บท 10: Squashed
Zayn was a little bit stronger than before, however, the Skeletons of the two Adventurers were still faster and stronger than him.
When the taller Skeleton smashed the silver iron Warhammer down on his head, Zayn could barely jump to the side.
The Warhammer looked like a huge block of metal that was the size of a shoe box. It looked extremely heavy and dangerous with one flat side and one pointed side that was curved downward.
He had to ignore his safety as he landed on the ground and he gave an involuntarily shudder upon noticing the Warhammer smash into the ground less than half a meter next to him.
The smaller skeleton appeared next to him all of a sudden, and the silver iron shortsword thrust out with dangerous velocity.
'What the…'
His reflexes were sharp, allowing him to roll to the left on the ground by ignoring the sharp pebbles digging into his skin, almost cutting into it. It was still better to be pricked by some stones than to have a blade stuck in between his ribs.
The silver iron shortsword of the smaller Skeleton missed him by an inch, and Zayn had to use his acrobatic skills to swiftly get back on his feet. He was already expecting the follow-up attack of the smaller Skeleton but nothing happened unexpectedly.
Zayn could only see that the smaller Skeleton was moving behind the larger Skeleton, bending down to pick up something while the larger Skeleton picked up the Warhammer once again.
The ground around the warhammer's area of impact was cracked open, giving Zayn a rough estimation of the larger Skeleton's brute force and the weight of the Warhammer. It was not accurate but it was enough to know that it could give him a serious injury.
Zayn scanned his surrounding area quickly to make sure that he had enough space to move before the Warhammer could be swung through the cavern tunnel once again. The larger Skeleton's attacks might be dangerous because they were sure-kill attacks, but that didn't mean that the smaller Skeleton was less dangerous.
Both were dangerous opponents in their own respective way, which made it even more difficult for Zayn to emerge victorious because they were working together and coordinating much better than he expected from Undeads who had yet to create their first Soulring.
'How the hell could they die if their teamwork is so amazing?!'
Zayn was cursing in his mind and moving backward. His spatial awareness was very helpful in the current situation as it allowed him to see the silver iron shortsword that was thrust toward him once again. It came from the left, forcing Zayn to move further to the right or backward. The Warhammer strike would follow soon not long after, inevitably pushing him closer to the corner.
That was where the two Skeletons wanted him to be.
However, Zayn didn't comply with their plan. He didn't evade the sword thrust but inched closer to the smaller Skeleton. He blocked the sword thrust with his iron pole and tried to further decrease the distance from the Skeleton.
That way, the larger Skeleton couldn't smash the warhammer down on them without risking injuring its comrade. Zayn would love to see the skeleton hitting its comrade but that was unlikely to happen. However, unexpectedly, the warhammer came crashing down.
Zayn could barely react in time as he saw that the smaller Skeleton didn't move closer to him. It looked like the smaller Skeleton was trying to keep a bit of distance from him up to a certain point, and the reason for this was quite obvious.
The Warhammer came down, nearly killing Zayn who had to forcefully change his path of advance and jump to the side.
His ankles creaked horribly due to the sudden movement and a bolt of pain shot up from his feet but he had to endure it because it saved his life. The Warhammer crashed down to the ground merely centimeters away from his feet.
Some stone fragments hit his chest and head, and one almost hit his eye. It missed him by a hair's breadth. Zayn would have breathed out in relief if he hadn't seen the smaller Skeleton raising its left arm all of a sudden.
Zayn tried to twist his body mid-air but he couldn't react fast enough. The smaller Skeleton flung a bone through the air and it pierced deep into his thigh.
'We're not playing dodgeball, you fucker!'
When his brain registered the injury, a fresh wave of pain spread through him. However, he had already landed on the ground by then. He jumped up from the ground because there was nothing else he could do. Zayn was not ready to give up just because the smaller skeleton had changed its tactic from killing him instantly to fighting a battle of attrition.
He might be at a disadvantage in such fights but who cared about something like that? Zayn definitely didn't!
However, that was not something the Skeletons were bothered about either. The smaller Skeleton didn't stay idle after it threw the sharp bone toward him. It shot forward and swung the silver iron shortsword toward him in a large curve.
It looked like the lesser Skeleton was giving him a second to recuperate and react, but that was not the case, at all. He realized that the swing was a necessity for the lesser Skeleton to accumulate enough momentum to cut through the iron pole and his head at the same time.
Even if it was not enough to cut through the iron pole in a single blow, the piece of scrap was bound to get badly damaged.
Zayn thought about evading the attack by stepping aside but the larger Skeleton was already on the move and closing in from behind as well. It attacked him with just the warhammer but that weapon would smash him into a pulp faster than he could blink.
Furthermore, he was already cornered and close to the wall behind him. There weren't many ways to evade both his opponents and his movements were slowed down due to the bone that was still stuck in his thigh. Zayn didn't even have time to pull the sharp-edged bone out of his thigh. His life was on the line, so the bone had to wait!
Pushing forward while trying to block the sword slash of the smaller Skeleton, Zayn quickly realized that he had overestimated the remaining strength in his body. He was already beyond exhausted and the only reasons for him to be still standing were the adrenaline that pumped through his veins and his sheer willpower.
Zayn promised himself that he wouldn't die here, which meant that he had to give his all and fight just as recklessly as the Skeletons were fighting.
Leaning forward, while diverting the trajectory of the sword slash, Zayn quickly realized that his iron pole was cut in half. It was not just damaged, but cut in half. He would have frowned if he had enough strength left in his body to do so.
However, he didn't have any energy to waste as he reached out for the right forearm of the Skeleton.
It was now or never as Zayn made a huge gamble. The shortsword in the smaller Skeleton's right hand twisted, which was enough for him to deflect the blade. The attack was slowed down and much weaker than before but it scratched Zayn's back nonetheless. Trying not to scream due to the pain that spread through his entire body, Zayn pulled the smaller Skeleton closer to himself with his iron-tight grip around its wrist.
He had already let go of the iron pole because it was useless. Using both of his free hands, he pulled the smaller Skeleton that intended to retreat just when Zayn saw something from the corner of his eye.
And that made him pull the smaller Skeleton harder, forcing it to take another step closer to him. While the smaller Skeleton was still trying to retreat, Zayn suddenly let go of it and he pushed himself to the side with all his might.
His sight was hazy once again and his senses were much duller than before but the sound of the Warhammer crashing down into the ground had never sounded as pleasant as right now.
Zayn was not able to see what was going on because he was still mid-air, but the sound of countless bones getting crushed said more than a thousand words.
At this moment, only one thought flashed through his mind.
'Fuck Zayn of this world…fuck this world…fuck everyone else…I'm gonna survive and do whatever I want!'
**
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