"I will attack him. You guys wait for my signal. I will give you other orders when the time is right."
"Elijah!"
When the others began to hesitate to swing their swords, Elijah, who had finished replenishing his HP, started forward and attacked the giant knight again and again. Each time his body bounced, Elijah would get back up after he finished drinking another potion. He continued to do so, even if his attacks had little effect on the giant knight.
"Hey... what's he trying to do? Isn't his attack useless?"
Henrik asked as he stared at Elijah, that was fighting in front of him. Deep in his heart, Henrik felt grateful that Elijah asked him to wait. He could probably pretend to be strong in front of others. But Henrik knew very well that his body was shaking violently because he was terrified by the sight of the giant knight.
When animals meet an opponent stronger than them, instinctively, all they want to do is run away. Henrik also felt the same way. If it weren't for his sense of comradely loyalty to the rest of the team, he might have already run away and hid like Gazel was doing right now.
"...I don't know. However, I want to believe in Elijah. He must have had a plan to do something that desperate."
Damian replied while looking at Elijah, who did not give up, then quietly tightened his grip on the sword in his hand.
Living with Elijah made Damian know that Elijah would not make a futile move, even at a time like this. This useless attack must have a purpose. And, Damian was confident that Elijah's plan this time would also work as usual.
Well, Damian's thoughts weren't wrong. Elijah was not a teenager, who was willing to sacrifice for others, not when he came with an important mission to accomplish. There was a purpose to why Elijah had been attacking relentlessly since before. Even if his MP and stamina were running low, Elijah would not stop until he reached the point he wanted.
"Damian! Give me your potion!"
"Alright! Take this, Elijah"
Elijah shouted, and Damian immediately threw his own potion for the teenager. Elijah knew Damian wouldn't refuse his request. The teenager drank Damian's potion, then fought for one more time.
DING!
[User has successfully leveled up. User's current level, 33.]
"Finally," Elijah whispered with satisfaction. The teenager immediately widened the distance between him and the giant knight after that. Elijah quickly opened the Skill Shop, then bought a skill that might be able to destroy the giant knight's armor after Elijah applied Curse to it.
[Is the User sure wants to buy a Critical Hit skill with eight points?]
"I'm sure," Elijah answered quickly.
DING!
[User's request has been accepted. The system will begin the process of merging the skill with the User's body.]
Elijah endured the same pain as before, but this time while forcing his body to avoid the attacks of the giant knight chasing him. Elijah attacked the giant knight's legs to make him lose his balance and fall, then jumped up and ran quickly to Damian and the others.
"Hey, I can trust in your strength, right?"
Elijah was exhausted, so his voice was a little hoarse when he spoke. Henrik nodded solemnly. After seeing how Elijah fought for them, the werebeast had a certain respect for Elijah.
"Of course!" he replied confidently.
"You can trust me, Elijah."
Damian replied the same, with determination now reflected in his eyes. Elijah's gaze last fell on Quirin. The man smiled, then nodded calmly.
"So, what's the plan?"
"I'll use my ultimate attack to destroy the armor, and I want Quirin to use his Chain magic to restrict the enemy's movements after that. Henrik, Damian, you will attack the enemy's neck after he can no longer move. I say neck because I think even he will die if someone can separate his head from his body."
Quirin asked, and Elijah explained everything quickly. Elijah hoped that his other three companions could follow his plan properly. If the plans went smoothly, they should be able to win this battle and get out of Latham Ruins alive.
"I can only use a powerful attack to destroy the armor once. That one attack represents the only chance for us to win this battle."
"We understand."
Damian and Henrik replied to Elijah's words seriously, while Quirin only nodded obediently. It was strange to see a man who only knew how to have fun all the time suddenly look serious. But apparently, even Quirin knew how serious their current situation was and wanted to get out alive like the others.
By the time they spoke, the giant knight who had fallen had already gotten up and walked toward them again. Elijah took a deep breath as he set up his sword stance. The teenager prayed silently that the skills provided by the system would be enough to pierce the giant knight's hard armor.
"Stand back."
When Elijah's mithril sword began to glow, the teenager asked the others to retreat for their own safety. The air around Elijah changed as his Critical Hit skill began to activate. The sword in Elijah's hand felt heavier and heavier as time passed. But Elijah held it tightly while his eyes focused on the giant knight who walked up to them.
WHOOSH!
"Critical hit!"
At that precise moment, Elijah spent all his stamina to strengthen his body enchantment skill, so he could advance and strike the giant knight right on the head. A dazzling light shot out from Elijah's sword as soon as the blade made contact with the giant knight's head armor. Elijah did not stop pressing his sword to go deeper until a cracking sound was slowly heard and spread throughout the giant knight's head armor.
CRACK!
The giant knight's head armor shattered along with Elijah, who had exhausted all his stamina. When the armor was gone, they could see that the figure inside the thick armor was just another undead that was no longer alive. His red eyes blazed brightly, a sign that he was angry that someone had managed to penetrate his strongest defense.
"Groooo!"
The giant knight shouted and threw Elijah, who had exhausted all his strength. This time, Elijah no longer had the strength to fight the giant knight. Elijah's body fell freely after he was thrown by the enemy. But before falling, Elijah gathered all his remaining strength to shout at his teammates.
"Now!"
Countless chains appeared from the floor and instantly bound the giant knight, who was no longer protected at the head. Henrik and Damian also concentrated their strength, then leaped to attack the giant knight who was unable to move because of Quirin.
"Argh!"
The two cried out and managed to deliver a clean cut to the giant knight's neck. The enemy's head fell and rolled to the floor after that. The weight of his body caused vibrations in the room. But afterward, there was only silence in the place.
Henrik stared at the giant corpse lying before him, then whispered in disbelief.
"...We did it?"
Damian was still panting after concentrating all his strength on the previous attack. But upon hearing Henrik's voice, the elf finally nodded and gave a small smile.
"We did it."
Damian's reassurance made Henrik finally realize that it wasn't all a dream and they really did survive the giant knight. Henrik's eyes turned red with emotion. The man dropped his body to the floor, trying to enjoy the rest he needed after his body had been constantly tense for so long.