Vile Evil Hides Under The Veil

Varhan could see the attack with his enhanced vision, but he couldn't do anything about it. The punch he threw at Borul was effortlessly dodged by Borul before the latter performed a chopping motion right at his arm joint.

Varhan blocked the chop with his other hand as he could see it coming. But Borul used that block as an opportunity to spin around to the other side and performed another chop. Just like Eren, Borul could send his mana circuits into hyperdrive too.

Swoosh!

Only Sharog could see what had happened. But she too was limited by her vision alone. The rest of the crowd only saw Eren punching his own shoulder before getting thrown in the air by Borul's round kick that had hit him at the same spot.

"Okay, I have to admit. I may have exaggerated a bit when I said even an ordinary opponent would be able to counter your moves. You were almost able to block my attacks, which is… something.

There's no doubt in my mind that you are a cut above the average. But my suggestion still stands. You need to work on your timing and accuracy of the attack."

Varhan quickly got back on his feet and used his movement spell in combination with his enhanced perception to counter Borul's way of using his blocks and dodges to his advantage. This time the fire snakes were placed at the front lines to keep Borul engaged while Varhan targeted the guy's blind spots.

"Not bad. You can think ahead. But do you think only you can take this battle up a notch? Hehe!"

Borul used his movement spells to get away from the siege instead of tackling all the attacks thrown his way. He then changed his direction midway and approached Eren who also intended to get close to him.

Borul raised his right arm and tugged at it as though he were holding a thick rope. Then he swung it upwards.

Varhan felt his right leg getting pulled by something and immediately understood what had happened. The real orc could use his gravity-related spells to apply a gravitational pull on an isolated region. As a result of Varhan's control over his spell and how he had performed that move, Varhan felt as if a ghost hand had actually grabbed his leg and pulled it upwards.

'Hmm. This orc is as crafty as you. Also, I need to tell you something about him after your duel is over.'

Varhan heard Alephee's comment as he was flying mid-air because of Borul's unexpected move. But he did not have the time or patience to respond.

The fight continued for a while. Neither side looked anywhere near their breaking point. But the match was slowly tilting towards Borul.

'Time to drop the charade and get serious I guess.'

Eren breathed heavily and thought to himself as he maintained a safe distance between himself and his opponent. He was expecting a fierce fight. But he didn't know that Borul would be so difficult to deal with. He was playing with Nurbag in his previous match.

'No use, Eren. Do you think he is seriously fighting you? He will just match your level as you become more serious. Plus, I wouldn't recommend going all out here.

Your half-blood powers are working fine as of now. But your moves and your spells give the impression of strangeness. Monsters have cases of mutation. Your strangeness must have been tagged under the same category by Sharog Borul. So might want to keep things that way instead of doing something that can blow your cover.'

Eren heard Alephee's thoughts and calmed down a bit. Ideally, he should have thought along the same lines. But the competitiveness induced by this match was too overwhelming for him to ignore. He had to admit that fighting with Borul was a unique experience. Not because he hadn't fought with any sane orc before. But because Borul's analysis made sense to him as well.

'He is hiding his strength isn't he?'

Varhan asked as narrowed his eyes on Borul who was looking at him from a distance, with a mild smile plastered to his face. The crowd had grown wild by now. They had never thought that the dark horse of the previous match would be met with another dark horse in such a short period.

Varhan was unable to give 100 percent in his battle because his centre of gravity for this body had changed. The moves he wanted to perform were not synchronized in the right way for him to make the most of them. Maybe if he had a few days to adjust to his orc body, he would have had better results.

Second, he didn't have access to his weapons. Most of his battle powers came from him making effective use of his close combat weapons. In addition, with the army-issue weapon set like Rigour Mortis, his ability to fight had been enhanced. So when he fought barehanded, it was no wonder that he was put at a disadvantage.

And yet, the butcher knew that even with all those disadvantages stacked against him, it shouldn't have been this difficult for him to tackle the Orc Leader. No matter how intelligent and tactful he was then normal orcs.

'Looks like you sensed it. That's right. He is also hiding his strength. More than you. I was planning to tell you after the fight. But since you've guessed it, it shouldn't come as a surprise for you.

Borul, if that is indeed his name, is an Orc Lord. He is only a step away from becoming an Orc Overlord. Furthermore, his progression in his handling of elements exceeds the normal standards set for his level.

So no matter how hard you fight with him, you won't be able to win. That is if you guys keep on fighting and he stops pretending.'

Eren struggled to maintain his blank expressions when he heard about Borul from Alephee. He wanted to run away from the camp he had just gotten into without worrying about the consequences it might have on his plans.

After all, the future could only unfold in front of him if he was alive to see it.