The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor

Very big funding (nearly 4 parts)!!
Thanks to all proofreaders who worked on this part: Armada, PuszekSE, Seb, Auryum, TysonSlayer & EvilSanta1423.
Also, I’m not so much on Discord and saw lots of PM waiting for my reply: sorry for delay: I’l reply to everyone in few hours?

"Hmm."
"Wow."
"Amazing."
Weed's comrades were also observing from afar.
"Bard Ray is really powerful."
"No kidding. I thought the broadcasts were exaggerating, but his combat skills are really praiseworthy."
"The horse is also incredible. It sidesteps like a crab then withdraws backwards. Then dashes forward instantly."
They were sitting on the back of a Baraag that was floating in the sky
Avians, mages using flight spells and other various users were watching the battle of Weed and Bard Ray from above.

"Bard Ray is no joke."
"You think he is called the G.o.dly Warrior for no reason?"
"Weed-nim won't lose, will he?"
"Can't say for sure… He does look cornered though."
"Dang. Bard Ray is on a horse too. Isn't that unfair?"
Users that believed that Weed would win were now making conflicting opinions due to Bard Ray's strength.
He rode without stopping to catch his breath and swiftly connected several attacks in a second.
Weed either blocked or deflected, but his feet created deep furrows on the ground as he was pushed back.
Bard Ray and the steed Suart synergizing and attacking simultaneously was like a scene from an elaborate beautiful painting.
A knight defeating an ugly orc minion, so to speak.

'Hmm. A Black Knight on a handsome steed does look better than Weed-nim.'
'We are close with Weed-nim, but on display, Bard Ray is the hero.'
'The limitations of an a.s.sa.s.sin… I couldn't stand out in that kind of battle. But, my blade can slit throats from behind in a flash.'
'Ch… I want to fight too.'
Pale, Surka, Seasoned Crab, Python.
Each had thoughts of their own but were enjoying watching the battle nonetheless.
The reason for their leisurely observation was that they knew Weed wouldn't go down like this.
'It's certain. Bard Ray will lose.'
'He should have been suspicious when Weed-nim challenged him. You shouldn't dive head first just because you see a good opportunity. That's the shortcut to s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up your life.'
'When Weed hunted monsters he had no openings at all. It was a succession of wonder. But his greatest weakness could be a head-to-head battle like this one. Strength vs strength. If you drove him up with strength and speed… No. Weed would still win. He is a villain surpa.s.sing your imaginations.'
'Bard Ray is a force to be reckoned with… But there are beings that you cannot overcome with just determination.'
His comrades firmly believed in Weed's victory based on many reasons.

3 minutes have pa.s.sed since the start of the battle.
Weed was struggling to defend.
Bard Ray was pus.h.i.+ng him with endless stamina, not allowing for any opportunity for Weed to fall back.
*Kang! Clang! P-p-pat!*
Sword swinging, another sword flying in.
The steed Suart charged as soon as there was a gap in distance.
Bard Ray gushed out a countless array of sword strikes while mounted on Suart.

"Wooow!"
"Splendid!"
"Hooray Hermes Guild!"
"This will be a victory of the G.o.dly Warrior Bard Ray!"
The camps of the Haven Empire were creating a ruckus as if it was a festival going on.
"Weed-nim. Keep it up!"
"You can definitely win. Don't take the pounding and dodge!"
"Gra.s.s Porridge, Gra.s.s Porridge, Gra.s.s Porridge!"
The encouragement from the Gra.s.s porridge cult were becoming more desperate and spreading frantically.
Geomchi2 was blankly observing the brilliant display of spells, then came across a strange thought.

"Master. About the youngest one."
"Huh?"
"He's fighting like someone at a martials arts tournament. He is defending vigorously and seems to be a.n.a.lyzing his opponent."
"It seems that way."
Geomchi nodded.
His greatest wish was for Weed to brutally win against Bard Ray.

"Then I can brag to the whole world that he is my student."
Bard Ray was fighting a lot better than expected once the battle began. It seemed that he was superior in spell management and fundamental physical abilities.

