Chapter 207 - How It Feels To Be The Loser (16)

Boom!

The first clash between Deacon and the Hog Orc brought life to the battlefield once again. Every human and Demon in the battlefield became aware of their surrounding, and the temporarily stopped battle was resumed not long after.

Deacon, who had taken a step back after parrying the Hog Orc's axe, glared at said Demon cautiously. Even though it didn't put its full strength on its attack, it still managed to numb the paw Deacon had used to parry the attack.

Considering their body size, Deacon, who was the bigger one, should have possessed more strength than the Hog Orc, but just in a clash, he knew that he could never match its physical prowess. It was shameful, but Deacon was confident he wouldn't lose to it either.

"We will actively engage in battle with it." Basil patted Deacon's back, then took a blue spear out of his Spatial Bracelet. "Make sure to keep up with my instruction." He twirled the spear once, and instructed Deacon to dash at the Hog Orc again.

The Hog Orc snorted a steaming breath out of its nostrils, and grinned widely. Its already hideous face became even more unpleasant to look at as the sharp, thick, long tusks were accentuated even more due to the grin.

Readying its axe, it swung its axe at Deacon by the time he arrived in front of it. It didn't use any fancy Technique or Art, but the axe that was powered with its ridiculous strength still managed to make a vacuum—though very brief—in the air.

A loud noise was created when the air filled the vacuum once again, but it was quickly silenced when Basil's spear and the Hog Orc's axe clashed against each other.

Boom!

The clash between the two weapons created a shockwave that was enough to knock someone off their feet, but Basil was slightly disappointed at that display. He hadn't fully strengthened his body with Qi yet, but he could already match the power of the Hog Orc.

'I am aware that I am far stronger than my past self of the same level, but to think that I can face them this easily... Something is wrong.'

After fighting a lot of Demons in Death Howl by himself and getting more in tune with the Fragment, Basil could notice it: the Demons weren't as strong as the Demons he had fought in his past life.

They were still frightening nonetheless, but he could feel something was missing from them—something ominous that made them the absolute nightmare of humans. He couldn't tell what it was, but he was sure that was what made weaker.

The Hog Orc, who got its axe blocked, wasn't quite happy with what it was seeing. Quickly retracting its axe, it poured its chaotic Demonic Mana into its axe, and swung it again at Basil.

Basil slightly quirked his eyebrow at the incoming axe that was surrounded by a reddish black light in slight expectation. Judging from the raw Mana alone, it should be enough to carve a 3 meters deep crater on the ground if it was burst.

Drawing his Qi from his Early Stage Green Core, Basil infused it into his spear, and gathered it on the tip of its blade. Instructing Deacon to jump, he made a thrusting motion at the head of the Hog Orc while midair.

It happened so fast, the Hog Orc knew it had missed the opportunity to strike Deacon—to land a hit on Basil. Despite of knowing that however, it could still keep its smile, as it could see Basil also couldn't land a hit on him due to their distance.

[Hill Piercer]!

Unfortunately for the Hog Orc, sometimes what one doesn't see doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Upon noticing the shining tip of Basil's spear, it lost its grin, and widened its eyes in panic.

Using its strength to stop its axe from uselessly hitting the air, it quickly positioned it in front of its head, and held it with two hands.

Boom!

The water pipe sized beam of dense Qi clashed against the axe of the Hog Orc, coloring the surrounding air with its dark green color. The Hog Orc was pushed 3 meters back by the beam, leaving a trail on the ground with its feet.

It was very close, but the Hog Orc still managed to block the beam of dense Qi Basil had shot at it.

The beam didn't last long; it only lasted for less than 2 seconds. Despite so, it produced a shockwave that was strong enough to swipe the entire battlefield, and managed to slightly scare the Hog Orc.

When Deacon reached the ground, Basil obnoxiously put his spear on his shoulder, and sneered at the Hog Orc that was staring at the dented surface of its axe in bewilderment.

—There is no need to be surprised at how fragile your axe is. That is to be expected from a low craftsmanship.

Upon hearing Basil spoke in Lesser Tongue, the Demon raised its head, and looked at Basil in shock. Not long after however, its eyes returned to normal as realization seemed to dawn upon him.

—Human, so you are the one the younglings have talked about ... I can't believe you are not a fictional character.

—Why do you think I am?

Basil quirked his eyebrow at the Hog Orc, and said Demon snorted a steaming breath out of its nostrils before answering.

