As the blade inched closer, the world slowed.
Magnus's gaze swept across the steel—every nick, every imperfection burned itself into his mind.
Straining, he forced his body to move, every muscle screamed in agony, but he refused to crumble.
The blades clashed.
CLANG!
He was sent flying by the force of the blow, rolling on the ground. Grinding to a halt, his legs almost gave out.
'Easier than the first time...' he thought, as he raised his head to glare at the knight.
Another charge. A whooshing sound.
A spear of ice pierced through the knight, sending him flying off the horse.
Bang!
And then nailed him to a tree in the distance.
"Blessed Mother!" Etin shouted with a smile. "I thought you were going to—"
"Doesn't matter!" Magnus cut him off. "There are more of these bastards in the woods. Many more at that."
'Around 40 of them, give or take?'
Etin cast a doubtful look at him.
"How do you know that?"
"I just do. Look. Follow me, and I can find you more. But they're everywhere, Etin." Magnus said gravely, before making his way into the woods.
Hesitantly, Etin followed.
Turning to look at Tiger for some extra help, Magnus received a flat-out refusal.
'The deal was only to transport you and be your mount, not to fight.'
'Fine! Stupid cat...' he thought, before he guided Etin to find the nearest lone enemy.
Along the way, he noticed it started snowing.
Soon, they saw another knight, and the elf's face turned grave.
"How many are there, human?"
"Around 20 in a 500-meter radius."
"They have slain my clan, and now they want my village!" Etin shouted, his voice laced with pure hatred.
"Do you think your village can hold them off?"
"I want to say yes..." he frowned, "But no, they probably cannot. Since they've decided to strike, they must have something up their sleeve. The third prince is a scheming, backstabbing pile of excrement."
"Then—"
"Go away. This isn't your fight, and you would die with your current strength. Since you know where they are, you'll have an easy time avoiding them."
Magnus looked at Etin, uncertainty visible on his face.
'This guy... I don't know if he's foolish or kind. Oh, he did mention he was a child.'
"Etin, how strong are you?"
"Why do you—"
"Just answer." Magnus waved his hand.
"Strong enough to face 10 normal knights. Or one lieutenant. Why do you ask?"
"We have two options. Number one, we slaughter our way to your village. Number two, we slaughter as many of these bastards here and make them think there's a big fish here. And don't give me the crap about me running, I'm a dead man if I do that, so we're in this together, but you will owe me BIG time."
He extended his hand, a grin blooming on his face.
"Deal?"
Hesitation appeared in Etin's eyes. "I..." Before he resolutely shook his hand. "Fine. What if they realize it's just the two of us?"
"Ever heard the saying, 'Dead men tell no tales'? Or, well, dead elves? They're spread out, so they'll be easy pickings, with only some groups here and there."
"Ah... Can we guarantee we're going to get them all?" still skeptical, the elf asked.
"Hah! Etin, oh Etin, my friend. There is another saying where I come from." He stretched out his hand, and a snowflake landed on his open palm.
"Fortune favors the bold. The weather is on our side, my friend."
'A snowstorm, right on time.' he glanced at the sky, as more and more snowflakes fell.
"How did you— No, it doesn't matter. They will not let it go if their troops suddenly disappear. And since you said they're spread out, the village is definitely still holding on."
"I'm well aware. Second plan?" Magnus asked.
Another spear of ice flew through the air, spelling doom for the knight nearby.
"Second plan," came Etin's reply.
"One thing," Magnus added, "If you can leave stragglers half-dead for me to finish off, that would help immensely."
Casting a curious glance at Magnus, Etin simply nodded without prying further.
"Great, let's go hunting! And let me say one thing before we begin."
He took a deep breath, clenching the damaged short sword firmly.
"These bastards aren't humans; they are monsters." Closing his eyes, he prepared himself for what was to come.
"...I can acknowledge that, Magnus." Etin nodded.
"Okay. There's one coming closer, let's say hello."
---
The snowstorm intensified, by now heavily obscuring vision.
The lone knight could barely make out what was in front of him, shivering under his plate armor.
'This isn't fair! Why must we search this side when Oleg and his band get to attack the village!' His blood boiled, 'They will get to keep the spoils, the women, and the weapons, while we—'
His horse suddenly stopped.
'Huh?' Before he could think, the horse threw him off.
Thankfully, the snow cushioned his fall.
Getting up from the ground, he reached out to grab the reins.
He felt his vision blur, and he was violently slammed into the ground.
"Tell us everything you know, or you will die a gruesome death, villain!" Etin pinned him down, a blade inches from his eye.
"I... I'll tell you!"
"Is the village under attack yet?" Etin asked, concern apparent in his voice.
"No! No! They're still assembling the siege engines, the village is still standing, lord elf!"
"Then why are there so many of you here patrolling instead of joining the siege?" Magnus threw out another question.
"Don't know! Commander's orders, sir. I don't know! Please spare me!" the knight pleaded.
Pierce!
A short sword pierced into the visor, drawing blood.
[19/40]
His hand trembling, Magnus took the sword from the knight.
Not looking towards Etin, he said with a shaky voice, "Let's go, next."
After killing a batch of knights, Magnus looked towards the level-up notification.
'Five lives reduced to numbers... Am I any better than them? No, I can't think like that. Focus. They're evil, I'm doing the right thing.'
He gazed at the status window. 'I hope at least that I am good...'
[Name: Magnus (changeable)]
[Class: Conqueror]
[Level: 4]
[Experience: 3/80]
[STR: 9] [SPD: 10] [INT: 11] [WIL: 45] [-] [-]
[10 points available.]
'My stats increased? I guess due to the constant fighting, my body got stronger on its own.'
[STR: 15] [SPD: 14]
After he distributed his points, a warm feeling washed over his body.
The sword he somewhat struggled to wield now felt like a plastic toy.
'Marvelous,' he thought, before swinging the sword.
The sound of the sword splitting the air was much louder than before.
"Can I try fighting one of them on my own?" Magnus turned to look at Etin, who simply nodded.
With the map, Magnus found the nearest Knight before running towards them.
Soon, the lone knight came into view.
Upon seeing Magnus, without hesitation, the knight charged toward him.
Seeing the approaching enemy, Magnus only had one thought.
'Slow!'
Swords clashed, and he was once again sent flying.
Though this time, he landed gracefully on his feet.
His hand, however, still shook from the impact of the collision.
'...I see why cavalry is so damn dangerous.'
He cast a glance at the horseman charging toward him. More specifically, the horse.
Instantly, the knight was thrown off the horse and landed on the ground.
Magnus didn't miss this opportunity, charging toward him.
An overhead chop from Magnus—
A horizontal swing from the knight—
CLANG!
Both were pushed back, yet Magnus was the first to continue the offensive.
A diagonal slash came his way, which he deflected with his own diagonal cut.
Unbalanced, the knight started falling backward.
Pierce!
A sword pierced his neck, pinning him firmly to the ground.
After a brief struggle, the knights body went limp.
Ragged breaths escaped Magnus lips, looking at the corpse underneath him.
"Are you okay?" Etin asked, placing a hand on Magnus shoulder.
"I'm fine. I'm fine." he didn't know whom he reassured, "Let's keep going, there many more of these left."
The next two hours, they intercepted countless knights and slew them.
Magnus, who struck down another knight in a duel, collapsed to the ground.
A warm feeling spread throughout his body, and he revived a notification.
[Level up.]
[Skill shop unlocked.]
'It's starting to pay off-' he thought, before opening the newly unlocked skill shop.