The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 172 The Sage's Blade (3k6k)

"Why is this knife in your hands? And what about that human?"

Just as the two sharp axes were generating a strong wind, Shyvana grabbed Hok's shoulder.

Tang Qi's voice and the black scimitar brought her thoughts back to three months ago, where she recognized the other party's identity.

And she actually knew what this meant—

No warrior was willing to part with his precious sword.

Unless he is no longer able to wield this precious sword.

Sivana simply doesn't want to accept this fact.

That means the shame of being let off the hook in the past will be etched into her heart for the rest of her life, becoming an indelible stain.

Tang Qi shattered her illusions:
"he died."

"A human body is actually inferior to that of a pig."

Perhaps it's more because the black snake, after leaving the Great Desert and suffering the curse of Dark Devouring, was already doomed.

But Tang Qi didn't think it was something worth discussing.

His gaze darted between the two orcs, pondering which one he should deal with first, and which one he could handle.

It's a pity that Chenxi went to atone for her sins as always; otherwise, with her there, this wouldn't be a problem worth discussing.

“Listen, I don’t want any trouble! That’s all in the past—I let you go back then, and you’d better let us leave quietly now.”

Shyvana just wanted to wait until nightfall to get the food and then return to the tribe.

"Yes, because you know very well that you won because they threw the game. If you had really lost to Black Serpent, would you have been willing to do that?"

Tang Qi sneered.

This made the orc feel as if something was blocking his throat, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

"We survived the orcs, should we thank the orc lord for showing mercy?"

Tang Qi sneered.
"You started this trouble yourself, and now that you're on human territory, you're afraid of trouble and want to settle things peacefully. Don't you find that a bit ridiculous?"

Sivana gritted her teeth: "Then what do you want?"

“It’s not about what I want to do. I want to see how the lords will react when people realize that orcs have appeared in Dragongold City.”

Through his deductions in the dungeon, Tang Qi realized that the [Duchess] had been observing everything from behind his back.

However, he still couldn't find out the relationship between [Star] and [Duchess], nor could he confirm what role they played in the whole plan or which faction they belonged to.

Regardless of the circumstances, this orc tribe had obtained permission from Dragongold City to reach the Dusk Forest and raid Starplum Town.

The fact that he is now hiding his identity and trying to enter Longjin City is probably at the behest of some mastermind.

That would be a perfect opportunity to observe the movements of the various lords and ascertain their intentions by exploiting the riots caused by the orcs.

That way, it's easier to distinguish which camp they belong to and what their goals are.

not to mention……

Tang Qi gripped the curved sword tightly; the double-edged tip, reflecting the midday sun, emitted a chilling gleam.

"Moreover, this knife doesn't seem to want to let you go easily either."

He patted his shoulder and hummed softly.
"【Short-distance driving】."

Having grasped the other party's attitude, Sivana knew that conflict was inevitable.

She grabbed the bedsheet from the floor, threw it at Hook, and commanded:
"Put it on and stand aside."

He then weighed the giant axe in his hand, spat,
"If you can't beat that black snake, you can at least beat me?"

She heard someone leave the tavern through the back door, and to prevent further trouble, she decided to act quickly.

Then he roared, his eyes blazing with crimson fury.

Her well-proportioned muscles bulged with her roar, as if expanding outwards, her spine arching like an orc's, and she panted heavily as she swung her giant axe and charged towards Tang Qi—

【violent】.

In Tang Qi's eyes, it no longer looked like a human wielding a giant axe.

He clearly glimpsed the shadow of a thick bear claw on the axe handle.

Every step Shyvana took forward was so heavy it seemed to crush the tavern floor.

Tang Qi believed that if the axe were swung at his waist like that, it would tear him in two in an instant.

But he wasn't panicked.

Urged on by his heightened awareness, he was able to track the trajectory of the axe blade—

In the past, he would not have been confident that he could perfectly dodge the giant axe of the howling wind.

But with the boost from [Powered Short-Distance Walking], he felt his legs were surprisingly light and agile—

It was as if a pair of wings had grown on his boots. Whenever he wanted to take a step, the wings would spread out instantly according to his wishes, giving him a tremendous boost.

This brought him close to the oncoming axe blade as he stomped his feet.

His body was supple and agile, like a loach swimming in the wetlands.

So much so that he could easily bend over and let the axe blade slice across his back; the cracks only grazed his tough leather armor, leaving no trace.

"How can it be!?"

Sivana showed no mercy and was completely unprepared for the fact that the poet, who had surrendered to her just three months ago in order to survive, could now dodge her axe blade with what could only be described as bizarre footwork.

