Volk sneered, his massive frame towering over the eerie, desolate landscape of the Draconic Graveyard.

The bones crunched under his heavy boots as he sized up the edgy teenager who stood across from him.

The kid was all cockiness, his smirk and casual stance clearly meant to provoke.

Without a word, Volk kicked up a massive bone from the ground, launching it through the air toward the brat.

He grinned wickedly as the bone flew, using its trajectory to hide his own movement as he charged forward behind it, axe in hand, ready to strike.

The bone whizzed through the air.

Swoosh!

The teenager barely moved, his grin widening as he sidestepped the attack with ease.

Volk’s eyes widened, but before he could adjust his approach, the teenager mumbled something under his breath.

“Dead Exchange.”

Volk furrowed his brow.

What the hell does that mean? But he had no time to think.

He swung his massive axe down with a resounding BANG!

The axe connected, but instead of meeting flesh, it cleaved through a skeleton warrior that appeared in the brat’s place.

The brittle bones shattered under the force of Volk’s blow, the skeleton crumbling into dust.

Volk’s eyes flickered in confusion for a brief moment, before a voice rang out behind him.

“You really thought I wouldn’t see that coming, huh?” the teenager’s voice taunted, dripping with smug satisfaction.

Volk growled and spun around, his eyes scanning the barren landscape.

Shadows crept along the ground, moving slowly and ominously toward him.

The skeletal shapes emerged from the cracked earth, their movements deliberate, each bony limb rattling with an eerie sound.

The teenager’s voice echoed from different directions, as if toying with him.

“I get it, you Orcs are all the same. You tried to throw the kid earlier to make me drop my guard, make me think you’re all brute force and no brains. But no… I know what you’re doing.”

The skeleton warriors continued to rise, their hollow eyes glowing with an unnatural light as they surrounded Volk. “You’re trying to bait me again, using the same tricks.”

Volk said nothing, just casually spun his axe in his hands, rolling it between his palms with a grim smile.

He wasn’t interested in banter; he just wanted to cut this annoying brat down.

The sound of the teenager’s voice irritated him, and he clenched his jaw as he shifted his stance, ready for the next attack.

The boy was hiding among the skeletons, but Volk wasn’t fooled.

He had no interest in playing this game.

As soon as the brat spoke again, Volk bolted in the direction of the voice, his speed astonishing for someone of his size.

He crashed through the skeletal warriors, his axe swinging with deadly precision.

SLAM!

His axe connected with another skeleton, shattering it into pieces. But as soon as he did, another voice rang out from a different direction. “Oops, wrong again, Orc! You’re too slow.”

Volk’s frustration boiled over, but he didn’t let it show.

He adjusted his grip on the axe, his movements more controlled now.

The next time the boy spoke, Volk barely waited a second before he charged again, his powerful legs propelling him forward with lightning speed.

This time, he aimed straight for the source of the voice.

KABAM!

The axe struck true, and this time, it was a skeleton again.

“Haha!” The teenager said among the injured skeleton soldiers and then mumbled, “You won’t catch me!”

Yet, because of his voice, Volk would know where he is and instantly reappear behind him and then, immediately, blood splattered and sprayed across the cracked earth.

Kaschack!

The teenager coughed up blood, his once-smug grin faltering as he gasped for breath.

Volk grinned, his eyes gleaming with satisfaction as he pulled the axe out and prepared to strike again.

But before the axe could hit, the teenager’s body crumbled, turning into yet another skeleton.

Volk cursed under his breath, with his eyes narrowing sharply.

This was getting tiresome.

“You injured me, I’ll give you that,” the teenager’s voice echoed again, now from a distance. “But don’t worry, I can heal. It’s just a scratch.”

Volk snarled, wiping the blood from his axe as he surveyed the battlefield. He was done with this game.

He could feel the teenager’s presence, and it was starting to irritate him that the boy was toying with him like this.

He began moving methodically, crushing skeleton after skeleton, each swing of his axe followed by the cracking of bones.

Suddenly, one of the skeletal soldiers knelt down before Volk, its hollow eyes glowing dimly as if it had something to say.

Although Volk’s patience was wearing thin. He rested his axe on his shoulder, glaring down at the skeleton, and only now he would speak.

“What is it now, kid? What stupid trick do you have up your sleeve this time?”

Volk paced back and forth before the kneeling skeleton soldiers, his boots crunching over the bones scattered across the barren landscape.

His eyes gleamed with amusement as he toyed with his massive axe, and its blade gleaming ominously.

He stopped, resting the axe on his shoulder as he addressed the soldiers.

“This here,” Volk said, holding up the weapon for them to see, “is the Axe of Dissection.” His voice was low and menacing, filled with pride.

“It’s no ordinary weapon. Any wound it creates, no matter how small, turns into a river of blood. Every cut, every strike, drains the life out of its victim faster than they can heal. It’s not just a tool of war—it’s a weapon of fear.”

He eyed the kneeling skeleton soldier, the one who had been coughing up blood onto the cracked earth. Discover hidden tales at мѵʟ

The pool of crimson beneath the figure was steadily growing, soaking into the dry ground.

“I could walk away right now,” Volk continued, “and you’d still die. Slowly, painfully. You’re already bleeding out, after all.”

He paused, watching as the kneeling soldier struggled to catch its breath, blood still dripping from its bony frame.

Volk relished in the sight for a moment, enjoying the power he wielded over this strange opponent.

The skeleton soldier’s struggles were pathetic in comparison to the might of the Axe of Dissection.

“But,” Volk said, his voice shifting into something colder, more impatient, “I don’t have time for that.”

Without warning, he moved.

Kabam!

Volk swung his axe with terrifying speed, the air crackling as the weapon cut through it.

In an instant, he teleported behind the kneeling skeleton soldier, aiming to cleave the pitiful figure in half.

He grinned as the axe came down, expecting to see it strike the brittle bones, splintering them apart.

But then, something happened.

“Death Arise!” the teenager’s voice in the kneeling skeleton soldier whispered, its voice barely audible, but filled with an unearthly power.

Volk’s axe, mid-swing, came to a sudden halt, as if hitting an invisible wall.

He blinked in surprise, his grip tightening on the hilt.

What was this?

How could a simple skeleton soldier stop his attack?

Before Volk could react, a dark shadow began to form around the kneeling figure.

The bones cracked and shifted, melding together with the surrounding air until something entirely different emerged—a warrior clad in blackened armor, its form fully encased from head to toe.

Unlike the skeletons, whose armor was crude and incomplete, this new figure radiated an aura of supremacy.

The armored warrior stood tall, its helmeted head turning to meet Volk’s gaze.

The eerie glow of its eyes, hidden behind the visor, sent a chill down Volk’s spine.

This was no ordinary soldier.

With a swift, precise motion, the armored warrior raised its sword and parried Volk’s axe, deflecting the deadly blow as if it were nothing.

The force of the parry sent Volk’s weapon off course, and the Axe of Dissection slammed into the ground with a thunderous crash, embedding itself in the cracked earth.

Volk staggered back, eyes wide with shock.

‘Plot armor?’

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep