Judith’s Way (2)

The first ordeal was over.

Gunt, one of the proud warriors of Durkali, was defeated in an instant, unable to even counterattack, and was carried out on a stretcher like a broken doll.

Considering the enthusiasm he showed at the start, his exit was too shabby.

The orcs, who saw the unexpected results, looked at the stage with stiff expressions on their faces.

Of course, there were those who weren't like that as well.

"Just like that, Judith! Smash the next one too!"

"Bratt, your voice is too loud…"

Bratt Lloyd cheered in excitement, unlike his usual calm appearance.

Seeing him like that, Irene was bewildered. Ilya too, looked at Bratt with wide eyes.

However, they didn't stop him because this was fun.

'No matter what we do, we are looked at in a bad light.'

After all, among the orcs present here, almost none of them respected them from the moment they set foot in here.

And the appearance of Judith with her right fist raised high, pissed off all the orcs.

To be honest, it was disgusting to look at. The eyes of the orcs who saw that were stinging.

However, the atmosphere changed the moment the second opponent appeared.

"Garam is up!"

"What? Isn't it supposed to be Pahan next?"

"Maybe they are planning to just end it this time?"

"Quiet! Let it start right away!"

Spectators were roaring.

Bratt felt it too. The excitement. Which meant that the orcs had high expectations from this fight.

And so did he.

He mumbled as he looked at the orc warrior, who was a bit taller than Gunt.

"He isn't that strong."

"Yes."

Irene agreed.

It wasn't because they knew the eldest son of Master Khalifa personally or anything like that.

It was because he could see the aura of the opponents, an ability which he managed to awaken.

Of course, the aura within the body isn't the only criterion for determining the strength of a warrior…

'But I don't think it will be an easy fight like before.'

Does she feel that, though?

Judith bit her lips, and looked at Garam nervously.

There was a rather careful look in her eyes.

And it was the same with Garam.

Unlike the youngest, this orc seemed calm.

Seeing that, Judith's face hardened even more.

"tlwkr!"

And after a while, the second match began with the cry of a judge.

And Garam moved immediately.

Unlike Gunt, this orc adopted a high stance, so the incredible long reach he obtained from such a stance was used to pressure the opponents.

Judith turned a little to the left, not trying to give any chance.

Swing

Swing

However, there wasn't any effective response.

It seemed like the orc had met countless opponents who moved back after they realized that normal attacks weren't going to work, so Garam immediately blocked Judith's escape path in an instant.

And then the large orc moved forward. The advance was terrifying and heavy, like a stone mountain rushing in.

At that time, Judith's movements changed.

Phat!

A flashy, dazzling movement that usually made an opponent's eyes go wide!

Most of the orcs watching, missed the movement of Judith, who shot forward in an instant.

Bratt, who was watching it, was also shocked.

However, Garam seemed calm.

He stretched out his long thick leg.

Puak!

"Euk!"

Shhh!

A front kick aimed to hit an opponent's torso with the sole of the foot.

It was a technique usually done to keep the opponent in check, but because of the height difference, it was like hitting the ground itself.

Judith seemed a bit taken aback at the quick counterattack.

The impact was high considering the fact that she was using both her arms to block it.

Stride.

Meanwhile, Garam moved.

Judith grinded her teeth, feeling the pressure on her again, and moved her body to get away from the disadvantageous position.

But,

Puck! Puck!

Puch!

"Kuak…'

She didn't manage to achieve her purpose, with the opponent's kicks coming in.

Garam's indiscriminate attacks kept coming in!

A great cheer came from the orcs.

"Woahhh!"

"Step on her!"

"Smash her down!"

Loud voices from the thick vocal cords of orcs.

Not just the party involved, but even the audience felt their blood boiling.

But not Garam.

His cool eyes watched the moves of the opponent very calmly.

'Never underestimate the opponent.'

This was what Garam kept thinking as he set foot on the stage.

He should never do it. The moment he does, the result of his negligence would be what had happened to Gunt.

The human surely had great skills.

'But that doesn't mean I need to overestimate the opponent.'

Puck!

Garam let out a shallow breath and kicked again. Seeing his opponent contort in pain, he nodded.

His current opponent was definitely strong. The total aura in her body was also amazing, and she knew how to move her body properly.

The human was so good that it was hard to believe that she was actually a human.

But the human wasn't stronger than him.

That was the truth.

'This gap is enough.'

The gap in their abilities was enough, and the gap in physique was clearly superior.

Accepting these facts, he could calmly lead the battle on his own terms.

Puck!

Like this.

Puak!

Like this.

Puck!

Like this!

There was no need to take risks.

Even a simple and effective kick could overpower his opponent and make her feel powerless.

