Chapter 331: Buying Time
"Matilda!"
Dorian called out, and then pointed over his shoulder with his thumb—once he got Matilda’s attention. The sandstorm was hindering their senses, as it seemed to be infused with the shamans’ energy, so it was hard for anyone in front to hear the noises from behind.
As Matilda looked past Dorian, her eyes flickered.
Abigail was creating a water tentacle from Bryan’s back with her remaining mana—and used it to take Bree away from Kai. And then, Matilda made eye contact with Kai. She knew exactly what to do next from exchanging a look with Kai.
Just a bit over a mile away from the border.
Hope returned to her.
Her mana flared outward as she channelled more mana into the golden flag.
"We’re going to make one last push!" She roared.
Everyone behind her nodded as they readied themselves to make a break for it.
One last push to break free from this deadly situation.
Matilda raised the golden flag higher—its radiance blazed against the sandstorm. "Flag!" She shouted and slammed it into the ground as she ran. The pole bit deep into the sand, anchoring itself firmly.
Dorian and Bryan sidestepped to avoid it as they continued forward.
As soon as the flag was planted, the golden dome shifted.
It was left behind, so the effective fifty-yard radius of the golden dome was pulled as the group didn’t stop moving forward. Once they were out of the effective radius—their bodies grew far weaker than they were seconds ago.
But there was purpose to this—the dome was no longer meant to protect the group,
Just trailing a quarter mile behind, Kai drew his Blood-phantom Scimitar.
Since he was looking at everything from behind, he could see the full scope of what was going on. The main body of the hordes was already arriving as a large number of Grey Orcs rushed to intercept the group ahead.
Not too far behind, the Chieftains and their elites were also coming fast.
Kai also came to the same conclusion as Matilda.
Also realized that they won’t be able to make it, so they needed to do something big.
A distraction.
And as the leader, he decided to become exactly that—to buy time for the group.
My internal wounds are already temporarily mended by the Reckless Ruin. Here goes nothing.
Swoosh—!
Kai picked up his pace, dragging the blade’s tip across the sand and carving a dark trench in his wake. The dark mana made contact—with the ground, and the sand hissed, blackening at the lightest touch.
His legs blurred beneath him, carrying him faster than before.
Grey Orcs lunged to intercept him, but he was ready.
He maneuvered over them seamlessly like an eel that refused to be caught.
And then, he slid over a horizontal axe swing that would’ve cleaved him in two from the waist, rose back up to his feet, and then leaped high into the air. His muscles bulged and launched him really high.
Roar—!
More Grey Orcs leaped after him, refusing to let him go.
For them, this was a great chance for payback against Supernals, against their conquerors.
Kai twisted in the air; his scimitar moved in a lethal dance through the space around him. And as gravity reclaimed him and he began to fall, he activated Deep Slumber. The blade hummed in his grip, drinking in the mana he fed it.
It was an enormous surge, equal to the full reserve of a normal Grade-3 Aspirant Supernal.
For him, it was nothing.
He let out a heavy grunt and swung downward with all his might.
The scimitar phased through the golden dome and struck the sand with a thunderous force.
Boom—!
And the impact was immediate.
An expanding ring of darkness exploded outward, a silent shockwave—that swept across the area. Every Grey Orc within its radius, hundreds of them that were still charging and roaring, was struck by the wave.
In the next second, their eyes rolled back, and their growls died in their throats.
Starting from the front-most row—the Grey Orcs dropped one after another. They fell into the sand like puppets with severed strings. At least five hundred Grey Orcs went unconscious in an instant.
Kai had grown accustomed to the advanced version of his Deep Slumber Legacy Skill.
Unlike before, he didn’t need to touch the target to use it.
He could do it from a distance.
And surprisingly enough, through training, the range of the Deep Slumber could be increased.
Now, it has the same range as his Black Starfall Legacy Imprint, which was incredible.
Kai straightened his spine and nodded when he saw that the Grey Orcs behind the others had been completely wiped from the chase. The group was forced to run faster earlier not because of the Grey Orcs, but because of Kai.
They were sprinting to escape the effective radius of Deep Slumber.
Regardless, now there are only a handful of Grey Orcs chasing after them, manageable.
But more were coming.
Five thousand Grey Orcs were not a small number.
For Kai, who had never gone through this many Star Beasts before, this felt endless.
Regardless, there was no time to lament.
Kai sensed an incoming attack from behind—and avoided an axe slash as the first Grey Orc entered the golden dome. He spun quickly, avoided the bulky hand that was trying to grab him, and then slashed—splitting the Grey Orc into two pieces from the crown of its bald head and down through its crotch.
