Chương 109: B2 Chapter 29

The tide of the battle changed, and it was in the opposite way Hakon had hoped for. The patterns he'd seen mere moments ago were replaced by the wild, irregular attacks of a frenzied beast. Something about Ulfar had changed, and he wasn't even trying to use reason to fight. Not that he needed to when his punch hit harder than a Young Drake. The air screamed, and the temperature in the vicinity increased drastically as the Behemoth Blood warrior's fist rocketed forward.

Hakon shifted his stance, controlled the mana within him precisely, and reinforced his limbs with thick layers of it when the attack came, and yet he suffered greatly. The mana shield covering his arm shattered, and so did the thick layer of mana reinforcing his arm as soon as the massive fist crashed down. And then it snapped. His arm cracked like a song of birds. Swallowing the pain, Hakon sent a wave of projectiles toward Ulfar's side and back, but they didn't even manage to pierce his skin anymore.

The heat coming from his skin disrupted the mana constructs enough to weaken them. That could only mean one thing: something stronger than [Arcane Manifestation] was at work. A Will? That would explain the sudden changes. It did, however, not help against Ulfar. Except that he knew more about Wills than Ulfar. Not by much, but Hakon understood the limits of his Will. Pushing it beyond the first threshold would allow a warrior to wield strength far surpassing their Level, but power did not come without a price.

Especially not sudden bursts of power. Hakon did not doubt for a second that Ulfar's body couldn't take the intensity of a Will. But as the Behemoth Blood warrior executed one quick blow after another, it became apparent that the price of power was steeper than anticipated. Survive. Adapt. Overcome the worst of it.

Mitigating the worst of the punches, transforming life-threatening blows into light injuries, would be best, and while Hakon escaped several blows with sudden movements boosted by [Accelerate] and [Swiftstep] as soon as he knew what Ulfar was going to do, his body looked worse for wear. The longer the fight continued, the worse Hakon looked and felt. And yet, when Ulfar nearly blew his head off with a sudden roundhouse kick, Hakon's expression lit up.

He weaved around the kick, shifted his stance, and retrieved one of his daggers. Ulfar's head jerked to the right to stay on him, and Hakon watched him infuse the blade with mana. The Will of Momentum active, he triggered [Enhanced Throw] with [Accelerate] and hurled the dagger at the Behemoth Blood warrior's face. Ulfar's kick ended in time, and he would have had enough time to escape, if not for the thrown dagger to move through the air faster than a 3rd Ascension warrior's arrow.

It whistled through the air like death, closed the short distance to the target, and… missed. Somehow, Ulfar shifted his stance in time. He craned his neck to the side and watched the dagger blast past him. It nicked his cheek, but that was the extent of it. And yet, after evading the attack with supernatural speed, he looked more exhausted than he would have if the dagger had hit. [Combat Awareness] and [Weakness Detection] pinged Hakon even before the dagger whistled past his opponent, and he was ready already.

Using [Mana Sense] and [Mana Manipulation], a brilliant light coalesced within a series of mana bolts that formed around him. [Arcane Manifestation] momentarily fused with [Mote of Light], courtesy of [Mana Infusion]. Or something along those lines. Truth be told, Hakon wasn't quite sure what he was doing right now. Other than following his gut feeling and whatever Enhanced Comprehension was trying to tell him. And… it felt good. Real great.

Sure, one of his arms was shattered and only slowly being put back together by [Vitality Stream], but it could have been a lot worse. Releasing the dazzling bolts, they did exactly what they were supposed to. Ulfar screamed out loud as his head jerked back to face Hakon, only to stare into a ball of light that exploded in his face. He took a step back, eyes snapping shut, and walked right into a mana shield embedded into the ground.

The mighty Behemoth Blood warrior tripped over the shield and struggled to regain his bearings for a moment. That was followed by a mana-imbued handaxe thrown his way. Then came several daggers and mana constructs, each of which was boosted by the Will of Momentum, reinforced with mana, and coated in a thick layer of [Bleeding]. The axe found purchase in Ulfar's chest. It didn't dig deep, but it pierced his smoking skin. The same happened to the other daggers, jutting from Ulfar's side and his remaining arm.