—Humans can never understand our language, unless they are given the Authority to understand it.

—Who give humans the authority to? The Generals? Obelisk Masters?

—The God(s).

Basil unintentionally snorted, and graciously laughed in amusement afterwards. He couldn't believe what he had heard; he could understand it if it had come from the mouth of a believer, but he had heard it from the mouth of a Demon.

'Human's Gods are nothing but a propaganda to glorify the existence of the Four Heroes—the way to cover the dirty deed of humanity's biggest betrayers. To think there is a Demon who even believes in the nonsense... I can't think of something funnier.'

The Hog Orc frowned upon seeing the ridiculing expression on Basil's face. It didn't think it had said something wrong, as it fully believed it had merely said a well known fact amongst the Demons and humans alike.

—Is there a reason for you to laugh, Human?

Boom!

The Hog Orc was so interested in the reason of why Basil thought the matter was funny, it didn't even block Alexandra's misdirected attack.

It let the fire ball crashed onto its body, thus engulfing its body in fire. Of course, it had done it while fully knowing it would be unharmed, and it was right about it. When the fire died down, Basil asked it a question.

—How long have you lived, Demon?

—700 years.

—No wonder you don't know what you are talking about.

—You misunderstood me, Human. I wasn't referring to your fake Gods, but the real Gods. They, who have thrown us to the mortal world. They, who have snatched away our Authority!

Even though he had read many literatures that made him know about many Gods, Basil had always treated those as stories—a fiction.

He was aware the world he was living in allowed almost anything possible to happen, but he never considered anything related to Gods to be something that was possible to happen.

Upon witnessing the emotional speech of the Hog Orc and sensing no fallacy in its emotion from the Mana it was exuding however, Basil decided to give it the benefit of the doubt and made sure about what he had heard.

'Guide, who sent the Demons to the human world?'

[Solving the Host's puzzlement...]

[Some of the knowledge regarding said event is currently still restricted to the Host. Please upgrade the Guide to the next Tier to access the information...]

[Accessible information: Due to the conflict that the Seven Princes of Hell had caused in the Heavenly Throne, the Gods made a verdict to strip the Demons of their right to remain in the Heavenly Throne.]

Basil's expression turned even funnier at the information, and he couldn't help a chuckle of amusement from coming out of his mouth. How could he not? He had ridiculed the Gods' existence for his whole life, only to find that they indeed existed!

'What is Heavenly Throne?'

[Heavenly Throne is the place where Celestial Beings stay.]

'What is a Celestial Being?'

[Celestial Beings are life forms whose existence has far surpassed the Authority of the mortal world, thus can no more inhabit the mortal world.]

'What is Authority?'

[Authority, as its name suggests, is a profound rule of the universe in which allows a certain existence to exist or exert said existence's power upon fulfilling a certain condition set by the universe.]

'What is the condition?'

[Said information is still restricted to the Host.]

'What are Gods?'

[Gods are Celestial Beings.]

Upon receiving that answer, Basil stopped asking. He knew what the Guide was trying to tell him: 'I will answer your question, but you won't get what you want to know.' Still, it was already enough for him.

He had only upgraded the Guide to the Second Tier not long ago, and he hadn't utilized it much. He was aware he was bound to get many new knowledge that he didn't know of, but he didn't expect he would get something that changed his perception of the world once again.

Countless of new possibilities were created in his mind, and he became even more sure that his past life was decorated with nothing but lies—the lie Iliana had told to keep her secret, and the lie the world presented everyone to keep them away from the truth.

—The Seven Princes ... Were they Gods too?

The Hog Orc widened its eyes upon hearing "Seven Princes" coming out of Basil's mouth, and tightened its hold on its axe. It didn't have any intention to confirm Basil's guess or whatsoever, but its reaction was already an answer for him.

"Very well, then." Basil shook his head in amusement, then twirled his spear in his hand. Holding it in a throwing position, he infused his Qi into it. "Not only do I have to fight the world, but also the heavens? Interesting!"

The tip of his spear shone in dark green light, as an overwhelming Aura surrounded the spear and his entire existence.

He coldly stared the Hog Orc directly in its eyes with his [Eyes of Mana Perception], as a pair of earthen hands came out of the ground and wrapped around its entire body to help keep it in its place.

Said Demons was aware of what was happening, and it didn't know what made it unable to move—whether it was Basil's eyes or the earthen hands that were strongly wrapping around it.. However, it was sure of one thing: its soul was shaken upon seeing Basil's grin.