At the top of the hill, slightly worried voices could be heard among the ranks of the Tiger Clan's army. The soldiers murmured among themselves about that orange tornado crossing the battlefield.
"By the gods, what is that..."
"Who is the one fighting Ogura?"
"That can't be real... it looks like a demon!"
It was possible to see Alexander facing Ogura. The giant's skin had turned to stone, while the red-eyed, golden-haired elf was jumping in place.
Alexander's armor, which once gleamed with orange iron and blue hues, was now almost entirely covered in blood, while Ogura's massive clothes were slowly tearing due to the stone skin. Both emanated their auras like powerful orange flames, staring at each other in the middle of that green hill filled with blood and bodies.
"Damn... Damn... I'll kill you!" Ogura roared. Alexander kept jumping in place, and with each touch on the ground, his aura compressed closer to his body.
This guy... Only his skin has turned to stone, the club is still iron... The Tengu's Typhoon is a strike that extends a blade of wind, not a physical attack right?
[The ability of 'Tengu's Typhoon' is a skill that applies both magical and physical damage.]
Magical and physical damage... So, it'll only deal fifty percent damage to this guy. A hundred percent to the club, though, so at least it will disarm him. But that's not all, what I want to know is the fall...
"You damn... I'll kill you now!" He shouted angrily, charging at Alexander, who had just landed on the ground.
If it doesn't consume mana, there's no reason for a cooldown, since it's a Tengu-style ability!
Alexander jumped, now much higher, at least ten meters into the air.
[The player used the ability 'Tengu's Typhoon']
He felt the air move around his body, making him glide through the sky, the power of the wind flowing through his arm and concentrating on his blade. He spun, and then the wind blade extended from the edge of his silver katana.
Three spinning attacks were made one after the other. The sound of the air blades made a loud and somewhat frightening noise, showing the power of each strike. Alexander looked down, the giant had defended himself with his club once again, but it seemed I couldn't withstand another series of attacks.
The giant groaned in pain, though his stone skin had protected him, he could see the marks of the attacks. Part of his club fell to the ground, cut by the Tengu's Typhoon. Alexander was alert to every movement Ogura made. He felt the cold sensation in his stomach from the fall, the wind that had been holding him up was now gone.
The giant looked up, the rocky expression on his face showing his fury. He raised his arms and seemed to grab Alexander in the air to crush him.
Fighting Hakuri and the evil spirit taught me a very valuable thing about the Tengu style... Changing my trajectory in mid-air!
Alexander fell, but just when Ogura was about to snatch him, he dodged. Stepping on the giant's arm, he leaped towards his head.
"Get ready, because this one is gonna hurt!" He yelled, plunging his sword into Ogura's right eye.
A deafening roar came from the giant's mouth. He began thrashing in pain, bringing his arms toward Alexander, trying to pull him off, but the red-eyed elf clung to Ogura's stone ear.
Screams of pain and agony echoed across the battlefield. The giant moved uncontrollably, trying to shake Alexander off, but he held on, wrapping his legs around Ogura's neck and forcing his sword slowly into the stone body.
"Ah! Damn it... I'll kill you... I'll kill you!" Ogura howled in agony.
Alexander tried to hold onto the giant's neck as it thrashed like a raging bull on the blood and corpse-filled hill.
The pain seemed to have driven Ogura insane. He started running toward his own army's soldiers advancing on the battlefield, trampling the formation and crushing anyone in his path. Inch by inch, second by second, the silver blade pushed further into Ogura's eye.
"Let's finish this!" Alexander said, balancing himself and forcing the sword into the giant's eye. Ogura stopped thrashing. His hands, who had been trying to pull Alexander away, released him. His face was frozen, blood pouring from his eye non-stop, then from his nose, mouth, and ears. Finally, the giant's body fell to the ground.
[!!!An extraordinary opponent has been eliminated. The following rewards will be granted to the player!!!]
[XP]
[!!!The player has leveled up!!!]
[A stage has been unlocked in 'Combat Tutorials']
[Passive Ability: Giant Slayer][The player will deal additional damage to enemies larger than themselves. Damage will scale based on the enemy's size (maximum 25% of additional damage)]
Alexander sighed in relief.
"I can already feel the pain and fatigue fading away, this system is truly miraculous. Now, let's see… One level and a passive ability? That's good, but it's the first time I've seen this 'combat tutorial,' seems interesting," Alexander said with a smile on his face. But then, he noticed something strange. It seemed like the sun had been blocked because an immense darkness appeared out of nowhere.