"Certainly, our youngest is stopping that Bard Ray's spells excellently.
"Yes. At first it looked like he was blocking the attacks as he saw them. Now it looks as if he is predicting the next attack and reacting in advance."
"Breathing, the transfer of the body's pivot; The instinctive attack pattern embedded in the subconscious; He will a.s.sess it all. When that is over…"
"He will reveal his fangs and tenaciously bite into his opponent's weakness."
"ku-ku. Brutally crus.h.i.+ng him so he wouldn't think twice about challenging again. He learned properly from me on how to fight."
Geomchi glanced at Weed and smiled in commendation. An intimidating smile at best.

'I will win. I can win.'
Bard Ray was feeling confident.
Weed was unable to retaliate and instead fell back while taking mitigated damage.
'It is not that he isn't retaliating. He can't. I am wearing him out without giving him the slightest sliver of opportunity.'
Even if the

Enemy health points decreased by 728.
It suppresses physical abilities.
Death-calling sword applies 1,630 additional damage.
231 health points drained. >

It was reducing his health points consistently.

'This slippery rat.'
His debuffing attacks were blocked, but the acc.u.mulating damage would still add up to a significant amount.

'A persistent orc of all things…'
The strength, vitality and recovery of Orc Karichwi were outrageous!
Moreover, he couldn't identify what kind of armor he was wearing but his powerful attacks were being reduced to a quarter.
It was mind-wrecking to see him recover so quickly after receiving so many blows.

'Even so, it's a foolish decision to fight as an orc in a head-to-head battle. Strength needs to be utilized properly for it to exercise power.'
The fact that Weed could transform into any race was a great disadvantage when it came to accepting his challenge.
But when he saw him waiting in the appearance of an orc, he was ever so glad.

'I fought against orcs often when my level was low. Nothing special about them besides their strength.'
Orcs had big physiques and thick muscles which made them slow.
Even small attacks lead to big movements and centered around heavy strikes, making it difficult for nimble movements.
For Bard Ray, who could counterattack immediately, this meant he could deliver even greater damage.

'Weed. The single-point strike technique that you showed won't be possible with an orc's body. Instead, if you reveal an opening, I will show you my own technique.'
Bard Ray was gradually bringing up his momentum.
He was controlling the battle with consecutive attacks and forcing damage constantly.

'If you wish to attack, go ahead and try. If I give you such an opportunity that is.'
It certainly looked like Weed's health points had dropped below half.
If he were to put an end to that armor's ridiculous recovery effects, now was the time.
Bard Ray used his secret sword technique.

"Sword of Nature."
The earth shook and split.
Thick boulders spurred from below and flung towards Weed in the appearance of Orc Karichwi, in a blink of an eye.

'Please… Just die already.'
Bard Ray activated a spell.

"The Devil's cruel blade dance."
His body and the sword became tainted in a dark red.
A skill that requires an offering to the devil, a penalty of sacrificing 2 from each stat and 3,000 fame.

'You wouldn't have seen this in any broadcast footages.'
He had reserved this skill for the inevitable battle with Weed.
It consists of gruesome, destructive power and defense penetrating damage.

"Uuuurahhh!"
Bard Ray swung his sword from his horse.

***

Weed wasn't planning to push with everything he had from the very beginning.
One could grasp the opponent's level of skill while being on the defensive.
This was a method that generally would increase the chance of winning.
The fact that he had an orc's physique and Royal Road's best armor also served to his advantage.

'But still, he's ridiculous. He is beyond your average warrior.'
He was on another level compared to those who boasted about being rankers.
The skills chain link and attack speed were rapid and his stamina would never run out even if he fought for the entire day.

'His level is about early 600. Maybe close to 620 considering the specs of his equipment?'
Bard Ray was more powerful than him when he reached level 600s during his time as the Great King of the Desert.
At that time, he was lacking in many ways because he had rushed his growth. That was his initial goal of growing as much as he could even if the balance broke.
At first, Bard Ray's attacks felt sharp, but he was growing used to blocking them.

