Chapter 6: The Essence Of Warfare
Plumes of dust arose to cover the sky.
The triumphant shouts of the victorious and the tortuous screams of the defeated faded away into nothingness.
He saw nothing ahead.
The blood from the bodies of the slain had drowned him many times over .
Enough to fill the insides of helm.
Enough to form a pool beneath his feet.
Yet he did not stop.
With his hands he swung his sword again.
Another neck hewn from the shoulders of one who breathed just moments ago.
Yet he did not stop
For he saw nothing at all.
"Whoosh"
The very air vibrated due to the fierceness of Gulg's swing.
Brenn snapped out of his reverie as he saw an enormous scimitar rapidly approaching his neck.
He managed to dodge just in the nick of time .
A hit like that was enough to chop him into dozens of pieces many times over.
Brenn adopted the sensible course of action and widened the distance between him and Gulg accompanied to the booing sounds from the crowd which unsurprisingly was disappointed to see that Gulg's massive meat cleaver hadn't made short work of him already.
Brenn took a deep breath and organised his thoughts.
Gulg clearly caught in the euphoria of the moment hadn't followed up on his strike .Instead he was gesturing to the crowd and conversing in the foul tongue that was the sole property of the even fouler orcs.
No doubt he was discussing the means of torture he would employ to break Brenn's body and soul when he caught up to him.
To Gulg it seemed as if he were playing a game of cat and mouse where the cat eventually exhausts the mouse scurrying about and after capturing it slowly devours it whole.
To Brenn Gulg's arrogance if used carefully would prove to be his undoing.
In close quarters He was no match for Gulg and that scimitar of his but if he played his cards right he might have a chance to coming out on the upside .
But Gulg was no mad bull.
He was too smart to be goaded into doing what Brenn wished him to do.His encounter in the tower had at least convinced him of that.
Gulg was like a cunning fox who although had the prowess to hunt down a rabbit would never deliver the finishing blow unless he was sure that he wasn't going to encounter any resistance.
While Gulg might be pretending to be sadistic in letting him escape time and time again Brenn was aware that it was all bluster.Gulg's real goal was to ensure that he was exhausted enough to not pose any threat at which time Gulg would swoop down with claws extended like the Reaper personified.
In that case...
A smile appeared at the corners of Brenn's mouth .
He had just taught of a plan.
Brenn dodged again even as Gulg took a mighty swing but this time he didn't dodge.
Gulg's scimitar struck down with the force of a mountain but Brenn who seemed ever so fragile like a frail grass in front of a fierce typhoon unsheathed another sword and lifted both of the swords in his hands above his head to parry Gulg.
So rapid was he that Gulg had no moment to react and his blade clashed with the two of Brenn's
"Wham !"
A shockwave arose from the point of impact and into the crowd it was strong enough to push the entire circle of orcs behind by a few steps.
Before Gulg could respond Brenn's heavily armored foot hit him in the side and pushed him backwards .
Gulg staggered a few steps backward vomiting blood from his mouth as he did .The black liquid oozing on to his scimitar gave rise to steam as it did.
The vociferous crowd had been silenced instantly.
Brenn didn't pursue Gulg .
He knew that he had been lucky to land a hit as it was.
Gulg's blow for all its apparent fierceness lacked the decisiveness of a killing strike hence he was able to parry it .
Knowing him he wouldn't make the same mistake twice and instead come at him no holds barred
However he couldn't just give up the advantageous situation that he had created with great difficulty.
In that case there was only option left.
To ride on the back of an unruly tiger .
He closed his eyes as if he were meditating .
His hair began to stand at one end .
A mysterious vortex of aura began to emerge with Brenn at its center.
The atmosphere all around became eerily silent as if it had been stifled forcefully by an unseen force.
The air smelled like ozone and blue sparks emerged spontaneously all tell-tale signs of an unnatural occurrence about to descend on the world.
The Panicked Orcs reached for the weapons at their sides but found to their horror that try as they might they could never reach them.
The constraints of the Sacred Duel were sacrosanct and allowed for no violation.
A strange glint passed in the eyes of Gulg who had by now fallen to his knees even as he observed the way in which the world around him was changing
"A knight skill ." , he muttered as his mouth opened into a soundless snarl
"A taboo skill when activated in exchange for massive amounts of aura summons the might of the Heavens themselves."
"It seems you caught on to my plan ."
"But we'll see who comes out on the upside the end."
Gulg's face widened in a hideous smile even as he cradled a crude amulet tied on his neck.
He didn't have to wait long for soon the world erupted in a burst of blinding light that seared into his eyes.
Gulg closed his eyes in submission awaiting judgement
Their contest had gone on for long enough.
Brenn mobilised massive amounts of aura as he channeled them through a single pore in his chest.
Even if he had been used to it after doing this time and time again the ensuing pain still made him howl .
With each passing second as more and more aura forced its way through his body his screams of torment became more and more dim eventually fading away into a silent scream as his sense of pain finally being overwhelmed swung shut.
A Taboo skill wasn't to be taken lightly.
Aura flowed everywhere.
Like an invisible stream bringing life along on its path Aura flowed between tree and shrub , shrub and rock and from rock to animal and even in the sentient beings like Man.
Most people in their lives however would never notice this mystical stream coiling again and again inside their bodies like the Ancient World Serpent of legend that circled the entire world holding it in its grasp.
To Knights however this stream was their source of strength and purpose.
