novelraw Chapter 142: King against king II
Chapter 142: King against king II
Yet Arthur stayed in the middle of it the Boss’s assault.
Dodging.
Countering.
Striking back.
He didn’t look like someone fighting a desperate battle.
He looked like someone enjoying himself.
His grin never disappeared.
Sometimes he even spoke during the fight.
"Come on," he said after slipping past another heavy punch.
"You can hit harder than that."
The boss answered by slamming its fist down with even more force.
BOOM.
The shockwave reached the explorers even through the gravity field.
One of them whispered weakly.
"...he’s insane."
Ryn watched the clash with wide eyes.
The boss wasn’t even focusing on them anymore.
All its attention had turned toward Arthur.
Yet the gravity skill still pressed them down like mountains.
And despite that, Arthur was still moving freely.
Still trading blows.
Still matching the boss step for step.
The explorers began to realize something.
The pressure they felt from the boss...
Arthur was answering it with his own.
His presence spread across the battlefield like an invisible wall.
It didn’t crush them the way the boss did.
But it stood there just the same.
Firm.
Unyielding.
Two forces clashing.
King against king.
Arthur ducked under another strike and slid forward.
His dagger cut across the boss’s arm again.
A thin line of blood appeared.
The boss staggered slightly.
Arthur stepped back and rolled his shoulders.
"Now we’re getting somewhere."
The ogre’s breathing grew heavier.
But its eyes burned brighter.
Neither of them slowed down.
The fight only grew more violent.
And from the ground where they lay helpless, the explorers watched the battle escalate further and further.
One word slowly spread among them.
"...monster."
But this time, they all knew exactly who they meant.
The fight dragged on.
From the outside it didn’t look like the battle was tilting toward Arthur.
But it wasn’t tilting toward the boss either.
The two forces kept crashing into each other again and again, neither giving ground.
Arthur slid past another heavy swing and landed lightly on the cracked floor. Dust drifted around his boots while the boss ogre turned toward him with burning eyes.
He rolled his shoulder once.
"Still going?" he asked with a grin.
The monster roared back.
Arthur exhaled slowly and let his senses settle.
Truth was, he wasn’t worried.
Not yet.
He had fought something like this before. The ritual guardian in the last dungeon had also drawn power from tainted mana. Back then the creature kept getting stronger until the source started drying up.
And once it did...
It weakened fast.
Arthur had already cracked the seal.
The boss still had power left, but it wasn’t endless anymore.
Which meant this fight had a clock.
All he had to do was survive until that clock ran out.
Of course surviving wasn’t as easy as saying it.
The boss rushed him again.
THUD.
The ground shook as the monster closed the distance.
Arthur vanished.
Intent Step.
He reappeared near the creature’s side and twisted his body just enough to avoid a sweeping arm.
The punch blasted through the air beside his head.
WHOOOM.
Arthur winced.
"Okay, that one would’ve hurt."
He flicked his wrist and threads spread through the air.
Intent Weave brushed against the ogre’s arm and nudged its next attack off line.
Arthur stepped forward and slashed.
Execution Intent surged along his blade.
CLANG.
The strike left a deep mark across the creature’s ribs.
The boss roared and slammed its elbow down.
Arthur slipped away again.
Intent Step carried him across the battlefield like a ghost.
He landed, reached into his coat quickly, and took a short sip from a small vial.
Mana potion.
The cool liquid slid down his throat.
Arthur wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
"Ah. Perfect timing."
The boss charged again before he could say anything else.
Arthur laughed and stepped aside.
"You’re really impatient."
His banter never stopped.
But the jokes didn’t distract him.
Every movement of the monster stayed inside his mind. Every shift in its stance, every twitch in its shoulders, every gathering of mana.
He couldn’t afford mistakes.
One wrong move would end this.
Arthur ducked under a swing and kicked off the ground.
Manifest Intent flared around his dagger.
This time the flames wrapped around the blade like a thin ribbon of fire.
He struck twice in quick succession.
Slash.
Slash.
The fire burned along the cuts before fading.
The boss howled in anger and stomped the ground.
BOOM.
A gravity pulse rolled outward.
Arthur bent his knees and slid sideways as the pressure passed beneath him.
"Still got tricks, huh?"
The monster didn’t answer.
It just attacked harder.
The pace increased.
Punches came faster.
Sweeping arms carved dents into the air itself.
Arthur moved between them like water slipping through cracks.
Intent Step.
Intent Weave.
Execution Intent.
Fire flashed again and again around his blade.
The battlefield turned into chaos.
Stone broke.
Dust flew.
Shockwaves rattled the cavern walls.
And in the middle of it all Arthur kept smiling.
"Come on," he called out.
"You’re the boss, right? Show me something better."
The ogre’s roar shook the entire chamber.
Arthur saw the change immediately.
The monster was losing patience.
That was what he wanted.
Monsters were dangerous when they stayed calm.
But when they got desperate...
They made mistakes.
The boss started throwing wider attacks now.
Huge sweeping blows meant to crush everything in reach.
Arthur ducked one, jumped over another, and slipped between two crushing fists that smashed into the floor with a thunderous crack.
BOOOOM.
Dust exploded upward.
Arthur landed lightly a few meters away.
"See?" he said casually.
"You’re getting sloppy."
The monster roared again and charged without thinking.
Arthur stepped aside.
Perfect.
But just as he prepared to counter...
Something changed.
The boss suddenly twisted its body in a strange way.
Arthur’s eyes narrowed.
That movement didn’t match the attack.
The ogre’s fist changed direction mid swing.
And instead of aiming at Arthur...
It aimed behind him.
Arthur felt a cold chill run through his spine.
Behind him...
The explorers.