'The skill composition is amazing. He really knows a diversity of skills. Looks like he soaked up everything that was useful from the Central continent.'
Weed was a.n.a.lysing ma.s.sive amounts of data
His health points decreased as he blocked in Orc Karichwi form, but that did not matter to him.

'There is no need to drag this battle on any longer. I can put an end to this at once.'
It wasn't a battle meant to be 20, 30 minutes.
Weed had prepared for a long time, for this very moment.

"Devil's gruesome blade dance!"
A huge aura was moving as Bard Ray activated his skill.

"Now, perish."
The moment the sword began to come down, Weed activated two skills.

'Moment Sculpting, Heraim Fencing skill.'
The final secret sculptural technique was activated.
That moment, the entire world froze.
The users observing from afar, the bird-humans afloat in the sky; even Bard Ray had been frozen with his sword held high activating his skill.
Weed took three steps forward and swung his Loa sword.
1st consecutive strike was successful.
Dexterity increased by 20%.
The sword struck Bard Ray's head and the world came in motion again.
"Kuuurgh!"

You have struck a powerful blow on the head of your opponent.
Skill channeling has been forcefully cancelled.
Enemy maximum mana is temporarily decreased by 15%.
Hutsain's wing helm absorbs 64% of physical damage.
You have decreased enemy health points by 16,341.
Loa Sword applied 28% additional damage. >

It was a destructive strike that caused even the steed Stuart to stagger.
He had precisely struck down with Orc Karrchwi's huge body.
Even so, this was only the beginning.

Weed had rarely used the time sculptural technique after he had acquired it.

'I must reserve it. When the time comes, I will pour out all of it at once.’
He had thriftly gathered energy of the moment from quests, hunting and sculptural techniques.
He acc.u.mulated an insane amount of energy from the Garnav plains festival and had waited for Bard Ray.

'A fight needs to be fought dirty, indeed.'
Bard Ray backed away and used a protection spell in response.

"Iron wall Grace."
It was a reflexive action after getting a big spell like Devil's gruesome blade dance cancelled and counterattacked.

'I fully a.s.sessed your battle footages. I knew you would use Iron wall grace.'
Weed closed in quickly.
Iron wall Grace was a skill that could endure up to 100,000 frontal physical damage.
It was a rare warrior secret skill that could only be attained through special conditions.

'As I expected.'
Gloves of Dimensional Door.
Weed pa.s.sed through a translucent circle and appeared behind Bard Ray.
Smas.h.!.+
2nd consecutive attack was successful.
Strength increased by 40%.
His powerful blow struck down.

You have landed a lethal strike.
Dizziness! Confusion!
Minen's necklaces minimizes the abnormal conditions.
A small crack formed in Hutsain's wing helm, resulting in durability decreased by 5.
Enemy health points decreased by 7,023. >

Bard Ray fell off his horse from the impact.
"s.h.i.+eld of protection."
He used another protection spell.
Another sword flew in order to defend and that moment, the world froze again.
Instant sculptural technique!
It was a brief moment less than half a second but Weed was already advancing even before the spell had activated.
*Cras.h.!.+*
Weed's sword struck Bard Ray's head once again.

Dexterity increased by additional 40%.
4th consecutive attack was successful.
Strength increased by additional 40%.
5th consecutive attack was successful.
A devastating blow has landed successfully.>

You have landed consecutive strikes on a single point.
Boosted Destructive power!
Armor damaged!
Hutsain's wing helm took significant damage, losing its physical damage ability.
Enemy health points decreased by 23,349. >

It was a series of attacks with precision and certainty.

'Sorry to say but I won this battle from the very beginning.'
He was confident in grasping that one small opening.

'Instant sculptural technique.'
An overpowered skill that ceases the world.

'Now I get my revenge for that time at Melbourn mines. I never let go once I bite.'
Weed swung his sword without hesitation.

'Off you go… To h.e.l.l.'
(To be continued)

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