Mana erupted around the blades' edges as [Bleeding] jumped into effect, slowing the Behemoth Blood warrior's natural regeneration while also accelerating his blood flow. Not that much blood flowed as the temperature increased further and all blood that would have poured out of Ulfar evaporated, leaving all but a crusty residue. What followed was a battle that was both terrifying as well as anticlimactic. It was embarrassing and made Hakon curse himself and his weakness, but he was no Bloodbearer.

His physical strength was nowhere near on par with a legendary Bloodbearer. Especially not a legendary Bloodbearer using a Will that made him even stronger… in exchange for that power. And that did not even include his Runeskins. Spikescale was not very powerful as it was, but every physical Runeskin grew stronger when wielded by a Bloodbearer. That was especially true for Behemoth Blood. And then there was his other Runeskin.

Hakon wasn't quite sure what it was just yet, but there were times Ulfar moved faster than he should have. Like bursts of power that enhanced his already superior traits even further. It was a powerful Runeskin, that much he was sure, and that meant it drained Ulfar somehow. The how, however, was difficult to tell. Except that it grew increasingly obvious when the exhaustion in Ulfar's eyes accumulated.

"You pathetic cretin!" Ulfar roared in a way that did not quite sound like the man Hakon remembered.

"Stop evading, you coward. You are nothing to me, and you will die by my hand. NOW!" The wounds Hakon had sustained ever since the battle started were tough already. Pain was weakness leaving the body, sure, but broken bones affected his fighting style. That was fine though because he grew stronger with every bruise and broken bone. Hoard Impact absorbed a portion of the incoming impact, and it accumulated everything. And now Hoard Impact could accumulate a lot more than before.

The Runeskin grew with his ascension, and it hoarded more than ever before. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"I am not a coward." Hakon growled as the Behemoth Blood warrior rocketed toward him, his every step sending ripples through the ground.

"But I am not stupid enough to fight a Behemoth head-on." That would be a fool's ordeal, and he was no fool. He tried to be better than that, so he had to show everyone that raw, physical power was not everything. Only then could he convince the old generation, those still rejecting the path of the Mind, to accept him and to acknowledge the power it could grant.

Ulfar The situation was getting out of hand. The Will of the Frenzied gave him tremendous power, yet it was almost as punishing as Overload. Worse even, he couldn't deactivate the Will of the Frenzied. Ulfar tried to, but the Will blocked him out no matter how hard he tried. Kill. Behemoth Blood said only a word, and yet it explained everything. He had to kill Hakon to deactivate the Will of the Frenzied or die trying.

His body felt like it was on fire, most of his blood evaporated as soon as it flowed out of him, and the pain inflicted by every new injury hurt much more than it used to. Nonetheless, Ulfar was stronger than ever, and he pushed further by maintaining his Runeskins to crush Hakon a little faster. The cretin's arm was already crushed, yet Ulfar clawed at him, tearing his chest wide open as well. That his fingers were no longer what they used to be did not seem to matter.

Ulfar didn't even notice his fingers transforming into something akin to talons. He pushed forward with [Carnage] and [Beast's Ferocity], which only seemed to strengthen the influence of his new Will. And that was perfectly fine. Unleashing [Bestial Rampage], Ulfar appeared before Hakon and stomped on his foot, forcefully keeping the slippery eel in place. The crunch of Hakon's ankle and the bones in his foot shattering was perfect.

It brought forth almost as much joy as when he punched Hakon in the chest, and the cretin's chest caved in. But the joy in his heart did not last long. Looking at Hakon, the savage smile cracked.

"Why are you still smiling?" Did he miss something? Hakon looked like he was on the verge of death. His position couldn't be worse. Despite that, Hakon's smile only grew wider. Kill him! The Behemoth within him roared. Yet he did not end the Challenge of Blood quickly. How could he end it when Chieftain Ragna had yet to suffer? When he had yet to cripple Hakon and humiliate him in front of everyone, his father included. There was so much Ulfar had to do before he ended the battle. So he reached for Hakon's throat.

Behemoth Blood wanted him to rip his throat out alongside his spine, but he was still in charge. Several structures of light exploded in Ulfar's face, but that trick only worked once. He was prepared for it and moved up to catch Hakon. His massive fingers coiled around Hakon's neck, and he lifted him into the air. What now? Break one bone at a time? End—... Just as the second-last bolt of light exploded beside him, something else caught his attention.