Blood sprayed, splattering onto his face, but he didn’t care.
He caught the falling axe, planted it on the corpse, and tapped the axe head with his scimitar.
Clang—!
Clang—!
Clang—!
The sharp rings of steel cut through the entire area, and the Grey Orcs that were chasing after the others turned toward the sound. Once they found Kai standing over their dead kin while tapping his blade in mock invitation, something inside them snapped.
And they went berserk.
Roar—!
A collective chorus of roars shook the air as the Grey Orcs shifted their attention.
Both hordes abandoned the others and charged straight at Kai.
Kai smiled as that was exactly the reaction he wanted.
Before battle, Kai cracked his neck, rolled his shoulders, and watched the sea of grey come for him with bloodlust in their eyes. The Grey Orcs charged in a tide—their war cries shook even the sand around, and they raised their weapons in an act of intimidation.
𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎
His plan was simple.
Hold them here and survive until the others reached safety beyond the border.
Kai would need to defend the flag and buy time.
Soon, the first few entered the golden dome’s radius with furious growls in their throats.
And when Kai began to move, the Grey Orcs began to fall.
He grabbed the handle of the heavy axe planted in the corpse beside him, tossed it before him, and kicked its handle upward. The battle axe spun through the air, becoming a wheel of death, and embedded itself in the chest of the first Grey Orc leading the few.
Such a brutal momentum threw the Grey Orc backward, crashing into the ranks behind it.
Kai watched as bodies toppled like dominoes.
And then, he engaged in a direct assault.
A Grey Orc leaped, hammer raised overhead, and swung down with everything it had.
Kai threw himself aside, catching his balance in time to watch the sand erupt in a big column where he’d been standing. It’s using something similar to what that Chieftain used. Not as strong, but it’s strong enough to hurt me.
He made use of the temporary haze from the column to charge in and stab the Grey Orc through its heart, then slicing sideways—tearing flesh and bone. It dropped dead almost in an instant.
A dozen more came.
All were met with death, straight to the underworld.
Kai moved as something possessed—every strike was precise and filled with ferocity.
He kicked a Grey Orc—across the face, snapping its head back. Stabbed another through the gut. Leaned back to avoid a slash from behind and spun his body, unleashing Dark Discharge Legacy Imprint.
A circular arc of energy sliced through all the Grey Orcs within the golden dome.
Bodies fell in pieces, but there were still many more of them.
Kai looked up and saw the ten black stars he summoned through the Black Starfall were now in place, ready to be used. He raised his hand, and then motioned down—the black stars were motionless for a second, but then they flickered and rained down dark lances.
Any Grey Orc that entered the dome died, impaled, and pinned to the sand.
But some still got through—either through cleverness or luck.
Bam—!
A punch struck his gut.
Kai’s body bent backward; blood burst from his mouth. He gritted his blood-stained teeth—grabbed the Grey Orc’s head out of instinct, and crushed its skull with his bare hand. His eyes watched everything from start to finish.
Bone crunched before blood and brain matter came, splattering his face.
And the rest leaked between his fingers.
Should be enough time.
Kai looked to the side as he panted heavily, exhausted already.
He saw the others had reached safety—Bree, Matilda, Dorian, Bryan, and Abigail were already beyond the border, protected by the translucent barrier. It was time to move. He charged his blade with Deep Slumber again and then struck.
Boom—!
Another expanding darkness pulled the Grey Orcs into the dreamland.
And then, Kai whistled.
Feeny dove from the sky, folding its wings and spinning while going straight down to avoid the hardened ball of sand thrown at it. Learning the pattern of the shamans’ attacks, she managed to reach low enough to be reached.
Kai leaped high and grabbed Feeny’s talon right as she unfurled her wings.
All Grey Orcs trying to reach him were slammed down.
But more came, and one managed to grab his leg, and another grabbed his back.
Kai fought as Feeny tried to fly higher, out of reach from the Grey Orcs.
It was a messy flight.
She veered hard left, then right—dodging the hardened balls of sand hurtled toward them by the relentless shamans that simply refused to let them go. And Kai, who was holding on under her, bore the brunt of every turn.
His arm wrenched, and his shoulder screamed.
On top of his own weight, there were also two Grey Orcs that clung to him
And due to the angle and the fact that one of them was holding onto his arm, he had no room to swing his Blood-phantom Scimitar. Kai gritted his teeth, but a punch landed across his face hard.
It knocked him sideways, and his fingers slipped.
"Shit!"
Kai’s eyes widened.
He looked over his shoulder as he fell, seeing only a gathering of thousands of Grey Orcs.