The enemy blocking the way was a spellcasting mage.
When the male magician finished chanting, two wolves appeared beside him, glowing with a pale blue flame. They weren’t real animals, but rather summoned beasts made of fire. The Dark Elf warriors surrounding them also readied their weapons.
“Heh heh heh, it seems you defeated those twin magicians, but it won’t be that easy this time. Enough wasting time, slaughter them all.”
At the man’s signal, they all came towards us at once. Philiana took the lead to meet the enemy. Simultaneously, the two summoned wolves attacked. Elana slipped through the enemy ranks and unleashed flames at the wolves.
“These guys are practically intangible; they’re strong against physical attacks. I’ll handle them.”
As if sensing her as a threat, the two wolves instantly dodged and surrounded her. There were about four enemies coming towards us. Since we outnumbered them, there was a chance of victory if we calmly handled the situation without breaking formation. One of them, wielding a dagger, came towards me. As expected of an assassin, they moved with incredible speed. The distance was closed in an instant. There was no hesitation in how they intended to kill.
But this was actually advantageous. If I could evade the first strike, there would be room for a counterattack. I signaled to Sharin, who was a little further away. The enemy didn’t miss that momentary lapse. The next moment I looked back, I felt my eyes meet my reflection in the blade right before me. My body moved before I could even think. Instinctively, I pulled my chin back and leaned my body backward.
I narrowly avoided the strike. However, as if anticipating my move, a hand from the opposite side reached out and grabbed me by the collar. This was bad – that attack was just a feint. The blade, wielded in reverse grip, was aimed at my throat, ready to kill me.
At that moment, the assassin’s face contorted in pain for an instant. Sharin must have attacked from behind. I used the opening to push down on the hand holding the dagger. Still trying to kill me, they pushed back with tremendous force. Despite me holding their hands with both of mine, the blade drew closer and closer to my throat. It felt like a countdown to death. But perhaps because they were too focused on me, Sharin’s dagger pierced the enemy’s shoulder. Against an opponent taller than her, she leaped up, wrapped her hands around their shoulder, and delivered a blow using her weight.
Even a professional like them had to let go and distance themselves from this. Red blood flowed from the wound where the dagger had been pulled out. Glancing around, I saw everyone else was engaged with their own opponents. Philiana was fighting a heavily armored warrior wielding a massive axe. The axe, seemingly heavier than my own body weight, was swung sideways, slamming into the ground, and then raised. The sheer power was immense. Even she couldn’t get close to it.
“Arisugawa, I’ll handle this one. You go after the mage.”
Nodding to Sharin’s voice, her dagger stained with blood, I slipped past the enemy. The assassin reflexively targeted my back, trying to stop me. But the iron claws failed to grasp my back; instead, Sharin attacked them from behind. Fortunately, everyone was fighting in favorable positions, clearing the path to the mage. I thought we would be in for a tough struggle, but it seemed like we would get through this without serious injuries.
