Becoming Legend

Chapter 22: 179

Ned came to the Goblin-orc Lord towards the muddy terrain.

The Lord with his bulky size, blade, and speed - faster than before, clashed Ned. Shoving everything on his way. Nothing can stop the evolved Hybrid, not even the knee-high mud. Seeing his prey, he didn't slow down. His eyes glimmered under the lucent of the moon. Without casting, the night was illuminated by the Lord's blade that was enveloped with fire.

Ned started training when Master Will discovered that he was a Hollow. Mana Leak will start to flow at the age of five sometimes younger. These Leaks are an uncontrollable flow of Mana that escapes outside the body. This was an indicator that an individual is Magic Capable - their body naturally absorbs Mana in the surroundings. At the age of seven, Ned was trained by Master Will the way of the Knight. Hoping that one day, Ned would be strong and lucky enough to find a fairy or other creature that was willing to bond with him in exchange for Mana. 

Ned trained and trained until he was able to grasp the basic form of the Knight skill his master thought him. A skill that is all about balance - swift, precise, and heavy. Master Will's technique passed on to Ned. Ned was able to defend and attack at the same time, or the other way around. 

With only a meter away from the Lord, Ned swayed to his left, just in time before the Fireblade of the Lord reached him. But with the mud interfering Ned's movement, he didn't evade enough. 

With the Lord's long reach, he was able to hit Ned using his elbow. 

But Ned never let his guard down, before the elbow could reach him he was able to raise his left hand and the Butterfly to block the attack. The block was enough for Ned to be thrown away. The tree shook with the impact and Ned spat a mouthful of blood. 

[Warning. Internal bleeding occurs.]

[Redirecting nanites for repair.]

The vambrace on Ned's left hand shattered to pieces but not the Butterfly. Yeah, that's it. Keep repairing me. I'm not done with this Lord here. Ned redirected his thoughts towards his system and gazed to where Toni was. "Toni! Go now!" Ned shouted, ordering Toni and the rest to leave. "Call someone to help us!" He raised his sword, cause he knew that the Lord will never stop chasing him, "this is not a Selection anymore! Go!"

"No!" Toni insisted, "we won't leave you!"

"Just go!" With the Lord raising his Fireblade, Ned rolled. The Fireblade hit the tree behind him and was shattered to pieces. "I'll buy some time!"

With no other choice, Toni with Xi and Coco left the swamp to find someone that can defeat the Lord. She knew, that even with their combined attacks, they cannot defeat a Lord. They just need to find the Handlers and inform them that a Lord has appeared in the Selection site. 

With Ned on the ground, the Lord saw an opportunity to cast a Fireball. The air sizzled and the sphere of fire formed. Ned smiled. "You never learned," he said raising his Butterfly, ready to absorb the incoming Fireball. "What!" Ned was surprised that the Lord canceled his Fireball. 

The Lord then jumped towards the path of Toni and his group blocking the exit. The Lord smirked. His eyes were fixated on Toni. Without the stone, he raised his left hand, and a sphere of fire formed, without any delays, incantations, or preparations, Fireball was formed. Then another spell was conjured, and a barrier of fire enveloped his hulking body. 

He knew! He knew! He understood us! Shit! Ned cussed inwards. Putting the Butterfly back to its scabbard, Ned pulled the string of his bow and released six consecutive arrows. Hitting nothing but a barrier of fire. Without any skills and spells, Ned relied only on his raw strength, he dashed. 

On his way, Ned heard a deafening boom. Air escaped away from the explosion, fire illuminated the entire forest, and shockwaves found their way exiting the forest. "No!" Ned shouted. 

Smoke, fire, and chunks of ice scattered all over the ground. Toni conjured a barrier. Ned was relieved to see Toni and the rest was okay. But not for too long, the Lord conjured another fireball. And, since Ned was on his way, he placed himself on the front and acted as a shield for the team. The fireball that flew was absorbed by the Butterfly. Ned returned the fireball with double the damage. 

Trying to block the fireball, The Lord's body was thrown off into the woods. 

"Ned we can't leave you here," Xi's wounds started to look fresh again. Blood could be seen on his clothes. 

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"Uh..." Toni agreed with Xi. 

Meow!

The same goes for Coco.

With the team together. They decided to buy some time for the Handlers to arrive, and hope that they could defeat the Lord. For the second time, Ned fed Coco with his blood. Xi decided to support the team with his wind magic. While Ned and Toni will deal with the Lord at close range. 

"Hey, Ned!" A tight voice echoed throughout the forest. It was Naa'ri. 

Toni noticed the two half-naked, whom she recognized as Greg and Grant, following the girl that called Ned. "You know them?" She asked.

"Yes, met them at the forest when I hunted a while ago," Ned replied. 

"They might help us, Ned," said Xi preparing his magic. 

"I don't think so."

"Hey, kid! Why'd you run?" Grant snickered. 

"We're not done yet!" Greg grunted.

"That cat!" Naa'ri raised her finger and pointed at Coco with his enormous size and thunder cracking around him. "It's....it's an Elemental Cat! A mythical cat at the highest form!" She cried, "how! where! Where did you capture him!"

"Mythical! Hey kid, we'll let you off, give us the cat!" Greg ordered Ned. 

