A whirlwind surged around the man presumed to be the Lord of Black Grief.
With the wind imbued with holy energy, the Orc Heavenly Horse protected his body with his arms and looked up at the man.
“Damn woman, you’ve brought something strange again.”
“Kreek.”
“This time, you won’t make it back alive!”
As the whirlwind boomed, the Orc Heavenly Horse also moved his steps.
Kwah-gah-gah-gah-gah!!
“Kyaaa!!”
“What a spectacle.”
“What the hell…?”
I stepped back and took care of Yena as the ground over several kilometers flipped and erupted from the battle.
Each step of the Orc Heavenly Horse was quite threatening, but the opponent was the Lord of Black Grief.
It wasn’t just any practitioner; he was a practitioner at the Record Phase level 3.
Even with power aplenty, the Orc Heavenly Horse could only exert the strength of Record Phase level 1, making it difficult to match up.
When the Lord of Black Grief let out a battle cry, the white bone perched on his shoulder unleashed an eerie wave.
The wave weakened the Heavenly Horse’s Dominance, and he immediately pulled the white bone from his opposite shoulder.
The skull shaped like a head disintegrated, transforming into thousands of sharp daggers.
The daggers soared into the air.
The Orc Heavenly Horse clenched his fist, intending to swat them all away, but the Lord’s attack was swifter.
“Die.”
Thousands of daggers sliced through the Orc Heavenly Horse’s form and brutally decapitated him.
Typically, one would die from being decapitated, but the Orc Heavenly Horse calmly unleashed crimson holy energy and regenerated his neck.
The Lord of Black Grief, unperturbed, summoned a scythe with a skull head from thin air.
“Even ghosts die if their spirits are severed enough… just how long can you endure? Huh?”
“…I won’t die!”
“No. You’re the one who’s going to die.”
The Harvesting Scythe of Death split the Orc Heavenly Horse in two.
And then.
“…Heavenly Horse.”
“?! That crazy bastard─”
“Heavenly Horse’s Dominance.”
Kuwung!!!
In his split state, he activated Heavenly Horse’s Dominance.
The Lord of Black Grief seemed caught off guard and took the full brunt of the attack, flying far away.
However, perhaps due to some protective measures, he didn’t suffer major damage.
[Wow]
[That’s so dope lol]
[Go Heavenly Horse]
[Great Heavenly Horse]
[That Lord is pretty strong too, huh?]
[Is he losing?]
[Lily isn’t fighting?]
[Heavenly Horse is gonna lose]
[Lily, let’s fight together]
“Let’s watch a little longer.”
It was clearly an unfavorable fight for the Orc Heavenly Horse.
There’s a two-level gap between them, and the terrain here favored the Lord of Black Grief immensely.
This place is very advantageous for the Lord of Black Grief.
Of course, there is some benefit to the Orc Heavenly Horse in using the same Holy Energy/Dead Energy, but it’s not comparable to the master of the land.
‘Above all…’
“It looks familiar.”
“This is the Record Phase fight, meow? What does that mean?”
“Lord of Black Grief.”
He seems quite familiar with dealing with techniques.
I’m not just talking about the Heavenly Horse’s Dominance.
The technique I infused into the Orc Heavenly Horse is the most significant, but I’ve also passed down techniques from other Heavenly Horses.
“He’s dismantling martial arts, footwork, and various other techniques better than I expected. As if he’s ‘met someone who uses the same techniques’.”
“Meow? Does that mean?”
“You called her a damn woman earlier, right?”
The moment the Lord of Black Grief appeared in this place, he showed great hostility toward the Heavenly Horse.
Of course, the Orc Heavenly Horse had taken down all the practitioners of Black Grief Valley, so it was only natural to feel hostile.
But still, he was too furious at the mere name ‘Heavenly Horse.’
Above all, the Heavenly Horse he thinks of is a woman, but the Orc Heavenly Horse is closer to being a man.
‘The fact that he ‘brought’ something means a woman presumed to be a Heavenly Horse has shown up recently.
‘So, a Heavenly Horse who’s been fighting here before the Orc Heavenly Horse, has her own skills, and is female?’
“Does anyone come to mind?”
“Oh? Is the real Lord Heavenly Horse here?”
“Maybe.”
[Heavenly Horse sister?]
[???]
[Really?]
[Did she really come here?]
[Is it the real Heavenly Horse? ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[What are you talking about?]
[?????]
[Heavenly Horse-san?]
The real Heavenly Horse we know might be here.
And that Heavenly Horse has been continuing the fight with Black Grief Valley.
“I didn’t think she’d gotten this strong already.”
What on earth happened?
I’m quite curious, but what’s important right now is the fight between the Orc Heavenly Horse and the Lord of Black Grief.
The Orc Heavenly Horse fought fiercely, utilizing the fact that he feels no pain and is immortal, but it still wasn’t enough.
“…Huh. This bug is lasting a long time.”
“Kruk!”
