The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns: An OP Xianxia Returnee LitRPG

Chapter 99: Mursha Bloodfang

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The camp was divided and led by several of their Generals, but there was also another smaller section where one could register, led by a single, green-skinned woman with short, spiky red hair. She looked rather bored, looking around while closing her arms and sighing. It seemed she had been here for a while, but why wasn’t she in her own faction?

She mostly wore silver armor around some of her body parts, but her body was so big she didn’t have enough armor to cover it entirely, and there were also red tattoos across her green skin. Her emerald eyes were rare amongst orcs, who mostly had all red eyes.

“So this is where we register for any faction we want?” wondered Peperina. “How complicated… So we really need to choose who we kill?”

“It is a tough choice, yes, but it’s not like it should matter,” I said. “I will change things for the better now, but for now, it would be preferable if we played around. I need a way to provoke that god.”

“Provoke?” wondered Urbosa. “I thought you could simply go and hunt him down.”

“The faster, the better, no?” Merkite asked.

"Yes, but I also don’t want them to just disappear; I must first show him that I will not play by his games, and I will change things. And I need him alive for that,” I said. “Also, nothing is saying he’s not waiting for me with another gods for an ambush, right? It’s always better to let them come to me, or at least to let them react to what I’m doing. I also need to learn more about them if possible.”

“F-Fair enough, sorry for trying to hurry you up,” Urbosa sighed.

“It’s fine, honey; don’t worry! I know you’re quite nervous, but we have to do things right as well,” I said. “And Seth here is quite crucial in that endeavor, right? Because once God is dead, what do you think will happen to this world? There needs to be a new one; we’ll have to find it. Or make it.”

“Make it…?” Urbosa wondered.

“Maybe she’s really planning something great; let’s trust her!” Peperina smiled. “I am wondering if we could hunt down monsters here at least. And is the food good? Especially the food! I am a blogger, you see, and I like vlogging about the food I find and giving reviews to restaurants.”

“Oh, is that so?” Urbosa wondered; she only seemed mildly interested at best.

Seth looked at me as he spoke.

“That woman over there is hosting for something called “personal factions."  They are never hosted anyway, but you can pay huge sums of credits to make your own faction and try to screw everyone else over; it never actually happens though,” said Seth. “You don’t get any special benefit from making your own faction either, and you even have to host recruiting new members. But if you happen to win, you get big rewards. A lot of War Game Points too.”

“Interesting! Just what I wanted.”

I walked towards the orc lady as the wind made my long silver hair wave by. She quickly looked at me, her eyes widening for a second, perhaps surprised by my bright appearance.

“Excuse me, are you hosting personal faction registrations?” I asked her. “I would like to register myself and my group as a personal faction.”

“Wait, you are?!” she muttered. “I am the General assigned to the personal factions; usually only one is allowed per War Game, but it has been years since anybody has ever chosen to make one... You’re a beautiful woman; why are you here, interested in waging war and bloodshed? You would do much better in the lower floors or the smaller worlds."

“I am quite flattered that you’ve called me beautiful, but my appearance has nothing to do with my strength,” I said. “I’ve been mostly repressing all of my power, so I don’t scare people, to the point where I only look like a slightly flashy woman at most. Nonetheless, must I show a slight amount of my power for you to believe me?”

“Heh, you’re bold,” she smiled, showing me her sharp teeth. “It is a requirement after all! To host a faction, you actually need to defeat me in a battle. The War Games will start within four hours. People are all getting ready, and there are big armies too. Do you think you can beat me, pay the fee, and find enough people to form the faction? You require a minimum of fifty, you know?”

“Easy to find!” I said. “Now, let’s begin. Where shall we spar? Um, what’s your name, dear?”

“Dear?! Hahah! Are you sure you’re going to flirt with an ugly orc woman like me?” she laughed. “You have weird tastes... But my name is Mursha Bloodfang! I am the last surviving member of the once glorious Bloodfang Tribe, now defeated and slaughtered by the wicked Cult of the Barbarian God. It is a pity that the monster cursed me with becoming the general of a faction that does not exist. Only to mock my honor even more and humiliate me as a warrior. What’s your story, human woman?”

As she introduced herself, she led me to the arena in the middle of the camp. Some people were gathering to see the scene, and my group panicked slightly when I told them I was fighting this lady.

“I am a normal human that was born in the small and weak world of Earth; I was teleported into the world of Murim, where I had to fight and survive for eleven thousand years,” I said. “After coming back and seeing the state of things with the Tower, I’ve decided that my world must not be subject to the whims of the gods. I decided to climb the tower and kill all those wicked gods, freeing my world and all those involved.”

“Oh? Hahaha!” Mursha laughed. “What sort of story is that? Are you seriously saying you’re eleven thousand years old?! As if!”

She unsheathed a huge black axe, pointing at me with her large frame. I could only look up to her because she was quite tall—taller than me. Her big, muscular arms were sweating beneath the bright sun of Elios, and her entire body was just too much of an eye candy for me to not look at it quite intensively. She was a beautiful woman; I can’t believe she would call herself ugly!

