The knights surrounded the barbarians' army. Huh Ah managed to find a hole in their defense, thanks to Max's suicide attack earlier.
They didn't let it go and rounded up the barbarians at once.
Meanwhile, on the foot of a hill a bit away from them, Max had started his battle against the boss, Trouser the Thrower.
"Stop moving around!"
With a flick of fingers, Troused threw knives toward Max. They were fast and precise.
Max swiftly dodged the projectile, his body moving like a wind. He twisted his body and arched his back. The knives only hit the air, embedding themselves into the ground.
In response, Max threw one of his axes toward Trouser. It spun in mid-air with an amazing speed and flew straight toward the barbarian.
Clang!
A loud sound echoed as the axe hit Trouser's shield, creating a deep bend and injuring the barbarian. Blood trickled down his left arm, which was numb from the impact.
"Ugh! What power!"
Pained grunts escaped Trouser's lips as he prepared to throw another batch of knives. However, when he raised his head, Max was already gone.
"Where is he?!" Trouser looked around, gripping three knives between his fingers.
"Behind you."
With a powerful swing of his axe, Max aimed at Trouser's arm, bringing his weapon up with all his might.
However…
Clang!
Trouser managed to block the attack with his bend shield. They collided and created a spark. And before Max could bring his axe back, the barbarian grabbed the hilt with his hand.
A grin crept into the barbarian boss' face.
"I got you."
He brought his other hand, which gripped three knives down, aiming at Max's unprotected face.
Without hesitation, Max abandoned his only weapon and jumped away. He managed to dodge the swift attack in a hairbreadth and exhaled in relief.
"That was close. I underestimated him too much.'
— True.
— Trouser isn't a boss you can defeat by yourself. It's a goddamn raid boss.
— This guy is a menace! Run, Breeze! You won't be able to kill him!
The chat became anxious and gave out tips when they saw Max struggling against Trouser.
In the normal playthrough, players would attack the leading barbarians' army together with the other knights. They would reduce their numbers slowly before battling the boss, Trouser, together with the others.
Even so, the boss would always manage to defeat at least more than 10 knights before it went down. That was how strong Trouser the Thrower was as a boss.
— You've done well injuring his arm alone!
— Damn guy soloing Trouser and is alive for so long.
— Even StoneSword can't solo Trouser!
— I want to be Breeze! I envy Breeze! I want to be Breeze! I envy Breeze!
The name StoneSword was familiar to Max. He read it when he researched Knight's Journey.
'If I am not wrong, that's the name of one of the best Knight's Journey players? I think he's also a streamer.'
It was an everyday occurrence that a viewer compared two streamers with good skills against each other.
The fact they did so in the chat meant they had recognized Max, or rather Breeze, to have a similar skill level as the StoneSword.
Also…
'If I defeat Trouser alone, won't that be the greatest proof of my skill? I can leech off his popularity and make a viral clip.'
"What are you dozing off for in the middle of battle?!"
Trouser roared loudly and snapped Max out of his thoughts. An axe was spinning toward him, even faster than when he threw it earlier.
"Shit!"
He quickly leaped to the side, dodging the axe. Because it was done in a slight panic, his movement and balance weren't that great, and he tripped, causing him to roll on the ground a few times.
Even a professional could fail. Max knew those words but failed to apply them because he was focused on the chat.
'I am careless.' He thought as he stood up.
"Come on! Move like before, you slippery guy!"
Trouser didn't give him any chance to rest. He threw the knives in his hand toward Max. Following that, he fished six knives and threw them rapidly, each blade aimed with uncanny precision.
Max looked at the knives with wide eyes. Blocking them was impossible. His armor could probably take some hits, but it would definitely hurt and injure him.
Within a second, his brain thought of an outcome. There was only one choice.
His eyes followed the knives' trajectory, and he jumped to the left, dodging the first three. He grabbed an axe thrown by Trouser from the ground and deflected the remaining knives. Luckily, it was close, and he had time to spare.
"Stop moving, you eel!"
The barbarian boss actually shouted once again and threw knives in rapid succession. Max wondered whether the boss was an idiot or not.
"You told me to move earlier, idiot!"
— Trouser is an idiot.
— Indeed.
— Can't agree more.
