MTLNOVEL Chapter 122: Yoh
They slammed into the bulky Orc's chest and completely killed him, exploding and turning his body into blood mist.
Six Orcs dead.
It was something that left the surrounding Orcs with deep fear and anger. Their strongest in rank two had been killed with no apparent effort from Vacuse. It was as if they were not worth his time or effort at all.
The First General's face was completely expressionless, while Ragna wore a look of stiffness. He had planned to humiliate Vacuse, and since his uncle personally picked the fighter, he thought they would be powerful.
But now, he was beginning to understand what an SSS truly was. He had seen the fight between Vacuse and Amros and thought it was the Dragon Guard member who was the weak one.
Vacuse turned his attention to the last fighter, and his eyes shone with light. "You! I must know your name. You are strong!"
The last Orc looked down at Vacuse with narrowed eyes. "You killed all those six because they were weak. They are an embarrassment to what an Orc should be."
"And you are different?" Vacuse asked.
The Orc nodded once. "I am."
Then, from the pocket of his clothes, he produced a shriveled skin ball that was drenched in blood. An artifact. He held it in his hand and activated it, making the ball shiver as a single bloodshot eye opened on it.
Next, he removed another artifact that seemed like a red jewel, which he quickly swallowed, turning his skin red.
Then he took out a tattered cloth stained with blood and tied it to his sword.
Vacuse's eyes filled with envy as he watched him.
That was something Vacuse himself was sorely lacking—artifacts and secret treasures that would make one stronger. Being a Soulbearer was not all about one's initial or Initiate power. It was also about the power of artifacts or treasures they might have on hand.
The Orc looked down calmly. "I am Yoh."
Then he flew down with blinding speed. His sword hovered in front of him, and he jumped on it, shooting forward like red lightning.
The skin ball was the first to attack. The bloodshot eye fired a beam of light straight at Vacuse. He used his umbrella to block it, and the surface of the umbrella shivered as if what hit it was something solid instead of just an energy beam.
In a blink, something extraordinary happened to the Void umbrella—illusionary images of the umbrella appeared, three of them floating on either side, completely weakening its effect.
With that taken care of, it was easy for Yoh to blast through the Void umbrella and appear in front of Vacuse, his sword flashing furiously forward.
Vacuse was surprised at how quickly his shield had been rendered useless, but he quickly improvised. Needles rippled around him and shot at his opponent.
But Yoh was prepared. His sword cut upward, releasing a blast of sword energy that erupted forth and cut down all the needles with a single strike.
At the same time, the tattered cloth wrapped around the sword emitted a sinister energy so strong that Vacuse jumped away, appearing several feet away with a slightly surprised look on his face.
In that moment, his body had moved away from Yoh and that sinister energy, as he sensed danger coming from the tattered cloth.
Rith's voice came to his ears. "...That tattered cloth contains a bit of the power from a Titled monster. It is far less than the flesh that you ate and cannot be consumed, but I can use it to take more Initiate power from my real self..."
Vacuse's eyes glinted coldly.
His eyes turned purple, and veins appeared all around their dark edges. An aura of incredible dominance shrouded him as he focused on Yoh. "That cloth on your sword—I want it!"
Up above, one of the Elders shifted as he looked down at his son, his expression one of pride and anxiousness. He knew Yoh was strong and had even given him the tattered cloth as a means to boost his power—a trump card.
When he saw Vacuse fight, he had been left deeply unsettled. But now, his son had forced him to the very edge of the pit. He snorted. "This Dragon is nothing special after all."
Down in the pit, Yoh was feeling a bit different. The fact was, he had used every one of his trump cards immediately at the beginning, and yet he had failed to kill him—something that had never happened before.
His eyes narrowed as he understood that Vacuse would be a very difficult opponent to deal with.
Vacuse was bursting with the power of Dragon perception, which made him perceive things so fast it shook his brain and also made him react just as quickly.
He looked at Yoh and swallowed. "...I need to kill him without damaging any of his artifacts..."
With that, he shot forward—a streak of light that covered the distance with shocking speed. Yoh flew forward to meet him, his red skin bursting with explosive power.
Bam!
They slammed into each other, and the fighting began. Vacuse used the weakened umbrella in its closed form to fight, using it like a rod to clash with Yoh's sword.
But in terms of fighting moves and style, Yoh completely surpassed Vacuse. The only thing keeping him away was the Void spears that would form and stab at random.
The red skin made it so Yoh could keep up with Vacuse's perception.
But as the fighting wore on, it became apparent that Vacuse was merely toying with him. What was more, Vacuse was always trying to get his hand on the skin ball that hovered beside Yoh, its bloodshot eye half-closed.
Or study the tattered cloth that was filled with sinister energy that was warped around his sword.
Yoh felt humiliated and angry that his opponent was not taking the fight seriously when he was literally putting his life on the line.