Fenrir and Azzy continued to fight as they had before. They pressed each other down with their front paws and claws, seeking the best position before baring their teeth once more. Though they had taken on human forms, their essence remained that of beasts. If they wanted to end each other, they would have to use their fangs.
A mass of brown fur and a mass of gray fur trampled the ground as they lunged at one another. Their speed was beyond what the eye could track. As the two Kings of Beasts waged a battle for the ages, I could only dart my gaze back and forth in helpless frustration.
Was this the powerlessness of an ordinary human standing before fate? Strength, speed—even my senses couldn’t keep up. By the ti I felt the wind shift, Azzy and Fenrir had already flashed past .
If only I could read thoughts, I might be able to coordinate with Azzy and provide so kind of support. Unfortunately, Azzy was a dog. The best I could do was use her and Jizan as a shield while staying out of Fenrir’s direct line of attack.
What was the use of collecting demonic weapons when my raw stats were so lacking?
Perhaps he heard the sound of my tongue clicking in irritation. Our eyes t for the briefest mont. The mont Fenrir bared his fangs, his gaze shot toward like a teor.
Despite the fifty-ter gap between us, he closed the distance in an instant, aiming straight for my throat.
Azzy was too far. The only thing that could save was Jizan. Before I could even think, my body moved instinctively, clutching onto the weapon that was now my lifeline.
Fenrir’s paw struck Jizan. A mont later, the resulting shockwave slamd into my entire body. A dizzying sense of vertigo overwheld for an instant, but Jizan only resisted slightly before deflecting Fenrir’s attack.
Even as the King of Beasts, he couldn’t completely overco a demonic weapon.
But wielding a demonic weapon didn’t an much—it all depended on the skill of the wielder. Unlike , who staggered just from the wind pressure, Fenrir simply kicked off the ground and lunged at again.
I had no ans of stopping him. Even with Jizan, all I could do was survive a single exchange.
“Woof! That’s cheating! Fight fair!”
But I wasn’t alone.
Just as I withstood that one strike, a brown blur crashed into Fenrir’s side.
Azzy and Fenrir were nearly equal in ability. When Azzy threw her entire body into him, Fenrir’s body crumpled and was sent tumbling far away.
I steadied my trembling body and quickly assessed the situation.
This was all I could do. Barely endure a single strike. In that brief window, Azzy could land a blow on Fenrir, but... risking my life for such a minimal gain wasn’t exactly ideal.
“Woof! You’re in the way!”
“That’s harsh. I’m trying to help.”
“Know your place!”
Even Azzy didn’t seem thrilled about my presence. How ungrateful.
What else could I use?
Demonic weapons? Against overwhelming power, they weren’t enough. Aside from Jizan, which was a relic in itself, the other weapons were only ant for support.
I had to get stronger.
That was the only option.
But how? I couldn’t even cultivate internal energy. There was no way for to beco stronger in a short ti—
Except for one.
The one card I had been saving.
Heart. The elixir that altered the body.
After the rise of internal energy cultivation, elixirs had been rendered obsolete. A fully refined and disciplined body couldn’t properly absorb them, and in so cases, they even backfired. Eventually, the term “elixir” beca synonymous with vitality-absorbing drugs.
But the old elixirs had been different.
The strength of a bear, the vision of a hawk, endless courage, tireless endurance—the ability to stand again even after being wounded. The essence of an elixir was to consu one’s future self and grant power to the present.
I pulled out the Heart card I had stored away.
Heart 1 replenished blood, but I didn’t have that anymore. Blood manipulation would have to suffice.
Heart 2, the elixir of rapid breathing.
Heart 3, the elixir of bear sinews.
Heart 4 and 5, pain suppression and heightened focus, had already been used last ti.
Heart 6, the adhesive elixir.
I drew Heart 2, 3, and 6, then infused them into Heart J.
Individually, these weren’t particularly powerful. Heart 2 rely accelerated the heartbeat, Heart 3 only released the physical strength that had been naturally restricted, and Heart 6 temporarily healed internal injuries.
Even such simple elixirs had severe side effects. Taking just one would leave bedridden for days, and consuming three at once could very well kill .
To minimize the risk, I fed them into Heart J, carefully adjusting the mixture.
The card, which bore the portrait of a knight, absorbed the red liquid. As the elixirs blended, a deep flush of life spread through the knight’s body on the card.
Once the fusion was complete, I folded the card and poured the mixture into my mouth.
Bitter. Acrid. Painful.
My tongue imdiately recoiled in protest, warning .
This substance was dangerous. It would destroy . Spit it out now.
Ignoring the signals, I swallowed. The liquid seared my throat as it went down.
I finished the elixir and threw the empty card aside. It embedded itself halfway into a rock with a sharp thunk.
“Hah... Hah...”
My heart pounded violently. Unlike the excitent of an impending battle, this rhythm was unnatural, artificial.
Just taking a single breath felt like my chest was about to burst.
“...Ah.”
A sharp pain flared in my palm. Looking down, I saw that I had gripped too hard—my nails had dug into my skin, drawing blood. I wiped it away absentmindedly and muttered to myself.
“This... Tomorrow’s going to be rough.”
My breathing had quickened, making my speech faster than usual. A dull ache crept through my bones. My body had broken past its limits without the support of internal energy, and now it was paying the price.
But tomorrow was a privilege reserved for those who survived today. What mattered was now.
I tightened my grip on Jizan. I hadn’t even put much strength into it, yet my hand had turned pale, drained of blood.
I was still far from matching Azzy or Fenrir in raw strength, but... this was the best my body could achieve at this mont.
I aid Jizan at a boulder. The blade sank in as if slicing through tofu. Lifting my arm, I raised the boulder impaled on Jizan into the air. Dry gravel crumbled and scattered to the ground.
