Thaarok Gulnash Korhakshkara, the greatest warrior of the Frost Blades Tribe, and in the entirety of all the native orks of Sviethiod, he was the second most powerful ork among them all, with his might surpassed only by the High Chief Lord Khaarnak himself– in truth, this was the reason why Thaarok became the Chief Lord's aid, as the defeat he suffered after fighting him honorably in a duel made him not become angered by his opponent's might, but instead made him develop a profound, sense of respect for the warrior who had surpassed him in strength.
Despite his loss against Khaarnak however, the vice-chief himself was no weak individual at all, as he had been renowned for his incredible combat speed, an impressive feat that even the Chief Lord himself had complimented during their duel.
How did he end up achieving such a significant prowess? He trained, and for many years did he hone his body, spending most of his time mastering his techniques, until he had finally reached the highest level of peak that his prowess as a warrior could achieve.
Despite the glory he had achieved however, it would ultimately mean nothing before the terrible disaster that was sweeping through the ranks of his doomed warriors...
...
...
A rain of blue light fell upon the orkish warriors, and like scores of wheat to the sharpened blade of a harvest scythe, the greenskins were being slaughtered en masse as the attacks struck them mercilessly and turned their bodies into melted goop as their blood stained the grasslands with their overflowing, crimson blood.
"Those cowardly humans!"
"They're firing at us with their long-ranged magicks!"
"Raise your shields! Block their cowardly attacks!"
In a vain attempt to protect themselves, many of the orks would put their wooden shields up front in order to protect themselves from the rain of light– unfortunately though, it was useless, as even an indirect hit from a single beam could blast away entire clusters of their warriors in an instant, and of course, the flimsy shields of wood wouldn't even stand a chance against a direct hit from the powerful blasts of energy.
"GAAHHH!!!"
"We must fall back! Many of us will die if we continue charging!"
"Nonsense! Only cowards do retreats, we are not like those snivelling meatsacks!"
More of them were shot down by the rain of light, and each hit would instantly take the life of an ork warrior and the countless others who had unfortunately been behind it, reducing their bodies into a bloody, lifeless mess that couldn't be healed by even the strongest healing magicks their shamans could cast.
Even despite the advantage however, the swarming, orkish army pressed on with their reckless assault, their casualties rapidly climbing up to the skies as thousands of dead greenskins laid cold and lifeless on the ground: it wasn't in their nature to be cowardly, and their duties as warriors wouldn't allow them to consider disobeying the direct order that their vice-chief gave them, and so they continued to charge without regard for their own lives, even if it meant that many of them would perish in the process.
"We're getting close! We'll cut them down without mercy!"
"Those damn humans! I'll split their skulls open! How dare they attack us so cowardly!"
"Avenge our fallen brothers! Let their deaths not be in vain!"
Alas, as expected, the massive numbers of the orks would allow them to eventually close the distance gap between them and the army of imperial reinforcements– they were now only a few hundred metres away, and their massive, green bodies bearing crude, primitive weapons were a horrifying sight that instilled fear into the imperial soldiers even as they kept firing into them.
... However, before the orks could close in and begin hacking away at the imperial lines with their superior physical might..
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BLAAMMMM!!!
The earth shook fervently as a powerful force impacted the ground, sending waves of devastating winds and debris that sent hundreds of ork warriors hurtling into the air as if they were nothing more than weightless puppets of wood.
"... That was quite the impact, princess."
"Hm... I suppose it is. Although, I'm not really using all of my strength right now."
Princess Aldyth pulled her spear from the ground she landed on after she made the attack, and to her side, her loyal retainer followed suit with a speed comparable to that of lightning: the orks had already managed to close the distance, and as such, the 2 powerful figures couldn't simply remain and stand-by as their forces would become ravaged in close-combat by the approaching orkish warriors.
"Altair... Deal with the ones on the left side. I'll handle the ones on the right myself."
"Understand, your highness."
The 2 leaders of the imperial reinforcements had decided to lead from the front and prevent their foes from getting any closer, and as a result, the orkish army was quickly split into 2 equal sides, all while the raining fire of light continued to steadily whittle down their numbers– with quick, successive attacks of her lightning-charged blade, Altair cut down hundreds of orks in the blink of an eye, and on the side of the battle was Aldyth skewering the greenskins with her silverine spear, almost as if they were nothing more than cattle meant to be slaughtered.
"H-how are these 2 humans so strong?!"
"Keep fighting, you fools! They're human women! They're weaker than the men of their kin!"
"How are they weak when they're slaughtering us with such ease?!"
Hundreds more orks would fall prey to the princess and her knight's assault, and the backup they received from the firepower of the soldiers behind them only served to further inflict more devastating losses upon the orkish army. Though the greenskins still had a rather impressive number of warriors, they had now lost a significant portion of their forces, with their dead bodies sullying the once-pristine grasslands as the battle continued to rage on.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB!
"AARGGHHH!!!"
"They're too strong! They're as strong as the vice-chief... No, perhaps even greater!"
"We have to kill them, no matter the cost! Swarm them with our numbers, they can't take on all of us at once!"
More orks threw themselves into the fray, and each of them thought that their courage would at least bring a significant contribution– in the end though, most of the ones who had dared to charge at both the princess and her knight would immediately end up dead and torn to pieces, and even though they knew how strong these 2 individuals were, the greenskins still kept mindlessly charging at them due to their determination to adhere to their leader's order...
