Chapter 235: B - I’ve become stronger… but not enough
SLASH!
With a single swing of my solid blood axe, I cleave a massive boulder clean in two as easily as if I were slicing through butter.
Wow…
Just a month ago, I never would’ve believed I could do something like this. And now, thanks to Frank Pyton’s training, not only can I do it, it’s become ridiculously easy.
I was planning to cut ties with Frank, but after seeing what I’ve become capable of because of him… well, I’m not so sure anymore.
I’m certain I could split something far tougher than this, but that boulder is the best the Hudson Highlands have to offer tonight.
To destroy it, I had to rely on Blood Rage, a technique I’m finally starting to get the hang of.
Long story short, it works by dramatically increasing the speed at which blood flows through my body, massively boosting my physical strength and speed.
But putting that kind of strain on my blood vessels comes at a price. In my current state, keeping it active for more than a few seconds could cause my entire circulatory system to collapse.
Frank gave me a week to break that boulder and I did it in less than three hours.
So? Pretty incredible, aren’t I?
Tonight it’s not just Frank and me.
Joe Callhan is here too — the brainless mountain of muscle everyone calls Green.
I hadn’t seen him in a while, and I definitely can’t say I’d missed him.
Still, according to Frank, Joe’s unbelievable stupidity is balanced out by equally unbelievable brute strength. In terms of raw physical power, he’s supposedly even stronger than Philip.
Shit…
I really hope that’s just an exaggeration meant to scare me, because…
“You’re improving much faster than I expected, Axel Lustsilk. That’s exactly why it’s time to put you to the test,” Frank says, clearly pleased.
He pauses to take a slow drag from his cigar before turning to his henchman.
“Green will be your opponent. He’s a far greater challenge than splitting a boulder in half. Probably too much for someone at your current level… but I want to see just how far you can push yourself.”
That caveman doesn’t need to be told twice. He immediately steps in front of me, staring me down with an eager grin.
It’s obvious the brute can’t wait to throw down.
I swear I’ll wipe that psychotic grin right off his face!
“Green, try to remember with that empty head of yours that this is only a test to see how much our dear Axel has improved. So don’t kill him.”
“I’ll do my best, boss.”
Frank gives the signal, and the fight begins.
Instinctively, I spring backward, putting as much distance between us as I can with a series of rapid bursts.
But I’ve barely managed to widen the gap when Joe begins to transform.
His height nearly doubles, pushing close to four meters, while his muscles swell to an absurd degree.
But more than anything…
His skin starts turning a dark shade of green.
And that’s not all — thick, razor-sharp black spikes erupt from his elbows and back.
What the fuck…
WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT?!
“What’s wrong, Axel? You look scared,” Frank teases with a chuckle. “What you’re looking at is Green’s true form — an ogre. Oh, and here’s a little piece of advice: those muscles aren’t just for show, so if I were you, I’d do everything I could not to get hit.”
Thanks for the tip, asshole.
Still, let’s look on the bright side.
There’s no way something that massive can move fast…
…but I don’t even get to finish the thought before Joe is already right on top of me.
He raises both fists high above his head, ready to smash me into the ground, but I evade the blow with a lightning-fast sidestep.
His momentum carries the attack through, and the instant his fists slam into the ground…
Holy shit.
It’s like watching a meteor strike.
A massive crater erupts beneath the impact, and the shockwave nearly knocks me off my feet.
A suffocating cloud of dust instantly fills the air, swallowing the entire area behind a thick brown haze.
Perfect. This works in my favor.
Given the difference in our size, spotting his massive silhouette through the dust is child’s play for me. I doubt it’ll be nearly as easy for him to find me.
I’ll use his obstructed vision to catch him off guard.
I launch myself nearly ten meters into the air, high enough to rise above the dust cloud as it slowly begins to thin.
There he is. The ogre is right beneath me.
I tighten my grip on the axe with both hands.
My skin grows redder and redder as my muscles visibly swell.
Blood begins pouring from my nose, ears, and mouth… then from my skin itself as it starts tearing apart along my limbs under the pressure of my rapidly expanding muscles.
My regeneration seals every wound in an instant.
But for every tear that closes, another opens somewhere else.
The pain is unbearable, but that’s the price of using Blood Rage.
I let myself drop straight toward Joe, ready to split his head open like a watermelon with every ounce of strength I have.
SLASH!
The blade bites into Joe’s dark green skin just above the back of his neck, and a sickening spray of greenish blood bursts from the wound, splattering all over me.
Yet I don’t even have time to celebrate the successful hit before shock and terror slam into me as I realize what just happened.
My axe actually pierced his flesh… by a few millimeters. Maybe even less.
And I’d put every last bit of strength I had into that swing.
How the fuck did it do practically nothing?!
Then things get even worse.
Before I can yank the axe back out of his head, the ogre’s massive hand clamps around my right ankle.
I drive my left foot straight into his face, but it does absolutely nothing.
His grip doesn’t loosen for even a second.
If anything, it tightens.
A searing pain explodes through my leg as I feel my ankle shatter inside his iron grip.
The agony is so intense my vision starts to blur.
Damn it…
I buried my axe in his head with Blood Rage amplifying every ounce of my strength…
And all I managed to do was leave him with a scratch.
What the fuck is this damn ogre made of?
Now Joe grabs my other ankle as well and starts spinning in place like a hammer thrower… and I’m the hammer.
BAM!
In the next instant, I’m hurled into a rocky cliff with terrifying force.
Blood explodes from my mouth as my spine snaps on impact.
Shit… I can’t move a single finger anymore.
Hell, I can’t even feel the pain anymore, and that’s definitely not a good sign.
My whole body is numb. My vision keeps getting darker. My strength is fading away.
I can feel it… I’m… about to black out…