The knights surrounded the barbarians' army. Huh Ah managed to find a hole in their defense, thanks to Max's suicide attack earlier.
They didn't let it go and rounded up the barbarians at once.
Meanwhile, on the foot of a hill a bit away from them, Max had started his battle against the boss, Trouser the Thrower.
"Stop moving around!"
With a flick of fingers, Troused threw knives toward Max. They were fast and precise.
Max swiftly dodged the projectile, his body moving like a wind. He twisted his body and arched his back. The knives only hit the air, embedding themselves into the ground.
In response, Max threw one of his axes toward Trouser. It spun in mid-air with an amazing speed and flew straight toward the barbarian.
Clang!
A loud sound echoed as the axe hit Trouser's shield, creating a deep bend and injuring the barbarian. Blood trickled down his left arm, which was numb from the impact.
"Ugh! What power!"
Pained grunts escaped Trouser's lips as he prepared to throw another batch of knives. However, when he raised his head, Max was already gone.
"Where is he?!" Trouser looked around, gripping three knives between his fingers.
"Behind you."
With a powerful swing of his axe, Max aimed at Trouser's arm, bringing his weapon up with all his might.
However…
Clang!
Trouser managed to block the attack with his bend shield. They collided and created a spark. And before Max could bring his axe back, the barbarian grabbed the hilt with his hand.
A grin crept into the barbarian boss' face.
"I got you."
He brought his other hand, which gripped three knives down, aiming at Max's unprotected face.
Without hesitation, Max abandoned his only weapon and jumped away. He managed to dodge the swift attack in a hairbreadth and exhaled in relief.
"That was close. I underestimated him too much.'
— True.
— Trouser isn't a boss you can defeat by yourself. It's a goddamn raid boss.
— This guy is a menace! Run, Breeze! You won't be able to kill him!
The chat became anxious and gave out tips when they saw Max struggling against Trouser.
In the normal playthrough, players would attack the leading barbarians' army together with the other knights. They would reduce their numbers slowly before battling the boss, Trouser, together with the others.
Even so, the boss would always manage to defeat at least more than 10 knights before it went down. That was how strong Trouser the Thrower was as a boss.
— You've done well injuring his arm alone!
— Damn guy soloing Trouser and is alive for so long.
— Even StoneSword can't solo Trouser!
— I want to be Breeze! I envy Breeze! I want to be Breeze! I envy Breeze!
The name StoneSword was familiar to Max. He read it when he researched Knight's Journey.
'If I am not wrong, that's the name of one of the best Knight's Journey players? I think he's also a streamer.'
It was an everyday occurrence that a viewer compared two streamers with good skills against each other.
The fact they did so in the chat meant they had recognized Max, or rather Breeze, to have a similar skill level as the StoneSword.
Also…
'If I defeat Trouser alone, won't that be the greatest proof of my skill? I can leech off his popularity and make a viral clip.'
"What are you dozing off for in the middle of battle?!"
Trouser roared loudly and snapped Max out of his thoughts. An axe was spinning toward him, even faster than when he threw it earlier.
"Shit!"
He quickly leaped to the side, dodging the axe. Because it was done in a slight panic, his movement and balance weren't that great, and he tripped, causing him to roll on the ground a few times.
Even a professional could fail. Max knew those words but failed to apply them because he was focused on the chat.
'I am careless.' He thought as he stood up.
"Come on! Move like before, you slippery guy!"
Trouser didn't give him any chance to rest. He threw the knives in his hand toward Max. Following that, he fished six knives and threw them rapidly, each blade aimed with uncanny precision.
Max looked at the knives with wide eyes. Blocking them was impossible. His armor could probably take some hits, but it would definitely hurt and injure him.
Within a second, his brain thought of an outcome. There was only one choice.
His eyes followed the knives' trajectory, and he jumped to the left, dodging the first three. He grabbed an axe thrown by Trouser from the ground and deflected the remaining knives. Luckily, it was close, and he had time to spare.
"Stop moving, you eel!"
The barbarian boss actually shouted once again and threw knives in rapid succession. Max wondered whether the boss was an idiot or not.
"You told me to move earlier, idiot!"
— Trouser is an idiot.
— Indeed.
— Can't agree more.
— But that idiot can solo you blindfolded.
— Can't agree more.
The chat reacted to the situation differently, but they mostly agreed that Trouser was strong.
On the other hand, Max had found an opening. From what he observed from the start, Trouser had never moved from where he stood when he was throwing. This was this boss' weakness.
A wide grin crept onto Max's face as he rushed forward, dodging the knives swiftly and smoothly.
"Chat, are you ready?! I will show you something new."
— Oooh! Finally!
— What will you do? What will you do?
— Is it an air run? Impossible!
— Axe three-sixty again? Unalive him with that move!
"It's not axe three-sixty," Max responded to the chat while jumping around.
The fury of knives hadn't stopped yet, and the battle behind him still raged. The knights still needed some time before defeating all the barbarians.
Before that happened, Max planned to defeat Trouser alone without any help.
'That viral clip! I won't let the knights ruin it!'
Powered with a desire to create a viral clip, the first-time soloing Trouser, Max increased his speed further. He parried some with his axe and twisted his body to avoid others, narrowly escaping the deadly dance of blades.
"Oh? You're approaching me?!" Trouser growled loudly, throwing his shield away. "Come!"
Knowing his knives were useless, the barbarian boss took two kukris from his back and rushed toward Max. His large figure looked like a train. Each of his steps shook the ground and left behind a deep footprint.
Compared to Max, he was twice as big and probably also twice as strong.
However…
'He's slow and he can't react fast. His reaction earlier was just from his instinct.'
That was what Max wanted to exploit. When they got close to each other, he executed his plan.
With a powerful leap, Max soared into the air, executing a midair spin that left the viewers in awe.
As he descended, his axe also swung down with him. In a breathtaking moment, Trouser was unable to respond, and Max executed a perfect attack, cleaving the barbarian boss in half through the skull.
Swoosh! Crash!
Unable to bear the burden, the axe cracked into pieces as Max landed behind Trouser's body.
The battlefield and the chat fell silent for a moment as everyone registered the stunning maneuver.
Then, with energies that could be felt even through texts, the chat erupted into cheers, celebrating Max's remarkable victory.
— Whooooaaahh!!!
— DAMN
— What did… He just did a wheel spin?! He freaking split Trouser in half!
— Breeze wheel… Scary! Is this man truly not cheating?!
— More than that, he soloed Trouser the Thrower! He freaking won!!
— SOLO TROUSER!
Indeed. Max's midair forward spin wasn't only surprising, but it was a move that also broke the first time.
He became the first player that soloed Trouser the Thrower, a boss that needed a squadron to defeat.
Today… A history had been made.
"Wooooaaah!!"
Everyone would remember Breeze whether they liked it or not.
"I did it!!"