The Return of the Genius Ranker’s Myth Warehouse - Chapter 94
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 94
Chapter 94
An enemy I could never face in my current state.
A formidable foe—the Orc Lord—whose attacks were difficult to evade and whose defenses were nearly impenetrable.
The strategy I chose to bring down such an opponent was.
– I activate the skill ‘Stealth’.
Stealth.
It’s a tactic difficult to employ in ordinary circumstances, but I have roughly a hundred members of the Subjugation Expedition at my side.
Hiding behind their backs, whenever the Orc Lord reveals an opening.
Thunk!
I strike at the gap.
– I activate the skill ‘Stealth’.
I vanish.
Whether my attack succeeds or fails, I must abandon even my weapon and escape after each strike.
Otherwise, I fall victim to the Orc Lord’s transcendent reaction speed.
An attack method I could never execute alone.
One might grow fearful watching allies get sent flying by the Orc Lord’s devastating blows.
“Come on, you pig-headed brute!”
“Oink again, why don’t you!”
“Over here, Pig Lord!”
My comrades desperately provoke the Orc Lord so I can move more freely.
Thanks to them, I manage to carve wounds into the Orc Lord’s body one by one.
“Grrgh!”
And thanks to the opening created by the last remaining Subjugation Commander.
[ Wrath of Thunder ]
I succeed in driving my attack into the Orc Lord’s neck.
Despite the extreme level gap, this much damage should have dealt considerable critical harm.
“Is it down?”
The Subjugation Commander mutters hopefully in that moment.
“KRAAAAAAAAAAGH-!!”
The Orc Lord unleashes a ferocious roar and begins spewing crimson steam from its body.
‘Berserk state.’
A standard pattern for boss monsters.
Monsters that enter that state typically experience a surge in physical abilities, making them far more difficult to face.
‘But entering that pattern means its health is nearly depleted.’
In other words, the end of this battle is finally approaching.
In truth, this wouldn’t have been possible even if I’d borrowed Luke’s power to wield epic or legendary-grade weapons.
The Orc Lord was simply that formidable a monster.
Yet the reason I managed to drive it into this berserk state was.
‘Because it was already in poor condition from the start.’
The Orc Lord’s health was already depleted.
When he’d blocked the collapsing Cliff debris from the Valley below, he’d sustained severe damage as well.
His armor had been completely destroyed, his entire body covered in bruises, his skeleton fractured and splintered.
Thanks to that, I’d managed to push him into a berserk state through several ambushes.
“Grrrrrrrrr….”
The Orc Lord had fallen into a berserk state, losing all reason.
Yet the fact that he still stared directly at me showed just how immense his rage toward me was.
If he swung his axe in that state, I’d die without my shield or armor mattering—a single graze would be fatal.
“Luke, how much longer do I have?”
– We’re already at the limit. This will be the final attack.
Maintaining the Black Flame wouldn’t last much longer either.
In other words.
“This is the last strike.”
I had to bring down the Orc Lord with the next blow.
Otherwise, the berserk orc would surely trample the entire 2nd Subjugation Squad, including me.
The only silver lining was.
‘The berserk state.’
While the berserk state boosted all stats, there was one exception.
Defense dropped to half or less.
That was my only hope now.
“Krraaaaaaagh!”
The Orc Lord kicked off the ground and charged at me.
His force was so tremendous that part of the already unstable Cliff crumbled once more from the impact.
Toward the charging Orc Lord.
Whoosh!
I charged forward as well.
And began preparing my final strike.
[ Berserker’s Horned Helm ]
[ Berserker’s Shattered Breastplate ]
[ Berserker’s Torn Waistband ]
….
The Berserker set.
Armor that sacrificed defense in exchange for boosting attack power by the same amount.
When equipped as a set, the set effect further reduced health and defense while further increasing attack power and critical damage.
‘Defense isn’t necessary anyway.’
If I were focusing purely on defense with armor and shields.
But in a situation where I had to attack, no amount of defense would let me withstand the Orc Lord’s strikes.
That was the reasoning behind wearing this armor.
Moreover, since I had to end the Orc Lord in a single strike, the most important weapon was.
[ Flame of Ruin, Levathein ]
(Cannot be traded)
Type: Sword
Grade: Mythic
Restrictions: Level 1,000 or higher, Sword Mastery Lv 100, Fire Resistance Lv 100
Description: The flame sword that burns worlds, said to be wielded by Surtr when he set the World Tree Yggdrasil ablaze.