Lifting a boulder larger than a person was impossible, even with the elixir’s enhancent. But with Jizan—a blade that ignored recoil—even the impossible beca reality.
Using earthcraft, I fused the boulder to Jizan, then turned my gaze toward Azzy.
Azzy and Fenrir were still moving too fast for my eyes to follow. But I was starting to see them in brief glimpses—more frequently than before. I carefully observed their movents, then raised Jizan above my head.
Humans were defined by tools.
And as the King of Humans, I could use any tool. Even the relic of a demonic weapon.
So then, the real question was: how to use a tool.
The answer was obvious.
Tools were used with hands. And humans possessed physical capabilities specifically designed for handling tools. Perhaps it was because of those abilities that they had co to rely on tools in the first place.
Grip, throw, swing.
A power unique to humans—one that four-legged beasts could never replicate.
I pulled my body taut like a drawn bowstring, then released all my muscles at once, hurling Jizan with everything I had.
Wrist, arm, shoulder, waist, legs—each individual part might be weak, but together, they continuously added force. I extended my arm as far as it could go and twisted my waist. At the peak of acceleration, I snapped my wrist, sending the boulder embedded in Jizan hurtling forward.
A boulder fired from a catapult would typically follow a curved trajectory. But the one I threw skimd across the ground like a swallow gliding over water.
Enhanced by the elixir, my strength combined with the tool's power sent the rock flying at a terrifying speed.
“Azzy! Bite!”
Fenrir’s ears perked up.
Even for the King of Beasts, there was no ignoring a massive boulder dozens of tis his weight hurtling toward him. Just as he prepared to dodge, Azzy clung onto him.
Even as the boulder approached, her tail wagged in delight.
“Woof!”
“Grrr! You...!”
Azzy had caught countless projectiles from before. She had known from the mont I prepared to throw.
Azzy shoved Fenrir.
A boulder several tis larger than her crashed into Fenrir, sending him flying.
A single clean hit—small but precious.
The boulder I had thrown with everything I had was nothing more than a rock to the King of Beasts. But in a battle where both combatants were on the edge, a sudden outside attack was a severe annoyance.
“Awooooo! Human!”
Fenrir, no longer able to tolerate , lunged in my direction.
But before he could reach , Azzy shot forward and clamped down on his ankle.
Even if he had the upper hand, their strengths were nearly equal. Shaking off Azzy and attacking at the sa ti wasn’t sothing he could afford to do.
And then—
Boom! Boom!
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
With each falling boulder, a deafening explosion rang out.
Weight was a weapon in itself. And for a being like Fenrir, whose strength far exceeded his body weight, the cascading debris was a genuine threat.
I had tid my next throw for the exact mont Azzy held Fenrir down.
He managed to break free and crushed a boulder with a swipe of his paw. The rock shattered midair into countless fragnts.
My attack had failed.
But in that brief mont, Azzy lunged again.
Preventing Fenrir from overwhelming Azzy—that was already a victory in itself.
...Though whether that really counted as a victory was debatable.
“It’d be nice if he could feel even a fraction of the pain I’m in.”
My limbs scread in agony.
I was deliberately ignoring it, but my right arm felt slightly longer than my left.
Throwing heavy objects was already rough on the body. Doing it while exceeding my natural limits was making my body scream.
“We need one more. Just and Azzy won’t be enough.”
As I drove Jizan into another boulder, I heard the rapid patter of footsteps approaching.
Two wolves leaped at in unison.
“Oh? You guys want to play fetch too?”
Swinging wouldn’t be fast enough.
Instead, I struck the boulder’s side with Jizan.
Hundreds—no, thousands—of stone shards exploded outward like a bomb, embedding themselves in the wolves' fur.
They flinched from the impact, hesitating for just a mont before letting out piercing howls and lunging at my limbs.
“Tch.”
I twisted Jizan like a key.
My earthcraft could barely nudge the ground, but with Jizan, I could exert far greater control.
In response to Jizan’s command, a spike of rock erupted from the ground, slamming into a wolf’s abdon.
Had it never encountered an attack like this before?
The wolf let out a pitiful yelp as it was sent tumbling backward.
Yet another had managed to dodge and pounced on .
It planted its paws on my chest and shoulders, snapping its jaws forward.
The impact alone felt like I had been shot, but there was no ti to dwell on it.
Fangs rushed toward my face.
Even as I was pushed backward, I planted my foot.
Using my waist and leg strength, I t the wolf’s charge head-on.
Sothing I could only do because of the elixir.
The brief # Nоvеlight # hesitation in the wolf’s movent gave just enough of an opening.
I struck its jaw from below with my palm.
I had miscalculated my strength. My left wrist twisted unnaturally.
But the wolf’s saliva-dripping jaws barely missed .
Now it was my turn.
I gripped Jizan tightly and swung upward with all my might.
Jizan played its role as a club perfectly.
The strike sent the wolf soaring nearly thirty ters into the air.
I was about to finish it off when—
A chill crawled up my spine.
I slamd Jizan into the ground instead.
“Awooooooo!”
The earth beneath my feet collapsed.
Around , a wall of stone and dirt rose like a barricade.
It lasted only a second.
Fenrir crashed through the makeshift wall, leaping toward .
“Woof woof! Run!”
Azzy’s desperate voice echoed from behind.
But it was too late.
Facing Fenrir head-on, I had nowhere to escape.
The wolves had opened a path for him.
He charged at , his attack so sharp that even grazing it would be fatal.
I tried to block.
But Fenrir had already learned.
Instead of a frontal strike, he lunged with his entire body.
A blow beyond Jizan’s reach.
A deadly strike that ignored my weapon altogether.
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