Lightning and black flames alike tangled with each other, only to disperse at the moment their blades met.
And then, Gulland stopped.
Normally, against a giant opponent like this, stopping his legs and exchanging blows would put him at a disadvantage. After all, he would have no place to run to when the Goblin King’s sword comes down, and standing in the same ring would only make the difference in their strength more apparent.
But Gulland believed that this was his only chance of winning.
The Goblin King’s great sword blew a powerful wind with it swung, yet Gulland dove deeper into its range. The way Gulland saw it, this goblin standing in his path was no different from a dragon. With a sword that blew raging winds, a savage temperament, and a cruel yet cunning wit, he was indeed a terrifying foe, and yet Gulland felt something that compelled him to challenge him despite his defeats.
It was that intuition of his that tipped the scales slightly.
As he received the descending blow of the Goblin King, Gulland advanced. The Goblin King could not believe his eyes; it was for a moment, only for a moment, but it was enough to delay the Goblin King’s attack. Within that pressure and tension where one could be crushed at a moment’s notice, Gulland chose to bring himself deeper into the pressure.
Already, that was not bravery but recklessness.
But it was also true that the Goblin King was not someone that could be defeated with normal methods.
The Goblin King’s great sword was stopped, but he held it up once again and tried to attack once more; however, Gulland passed through and swept with his great sword.
Gulland clearly felt a response from that attack, but when he turned around after passing the Goblin King, he saw black flames around the spot he hit.
“Damned monster!”
As Gulland spat that out, he attacked again, but the Goblin King’s great sword stopped him. The small chance of victory he saw seemed to be getting farther, but Gulland did not stop swinging his sword.
The Goblin King felt a slight tug to his consciousness.
It was not because of the valiant man before him, no, it was due to something much bigger. Somewhere among the crowd of humans was something tremendous lurking.
But unfortunately, that moment of carelessness on his part allowed the strong man before him to come thrusting at him.
With the valiant man’s great sword clad in lightning, that attack swung with all his strength was indeed not something that ought to be handled carelessly. Hence, the Goblin King struck it hard with his own great sword clad in black flames.
The Goblin King was already a being that transcended man.
With a body that could be called a monster, and a force of will tempered by his throne, when the Goblin King dealt with the man before him calmly, the man’s efforts could only bring him closer to his own ruin as his strength ran out. That was the natural course of things.
That being said, it was not good to leave himself defenseless.
The Goblin King did not know what kind of trump card the enemy possessed. This was an enemy that was hailed a hero, so he had to be especially vigilant; hence, the Goblin King chose to seal whatever cards he had hidden by fighting defensively.
However, that did not mean that he would not attack at all. He would still attack if an opportunity presented itself, just that he would be focusing on defense from here on.
After the Goblin King repelled Gulland’s attacks for so many times, he used those eyes of his that were sharper than a human’s to confirm Gulland’s situation. Gulland’s great sword clad in lightning was still strong, but Gulland himself was already beginning to pant.
The difference in their base abilities did not lie solely in their strength.
The ability to manipulate ether, their explosive power, the five senses… Gulland was not superior to the king in any one of those aspects. The only reason he has been able to fight equally until now was because he had been feeding the Great Sword of Blue Lightning with his own mana.
The weapon possessed by a spirit could manifest its power by consuming the mana of its owner. But after just some dozen exchanges, it was already on the verge of completely devouring Gulland’s mana.
Normally, Gulland wouldn’t expend himself to this extent. He would feed it only when necessary to destroy an opponent he had to defeat, but the opponent this time was just too poor a match.
The enemy standing before him was superior to him and demanded the utmost attention.
A momentary lapse of attention was all it would take to separate his head from his body. As proof of that, despite wringing himself dry, the Goblin King attacked with just as much ferocity as when they started. No, his attacks were becoming even more brilliant.
“Kah, ku!”
The great sword of black flames was truly like a tempest. Just when he thought it would descend on him from above, it would come at him in a flurry from the sides. When he blocked, this time it would come diagonally from the shoulder.
The Goblin King’s mastery over the sword had not reached the realm of experts, but his power was so overwhelming that every blow he released turned into a powerful weapon.
Gradually, Gulland’s lightning began to wane; that was a sign that he was approaching his limits.
But even then, Gulland refused to stop attacking. If his lightning has weakened, then he would contest the Goblin King in sword play and speed.
But of course, the Goblin King had already predicted that.
It was for this moment that the Goblin King reluctantly fought defensively and waited for his opponent to tire out. Indeed, this was originally a battle he was sure to win, but he treated it with such patience.
That was just how ghastly Gulland’s spirit was, but evidently, that decision was sufficient to bring about this expected ending. However, choosing to go on the defense also fatigued the Goblin King mentally. Perhaps his poor health may have played a role in that as well, but regardless, a tinge of impatience appeared within the Goblin King.