Eventually though, their numbers would rapidly plummet due to their reckless actions, and the victory that was previously just within their reach would be snatched away and instead be replaced by defeat...
...
...
He had finally arrived at the frontline of the battle after making haste with all the might that lied in his speed, and yet all Thaarok witnessed was a brutality being inflicted upon his own army: thousands of his warriors laid dead on the fields as the human soldiers kept unleashing their cowardly magicks at them from afar... Most importantly though, there was a single question that formed in his mind, as the impossibility he had just witnessed continued to confuse him to no end...
Who were these 2 monsters that were ripping his warriors apart as if they were nothing more than nuisances?
One of them channelled lightning whenever she moved her blade, and even the simplest movements she made were already faster than the quickest ones that Thaarok could perform: not only that however, but the other human who possessed a terrifying, physical strength as she wielded that silverine spear... The sight of it unnerved his senses a bit, as her power reminded him of the might that the Chief Lord possessed.
"You monster of thunder... You've claimed the lives of many of my warriors... For that you will pay!"
One of them came close within his vicinity, her sword hacking and slashing Thaarok's warriors with ease, and it was a disaster that filled the vice-chief with a rage– this was completely unnaceptable, and he had to do everything he could to subdue this monster and ensure that no more of his warriors would perish to this monstrous human...
"If you're going to be too fast, then I'll slow you down until you can't move anymore!"
Thaarok raised his battleaxe into the air, and instantly did both the ground and air become enveloped in a thick, icy environment that could entrap even the toughest creatures in solid ice: it was the power of the enchantment magicks of his blade, a weapon enchanted by the traditional magicks of the Frost Blades tribe where Thaarok hailed from, and the ork had figured that the freezing cold would be enough to slow down the human's movements for at least a bit.
... However, contrary to what he expected, things didn't proceed at all with what he had in mind.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The freezing magicks didn't slow her down at all, as she would then set her sights upon him, initiating a quick exchange of attacks that happened in the blink of a human eye, and Thaarok immediately realised that he was the slower one between the both of them– the human moved faster than what his senses could perceive, and the only reason he was even able to counter her blows was due to his incredibly honed instinct.
"It's useless, ork."
In lightning-quick speeds that befitted the thunder she manifested whenever she moved, the guardian knight managed to close the distance between her sword and the vice-chief's body, her blade already being only an arm's length away from the ork's neck, and the blow she delivered would only take a few seconds before it would slice through Thaarok's neck and behead him completely.
No, how could this be? He was the vice-chief of the united ork tribes of Sviethiod... The second strongest among them, as well as one of the very few warriors who had been recognised by the Chief Lord himself. How could he accept losing his life at this very moment in time, where just a few hours ago he was already about to succeed in the task that was given to him?
There wasn't anything he could do, as he couldn't dodge the blade in time to protect his neck, and his weapon was at a difficult angle where he couldn't use it to deflect the blow– his life flashed before his eyes as time seemed to slow down from his perspective, allowing his mind to race rapidly with his own thoughts to find a way to escape the dreadful situation he had been forced into.
... Alas, there was only one thing he could do, and it made him feel as if his pride had been shattered into several broken pieces of fragile porcelain.
The magick pendant that the Chief Lord gave to him, an arcane tool that would allow him to request for back-up the moment things became dire... Thaarok never thought that there would be a moment where he would require its use, yet in the end it truly did manage to happen eventually, and there was no other choice he could choose other than this one.
And so, with his free-hand, he squeezed the golden tool that hung from his neck, crushing it into small, broken pieces, and a blinding series of white lights appeared behind him...
"What the hell are you-"
SLASH!
Altair was expecting the ork to parry her sword, and what Thaarok had chosen to do confused her and made her slow down her blade for only a brief moment, and yet that single moment of distraction was enough for Thaarok to leave a wound upon his mighty adversary: a vertical slash from his battleaxe, an attack that left a wound that started from her left shoulder and ended near her waist, a dreadful injury that had thankfully been mitigated by the advanced exo-armour she wore, as her body would have been cleanly cut in half had she adorned any lesser form of protection.
"Y-you bastard...!"
Unfortunately, before Thaarok could be relieved of the fact that he had at least managed to make his seemingly invincible enemy bleed, the electrified blade would swiftly cleave through his vulnerable body, making his head depart from his neck as he finally met his quick, yet gruesome end...
...
...
"Y-Your highness, it seems that I've managed to slay one of their leaders, however... It summoned a gateway using the pendant on its neck before I managed to slay it..."
"... You should have killed it faster... It looks like we're going to be in a bit of trouble now..."
Even though many of the greenskin warriors witnessed the death of their leader with their own eyes, anger formed within their minds instead of fear, as they foolishly continued their useless charge into certain death at the hands of the imperial soldiers from afar who kept firing at them and whittling down more of their numbers– the main concern of the imperials however, was the mysterious magick that the ork leader left behind just moments before he had been victoriously slain.
"... Ah, so that was what it was meant for... I told you that you should've killed it more quickly."
"I-I apologise, my liege... I'll try not to be so incompetent next time."
"It isn't exactly your fault, Altair. Retreat for now and tend to your wounds. That injury the ork gave you thankfully doesn't seem too deep..."
