Chapter 47: The Sudden Intervention

The dwarf, in contrast, looked completely unharmed.

Not a single wound marred his body, and his breathing remained steady, as though Orgrun hadn’t managed to land a single blow throughout the fight.

He stood in the middle of the clearing with his axe resting comfortably in his hand, looking down at the battered goblin chief with an expression of disappointment rather than exhaustion.

Beside me, Talia let out a sharp gasp and covered her mouth.

Her eyes widened as she took in her father’s condition, and tears soon began to roll down her cheeks.

She had known how dangerous Thors was, but seeing Orgrun beaten so badly was something else entirely.

He wasn’t just her chief.

He was her father, and watching him struggle against an opponent who seemed barely to have broken a sweat was clearly taking a toll on her.

Around us, the other goblins shared her grief and helplessness.

Some lowered their heads, unable to bear the sight, while others clenched their fists so tightly that their knuckles turned pale.

A few trembled with barely restrained anger, but none of them dared to step forward.

They knew that challenging the dwarf without a plan would only give him another excuse to kill them.

Thors seemed completely indifferent to their reactions.

He glanced down at Orgrun, who was struggling to remain on his feet, and let out a short breath before moving again.

His heavy boots struck the ground as he charged forward, covering the distance between them with surprising speed for someone of his size.

Orgrun barely had time to raise his arms before the dwarf drove a powerful fist into his stomach.

The impact lifted the goblin chief off his feet and sent him flying backward.

Orgrun crashed onto the ground several meters away, his body rolling once before coming to a stop.

Blood spilled from his mouth as he tried to draw breath, but the effort only triggered another painful cough.

He pressed one hand against his stomach, his fingers digging into his clothes as he struggled to recover from the blow.

A wave of horrified gasps spread through the goblins watching the fight.

Several took instinctive steps forward, only to stop when they remembered the consequences of interfering.

Their anger was obvious, but it was mixed with a terrible sense of helplessness.

They had watched their chief accept Thors’s challenge to protect them, believing that Orgrun’s magic might give him a chance against the dwarf.

Now, that hope was slipping away before their eyes.

Thors approached the fallen chief at a leisurely pace, as though he had all the time in the world.

When he reached Orgrun, he crouched and grabbed a fistful of his hair, pulling his head off the ground.

Orgrun’s face twisted in pain, but he lacked the strength to resist. The dwarf studied him for a moment before clicking his tongue.

"You disappoint me, goblin. Truly."

He gave Orgrun’s head a slight shake, forcing him to look up.

"I thought your ability to use magic would at least make this interesting, but your skills are barely better than those of an amateur mage. Is this really the best your clan has to offer?"

Orgrun responded with a faint groan.

His eyes remained open, but his breathing was ragged, and he could barely lift his head without the dwarf’s support.

Whatever magic he had used during the battle, it hadn’t been enough to overcome the difference in their strength.

Thors had apparently found the fight far less entertaining than he had expected.

The dwarf sighed as though he had wasted his time, then released Orgrun’s hair.

The chief’s head fell back to the ground, and he lay there without moving while Thors rose to his feet.

The dwarf adjusted his grip on his axe before lifting it over his shoulder.

His expression had lost what little interest it once held, and the casual manner in which he prepared to strike made it clear that he no longer considered Orgrun a worthy opponent.

He was going to kill him.

I couldn’t allow that to happen.

"Drako, go somewhere safe," I whispered, turning my head slightly toward the little lemur on my shoulder.

Drako looked at me, then glanced toward the dwarf.

He seemed to understand that something was about to happen, because he immediately pushed away from my shoulder and glided toward a nearby tree. His small body disappeared among the branches just as I tightened my grip on the Doom Axe.

The next moment, I activated Lightning Step.

Lightning surged through my legs, and the ground beneath my feet blurred as I launched myself forward.

One instant, I was standing among the goblins at the edge of the clearing.

In the next, I had crossed the distance separating us and appeared directly in front of Thors.

The sudden acceleration caught me by surprise.

My surroundings seemed to shift too quickly, forcing me to adjust my balance as I came to a stop.

I had expected Lightning Step to make me faster, but I hadn’t anticipated this level of acceleration from a single burst of power.

My feet struck the ground harder than intended, and I had to tighten my grip on the axe to keep my momentum from throwing my upper body off balance.

Even so, I didn’t waste the opportunity.

I swung the Doom Axe at the dwarf, its blue runes flaring as lightning crackled along the blade.

Thors’s eyes widened when he noticed me, his expression changing from casual indifference to genuine surprise.

He had been preparing to finish Orgrun, and my sudden appearance had given him almost no time to assess the threat.

However, his reaction speed was far better than I had expected.

Despite the surprise, he managed to bring his own axe up in time to block my strike.

The two weapons collided with a deafening clang.

A burst of blue sparks scattered between us, and the force of my swing drove Thor backward several steps.

His boots scraped across the ground as he struggled to absorb the impact, while the muscles in his arms tightened around the haft of his axe.

For the first time since the battle had begun, the dwarf had been forced to give ground.

I felt the impact travel through my arms, but my grip held firm.

The Doom Axe vibrated in my hands, its runes shining brightly as the remaining lightning crawled across its surface.

My shoulders ached slightly from the collision, yet the pain was nothing compared to what I would have expected before awakening the legacy.

I could actually push him back.

The realization sent a surge of excitement through me, although I quickly suppressed it.

One successful strike didn’t mean I could defeat Thors.

He had blocked my attack, and the fact that I had forced him to retreat didn’t tell me how much of his strength he had used to defend himself.

Still, it was the first clear indication that my new power could bridge at least part of the gap between us.

My sudden...