— But that idiot can solo you blindfolded.
— Can't agree more.
The chat reacted to the situation differently, but they mostly agreed that Trouser was strong.
On the other hand, Max had found an opening. From what he observed from the start, Trouser had never moved from where he stood when he was throwing. This was this boss' weakness.
A wide grin crept onto Max's face as he rushed forward, dodging the knives swiftly and smoothly.
"Chat, are you ready?! I will show you something new."
— Oooh! Finally!
— What will you do? What will you do?
— Is it an air run? Impossible!
— Axe three-sixty again? Unalive him with that move!
"It's not axe three-sixty," Max responded to the chat while jumping around.
The fury of knives hadn't stopped yet, and the battle behind him still raged. The knights still needed some time before defeating all the barbarians.
Before that happened, Max planned to defeat Trouser alone without any help.
'That viral clip! I won't let the knights ruin it!'
Powered with a desire to create a viral clip, the first-time soloing Trouser, Max increased his speed further. He parried some with his axe and twisted his body to avoid others, narrowly escaping the deadly dance of blades.
"Oh? You're approaching me?!" Trouser growled loudly, throwing his shield away. "Come!"
Knowing his knives were useless, the barbarian boss took two kukris from his back and rushed toward Max. His large figure looked like a train. Each of his steps shook the ground and left behind a deep footprint.
Compared to Max, he was twice as big and probably also twice as strong.
However…
'He's slow and he can't react fast. His reaction earlier was just from his instinct.'
That was what Max wanted to exploit. When they got close to each other, he executed his plan.
With a powerful leap, Max soared into the air, executing a midair spin that left the viewers in awe.
As he descended, his axe also swung down with him. In a breathtaking moment, Trouser was unable to respond, and Max executed a perfect attack, cleaving the barbarian boss in half through the skull.
Swoosh! Crash!
Unable to bear the burden, the axe cracked into pieces as Max landed behind Trouser's body.
The battlefield and the chat fell silent for a moment as everyone registered the stunning maneuver.
Then, with energies that could be felt even through texts, the chat erupted into cheers, celebrating Max's remarkable victory.
— Whooooaaahh!!!
— DAMN
— What did… He just did a wheel spin?! He freaking split Trouser in half!
— Breeze wheel… Scary! Is this man truly not cheating?!
— More than that, he soloed Trouser the Thrower! He freaking won!!
— SOLO TROUSER!
Indeed. Max's midair forward spin wasn't only surprising, but it was a move that also broke the first time.
He became the first player that soloed Trouser the Thrower, a boss that needed a squadron to defeat.
Today… A history had been made.
"Wooooaaah!!"
Everyone would remember Breeze whether they liked it or not.
"I did it!!"
[Moonlover41 has donated 200 diamonds!]
[Mebeautiful has donated 300 diamonds!]
— I was here!
— I was here!
[Maddening has donated 500 diamonds!]
[Crazy! Crazy! Crazy! Breeze is crazy!]
— I was here!
— I want to become Breeze's student! Take me in!
[AxeLover has donated 1,000 diamonds!]
[Take my money!]
The donations and chat poured in without stopping. It was how great Max's achievement of soloing Trouser was. The viewers were excited and amazed!
Some viewers also posted clips and new threads immediately in the community forum. Some curious people joined the livestream, pumping up the viewers to pass the 400 mark.
"Thank you for the donations! Moonlover41, thank you for the 200. Mebeautiful, thank you for the 300! And Madenning and AxeLover. I really appreciate all your support!"
Max recited the names one by one, thanking the viewers who gave him donations. AxeLover and Maddening weren't unfamiliar names. In fact, Max remembered AxeLover as he gave him his first stream mission, and Maddening had donated to him before.
In the end, the donations for today alone, including what he got before, reached 4700 diamonds.
'Crazy!'
He still couldn't believe it even when he saw the notification in the corner of his vision.
However, Max couldn't stop there yet. There was still another mission.
"Now, let's kick Huh Ah knight's ass!"
— Let's goo!
— The barbarians are panicking now that Trouser is dead.
— It's your chance! Use this riot to kick him!
"That's the plan."
Just as the chat mentioned. After Max killed Trouser, the barbarians' army looked shaken, and the knights managed to push them, causing them to spread.