From the portal came several more ork warriors, their teeming numbers pouring into the battlefield like an endless swarm of locusts– because of this, Aldyth would immediately wield her spear once more as she quickly began doing away with the charging forces of the greenskins while defending her wounded ally who was still within her reach.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB!
"There are more coming from the portal... Their numbers aren't coming to an end at all."
It had quickly escalated into a disaster, as the portal continuously brought in more enemies for them to fight, and the rate at which they and the soldiers killed their enemies was slowly being outpaced by the endless tides of orks coming from the portal: more of them were joining in the battlefield, and no matter how much they had already killed, it would ultimately be useless if more of them simply kept joining in to add to their still-massive numbers.
"For the Glory of the Chief Lord!"
"Charge into battle and kill every human you see!"
"Oh no you won't, you savage brutes."
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB! STAB!
The longer that damn, ethereal construct was allowed to exist, the more disadvantaged they would become, and they would likely lose this battle as a result if they were to allow it to continue summoning more enemies into the battlefield.
Ideas came rushing into the princess' head as she kept cutting down the approaching greenskins with a single movement from her spear; eventually, though, she would come up with a rather dangerous plan to close the portal and win the battle once and for all, though the risks that came with it would seem to be too great at the first glance of most...
"Altair, I have an idea... It's a bit reckless though, but I still need you to listen."
"Of course, what is it then, your highness?"
The princess then pointed the sharp tip of her spear towards the portal. "... I'm going to enter that blasted gateway and destroy it from the other side. I'll find whatever it is they're using to sustain that portal, and I'll destroy it so that no more of these bastards will keep arriving.
"Tell the others to not follow me into the gateway; I'll be going in there myself."
Of course, upon hearing such a ridiculous suggestion, the blonde-haired knight would quickly interject: it was pure madness after all, because the princess would be charging into a completely unknown territory that would most likely be filled with countless orks on the other side, and it was definitely something that she wouldn't allow to happen.
"B-but your highness... You don't know what you'll be jumping into. You'll not only be facing the entirety of their numbers head-on, but we also won't be able to accompany you into the gateway. There's a high chance you might lose your life in the process."
"Hm, you're right... But..." Aldyth paused for a moment after she replied. "You can't accompany me there by yourself either since you've been injured, and we still need to deal with this gateway problem as soon as possible."
"Your highness..."
"I'll be able to handle them. Don't worry, no matter how many there are, I'm strong enough to deal with any of their numbers."
"... Even so, your highness, you have to consider the options here..."
"I already have though. Even if I lose my life in there, what matters is that we stop them from sending more of their own. Who knows how many more of them will come anyway? The soldiers will probably run out of ammunition before we find out." the princess remarked. "You don't need to worry about me, Altair, I'll be able to handle it myself. Besides, you already know how strong I am, right?"
Altair eventually sighed in defeat, as it became apparent that she wouldn't be able to convince the princess otherwise– she didn't have the strength to persuade her by force either, as the injury she sustained due to her carelessness was still taking a great toll on her wounded body, and the only thing she could do was to reluctantly accept the princess' reckless decision.
"... F-fine then, your highness, just... Please be safe..."
"Be safe as well. I will definitely destroy that portal and come back alive."
SWWOOOSSHHH!!!
"GAAHHHH!!!!"
"AAARRGHHHH!!!"
The princess moved at speeds that seemed like a blur, leaving a trail of destruction marked by the hundreds of dead ork warriors, as she would then jump into the ethereal energies of the gateway to reach the other side and finally put an end to this battle...
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The temporary camp-settlement that the other half of the orkish army made in order to rest and recover had been troubled by an unfamiliar sight, though surprisingly, Khaarnak himself was already aware as to why it happened– a portal, a swirling gateway of ethereal energies, had suddenly appeared from out of nowhere and right in front of him, and although the orks immediately began charging into its embrace upon the Chief Lord's orders, it was only Khaarnak who was fully aware of why the portal manifested in front of them.
The reason why it appeared before them was that Thaarok had used the pendant he gave him, and there was only one purpose as to why he chose to do it: defeat was imminent, and he had decided to open a portal to request for assistance, an unlikely possibility that crossed the Chief Lord's mind, and unfortunately, it was a possibility that had managed to become a reality...
"Hm? What's this? A human is... Hahaha, how interesting..."
Eventually, a lone figure came out of the gateway's swirling structure, though it wasn't Thaarok or any other ork who emerged from the portal, but rather, it was a lone human woman adorned in armour, armed with nothing but a silver spear that she used to cleave and skewer the ork warriors who began attacking her the moment she emerged from the portal, and the way she fought so ferociously despite being alone intrigued the Chief Lord to no end in sight: was she not afraid of dying at all, or was she simply that strong and confident in her power?
Regardless though, this was the perfect moment for Khaarnak to demonstrate the full capacity of his tremendous prowess, as it had been months since he was able to have fun in battle, and this powerful woman who was currently killing so many of his warriors with ease would most likely be able to entertain him for a bit...
...
...
It had only been a few minutes since she entered the gateway, and yet there were already too many enemies for her to deal with– orks from every direction lunged at her without respite, and although she easily managed to end their lives with only a single strike from her spear, there were still far too many of them for her to be able to deal with them as quickly as possible.
