Baran's tribe.
A battle ring could be seen, located in the middle of the tribe ground.
"Which tribe did you belong to before joining us?"
Baran asked an Orc Leader who seemed to be just a step away from evolving into an Orc Lord. This Orc Leader looked young. But he also looked like he had strayed a bit from his evolution path. A mutant.
The Orc Leader didn't reply to Baran's question. He was standing in the ring looking at Orc Lord Baran with a cold gaze, who by the way observed him from outside the ring.
Baran frowned when he didn't receive anything from the challenger. He was about to attack him then and there but soon heard his go-to subordinate Raadoo's voice.
"Chieftain, it seems he is mute. And his name is Varhan. He has written his name in front of me so that we can call him that."
Baran nodded to seemingly nobody when he received the news. Then he spoke with the challenger he believed would be an asset to his tribe. After all, Varhan had defeated all the other Orc Leaders.
He needed to cultivate assets like him if he wanted his tribe to grow. In the end, he decided to address the guy's troubles rather than kill him.
"Listen, Varhan. We can have our duel whenever we want. But the outcome of this duel is already clear. So I hope that you don't leave the tribe after getting defeated.
We need individuals like you. You are strong and able-bodied. I'm sure we can find a place for you at the hunters' party. Prove your worth there and you'd be made captain of your party. How's that?"
Baran guessed that Varhan must have gained his clarity from the way he was behaving. He was not surrounded by a wild aura. Only controlled chaos.
His progression in the element also seemed too significant for him to not receive one. He offered him all the perks he could think of to get a positive response from him.
Baran wasn't expecting any verbal reply from Varhan. But fate had decided to shock him yet again.
"No, Baran. You got it all wrong. I hope YOU don't leave the tribe after getting defeated by me. That is if I spare your life after defeating you."
Varhan spoke in an orc tongue. Although his speech was a bit funny, his meaning had been conveyed effortlessly. The butcher was slowly progressing in his attempt to learn a foreign tongue.
Varhan's speech was delivered in a cold tone, which surprised everyone.
First, the audience was shocked that Varhan could speak when he had remained silent for a few days since he was integrated into the tribe. Then it was left aghast by the words Varhan had used to address Baran. Even with his regressed powers and aged appearance, Baran was still an Orc Lord.
Baran didn't have to be a genius to know that Varhan was mocking him using his own words. Hearing this, the Orc Lord wanted to beat this young orc lord and put some sense into him.
The battle ring was their platform to prove who was qualified to lead the ever-growing tribe. Varhan smiled wickedly when he saw Baran enter the ring.
***
Demon Beast Transformation
Sedated Perception
Stunning Speed
Total Control
Wind-Fire Wings
The butcher was here to dominate.
Using the most potent spells he had at his disposal, he began.
Baran had just summoned his quicksilver element into existence when he saw Varhan being all out after an exchange of a few moves. The Monster Lord was stupefied, to say the least.
'Is… he… also blessed?'
Baran thought to himself and his gaze intensified. He wondered if the guy was sent here by Kilaba. The same young Orc Lord who had defeated him. That would explain why he wanted to challenge him and take his position.
"You… tell your boss that I'm not afraid of him."
Baran yelled before manifesting arrows made of quicksilver above his head and aligning them up in an arc format. He raised his hands and sent those arrows flying towards Varhan while he created some more quicksilver to defend himself with.
Swoosh!
The arrows flew at breakneck speeds and aimed at various parts of Varhan's body all at once. Yet, Varhan didn't fear them at all as he saw them zeroing in on him. His right hand sported a Shamshir known as Rigor Mortis while his left hand was gripping a fire-element sword.
The butcher could have dodged the arrows just fine. But he wanted to break Baran's reliance on his arrows. So he decided to withstand his attack using his elemental fusion.
Flap!
The Wind Fire Wings spread out before covering his entire body like an egg's outer shell. He also had his weapons positioned defensively in front of him, to protect his vitals.
Zoom!
The arrows collided with Wind-Fire Wings and a distinct mana pulse was released in the surrounding area. A mana manifested spell of Ace-rank collided with something similar to one of Adept-rank.
And yet, the Adept-like spell couldn't completely outclass the Ace-ranked spell. The elemental fusion had allowed the Wind-Fire wings to incinerate the majority of the arrows while eating away their vector force.
Clang!
The few arrows that did pass through the wings clashed with the butcher's weapons and stopped completely in their tracks. The Wind-Fire wings were more powerful than the butcher had imagined. And this was when the spell wasn't meant to be used as an offensive or defensive spell but only as a support spell.
'Wings and projectiles. This Orc Lord Baran has given me a wonderful idea for using my Wind-Fire Wings in the future. Hehe. I must thank him.'
The butcher thought and opened his wings wide, revealing his unscathed orc form for Baran and his entire tribe to see that had gathered there to watch the battle.
An Orc Leader had managed to block the attacks of an Orc lord. The audience couldn't decide if Varhan was more talented or Baran was just too old to pose him any threat.
Baran saw with anger and fear as Varhan smiled at him after revealing himself. He watched with trepidation as the latter took a flight in the air using his wings. A huge wind force would be generated whenever he flapped his wings, along with a mana pulse which told onlookers that what they were seeing wasn't a normal spell.
Varhan stopped a few meters away from Baran and looked down from his position to address him.
"I don't have any boss you speak of, Baran. But I don't mind being one myself. Now… let's see if you can survive my attacks."
Varhan said as he summoned fireballs into the space above him. A bunch of wind blades also formed around each of the fireballs, giving them an additional layer of lethality.
The butcher always wanted to spam spells like this from the sky on his victims. The feeling was akin to lording over his opponents. And he loved it.
As Baran looked up and focused his gaze, his eyes reflected the light of so many fireballs that had appeared in the sky above him. He gulped empty air as he prepared his quicksilver to be used as a shield. A futile attempt to lessen the damage.
Even Baran knew that the match was settled at the time. What he didn't know till now was the fact that the one flying above his head like a calamity was the same human male he had seen a few months back.
