Chapter 514: Chapter 516: To Bleed For The Weak Damon didn’t hesitate to retaliate within the time he had been hit by the orc war chief, Iron. As soon as his fist connected with the orc’s body, he felt some of his HP get replenished. The pain he had felt subsided slightly. [Skill: Vengeance] [Description:] An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, care not if the world goes blind. [Effect:] If you take damage exceeding 25% of your total HP in a single hit, any retaliation within 3 seconds heals you for the amount of damage dealt to the attacker. [Type:] Passive [Cooldown:] 0 secs This was the skill that was most likely to save Damon’s life in this duel with the orc war chief. As long as he returned damage within the three-second time frame, he could recover lost HP. Damon had activated his [5x] skill and had multiplied his overall strength to five times its initial value. "Fight! Fight! Fight!" The orcs chanted in their native tongue. As for the caravan of people with Damon... they had been quiet, watching the start of the battle while surrounded by hundreds of orcs. All they had were silent and hopeful prayers. The orc war chief was slightly pushed back by Damon’s punch. He looked at where Damon had struck him and smiled lightly, his tusks giving him a menacing look as his towering form stumbled. "Hahaha! Good, you can fight... it would be pointless if you died in a single hit..." Damon smiled coldly and replied in Orcish. "It was but a scratch." "Win, Lord Ascendant! Kill that orc!" a little boy from the caravan couldn’t help but call out despite his fear. His mother quickly pulled him into her arms and hid him. However, his actions and the orc’s disregard for his words made the people in the caravan slowly begin to cheer Damon on. Lena raised her hand, shouting the loudest... "Don’t lose... win... win!" Damon chuckled, focusing on his battle. He had no intention of losing. He was certain the orc war chief had merely struck him first to gauge Damon. There was a reason humans and other members of the goddess races wore armor—it was simple. Their weaker frames could not handle pure physical strain beyond certain levels. To that end, they used magic, skills, and artifacts. No one in their right mind would fight an orc without any weapons and armor, especially one above their rank. It was quite evident Damon was insane. The orc war chief raised his huge fist with the intention of bringing them down on Damon. He didn’t back away. He planted his feet firmly into the ground and punched forward with all his might. His fist met the hard skin and bones of the orc. A deafening boom echoed out into the air, sending dust and astral winds. Damon felt the ground beneath his feet crack and sink as the force of the impact traveled through his flesh and bones. Every ounce of his strength desperately held on... His bones groaned but held still. His skill [Iron Bones] had made him ready for this moment. [Skill: Iron Bones] [Description:] A brutal defensive art originating from the war-prisoners of the Hollow Spire, Iron Bones transforms the user’s skeletal structure, reinforcing it through sheer will and arcane calcification. [Effect:] Passively increases bone density and durability. Reduces fracture risk and physical damage taken by 20%. Grants resistance to internal blunt trauma. [Type:] Passive. [Cooldown:] 0 secs Damon didn’t hesitate. He rolled under the massive legs of the orc, jumping onto his head. He brought his elbows down on his skull as hard as he could... Iron roared, reaching up to grab Damon’s arms, but Damon turned into a shadow and slipped down on instinct, gliding back to the ground. He turned back into a human, feeling the gaze of the orc. Iron sneered. "Cowardly tricks. Only strong body matters, weak human." Damon could hear the mocking jeers of the orcs who were spectating the duel. "What, are you afraid of a little shadow? My, that smells like weakness. But fine, I’ll give you a handicap again, you weakling..." His words seemed to have angered Iron, who charged at him, crossing the distance faster than the eyes of anyone weaker could follow... Damon just realized the gap was too small, and he could not move his body away fast enough. He had also just said he wouldn’t turn into a shadow and avoid it. He gritted his teeth and took a stance, pushing his own weight to one side as soon as the orc slammed into him... His bones creaked and his organs cried out. Blood spilled from his mouth. It felt like asking a child to stop a carriage moving at full speed... Damon didn’t have enough force to stop something like that with just his strength. He was still short the pure power of those in the third class... So he used the orc’s momentum against him. Damon let the force push him and he pulled Iron forward. Using the momentum, he threw the orc to the ground... Realizing what Damon had just done, Iron tried to catch himself and stand. Damon swept his feet, and with all his weight, he double-knee dropped the back of the orc. The ground shook as the impact hit the spine of the orc. "Ahergg..." Iron groaned, blood pouring from his lips. The people of the caravan cheered at Damon’s small success. Dred looked at him with a wry expression. "Who the hell grapples an orc?" Unnoticed Singularity narrowed his eyes. "He’s still alive... An attack that close and physical should feel, like Lena said earlier, a child taking on a grizzly bear." Ilukras closed his eyes with a resigned expression. "That Iron is more like a polar bear. Even an adult wouldn’t fight that bare-handed..." Twilight’s eyes glowed slightly, looking at Iron. "Something is off about that Iron... I can’t tell what..." "Like what?" Wimpy asked, watching the duel. Saint grabbed Singularity by the shoulder, whispering in his ear. "Why did he stop using his skills... is he trying to buy time?" Unnoticed Singularity glanced at Saint. "There’s no need to whisper. They don’t care. If he wins, it won’t matter... whether he is or not..." They continued to exchange blows with each other for the next few minutes, each second more intense than the last. Everyone cheered, screaming on top of their lungs. Damon didn’t have time to focus on them. He had just received a kick to the gut. Blood poured out of his mouth. Before he could react, he suffered an uppercut... He couldn’t understand it... why this orc was able to hit him faster than he could counter, even when he had the Beholder’s Gaze skill, which allowed him to affect time after he dodged attacks. What the hell was happening... Damon tried Appraisal, but the skill only showed question marks... Iron attacked again. Damon weaved right, but the orc’s leg smashed into his ribs... He coughed up blood. ’He didn’t let me retaliate...’ Damon stood up, his head heavy, blood pooling, his body battered and his flesh blue and purple... The fight was only a few minutes in... Damon narrowed his eyes. "How..." he raised his fist to attack, but the orc blocked it... It was then that Damon figured it out... This... orc was using some type of skill... he had to be... 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦 He felt his body get smashed into the ground. Warm blood flowed out. Except knowing was virtually useless.