STAB! STAB! STAB! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Despite seeming like a normal, fragile woman, Aldyth had been honed into a weapon ever since that worthless father of hers began his twisted experiments upon her to permanently modify her body– her strength and physical might were in an unparalleled league of their own, and not even the mightiest warriors of the orks could hope to match up against Aldyth's might, an absolute truth that was obvious due to how easily the princess was dealing with the orks who kept charging mindlessly at her.
"... Hm? Now why did you savages stop all of a sudden? Have you finally realised how powerful I am compared to you lot?"
Suddenly though, something strange would take place before her very eyes– the orks halted their assault upon her, and now they were instead standing around the princess as they stared at her very cautiously... Had they finally realised how futile it was for them to continue charging at her like a bunch of mindless lunatics? Regardless of the reason though, Aldyth couldn't bring herself to care about it, as the only thing that mattered right now was to find a way to destroy whatever it was that was powering the gateway.
THUD... THUD... THUD... THUD...
"T-the chief lord himself has taken to the battle..."
"This woman... He must have been recognised as a worthy opponent..."
"I-Impossible... A human acknowledged by Lord Khaarnak himself..."
The footsteps made by his terribly large feet sent light tremors into the ground as he walked towards the princess– it was the famed leader of the southern orks, Khaarnak Marthushkara Duraltan, a towering ork whose height and stature stood above even the tallest orks of the united tribes, as even his mere shadow would eclipse Aldyth from the light of the sun as he slowly made his way towards her.
"Human... I sense a great power lying within that body of yours... I would like to fight you, 1 on 1." the chief lord stated bluntly, as he pointed his battleaxe towards his opponent while the orks surrounding them shouted in eager, guttural cheers and warcries. "Your name... Tell me what your name is... Before we begin our glorious battle."
"... My name? You want to know what my name is?" Aldyth replied coldly to the towering ork in front of her.
"Yes... So that I may respect your name, whether I win this battle or not. Though I strongly believe that I will win this one, just like all my previous battles..."
"You seem confident in your victory, ork. Are you sure you can win in a fight against me?"
Khaarnak laughed at her snide remark, amazed by the confidence that this human woman was showing her. "No. That was merely a crude jest, please pay no attention to it. In battle, warriors must acknowledge the truth of their mortality. By knowing your name, I will be able to respect your prowess as a warrior, even if I die and go to whatever afterlife awaits my soul..."
"... Hmph. You're not bad at all... At least for an ork..."
"You too, human. You're not bad at all... Most humans are fragile, even when compared to our weakest warriors... But not you. I have a feeling that our battle will be a legendary one."
The imperial princess then readied her spear, its silverine body being gripped onto rather firmly as Aldyth prepared to pounce upon her massive opponent.
"What are you waiting for? If you want to fight, then let's go. Don't waste any more time."
A terrible grin formed on the ork's face, his entire body excited from the mere prospect of doing battle with a worthy foe.
"... Hah, you're right... Let's do it now then, shall we?"
BOOMMMM!!!
The air shook violently as they leapt to meet each other in combat, sending the orks flying into the air from the sheer power of the winds that resulted from their horribly swift movements...
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CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Aldyth's spear and Khaarnak's battleaxe met each with a flurry of thunderous blows– to both their surprises, they were well-matched in the likes of speed and strength, as neither fighter relented from the flurry of attacks and parries they threw at each other amidst the duel.
How interesting... The ork lord thought to himself as the battle-mad grin on his face visibly grew wider: it seemed that this human woman was capable of putting up more of a fight, and he would definitely put in more of his strength due to how exciting he found it to be.
"Hahahaha! You're quite strong, human! I'll definitely give you that! Looks like I don't need to hold back after all!"
"!!!"
Khaarnak delivered another storm of blows from his axe, though this time, each of his attacks carried far more weight and power in them: though the princess would manage to block most of them with her spear, the last attack that the ork lord threw at her rapidly sent her flying into one of the nearby tents, destroying it and turning all the orks she collided with into bloody, red pastes that splattered everywhere.
"Come now, surely that isn't the best of your strength! Fight with everything you have, I haven't had a worthy opponent in decades!"
In the blink of an eye, Aldyth would recover from the supposedly devastating attack that pushed her back, charging swiftly towards Khaarnak with her spear in hand as its silver body glistened due to the sun's rays: her speed was too quick however, and it quickly managed to land a fatal blow upon the Ork Lord's right limb.
"Hahahaha! Now that's more like it! Come, let us fight until one of us loses their life!"
Unfortunately though, the deadly hit she managed to land on him would instantly be rendered useless, as the mangled arm that Khaarnak used to wield his battleaxe began regenerating at impressive speeds, with his flesh and bone reforming rapidly as an entirely new limb would completely replace his ruined arm.
"You... How did you...?"
"This is one of the many abilities I cultivated within myself after countless years of honing and training my body." Khaarnak noted proudly as he moved and waved his newly regenerated arm a bit. "Regeneration, speed... And a strength that allows me to reduce entire mountains to rubble..."
"For you to be able to injure me to this extent, I must commend you, Princess Aldyth. However, no matter how many of your attacks you manage to connect, it will ultimately be rendered useless by my regeneration."
SWWOOOSSHHH!!!
