Pascal had no option but to cancel his chant and to hurriedly attempt to cast a shield of water. He finished his hasty chant and water materialized around him and condensed into a ball, it barely left him any room to breathe. But that was a minor concern as the merciless barrage of fireballs then exploded and resulted in a slew of fierce explosions that torched the enemy orcs. Nonetheless, Pascal's attempt proved mostly ineffective as his hasty shield could not keep up with the seemingly endless barrage.
Vorgarag only stopped once the fire crystal had lost its light signaling the depletion of its mana. By that point, Pascal could only hold himself up using his burnt staff before it eventually turned to ash and he inevitably fell on the ground lifelessly. Given that Pascal couldn't withstand the large number of attacks even after casting a shield, the fate of the other orcs needed not to be mentioned. The influx of orcs from the hole stopped as the others were afraid to suffer the same fate as the black lumps on the ground.
The whole ordeal happened in less than 10 seconds, during that time Ed charged towards the dumbfounded Slug and released a fearsome sideways slash that included his entire body. The distracted Slug still managed to notice the danger however and did his best to avoid the swing.
His late reaction costed him resulting in a large gash across his waist. Luckily for him though, it was mostly superficial. His combat prowess was not negatively affected. But although the injury was only superficial, the mental damage he sustained could not be gauged.
The normally moderately coolheaded Slug was seething with anger. Wasn't this the second time he had been disrespected? Still, he understood that it was ultimately his fault for being entertained in the midst of a battle.
"This is it, I am ending this farce!" Yelled the angry Slug. His plans were being foiled by a nobody! He had no weapons as he was confident in his martial prowess. Unfortunately, that meant that he needed to get real up close and personal for this confrontation as Ed had a range advantage.
Ed ignored him however as words alone weren't going to do anything, it was actions! And although Slug had dodged it was still a less than perfect result. Simply put...
'An opening!' Ed tried to quickly think of what spell was best to cast before deciding on the water spout spell. Although its damage potential was lower than the fireball spell, it was much quicker to launch and would allow him to follow up with another attack.
The jet of water burst out of thin air and jetted towards Slug's face.
"Argh!" The high-pressure water blinded him temporarily even forcing him to take a few steps back.
Ed took the opportunity to deliver a fierce downwards swing. If nobody interrupted he would be able to hit Slug's large head and possibly end the battle. But Ed felt time slow down as he caught the glint of a flying axe heading towards his direction. He grit his teeth and prepared to tank the hit whilst still performing his fierce swing.
Unexpectedly, the ground rose up in the trajectory of the flying axe effectively blocking it. Vorgarag had already pulled out an earth mana crystal and was overseeing the entire battlefield allowing him to provide a timely assist.
He had no time to thank Vorgarag and instead paid attention to Slug, who had recovered his vision and was effectively glaring at him. But glaring was all he could do, the fierce downwards swing dug into Slug's forehead until it hit his thick skull.
'His constitution must be fairly high!' Ed thought as he watched Slug try to withstand the resulting pain. He ultimately succeeded, Slug's veins and muscles bulged, his eyes turning bloodshot. They would not have needed to create a safety measure if the battle could be won so easily.
Slug's current appearance coupled with his chiseled body painted an ugly picture, his red protruding veins, and the battle axe which was stuck on his head gave him the image of some sort of red and green monster.
'This reminds me of torgan' Ed couldn't help but think before quickly trying to remove his axe from Slug's head. Surprisingly enough, it was stuck!
The raging berserker, that was what Torgan was supposedly called. But there was one clear distinction between Torgan and Slug, while Torgan was undoubtedly strong and fierce his body could not keep up with his battle style. Basically put, Torgan was not as beefy as Slug.
Slug grabbed the shaft of the long battle axe with one hand snapping it in half, Ed was left holding a broken pole. He instinctively retreated but Slug was not entirely willing to let him go, no, Slug sent out a punch so quick and fierce that it seemed as if his muscles would be ripped apart.
The retreating Ed was hit squarely on the stomach which sent him flying backward. The hit made him feel faint of breath and also like throwing up.
[You've been dealt damage. -100 hp]
His trajectory was a crowd of retreating and injured orcs! Unfortunately, the punch straight to the stomach had also temporarily immobilized Ed preventing him from casting any sort of spells.
Vorgarag who was simultaneously overseeing the situation and holding back Duma couldn't help but ignore Duma and instead created a quick yet sturdy wall of earth.
[You've been dealt damage. -20 hp]
Ed cannonballed through the wall resulting in some more damage, he inevitably still landed on some of the injured crowd but his momentum had been mostly stopped resulting in some negligible wounds.
Vorgarag who was initially overseeing the situation was now being held back by Duma's proficient axe skills. The battle on that side would be over in a timely manner as Duma was not in any way Vorgarag's match especially not when he was holding elemental crystals but his attempt to save some of the injured had definitely delayed the process.
Duma had managed to close the distance allowing him to demonstrate his close combat skills. And while Vorgarag had learned the basics of close combat and had a sturdy body, his focus was ultimately magic.
Ed threw up a mouthful of blood before coughing wildly. His heart was beating extraordinarily fast after experiencing such a risky situation. Nonetheless, he had no intention to back out this time. But...
If there was another way in which Slug was different from Torgan, it was that although he had indeed gone mad, he still knew who to go after. After sending Ed flying, Slug ignored all others on the battlefield and sprinted after Ed. His heavy and strong steps were earth-shaking and incredibly attention-grabbing. It was hard for Ed to miss him.
Maybe it was due to the life-threatening nature of the situation or his level four mana manipulation skill but Ed managed to in the spur of the moment simultaneously cast two spells. No, actually it was something else...
[<Thought Manifestation> is in effect]
Slug was about to lunge at the fallen Ed but the grass beneath his feet grew and coiled around his feet. If that were it there wouldn't be any sort of issue but... Slug lost his balance and crashed right into a newly formed thick wall of earth.
[Mana Manipulation has leveled up]
The wall collapsed and Slug lost most of his momentum, he staggered forward. His furious expression didn't change, it instead grew more incensed and his muscles bulged to another level. They now truly felt as if they would be ripped apart just at a glance.
'What type of crazy existence is this?!?' Ed couldn't help but ask in exasperation. Truth be told. he was quite fed up with the guy already!
Still, it was something that he just might need to get used to. He couldn't help but think back on all of his previous encounters and the helplessness that he felt in those situations in the past. And although Slug who was now before him was a formidable existence, he felt that it was still within the realm of possibility. He had grown from the past and now was the time to show it.
In the first place, it was impossible for Slug to maintain that state forever. And whether he could even recover after abusing his muscles to such an extent would rely solely on his vitality attribute and time. Not that Ed was willing to give him that time, he was determined to eliminate the problem right here!
Ed tightly gripped the broken shaft which he had never let go of even after being sent flying. He glared at the bloodshot Slug who had slowed down after crashing through a wall and was also incredibly close. Ed used his adept throwing skill to adeptly throw the broken shaft of his battle-ax straight towards Slug's eyeball. Slug with his acute senses naturally noticed the incoming projectile but, it was too late! Blood spurted out of his eye socket as the stake-like broken shaft stabbed Slug's eyeball.
"AAAAAARGH!" The insane Slug let out an ear-piercing and bloodcurdling roar, it signified the throes of an injured beast.