She quickly turned around, using the momentum to swing her giant axe, intending to knock Tang Qi away with a second blow the moment he was close.

A sharp silver light gleamed from the blade's edge, drawing a straight silver line that was about to pierce her throat.

Shyvana had no choice but to restrain her power, focus her attention on what was in front of her, and turn her body to barely dodge the stab.

"Pfft—" A sudden pain shot through the back of my neck.

In her shock and anger, she was about to kick Tang Qi in the chest when she discovered that Tang Qi had already taken several steps back as he kicked.

Even after creating some distance, his feet continued to bounce, making him appear more like he was dancing—and more like he was mocking her incompetence.

"The skin is tough enough that it only scratched the surface."

Tang Qi looked at the tip of the knife, judging the extent of the injury based on the amount of bleeding.

The 'snake's kiss' in his hand was sharp enough.

If the same force is used to strike the giant axe, even if the axe blade is shattered, this sharp scimitar will not leave the slightest mark.

Even so, the instant he used the silver light to cut through the other's skin, he still felt as if he had scraped against a steel plate—

This is the totem of the brown bear, bestowing upon savages their physique.

"But the good news is that he was indeed injured."

She ignored the pain in the back of her neck, but a strange feeling welled up inside her.

But in her anger, she couldn't be bothered to take this trivial matter to heart.

He swung the giant axe again.

This time, Tang Qi simply didn't dodge or evade. He raised several blades of light, and the dark blades, like small black snakes, caught the heavy axe blade.

With a clang, the orc realized that his giant axe hadn't even managed to cut through Tang Qi's sword dance.

Each failure fueled her anger.

Without thinking, she raised her giant axe and recklessly swung it down at Tang Qi's shoulder.

With a loud crash, the giant axe embedded itself into the mahogany floor.

In the brief moment she tried to pull the axe out, Tang Qi, who had dodged to the side, raised his scimitar once more.

The afterimages of the blades slashed wildly, like four dark snakes with menacing fangs, scraping against her steel-like arms, leaving four bloody gashes beneath her pale green skin—

【Combat Skill: Chaotic Sword Dance】

This combat technique utilizes rapid slashing to inflict minor damage on the target in front of you.

Shyvana's skin's toughness makes the damage from the blades less noticeable.

It has reached a point where it can heal itself without needing bandaging.

"Ugh!!!"

Shyvana, having pulled out her giant axe, roared and swung it toward Tang Qi's neck.

But they discovered that Tang Qi had already retreated several meters away with his ghostly movements.

The enraged barbarian felt as if he were being mocked and wanted to chase after him while roaring.

But suddenly, a thought that struck her as bizarre flashed into her mind:

What is the meaning of anger?

Who the hell cares what the point of anger is!

Is my anger enough to make me kill someone?

She roared in her heart and swung her sword in reality.

However, Tang Qi easily dodged it again, leaving two not-so-deep wounds before retreating to a more distant location.

This time, the thoughts in her mind seemed even deeper:

What's the point of killing someone?

Who the hell cares!
What I should do now is to quickly deal with this human in front of me, then take Houk and leave this town as soon as possible, and come back after nightfall!
"Why did you wait until the problem was resolved when you could have left now?"

That's of course because——

Sivana suddenly hesitated and stopped in her tracks:
Why shouldn't I leave now?

That unspoken thought was like a bucket of ice water, mixed with shards, poured over her angry head:

"So your anger is meaningless, your swings are meaningless. Life is full of such meaningless things, and we always waste time on such meaningless actions."

She seemed to be talking to herself, muttering as she calmed her anger.

But then he realized something was wrong:

"How could I possibly say something like that?!"

She was a barbarian who had lived outside the Great Wall in the south since childhood. All she did was eat and kill people. She never thought about any 'meaning'.
Aren't these things things that only idiots who don't need to worry about what to eat next or whether they'll go hungry tomorrow should be thinking about?
Shyvana, having snapped out of her 'anger' state, frowned and stared directly at Tang Qi:

"What the hell did you do to me?!"

"I made a simple attempt."

Tang Qi stroked the curved sword in his hand—

From the outside, there is no sense of the 'emotion' that the scimitar has been imbued with.

He was using Shyvana to test the effects of the Mind Blade.

Why have I become so calm?

Sivana couldn't pinpoint the source of her composure.

I felt like I was back on the night the old man died.

In her grief and tears, she beheaded one beast after another until she was completely exhausted, at which point she finally released all the emotions in her heart.

But Tang Qi knew very well its origin:
"Because I infuse the emotions of 'wise man' into the blade of my sword."

"Yes, you could call it the 'Sage's Blade'."

(End of this chapter)