Alexander heard whistles, thousands of them, accompanying the shadow that emerged in the sky. The excited expression on his face changed when he saw the sea of arrows blocking the sunlight. He looked around, searching for somewhere to hide.
"Shit, shit, shit…where?" He looked in all directions without finding an answer. His red eyes found something big enough to use as protection—the immense rocky body of Ogura.
Alexander ran and quickly tucked himself under the giant's corpse, still rocky from the magic and certainly heavy, but he lifted it without difficulty, positioning himself beneath the stone shield, just waiting for the thousands of arrows to rain down on the battlefield.
With each passing second, the whistling of the arrows grew louder and closer. He was counting the seconds.
"They have the advantage of terrain and angle… They can shoot without the risk of hitting their troops," he muttered, lifting Ogura's body to use as a shield.
At the bottom of the hill, the soldiers of the Crane Clan were running desperately, trying to reach the magical barriers of the mages. Not all managed to arrive in time before the arrows hit, but a considerable number found protection. One by one, the soldiers farthest from the mages of the Crane Clan were struck by the immense volley of arrows that covered the sky and ground with their red and black feathers.
"Damn, those two must be dead by now," he muttered, thinking of Yasuo and Taigen.
Alexander pondered, trying to find a way out of this unfavorable situation.
"System, open the map," he said.
The system window appeared, showing the map. Alexander was alone in the middle of the hill, with only a few scattered blue and red dots, which were slowly disappearing—dying. He observed closely, noticing he was much closer to the top of the hill than the Crane Clan's army.
He saw another wave of red dots descending from the top of the hill, more enemy soldiers. His eyes caught movement at the edges, groups of enemies approaching faster than those on the Wolf Clan's front line.
Cavalry...
He could see the allied soldiers preparing a defensive formation, fortifying the flanks while the vanguard organized into a spearhead formation. Slowly, Alexander could feel the ground trembling with the gallop of the approaching horses. The enemy formation, which had previously sought the flanks, was now transforming into a straight line.
They're getting closer… this guy's body will serve as protection, but they could jump over or avoid it. But if it's an iron steed… it might crush me. He saw the red dots rapidly approaching his position.
The ground trembled more and more. His heart pounded relentlessly. After a few seconds, the arrows finally stopped raining down.
The decision is now… Either I stay here and wait for them to pass, or I get out and grab a horse.
He could hear the horses' neighs approaching. The ground shook as if an earthquake was about to happen.
Fuck it!
He emerged from under Oruga's body and stood up on the battlefield. Looking at that terrifying scene, hundreds of furious horses ran at full speed downhill, forming an immense cloud of dust. Mounted atop the horses were samurai warriors, their orange auras emanating powerfully. They carried immense spears and naginatas, with demon-faced masks on their faces.
I think I know how to get a horse…
He said, resting his sword on the ground and holding it upside down, pointing the blade downward as if wielding a harpoon.
Alexander assumed a sprinting posture, crouching down and placing both hands on the grass as if preparing to run a marathon. He took a deep breath, trying to ignore the strong smell of blood on the battlefield, and his aura shrank until it was only a few centimeters from his body.
Getting a horse is the priority… I may be fast, but if I'm going to dive into the enemy army, I need to conserve energy. Besides… I don't know how long I can maintain my maximum speed, but a horse…
He began running uphill toward the enemy cavalry. The horses were fast, especially the iron steeds that moved like unstoppable monsters.
One…
With each second, the horses drew closer, their riders neighing with fury and a thirst for battle. The red-eyed elf ran relentlessly like a bullet, dodging arrows and corpses along the way, but maintaining his speed.
Two…
Thirty meters, twenty meters, ten meters, and five meters away from the horsemen, who pointed their spears at him.
Three!
Alexander crouched, gaining momentum, and at the last second, he leaped over the samurai.
Where… Where… A target… Someone who hasn't noticed me…
His eyes darted from side to side, searching for a mounted samurai who appeared slightly careless.
There… On the right!
Alexander focused on a samurai in yellow armor. He threw his sword with such force that it struck the rider in the chest and knocked him off the horse, but he still held onto the reins, causing the animal to be pulled back.
After a few seconds that felt like hours in his mind, he hit the ground, passing through the entire cavalry division that ignored him and continued charging downhill. He ran to the fallen samurai, pulled his sword from his chest, grabbed the horse's reins, and mounted the animal.
The horse neighed and began to buck as if refusing to be ridden by him.
"Easy, boy!" he said, pulling the reins and controlling the animal.
Now…
He said, looking toward the top of the hill, seeing yet another wave of infantry soldiers descending that green hill filled with arrows, blood, and bodies.
"Let's get to the top."