Chapter 60: The Sacred 1v1 Duel
He was now all alone, deeply trapped in enemy territory.
Whether it was one-on-one or one-against-many, the decision rested entirely with the Orcs.
Just as Axi was distracted by these thoughts, Sko, having lost his mount, stood up and launched an attack on him.
With both hands gripping the battle axe, he raised it high and then brought it crashing down towards Axi.
The howling wind startled Axi back to reality as he swiftly sidestepped Sko’s powerful strike.
“Die!”
The slash missed its target, and Sko bellowed angrily.
The downward strike immediately transformed into a sweeping motion aimed once again at Axi.
Axi’s pupils constricted.
His body bent backward like a bow, and he plunged his sword into the ground to support himself.
This time, Sko couldn’t switch up his attack so easily.
Seizing the opportunity while Sko was catching his breath, Axi propelled his body upward.
He kicked with all his might at Sko, who was momentarily facing away due to the inertia of his earlier attack.
Sko stumbled from the kick and lurched forward uncontrollably for several steps; if it weren’t for the other Orcs catching him in time, he would have landed in a heap.
Axi, using the recoil, performed a backflip while pulling the sword from the ground and landed smoothly on his feet.
With a smile on his face, having already taken a small victory over Sko twice, he declared, “Killing me isn’t going to be so easy!”
To that, he could only say, Orcs will be Orcs.
A classic case of brawn over brains.
Not only were they not very intelligent, but they also tended to lose all rationality in certain situations, turning into mindless, frenzied beasts.
That was precisely the vibe Axi got from Sko when he executed his second attack.
Although he still didn’t know what had provoked this guy, it didn’t stop Axi from preparing for the battle ahead.
As long as the surrounding Orcs didn’t interfere and simply watched him fight this Orc, he still had a great chance of winning.
Once Sko steadied himself, he shrugged off the Orcs who had helped him and glared at Axi with bloodshot eyes.
Having been made to look foolish twice, Axi’s mockery only fueled Sko’s internal inferno, completely burning away his strings of reason.
Without a second thought, Sko charged at Axi again.
This was still a straightforward approach; the axe came crashing down towards Axi.
Though impressive in power, it was useless if it didn’t hit its target!
Axi wasn’t foolish enough to accept such an attack head-on.
He dodged and intended to counterattack after Sko wore himself out.
Facing an opponent who moved like a jackrabbit, constantly dodging his strikes, Sko could only stupidly swing his axe, landing blow after blow that missed.
Watching this scene, Airael had already decided to hold off on the magic she had prepared to support Axi.
In moments like these, Axi didn’t need her magical assistance.
On the contrary, intervening with magic would likely only complicate matters.
Axi and the Orc leader were clearly engaged in a sacred one-on-one duel.
The surrounding Orcs had no intention of joining in.
Airael knew that stepping in would ruin the atmosphere of this match.
Whether things would take a positive or negative turn if she interfered was too unpredictable.
However, Airael found the current situation to be just fine.
So, it was best not to disrupt it.
Moreover, she wasn’t quite sure what Axi was thinking at this moment.
Airael understood that for some warriors, breaking such sacred duels was absolutely infuriating, regardless of the opponent or their motives.
Especially since this one-on-one duel was initiated by the Orcs abandoning their numerical advantage.
As Powell and the others cautiously left the ice path to aid Axi, Airael stopped them in their tracks.
“Stop right there!”
Her commanding voice made Powell and the others instinctively halt.
Powell stared at Airael in shock.
What he had felt from Airael was chillingly terrifying.
He couldn’t fathom that this fragile-looking girl could exude an air of royalty.
He sensed he wasn’t mistaken.
“Look at what’s happening! If you rush in, you might end up harming Axi; what we need to do now is observe and wait for changes.”
After hearing Airael’s words, Powell began to scrutinize the battlefield.
Once he observed closely, he realized Airael was right.
He then glanced subtly at Airael, internally sighing: it seemed he had underestimated this mysterious girl who followed Axi!
With great talent and strength, her background was extraordinary too.
He just wondered how she looked.
But he figured it probably wasn’t too shabby.
With such an outstanding bunch of qualities all packed into one person, calling her the favored child of this world wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all.
The battle between Sko and Axi continued unabated.
Axi was waiting for Sko to exhaust himself, but the enraged Sko seemed to be a perpetual motion machine, relentlessly attacking Axi.
This guy had some serious stamina!
Axi inwardly groaned.
Staying defensive meant risking a loss!
Several times, he had narrowly dodged Sko’s direct swings.
If he truly got hit, it would be curtains for him, or at least he’d lose some skin!
As the battle unfolded, Airael and the others felt their hearts racing.
Previously, Airael had sensed Axi’s thoughts.
But from the looks of it now, Axi’s plans didn’t seem to be bearing fruit!
Waiting for the Orc to tire out—who knew when that would be?
And Axi would need to keep enduring first!
At this moment, Axi found himself in a bind.
Considering his strategy of countering after the enemy exhausted themselves, he had structured his earlier tactics around self-preservation.
Now, he was entirely caught up in Sko’s rhythm.
It would be exceedingly difficult to mount an effective counterattack before Sko wore out.
Just then, there was a commotion at the rear of the humans.
A large group of people rushed over.
These individuals bore various weapons, their armors a motley assortment; some didn’t even wear armor, just simple clothes.
“Who are they?”
Hearing the noise, Airael turned her gaze to the newcomers and asked.
