.

‘He’s not bad.’

The second, third, and fourth daggers cut towards the trio of Knight Commanders. The warriors, already assuming a defensive stance in response to Orion’s ‘Shatter the Earth’ technique, managed to block the daggers, but not before they were flung backwards more than a dozen meters simply because of the raw force behind the attack.

‘Weak.’

The fifth dagger was aimed directly at the Nirvana Saint’s head.

The leader of the Purgatory Church simply narrowed his eyes as he saw the attack fly towards him. In the split second before it hit him, a gold and white book appeared, floating in the air.

The fifth dagger slammed into that golden book and abruptly disintegrated into motes of light.

‘A Defensive Artifact?’

The final sixth dagger cut through the air towards the actual main target of his attack.

The Great Wizard Shahsta.

‘It’s always best to get rid of the Wizards first.’

It was a lesson Orion had learned in blood, back when he was eradicating the Blue Drakes from the Ancient World.

Unlike the others, Shahsta lacked the reaction speed and physical prowess necessary to dodge his attack.

‘If she doesn’t have any Defensive Arti-wait what?’

Orion’s eyes bulged as something completely out of his expectations took place.

His throw missed.

‘Impossible.’

An odd sense of incongruence swept over the First Lord as he watched the dagger soar just an inch away from the Great Wizard’s head, narrowly missing killing her.

Orion’s instincts flared at the odd sight, warning him that something was wrong.

He shouldn’t have missed.

But he did.

Why?

Orion got no time to answer that question as he felt several dozen impacts on his arms, chest, and head.

The sounds of gunfire echoed out as the subordinates Baron Fortuna brought with him opened fire. Dozens of rounds slammed into Orion’s golden flesh and bounced off, the skin enhanced by his Ki to become bulletproof, even to armor-piercing bullets.

“Damned rats.” Orion’s eyes glowed white as he held out his hands in front of him.

‘Thunder King’s Martial Art - 3rd Chapter, 5th Passage.’

Bright energy gathered around Orion’s hands, concentrating in such intensity that the air was set to trembling.

‘Clear the Skies.’

Orion clapped his hands together.

An vast, rippling wave of lightning blasted out into the air, creating yet another large-scale shockwave. This time, however, the shockwave was aimed up and outward. The strange technique created an immense, concussive wave of energy that ravaged the air, slamming into everyone present equally.

The massive impact felt akin to someone taking a sledgehammer to the skull, spread to everyone present equally, including Orion.

Most of the humans present collapsed, bleeding from their eyes, ears, and nose as the riotous energy ran rampant. The huge pressure wave blasted away any dust and stone that was still floating from Orion’s previous attack, clearing the air around them.

The only warriors remaining were few: the Nirvana Saint and his Knight Commanders, Baron Fortuna, the Lord Justiciar, the Great Wizard Shahsta, Prime, and Yvvtal.

Every other being present had been incapacitated, at least for a few minutes, all from a single indirect attack by Orion Thunderfist.

The World’s Strongest.

“Is there any reason you aren’t attacking me?”

The Lord Justiciar’s voice boomed as he leapt forward, landing half a dozen meters in front of Orion.

The First Lord paused, a small smile appearing on his face as he turned his attention towards Gregor.

“Tricks like that won’t work on people like us.”

Orion’s entire demeanor began to shift as he focused on Gregor, his eyes growing cold.

If before, he had been a hunter playing with his prey, now, he was a cold-blooded predator cautiously eyeing his target. The pressure that flowed off of Orion’s gaze was countless times heavier than before, a promise of death and destruction.

“Don’t group me with someone like you.”

Gregor’s spat as he held out his sword in front of him. A blood red Aura clung to the Farian as his muscles bulged, his Primordial Giant Bloodline greatly enhancing his strength and durability.

Though it wasn’t very obvious or apparent, the Lord Justiciar had assumed a measured, ready stance. His legs were set slightly more than a meter apart, his shoulders tucked back ever so slightly, and his arms raised.

It was a sign of absolute focus from the normally jovial Lord Justiciar.

“Like recognizes like.” Orion returned as he assumed a stance of his own.

For a tense moment, the world around Orion and Gregor seemed to grow still. Time itself seemed to slow down as the two warriors faced off against each other.

In the background, the various forces of the Human Alliance gradually recovered. The Great Wizard regained her focus, while the Knight Commanders retreated to the Nirvana Saint’s position, and Baron Fortuna finally managed to land on the ground.

That tense moment seemed to stretch out, as if it would never end.

And that was exactly when it ended.

A shockwave of energy rocketed outwards as the two warriors collided and began a deadly duel.

As the battle began to unfold in earnest, however, Orion’s instincts continued to flare.

He just couldn’t quite shake the feeling of incongruency, that he was missing something.

It was a feeling that stayed with him even as he constantly tracked everyone around him.

From the Nirvana Saint, who was gathering energy to activate some type of Ability, to the trio of Knight Commanders, Baron Fortuna, Shahsta…

And even the two figures that hadn’t yet joined in the fight.

A burly, muscular warrior with silver hair, glaring at him from several dozen meters away…

And a green-eyed man with golden hair, whose gaze never left him.

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