Among all the weapons I possessed, it ranked among the most formidable.
I drew Levatein, a mythic-grade sword with a 1,000-level restriction.
This would work.
If I struck the vital point with precision to deal critical damage, and then activated Levatein’s unique skill, I could barely pull it off.
But it was a strategy that would fail if I missed the vital point by even the slightest margin, or if I failed to activate the unique skill at the right moment.
Still, I had confidence.
‘Fast.’
The Orc Lord’s charge emanated tremendous pressure.
The Orc Lord appeared gigantic.
Yes.
This was it.
A sensation I hadn’t felt since First, after I’d already reached max level and collected all the mythic-grade weapons.
The extreme thrill that could only be felt when challenging an enemy far more powerful than myself.
‘At this rate, my attacks won’t even land—I’ll be cleaved in half by that axe.’
The Orc Lord, now in a berserk state, was fast.
Even if I exerted every ounce of strength, dodging the Orc Lord’s attacks and striking the vital point in return was impossible.
And yet.
– Activating skill ‘Black Serpent Shadow’.
I rushed toward the Orc Lord’s chest.
Just before the double-bladed axe, swung as if to not miss me, grazed my ear.
I activated the unique skill of an item I had prepared in advance.
The attack that had succeeded at the very last moment.
The ‘Wrath of Thunder’ I had embedded in the Orc Lord’s neck.
– Activating unique skill ‘Heavenly Thunderbolt’ from ‘Wrath of Thunder’.
Crack!
“Kuh—.”
Lightning erupted from the ‘Wrath of Thunder’.
The lightning struck true against the Orc Lord, whose physical and magical defenses had both been lowered by the berserk state.
But that wasn’t what I was aiming for.
Flinch.
The Orc Lord’s movement halted momentarily from the lightning.
The muscles throughout its body had stiffened from the electrical shock.
It was a status ailment caused by electrocution.
Of course, the stiffness wouldn’t last long.
Even accounting for the lowered stun resistance from the berserk state, the stiffness duration was at most 0.2 seconds.
That 0.2 seconds was exactly what I was aiming for.
– Skill ‘Black Insect Flash’ activated.
The Sword of Ruin in my hand.
Levathein pierces straight into the Orc Lord’s heart.
Thud.
The Orc Lord’s muscles, so impossibly dense, yield like a lie, and the blade’s tip bores toward his heart.
However, unfortunately, it could not penetrate any further.
Even in his berserk state, the Orc Lord had instantaneously tensed his muscles, expanding them to catch Levathein’s blade.
And in this moment.
I activated Levathein’s unique skill.
– Unique skill of ‘Levathein, Flame of Ruin’, ‘Flame of Ruin’ activated.
Crackle!
Flames erupting from Levathein.
Though Levathein’s blade tip could not reach the Orc Lord’s heart, the searing heat of the flames did.
Since the heart is one of a monster’s most critical weak points, the attack from Levathein received a critical hit judgment and was amplified several times over.
That damage, combined with the berserk state, rapidly consumed what little remained of the Orc Lord’s health.
“Great….”
The Orc Lord.
“Destiny bestowed by the Evil God….”
Black smoke pouring from his entire body, including his mouth.
“I accept….”
Thump.
Slowly, he collapsed to the ground.
* * *
The Capital Defense Commander of Labelt.
Raven Dracar personally marched into the Savage Forest.
Behind him.
“Is it this way?”
“Yes, sir!”
A member of the 2nd Subjugation Squad who had been rushing toward Labelt to deliver an additional report under the Subjugation Commander’s orders.
Jenny was riding on his back.
The commander, upon spotting Jenny, decided there was no time to waste and took her onto his back while moving, intending to hear her report.
‘I never thought I’d actually ride on a wyvern’s back.’
Jenny could barely speak from shock.
Just being this close to Labelt’s Capital Defense Commander was terrifying enough.
Who could have imagined she would soar through the sky with the Wyvern Knights, the very symbol of the Imperial Army?
She had never even dreamed that the commander would summon the Wyvern Knights and head to the scene just because of the Mark of Submission.
“How many?”
“Approximately thirty thousand, sir! Additionally, new orcs continue to gather through the Entrance to the Valley!”