His mission wouldn't end before the battle wrapped up. So Max still had a few minutes left to sneak behind Huh Ah knight and kick his butt to finish the stream mission. He used this chance to take his remaining axe first before going toward Huh Ah knight.
While running toward Huh Ah knight, Max opened the mission to see the progress.
[Knight's Lament]
[The barbarians' army has attacked the Rami Kingdom! Head to the front line and push back the enemies with Knight Captain Hutch!]
[Progress: 1/1 Trouser killed
43/125 Barbarians killed]
More than 80 barbarians were still left. They tried their best to run instead of confronting the knights.
"Chase after them! Don't let them run!"
Huh Ah knight gave out orders as he stopped his horse and jumped down. Chasing the crazy barbarians on the horse in huge numbers could cause friendly fire.
"Catch some of them! We need information about their main army!"
Especially since the knights wanted to catch some prisoners for information, it would be hard to do so from horseback. So, some knights also jumped down the horse and started to tie the barbarians.
The commander, Huh Ah, turned around and smiled widely when he saw Max approaching. Huh Ah knight spread his arms and hugged Max.
"Huh ah! You did a good job!"
'Huh ah?'
Max couldn't react when he heard him speak.
"Huh ah huh ah huh ah!" The commander laughed loudly as he hit Max's back and backed away.
— There it is, Huh Ah!
— Huh ah huh ah huh ah!
— No matter how many times I heard it, his laugh is irritating.
The chat filled the chat immediately, imitating the commander.
They gave Max some context as to why the current commander was called Huh Ah knight and not butt-kicking knight or something.
"To think you killed Trouser by yourself! I will recommend you to get a medal when we return!"
"Thank you?" Max answered, still confused by the strange laugh.
'That's a laugh? So Huh Ah isn't his name, but it's how he laughed?'
While the commander praised Max exaggeratedly, making him feel awkward and unable to kick him in the butt, the other knights rounded up the barbarians and tied some of them.
At that moment, the barbarians who resisted the knights fought in many directions, using their swords, axes, and even bows.
One barbarian stood on top of the empty hill where there were no knights around. He aimed his bow toward Huh Ah knight's back with no one realizing.
No one but Max.
"Die!"
Pang!
The barbarian released the string, and the arrow flew straight at a fast speed, splitting the wind.
Max's brain worked at an incredible speed as he saw the arrow going toward him. Time seemed to slow down slightly as he decided what to do.
Evading the arrow was easy, but Huh Ah knight would get hit in the back. He didn't seem to notice the incoming arrow.
No matter what, if Max wanted to finish the game perfectly, he needed to help Huh Ah knight. Also…
'Isn't this the perfect time?'
He finally had a reason to kick Huh Ah knight's butt.
Without hesitation, Max quickly ducked and stretched his leg. It was fast, and the wind split. A bone-cracking sound rang loudly when his metal boot hit Huh Ah's soft butt that wasn't covered in armor.
Crack!
"Aggh!"
A painful yell resounded as the commander was sent flying to the side. He rolled around the ground before stopping himself and glared at Max.
"What the heck are you do–"
Zoop!
Huh Ah's shout was interrupted by an arrow embedded in the ground beside Max. He stopped and turned around, looking at the archer that the nearby knight stopped.
"Commander! Are you okay?!" One of the knights shouted worriedly.
Realization washed over Huh Ah knight as he slowly turned to Max, who stood up with a complex expression. His anger was gone.
"Did you just save me?" The commander asked.
"My apologies. I don't know how to do it gently. It's an urgent situation." Max answered while bowing his head. His expression couldn't be seen.
"N-No." The commander shook his head in guilt.
"I should be the one apologizing. If you didn't blow me away, that arrow would lodge in my head. You have saved my life, thank you." He patted Max on the shoulder. "You should rest, Sir Breeze. Leave the rest to me and the other knights. Good work."
With that, Huh Ah knight walked away to his horse and jumped up. He groaned in pain while rubbing his butt, but a satisfied smile was on his face.
Meanwhile, Max kept his head down low before walking away from the battlefield. His expression looked weird, as he had tried his best not to laugh loudly from the notification from both the streaming platform and the game.
[Mission completed!]
[9,000 diamonds have been donated!]