Reika hurriedly replied and kicked off the ground in the opposite direction of the goblins and retreated. She cleared the way through the bushes and Asher quickly followed suit.
"Kyaaaaaaa!"
Another goblin suddenly got in his way as he was about to leave but Asher just smiled at it. His arm moved in a blur and the head of Goblin didn't even have time to react in shock as its head just slipped to the floor spurting blood.
Asher turned to look at the goblin and then turned his gaze back to Reika's figure that was moving on ahead.
"It's really getting dangerous."
Not only would it get dangerous for their territory with this odd development, but also for other humans in other territories who did not have capable warriors like Asher.
Asher clicked his tongue and started to move again, chasing after Reika..
***
"Oh, my gosh."
Reika's breathing was going in and out at a rapid pace as she felt exhausted. She suddenly swung her sword at an incoming Goblin, who appeared in front of her.
Her arms moved quickly and the Goblin's body was diced into several pieces with one move from Reika's swordsmanship. She had killed goblin after goblin with Asher as they were retreating.
"I think it's already been two hours…."
"Reika, one thing to know about these creatures, is that they do not easily give up on their prey. Once they set their sights on a target, there are only two options for them. Either catch it and kill it, or collapse from exhaustion and die."
"Araa!"
Asher avoided the incoming spear from another goblin stabbed his sword right in between the goblin's eyes. The light from the Goblin's pupils faded as it fell to the floor with a thump.
"Keruk! Keruk!"
"Kreeeee!"
"When will it end…"
Dozens of goblins had already been slain by the two as they retreated. Reika groaned with an exasperated look on her face.
Seeing this and an incoming group of goblins, Asher clicked his tongue and started to stimulate his unique aura into his right arm that was gripping the sword and slashed sideways.
BOOM!
The trees on all sides of the forest broke apart and shattered from Asher's swing, let alone the bodies of the goblins exploding from the sheer power of his strike. The splinters of the bark from the trees that had shattered pierced into the next wave of goblins that were out of range from his blow, as blood spurted out from their bodies.
"KEEEK!"
"KRYAAA!!"
'There are two more times left.'
Asher gripped his throbbing arm. He had already used his power three times whilst escaping. Reika had seen this but did not speak a word as she was busy just trying to survive. He only had two more times to use it, as no matter how hard he trained, right now he could only use the power 5 times in a day.
"There should only be a few more coming. We need to split up and you'll take care of these ones while I take care of the rest.
"Wait what? Why?!"
"You're approaching your limit and will only become a hindrance for me at this point. "
No matter how talented Reika was, it was only her first time in a real battle. On the contrary, she had endured will till now. However, it was not nearly even close to half the work. Hence why Asher noticed how exhausted she was and told her to head back after she took care of a few more of them.
"But-"
"Don't be stubborn."
Asher's cold reply shut Reika's mouth up.
"You agreed to follow whatever I told you to do if I let you come with me. Are you taking back your word right now?"
"No… I'll do it."
"If I'm correct, if you leave, they'll only chase me since I was the one who attacked their base. I can outrun them so I'll be letting you regain your stamina for a bit. I'll be back later."
"Okay…"
Asher slowly moved through the forestry and disappeared through the darkness. Reika faintly felt Asher's presence completely disappear as she then realized she was by herself now.
"Fucking hell…."
She cursed out loud. It was a curse that an aristocratic and young lady, would never utter out loud, yet Reika couldn't help it,
"I'm just being a hindrance to you?"
To help her regain her energy, he forced himself to take the hard path and attract the goblins in another direction. But what about it? She had been the one to put him in such a dangerous situation. She couldn't help but feel helpless at how selfish she was.
"I want to be stronger…."
She wanted to be stronger so that she could stand side-by-side with Asher. She wanted him to feel proud of her. For the first time in her life, she felt helpless and inferior to someone in so many ways when she met Asher. Yet instead of giving up, she continued to train. But, it was still not enough for her.
"Kkkkkaruk."