This time, Khaarnak would be the one on the offence as he unleashed more fatal blows from his battleaxe against the princess, who had been caught off guard by the ork's sudden display of speed; thankfully though, with the careful twistings and turnings of her spear, Aldyth managed to block them all and prevent them from coming close and leaving fatal wounds upon her body.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Khaarnak pressed on with his unrelenting offensive, not even allowing Aldyth a single moment of respite as his battleaxe connected blow after blow, though the princess was still managing to just barely parry them all by using the edges of her spear to strike the battleaxe at its sides to disrupt its movements– it would seem that the princess would be stuck in this deadlocked defence, though eventually, she would manage to find an opening in the ork's attacks, a fatal point of weakness resulting from Khaarnak's single second of carelessness due to his constant delivery of attacks.
Of course, Aldyth would quickly take advantage of this: as she parried the last blow that was about to meet her, she would then aim for the weak point by thrusting her spear at lightning-quick speeds.
"ARRGHHHH!!!"
The silverine weapon easily pierced through the ork lord's chest with its carefully precise stab as Aldyth quickly retracted it back to prevent him from gripping onto the weapon. The attack, however, would send him backwards a bit as blood began profusely leaking from his open wound– in the end though, just like the previous fatal blow that Aldyth delivered, Khaarnak's swift regeneration would inevitably remove the deadly injury from his body in only a few seconds, and it eventually became as if he had never even been pierced in the first place.
... However, the brief moment where Khaarnak had flinched and taken the time to recover due to the piercing stab that struck his chest... It was more than enough to turn the tables and allow Aldyth to become the one on the offensive.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
"... Hahaha, you got me good... Alright then... I'll give it my all this time… It looks like I'm going to need my full strength in order to defeat you."
It was time to use the full extent of his power, the ultimate peak of his martial prowess where he didn't even require a weapon to fight... And as Khaarnak kept blocking the deadly thrusts that Aldyth kept delivering, a change would slowly take place within the ork lord's very body: first there was the sound of a heartbeat that struck twice, and what followed afterwards would inflict a state of shock and bewilderment even upon the usually stoic mind of the imperial princess.
BOOOMMMM!!!!
A sudden expansion of crimson energy boomed throughout the air, dissipating in an instant as it simultaneously sent Aldyth flying into the horizon once more as she landed upon one of the destroyed, orkish tents that cushioned her blow: as her eyes quickly moved to focus on her towering opponent though, the full strength that Khaarnak was mentioning would finally be put on display before her very eyes...
"Behold, the peak of my wondrous body. To be able to push me this far... I must thank you, princess... For countless years, I have never had the opportunity of facing an opponent as worthy as yourself..."
His body had become far larger than his already massive size, with his towering stature reaching more than twice what it had once been; not only that however, but the colour of his skin had changed from that of orkish green, to the colour of bright crimson, and his strength had also reached a new level of might that befitted the orkish rumours about his tremendous physical prowess...
This form was a result of Khaarnak's years of training within the desolate caves of Sviethiod's frozen wastelands, a state of both body and mind that had allowed him to achieve the highest form of power that any orkish warrior could hope to achieve– 'Transcendence' or so the Chief Lord called it, it was a temporary transformation that he could maintain for so long as he had the willpower to maintain it, and it was a state that boosted his very body up to its very limits... Its only downside was that it drastically increased the energy that his body used for every passing second and minute, which was why Khaarnak couldn't afford to use this form in every single one of his fights.
"However... it seems that I don't need this axe anymore. All the weapons I'll ever need in this form are my fists, nothing more, nothing less."
SWWOOOSSHHH!!!
Finding no use for his weapon any longer, Khaarnak would throw his battleaxe towards Aldyth's direction, and although it was hurtling towards her at a vastly incredible speed, the princess would easily deflect the soaring axe with a simple strike from her silverine spear, though as she blocked the attack, Khaarnak immediately dashed towards her and managed to time his attack with the moment of time she used to block the axe, allowing him a single strike that could finally land directly upon her vulnerable body.
BLLAAAMMMM!!!!
The ork delivered a fierce uppercut that would send Aldyth flying once more, though this time it would propel her towards the sky at an incredibly high altitude. Without a moment's delay though, Khaarnak immediately stomped his feet to launch himself into the air and follow up his attacks with another flurry of blows from his powerful fists.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
He mercilessly pummeled the airborne princess with his fists of iron, successfully connecting a flurry of attacks that brutally struck Aldyth with tremendous forces that would have already killed off anyone else. Due to the incredible force of his punches however, Aldyth would once more be unpreventably launched into another direction, this time to the ground beneath her, and as she met the cold embrace of the earth's surface, the sheer impact of her body colliding with the surface below produced surging tremors that visibly shook the large area of land she crashed onto.
BOOOOOMMMM!!!
"... Cough... What the... Where the hell is it... My spear..."
Despite being beaten up with such tremendously monstrous blows, Aldyth could only feel a dull sense of pain coursing through her nerves right now, and whether it was because she only sustained light injuries from the attacks, or perhaps because she had already suffered far too much damage for her to feel the agony, the true reason was not something that remained important to her right now– the location of where her spear had ended up was something she needed to figure out as soon as possible, as it was practically impossible for her to defeat the ork lord without its penetrative power.
THUUDDD!!!
