Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)
chapter-228

Chapter 228: A Fierce Battle with the Commander (2)

Although Xiao Lin’s Academic Genius skill has been upgraded, the interval between Replication was still five days long. Xiao Lin did not want to waste that opportunity on a whim, so he made up his mind to rely on Elementary Vitality and the Phantom Steps to hold himself during the fight. When reinforcements arrived, the orc commander would be easy to deal with.

There was nothing wrong with Xiao Lin’s plan, except that plans often fail to keep up with the changes. The orc commander, who was eager to get the battle over and done as soon as possible, suddenly let out a more violent roar. His muscles expanded rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye and he became stronger than before. The simple armor draped on his body was hardly able to withstand it.

The orc tore down his armor with one hand and tossed it aside, revealing strong brown muscles. He spoke something, but Xiao Lin did not understand what was said because he did not know Orcish.

Xiao Lin had a bad feeling and lamented the lack of information provided. After knowing that the opponent was an orc, few people had actually thought of getting a comprehensive understanding of that race. In addition to their living habits and historical information, their favored weapons, equipment, and skills should also be included.

Sure enough, the next battle became more difficult. The orc’s explosive power increased along with its swelled body. Even Cheng Ming, who had been paying attention from the city wall, became anxious.

The orc’s heavy and huge battle axe was originally held with both hands, but he was later able to swing it with one hand. There had actually been a marked increase in strength rather than decrease.

After knocking Xiao Lin down to the ground once more, the orc grinned and did not rush up immediately. Instead, he walked to the weapon rack next to him and took another battle axe of the same weight.

Xiao Lin struggled to get up from the ground. He coughed repeatedly and found that his coughs were already stained with blood. A brief moment of inattentiveness allowed the orc to strike at the blind spot of Xiao Lin’s Phantom Steps, but fortunately, the orc had struck too hard and there was no way the battle axe could be recovered immediately. As a result, the attack on Xiao Lin was only a punch, or else he would have died if the axe had struck him.

By then however, the orc commander had switched to wielding two battle axes. Xiao Lin no longer had the strength to let out a wry smile. The fighting spirit provided by the Warbear Leather Armor was draining constantly due to the continuous use of the Phantom Step, and Xiao Lin soon found himself in severe exhaustion once more.

It was far from a good sign. The physical stamina provided by the fighting spirit was almost equivalent to an overdraft. Once the overdrawn stamina is exhausted again, his body would fall into a weakened state and he might not be able to continue fighting for long.

“Damn it, Cheng Ming! Can’t you deal with those guards quicker!” Xiao Lin yelled angrily. He felt that he had underestimated the power of the orcs. In comparison, the merfolk were not even worthy of putting their shoes on for them.

Cheng Ming could not voice his suffering too, because nearly half of the orcs surrounded him after noticing his strength. Meanwhile, the other orcs were basically attacking several monitors or instructors.

Orcs were not as mindless a race as merfolk, especially in terms of fighting instincts. To put it more bluntly, Xiao Lin and the group of improvised teams were not necessarily better than the well-trained orc infantry.

There were not many orcs in the fortress, but they were smart enough to lure the stronger individuals who attacked the city while ordering the merfolk to drive away other students. Although there were more than 100 people who had climbed to the fortress, the fight had once again entered into a stalemate. Those who had their hands full really had no way to support Xiao Lin.

With two battle axes being wielded as well as a sudden increase in power, the orc commander’s attack range was wider, covering almost half of the training ground. The Phantom Step needed a certain amount of space to move in order to avoid attacks, but when he could finally utilize the space after a continuous amount of pressure, the Phantom Steps’ deficiencies were exposed time and again.

In fact, it had been very difficult for Xiao Lin to hold on until then. Basic Swordsmanship MAX, Elementary Vitality, Phantom Steps, as well as various extremely practical skills or equipment, had all contributed tremendously, as did the Warbear Leather Armor.

Unbeknownst to him however, the orc in front of him was actually a sign of respect toward Xiao Lin, for the latter was able to make him use such a level of power. The sentence that Xiao Lin could not understand earlier was not a sarcastic remark from the orc, but rather, an expression of admiration for Xiao Lin’s power.

Orcs show respect toward the strong, and relatively speaking, they would also use a much stronger power to defeat a really strong opponent and take pride in victory over such an enemy.

The battle on the front of the city was equally fierce, but from time to time, everyone took note of the head-on clash on the fort’s training ground. They experienced the orcs’ tenacity, and dozens of people have fallen, but the battle would undoubtedly be easier if Xiao Lin could defeat the commanding officer.

Xiao Lin, who was forced into all that suffering, decided that Replication was the only skill he could use, though he was unsure whether using it would even change the unfavorable situation.

Before Xiao Lin could have the opportunity to use it, he was struck by two battle axes again. On that occasion however, the Goddess of Luck had deserted him. Even though he was only hit by the back of the axe, the violent strength threw him into the air, and the orc commander followed suit to deliver a ruthless slash.

Boom!

When Xiao Lin fell back to the ground, he landed on the hard training ground and left a big hole. Splattered blood instantly filled it, and no one knew how many scars were left by the battle axe exactly. Xiao Lin subconsciously wanted to cover the wound with the palm of his hand, but found that it was useless. A large stream of blood was still gushing out, staining the Warbear Leather Armor into blood leather armor.

Xiao Lin felt his consciousness slowly fade away and his entire body was getting colder.

That was probably how death felt like. 10 years of his life were gone just like that. It was such a shame. He did not expect to die there during the third monthly exam, and he did not know whether he could become a monitor in the end.

That was his sole thought before his consciousness became fuzzy. It soon ceased completely, and his whole body did not move at all. The orc commander exhaled, dragged two battle axes, and started walking up the tower.

After watching Xiao Lin fall in a pool of blood, Cheng Ming let out a roar and slammed the épée into the orc in front of him. He could care less about the siege and was prepared to head straight for the orc commander.

“Cheng Ming! Don’t act rashly! Xiao Lin is dead! The orc’s power is beyond what we imagined. The first thing we should do is retreat!” A ponytailed girl next to Cheng Ming immediately pulled his clothes. She was also a monitor, and her face was full of shock after seeing the dreadful battle on the training ground.