These kids, Ned thought. "No time to answer you Naa'ri," Ned pulled a Core out of the Magic Pouch. "Xi, any attack spells?"

"Hey don't ignore us!" Greg cried.

"Attack spells, attack spells, wait..ahh, yes! Lance wind lance!" Xi was flustered cause he seldom trained wind magic. Xi muttered something, "Coiling Dragon of the Seven Mountains Form One!" He cried.

"Is that?" Ned was confused. "Couldn't you shorten your incantations?"

"No, I need to focus and feel the flow in my Meridians,"  Xi answered. 

"Meri...what?" Confused Ned asked again.

"It's the same as us, It's where Mana is stored, Meridian is what they call it in the East," Naa'ri interjected. "Now, why are you guys looked like ready for battle?"

"Orc!" Grant shouted. 

"What!" Greg whose playing deaf asked again. 

"Here he comes! Ready!" Ned shouted.

"!" The three assumed a ready stance.

Ned on the other hand ate the core he got from the Magic Pouch. Come on, come on give me something useful. Ned asked the core to be on his side this time. The taste was green and bitter. It was the Goblin Warrior's Core.

"Ned?" Toni saw Ned ate the Goblin core and was confused. Since Xi was on the back, he didn't see Ned ate the core. 

[Linking complete.]

[Fury skill learned.]

[Fury skill increases the Host's attacking power by 10% when using a one-handed blade for 20 seconds.]

10%, better than sniff, Ned thought. "Xi! Hit me with your Magic!"

"What?"

"Just do it!"

"If you say so!" Xi raised his hand and aimed towards Ned. "Here it goes! Coiling Dragon of the Seven Mountains Form One, Attack!" It took six seconds for Xi to completely materialize his magic. And the result was a small lance of wind fast enough to hit a Rabbi. But it was aimed at Ned per requested. 

The Wind Lance was absorbed by the Butterfly. 

"What?!" Xi was surprised.

"Take this!" Ned cried. Brandishing the Butterfly, he slashed midair. "Wind Lance!"

"Ned it's Coiling Dragon... well, whatever," Xi assumed a proper position and conjured another spell. "Coiling Dragon... "

With the Lord cracking the ground, he was ready to take on the magic. The wind Lance passed him and scrape a part of his face. Enraged, he shouted and jumped towards Ned.

They fought the Lord. Sword slashed, daggers stabbed, thunder howled, and wind magic spurt. But the Lord is getting stronger and stronger, Every second passed, the Lord was absorbing Mana at a tremendous rate. His body was adjusting to his growth until it was perfectly formed. 

The three, Naa'ri and the two G's, who was watching, spat a mouthful of saliva, they couldn't believe that they were fighting a Lord Grade monster.

"The Handlers should be here by now!" Ned shouted, evading the Fireblade, but was scrapped by the fire. His left arm leaked blood. 

[Nanites redirected.]

"Ned!"Toni cried. 

"I'll be fine," Ned jumped backward. And stayed still for a moment. "We need more time," seeing Coco's normal form, he bit his finger again and gave his blood. "Are you sure?"

Meow!

"Okay, hang on there Coco, we'll finish this soon."

Another second passed, and they saw that the Lord had been changing. His green hulking body started to shrink, slowly its size is becoming human. Moments later, his eyes were now of human's, ears like elves, nosestill of an orc. But one thing scared them, his aura. 

[Notice. Massive amount of Mana detected.]

There it is again. Ned thought. Don't tell me. 

With the four encircling the Lord, they remain focused. The Lord seemed to stop attacking, no more barrier, no fireball, and Fireblade. With a breath, the Lord roared. Except for Ned, the rest were thrown far from the two. Trees bent, rocks flew, debris scattered, and leaves were cut in half. Everything was in mess. Except with the two in the middle. Ned and the Lord. The Lord raised his blade, and a fire started to envelop.

This is it! Ned thought, ICE, activate Fury. 

[Fury activated.]

"Activate Predictive Combat Emulator!"

[Predictive Combat Emulator activated.]

"ICE! OVERCLOCK!"

"This time make it 20%."

[Negative. By doing so, your body will break.]

"Just do it!" Ned ordered his system.

[Affirmative. Activating Overclock with 20% more adrenaline increase.]

[Overclock with 20% more adrenaline will last for 4 seconds. But the drawback will be great. ]

[Preparing nanites for the possible outcome.]

[Overclock activated.]

With this, Fury skill and Overclock, Ned's body sizzled of sweat, instead of dripping, it steamed out of him. His figure now oozed of steam that clouded his surrounding. His body turned red. Lifting his sword, he stepped forward. The second his foot reached the ground. Ned vanished. 

Under the shaft of the moon. The air whistled. Then the Lord's body was cut a hundred times, green blood spilled all over the ground. Trees, grass, and water turned green from the Lord's blood. 

The rest who were watching were mouth at gape. Even the people who were watching behind the trees. They couldn't believe that a Hollow could fight a Lord grade monster. 

Four seconds had past and Ned fell to the ground. Unmoving, powerless, and vulnerable. He tried to move his finger and rolled where the Lord was. 

The Lord fell on his knees, green blood spilling and flowing all over his body. His face was unrecognizable but his voice remained the same. 

"179."