Once he had pulled out all the stops, Grokus did not waste a moment. He lunged forward, his large sword engulfed by angry green flames. He did not set his gaze on Leon, but instead turned to Nero, who acted as the defensive bulwark of the team.
Bang!
Two deep trenches were dug in the ground as Nero did his best to prevent Grokus from moving past him. But Grokus did not move around him. Instead, he pushed Nero back with no signs of stopping!
Bang!
Another small explosion rang out as Nero used his sword to stab the ground behind him. The red glow around his sword swelled and expanded until it formed a small wall that held him in place. The sliding motion he was formerly fixed into was slowed to a stop as Grokus lost momentum.
But that did not stop the Orc.
“Wyvern Sigil!” Red light glowed behind Grokus, resembling wings as his jaw snapped open and green fire spewed through it, straight at Nero. The shield wielding summon’s health immediately plummeted as he was subjected to a scorching heat that his defenses were not up to par against. His shield quickly crumbled under the heat, and Grokus’ sword swept him aside.
Leon was stunned at how quickly Grokus had been able to sweep Nero aside. Surely, that move must have burnt up a lot of mana. Such power must have come at a price.
Right behind Nero was Nedra, who had been healed by Leon when he recalled her. She was vengeful and put up a very good fight. Now, she had a much better feel for Grokus’ strength than before. Even if he had exploded with more power, she knew a little bit more than before.
While she held off Grokus from advancing, Kaladin was cooking up a powerful spell. The mage summon had his hands around a small orb of flickering lightning that was about the size of a small head. He constantly fed it mana, turning it into a mini sun in Leon’s sharp eyes.
Buzzzzz!
The buzz of the gathering lightning turned into a constant in the background. Leon turned his attention from Kaladin as he summoned Nero again, fully healed, and ready to jump back into battle.
With the reentry of Nero, Grokus’ advance was stalled, and he looked to be in concentration as he battled the two. Nero took the heavy attacks, while Nedra turned into a morphing white shadow that struck from every angle. Grokus was too occupied to focus on other things except keeping an eye on Leon and Kaladin.
‘Now!’ Light flashed through Leon’s eyes as a dark shadow materialized behind Grokus. James’ long daggers flashed and sliced into Grokus’ neck, digging into the flesh and bone.
“Grugh!?” Grokus’ eyes snapped open wide and his movements froze.
Bzzt!
The next second, a blinding pillar of white lightning descended on him.
“GAAAAAH!” His pained screams escaped the pillar of white lightning, lasting for a few seconds, before stopping. Leon watched the pillar of light intently as a thought crossed his mind.
‘Did it work?’ He wondered as he waited for the kill notification.
As he thought, he suddenly felt a fluctuation in the mana behind him. He had barely registered the fluctuation behind him when he felt a large hand wrap around the back of his skull, pushing him down and slamming his head straight into the ground.
A strange field then wrapped around Leon, and he felt his mana flow stutter, and the link with his summons sever.
“Leon!” Nedra was the only one who did not disappear. She circled the murky green barrier that isolated Leon with Grokus, slamming on it with her body and legs, trying to break it to help Leon.
Bang!
Bang!
BANG!
Grokus slammed down Leon’s head with more and more force as Leon had yet to regain control over his body. The barrier around them was making it difficult to control his body or thought.
“Insolent undead! I gave you a chance, but you forced my hand. You will never escape from my Disruption Barrier. We Orc Shamans have trained to be able to use mana even when our mana circuits are in shambles! A lowly being like you will never understand!” Grokus’ voice was hoarse and garbled as his throat was still a mess. His skin and flesh was charred and blackened from Kaladin’s attack. He had been forced to use his ace teleportation spell in order to get behind Leon and escape from the attack.
Right now, it was taking all he had to keep up the Disruption Barrier with Nedra constantly slamming against it. Even then, he would only be able to keep it up for a minute at most because he was almost out of mana. He could feel the hot burn of his core behind hi sternum as the last dredges of mana were pulled out of it to fuel his spell.
‘Am I going to die here?’ Leon managed to think around the constant notifications of his dropping health. Each time Grokus slammed his head into the ground, he lost a few hundred points. It would only be a matter of time before his entire health points ran out.
‘No! I came all this way. I can’t let myself lose to this mongrel!’
For some reason, Leon’s mind quickly composed itself and he began to work on gathering his mana. It was excruciatingly slow, and by the time thirty seconds had passed, he had only gathered enough mana for a single summon. But that was enough.
At that time, Grokus had also done something similar. He had been gathering his mana to cast a last spell that would end the battle.
Lifting Leon up into the air by his head, he growled. “I will turn you into my slave. You will be a good prize for my losses today.” He said as green mana swirled up his arm and up to Leon’s head.
“I should be the one saying that.” Leon grunted and black smoke swirled around his arm. A millipede soldier appeared within the barrier for a moment before it vanished. Grokus was about to laugh at Leon, and call his attempt pathetic, until he felt a long, sharp object sink into his chest.
“Kurgh!” Green blood that had not been burnt up, spilled out of his mouth. He looked down and saw a long, black spear stabbing into his chest. But he felt it piercing through his sturdy heart. “No…” His grasp weakened and Leon fell to the ground, powerless.
The green barrier around them flickered as Grokus’ mana stopped flowing, allowing Nedra to rush forward to Leon’s side.
“Leon!” She circled around him and morphed to her human form to support his body properly.
Leon did not reply her, but turned to look at Grokus. The life was already fleeing his body, and the light was leaving his eyes. Leon could see fear and despair in his eyes. He extended an arm towards the injured and charred body, and a stream of black mana flowed from him and enveloped Grokus’ now lifeless body.
After another dazzling whirl of black smoke, the kneeling form of a three meter tall Orc was left bowing his head in submission.
With Nedra’s help, Leon got to his feet and looked at the reborn Grokus. “You are the strongest opponent I have actually fought till date. You deserve to keep your own name at the very least, but you shall start anew with a clean slate under my command, Grokus.” He said, his voice deep and firm.
“My life is yours, lord.” Unlike before, Grokus’ tone was devoid of arrogance and only held respect and reverence toward Leon.
,m “Rise.” Leon commanded, and he rose to his feet.
Staring at the new summon he had snagged after a lot of effort, Leon felt satisfaction wash through his body. He was happy that he had gained so much from this trip. Even if his companions that he had recently allied with were completely useless in this fight, he did not mind. He did not have the energy to spare on being annoyed of spiteful with them. Perhaps he would even part ways with them to avoid them dragging him down.
Recalling the group that had come here with him, Leon turned to where their bodies had been dragged off to earlier by his summons. William, Harry, and Malaki were looking at him with a wary gazes. The amount of power that Leon and Grokus had individually showed off was enough to blow them away. And now, Leon had conquered Grokus and absorbed his power into his army, which indirectly made him much stronger. It made them even more scared of him than they were before.
He ignored them for the time being and turned around to the cowering slaves that had once been in the service of Grokus. The Orc Shaman’s hold over them had been broken the moment he died, and they were now without direction.
Leon eyed them with glowing eyes, not willing to look weak or goofy in front of them. He needed to convey an aura of power if he wished to turn them into his loyal subordinates.