I can feel the difference with each thrust. This spear glides through the air with ease because its weight is much better balanced. I plunge it into the first goblin's chest and it drops instantly. I yank it free and spin around, skewering another goblin in the throat.
The new steel spear combined with my extra Strength stats increased the potency of my attacks greatly. Low-level goblins that required two thrusts of my iron spear now fall from a single precise strike. Furthermore, if I hit a vital spot I can even dispatch level 4 goblins in one thrust.
[Power Strike] became even more potent too, allowing me to kill a level 6 goblin with a well-aimed plunge to its chest.
Ayame moves with lethal grace beside me with her new sword flashing as she mows down the goblins. She's a blur of motion as her strikes are quick and deadly. Each swing of her blade brings down another goblin, and her movements are so fluid that it looks like a deadly dance more than a desperate fight for survival.
I stab another goblin through the heart, then spin and slam the butt of my spear into the face of a goblin trying to flank me. It crumbles to the ground and I quickly finish it off with a thrust to the neck. I've killed six goblins by now, and the pile of bodies around us grows larger by the second.
Ayame is relentless as she slices through the goblins, she's taken down twelve of them already. Her eyes blaze with fury and each of her strikes are filled with a palpable hatred for these creatures.
When there's only two goblins remaining she turns on her heel and says;"I leave the last pair to you. I will face the troll alone. Once you've slain the goblins run to the forest like there's no tomorrow. Don't worry about my safety and don't even dare to think about helping me out. A light tap of its finger will put you into your grave."
The sacrificial nature reminiscent of the honor-bound samurai of old shines through her persona at this moment. I bite my lower lip in frustration but I can't bring up any better counter solution. With the troll being above level 20 it can surely outrun me if we attempt an escape, and Ayame being only level 14 isn't safe either.
Dejectedly, I turn to the goblins, praying that Ayame somehow triumphs over the monstrosity that is now very close to us. The sounds of battle are deafening, and I hear a loud roar followed by a bang, probably indicating that the troll missed Ayame with its hammer.
I quickly dispatch the goblins - my new spear makes swift work of them. As I turn back, an unexpected sight meets my eyes. Ayame is darting on the ground, skirting the troll and leaving small scratches on its legs. But what truly surprises me is the newcomer seated atop the troll's neck. It's a golden-haired girl with dog-like ears and a long ponytail, clinging to the beast.
The woman's eyes are filled with unwavering resolve as she invokes a spell, "[Behemoth's Bane]." Her curved dagger becomes coated in a foul-looking poisonous substance that's dark purple and extremely menacing. She begins stabbing the war troll repeatedly all over the neck and head with ferocious intensity and speed. Each stab emits a sizzle as the poison seeps into the troll's thick skin. Her arm flickers in and out of existence at speeds I'm struggling mightily to follow and pierces the troll's hide at least thirty times.
The war troll roars in pain and fury with its massive hands flailing in an attempt to reach its attacker. Despite the significant damage it had taken, the troll doesn't relent and finally manages to reach the girl, after which it proceeds by grabbing and throwing her to the ground. She lets out a whimper as she is hurled through the air, and ends up crashing into the ground with a painfully sounding thud. She landed so close to me that I was almost hit by her.
The girl struggles and fails to get up - her body is too battered from the fall. The war troll, now even more enraged, turns its attention back to Ayame, who continues her relentless assault.
The troll suffered severe injuries and despite Ayame saying that its specialty is [Rapid Regeneration] I see no signs of him healing. The poison spell probably had anti-healing properties.
I step in front of the heavily injured girl who is still attempting to get back into the fray of battle despite her perilous state. I kneel down in front of her and gently pat her shoulder. "I'm forever grateful for your intervention - whoever you might be - and I swear that we won't let it go to waste. Tend to your injuries and leave the rest to us." I equip my most encouraging smile from my expression inventory on my face.
She looks at me with wide, disbelieving eyes before asking hesitantly, "you thanked me?" I examine her with a puzzled gaze and then I notice an iron collar strapped tightly around her neck. It's the exact same Ayame has.
It doesn't take a genius to piece things together. She must be a slave who has never been thanked for her services by her owner. Now that I examine her better, I see numerous scars in various stages of healing all over her skin that are visible from under her dark ragged attire. She is obviously severely mistreated on a near-daily basis.
However, I don't have the leisure to dwindle around any longer. I know I can't approach the troll because compared to Ayame I'm slower, significantly worse at acrobatics and I'm much less experienced. Instead, I decide to utilize my Assassin class's innate spell, [Knife Throw] for the first time.
Before standing from my kneeling position I take her dagger with great care as it's still coated in the bile substance. She looks at me worriedly, but seeing my reassuring smile, or perhaps remembering my previous words, she doesn't object.
