Without another second of hesitation, the four that had been beside him sprung into action. They all broke into a sprint, dashing towards their companions 50 or so feet away.
Each of them passed by the monster that had formed in front of them without the slightest care. Suffering no attack, they all internally heaved a sigh of relief. Leo's information was correct once again.
The trust they place on their boss grew even more solid. All they had to do now was follow his orders and everything will turn out fine. Their execution must be done to perfection to meet the expectations Leo had for them.
This was their mindset going forward.
Within a couple of seconds as the monsters were about to come into being, the four reached their intended positions, behind the monsters facing the other four.
The monsters, which resembled Lizardmen from fantasy books, were now sandwiched between two enemies. This was the so-called "Formation 3" that Leo ordered them to perform, a two-pronged sneak attack.
As the four behind the lizardmen's back prepared their strike, the monsters had materialized.
ROAR!!!
ROAR!!!
ROAR!!!
ROAR!!!
ROAR!!!
ROAR!!!
ROAR!!!
ROAR!!!
ROAR!!!
Nine deafening booms shook the air, echoing in each of their ears. This was the heralding of their arrival, the lizardmen's way to intimidate their adversaries. The hunt was on.
Yet this did little to deter the humans, it didn't so much as make them flinch. Leo's training had prepared them for this.
Those directly facing the monsters head to head with their machetes instantly sent a slash towards their enemies' heads. It was fast, just fastt. They hadn't put any weight into it.
Still the lizardmen reacted to it as if they did. They had no way of knowing the strength of their opponent just after spawning in less than a second ago.
The right most lizardman quickly side-stepped to its right, successfully avoiding most of the attack. Still it grazed a part of its temple, giving the lizard its first wound. Although it was a simple injury, to a lizardman, this was quite the insult.
Warriors of its tribe despised underhanded means and becoming a victim of a sneak attack such as this spat directly at their pride as warriors. Fighting was sacred, it was not just a means for survival, it was to prove one's worth, to show one's skills and strength.
It could not understand why the human would instantly attack without a proper warrior's greeting. Was there no such custom in their culture?
'As expected of such uncivilized creatures…'
With that thought it prepared a counter attack. The fight was on, it was useless to even receive this barbarian's warrior's greeting.
"Ugh…"
An exasperated gasp escaped its lips as a sharp pain coursed through its back. It was stabbed and that meant there was not one but two enemies it had to face.
Before it could turn around a blade had cut into its neck.
Swoosh!
Its head flew into the air, witnessing an identical scene happening to its nearby kin.
The two, who attacked it, made eye contact. It was an undeniable success.
The plan was incredibly simple:
Draw the attention of the monster with the first attack to allow for the second person to land the second. Which leads to its concentration being broken, forcing it to prioritize the more immediate threat, the back stab. This allows for the first attacker to generate more power to land a fatal blow on the monster.
Even if they failed on the initial coordinated attack it would still be 2 on 1. With enough time, the 2 would overwhelm and dispatch the lizardman without much injury.
Leo came up with this strategy to help them ease into fighting monsters. He knew that being in a pair would give them a boost in confidence. If they had to face one of the monsters by themselves on their first encounter, it could have led to unnecessary risks.
He didn't want that. Instead he wanted them to accumulate experience so that they could stand against the incoming tide and become pillars of humanity.
Now that the threat was eliminated, the two turned to see if any of their companions needed help. There were none, every single member of the group was fine and had finished their assignments in a similar fashion to them.
As such they gave each other a small nod and headed towards Leo's battle field.
…
…
…
As the booms from the lizardmen's roar resounded, Leo initiated his own attack. He was left to face 5 lizardmen by himself and his main objective was to keep them occupied while his subordinates handled the rest.
However, he was not the type to just wait for them and be left passively dodging. No, he took the initiative so he could control the flow of the fight.
Oftentimes in battles like this, those who strike first would be the victor.
Swish~
With his left machete, a swift horizontal slash was sent to the closest lizardman.
Splurt!
Thud!
Clang! Clang!
The scaly red hand of the lizardman was lobbed off without an ounce of resistance. It flew through the air hitting the face of the lizardman next to it, making it flinch for a moment.
Without any wasted movement, as the machete sliced through the lizard's wrist, Leo effortlessly brought down his right machete onto the newly made amputee. Due to having just realized that its hand was hacked off, the lizard in front of Leo directed most of its focus on the source of its pain. The one handed lizard let out a low and pained growl.
It only noticed the second attack when it was inches away from it. Frantically, the lizard tried to defend itself by blocking with the shield it wielded with its left. Alas, it was too late. Death had arrived.
A tremendous force collided with the lizard's unguarded forehead, bisecting its skull. The blade had pierced into its brain. Then with a slight move of his hand, Leo adjusted the machete. He thrusted it deeper into the lizard's head and gave it a twist.