The ground shook violently.
Jack gritted his teeth. Actively controlling his fear and rage. The serpent reminded him of the terrifying one that killed him in his previous life. It wasn't surprising for him to be affected by the memory. Fortunately, his extensive post-death experience had significantly lessened the trauma that death had caused him.
His [Judgement Warhammer] met the colossal head of the great horned serpent. Bone-shattering force vibrated through his rakshasa arms. But the red-brown scaled serpent showed equal resilience.
Its head snapped backward. But it recovered instantly. And pounced at Jack again. Its fangs, thick as tree limbs, struck Jack's armored shoulder. Denting his [Naraka Armor] slightly.
Jack headbutted the beast's eye savagely. It recoiled. Its serpentine body whipped a path of destruction through the thick and tall red grass. And then, it lunged again.
Jack, in his Judge Jack form, was equally as fierce. His blazing armor absorbed the impact and immediately recovered to its original shape. But, so did the serpent's scales.
The two were not that different in power scale. The rakshasa's demonic strength met the serpent's brute force with equal measure.
The serpent moved with surprising speed and agility for its size. A blur of scales and muscle. Jack, despite his bulk, matched it with equal swiftness.
His movements were precise. His reactions were instantaneous. And they were also pretty equal in speed. They were an unholy dance of destruction across the red grassland.
The fearless lizardmen swarmed the periphery. Attacking both the rakshasa and the giant snake with ferocious charge. However, they were too weak. Their stone spears and crude axes were useless against either combatant.
A swipe of Jack's war hammer sent several of them flying. With shattered weapons, damaged scales, mangled flesh, and broken bones.
The serpent's thrashing tail was even worse. It swept another wave of lizardmen into oblivion. Their screams were cut short with the devastation.
For the two, these lizardmen were less like combatants and more like inconvenient debris. Their main role was to be crushed underfoot. Or absorbed into the collateral damage of two truly overwhelming forces. Neither Jack nor the serpent spared them a thought beyond their momentary obstruction.
Jack focused seriously on the gigantic serpent. It was more than a fight for Jack. It was an opportunity. An opportunity to clear his fear against gigantic serpent.
Besides, he rarely find an opponent of equal strength as the 'sparring partner' for his rakshasa's incarnation. And now, this horned serpent appeared. An opponent that was neither stronger nor weaker than him. It was a great opportunity in this matter too. This sustained, challenging threat was perfect for sharpening his Primordial Warrior class.
He needed to push the limits of this power class acquired by his current incarnation. The great horned serpent was an ideal grindstone.
He roared. A sound that seemed to split the air and send shivers through the ground.
The serpent hissed. A nasty sound like scraping boulders. Its multiple horns were glinting under the strange purplish sky of the realm.
It coiled. Turning into something like a monstrous spring. Then, it launched itself with terrifying velocity. Straight at Jack.
Stomping the ground, Jack sidestepped. A narrow evasion. Letting the beast's momentum carry it past him. Then, he slammed his war hammer into its flank.
Scales exploded. Crimson ichor splattered. Revealing raw muscle beneath. But even as the flesh tore, it began to knit. The wound was closing with unnatural speed.
The snake whipped its tail.
Jack tried to evade. But he couldn't make it. The tail struck his side. Throwing him away. Crashing against several lizardmen nearby.
The rakshasa managed to land on his feet though. Similar to the serpent, Jack's own wounds from the blows also recovered themselves extremely quickly.
In term of regeneration, both Jack and the serpent were insanely powerful. And equal. Their self recovery ability was astonishingly matched.
"Alright!" Jack muttered in a low growl. "Just like this."
He focused on his primordial aura coating. It was a passive ability of this incarnation's class. The Primordial Warrior. A class he acquired as the extension of his fiendish power and raw physical might.
He had only discovered the way to use the primordial aura to coat his weapon recently. And his practical application was rather raw. It was enough against weaker opponents. But now that he battled against a foe of equal power, it was a great chance. A chance he could use to improve his mastery quickly.
The horned serpent struck again. A series of rapid bites. Each was targeting weak points... joints, neck, eyes. Jack parried them again and again with his war hammer. The blows reverberating through his arms.
But he didn't just parry physically. He began to infuse his weapon with his primordial aura. Letting the clashing impact nullified by his aura-coated hammer. He felt the subtle energies of his aura shift. Becoming denser and more efficient. Reducing the energy cost and improving its nullification effect.
The serpent was no slower than he was though. He couldn't continuously evade its attack. The beast's head slipped through his block and slammed into his chest.
The impact sent him skidding back. Tearing up the red grass and the hard earth. This blow would have pulverized a creature like the lizardman. This one, however, merely left an indentation in his [Naraka Armor]. And a bruising sensation that faded almost immediately.
He grinned, Showing a flash of his rakshasa's sharp teeth. The battle this time was quite satisfying.
The serpent seemed frustrated by his resilience. It lashed out with its thick tail. Its size and thickness were designed to crush its target.
Jack, however, didn't dodge. Instead, he channeled his primordial aura into his left bracer. Unleashing [Chains of Vengeance]. Not to entangle the tail. But to block.
The primordial aura coated chains slammed against the tail. A concussive wave rippled through the air as the tail met the chains. It worked though. Significantly reducing the power of the tail strike.
