To pass wind was not his sole skill, he could pass... all elements at once!
All the four elementary mana types started to race their way towards the outside of Ed's body in a surprising display of chaotic control. It was like a congested highway intersection that somehow failed to hinder the flow of traffic.
Ed's body seemed to light up with dazzling rays of light. To everyone, it looked like he was about to blow! And they were, right, Ed's figure was obscured by the blinding four colored light.
The knights who were too close could only grit their teeth and try to jump at the unusual orc but all they did was feed the light as they
"YAAAAAAH!!!" One knight uttered out their form of a battle cry as they swept their long blade coated with turbulent wind mana at the blinded Ed. But before the blade could even reach Ed's body, he was met with a wall.
No, the reality was that he was met with an opposing force. One that pushed back his blade and threatened his life. He would die.
A loud explosion rang out as the elements mixed and mashed while rushing out of Ed's body. The four colors became, six, seven, eight, they kept on merging into different pseudo spells. Who knew if some were even seen before! Space itself seemed to twist and writhe as the explosion expanded outward and consumed everything.
[Mana manipulation has leveled up]
[You've been dealt critical direct damage. -321 hp]
[Champion has met the conditions to level up, do you want to be recalled? Y/N]
The small explosion consumed the immediate area around Ed and caused the lives of dozens of humans to be reaped in an instant. Best of all, it allowed him to see again!
Though if his goal had been just that the method might have been a bit overkill. His real goal was to get the humans to retreat or reconsider stepping forward, and as the debris settled Ed was soon to find out if this gamble was worth taking.
The dust settled revealing black lumps upon black lumps. One couldn't say for sure they were charred by fire, but one also couldn't say that hadn't been the case. These black lumps of once human beings fell one by one as if being blown by the wind.
That was all except for one particularly large black lump, this one seemed to still be breathing, and moving, and… shedding…
Ed's body started to molt the burnt skin and his green luster was slowly returning as his 14 points of vitality started to get some more work in. A large amount of the knights, especially those yet to enter the battle, were left flabbergasted at the sight. They could only stare on questioning their very lives as Ed was back to what appeared to be peak condition in less than a minute.
"ROOOAAAAR!!!!" To further demoralize the onlooking knights, Ed then let out a blood-curling battle cry with bloodshot eyes. His lungs which had suffered internal damage from his dangerous mana explosion did not fail him under pressure as his voice reached every corner of the cavern. Though in the deepest part of the cavern it was but a faint scream.
Still, what mattered most were the humans in front of Ed at that very moment and Ed was satisfied to notice they were all terrified. It stood to reason that the knight closest to Ed who bore a half-melted sword was terrified. But it didn't make sense that his figure did not take a step in retreat.
Ed didn't bother to think about it anymore though. He only summoned a fine orc iron axe from his storeroom and launched his body towards that very knight. His sudden appearance caught the knight off guard, nevertheless the knight's movements were not slow as he tried to promptly intercept the incoming axe.
His half-melted sword became bent out of shape perhaps a result of its still hot state. For the knight this was obviously bad news. He managed to utter no words as Ed's axe sunk into his neck-breaking it easily.
[Axemanship has leveled up]
Ed ignored the message as he prepared to attack the next group of individual knights.
"Formation!" But surprisingly the leaderless squads did not turn disorderly. The knights who were strewn about the battlefield quickly made their way closer to one another solidifying their position.
Ed's orc body was even more surprisingly nimble, however. His mana was in disarray following the strong discharge but whatever remained felt like another layer of himself. His level 9 mana manipulation made Ed feel invincible as he didn't flinch seeing the large group.
In fact, there was some excitement hidden in his eyes as he ran forward and lifted his bloodied axe.
The spears which had positioned themselves at the front thrust at that same time and Ed who was swinging down did the unthinkable by remaining completely still to take the attacks.
Had all the mana fried his brain? It was natural for them to think so but…
Each and every spear which aimed to skewer him bounced off or had the tips break altogether after colliding with Ed's body. This seemed to shatter the entire world view of the knights who never expected their kingdom's special alloy was so brittle!
But the alloys really weren't at fault. With mana manipulation at this next level, Ed was able to control his mana to reinforce specific sections of his body. The points of impact in this case were reinforced at least 10 times greater than they otherwise would have!
That was no easy feat, putting aside the mental processing power consumed, the amount of precision could be the difference between taking no damage and death.
Ed took charge of the opportunity by sweeping his axe at the humans as if he were the grim reaper. Blood spewed but all of them survived.
[You've been dealt damage. -45 hp]
[You've been dealt damage. -14 hp]
The earth punctured Ed's soles and fiery afterimages burnt the surface of his skin. Electrifying energy coursed into Ed's body causing Ed to be left temporarily stunned and open for more attacks.
A knight having learned his lesson aimed his spear at Ed's eye. The latter squinted before pulling back. That was when the feet beneath him were swept and he started to fall back.
Overconfidence was the mother of regret, the knights were all at least B-class meaning that they too could use mana.
[Instinct has leveled up]
But Ed was not overconfident, he was clear-headed even while drowning in the orc-ish instincts.
Before the swords of Knights could slash apart Ed's body, jets of wind pushed Ed out of danger in a surreal experience of flight. The knights had seen it all! What was next, could pigs fly?
Ed's figure which was tall even among the other orcs qualified him to be counted as a giant among men. How could he maneuver so efficiently?
"Damn it! We should retreat!" A knight yelled while holding their weapon with evident fright and frustration. They weren't willing to desert the battle, but this could not be won.
With the momentum turning against them, and with no clear leader, the knights decided that retreat was the best option. They had silently come to the agreement that retreat was best, but there was just one issue... The exit was forward...
"We can't… let's press forward!!!" A knight cried out remembering the act of the orcs. There was one orc, he had impressive regenerative powers and magnificent strength, but that was still one orc!
What was the biggest weakness of a lone mob attacking a full party? They could be mobbed by large numbers.
By the time Ed approached for another attack things weren't the same. That was because some knights seemed to have dropped their weapons. They ran forward hands-free, their body seemed to glisten as they reinforced every muscle and tendon.
""""AAAAAAHHHH!!!!""" These knights screamed while aiming to pin down Ed.
Their clutches swept closer to Ed's dashing figure but rather than continue his approach fueled by animalistic madness, Ed reinforced his foot and took a step back.
The fighting was starting to die down behind him, the anti-skeletons must have done their job!
They had to have escorted out the remaining orcs and there was, therefore, nothing more for Ed to do there.
He had leveled up his mana manipulation, he had leveled up his consciousness, and he had protected the orcs, his job was-
[Eliminate trespassers]
To eliminate trespassers... or so had said a friendly reminder. But still didn't reconsider things, the knights were stuck in the cavern unless they dug a new tunnel out.
"Its retreating, report to the commander!" A senior knight told a younger one who almost immediately turned to run. The problem was that he was running into the icy cavern likely formed by Vorgarag.
Ed still needed to figure out what happened with Vorgarag but what mattered now was why the commander was inside his small tunnel. Ed could only find one explanation and that was his boulder.
Ed stopped in his tracks skidding to a halt before rushing back towards the group of prepared knights with a solemn expression that seemed to scream out give it your best shot I'm ready!
The knights were prepared to do just that but the moment they were about to thrust or swing their weapons Ed's gallant figure took a foothold on the earth and flew above every single one of them.
Each time he needed another foothold one more would appear and if the knights swung at one coming from the ground then one would reach out from the ceiling.
"What the f*ck!?!" One knight cursed not understanding what the hell was going on. Why was the orc going into the cavern!?