“But that’s the end of it.”
In the end, the Orc Heavenly Horse couldn’t defeat the Lord of Black Grief.
The Orc Heavenly Horse lay on the ground, having lost all his arms and legs, while above him hovered the Lord of Black Grief wielding a scythe.
I was face down on the floor, and above me floated the Lord of Black Grief, wielding a scythe.
It seemed like the Lord was also having a rough time, catching their breath but not seriously injured.
“I’ll grind your soul into dust and leave nothing but scraps. Then that Heavenly Horse will surely be pleased?”
“Y-you’ll kill… me?”
“Then just die.”
The scythe flew at me.
Just as the Orc Heavenly Horse lifted its head in a final struggle towards the sky.
“Good job. Come inside.”
“?!”
Whoosh!!
The Orc Heavenly Horse’s soul returned as a crimson pendant.
Crash! The scythe of death slammed into the ground, hitting it too late.
[Come back! Heavenly Horsemon!]
[HAHAHAHAHA]
[Is this a Pokémon reference? LOL?]
[Good job]
[Such a pity for the Orc Heavenly Horse]
[He needs to level up, for real]
[Does the Heavenly Horse have a blindspot?]
The Lord of Black Grief looked down at us with a highly displeased expression.
“What’s this? Who are you?”
“Hello. Are you the Lord of Black Grief?”
“Are you the Heavenly Horse’s henchmen? Hand over that ghost.”
“Well, I have a few questions. Can you come down for a brief chat?”
“…? Are you insane? Weaklings have lost their minds, huh?”
[?]
[LOL?]
[Lily… is weak?]
[Eh]
[You don’t know Lily?]
[Ah, LOL]
[You’re an interesting character]
[Can you not see?]
Yena scratched her head.
“Why do you say she’s weak?”
“She’s hiding her power a bit. Changing perceptions too.”
If my power was revealed, everyone would just run away without fighting the Orc Heavenly Horse.
Of course, the Lord might have received a heads-up that I was coming, but I intentionally made it so that neither I nor the people around me would be recognizable.
“I probably wouldn’t have been recognized even if I didn’t hide it,” I thought.
The Lord was from a different area, not from the territory I lived in.
With a recent change in leadership, there might be some who had heard my name or news, but not many would know my appearance or abilities.
They probably wouldn’t even be interested, right?
“It’s often called hiding your strength,” I explained.
“Oh! You know the term ‘power hider’!”
[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]
[This crazy girl LOL]
[Lily is a power hider?]
[Great Lily]
The Lord glared at me as if questioning my sanity.
“You’re talking nonsense like one of that woman’s subordinates. If you won’t hand her over, I’ll just have to kill you and take her.”
“Really?”
“Blame your ignorance.”
The Lord’s scythe flew at me.
And then, a hammer came flying in too.
He flew in.
“Hmm?”
“Kwaang!”
Kkaaang!!
■
After the lord of Black Grief had a deep conversation with the ground, he headed towards the Black Grief Valley with his subordinates.
And recently, he was able to hear about the human civil war that had become a burden to the Black Grief Valley.
“Heavenly Horse Church, huh?”
“That’s right, Lord Heukmuhyang. Not long ago, a ascendant came to this place, and the power she established is the Heavenly Horse Church.”
[Heavenly Horse Church ㄷㄷ]
[It’s real lol]
[Is it really Heavenly Horse?]
About a month ago, a human ascended through Heukmuhyang’s Ascension Gate.
Her name was Heavenly Horse.
She had the extreme strength of an ascetic who brought her entire faction along, but at that time, she wasn’t considered special.
It wasn’t uncommon for ascetics to ascend with their factions, and above all, the nickname ‘Heavenly Horse’ was very common in the immortal world.
Nothing particularly eye-catching.
Because of this, she entered the territory of Black Grief Valley with the Heavenly Horse Church contained in a spatial artifact.
The ascetic who guided her hoped she would integrate well into Black Grief Valley, but who was she?
‘She is the one who should only be beneath the sky, Heavenly Horse herself.’
No, Heavenly Horse aimed to become a being above that sky.
Heavenly Horse did not assimilate into Black Grief Valley and instead established her own power.
Naturally, Black Grief Valley did not remain idle with such a Heavenly Horse Church and demanded a forced merger, but…
“Th-…! Those damned guys refused! Moreover, they’ve turned a few of our ascetics into ghosts!”
“Heavenly Horse, you say?”
Is Heavenly Horse that strong?
“That’s right! It seems she uses strange sorcery, and moreover, she is becoming stronger day by day.”
Though she had reached the extreme of an ascetic, it was said that she had now ascended to the second stage of the Avatar Phase.
A pretty steep growth that occurred in less than a month, but still just the Avatar Phase.
However, the strength Heavenly Horse displayed was not merely that of an Avatar Phase.
“As for her powers, they have reached the Record Phase level. She’s not a particularly threatening enemy, but in many ways, she’s a troublesome one.”
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