“Well, perhaps you’ll believe me once I show you eleven thousand years old worth of strength.” I asked her, unsheathing my Yin and Yang swords. “Go all-out from the start, Mursha; do not hold back nor look down on me, or you will regret it.”

As I provoked her, she took the bait, her emerald eyes shining bright red as her Aura of Mana surged from her body, her muscles suddenly giving a metallic sheen, and her aura became bright red.

“Was that a provocation? Because it worked really well!” she laughed. “I’ll show you the true Martial Arts of the Bloodfang Tribe, our Legacy! I won’t let anybody mock it anymore! I shall regain its honor by defeating you loud-mouthed woman!”

As she roared, the people started commenting, giving me more insight about her.

“Mursha’s at it again!”

“Is she going to beat another newbie who thinks they can form a faction? Hahah!”

“Well, she always crushed their dreams, but rarely likes to kill.”

“She’s too soft of a woman!”

“She values life too much.”

“Well, she was cursed with this position, so it's her duty to take any newbie down. Let’s see how she handles this strange human.”

“Let’s begin then!” I said. “Come at me, Mursha. I shall receive any attack from you once, without defending or blocking.”

“You’re insane, hahaha! Okay, then, DIE!”

RUMBLE!

Her Blood-colored Aura surged, resembling a giant demon emerging from her body, which then fused into her skin. Her red tattoos flared, glowing brightly and resembling flames expanding through her body.

Her fangs became bright red, resembling rubies, and her eyes turned completely crimson too, all while her short, spiky hair became long and wild, resembling the tail of a beast.

Incredible, yet another technique from another world!

The Tower surely never stops to disappoint.

CLASH!

Her axe struck me down with a single, powerful strike. She didn’t aim for my head, however, but for my left shoulder.

They were right; as brutal as she might seem, she never aims to kill; at most, she’s aiming to leave me without an arm.

BOOOM!

An explosion of crimson flames made out of her own Aura surged, engulfing me whole at the same time. The entire scene was covered by red smoke, only for it to dissipate with a clap of my hands.

“She surely died!”

“Or at least lost a limb, definitely!”

“She doesn’t kill, but yeah, she often leaves newbies without limbs, hahaha!”

However, despite the words of the public, the scene seemed much different. Mursha’s eyes opened wide as she realized her axe had not managed to pierce through my robes, and I hadn’t even moved from my original position. 

“W-What?!” she muttered. “What sort of robes? Wait! You didn’t even take a step back?! What’s your level?!”

“One thousand and two hundred,” I answered, my sword moving towards her.

“What?! I’m level 2500! I shouldn’t be struggling against a novice like you-”

Before she could say anything else, she quickly stepped back as my sword moved towards her, slashing through the air, and unleashing a wave of pure gold and black light.

SLAAASH!

“Shit…!”

She tried to block the attack, but it was too powerful. Trying to unleash her strongest technique again, two auras of gold, black, and red clashed against one another.

BOOOM!

“Ugh… Cough!”

Mursha coughed blood as she was thrown into the floor, the explosion of light and darkness burning through her body as she was covered by several cutting wounds.

The audience gasped in disbelief as I slowly made my way towards her.

“Mursha! I told you that if you don’t aim to kill me... You’re going to regret it.”

“Shit!”

She quickly stood back again, her Blood Aura somehow growing bigger and stronger the more blood she lost. While gasping for air, her fury continued growing and rising.

“GRRHH…!” She groaned like a beast. “GRAAAAH!”

With a furious roar, she charged forward, stepping forward and charging towards me like a wild boar. Her enormous axe moved down towards me as I quickly attempted to block it.

CLASH!

However, she smiled, her movements becoming suddenly incredibly fast as the axe quickly slid through my sword and moved to hit me from the left side.

“Oh?!”

CLASH!

She managed to push me like four or five meters. I was shocked that Mursha had such techniques and deceived me into thinking she would just charge wildly. She’s actually quite skilled!

Before I could move, Mursha was already over me, her beastly red aura forming into the shape of a ferocious creature, a mix between a lion, a wolf, and a red-skinned demon.

“RAAAH!”

She swung her axe several times, lifting it up each time she struck. Her physical power was so high that a huge axe could be lifted over and over again.

CLASH! CLASH! CLASH! CLASH!

“Impressive! Very impressive!”

However, this time she wasn’t taking me by surprise anymore. Using my sword, I blocked and then parried her blows, pushing her away as I unleashed a bright, dashing series of blinding strikes.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! 

“UGH?!”

Mursha groaned in pain as she was covered in countless slicing wounds once more. Her blood, however, continued to empower her aura, as it was burning like crimson flames.

Her strength continued to grow despite all her wounds. What an incredible technique! She sacrificed her own life; the more wounded she became, the stronger she became.

Is this why she didn’t cover her body with armor that much then? 

“Ahah… HAHAHAHA!”

She laughed wickedly, completely possessed by the power of her technique. Her Aura reinforced her muscles and size, suddenly making her a whole meter taller.

Her axe absorbed her powers, growing larger too.

“Oh my, aren’t you full of surprises?”

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