98: That was a good hit. Let me hit you back

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"Hello, Garnuk. I'm..." starts to say Gell, stepping forward, not paying the slightest attention to the large group of soldiers in front of us, but he is interrupted by Garnuk.

"I know who you are. You are a disgrace to your race. And the bandit who has been making trouble in this city for years. Take off your mask! You stand before the ruler of this city, you brat. I won't talk to a gangster in disguise."

"Very well," Gell says calmly, and he removes his mask at his father's command.

Garnuk is speechless for a moment, and his face goes from surprise to anger in just a few moments. "I-I should have killed you the moment you were born. All these years... How could you do something like that to your father, you treacherous fucking vermin, how low can you fall?"

"Our views on how low are very different, father. But that's not why we came here today. We have come here to challenge you, without spilling blood along the way, as tradition dictates," says Gell, without altering his tone of voice, despite his father's harsh words.

At the young Archmage's words, Garnuk bursts into hysterical laughter "You are sorely mistaken if you think I'm going to have a leadership duel with a magic-using scum. You talk of tradition, boy, but tradition dictates that it has to be a battle of strength. Or will you only follow tradition in the parts that suit you? I wouldn't put it past you, given the kind of vermin you turned out to be..... I can't understand how a son of mine ended up being what I have in front of my eyes. You disgust me!"

"Are you done talking yet?" asks Gell in the same calm tone. "You're wrong, father. I am not going to challenge you. I know that tradition does not contemplate victory by magic, and that is why I have brought someone to fight for me."

"You're not talking about the person with you, are you?" says Garnuk, laughing with an expression of disbelief "Do you really think a simple avian who has had his wings clipped or any other member of the lower races could defeat me? Ohh, son, your insanity is far greater than I initially believed."

"Again, father, I think you are wrong, and about more than one thing. There are no inferior races, and this boy is not an avian whose wings have been clipped. He's a human. I think you know what that means," says Gell, never taking his eyes off his father.

At Gell's words, the orc leader's eyes narrow as he looks at me, and he begins to speak in a thoughtful tone, "I see.... I see. Well played, brat. So I guess what is happening at the gates of my city is not due to the appearance of a simple group of rebellious slaves, as I had been informed… Although I understand the confusion. That explains the number of enemies.... Hmm, very well, I accept the challenge. But if I win, you will have to surrender voluntarily. Despite that twisted mind of yours, you are my son. And I'm sure your mother would not have liked to see you die at my hands."

"That's not the tradition," says Gell, who seems for the first time surprised by his father's words "We don't have to offer anything in return."

"Tradition only counts if it is another orc issuing the challenge, boy. I'm doing you a favor by accepting the challenge." he says in an increasingly calm voice, "I hope that, when I slaughter your companion, you will free yourself from these delusions of yours and accept that we orcs are the race destined to rule over the rest.... Or else there is always the other alternative. Although I am sure that neither you nor your friend will be able to survive 60 bullets fired at the same time. And, if by some miracle you manage to stay alive, you would still have to face 60 of the best warriors of this city along with their leader."

"Hmt, the tradition is only so because it is unthinkable for most orcs to be outmatched by someone of another race. But it's okay, I accept the condition..." says Gell, who seems for the first time to be a bit irritated by his father's words. And, turning to look at me, he continues speaking "This is Xelean, champion of the humans. Following tradition, we challenge the head of the city to a 1-on-1 match for the leadership of the city."

As Gell finishes speaking, he motions me forward to the front as he steps back a bit.

"I am Garnuk, chieftain of this city, and following the ancestral tradition of our race, I accepted the challenge for leadership," he says, standing up, taking his ax and shield, and beckoning his guards away.

Garnuk's guards don't seem too happy with what is happening, but they don't utter even the slightest complaint.

'I guess they have a lot of respect for Garnuk.'

"Can you talk, boy?" the orc asks me when we are face to face.

"Yes" I say as I draw my sword and stand on guard.

"If you are here and among the people who are besieging my city are more humans," Garnuk says, staring at me, "Is it correct to think that the orcs we had sent to your continent were defeated?"

"It is correct, yes," I say tersely. And my answer raises a murmur of concern among the orc guards.

"I see... It's a pity, they were good soldiers of the empire," he says with a shadowed expression, as he raises his shield to stand on guard, "then, there's nothing left to talk about. Come and get me, little human; I want to see what your people's champion is capable of."

As soon as the orc finishes speaking, I run towards him and feign a slash from above, which I change midway to an attack aimed at his right side. But the city chieftain doesn't fall for the feint, and instead of raising his shield to protect his head, he uses it to block my attack. As soon as my sword hits the shield, it begins to glow faintly.

"That was a good hit," says the orc in a mocking tone from behind his shield. "Let me hit you back".

I try to back away, anticipating some kind of counterattack, but he follows me and pushes me with his shield, which begins to emit an invisible repulsive force.

The energy hits me and sends me several meters backwards.

Before my eyes, a good portion of my health bar decreases from the blow, and at the same time, the orc's shield stops glowing.

"His shield can store the energy from the hits it receives to return it later."

I hear Gell's voice say off to the side. I feel the impulse to answer him, 'It would have been nice to know beforehand', but I feel a little dizzy from the blow, and before me comes running a huge mass of green-colored muscle that jumps and tries to attack me from above with his ax.

As I still don't know how strong he really is, I prefer not to block the attack and dodge backwards.

Seeing this, Garnuk throws the ax straight at my head, and I have to duck quickly to avoid it.

But the orc takes the opportunity to hit me again with the shield, followed by a punch.

Both attacks were aimed at my face.

The impacts worsen the feeling of dizziness at times and propel me to the side, which I take advantage of to roll over and get away from the orc.

Garnuk takes advantage of the distance to go and retrieve his axe, and I look at my health bar to see with a smile that his two hits combined haven't managed to take half as much health from me as the first hit from his shield.

'That means he's not really that strong, and I can try to deflect or block his ax attacks.... I just have to be careful with that shield. This time, I'm going to wait for him to decide to attack.'

But the orc doesn't move from the position where he picked up the ax and scowls at me, "What's the matter, kid. Is that all you got? Or is it that my blows have loosened some screws on you, and that's why you have that stupid grin on your face?"

"It's just that I'm glad you're not as strong as the queen of my race. That really would have been a problem," I say to provoke him, as I remove a health potion from my inventory and start drinking it.

"Don't be arrogant, brat. You ain't seen nothing yet. No member of the lower races is stronger than me," he says irritably and runs toward me again.

Seeing him, still smiling, I prepare to deflect or block whatever he tries to do and take the opportunity to try to counterattack without giving him time to use his shield.

But then I feel a tremendous impact throughout my body, extending from my chest, and I fall to my knees at the same time as I feel a terrible pain obscuring my vision....