Chapter 182 The Upper Realm of Aura (Patreon)

Chapter 182

The Upper Realm of Aura

Karath left the battle behind him to his subordinates and faced the brainwashed villagers charging from the front.

This is the best choice.

The hobgoblins’ bows were useful, but difficult to employ in a chaotic melee unless they intended to fill allies with arrows.

The orc warriors were also specialists in destroying things.

Carefully controlling their strength to knock out enemies without killing them was not their speciality.

Karath, however, could perform such delicate work.

“I never imagined training the warriors would help me like this.”

Dozens of red-eyed Silver Wolf villagers rushed him, yet the absurdity of the situation drew a humourless laugh from his mouth.

Fortune could turn in the strangest ways.

Throughout the previous winter, Karath had sparred with his subordinates almost every day to improve their axe art and awaken more Aura Users.

Fighting warriors who could not use aura while carefully controlling his strength had become extremely familiar.

“RAAAAGH!”

A brainwashed villager charged and slashed with wolf-like claws.

Karath avoided the attack by the smallest possible margin.

“Forgive me.”

Thud!

His right fist struck the villager’s jaw.

Karath did not use aura because his goal was merely to render the man unconscious.

Given an orc’s natural strength, however, the blow might still have cracked bone.

It was still far gentler than killing him.

Whoosh!

Thud!

Karath moved as efficiently as possible against the villagers trying to reach the monsters.

Evade, then one punch.

Evade, then one kick.

Crunch!

Training and real battle were not the same.

His sparring had also been one-on-one.

This was a chaotic melee.

As the fight continued, the movements of his hands and feet gradually became less precise.

I need to move faster.

Karath drew upon aura to stop villagers attempting to reach the monsters.

He could not allow that aura to remain in his attacks.

If he struck them while fully reinforced, their bodies would burst apart.

Use it only to accelerate movement, then withdraw it before impact.

Karath was accustomed to circulating aura at full power and swinging his weapon with everything he possessed.

This was an entirely new challenge.

At first, the attempt only made his movements more confused.

Faster.

More efficient.

The sparring throughout winter began revealing its value.

As the battle continued, his control over aura grew increasingly fluid.

He drew it forth violently to accelerate, then withdrew it a fraction before striking.

Gradually, he began distributing aura through individual parts of his body according to the needs of each instant.

Then, at some point, conscious calculation disappeared.

The moment Karath recognised a situation, his aura moved naturally.

He entered a state of complete immersion and continued striking with his entire body.

By the time he returned to himself, not one conscious villager remained standing around him.

“Haa.”

Karath looked over the Silver Wolf warriors after knocking out every brainwashed resident.

Like him, they were covered in blood.

They had suffered numerous wounds while restraining their own people.

“Grrrr.”

Their anger had only continued to grow.

Naturally so.

The people they had fought were not enemies.

They were family.

“Attack!”

Now it was finally time to confront the true enemy.

The Silver Wolf warriors were not Karath’s subordinates, yet his shout seemed to pull a trigger within them.

They charged toward the monsters as one.

“Hup!”

Karath seized Silvertusk and rushed forward as well.

He had spent a long time fighting the Silver Wolf villagers while continuously restraining his strength.

Such restraint did not suit an orc’s nature.

He swung Silvertusk with everything he possessed, releasing the frustration accumulated throughout that exhausting struggle.

Perhaps the previous battle had made his control over aura far more fluid.

The instant Karath decided to strike with full power, aura surged from the mana core near his abdomen and filled his entire body.

Wooooom!

The energy overflowing through his flesh extended beyond his body and entered Silvertusk.

Aura had left the confines of his flesh and begun flowing into his weapon.

Karath had stepped into the realm of an advanced Aura User.

Crunch!

Silvertusk already possessed absurd hardness and sharpness.

Once aura filled its blade, the unusual monster’s hide and bones tore apart like sheets of paper.