"You piece of trash!!!!"
Hagaz roared and pounced on the dazed elf with his gigantic spear whose shaft was almost the size of a tree trunk. Heilis had no time to react to the surprise attack and would have been cleaved right through but____
CLANK
Hagaz's eyes shot wide opened when he found his spear intercepted by a human using a single hand to hold a sword. Looking closer around Karlmine's feet there was a depression on the ground. Heilis who had been sparring with Karlmine for a while now was the only one who understood what had happened, the reason why a human had managed to block a full swing of an ogre captain.
Karlmine had allowed the force of Hagaz's swing to pass through his body by using it as a medium and then channeling the force into the ground thus causing the depression. This was a very delicate skill wherein a small mistake would result in him breaking his arms and legs.
"Know shame, a captain attacking an opponent from the back."
Karlmine spoke with a patronizing but freezing tone.
(He is strong even after using my redistribution my arms were left numb.) Silently he praised the ogre.
"Damn you!!!"
Hagaz roared and attacked again but Karlmine was long gone, and appeared behind him then what followed was the sound of Hagaz' arm hitting the ground Karlmine had sliced it off right from the elbow.
"I really do not want to do this."
The sincerity of his voice was clear but just like the time when Heilis had challenged him, the ogres refused to listen to him blinded by rage and all.
"My arm, what have you done to my arm?"
Hagaz shouted and unsheathed a sword from his waist and along with his brethren attacked.
Karlmine in response held his sword with both hands, took a deep breath and raised his sword overhead.
"That stance."
Heilis recognised that stance, it was the same stance that he took before unleashing an attack that sent the young elf to the infirmary for several days.
Karlmine unleashed his attack and swung his blade, a shockwave resulted which cleaved the ground in front of him and blew away the ogres scattering them all over the forest but it did not stop there, it continued on its path of destruction cutting down the trees until it died about a hundred metres away. This time it was way more potent than when he used it against Heilis.
The aftermath was the death of seven ogres, the lucky ones got off with broken bones but those who were outside the range of the attack immediately stopped their attacks and the sound of weapons hitting the ground resounded one after another. Their leader Hagaz was one of the lucky ones, he survived with a few broken bones.
"Is there really no way we can avoid my killing all of you?"
Karlmine asked.
"Karlmine? I remember now you are the sword demon of the shining city."
A little too late to remember that but it seems his earlier show of power had jogged his memory.
"W-We surrender please do not kill us."
The change in character was almost as surprising as the change in terrain caused by one sword swing.
"Killing you was never my intention. So I will ask again do you plan to negotiate with us or nay."
"We will, we will report to our side."
"Very well, I will trust you in this and I will also return to the elven fortress and inform you of your willingness to negotiate."
After a few exchange of words the ogres left but before that____
"Lord Hagaz was your name correct?"
"Y-Yes my Lord."
Hagaz responded weakly after being singled out.
"I will have your sword and spear."
Karlmine spoke calmly.
"My Lord this warrior has never parted with his spear in seventy years."
Hagaz pleaded.
"And you shall not part with it, until the negotiations I shall keep it as proof of your consent."
It took a while to convince the ogre to part with his weapons but in the end he did and along with his brethren they departed from the presence of the elf and the mortal.
"Did you really mean it? Are you planning to create grounds for negotiations between the elves and the ogres?"
Heilis asked, it seemed he had finally cooled down.
"Do I appear like someone who can joke?"
He replied and threw away his sword. Apparently the ogre were not the only ones who could not handle the attack of his swordsmanship but his sword too, it had snapped in half as soon as the ogres left which was an outstanding feat considering it had been an elven blade. It was not a powerful sword to warrant it a name but steel it had been forged by elves.
"Are you going to leave your weapon behind?"
"I have no attachments to a broken weapon, I will find another one at the fort."
The two left on their way back home to try and convince the elves to negotiate with the elves which Heilis was absolutely sure was a futile attempt.