That clumsy motion, all that Vol had offered to him, was enough. His biggest obstacle in any fight would always be getting in range to use his strength, catching his opponent so that he could not escape him. With one hand rooting the lawman's axe-wielding arm in place, Vol had the other around the man's neck. They were in too close for Vol to draw back his axe and swing, so he butted with his head instead.
He heard a crunch, and the man's nose broke. That should have been enough to daze him, but from Vol, it nearly killed the man. Vol felt the weight of the man increase in his arms, and he lost consciousness, and crumpled to the floor in a heap. Vol allowed him to go.
"Shorne!" The leader shouted in dismay, seeing his man go down. "Bastard. He'd better not be dead, they'll have my head for that."
Vol had wanted to bury his axe in the unconscious man, and be certain of a finished job, but the swords came searching for him again, and the axe joined them. With fewer of them there, their individual weapons seemed more effective. They controlled the space, forcing Vol to take a step back, abandoning the kill before he could make it. He hung just out of range, feeling the frustration of his lack of skill. He couldn't find the opening he needed, a place to make use of his strength.
He tried to parry a sword with his axe – a mistake. The axe was not meant to be used as such. The sword easily glided over the top of him, nicking lightly across his forearm. If not for his fur coat, he would have had a rather significant slash there.
He saw the unconscious man stir beyond the rest of them, as they drove him back, and he cursed. He couldn't allow the small advantage that he'd had to be seized. Did his newfound weapons proficiency really count for nothing? He needed an opening of some sort. The rage and frustration built up in him as he searched for it.
!! SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT!
NEW SKILL IN DEVELOPMENT: AXE THROW.
THE VESSEL TURNS HIS AXE INTO A DEADLY PROJECTILE, USING A ONE-HANDED AXE THROW. CONDITIONS SATISFIED FOR TECHNIQUE MASTERY: 1/5
As soon as the axe left his fingers, the System announcement rang through his ears. It had been a gamble. He'd practised axe throwing before, as a Yarmdon youth was want to. He'd never been particularly good at it, but he wasn't awful either. Fifty percent of the time, he could get it to land, and stick where he'd aimed it. Betting on his increased weapons skill, according to the stats of the system, he let his impatience take over, and bet on the chance of it landing home.
He saw the red-haired man's eyes widen, as the axe came near. There were only five strides between each of them, too short to react. And when Vol threw – he threw it strongly, using all of the strength in him. Even if it had not landed blade first, it would have been enough to stun him.
As it happened, the blade caught him full in the face, just as he attempted to turn. It shattered his cheekbone, and drove in through the eye, straight towards the brain. His sword fell from his hand immediately, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
The other two lawmen gawked as their leader was struck down so unceremoniously, so suddenly. Their brief lapse in attention was all Vol needed. He left his axe in the corpse, and made his strength his only weapon, as he sprinted as quickly as his clumsy body would carry him, and hit the last axe-wielding lawman with a tackle.
The force of the tackle took the man off his feet. Vol allowed the momentum to continue, as he carried the man straight into a tree. The momentum of the collision shook both of them, and Vol stumbled from the shock of it. The other man was considerably worse. Though his eyes were open, and his chest was rising, he made no effort to rise from the snow.
The final swordsman charged in with a roar, preparing to take Vol's undefended back. Vol wrestled the axe from the dazed lawman's hand, and rose to confront the final attacker.
With the most basic bit of footwork that he had available to him, he sidestepped the sword, allowing it to sail past. The man had committed too much force to the strike, and had trouble redirecting its path.
!! SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT:
NEW SKILL IN DEVELOPMENT: BASIC SIDESTEP
AGAINST WEAKER ENEMIES, THE VESSEL LEARNS TO SIDESTEP A STRIKE, PUTTING HIMSELF IN THE POSITION TO COUNTERATTACK
CONDITIONS SATISFIED FOR TECHNIQUE MASTERY: 1/5
With the man off balance, and Vol's axe already midswing, the lawman resigned himself to his fate.
"Bastar—" He tried to say, but Vol's axe thundered into his stomach, biting through a layer of chainmail and furs, making its way into his stomach with the youth's ridiculous strength. Vol withdrew it with a quick motion, and as the man collapsed, Vol kicked off his helmet and caved in his skull with his axe.
!! SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT
SLAY THE BLUE EARL'S MEN:
2/4 SLAIN
The man that he'd tackled into the tree was still dazed, but seemed to be almost recovered. Vol wouldn't have been surprised if his back had been broken. He hammered the axe that he'd taken into a tree, and then strolled over to the corpse of their leader, to pull his own axe out from his face.
He spared the man that he'd headbutted a glance as he walked. The man was nearly on his feet, but he was swaying like a drunkard. He hardly seemed to have any idea where he was. Vol walked calmly behind him, and with a mighty boot in the back, he sent him sprawling to the floor.
"Please…" The man groaned, seeing Vol standing over him with his axe ready.
"Fine," Vol said, lowering his axe. As the man's face started to shift to sudden relief, Vol stomped down with his boot instead, crushing the man's face with his heel. His body spasmed, and he stopped moving, but Vol did not hear the System announce that he was dead.