Jack felt a surge of energy. A rush of understanding. He digested the mastery of his primordial aura control very quickly. He was right. This battle was a great opportunity.
He twisted his body. Using the receding momentum of the tail strike, he spun. Driving his [Judgement Warhammer] into the serpent's underbelly.
BOOM! The scales there were softer. But they were still incredibly tough. The war hammer bit deep. Tearing a pretty long and deep gash. Again, scales were broken and blood was spilled. And again, the wound began to close. Regenerating in hyper speed.
This regeneration was a double-edged sword. It made the serpent an excellent training dummy. But also... a frustratingly durable opponent. Fortunately, Jack himself was a similar case. An extremely durable creature with hyper-speed regeneration.
He continued to push his aura control. He coated his war hammer. Making it radiate destructive power that exploded when it touched the serpent's flesh.
He coated his [Chains of Vengeance]. Allowing him to create blazing chains that truly burn the enemies. Causing devastation to their scales, flesh.
He even tried to project it. A small, focused blast of dark energy from his palm. One that struck the serpent's eye. Making it hiss and recoil. Momentarily blinded.
This level of active aura manipulation was taxing. But the constant pressure of the battle forced him to adapt. To optimize. His body and mind screamed with effort. Yet his regeneration kept him fresh.
The lizardmen continued their futile assaults. Occasionally landing a scratch on either combatant. Only to be crushed or flung into the sky for their efforts. Their numbers dwindled quickly. But their mindless aggression persisted.
Jack ignored them. His focus was solely on the giant serpent and the control of his own Primordial Warrior class. He didn't just focus on aura manipulation, but also instinct utilization.
In rapid improvement, his movements became less about unstoppable brute power. Instead, it was more about raw, explosive power delivered efficiently and precisely where it would inflict maximum damage.
He wasn't just dodging and blocking. He was counter-attacking with every evasion. He was weaving through the serpent's attacks. And retaliating every time.
He kicked at the horned serpent's body. Tearing chunks of flesh with his feet when his war hammer was momentarily out of reach.
The serpent retaliated. Its fangs snapped around his waist. Jack simply shifted his weight. Using the serpent's bite as an anchor. Twisting his body. And driving his knee into the beast's jaw with bone-jarring force.
The serpent shuddered. Its bite was momentarily slackened. Allowing Jack to tear himself away. To slam his [Judgement Warhammer] into the opponent's head. Severely damaging it. Before both of their hyper-regeneration abilities kicked in. Restoring them to their peak condition just within several seconds.
The battle raged on. A maelstrom of destruction. The tall, red grass around them were demolished. A few huge rocks and the hard earth where they passed were turned into chaotic landscape. Filled with lizardman's corpses here and there.
Both combatants actually took horrendous damage. Jack's armor was dented and cracked. His flesh beneath rippled with bruises and cuts. Ones that regenerated in visible speed even during the most intense clash.
The serpent had a mess of torn scales. It suffered aping wounds that closed almost as fast as they appeared. And shattered bones and horns that reformed with a disturbing speed.
They were both living engines of destruction and recovery. Almost seemed to be locked in a timeless, brutal exchange.
As his primordial instinct deepened, Jack felt the urge to develop something new. He had acquired the [Dancing Principles] martial art from the adventure in the Trentree Sanctuary. It was a graceful, yet practical and fluid combat style. He could apply some of its principles in battle but he didn't feel that it fitted his savage combat style.
He had also learned the goofy, unpredictable 'Drunken Fist' kung-fu during his school days in his past life. Just for fun. Not too seriously. It was a gimmicky style he had learned just to show off.
Now, powered by raw primordial instinct, he had a crazy inspiration to combine them. Creating a strange movement set he simply decided to call as... the 'Savage Rampage'.
The 'Dancing Principles' provided the core. The understanding of flow, balance, and energy manipulation. The primordial warrior's instinct added the raw, animalistic ferocity targeting the opponent's vulnerabilities.
And the silly 'Drunken Fist' provided the unpredictability. The seemingly clumsy movements that hid devastating power. The feints and strange angles of attack that threw off an opponent's rhythm.
Jack didn't just think about it. He began to implement it. He swayed. His massive form seemed to lose balance for a split second. Inviting the serpent to strike.
But, when it lunged, he wasn't there. He flipped his body. Somersaulting sideways. Landing awkwardly on his back. Yet, his war hammer arced in an unexpected trajectory. Slamming into the beast's neck in explosive power.
The serpent shrieked. A sound full of agony and confusion. The strange stunt caught it off guard.
Jack didn't just do it once. He stumbled again. Seemingly tripping over a fallen lizardman corpse. But the 'stumble' was a controlled maneuver. Shifting his center of gravity in weird position to dodge a snapping bite of the serpent.
Simultaneously, he deliver a backward sidekick that tore through the serpent's jaw. Snapping its head aside with a loud smacking sound.
His movements were no longer just powerful or instinctive now. They were utterly unpredictable. One moment, he seemed to be a collapsing avalanche. The next, he was a whirlwind of destruction. Striking from unpredictable trajectories.
The serpent, for all its power and experience, had never clashed against such chaotic movements. Its ancient instincts struggled to comprehend a foe that moved with such erratic, yet devastating, precision.
It became increasingly enraged. Its attacks were more desperate. Less calculated. This suited Jack perfectly. The more the serpent committed to wild, powerful attacks. the more openings it created.
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