Chapter 69: Okua (1)

Yuri cut the ropes extending from the black mass. Immediately after, he was struck by Okua’s fist and smashed into the ground.

The dark shaman screamed in horror.

“What kind of sword is that!?”

Yuri, still face-down, grinned through clenched teeth.

“Cool, huh?”

[You bastard!]

He tried to rise, but couldn’t. His body leaned on its own.

Then suddenly, a black shadow loomed over him.

He looked up — and there was Okua. Both arms, long and muscled, raised high above his head. His fists looked like iron hammers.

“Got disciplined or what?”

Okua didn’t answer. Instead, he let his arms fall violently. Yuri blinked as the fist hurtled toward him.

He had to dodge, but his body wouldn’t respond. Was he going to die like this? Had he failed even in his second life? At least, there was consolation.

Honor.

He hadn’t tarnished it.

In his past life he survived in misery, but this time he’d die with honor. Yuri forced a smile.

Then he heard it.

“Gaaaah!”

A strange scream echoed all around him. His vision blurred, and something completely filled his field of view.

He saw a broad back before him. Yuri exhaled in relief.

He’d already been ready to die — and survived once again.

He spat blood and murmured,

“Slowpoke…”

Moyongchan answered.

“I’m sorry.”

“As long as you know that, it’s enough.”

“Now retreat.”

Yuri, about to crack a joke, suddenly realized his diction was flawless.

When Moyongchan got serious, his “continental” speech was perfect.

“Yes, sir.”

He shook his head and slid away. From the corner of his eye, he glanced back.

Okua was glaring at Moyongchan. Finally, the moment had come: Okua and Moyongchan would face each other head-on.

The fate of the Alliance would be determined there.

“Prince!”

Laurent rushed over to help Yuri.

The dark shaman shouted something, and Okua tried to give chase — but Moyongchan stepped in.

Okua growled.

“Your opponent is me.”

Moyongchan’s robes billowed in the wind. Despite Okua’s towering form, Moyongchan did not seem small at all.

With Laurent’s help, Yuri was pulled out of the combat area.

“Are you okay, Your Highness?”

“I need to stabilize the mana-method a bit.”

“Understood. I’ll cover you.”

“Just a moment.”

Once a safe distance away from Okua, Yuri sat down and began regulating his energy. A few orcs approached, but halted when they sensed Laurent’s presence.

Trusting him, Yuri closed his eyes. The aura of the Cut of the Soul and the Heart caressed his meridians.

Suddenly, the ground trembled.

Yuri, still eyes closed, murmured,

“So it’s begun at last.”

Moyongchan and Okua were locked in full-scale clash. Waves of energy from their battle shook Yuri’s body.

He let out a low laugh.

“In the end, he did it. One-on-one.”

***

Moyongchan, still holding back his fury, locked eyes with Okua. He had fallen under the suggestion created by his sorcery.

If it had been something completely illogical, it wouldn’t have worked.

But the idea that he needed to maintain a perfect condition for a one-on-one fight wasn’t entirely wrong.

That belief had settled deep within him. And that’s what made him hesitate to intervene.

In the meantime, Okua had continued accumulating power.

Now that he was closer, he could see clearly. That body had been altered by sorcery.

Orcs were already creatures that defied natural laws, but Okua was beyond that. He was an abomination that shouldn’t exist in this world.

“Today I’ll end you and bring down the black star.”

He raised his sword and pointed it at Okua. A pure and refined energy pulsed around him.

The secret aura inherited from the Blue Star style flowed solemnly, resonating with his resolve.

And then something unusual happened. Okua stood fully upright.

[Have you finally come to your senses?]

Moyongchan was a bit confused.

Until now, Okua hadn’t spoken a single coherent word. At most, he’d growled or roared.

That’s why he thought he was nothing but a puppet controlled by the dark shaman.

But now he was using language. And not just any language—he was speaking in Continental.

His voice was also unexpected—a deep and soft tone with flawless pronunciation. If one closed their eyes and only listened, they’d imagine a handsome young man.

“Okua, were you pretending to be a brute all this time?”

[Pretending to be a brute?]

Okua laughed.

[The brutes are you humans.]

He raised his hand.

A black mist began to emanate from his fingertips. The dark shaman beside him fell to his knees.

Okua stroked the shaman’s head.

[You’ve worked hard.]

It almost seemed like he was comforting him.

Then he extended his fingers. His massive hand grasped the shaman’s head in a single motion.

[W-Wait. This isn’t what—]

[Rest now.]

[K-Kuaaagh…]

The dark shaman tried to say something, but his voice was muffled by the palm enveloping him. His entire body began to convulse.

Okua opened his mouth.

The shaman’s blurry form started being sucked into it.

“Bastard!”

Alarmed, Moyongchan swung his sword.

Slash!

A wave of cutting energy materialized and flew toward Okua.

[You wait there.]

Okua swung his arm.

The wave was blocked by his palm. The skin split and bled, but the wound closed instantly.

Meanwhile, the dark shaman continued being absorbed.

Soon, he was reduced to a shriveled corpse like a mummy. Okua let go, dropping him to the ground.

Moyongchan shouted in fury.

“That’s sorcery forbidden in this world!”

[This world?]

Okua began approaching him. Until now he had moved like a mindless monster, but now his presence was palpable.

[Since when did this world belong to humans?]

Okua clenched his fist and threw it. A colossal pressure, like a titanic hammer, fell upon Moyongchan.

But he didn’t retreat.

He charged directly into the blow’s range and stabbed Okua in the abdomen.