Khaarnak would descend upon the ground as well, producing a crater from where his feet struck the earth as clouds of dust scattered throughout the air. Upon his landing though, the ork then slowly walked towards the still-recovering princess, who had chosen to stand up once more and continue their brutal fight to the death.
"You... You're good! No creature in this world, not even the strongest members of my own kin, have been able to survive battling me this long!" Khaarnak praised, only pure amazement emanating from his words as the battle-mad grin on his face remained ever-wide. "You don't even appear to be too injured at all despite all the punches I landed on you... You are strong, Princess Aldyth, I commend you for the power you possess... If only you had been born as one of my kin, it definitely would've been fun to spar with you every day..."
"Shut up, you damn ork... If you want to fight, then shut your mouth..." Aldyth responded as she slowly stood up. "... And keep fighting like the crazy battle-maniac you are."
"Hahaha, I admire your confidence, princess, however... I believe it's time to end this. No more games: in the next few seconds, I will pour every ounce of my strength into this battle, so that I can finally claim victory and defeat you with my own 2 hands..."
Now Aldyth had several more problems to deal with, and it was already beginning to frustrate her to no end: her silverine spear was missing, and there was also no way to inflict any permanent injury upon that bastard ork without the regeneration instantly covering for whatever attack that might fall upon him. How would she even be able to defeat this monster if her weapon was nowhere in sight, all while her enemy had the ability to heal whatever significant damage she would manage to inflict on him?
Time seemed to stand still for a moment as she focused on her thoughts, her mind racing with the passing seconds in order to come up with a solution...
Suddenly though, a small hint, the first step towards the saving grace she could use, would flash briefly within her thoughts… The ork lord's regeneration… It was very similar to that of the western trolls she used to deal with in the past: they could regenerate from any form of bodily harm and were effectively immortal, and the only way that one could successfully dispatch of them was to completely pulverise their head or pierce their heart and destroy either of the two completely...
Furthermore... She could remember hearing the sound of a heartbeat when that damn ork made his transformation... Perhaps his heart was vital to this dreadful power he had put on full display before her?
She understood it now, and she'd finally come up with a plan to defeat him, even though Aldyth wasn't exactly certain if this plan she made had a surefire chance of working– regardless though, the princess knew that she had no other option but to put her complete faith in it and execute it well, as she then prepared herself for the continuation of her bloody duel with this towering ork warrior in front of her.
"You look a bit dazed though, princess... Did one of my punches hit your head a bit too much?"
Aldyth scoffed at his words as she made her response. "No... Not at all. I've simply been thinking about a way to deal with that bothersome regeneration of yours."
"Oho? How interesting... Did you find a way to deal with it then?"
"... Yes, I've found it." Aldyth replied, her tone being incredibly serious as she used the index finger of her right hand to point towards her opponent's chest. "That beating heart of yours... Since I heard a sound coming from it before you transformed... I assume that it's something important for that transformation you made?"
Hearing this, Khaarnak would be surprised for a moment, as he had temporarily been caught off guard by the human's quick sense of wits, to which he would respond with an amused laughter.
"... Hahahaha... You're quite the perceptive human... Yes, my heart is the greatest weakpoint I have during this transformation. I can still regenerate my head as long as it doesn't get too damaged, but my heart... It can't regenerate from even the lightest injuries, and if it ever gets damaged too much... Well, to put it simply, you'll earn your victory."
"However... I doubt you'd be able to exploit this weakness of mine. You don't even have that spear of yours to pierce through my chest, how could you possibly-"
"Hmph. You doubt my power too much... All I have to do is one simple thing..." Aldyth explained, her eyes staring fiercely at her enemy as her legs readied to move quickly once again. "I'll tear your heart out and crush it within the palm of my hand... Then I'll finally be able to kill you."
"Hahahahaha! Do your best then!"
And they met each other again as they pounced at each other with murderous intent– a barrage of blows from both sides struck each other with their fists, as the 2 of them were locked in a battle of physical might where neither side would be advancing or relenting.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
"HAHAHAHA! THIS IS THE GREATEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE! STRUGGLE MORE, PRINCESS, I'M JUST GETTING STARTED!"
Some of the attacks they delivered against each other would eventually manage to land upon their bodies, though these stray blows only managed to leave small wounds on the both of them as their battle continued to rage on: it was evident that, in terms of both strength and speed, the 2 combatants were relatively equal and held no gaps between them, and the only thing that would determine the victor in their battle would be the skill they had in utilising their fearsome power...
...
...
Imperial Princess Aldyth von Neugomia, the 2nd sired child of Titus von Neugomia, the now-dead emperor of the Neugomian Empire... Unlike her other siblings, she had been born with a particular talent that truly didn't befit her nature at all: from her very birth, she possessed a latent strength and resilience that no other human, much more a newborn child, should ever hope to possess, and because of this, her cruel father had hoped to exploit this potential for his twisted desire for power.
She was moulded into a weapon, her father performing countless horrid experiments on her body with the assistance of his dark mages and their morally-corrupt studies, and the princess would eventually become the monster of a human that she currently was: a powerful human weapon with an extreme physicality, whose tremendous physical prowess was completely contrasted by her deceivingly fragile, yet tall, feminine body.
What would prove to be more surprising however, was that the princess wasn't actually herself, or rather, the soul within her body didn't match that of her body's to begin with...
