Drake led an intermediate swordsman in a charge, while the other intermediate swordsman instantly fell back on defense, cutting toward Shir as she breached their formation.
Marcus brought his shield up in front of him, but he was utterly unable to withstand Drake's charge.
A body bolstered by battle aura possessed an impact that no lower-rank warrior could ever hope to block.
*Thud!*
With a dull, massive boom, Marcus felt as though he had clashed head-on with a rhinoceros. Man and shield were hurled through the air together, sending his head spinning.
Gak met the other intermediate swordsman head-on.
Roaring, he brought his broadaxe down in a vertical cleave. Standing two point two meters tall and blessed from birth with extraordinary brute strength, he infused the strike with an intimidating momentum!
Yet his opponent did not dodge in the slightest, choosing instead to meet the downward cleave with an upward slash.
Gak's heart skipped a beat—the shaft of his broadaxe had actually been severed by the longsword!
The cyan-white battle aura coiled around the blade had destroyed the stout haft instantly.
The iron axehead clattered to the ground. Gak's strike had struck empty air, leaving only a bare wooden pole in his hands.
With a flick of his wrist, the swordsman snapped the blade downward, shifting from an upward slash into an oblique cleave!
If that blow landed clean, it would lop off Gak's entire right arm at the shoulder!
In the nick of time, Gak drew upon his keen combat instincts and lunged backward.
Even so, the longsword carved a gory wound across him, slicing from his right shoulder all the way down to his chest, tearing the flesh apart.
Blood geysered forth, soaking his breastplate and shirt.
Gak collapsed onto his back.
"Get lost!"
Gray came roaring in from an angle, lunging with a desperate thrust that carried an air of mutual destruction, which barely forced back the swordsman poised to pursue his advantage.
Taking a few steps back, the swordsman wore a contemptuous sneer as battle aura coiled around his blade once more, preparing for his next assault.
"Tch. You two really think you can—"
Before he could finish, violent arcs of lightning tore through the air.
*Boom!*
Vallis's Thunder Arrow arrived right on time, striking with unerring precision!
The terrifying destructive force blasted a gaping hole right through the swordsman's chest, obliterating his lungs and heart along with it.
The intermediate swordsman died on the spot!
On the other side, having sent Marcus flying, Drake gave him no room to breathe. His scimitar rained down in relentless chops, intent on hacking Marcus in two.
Unable to scramble to his feet and regain his balance, Marcus could only roll frantically along the ground to evade the swinging blade, narrowly dodging death at every turn.
Soon, however, a brilliant burst of blue light surged in from the flank!
Drake raised his shield instinctively to block, but the magical power packed into that burst was immense, blowing his left arm and shield to pieces in an instant!
*Boom!*
A violent explosion swallowed half of Drake's body. Clutching the stump of his severed limb, he crumpled to the ground, howling in agony.
"Aaargh!"
*What was that?! How could it pack such terrifying destructive power?!*
Drake turned his head in terror, only to realize the magic had come from Zelier!
Earlier, one of the two rangers' arrows had grazed Zelier's arm, and the other had grazed his calf.
Fortunately, neither had struck a vital point, leaving Zelier capable of casting spells and taking part in the fight.
Right now, Zelier's gaze was ice-cold as magic coalesced once more at the tip of his ashwood staff.
"Drake, go to hell...!"
An invisible wind blade flashed past. Drake's head spun through the air several times before tumbling to the ground.
The last skirmish pitted Shir against the other intermediate swordsman.
An assassin enjoyed unmatched advantages when ambushing, but in a direct, toe-to-toe clash of cold steel, they were inevitably outmatched by the warrior class.
A swordsman naturally held the upper hand in raw specs, and the man's offensive was relentless, crashing down like a howling gale.
Shir could only rely on her nimble footwork to constantly weave and dodge, finding no opening to counterattack.
Suddenly, an impact of magical force erupted from above!
The outside interference caused the swordsman's movements to falter.
Though it lasted only a brief moment, for an assassin of Shir's caliber, it was more than enough to decide life and death.
Closing the distance, she slipped past the sweeping longsword, driving the dagger in her hand straight toward his throat.
*Thwip!*
Empowered by Shir's battle aura, the thrust carried tremendous piercing force, punching through his windpipe in a single breath!
Blood sprayed into the air. His eyes wide, the intermediate swordsman collapsed limply to the ground, his life quickly ebbing away.
From the moment battle erupted until it ceased, less than a minute had elapsed, yet six corpses now lay in the forest clearing.
Zelier lowered his ashwood staff, panting heavily.
That casting of Heavy Pressure had drained the very last dregs of his mana, sending wave after wave of intense exhaustion welling up from the depths of his soul.
He looked down at his hands.
Steady. No shaking.
No nausea, no urge to vomit.
For his first time killing someone... it wasn't half bad.
Soon, however, a searing pain from his calf set in.
Adrenaline had kept him numb during the fight, leaving him unfazed.
Now, throbbing stabs of pain battered his nerves, forcing him to draw in sharp, hissing breaths.
"Are you out of your mind?! Why did you attack?!"
Vallis finally snapped back to his senses from the fray; his earlier actions had been driven purely by instinct.
Glaring at Shir, he barked, "An occupational hazard? You're not satisfied unless you slit a throat once you've put a blade to it?"
"Those bastards were out for our blood first. Were we supposed to just let them walk away?"
Shir nudged one of the corpses on the ground with her foot, unbothered. "Can you guarantee they wouldn't have turned right around to ambush us? Striking first while we held the upper hand was the obvious move."
"Enough!"
Marcus struggled to his feet and shouted them down. "Let's tend to everyone's wounds first!"
In their party, Gak was the most severely hurt. The sword slash stretched from his chest all the way to his right shoulder, bleeding profusely, and demanded immediate emergency treatment.
Next came Zelier; one arrow had grazed his left arm, while the other had grazed his calf.
The wound on his calf was clearly far worse, having gouged several centimeters into flesh and muscle, leaking blood continuously.
"Lie down and don't move."
Shir placed a hand against Zelier's chest to keep him still, then cut open the trouser leg of his injured leg.
The barbed arrowhead had shredded the surface skin, leaving the flesh torn and mangled—a rather gruesome sight.
Shir examined it closely.
The blood was bright red, showing no abnormal purple or green discoloration.
She raised an eyebrow slightly.
"You're in luck. It didn't hit you square on, and the arrowhead wasn't poisoned."
"My luck's always been good," Zelier managed with a strained smile.
A flesh wound like this called for no special treatment beyond disinfecting it, staunching the bleeding, and binding it with clean cloth.
Shir was well versed in the routine.
Now Zelier finally understood what Gray had felt when Firethroat Liquor was poured over him.
When the cold liquid splashed onto the wound, Zelier felt nothing for the first half-second.
Immediately after, an agony like steel needles piercing through him struck in full force.
The burning sting of the alcohol sent involuntary spasms through his body. Zelier let out a muffled groan from his throat, clenching his fists tightly as he fought with everything he had not to scream.
The disinfection lasted only a few short seconds, yet to Zelier it felt like an eternity. Only when the stinging pain finally subsided could he regain control over his breathing.
He gasped for air, his shirt completely soaked through and clinging tightly to his back.
Chapter 50