His danger sense perked up, and he shifted to the side as a morningstar made of blue-twinkling energy crashed down beside him. The attack was strong. It would have been powerful enough to seriously harm Ulfar if he hadn't reacted in time. That once again confirmed that Hakon was not as weak as he looked. It angered Ulfar enough to make yet another mistake. The morningstar made of mana was not the only thing heading for him. It was merely the strongest manifestation, filled with the most killing intent.

Ulfar snorted as the last of the light bolts exploded in his face. His eyes snapped shut, and he adjusted his position, ready to hurl Hakon to the ground and break his bones. And yet, caught up in the power and influence of the Will of the Frenzied, he did not make his move right away. Thinking straight grew increasingly more difficult, but he needed to know how to hurt and humiliate Chieftain Ragna and Hakon the most before he could end it once and for all.

Caught up in the moment, he didn't even sense the needles as they formed by Hakon's side. Only when they were released and crossed the distance between Hakon's side and Ulfar's face in a single heartbeat did he recognize the real threat. But by that time, it was already too late. Ulfar's eyes snapped open, he detected the threat, and he called upon Spikescales and Overload to protect him, but there was no skin over his eyes to harden into spiked scales. Overload worked on his eyes, though it was to no avail.

The needles pierced Ulfar's eyes before exploding, leaving him in pain far worse than losing an arm did. You useless cretin. Behemoth Blood growled right before its influence erupted. It flowed throughout Ulfar with the decisiveness of an avalanche that had only been waiting for a moment of weakness. I no longer need you. Pathetic weakling.

"Noo!" Ulfar roared at the top of his lungs, but his throat burned. The Will of the Frenzied burned through him, and so did Overload as he flooded it with his lifeforce, enhancing his willpower. He was in charge of his Ancient Power. The Behemoth was his partner, but only because it provided him with power. That was all it was good for. This is MY body! My revenge! MINE!

He roared in his heart, yet even as Overload flooded his mind with enough power to weaken the Behemoth's claim over his body, it wasn't possible to seal him away anymore.

"I won't give you my body!" he roared aloud as more and more lifeforce flowed out of him and into Overload. And as his life ran out, regret bloomed in his heart. He could have killed Hakon, but now the man he loathed the most was no longer in his grasp. He no longer dangled in Ulfar's palm. Rather, he sensed Hakon standing there, his ankle and foot snapping back into position. And as he stood there… he didn't do anything. There was no bloodlust, no killing intent. There was… Was that pity?

Ulfar let out a shattering roar, or so it was supposed to sound like. But the strength in his body faded rapidly. Is that how it ends? You kill yourself? Pathetic. The Behemoth growled before once again trying to push into his wielder's mind and body. I am defending myself, you parasite! Ulfar growled, all while praying to the Ancestors. For they should not think that he escaped the challenge of life like a coward would.

He wanted to live more than anything, and he wanted to kill Hakon, become the next chieftain, humiliate Chieftain Ragna, maybe even become one with Astrid. However, what he wanted the most was power. To be feared by others, to rise to become the next Warlord, and to maybe even crush the Divine Beast. But that was not possible, not when his own Ancient Power worked against him. It wanted to take over and control him, and that was unacceptable. He would rather die than become a slave to his own body.

So he defended against the parasite growing inside him. Allow me to feast with you. Ulfar prayed once again to the Ancestors as his legs caved in. More lifeforce than ever seeped out of him, empowering Overload just enough to retain control of everything that happened around him. The Ancestors did not answer him even as he collapsed to the ground with mere traces of life flowing through a body that had been destined for greatness. The last thing he heard was the Behemoth laugh.

Do you really think they will listen to your pleas? Idiot. You die a Sagaless death. The Ancestors will never accept you. Fool. Cretin. Pathetic coward. And yet, as the voice of the Behemoth echoed in his ears, Ulfar was certain he heard a trace of desperation. It did not want him to die. But instead of giving in and working together, the Behemoth had decided to use the Challenge of Blood to usurp Ulfar's body. Who's the stupid one now? Now… we're both dying.