Her soul had already passed on after all those terrible arcane modifications made on her body, and the one that was currently in her vessel was a different soul entirely– there was a reason why Thurien couldn't sense the presence of a soul within Aldyth's body when they first met, as the one that was already inside her never belonged to Aldyth's body in the first place…
In truth, the new soul within her belonged to someone from the past who had been placed into the dead body's confines in an attempt to preserve their life and allow them to have a second chance, similar to the mysterious event that Novus had experienced thanks to that certain being who called herself as 'Whitlea'.
Even more shocking however, was the fact that 'Aldyth' herself could still remember a few vestiges of the past life she lived, though whenever she did they would only flash within her mind as faint, hazy memories: she was a sickly child whose mother had left her behind, only managing to live for as long as she did thanks to the man she called 'father', though in the end, the crippling terminal illness that plagued her body would eventually cause her death and lead to her soul passing on...
And that was when she heard a voice, a gentle, soothing one that seemed to pity the tragedy that led to her slow, inevitable demise... Although 'Aldyth' couldn't exactly remember the words that the voice said to her, what she could recall was that it was the one who had allowed her to be reborn in this new life, in the body of the supposedly dead princess who had perished due to the cold, uncaring nature of her wicked father.
By now, Aldyth had fully adapted to the new life she was given, and although she now considered the memories of this previous body's owner as her own, she still longed to meet the poor father she left behind in her previous life... It ate away at her and made her feel guilty how she had been nothing more than a burden to him, and how she inevitably left him behind after she perished due to her dreadful illness.
If there was any way she could make amends, she would at least try to live her new life by protecting the loved ones of this previous body's owner– she could see it from the memories of this vessel after all... The youngest prince named Roland, the only one among the imperial royal family who treated the princess with love and respect, even before she had been transferred into this once-dead body and allowed it to come back to life...
In this life, 'Aldyth' would do everything she could to not lose the ones that she was supposed to care about, and she would never again be the useless burden she saw herself as back in her previous life...
She would do all of this dutifully, even if it required her to risk, and perhaps sacrifice the new life she had been given in the process.
...
...
Most of the orks have already chosen to vacate the area, as the battle between their great leader and the powerful human he was duelling with had already taken a great toll even upon the very earth they battled on...
The ground all around them became riddled with cracks, crevices and gaping craters, and most of the orkish settlements had been annihilated due to the chaos of their battle, which was a testament to how destructively mighty their long-lived duel was. Now however, their battle for supremacy using only the natural tools of their bodies had taken an entire hour for them to reach this point, as both combatants were now bloodied with their own ichor, with multitudes of wounds and bruises visible upon their skin due to the great injuries they sustained, though Khaarnak was already beginning to slowly recover from the damages due to the swift regeneration of his body.
"This was... A good battle... But it seems that you've already reached your limit... What a shame, you would have defeated me already if it weren't for my rapid healing..."
Unlike the chief lord, Aldyth's injuries remained visible throughout her body, and her condition was slowly beginning to grow worse as time continued to pass by– the pain of her broken bones and bruised flesh, as well as the multiple bleeding wounds she sustained during their fight, were already causing a terrible amount of anguish that tortured her without an end in sight, and yet despite that, she was still managing to stand up on her own 2 legs due to the sheer resilience of her own will.
At the same time though, Aldyth kept firmly holding onto the severed hand that she held with her right arm: it was the limb of the Chief Lord that she had torn from his body when she managed to grip its flesh with the full extent of her power, and although Khaarnak was already beginning to regenerate the arm he had lost to the princess, she would inevitably find a way to utilise the arm she tore from him into a weapon that could secure her victory.
"... You're a tough one, I have to admit. That regeneration of yours is really annoying... However..."
Aldyth knew she had to push herself to her limits again, as this was the only moment where he had managed to leave her enemy at a similar disadvantage to hers... Although Khaarnak was already beginning to heal from his injuries, it would take a while for his missing hand and his battered body to completely recover from the damages they sustained, and the princess knew that she had to keep fighting so that she could finally defeat this monster once and for all.
"I may be tired and battered... But nothing will stop me from tearing out that stupid heart of yours."
With her own 2 hands, Aldyth would then rip into the outer flesh of the severed arm to grab a piece of the bone framework that lied underneath: it was a fragmented part of the arm's ulna, which she broke off from the bones in Khaarnak's dead, severed limb and turned into a makeshift knife.
"... Hahaha... Still going for the kill, huh... What a worthy opponent you've been..."
Her fatigued, broken body desperately screamed and urged her to stop by bombarding her senses with nerve-wracking waves of pain, yet the princess didn't stop pushing herself to her very limits, as she then sprang towards Khaarnak with every ounce of her last, remaining strength, delivering a flurry of powerful blows against her opponent who had been momentarily caught off guard by her sudden burst of movement.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
Her body moved around his towering size like a seasoned acrobatic, and punch after punch landed upon the ork lord's still-recovering body, making him grunt and howl in pain as his pulverised bones would be battered and broken by another series of brutal attacks... Though her attacks were only inflicting a meager amount of damage that would eventually be healed away by the ork's regeneration, these attacks were merely a precursor to the next ones she was about to make.
"Die, you unrelenting bastard!"
