Building a Kingdom and Conquering the World

Chapter 11: The First Enemy

The barbarian leader has been hunting vicious beasts his whole life, ever since he was dropped by his parents in the frozen forest of the north, when he was ten years old, in accordance with their rituals, which were created to dim their own numbers, due to low food stocks, and a way to separate the wheat from the chaff.

The extreme and dangerous environment wouldn't allow the existence of weak individuals, eliminating them in the first winter, when flowing water wasn't found and beasts prepared for hunt.

The barbarians thought that it was better to sort off the useful people as soon as possible, eliminating those who could not help nurturing their family and village. These kinds of thoughts led them to be called 'savages, insane, disturbed and barbaric.'

They had no fear of death since they faced it in daily basis. They could gladly offer an arm if that meant being able to take the enemy's head.

That's why, under Henry's powerful strike, the barbarian wasn't flustered, rather than that, he was calm, even thrilled. He was used to this kind of risk, and it was considered an honor to fight a life and death battle against such enemy.

Seeing Henry's glowing sword, he didn't step back. He never ran away from Orcs and, for sure, he wouldn't run away from such a tiny man.

The barbarian grabbed his axe with both hands and swung it horizontally, like a professional baseball player hitting a fast ball out of the camp, aiming directly at the sword's blade.

Soon, the axe and the sword met, generating a strong wind that reached the soldiers' faces and threw away the snow around them. It created a small and dry circle under them, letting the soil breath once again.

Henry could feel his arms throbbing as shockwave travelled across his body, like a high voltage electrical shock, even his bones were trembling nonstop. And, although he put all his strength into his attack, he couldn't move his enemy even a single inch.

Rather, Henry had to hold his sword even tighter so it wouldn't slip away from his grip. He pulled the Mana from his heart, forcing his Sun God Technique to move faster through his energy circuits and power up his muscles and bone.

This act gave Henry enough strength to hold his ground and maintain his position, looking deep inside the barbarian's eyes with their weapons still facing each other. It was a battle of strength that Henry was clearly losing out.

"Their bodies surely are sturdy. I cannot maintain this situation."– Henry concluded, seeing that his body and circuits wouldn't be able maintain a faster flow of the Sun God Technique.

Even if he made a reckless decision and speeded it up, he would end up incapacitated, unable to finish the other one.

"Against barbarians, it's not a battle of strength, but one of brains and technique. Their way of fighting is fit for animals, not humans. They can't win a prepared soldier" – Henry thought as a memory of the old Henry surfaced, where Luther taught the still young prince. – "He sure is a great teacher"

Henry flashed a smile and quickly, almost subconsciously, read the enemy body's stance, his innate gift greatly helping him on that.

"He is full of openings." – Henry immediately assessed – "every single one of his muscles are working to maintain and power up this attack. It sure is a superb control over his body. He can utilize each one of his fibers to create a single and powerful attack. It is a good way to kill their preys in a fast way and minimize the chances of chronic injuries. Fortunately, he doesn't have a good technique to control Mana, or he would be considered invincible in his stage."

The barbarian leader's legs were in a position that wouldn't allow him to maintain his balance if a contrary force was applied. It was like a running posture, with the force fully centered in the toes and sole of the feet.

It created a small area of contact with the ground and much more kinetic strength, able to be exerted to kill the enemy. It wasn't a good idea to maintain the position and continue this useless fight of muscles.

Henry rapidly stepped sideways and rapidly rotated his sword downwards, forcing the axe to slide against the sword's blade.

*Shiiin*

The sudden change of the force vector was enough for the barbarian to lose his ground and fall, with his face aimed towards the ground. Henry could see the surprise in his enemy's eyes, who wasn't expecting this move.

Fortunately, Henry small and agile body enabled him space to take advantage of this momentary gap. He overloaded the circuits in his arms with Mana and forced the axe to slide even faster against his blade.

At that moment, when his senses felt the axe unsticking from his sword, he revolved it, utilizing the momentum and his wrist to make the tip point upwards. It created the perfect scenario.

It was the perfect moment for a downward slash.

It was the perfect moment to kill his first enemy, in a fast way.

And for that, his sword fell, accompanied by the full rotation of his technique. Henry could even feel the outburst of the Mana threatening to rupture his energy channels. He moved every single strand of it to his arms, which unconsciously contaminated and spread to his weapon, that glowed even brighter.

It was like a beacon, telling the people the way and hacking the ocean's waves.

At that, under the immobile soldiers and the other barbarian leader, Henry's sword divided the man in half, like a cheese being cut. In fact, Henry felt no resistance, maybe because of the heat permeating his sword.

The fight ended as fast as it started. It didn't need any flimsy moves, just solid basics.