Chapter 8: Between the Fangs of Beasts [3]
The giant ogre charged toward James in a frenzy, each thunderous step shaking the ground and sending stones flying beneath its massive feet.
On the opposite side, James advanced steadily, his grip tightening around his sword as threads of white chi flickered around him like a silent flame.
The ogre's iron club clashed with James's sword in a single devastating strike.
The moment of impact wasn't just metal striking metal—it was an explosion of force that rippled through the air, a shockwave that shattered the silence of the forest.
It drew the attention of every lurking monster… even Loren and the knights, who froze in astonishment.
They stared at the scene with wide eyes—dust erupting, the ground cracking, sparks bursting between the two warriors—and none of them could comprehend how one clash had created such chaos.
But the ogre's strength was simply overwhelming.
James's arm trembled violently, and the shriek of splitting metal pierced the air… moments before his sword snapped in half.
The broken blade spun away, while James was blasted backward by the impact, his feet skidding across the dirt as he struggled to keep himself from falling.
The difference in power was painfully obvious… and the ogre had only just begun.
It charged again without giving James even a heartbeat to recover.
Its steps boomed like thunder, shrinking the distance between them in seconds.
James, still reeling from the first blow, tried to push himself up, his breath twisting with pain.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth—clear evidence of how badly the clash had injured him.
He barely managed to lift his head before the ogre's shadow swallowed him whole.
Raising its massive iron club, the ogre swung it in a wide arc before bringing it down straight toward James's stomach.
The sound of impact echoed like a tree trunk snapping. James's body convulsed for an instant before he was hurled away with monstrous force.
He shot through the air like a doll fired from a catapult, crashing into the forest with such speed that the towering trees seemed like pillars shattering in his path.
He slammed into one… then another… each collision shaking the trees and sending leaves bursting outward until his body finally lost momentum and crashed onto the ground among broken trunks and scattered branches.
The ogre stopped, its huge shoulders heaving with heavy breaths, staring at the distance where James had vanished.
Its feral eyes tracked the trail of destruction as if making sure its prey had truly been crushed.
"Did… did he die? My god…" Loren whispered to himself as he stepped back, blocking an incoming blow from another ogre with his sword.
Sparks flew from the blade's edge, but his mind wasn't on his opponent.
"What kind of power is that? This ogre… I've never seen anything like it."
He unleashed a flurry of fast strikes just to push the ogre in front of him away—only enough to keep it at bay, not defeat it.
He drew a rough breath and lifted his gaze toward the distant spot where James had fallen.
"It seems we're… truly finished," he murmured bitterly, tightening his grip on his sword.
"If that monster ignores its prey and comes for us now, our only option will be to run for our lives."
Meanwhile, James lay inside a deep crater carved into the earth by his brutal crash.
Blood dripped from his mouth, and every breath stabbed at his ribs.
Behind him, the enormous trees were shattered and splintered, marking the violent trail his body had carved through the forest.
He closed his eyes for a moment, then asked silently:
"System… how many years of unused inner energy do I have?"
The familiar cold response echoed:
[ The host has 287 years of unused inner energy. ]
James had always taken the system's scattered rewards—one year… thirty days… five days—but never used them.
He saved them, waiting… waiting for the day he would break through in one massive leap.
And now, after taking a blow that nearly killed him, he made his choice.
"Use it all."
Instantly, a torrent of inner energy surged through his body.
It felt like a white spark ignited at the base of his spine, spreading through his muscles, bones, and even his skin.
His wounds began to shrink, and heat swelled in his chest until the air itself trembled around him, as if breathing with him.
Two hundred years of inner energy… enough to push him straight into the first level of High-Rank Knight.
And it was still rising.
James stood up slowly, his shoulders rising with each breath.
The wounds that were bleeding minutes ago were stitching themselves closed before his eyes, as if time were rewinding.
He felt strength flooding into his limbs, heat surging through his veins, every cell awakening from a long sleep.
He took one step… then another.
He was walking calmly, but something in his presence had changed.
The dense trees around him no longer hindered him—they bent slightly as waves of energy leaked from his body without his intent.
With each new step, the earth quivered faintly beneath his feet, and even the air seemed to sense the emergence of a new kind of power.
Then—without warning—his rhythm shifted.
His quiet steps became a jog… then a silent sprint as he tore through the forest like an arrow.
Trees blurred past him, fading into streaks as he accelerated.
When he burst out of the forest edge and into the open plain, he lifted his hand—his once-broken sword now engulfed in a dense layer of white chi, glowing like a miniature sun burning in his grasp.
In a single instant, James released a massive wave of energy through his blade.
A narrow, pure-white beam shot forward—barely a meter wide, but focused like a spear of light, carrying enough power to turn anything in its path into dust.
It ripped through the air with a sound like the sky splitting open, a straight line of light racing toward the giant.
The strike was so fast there wasn't even time for an eye to follow it.
The beam flashed from James's sword like tearing lightning, a straight line of brilliance that reached the ogre within a fraction of a second—faster than it could even finish its roar.
Sensing death approaching, the ogre twisted its massive body to the side, trying to lessen the impact.
It hunched slightly as it raised its iron club with all its strength.
Its chest and shoulders tensed, feet digging into the earth like the roots of a giant tree.
It swung the club from behind in a half-circular motion, bracing to intercept the incoming strike.
But…
The attack was simply faster.
The white beam hit the club first, a sharp crack ringing out as if the metal itself were screaming.
Before the ogre could push back, the energy slid along the length of the club, then angled sharply toward its right arm.
The sound vanished.
And with chilling simplicity…
The beam carved through the joint like a hot knife through butter.
The ogre's arm hung in the air for a brief moment before it spun away in a short arc and thudded onto the ground.
The giant erupted in a scream that rattled the trees, dark blood bursting from its severed shoulder, its twisted face trembling between rage and pure shock.