Chapter 19

If Zhao Mai were holding an ordinary shield, he would soon be injured by the vibrations caused by his opponent's strikes. This would make it impossible for him to lift the shield, leaving him unprotected and ultimately leading to his defeat.

Generally, a shield is a much heavier piece of iron compared to a long sword. Although it doesn't require much agility, it demands a lot of arm strength. Soru's frenzied attacks on the spare shield were aimed at making Zhao Mai unable to withstand the impact, causing his arms to lose strength and lower the shield, thus exposing his head.

Then, he could land a blow and end the fight.

The spare shield perfectly solved this problem. As long as Zhao Mai could still lift it, it provided absolute, vibration-free protection, saving him a lot of energy. In the long run, this wouldn't help Zhao Mai develop top-notch martial arts skills, but it was the best protection for a beginner.

The half-orc had a single-minded determination and relentlessly launched continuous attacks. Zhao Mai gradually became angry. This was just a combat training session to help him, a beginner, get familiar with weapons and armor, not to be a punching bag! Being hammered around like this had no real training value!

He noticed that Soru's eyes were different from the beginning, with anger occasionally surfacing. Despite trying to cover it up with continuous battle cries, Zhao Mai knew that Soru was starting to lose control. Clearly, Soru didn't like him, but Zhao Mai hadn't done anything to deserve it! Suddenly dropped into the world of Golarion, his goal was to learn skills and earn money to treat his father, and he had no time to waste on the half-orc!

Understanding the half-orc's intentions, Zhao Mai decided not to play along. If Soru didn't want to show his true skills, he would force them out. So, Zhao Mai changed his strategy and stopped passively taking hits. Seizing the opportunity when Soru's dual knives came down, he took a step forward and initiated a shield strike.

The half-orc's full weight and the impact of his fall were rendered useless by the spare shield. Zhao Mai used both arms to push hard, lifting Soru off the ground. The half-orc, not understanding what happened, fell flat on the ground, losing one of his wooden knives. Zhao Mai didn't let up, maintaining his shield for protection and thrusting his short spear forward.

Soru wouldn't just lie there and take the hits. He used his remaining wooden knife to block the spear and kicked with both legs. Zhao Mai used the shield to block, feeling no vibration at all, which didn't affect his next move. The short spear continued to attack, forcing the half-orc to roll on the ground to dodge, though he wasn't hit, it made him feel very embarrassed.

In terms of physical strength, Zhao Mai was no match for Soru. After a few rolls, the half-orc gained some distance and stood up. His eyes turned blood red, his muscles bulged, and he charged forward with a single knife in both hands.

This time, he didn't charge straight but moved side to side, his upper body drawing irregular ellipses. Now, a single knife was more threatening than the previous dual knives, with increased power and speed.

Zhao Mai focused and concentrated. He crouched low, using the spare shield to cover his nose and chest, keeping his eyes on the opponent. No matter how the half-orc moved, he kept the shield between himself and the opponent. Without Karl's reminder, Zhao Mai knew he couldn't lose the initiative or spin in place, as that would quickly make him dizzy and lose his defensive resilience.

Therefore, while turning, he moved sideways, using short arcs to counter Soru's semi-circles. Karl almost applauded at this sight. Controlling position and distance is the core skill in single-shield combat. In protecting the Healthy Forest, he had fought many enemies using shield and sword, and one hyena captain left a deep impression on him. The hyena captain used a square shield like a moving wall, always appearing where the offensive force was spent.

The hyena captain was very skilled at controlling distance and angles, using various arc steps to move the heavy shield, saving energy while maintaining its momentum. He could seize the end of the opponent's attack and use the shield to break the continuous motion. Since the shield is heavier than a long sword, it has a natural advantage in collisions. By catching the moment when the old force is spent and the new force is not yet generated, it's easy to break through.

If not for the intervention of Dogmeat, who lost an eye, Karl would have long been a skeleton in the forest.

Zhao Mai, of course, couldn't match the hyena captain's level, but the fact that he could understand and form a rudimentary version of it was quite remarkable. Even though Soru was serious, Zhao Mai could still maintain the balance with this improvement in shield use. Karl nodded in satisfaction, thinking that the two were training well, and quietly left.

Zhao Mai was completely focused on the half-orc, not noticing the old ranger's departure. He was still a beginner, far from being able to observe everything. Soru, with bloodshot eyes, circled around Zhao Mai, attacking. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the old ranger leave with Dogmeat into the dense forest.

Rangers often spend several hours patrolling the forest, so the half-orc decided to quickly defeat "Mike" to make this human realize the gap between them. The position of Dense Forest Ranger belonged to the half-orc Soru, not some strange-looking human! Ever since Ranger Karl inexplicably picked up this useless guy, he not only gave him a better room, restarted long-interrupted lessons, and even gave him Dogmeat's child. Wasn't all this a sign that Karl intended to hand over the Dense Forest Ranger position to the hateful "Mike"?

He had to show "Mike" his strength!

Reserve Food sensed the change in the atmosphere and suddenly barked, showing signs of anger. Zhao Mai was momentarily stunned and felt a mass of white, sticky substance on his eyes! Soru took advantage of his distraction, spitting out saliva, which was both smelly and sticky, blurring Zhao Mai's vision.

After his scheme succeeded, he kicked Zhao Mai's knee, preparing to fold him over! If this succeeded, even with treatment afterward, it would be enough to keep him in bed for over a week, possibly leaving him with a lifelong disability. As for Ranger Karl's instruction to "teach him martial arts well," the half-orc, consumed by jealousy, completely forgot about it.

His big foot met the spare shield. Zhao Mai crouched, completely hidden behind the shield, rolling to the side three times. Using this opportunity, he wiped the saliva from his eyes with his sleeve and then stood up angrily.

Being spat on was unexpected, but his reaction was due to his extensive knowledge. The main deity of orcs is Gruumsh, and among orcs, there is a highly respected warrior path called "Gruumsh's Eye," an elite profession for the orc race. One of their abilities is "Blinding Spittle."

Spitting, then cutting the knee, has become a fixed routine. As soon as Zhao Mai's vision blurred, he immediately thought of this and instantly reacted. Soru was not a pure-blooded orc and had not reached the level to become a "Gruumsh's Eye," but where did he learn to spit in someone's eyes?

Zhao Mai remembered clearly that to receive "Gruumsh's Eye" training, the first prerequisite is to be evil; otherwise, the orc god would not grant the trainee the magical ability of blinding spittle. Perhaps he was overthinking, but from the current situation, Soru likely had another teacher, an evil individual with the abilities of a "Gruumsh's Eye" elite warrior.

This gave him another reason to defeat him.

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