“Thirty thousand… This is grave.”
The Subjugation Commander’s expression hardened.
Currently, the Empire operated its military forces primarily for external conquest, driven by the mission to dominate the continent.
Especially in Labelt, the capital, where threats were limited to civil unrest and the occasional monster, the Imperial Army’s numbers were relatively modest.
But thirty thousand orcs?
Well, theoretically, thirty thousand orcs could be contained through sufficient effort.
The real problem was that their numbers grew with each passing moment.
If their ranks swelled to forty thousand, sixty thousand… or even a hundred thousand…
Not just Labelt, but the entire Empire would crumble helplessly.
“The Defense Forces have already mobilized. Let us arrive first to assess the situation more thoroughly and devise our strategy.”
The Wyvern Knights following the Subjugation Commander nodded in agreement.
Their faces brimmed with confidence.
No matter how the orcs thrashed about, they could never reach those soaring through the sky on wyverns.
Whoooosh—!
Thanks to the wyverns’ incredible speed and the advantage of flight allowing them to travel in a straight line to their destination, they arrived at the scene in no time.
Beyond the Savage Forest lay an enormous Valley.
Yet something seemed wrong with the Cliff surrounding the Valley.
“The Cliff… has it collapsed?”
The right Cliff had crumbled entirely.
This was no natural phenomenon.
By the Subjugation Commander’s keen eye, the Cliff had clearly been deliberately destroyed.
And very recently at that.
As the Subjugation Commander and the Wyvern Knights turned their gaze downward into the Valley below—
“Gasp.”
“Good heavens…”
“Were all of those… orcs?”
“Extraordinary.”
“Could someone have actually collapsed the Cliff to crush thirty thousand orcs beneath it?”
“Impossible.”
They could only stare in shock.
The Valley below was filled with the debris of the collapsed Cliff and the blood-soaked remains of the crushed orcs.
Who in the world could have conceived of such a thing?
And even if someone had, was such a feat even possible?
Even if the Empire’s finest Wyvern Knights here pooled their strength, collapsing the Cliff to such an extent would have been impossible.
“Could this be Lugard’s doing?”
The only person who came to mind was Lugard, commander of the 2nd Subjugation Squad.
However, the Lugard the Subjugation Commander remembered was cautious by nature.
Such an action seemed beyond possibility, and even if it were possible, Lugard was not the type to rashly undertake something so extreme.
As these questions multiplied uncontrollably—
“There! The 2nd Subjugation Squad is visible!”
A keen-eyed Wyvern Knight spotted the Subjugation Expedition on the Cliff above.
But then.
“They’re all down! The only one still standing is… the Orc Lord! The Orc Lord is engaged in combat with the Subjugation Expedition!”
The entire Subjugation Expedition lay sprawled across the ground.
Shields crumpled, bones shattered, blood spilling from their mouths.
Lugard, the Subjugation Commander, was no exception.
He lay on the ground beside his beloved steed, clutching his chest.
Then who in the world was facing off against the Orc Lord right now?
Lugard, the strongest in the Subjugation Expedition, was down—so who could possibly be fighting the Orc Lord?
The wyverns beat their wings faster, surging forward.
At last, the Commander’s eyes caught sight of the figure locked in combat with the Orc Lord.
And Jenny, seated behind the Commander, recognized who it was.
“Mir the Adventurer?”
“Mir? Who’s that?”
“He’s the adventurer who helped us when we were ambushed by orcs in front of the Savage Forest! He joined the Subjugation Expedition afterward and provided tremendous assistance!”
“An adventurer? Adventurers aren’t permitted to participate in Subjugation Expedition missions, are they?”
“I believe he came with a letter of recommendation!”
An adventurer who arrived with a letter of recommendation.
Unfortunately, the Commander was unaware of the letter’s existence.
Even if Mir had accomplished great feats in the City of Beginnings, his achievements hadn’t reached the Commander’s ears.
But now.
As the wyverns accelerated toward the Cliff.
A thunderous crack erupted!
Lightning burst forth from the Orc Lord’s body.
Thunk!
The adventurer called Mir’s blade pierced straight through the Orc Lord’s chest.
A violent explosion!
Flames erupted in its wake.
“The Orc Lord…”
“He defeated the Orc Lord… alone?”
“Impossible…”
The Orc Lord lost its light and began to collapse to the ground.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————