"Oh, but you make it so easy," the Death Monarch cackled, sidestepping Volk''s furious lunge and twisting his arm, forcing him to his knees.
"Hand-to-handbat is an art, Ogre. It''s not about wild swings; it''s about efficiency."
He pressed his boot against Volk''s back, pushing him into the dirt before stepping back with a mocking gesture.
"You''re strong, but you''re like a child with a sledgehammer."
Volk''s muscles tensed, veins bulging as he pushed himself up, his breathing ragged but filled with pure rage.
He swung wildly, each punchced with the intent to obliterate. But the Death Monarch danced around him, almostzily,nding counter after counter with brutal precision.
"Forty-five," heughed, delivering a bone-jarring punch to Volk''s jaw.
"Forty-six!" A vicious knee to the stomach. "Come on, is that all you''ve got?" Continue your journey with empire
Volk staggered back, panting, his body screaming with pain yet alive with a fire that refused to be extinguished.
His eyes locked onto the Death Monarch, pure hatred zing within them. "V-VOLK… WILL… DESTROY… YOU…"
The Death Monarch smirked, shaking his head.
"Then show me, brute. Show me something more than just blind rage." He opened his arms, taunting Volk to strike again.
"Come on, I want to see if you can do more than just swing wildly."
With a roar that echoed through the battlefield, Volk charged, his massive fists aiming to crush the Death Monarch.
But each punch met empty air as the Death Monarch ducked and sidestepped, moving with a grace that was almost mocking.
"You''re predictable, brute!" he sneered, delivering a brutal uppercut that snapped Volk''s head back, sending him stumbling.
But Volk''s fury was relentless.
He roared, lunging forward again, throwing a flurry of punches that shattered the ground around them.
"VOLK… STRONGER… THAN YOU!" he bellowed, his voice shaking the very earth beneath them.
But the Death Monarch merely chuckled, his skeletal form weaving through Volk''s attacks like smoke.
"Strength alone won''t win this, Ogre," he taunted, sidestepping another punch and mming his fist into Volk''s ribs with enough force to crack bone.
"You need skill. Precision. Focus. But all you have is anger. It makes you weak."
Volk let out another roar, his fury reaching a fever pitch.
Each missed punch seemed to fuel his rage even further, his muscles swelling, his aura zing like a firestorm.
He lunged again, swinging with all his might, only for the Death Monarch to dodge once more, delivering a brutal punch to Volk''s stomach that made him double over.
"Are you even listening, brute?" the Death Monarch sneered, grabbing Volk by the cor and pulling him close.
"It''s not enough to be strong; you have to be smart. Controlled."
He shoved Volk back, watching with amusement as the Ogre staggered, his breaths heavy, his body trembling with barely restrained fury.
But as the Death Monarch readied himself to strike again, he paused, a sudden realization flickering across his face.
Volk was… different.
His aura felt denser, his muscles have somehow be even more defined when he reached a hundredfold empowerment.
Suddenly, the Death Monarch had let out a punch that would shatter Volk''s bone earlier, however, during this time, Volk was barely being phased.
"Hmm?"
An eerie smile spread across his face as he stared at the Ogre.
"Interesting," the Death Monarch mumbled, his voice filled with dark and gleeful curiosity, "Don''t tell me you have grown even stronger?"
The battle raged on, a brutal symphony of fury and force, punctuated by Volk''s roaring strikes and the Death Monarch''s cold, mockingughter.
Volk charged, his fist a hammer of raw power aimed squarely at the Death Monarch.
For the first time, the blow forced the undead sorcerer back two steps, his bony feet digging small grooves into the earth.
The Death Monarch''sugh faltered, just for a moment. "Ahh," he sneered, steadying himself.
"Perhaps I underestimated your growth, Ogre." He dusted off his robe as though it had been dirtied by Volk''s touch.
"But," he added, his voice darkening, "don''t get cocky just because younded one hit."
Volk''s chest heaved as he straightened up, a smug grin spreading across his blood-smeared face.
"VOLK… ISN''T… WEAK!" he bellowed, his voice vibrating through the air. He cracked his knuckles, his arms flexing as he readied himself.
"VOLK IS STRONGER THAN YOU!"
The Death Monarch only chuckled, tilting his head as he looked at Volk with a gleam of amusement.
"Oh, I don''t doubt it, brute. I can feel your strength… rising, swelling like a storm. But strength alone is nothing against one who wields precision."
He darted forward, his bony fist driving into Volk''s side with a sickening crunch.
Volk''s grin faded as he staggered, the pain shooting up his ribs.
Yet, the Ogre''s eyes only zed hotter. "VOLK DOESN''T… CARE!" he roared, swinging back with his fist.
It connected, sending the Death Monarch stumbling, but he quickly regained his bnce, his eyes narrowing.
"You''re a stubborn one, aren''t you?" he sneered, his bony fingers flexing as he readied for the next blow.
He lunged forward, striking Volk''s jaw with a swift punch, then following with another to his chest, and a final blow to his gut, making Volk reel back with a grimace.
But the Ogre barely had time to catch his breath before the Death Monarch closed in again, each punchnding like a hammer, bone against flesh, breaking and bruising.
