Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

Chapter 154 One Punch

Whether it is through the understanding of the energies around us, woven into magic and other extraordinary constructs, through the understanding and creation of fantastical arts, or even by giving everything to the inconsistent and chaotic system, or even by the study of Volonstone, amidst many others, the way to strength is one that can be split into numerous paths, whether it is best to devote yourself to one and become a master, or split your focus to become more flexible, remains largely unknown.

We are not all born equal, opportunities and natural talent plays a huge factor, luck also matters much more than some would like you to believe, some say that natural talent does not matter, that through hard work, the same levels of power can be achieved, but isn't one's willpower, willingness to push themselves an integral part of the talent?

I was told many times that discovering the singular best route to strength was a fruitless affair, but unwilling to give in to the incessant whispers, I have decided that the best way to find what I was looking for, is to simply ask the masters of each discipline.

-Extract of 'Optimal Power' by Dhogus.

Alberg's arms seemed to grow in size as veins protruded out, a mad grin adorning his bluish face, his teeth clenched and grinding against one another, bringing his stone club down at full strength, spiderweb cracks spreading along the ground, the floor shattered as rock and dust flew everywhere.

The audience of guards didn't stay without sight of the battle for long, the oni's wide movements blew the thick cloud of dust away, repeatedly swinging and striking with both weapon and body without losing an ounce of momentum, each attack meant to kill multiple times over, Loimos dodged a swing of the club, barely any room for mistakes, he pushed off the club as it went right past him, throwing himself with so much force that he had to roll to avoid falling over.

Swinging his blood-coated sword at the oni's ankle, leaving a shallow wound that quickly healed, expelling the foreign substance at the same time, the undead swiftly moved out of the way to avoid getting stomped.

One of the guards pulled his bow, shooting an arrow that completely missed its mark and hit Alberg instead, the monster grunted and grabbed hold of the floor, pulling out fragments of stone, hurling them at the group the arrow had come from, none shall intrude upon his fight, seeing Loimos approaching him once more, he jumped in the air, his entire weight crashing down.

The ogre knew with certainty that he had missed his mark, the sweet sensation of flesh and bones being crushed didn't wash over him, clearing the dust he once again rose, a compressed blood bullet hitting him straight in the side of his face.

Alberg growled, not even bothering to move from his spot even though the dark swamp and constantly eating away at his regenerating feet and ankles, he was feeling a bit lightheaded and lethargic, the sword stabbed into him had gone too deep from his flesh to be able to extract the shards, but most importantly, it felt like some sort of parasitic energy had infected him.

He did not worry for the fate of his opponent, he felt the distinct sensation of a kill, that pleasant feeling washing over his weary body.

The nearby guards looked at each other.

"Alberg, rest!" one shouted, lest the ogre might find them to be suitable snacks.

"That guy was a real menace, what the hell sort of battle arts were those? They are lingering even after his death!"

"Maybe he is not dead"

"Don't spout nonsense, Alberg stopped after that hit, he is a professional, and I doubt anyone would survive getting hit straight on like that"

"We should go check for the body still" one of the more careful guards suggested, looking off into the distance of the humongous basement, he was fairly certain to have seen their intruder fly straight through multiple openings into separate rooms.

There was no telling how far he had flown to.