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I wait for the perfect chance, which is provided by Ayame and the copious amounts of poison already present in the troll's system. When it pauses for a brief second amidst its heavy panting, I activate the spell and aim, throwing the dagger into the troll's left eye socket. It falters for the first time, kneeling on the ground and grasping at its injury before pulling the knife out amidst loud cries.
Ayame uses the opportunity to dart in and slashes at the troll's knee from behind. But the troll, despite its exceedingly serious wounds, thrashes wildly. It manages to swipe at Ayame, hitting her side and sending her flying across the air. She is clearly just as surprised as I am at how resilient this monster is. The newcomer stabbed it with a potent poisoned blade in vital points so many times, yet it refuses to fall. I can see Ayame struggling to get up and coughing blood from her mouth. My heart races with fear and frustration.
I'm almost completely out of mana, but I don't give up. Desperation fuels my search through the 20 goblins' corpses for any projectiles. I begin throwing bone knives, rugged iron daggers, rocks, anything I can find at the heavily injured war troll. Each projectile distracts it momentarily, allowing Ayame precious seconds to recover.
The troll roars again, this time with pain and anger. Its movements become more erratic as it swings its massive hammer wildly, trying to crush anything in its path. The ground shakes with every step it takes toward me.
Once I'm out of the easy-to-throw items I pick my spear up and aim it. I've never thrown a spear or javelin before, and this fact is very evident in the result of my attempt as it barely scratches its shoulder.
Ayame rises from the ground with a trembling body and limps toward the troll from behind.
The troll turns toward her notices the noble samurai too late. Ayame moves with blinding speed, becoming a blur of motion as she leaps into the air after casting [Flash Step].
Ayame activates a spell, "[Raijin's Fury: Giant Slayer]" She channels all her remaining strength and focus into a single, decisive attack. The air around her hums with power as she raises the blade high as her form becomes a perfect representation of a samurai's grace and precision. Her blade grows in size while getting enveloped in crackling, violent lightning, she then arcs her weapon downward, aiming for the base of the troll's neck.
The monster's eyes widen in shock just before its head is cleanly severed from its body. After that, blood begins to spurt from the wound in great amounts, and the massive body collapses to the ground accompanied by a thunderous crash.
Ayame now stands over the fallen troll while breathing heavily and with her eyes blazing with a great deal of triumph as well as exhaustion. The struggle was desperate for both sides, but in the end, we were the ones to emerge victorious. The troll's decapitated head rolls a few feet away with eyes that are still wide in disbelief.
I rush to Ayame's side with my heart pounding rapidly. She's barely standing as her body trembles from extreme exertion and pain. I catch her before she falls to the ground and she lets herself be embraced as she leans into me, looking for any form of support she can get.
I hug her tightly, lift her into the air, and twirl ourselves around in a circular motion during which I let out a guttural, animalistic roar of victory. The sound echoed through the now-quiet forest. To my surprise, Ayame soon follows my barbaric antics as she lets out a victory cry of her own with a fierce but joyous tone. Her shout catches me off guard, but it only adds to the exhilaration of our hard-won triumph.
We both collapse to the ground and we end up with Ayame sitting in my lap, her back resting against my chest. Although the position would normally be quite sexual in nature, I'm too pumped with adrenaline to care. Instead, I'm filled with a profound sense of camaraderie, achievement, and relief.
Ayame gently caresses my arms which are resting on her belly while I am swaying both her and my upper body from side to side. This motion created a feeling as if we were sitting on a boat that was rocking back and forth due to the ocean waves hitting its body. "We did it, we did it! I can't believe that we actually did it!" she repeats with a voice that's a mix of incredulity and joy.
I laugh happily and the sound of my happiness mingles with hers. "Hahaha! Yes, we did! And what a magnificent battle it was!"
For a minute we just sit there, savoring the victory. The adrenaline slowly begins to fade, replaced by a deep sense of satisfaction and exhaustion.
We calmly rest our tired bodies with Ayame still sitting comfortably in my embrace. After ten or so minutes, we both recover enough energy to refocus on the current situation.
I glance over at the dog-kin girl who had helped us, or to be more truthful, saved us, and see her still struggling to stand despite her only being injured once. The troll's throw dealt more damage than I would've expected. It was definitely the right choice for me not to get close to the monstrous creature. "We should check on her," I say softly, to which Ayame nods her head.
She rises from my lap with shaky legs, after which she reaches her right hand towards me and pulls me up from my seated position. I find it more difficult to walk than I'd expected. This battle really took its toll on me.
We soon reach the dog-kin but before we could say anything she whimpers and hurriedly kowtows despite the evident pain the movement causes in her body. With a shaky voice she begins to beg;"P-please don't hurt Blossom… Blossom knows she made a very big mistake in the battle. Blossom was too focused on killing the troll and failed to recognize that it was about to grab her…"
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