"Volk… is… unstoppable!" the Ogre grunted, each word a defiant shout as he pushed back against the onught.
With every impact, he felt himself hardening, his body seeming to adapt to the punishment, his rage ring hotter with each blow. And then, in a single, explosive move, he unleashed a brutal backhand that caught the Death Monarch off-guard, sending him staggering back a few steps.
"Impressive," the Death Monarch admitted, rubbing his jaw with a grin. "But can you keep up with me?" He surged forward, delivering a flurry of punches, each one faster than thest.
At first, two or three strikes would stagger Volk, forcing him back, but as the battle dragged on, it took five, then six punches to make him falter.
"Come on, Ogre! Show me what you''re truly made of!" the Death Monarch taunted, his fists blurring as he struck, his attacks precise and unrelenting.
Each hit was calcted, targeting weak points in Volk''s massive frame, aiming to bring him down.
But Volk, undeterred, charged through the pain, his fists swinging like wrecking balls.
"VOLK… WON''T… FALL!" he bellowed, his voice booming across the field.
He swung wildly, his fists cutting through the air with a force that made the ground tremble.
Hended a punch to the Death Monarch''s chest, the impact sending a shockwave that rattled the nearby trees, and for a brief moment, the undead sorcerer stumbled.
"Is that all you''ve got, monster?" Volk spat, his face twisted in a snarl.
"Oh, no, my friend," the Death Monarch replied, straightening up with a grin.
"This is just the beginning." He raised his fists, his bony fingers curling as heunched himself at Volk, his strikesnding in a rapid series of blows.
Each hit sent Volk back, but with each one, the Ogre''s strength seemed to grow, his muscles swelling as he absorbed the punishment.
The Death Monarchughed, exhrated by the relentless power that Volk was showing.
"You''re… remarkable, brute. I didn''t think you''dst this long."
He dodged a massive swing from Volk, countering with a punch to the side of the Ogre''s head that made Volk''s vision blur.
But Volk roared, charging forward with renewed fury.
"YOU CAN''T… BREAK… VOLK!" he shouted, mming his fist into the Death Monarch''s chest with enough force to make the undead stagger.
The Death Monarch chuckled, his eyes gleaming with a dangerous thrill.
"Oh, I''m counting on it. The more you endure, the stronger you be. It''s fascinating, really. But power without discipline…"
Heshed out, his fists connecting with Volk''s face, then his stomach, each punchnding with sickening precision. "…is nothing but a child''s tantrum!"
Volk stumbled back, breathing heavily, but there was a fire in his eyes that refused to die.
"VOLK… WILL… CRUSH YOU!" he roared, charging forward again, his fists zing with raw power.
This time, he was faster, stronger, his punchesing harder and faster.
The Death Monarch found himself forced to take the Ogre seriously, each punch demanding a counter, each block a calcted effort…
"One hundred fiftyfold empowerment…" he murmured, a twisted grin on his face as he felt the Ogre''s power surge. "Sixtyfold… Seventyfold…"
Each sh between them was a thunderous explosion of force, the ground beneath them cracking with each step, each blow.
The Death Monarch was matching Volk''s pace, yet he couldn''t ignore the growing pressure.
He could sense Volk''s power evolving, his aura thickening, radiating raw fury that seeped into the very ground they fought on.
"You''re getting stronger, Ogre!" he sneered, dodging another punch and countering with a brutal knee to Volk''s ribs.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
"But strength without strategy? How utterly useless!"
He followed up with a punch to Volk''s chest, sending him sprawling back, but Volk was on his feet again in seconds, charging forward with an enraged bellow.
Volk''s eyes were wild, his breathsbored, but he was grinning.
"You talk… too much!" he roared, delivering a punch that caught the Death Monarch off guard, sending him stumbling back. "Just… SHUT… UP!"
The Death Monarchughed, wiping a smear of ck blood from his mouth.
"Hah! That''s more like it!" Heunched a brutal series of kicks and punches, each one harder than thest.
"Hundred ny empowerment," he muttered, feeling Volk''s power swell yet again. "Ny-fifth. By the gods, you''re relentless."
Volk lunged again, his fists flying in a savage barrage, each blow a roar of defiance.
"VOLK… WILL… BREAK YOU!" he screamed, his fists crashing down like hammers.
The Death Monarch countered, his own strikes meeting Volk''s with thunderous impact, the ground splintering beneath them as they shed.
Then, with a final, brutal punch, Volk felt a surge of confidence.
He could feel it in his bones—he was matching the Death Monarch''s strength. Victory was within his grasp.
A triumphant grin spread across his face as he readied himself tond the final blow.
But suddenly, a dark, chilling force surrounded him, and before he could react, he was sent flying back with a single punch that felt like a sledgehammer.
He crashed into the ground, KABAM! dust and debris erupting around him.
As he looked up, he saw the Death Monarch standing there, his skeletal fist now wrapped in a sickly aura, swirling with the unmistakable dark energy of death.
The sorcerer''s eyes gleamed with a twisted joy as he held up his fist, letting the deathly energy crackle and pulse around it.
"Introducing… magic."