Overlord: Welcoming the Birth of the King
Chapter 39: Instant Reflex! You Can Die Now

Crack!

Snap—!

As the stalemate prolonged, the iron sword's blade gradually cut deeper into the thick wooden club.

Ultimately, the wooden weapon in the ogre's hands proved inferior, being cleaved apart by Tang Zheng's iron sword.

The broken end flew off and landed on the ground in the distance, kicking up dust.

The ogre's ferocious face stared at its broken weapon, revealing not just confusion but outright shock as it involuntarily took a step back.

With intelligence barely surpassing that of a goblin, it couldn't comprehend why this seemingly weak human prey possessed greater strength.

During the ogre's stunned moment, Tang Zheng noticed its completely exposed chest.

His eyes flashed. Ignoring the numbness in his arms, he tightly gripped the sword hilt, angled the tip upward, and charged straight at the ogre's chest.

The sharp iron blade pierced through the rotting flesh of the ogre's chest, driven by both momentum and the upward-angled force, violently penetrating the left heart area.

"Pain! Pain! Aaarrgh!"

The tremendous agony drove the ogre into a frenzy. "Food! Human food!"

Even with such a grievous wound, the ogre still mustered strength to raise both massive hands, grabbing toward Tang Zheng at its chest.

At this close range, evasion seemed nearly impossible for Tang Zheng.

But—

"Instant Reflex!" A pale blue glow enveloped Tang Zheng's entire body.

In the next instant!

His body seemed to rewind time, rapidly retreating under the blue flash back to his pre-attack position.

Thud!

The ogre's massive hands clapped together with a dull impact, grasping only empty air.

As Tang Zheng withdrew using Instant Reflex, the iron sword was simultaneously pulled free, causing blood to gush violently from the wound.

Under these circumstances,

The excruciating pain made the ogre roar and pant like a wild beast.

Even with its heart pierced, the creature's tenacious vitality prevented immediate death. Staggering unsteadily, it kept reaching toward Tang Zheng before finally collapsing.

Boom!

Dust billowed upward.

Yet even then,

The fallen ogre continued twitching and struggling weakly.

Witnessing this,

Tang Zheng didn't approach to deliver a finishing blow. He wouldn't repeat the mistake of Dosali, leader of the Rock team.

"Prey can fight back too. So, you can die now," Tang Zheng coldly observed the ogre's death throes.

With the battle concluded, his tension eased.

Hiss—

Tang Zheng inhaled sharply as pain and numbness flooded his palms and arms, soon followed by aching throughout his entire body.

This was clearly the aftereffect of using Instant Reflex.

The combat technique Instant Reflex forcibly returned one's unbalanced body or movements to their pre-attack posture.

Extremely effective for evading enemy attacks,

But this physics-defying maneuver placed considerable strain on the entire body.

A glance at his HP status:

No health points had been lost.

Tang Zheng's eyes flickered with contemplation.

Apparently, bodily damage from Instant Reflex didn't reduce HP... or perhaps hadn't reached that threshold yet.

Buzz—

『Gained 320 EXP』!

The status panel updated.

"Dead then."

Seeing the notification, Tang Zheng averted his gaze from the ogre corpse.

『EXP: 1271/1500』

Eliminating a small goblin tribe plus this ogre had significantly boosted his experience.

After brief rest and shaking out his recovering arms, Tang Zheng harvested ears from the ogre and goblin corpses before thoroughly searching the small settlement.

As a player, looting was second nature.

Unfortunately,

After extensive searching, Tang Zheng found only scattered bones and rotting meat remnants—nothing of value in the entire goblin camp.

He wasn't particularly disappointed, having held no expectations of finding treasures anyway.

Approaching the two remaining human corpses,

Tang Zheng fell silent momentarily before sighing and turning away.

He didn't bother burying them—it would be meaningless.

Not just a waste of energy, but in this forest environment, buried bodies would still be dug up by scent-tracking beasts.

Unless burned to ashes.

But lighting fires in these gloomy woods would attract unwanted attention, posing unnecessary risks.

Remember—

The true dangers here weren't goblins or ogres, but the troll tribes who ruled these lands.

Night gradually fell.

Even during daytime, the dense canopy blocked most sunlight—now only fragmented moonlight filtered through.

The forest plunged into absolute darkness as nocturnal creatures' cries became distinctly audible.

With human vision severely impaired,

Lacking Night Vision or other nocturnal skills, Tang Zheng wisely avoided reckless movement.

Selecting a sturdy tree,

He climbed to a solid branch, donned the durable black robe from his inventory, and settled in for rest.

Frankly, it was uncomfortable.

The hard bark dug into his body while constant insect chirps and beast howls kept his nerves on edge.

"Making the best of a bad situation,"

Tang Zheng murmured, gazing through leaves at the starry sky and bright moon through his robe's hood.

The eastern outskirts of Great Tob Forest only posed moderate threats like goblins and ogres. Having fought one, Tang Zheng now understood their combat patterns and strength.

Troublesome, yes, but not truly dangerous.

Thus despite his alertness, he felt little tension,

Instead peacefully admiring this otherworldly moon.

"Compared to my past life of drudgery, this power-filled existence—though dangerous—feels more substantial."

"At least I know each day's purpose and what future challenges await."

This thought crossed Tang Zheng's mind.

Yet remembering the impending arrival of the "Nazarick Tomb," his momentary contentment evaporated instantly.