Leonidas felt the earth tremble. Even after reaching the ground, the valley was covered in a thin veil of dust fog. By this point, Leonidas was certain that Lady Eve must have done something to make the effects so exaggerated.
Ogres were already known for their poor sight, something that Leonidas could definitely attest to considering his own eyesight was a significant downgrade from a normal Half-Beast. In this situation, with so much dirt in the air, it might as well be the dead of night to them.
However, they still had their hearing and sense of smell. Meaning, it definitely wasn't impossible to pick out Leonidas.
As expected, the trembling earth was indeed an Ogre that had locked onto him.
Leonidas' heartbeat thumped even more madly. It was so loud he felt that these Ogres could point him out simply thanks to it alone.
Like two hovering rubies, Leonidas' crimson eyes grew redder and redder. As though an infernal hell was burning within them, he locked onto his target, his thumping heart growing wilder.
Leonidas growled beside himself, his canines glistening with saliva.
A club descended toward Leonidas from above. However, Leonidas didn't move. He already knew that it would miss, the Ogre had swung far too early.
The instant Leonidas felt the wind assault his face, blowing his crimson, steel-like hair back, he finally took action, moving forward.
He crossed to the outside of the Lower Ogre's swinging arm, shooting forward with his palm, his claws bared.
Anyone watching Leonidas' movements would have a hard time believing that this was his first battle. The loud thumping from his heart, the well-timed unhurried movements…
The wild grin on his face.
Leonidas had seemingly become a completely different person. His crimson hair stood on end, making its mass look to be twice as much as it had been previously. A bloodlust colored his eyes, his face flickering with emotions of excitement.
THRUM! THRUM! THRUM!
Leonidas' claws ripped into the Lower Ogre's forearm, sheering through its tough skin as though a knife through paper. He tore downward without the slightest hint of mercy, slicing open five wounds that were bone-deep and rendering its tendons and ligaments useless.
An enraged roar billowed from the Lower Ogre, mixing into the sounds of the dust cloud-covered battlefield. But, it had no choice but to release its club. Even if it wanted to hold on, it physically couldn't.
Violet blood coated Leonidas' hand. The moisture and heat seeped into his palms, almost forcing him to focus on the acute feeling of it dripping toward his Close Combat Gloves.
Completely mindless with fury, the Ogre lashed out with its one healthy arm. However, because Leonidas had crossed to the outside of its body rather than stepping inside, it practically had to cross its arms over to reach Leonidas, a feat that was impossible.
The result was an Ogre whose body became crisscrossed and whose balance was thrown completely off.
And it was exactly at that moment that Leonidas' tail wrapped around its ankle.
Leonidas stepped through, using the concepts of momentum he had learned from [Five-Pronged-Assault] to sweep the Lower Ogre completely off its feet.
Before the Ogre even landed, Leonidas had moved once more, snaking his tail away from the Ogre's ankle and leaping toward its back.
All 220 kilograms of Leonidas' weight landed on the Ogre's upper back, his tail snaking around its neck as his fists rained down the back of its head.
BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Leonidas' gaze grew brighter and brighter. Violet blood flew about, sprinkling his face and tunic with heavy droplets. At that moment, a fire seemed to light within his soul… But it was exactly then when he was at his highest that his body seized.
In those moments, it felt as though a fist had been wrapped around Leonidas' heart. Beneath the pressure, it collapsed, its walls bursting with blood.
Leonidas' frenzied state dimmed instantly, blood violently flowing from his mouth as he coughed it up.
Leonidas gripped his chest, his breath heaving.
What Leonidas didn't know was that he had entered a Berserk state just now. Among Half-Beasts, this state wasn't particularly rare, but this didn't make it safe, especially not with Leonidas' heart condition.
Leonidas' twin hearts were a mutation of his Ogre bloodline, an exceptionally rare one at that. The unfortunate part was that because of his dual hearts, something that should have been a source of strength, was marred by his weak, Red Fox-lineage flesh.
After cutting off circulation to one of his hearts, he had been able to live a relatively normal life. But, as he trained, his working heart grew stronger. Eventually, this time, without even being aware, it had grown strong enough to trigger a talent of the Half-Beast Race.