Desperate at the fact that there was nothing more she could do, her body and mind would break.

And that thought was enough for him to prepare for the end.

At that, Garam licked his lips.

'This is ending sooner than expected.'

He expected that it would take some more time to win.

If the stage was narrower, maybe it would have been different. But since the stage was wide, he knew the opponent would last longer.

However, like a musclehead, despite being hit by multiple kicks, the human woman fighting him didn't try to move away, but rather, wanted to break through the kicks and reach him.

No, it wasn't even a breakthrough. It seemed like the human just intended to close the gap and hit Garam.

'Stupid.'

A smile crept up Garam's face.

A warrior who lost his cool was nothing less than a boar.

If so, Garam's job was to dispatch the opponent quickly and efficiently.

He once again went for a kick at his opponent's stomach.

Thung!

"Uhm?"

"UHU!"

At that time, something completely different happened.

Judith, who was hit, was stable.

As if she was a heavy rock, she was pushed back by just a single step, and she managed to push away Garam's leg.

As soon as he saw the human do that, Garam was shocked.

For the first time since the fight began, Judith's fist touched Garam.

'Fuck.'

Judith thought to herself.

She was very angry. It wasn't because of how unfavorable this situation was.

From the time she fought Gunt, or even before, she was so angry that she wasn't able to keep her calm.

'Warriors my ass, everything they do is like fucking sheep.'

The only orcs Judith had a problem with were the orcs who came to the training hall along with Gunt.

She didn't even know who the one standing in front of her was.

However, she didn't need a reason. Since when did she start to become this angry?

Puck!

"Kuak…"

With these disgusting kicks, Judith was the kind of person who could keep going at the same opponent for days together.

Of course, she wasn't a warrior.

What kind of person was she then?

She didn't know.

But she knew roughly that she was not something made of positive, wonderful, and great things. Things like faith, belief, pride…, were things that were far from who she was.

Even when she saw Irene and Bratt, who were her close friends now, she felt inferior, jealous, angry, and then ashamed of herself for feeling that…

Judith herself knew she didn't have a proper character.

Puck!

Puck!

Puahk!

'Fuck, it hurts bad!'

She thought, enduring the throbbing pain, and then she thought about other things.

She thought and thought about Bratt's graceful and relaxed form and the strength which came from Irene's kindness, the talent which Ilya was born with, and the other wonderful and enviable things which she wanted to have.

However, the final conclusion she reached was that she couldn't be like them.

Puck!

A person who was greedy, stingy, and ungrateful.

If someone else other than her had been around such friends, they would have died, they wouldn't be able to hold their sword because of the unfairness, and their whole body would burn because of the inferiority they felt.

A person who never stops being jealous.

That was her now.

It was Judith herself who thought that.

It was Judith's mind which wouldn't change no matter how hard or harsh she tried.

And it was a fact that she was finally ready to admit.

Woong!

Push!

"Ugh!"

Judith raised her arms to block Garam's kick.

An Aura hot like lava in an active volcano, erupted within her.

As soon as the power concentrated in her core, she continued to dash. Garam was bewildered by it.

Of course, he knew from the start that this wouldn't be an easy match.

He used the palm of his hand to block her. But his hand was slammed down by Judith.

She entered the opponent's arm length and swung her right fist.

Puck!

Clang!

"Kuak!"

"Kuah…!"

At the same time, Garam's knee kick hit Judith's face.

She hurriedly placed her left hand to block, but the damage because of that was even greater.

A fist to her knee, and a kick to her stomach and her face.

However, Judith wasn't afraid of the pain anymore and ran again.

In fact, she wasn't scared at all.

Push!

Puck!

Puck!

She bounced back because of the front kick from the orc, and moved again. This was followed by an exchange of blows to the face and stomach.

Just like before, Judith, who suffered a loss, was pushed back farther away.

It hurt. It hurt really bad. But she just rubbed her throbbing chin, and spat out blood.

She was jealous again. Of the overwhelming physique of her opponent, and that heated her mind.

A flame of desire and jealousy engulfed her body.

The situation she was in was enough for a normal human to give up.

But not her.

Judith, who had lived her entire life as such, was a person who knew better than anyone on how to endure those flames.

She used inferiority as her nourishment.

Jealousy, desire, and self-doubt as her driving forces.

As she was engulfed in flames, she smiled.

And then went for Garam again.

"…"

Karakum, a warrior, or rather, a spirit warrior, watched the situation unfold.

Suddenly, he broke the handle of the chair without realizing it.

'To use the Five Spirits Divine Technique which hasn't even been taught yet!'

Karakum remembered the battle on plains.

This was the second Aura of Spirit that he had witnessed from the group after Irene Pareira displayed his Aura of Steel.