Chapter 518: I’ll Give You War

[Outside Lufen Portal]

The dimensional barrier rippled.

Then people started emerging, stumbling through in groups, their faces shocked and disoriented.

"THEY’RE COMING OUT!"

Someone in the assembled military shouted it first.

"THE SURVIVORS ARE BEING RESCUED!"

Dozens of figures appeared, civilians and soldiers, all of them bloody and exhausted but alive.

The watching crowd erupted.

"He really did it!"

"So fast! It’s been less than a minute!"

"Is that Damian Valcor’s power?!"

"Where is he?!"

Medics rushed forward with stretchers and healing potions, cameras tracking every emergence.

More survivors kept appearing, the count climbing.

Ten, twenty, thirty, forty people pulled from certain death.

Major General Kane moved through the chaos, his eyes scanning each face.

"Commander Reeves! Where is the Inquisitor who entered?!"

Reeves appeared last, stumbling through the portal, his face pale from blood loss.

Kane’s hands caught him before he fell.

"Where is he?! Why didn’t he come back with you?!"

Reeves’s mouth opened, his voice emerging hoarse.

"He said..."

Everyone went quiet, cameras focusing on his words.

"He said he didn’t come here to just leave."

Reeves’s eyes found the portal entrance, his expression becoming distant.

"He came here for war."

Silence fell across the entire field like someone had cut all sound.

Every reporter, every soldier, every watching citizen across the Federation processed those words.

And understanding crashed down simultaneously.

Damian Valcor hadn’t entered the portal to rescue civilians.

He’d entered to kill the Young Chief of the Ironjaw Tribe... alone.

****

[Inside Lufen Portal]

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

The sound rolled across the muddy landscape like continuous thunder, thousands of boots shaking the earth in synchronized rhythm.

"ROAR" "RAAHHH"

The giant army approached from behind Damian’s position, their war cries drowning everything, their weapons gleaming as lightning flashed overhead.

Closer and closer, the noise building until it felt like the world itself was marching.

Then Krazgor straightened from his combat stance, his massive frame rising to its full height.

His massive hand lifted, palm open toward the approaching horde.

BOOM BOOM–

And instantly, the army came to a halt and the war cries cut off mid-shout.

Silence crashed down across the entire battlefield, broken only by the falling rain.

Krazgor’s helmet turned, his glowing eye slits tracking back to where Damian stood in black armor.

"For you to block my fist so effortlessly, you must be a prodigy of your world."

His stance shifted, weight settling as he assessed the two-meter figure before him.

"Tell me, human. Are you one of those Chief Inquisitors I’ve heard whispers about? The elite warriors your kind sends to face our greatest?"

Macro Vision

Damian’s crimson eyes blazed behind his helmet, tracking the giant’s every micro-movement.

His grip shifted on his axe, adjusting the angle slightly, then his Aura exploded.

Aura Magnification: 2×

Power doubled instantly, flooding through every cell, his muscles swelling slightly beneath the black armor.

And Slaughter Intent began wrapping around his axe, crimson energy coiling along the blade.

But he didn’t speak, didn’t answer the question and didn’t acknowledge Krazgor’s words at all.

His grip tightened on the weapon, the only response he gave.

"..."

Krazgor’s helmet tilted as he stared at the silent warrior.

Then he stepped backwards to create some distance as his laughter boomed across the battlefield.

"Not much of a talker, are you?"

His voice carried dark satisfaction.

"Fine."

His massive legs bent, preparing to move.

"You came here for war?"

WHOOSH

Krazgor vanished from his position.

The displacement of air created a shockwave that blasted rain away in a perfect circle.

Fist Intent wrapped around his massive hand, the energy condensed and terrible, glowing with power that made reality seem to warp.

And his fist descended where Damian stood, moving faster than something that large had any right to move.

"I’ll give you one!"

BOOOOOOOM

The impact cratered the ground, mud and debris exploding outward in a massive cloud.

The shockwave flattened everything within meters, rain turning to steam.

For several heartbeats, nothing moved except the settling debris.

Krazgor scanned the devastation, his fist still buried in the crater he’d created.

’Did he die so quickly? I didn’t even get to test his strength properly...’

The thought came almost disappointed.

’Humans really are too weak, even their prodigies can’t withstand a single serious strike.’

He began pulling his hand back, mud and stone falling from his armored knuckles.

Then a whisper came from directly beside him, quiet but carrying absolute conviction.

"Abyssal Slaughter."

’Wha–’

SLASH

The axe blade caught the center of Krazgor’s chest with force that sent the giant stumbling backward.

His boots carved trenches through mud as he struggled to keep his balance.

His hand came up to his chest, fingers finding the impact point.

And a scratch had appeared in the advanced armor plating.

Damian landed on Kragzor, his boots touching down on the giant’s massive shoulder.

His eyes tracked the minimal damage, his thoughts coming calm and analytical.

’The armor is really strong, as expected from a Young Chief’s equipment.’

His gaze shifted, cataloging what he could see.

’Advanced Dwarven technology, probably enhanced with their smithing techniques and materials from multiple worlds.’

WHOOSH

Krazgor’s other hand came sweeping across, trying to swat Damian like an insect.

But Damian’s legs coiled beneath him as he jumped, the hand passing below him close enough that he felt the wind displacement.

His body twisted mid-air, axe already coming around for another strike.

CLANG

The blade met Krazgor’s reaching fingers, deflecting off armored knuckles.

Damian landed on the giant’s extended arm and started running up it toward the shoulder.

CLANG CLANG CLANG

Krazgor tried to grab him, but Damian was already gone, his speed letting him stay ahead of the massive hands.

He reached the shoulder, planted one foot and launched himself toward the giant’s back.

SLASH

The axe carved across the armor plating between shoulder blades: Another scratch.

’The back armor is the same density as the chest.’

Damian’s boots hit the ground behind Krazgor, already moving before he fully landed.

WHOOSH

Krazgor spun, his fist coming around in a wide arc.

Damian ducked under it, his body low, and his axe flashed upward.

SLASH

The blade caught the giant’s lower back.

WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH

Krazgor attacked again and again, his massive fists creating shockwaves with each swing.

But Damian flowed around them, his body moving with control that made it look effortless.

To the side, under, between strikes.

Never retreating, always advancing and always targeting the same two points: Chest or back.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG

The sound of axe meeting armor became constant, a rhythm that echoed across the battlefield.

Damian moved so fast he started leaving afterimages, crimson blurs that made it look like dozens of him were attacking simultaneously.

One appeared at Krazgor’s chest.

SLASH

Another at his back.

SLASH

Three more from different angles, all converging on the same two target zones.

SLASH SLASH SLASH

’What kind of speed is this?!’

Krazgor’s thoughts came frustrated, his eyes struggling to track the actual body among the afterimages.

’He’s too fast, I can’t land a clean hit!’

His fists kept swinging, each one powerful enough to crater mountains.

But they only hit empty air and fading images.

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG

The scratches on his chest and back armor were accumulating, dozens of shallow marks forming patterns across the advanced plating.

’This human is too small and too quick!’

Krazgor’s frustration mounted with each missed strike.

’But he’s not the first one to try taking advantage of our size!’

His massive hands came together, palms meeting with a sound like thunder.

BOOM

And his voice boomed across the battlefield, carrying power that made the ground itself tremble.

"IRONJAW!"