Khaarnak delivered a swift punch aimed towards her head, aiming to knock her out in one go as she was already visibly at her mortal limits: unfortunately though, the princess managed to swerve her head to the left just in the nick of time, as she would then successfully dodge the other punches he threw at her due to her nimble movements.
THWACK!
Aldyth saw an opening again, and so she delivered a powerful kick to one of his legs, momentarily forcing the ork on his knees as she made another attack: a thrust using the bone fragment with her right hand, an attack that landed upon the ork successfully as Aldyth stabbed her improvised blade into the upper abdomen portion of Khaarnak's muscular body.
SQUELCH!
With the makeshift knife made from Khaarnak's own arm-bone, Aldyth pierced through the area of Khaarnak's chest from where his heart was located, stabbing into it deeply enough to strike fear into the Chief Lord's mind: in the ork lord's line of thought, it was terrifying how she was still persevering despite her injuries, yet it was also impressive as to how determined she was to exploit the weakness of his transcendent transformation.
"You cunning fuck! You're really going to keep on fighting no matter what, huh?!"
In a bid to put a stop to what she was about to do, the ork lord's fist repeatedly struck her in order to push her away, and all of his blows managed to land themselves on Aldyth with their terrifying impacts: normally, this would have already led to her losing her consciousness, but the adrenaline that her body was constantly pumping into her blood allowed Aldyth to temporarily ignore the pain and weather through the punches she was receiving.
"Y-you! ARRGHHHHH!!!!"
The area she stabbed into now had a gaping wound due to the bone fragment, and she would then pull the makeshift blade out and use her fingers to widen it by force– her fingers slipped into the warm insides of his exposed wound as they then began to slowly widen the bloody entrance, and Khaarnak's punches became more fierce as she was coming close to executing the grisly act she promised to do.
SQUELCH!
As soon as the open wound became large enough, Aldyth quickly thrusted her left arm into the exposed point of weakness, moving through the ork lord's insides as she swiftly managed to find the organ she was looking for, which she would begin gripping firmly onto its pulsating mass as she prepared to pull it out in one, swift motion.
"It all... Ends here..."
SPLAT!!!
She successfully pulled out his beating heart, and without a moment's hesitation, her hand moved to crush the vital organ in one fell swoop, squeezing it firmly as the ork's cardial ichor exploded and leaked all over her hand, and eventually onto the floor with its warm, crimson bodily fluids...
She had done it now... Aldyth had finally earned the victory in this battle, as her opponent began slowly slumping onto the ground, the amplified size of his body slowly returning back to its original size as his bright-crimson skin gradually turned back to its original, green color.
"... Y-you... You've won... How impressive...."
The Great Khaarnak had finally been defeated by a worthy opponent, and even despite the fact that he was about to lose his life as a result of his loss, the ork warrior couldn't help but feel content with how glorious his fight with the princess had been, and instead of cursing at his enemy and loathing her for defeating him, a smile formed on Khaarnak's face as he lied down on the ground and patiently awaited his inevitable death.
In truth though, there was one regret that Khaarnak had, and it was the fact that the united, orkish tribes would quickly fall into their previous state of unorganised disarray again after his death, and there was nothing else he could do to prevent that from happening since he was already about to perish.
"Your dream... Cough... Of conquering..." Aldyth spoke to him as she coughed out blood from her mouth, the adrenaline in her body slowly wearing out as she began to feel the full extent of the damages inflicted upon her body. "The continent... Dies with you..."
"... I am well aware... Princess... You have defeated me... I was hoping I would win, but... It was you who ultimately became the victor..." Khaarnak responded with a strained voice as his body slowly began to turn cold. "It was a good fight though... Wouldn't you agree? I am proud to have fought someone as strong as you... My life had truly been worth living in the end..."
The princess took a moment to respond to that question, and it would be a few seconds before she would finally respond: the pain was slowly getting to her now, and it was taking every ounce of her will to not faint right now due to her grievous injuries.
"... Mhm. It was a good fight indeed..." She answered back. "... You were a difficult opponent to defeat... For that, I will never forget your name for as long as you live. I suppose you'd like that... Since you have the mentality of an honourable warrior..."
A smile formed on the ork's face as his mind gradually turned hazy due to his loss of blood. "... Haha... You better keep your promise then, princess... To be forgotten is to have suffered a second death, after all..."
"You don't have to worry... I will definitely never forget our battle here... So just remain quiet and accept your demise already..."
A laugh escaped from the vanquished ork lord's weakening throat, as his eyes then slowly shut themselves amidst his fading consciousness. "... Hahaha... How cruel... Farewell then... Oh worthy opponent of mine... May we be able to do battle once more in the afterlife..."
It wouldn't take long before his inevitable demise, as Khaarnak would finally perish and lie lifeless on the ground: on the other hand though, Aldyth herself couldn't hold back the strain and fatigue that were already weighing down on her quite a lot, and they would eventually cause her eyes to slowly close themselves uncontrollably as the exhaustion gradually overtook the rest of her weary body.
"Looks like... I'll be sleeping here for a while..."
Strained, tired and terribly injured, Aldyth would eventually relent and collapse back-first onto the ground, as her mind began drifting away into the lands of unconsciousness due to her excessive fatigue...
"I did good... At least I wasn't useless this time... Right... Dad...?"