'What's happening?' Dan Butler asked himself as his body moved on its own. His thoughts became muddled and confused. He couldn't concentrate on his actions or even make sense of them. All he knew was that he had to attack the man wearing armor. The others were all inconsequential to him. He even ignored the dragon, his original target, as he brandished his blade. He tried his best to clear his head, but the overwhelming pressure emitted from his opponent distracted him. Eventually, Dan had no choice but to accept the obvious, 'That man is my only enemy.'
"Shit, it works really well!" Brandon smiled as he gazed at their enemies. All thirteen of them had rushed forward, though they appeared drunk and drowsy as they did so. Even Edward was surprised by the potent effect Markus's skill had created. If they managed to fight like this for the entire battle, Edward might not even have to dodge any attacks. He turned to Markus and smiled.
Markus nodded from his position, His body was surrounded by a flaming red aura.
"I can only hold this skill for ten seconds!" Markus yelled, startling the others into action, "There are too many people. I can't move until they've been whittled down to three."
Edward nodded and began his attack. He searched for Dan and found him at the back of the group. Unfortunately, he was too far away to attack during the provocation window, so Edward had no choice but to focus on the enemies directly surrounding him. Leila and Brandon were in a similar situation, but each managed to take their scuffles far away from Edward.
Edward looked forward, to his enemies, and counted three.
︽
James Hardy
Lvl 5
Warrior
HP: 80 | DMG: 36 | DEF: 21
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︽
Evan Boris
Lvl 5
Warrior
HP: 100 | DMG: 27 | DEF: 25
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︽
Daniel Strogan
Lvl 6
Captain
HP: 85 | DMG: 26 | DEF: 22
︾
'So strong!' Edward thought to himself as he gazed at the stats before him. He immediately became nervous and looked at his own stats.
︽
The Winged Legion
Lvl 2
HP: 55 | DMG: 12 | DEF: 16
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'Their damage is so high, my armor won't even make a difference,' Edward quickly realized. At that moment, he knew he couldn't allow himself to be hit. If James hit him just twice, Edward would be killed! Luckily, though, all three of his opponents were severely mentally debuffed. All three of them were too focused on Markus to even see Edward.
He rushed forward, his boots sailing through the air as he ran forward. Edward first reached Daniel— the highest level of the three and shoved his sword into Daniel's face. Daniel wore the same type of leather armor he did— which meant his helmet didn't protect his face at all. Edward's sword didn't meet any resistance or an evasion attempt as Edward attacked Daniel.
Almost as if it were divined to do so, Edward's sword pierced through Daniel's nose and emerged out the other end. Blood immediately began to spill from Daniel's head as his body went limp. Edward quickly used his momentum to turn to Daniel's left. As he did so, Edward pulled on his blade— severing the rest of Daniel's head as he did so.
Daniel's lifeless body— his head cleaved in two— fell to the ground. Only a moment later did he see the notification for the kill.
︽
Lethal hit! 85 Damage Dealt!
Your XP has been delivered to The Forgotten Flame
︾
'Luckily I don't have to worry about my damage if I strike where I'm guaranteed to kill them. Otherwise, I'd have to strike them several times,' Edward thought to himself. He looked up and gazed at the other fights. Brandon had used both of his flintlocks to instantly kill two of his opponents. Ikarus had already flown off of his shoulder and begun to wreak havoc on the enemies in the rear— thus killing three already. Leila's two flaming daggers had been used to separate somebody's head from their body— though she appeared to be exhausted already, 'Leila's used all of her mana already. She's too weak to use her flames right now.'
In total, the group had already killed seven enemies. Including Dan Butler, there were six enemies left.
"I'm out!" Edward heard from behind him. The red aura covering Markus's body disappeared and lucidity began to return to their enemies. The provocation skill had ended. Edward rushed forward, flustered at the time he wasted observing everybody else. He used his sword to target Evan. His sword went through the man's neck, decapitating him instantly. He had still been recovering from Markus's skill at the time— which proved fatal.
︽
Lethal hit! 100 Damage Dealt!
Your XP has been delivered to The Forgotten Flame
︾
As Evan's head fell to the ground, Edward swung his sword once again, this time targeting James. Unfortunately, James reacted too quickly for him. The man swiftly dodged the attack— though not without taking a heavy cut across his face. As he jumped back, he put his hand to his cheek to stifle the blood loss.
︽
Pathetic Spot! 24 Damage Dealt!
︾
︽
James Hardy
HP: 56/80
︾
As soon as James backed away, Edward turned his attention to the rest of his enemies. In the time between Markus's warning and the current moment, Brandon had killed his third enemy, Ikarus had killed an additional two, and Leila had finished off her second enemy. Only James and Dan Butler were left.
James himself was alert and startled. He quickly looked around the battlefield— an expression of horror dawning on his face. Dan Butler was confused as he stood outside the battle. For some reason, he hadn't been touched by Ikarus's flames.
"Wha-What happened?" James muttered. He looked to Edward, his gaze searching desperately for an answer.
"You've lost," Edward smiled. He rushed forward once more as Leila joined him. Brandon and Markus both went to fight Dan. As Edward reached James and swung his weapon, he was surprised to find his speed was matched with his opponent's. James tried to back away to avoid the sword coming for his neck, but he only managed to stumble out of the way, "You've put most of your stats into Power, haven't you? If I had to guess, your Agility isn't even in the double digits, yet."
Edward rushed forward once more and swung his sword at James's arm. By now, Leila had arrived at the fight. Her daggers had already been extinguished, but she didn't seem as exhausted anymore. She quickly shot her fist forward as if she were shadowboxing. A geyser of flames erupted from her fist as she moved.
James's expression turned dark as he saw the second opponent. On one side, he had Edward swinging a sword at his exposed arm. On the other side, a large ball of flames was coming closer to his face like a shooting star. He had to choose, so James chose to dodge the scarier attack.
He took Edward's attack deliberately as he ducked to avoid the flames. Edward's sword severed his arm, causing a fountain of blood to decorate the ground below.
︽
Maim! 24 Damage Dealt!
︾
︽
James Hardy
HP: 32/80
︾
James yelled out in pain as he stumbled to his knees. At that moment, Edward saw an opportunity. He readjusted the angle of his wrist— so his blade was now perpendicular with the ground. Then, with a swing containing all of his strength, Edward brought his blade to James's neck.
︽
Lethal hit! 32 Damage Dealt!
Your experience has been delivered to The Forgotten Flame
︾