On most days it meandered on its own through channels that had been prepared specially for it responding to the summons of the Knight only at certain periods.
It was different this time.
The Knight Skill forced it outwards against it will.
A skill against the natural order of things.
The Aura wasn't going to come quietly.
There is always a price for everything.
The question is can you pay for it ?
Brenn didn't know the price that he was going to pay but if it resulted in victory then it was worth it no matter how severe.
For a strange moment it felt as if he were someone else entirely dispassionately watching from a distance as a growing beam of light emerged from a person who looked remarkably similar to himself.
The time was ripe.
Brenn closed his eyes in submission awaiting judgement.
Their contest had gone on for long enough.
The beam of light whose brightness was enough to put the sun at its zenith to shame did not last for long.
Even as it began to fade away a massive shadow appeared in front of Brenn's eyes to take its place.
Time slowed down to a still.
His throat was still parched as if he hadn't drunk a drop of water for a couple of days.
His body was still numb screaming in agony at the aftermath of his usage of the skill.
His hands were frozen in their grasp as they held on to his swords devoid of any conviction and strength.
Gulg's triumphant face paused mid leap was all too apparent.
His scimitar held aloft all set to cut through everything in its path.
His bare torso was fully exposed a crude amulet hanging from his neck prominently , broken beyond repair.
Then Brenn moved.
Time had paused for Gulg as well.
His legs were screaming in joy.
His scimitar seemed like an extension of his arm baying for blood even as he was.
While the comforting feeling that he got from his amulet had gone for ever the submissive look on his prey ready to meet its fate made up for his loss
Even as he reached forward seeking to span the final gap that was the only thing that stood between him he saw something unexpected.
The eyes of the frightened rabbit that he had seen far too many times in his long years of debauchery turned into something else entirely.
The two orbs radiated a feeling of emptiness that threatened to suck his soul in for eternity.
After a long time Gulg felt an emotion that he had long thought to be banished from his mind for ever.
He felt fear like a prey staring at the eyes of its natural predator.
Then the predator moved.
Time started to flow again.
Gulg 's hand reached down in a fearsome strike meant to cleave mountains in two.
But it never did.
Instead it faded away into the void.
An overwhelming sense of lightness assailed Gulg driving all of his confusion away.
For a strange moment it felt as if he were someone else entirely dispassionately watching from a distance at a solitary standing trunk of what must have been a powerful Orc chieftain when it had been alive but was now nothing more than a sorry corpse bereft of its head.
His eyes closed in submission as the darkness claimed him for its own.
The judgement had been served.
The cocoon around the fighters shattered and the surrounding Orcs were treated to a stupefying sight.
Brenn stooped atop the corpse of his foe gasping.
He paid no heed to the surrounding orcs who had already began to wake up from their stupor who would no doubt rush him in a bid to exact revenge for their commander in his moment of weakness.
He walked ahead unconcerned and lifted up the gigantic helmet of his fallen foe dislodged from his skull after it had been severed from his body.
It would do for a spoil from his adventure.
He also collected the amulet that had managed to deflect his Knight Skill earlier making a mental note to ask about it later.
Pieck that greedy codger would demand an exorbitant price though.
Never mind he will care about that when the time comes
Time paused again .
The hideous faces of the Orcs twisted in hatred as they were poised to rain down blow after blow were all too apparent.
"All of the orcs should have come into the tower , by now ." He muttered aloud .
He bent down so that his mouth was next to an ear of his fallen enemy .
"Ever since I entered the tower the only game we have been playing has been mine."
He lifted himself upwards and ran towards the edge.
"The true essence of warfare is deception."
"The highest level of deception is to make the enemy believe that the thoughts that you wish for are entirely his own."
He launched himself over the edge.
He gently pried open his ace .
Neither the wind screaming past his ears nor the orcs howling in rage from above affected him in any manner.
At the right time he threw the scroll in his land launching him away backwards with all of his remaining strength.
The world lit up once more this time in a burst of light and sound so grand that it would have put the great fireworks display in the capital to shame.
Brenn used his hands to plug his ears even as the world caught up to him in a maelstrom of fire and brimstone.
Even as the cloud of destruction surrounded him his consciousness faded away
When he came to the sight of the night sky with twinkling stars greeted him.
The sight of the ruined world around him made him aware that he had been successful .
He lowered his head once again and lay on the trampled grass another time.
For all his precautions the injuries to his body was still severe even if he had been preparing for this ending even before he visited Pieck's.
His deliberate assault on the dungeon had been carefully considered knowing the nature of the Orc Chiefs.
That and even the sacred duel had been planned far beforehand.
After all try as he might a confrontation with the orcs in their own lair was unavoidable the only solution was to have it to play by his rules.
What had been not in his calculations was the amulet possessed by Gulg according to his calculations Gulg should have died after the usage of the Knight skill.
Still it did not matter in the end apart from adding a couple more injuries to his parson.
As his former master used to say an overwhelming momentum like the surging wave was enough to negate any unexpected situations.
The explosion which was strong enough to wipe of the tower from the face of the map very obviously took care of those irritating orcs as well.
Brenn lifted himself up shakily and struggled to his feet.
He began walked forward sluggishly. Although he had managed to restore quite some strength a full recovery would take a little time still.
He had more important things in his mind right now.
The Dungeon should be completely open by now.
Those inside would have been spared completely apart from being treated to a shower of dust
After all he had calculated the ideal angle to throw the scroll beforehand.
And whenever he calculated everything tended to fall in place.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone