The Record of Orc Civilization

Chapter 253 Midterm Exam Part 7

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*Clang! *Clang! *Clang! *BOOM! *BOOM!

"[Lightning Nerve]"

Artur utilized the lightning spell faction to focus his body's nerves, enhancing his response speed and movements. With ease, he parried Higo's slash, allowing it to pass through his body before swiftly counterattacking with a thrust of his sword. Higo managed to dodge, but Artur's blade successfully injured his cheek, fueling his anger.

"[Heat Aura]"

A scorching aura emanated from Higo's body, raising the temperature in the vicinity. Artur, with his heightened nerve from the lightning spell faction, felt his skin burning. He had to step back to distance himself from the searing heat radiating from Higo, but Higo didn't give him a chance and relentlessly pursued.

"[Water Palm]"

Water pooled around Artur's hand, cooling his body temperature. Relying solely on the water enveloping his hand, Artur struggled against the blazing aura emanating from Higo's body. Their swords clashed once again, and the intense duel raged on.

*Clang! *Clang! *Clang! *BOOM! *Clang! *Clang! *BOOM!

The battle extended beyond Artur and Higo to involve their respective groups. To offset Higo's numerical advantage, Artur led his group to hold their ground in the narrow corridor at the entrance of the cave.

Despite being outnumbered, with only six members, Artur managed to impede the advance of Higo's group consisting of twenty individuals. However, he never anticipated the fight to reach a stalemate, forcing Artur and his group to continually retreat and withstand the onslaught from Higo's forces.

Higo astutely utilized their numerical advantage to rotate his members. Whenever one of his mages grew weary, they would be immediately replaced by another mage from behind. This allowed them to consistently drain the energy and mana of Artur's group.

However, two members of Artur's group couldn't be defeated by that plan: Artur himself and Rini. Artur, who had always been in Robert's shadow, unexpectedly possessed great strength, forcing Higo to personally intervene to restrain him. If Higo were to hand Artur over to another mage in his group, Artur would easily overcome that mage.

Similarly, Rini, the redhead girl, was highly skilled in using the fire spell faction, matched only by Vega. As a result, two intense duels unfolded in the narrow corridor at the cave entrance.

"[Fire Palm]"

"[Fire Palm]"

Rini and Vega simultaneously employed the same fire spell faction. Their palms, engulfed in flames, clashed, creating sparks of blazing fire.

The encounter ended in a draw, with charred burns marking their respective skin. When two mages with the same spell faction clashed, victory would go to the one with greater mastery of the mana color associated with that spell faction. Unfortunately, both girls possessed an equally strong command over the fire mana color, resulting in a stalemate.

However, the outcome of the battle between the two mages was not solely determined by their mastery of the spell faction but also by their martial arts skills and the amount of mana within their bodies. In theory, Rini should have surpassed Vega in martial arts expertise, but her injured leg limited her movements. Moreover, the depletion of her mana reserves from enduring the cave's falling rubble earlier gave Vega, who remained fresh, an advantage as time went on.

Artur observed his besieged group members, feeling their defeat looming as their wounded and fatigued bodies grew increasingly strained. Combined with Higo's rotation strategy, it was only a matter of time before his group ran out of mana.

The pain from his broken rib continued to haunt Artur, occasionally impeding his movements. Nevertheless, he gritted his teeth and fought on. If he didn't, Higo and his group would annihilate them in the present moment, passing it off as an unfortunate accident to the military academy.

"What's wrong? Are you starting to get tired? It's better if you surrender. I promise I won't kill you," Higo smirked cunningly, clearly spouting nonsense.

Artur felt infuriated, but his face remained expressionless, and his hand tightly gripped the sword. Right now, he really wanted to shout, "Fairness is a son of a bitch," loudly. But he was afraid that his outburst would only bring more satisfaction to his enemy.

"[Lightning Sword]"

The sword in Artur's hand glowed, and electrical sparks formed along its blade. This was a spell Artur learned from Robert. By focusing the mana into the sword, a layer of mana would coat the blade. By imbuing the mana layer with color, Artur could create his own lightning-infused sword.

"Mana Sword? It won't be useful if you can't hit me!"

"[Fire Lung]"

This was a fire spell faction that enhanced the capacity of the lungs to absorb and release air. Its purpose was to rapidly restore physical fitness and increase movement speed.

The battle between two mages with different spell factions was like a card game. The winner wasn't determined by having the most cards but by having the strongest cards that could counter their opponent's cards.

In the case of Artur's fight against Higo, when Artur used the [Lightning Nerve] spell, Higo countered with the [Heat Aura] spell. The intention was to keep Artur, who had become faster and more agile, at a distance with the heat aura. Artur's heightened nerve response would also make him endure more damage from Higo's heat aura.

Artur responded to Higo's [Heat Aura] spell with the [Water Palm] spell. The goal was to lower his body temperature using water on his palm. However, the [Water Palm] spell was not a direct counter to the [Heat Aura] spell. Artur would still feel the heat when approaching Higo's body, although not as painful as before.

The most effective counter to the [Heat Aura] spell from the Lightning spell faction would be the [Death Nerve] spell or [Electro Aura]. But if the goal was to negate the [Heat Aura] spell, the best spell faction would be the water spell faction. With the [Cold Lung] spell or [Cold Aura] spell, Higo would only end up wasting his mana.

Unfortunately, Artur didn't possess any of those spells.

The same applied to Artur's [Lightning Sword]. With the added [Lightning Nerve] spell still active, Artur could attack swiftly and lethally. The Mana Sword could only be countered by another Mana Sword or a Mana Shield, which could only be invoked by a Level 2 Constellation Mage.

However, Higo neither possessed the Mana Sword from the fire spell faction, specifically the [Fire Sword] spell nor was he a Level 2 Constellation Mage. As a result, he relied on Artur succumbing first to the [Heat Aura] spell, allowing him to endure Artur's attacks for a longer time with the [Fire Lung] spell.

*Clang! *Clang! *Clang! *Slash! *Clang! *Clang! *Slash!

Artur's sword moved with incredible speed, slashing and cutting through Higo's skin whenever he had the chance. Higo was increasingly cornered, his blood staining his clothes, but Artur was in a similar state. His skin felt as if it were melting from the surging heat aura emanating from Higo's body, and his water-covered palm could no longer lower the temperature around him due to the close proximity of Artur and Higo.

Their battle had transformed into a contest to see who could endure longer.

"Pant... pant... pant..." Sweat drenched Artur's body, and his throat felt parched with a burning sensation on his tongue. He felt like a lobster being boiled alive in a scorching pot. Burn wounds started forming on his skin, and the smell of melted flesh filled the air.

"Pant... pant... pant... Hahaha... What's the matter? Giving up already?" Higo didn't look any better, his body bearing the cuts from Artur's sword, and the electricity flowing from Artur's blade caused his muscles to spasm. His heart felt irregular, and the pain from the electrical shocks coursed through every nerve.

"You're truly blind. My condition is far better than yours," Artur taunted.

"Oh really? Then why don't you attack again? My mana is still plentiful. If you prolong the fight, waiting for [Heat Aura] to end, I can recast it repeatedly," Higo grinned.

"..." Artur didn't answer; he knew he would lose if he engaged in a war of words with a noble.

"If you keep stalling, your friends will soon be wiped out," Higo pointed behind Artur.

Without looking, Artur already knew that his group was in dire straits. Their mana was diminishing while the number of enemies they faced was overwhelming. Artur hated to admit it, but Higo's words held some truth. He couldn't afford to buy more time; he had to end this battle to aid his struggling comrades.

The electricity flowing through Artur suddenly concentrated in his legs, centering every nerve and muscle tissue to create the explosive burst he desired. This was a spell Artur had created specifically for himself as a user of the lightning spell faction.

"[Sonic Boom]!"

In an instant, Artur shot forward with incredible speed, surpassing Higo's ability to react. His unsheathed sword aimed directly at Higo's heart. This was Artur's ultimate spell, and Higo had no cards to counter it.

Just as Artur's sword was about to pierce Higo's chest, a sharp pain surged from his ribs. The impact of the [Sonic Boom] had caused his broken ribs to puncture his lungs, resulting in blood gushing from his mouth.

"Burp!!"

Artur collapsed, unable to move his body. He could only gaze at the cavern ceiling, filled with regret. Higo didn't hesitate long in his fear; he had almost died at the tip of Artur's sword, and his enemy was too dangerous to be left alive.

"Goodbye!"

His sword plunged toward Artur's head.