Unfortunately, the pressure that the Berserk state put on Leonidas' body, while being fueled by an Ogre's heart, was even faintly beyond that of when he had two hearts.
On the one hand, a Berserk state fueled by an Ogre's heart was far stronger than normal, it might even be comparable to a Middle Half-Beast's Berserk state. A Berserk state that was fueled by two Ogre hearts would probably be comparable if not surpass a High Half-Beast's Berserk state…
But the reality was not only that Leonidas only had one functioning heart, but just that one alone seemed prepared to burst at any moment now.
The sudden weakening of Leonidas' body gave the Ogre an opportunity to try and stand, its mind disoriented.
But, Leonidas managed to push down the feeling of his heart bursting apart. This pain, he had already suffered through it day after day as a child. Even now, his dead second heart was constantly leaving his body in a sickly state as it ate him from the inside out.
He most definitely wouldn't allow this small setback to kill him!
The grip Leonidas' tail had around the Ogre's neck tightened by several levels. As though a boa constrictor, he timed his tightening to perfection. Every time the Ogre tried to breathe, he would tighten again, squeezing with all his might.
At that moment, Leonidas bared his claws. He had no confidence that the knife he brought along with him, the very knife he snatched from Lacroix's corpse could pierce through an Ogre's skull. His own claws, however…
Leonidas growled, his hands descending down and tearing ten holes into the Lower Ogres' skull.
Even as it convulsed, he could feel the life leaving its body. In fact, even long after it died, Leonidas didn't let go, his tail squeezing tighter and tighter.
It wasn't until Leonidas felt that he hit a wall and if he continued, he would pass out just like he had every day on the track for two months, that he finally let go.
Leonidas coughed violently, clumps of blood and flesh flying from his mouth.
He weakly stood, his hand reaching into the two bags that now hung from his hips.
He popped a potion bottle open and chugged it whole, his feet stumbling.
Leonidas took heavy breaths, feeling as though his chest was on fire. It was hard to tell if it was because of the state of his heart, or if he was just that fatigued, but either way, his head felt light.
Soon, Leonidas' head began to clear even as the dust cloud began to settle. As it did so, the battlefield became clearer and clearer. What Leonidas saw made his gaze narrow.
Lady Eve stood before a kneeling Ogre, running her sword cleanly through its neck. Compared to Leonidas who had to put all his effort in just for a small effect, she might as well have been slicing butter.
At that moment, Leonidas realized that his 'sturdy' bones really weren't worth much at all. If a full Ogre could be felled so easily, what did that mean for him as a half Ogre?
Seemingly sensing a gaze, Lady Eve turned back toward Leonidas, her short blond hair rustling slightly in the wind.
When she saw Leonidas standing over a dead Ogre, her brows couldn't help but shoot up, her eyes twinkling with something peculiar. It was almost as though she was surprised that Leonidas had survived, or maybe it was that she was surprised he had come down from the valley walls at all.
Leonidas shifted his gaze away from Lady Eve, looking toward the rest of the battlefield.
There was no doubt that the Ogres were all dead. But, what caught his attention wasn't this but rather Alfan's corpse.
There was no glorious death for this man who had called the Clergy home for so long. His limbs were sprawled awkwardly, his neck was bent out of shape, and there was a very clear cave-in of his chest as though he had been hit by a club after his fall for good measure.
Leonidas had already guessed that Alfan would die the moment he lost balance sliding down the walls. But, actually seeing it still made him take a small pause as though he wanted to sear this image into his mind.
In this world, even the most ridiculous of things could kill you. Charging into an encampment of Ogres should have been a death sentence. They were bigger, faster, stronger, and only slightly less intelligent. Yet, what killed this man who had bided his time for over a decade wasn't them… But rather a slip of the foot.
At that moment though, many were looking toward Leonidas, and even Lady Eve had yet to stop…
He didn't know why then, but he would soon find out that the likes of Kyzer and Daisy hadn't survived because they defeated Ogres like he had. The most those two had done was dodge a few blows and leave some superficial wounds.
But by some miracle… The one they thought was the weakest of them had taken out a Lower Ogre… Alone?