Thud!

The sword sank deep. It was undoubtedly a solid hit. But something was wrong.

Moyongchan felt he couldn’t pull his sword back.

Okua’s muscles had gripped the blade, sucking it inward.

With a soft voice, Okua murmured:

[You’re so impatient.]

Moyongchan blinked.

When his eyelids dropped and rose again, he was already flying through the air.

The pain came a second later. He had been thrown to the ground and barely regained consciousness.

Probably a kick. Though he wasn’t sure. His memory had cut off for a moment.

Blood rose in his throat.

“Ha ha ha ha…”

Moyongchan spat blood and burst out laughing. Then muttered in Eastern tongue:

[Yes… it was worth coming West for this.]

He reached out to the side. A sword held by a fallen ally’s corpse flew into his hand.

He closed his eyes.

Memories of the past flooded him. The Blue Star sect had fallen. His master and elder brothers had died fighting for ideals the Murim world no longer valued.

Now the river of heroes had no use for them. That’s why he left everything behind and came here.

He came West in search of the black star plunging the world into chaos. Evil was taking control.

In this land, there was still something to be done. Moyongchan stood up, raised his sword.

A blue energy emanated from his body.

“Okua. Today you’ll die by the sword of the Blue Star.”

***

Yuri calmed his inner energy and stood up.

A violent gust blew from where Okua and Moyongchan were clashing.

The collision between their auras caused shockwaves to spread. Yuri spat out the blood gathered in his mouth and looked around.

The battlefield was in confusion.

The fighting had lessened, and even the orcs had halted their advance to watch the two warriors face off.

Yuri lifted Guilty.

“Laurent.”

“Yes.”

“This is our chance.”

“Excuse me?”

Even though those two were fighting, Yuri had no intention of just standing by.

“This isn’t a fight between humans, is it?”

If this were a war between humans, perhaps the outcome of the duel between Moyongchan and Okua could lead to negotiating a truce.

But orcs were different. They weren’t an enemy one could negotiate with.

The Alliance had come to exterminate them.

“Understood.”

Laurent nodded.

Yuri began bouncing lightly to loosen his body. Though Okua had injured him, he could still fight. Suddenly, an explosion thundered across the field.

Okua and Moyongchan had started fighting in earnest. Yuri deliberately turned away from the spectacle. Then he walked toward the rear of the orcs who were mesmerized by the duel.

One of them noticed and turned around.

“What are you looking at?”

Yuri swung Guilty. The orc raised his halberd to block.

Yuri chained attacks. The weapons clashed several times, until finally Guilty sank into the orc’s neck.

“Die.”

He twisted it side to side. The orc’s head rolled to the ground.

That strike reignited the battlefield, which had been gradually slowing.

“Don’t stop!”

Yuri shouted.

Some knights looked at him strangely. Exhausted to their limits, many believed they needed a break. But Yuri had his reasons.

“Okua is absorbing the orcs’ power.”

Laurent stared at him.

“What?”

“It’s hard to explain. But it’s true.”

When he had entered that black and white world where only density existed, Yuri saw the black threads linked by dark magic.

Besides the thick strand connected to Moyongchan, there were many thin, diffused ones spreading everywhere.

He had already suspected it.

From the beginning, Okua was feeding on the power of human sacrifices. And since the orcs born from that same magic swore loyalty to him, absorbing their life force was even easier.

He had proven it by devouring the dark shaman.

Yuri muttered:

“We can’t leave the orcs alive.”

Even if he used dark magic, if the orc was already dead, he couldn’t extract more energy. That’s why Yuri killed them.

“I trust you, Your Highness.”

Laurent nodded resolutely. Yuri saw absolute trust in his eyes.

“I’ll just follow you.”

“Idiot…”

Yuri couldn’t help but laugh. In his past life, Laurent wasn’t like this. But in this one, he was like a loyal dog that only obeyed his voice.

“Laurent.”

“Yes.”

“We still have a lot to do.”

Yuri extended his hand.

“Will you stay by my side?”

Laurent widened his eyes, but quickly took his hand. Through the gauntlet, Yuri felt Laurent’s warmth.

“Of course.”

Yuri smiled at the sight of his blue eyes, then turned again.

“Then let’s clean up this trash.”

“Yes!”

The ground shook from Moyongchan and Okua’s clash. Explosions that didn’t seem of this world echoed. At times, Okua’s roars sounded like thunder striking.

But Yuri didn’t look at that scene. He had something to do.

Forcing his battered body to move, he approached another orc. Sensing his fatigue, the orc charged first. His attacks were fierce.

But Yuri skillfully dodged and cut him down with Guilty. The enemy’s blood sprayed into the air.

Further ahead, Yuri had another orc in sight. Despite his mind being foggy from accumulated damage, his battle-hardened body reacted on its own and kept killing.

Instinct guided him. Even without consciously invoking it, the energy of the Cut of the Soul and the Heart flowed through him like an extension of his limbs.

“This is the final battle!”

Yuri shouted.

“Everyone must return alive! Don’t die—kill!”

His roar, infused with the Cut of the Soul and the Heart’s energy, shook the battlefield.

Yuri didn’t just shout. He charged into battle against the orcs himself.

The Alliance’s morale skyrocketed. Thanks to the knights’ action, even the Ancient Wyrms and wyverns that had tormented them began to fall.

Roaaar.

Suddenly, a chilling scream echoed.

Yuri turned.

“Master…”

A smile formed on his face.

Moyongchan had just slashed Okua’s chest, unleashing a downpour of blood.