Did she already know what I would ask her for?

Ch 105: An enemy different from the ordinary

But this conclusion leaves many questions unanswered. The biggest proof of this is that, by not controlling my speed, I must have tripped over my foot and fallen.

Who comes to mind is the curious clone, a personality created from the imbalance in my state caused by too many points in Agility. The first time I summoned him, he at no time fell or stumbled as he ran towards Denir City. On the contrary, he indulged in chasing animals ‌happily along the way.

'Will there be something I'm overlooking?'

"John!" Seeing his comrade die in front of his eyes, the soldier screamed heartbreakingly.

"I'll kill you!!!" He swung his sword at me.

"No, stupid! Wait for our arrival!!!!"

Although the other soldiers tried to stop him, this one turned a deaf ear and approached me, anyway.

The sword was directed in a vertical line with my head in the center. It is to be expected that, if that attack hits me, I will die immediately. Even so, I didn't feel fear, as I could see his attack in slow motion. 

I applied some strength to my right foot and quickly advanced towards him.

With a single movement, I stabbed him with my sword in his stomach.

"AAAH!" he screamed from the pain.

And yet, his sword kept falling in my direction.

This reminded me of Snow Wolf Boss, who, despite being at death's door, cast magic regardless.

Having respect for the deaths of others, I turned my sword 180 degrees, and with that... the man fainted. When the pain exceeds the range tolerated by the brain, it cuts the connection with the body to avoid suffering more. Especially when it comes to the destruction of internal organs.

At the very moment his body turned into golden particles, the eight enemy soldiers surrounded me.

And from them...

"Zael... Your death will not be in vain," he said with deep sorrow.

'The [Warrior] in full armor is the most complicated one to deal with.' 

"Haa Haa... Although I find it hard to say this... Surrender and come with us. Because of your strength, I know ‌you must know many secrets of the Castemira kingdom." Said another soldier.

'Ah, this is the first time I've experienced it. I am fighting with an enemy who is a good person.'

From his expression, I know he must be very affected by the deaths of his comrades. Since I can see how he is breathing heavily, as he tries to hold back his urge to murder me. But, above all, he seeks the greater good.

'By capturing me, he thinks he will ‌save many lives on his side… Truly a good person. My heart trembles…'

But I must not be guided by feelings. As I said before, I will be respectful of other people's deaths.

I shook my head in response.

"...Think about it. You will die without pain. I can't deny that you have great skill with the sword despite being an archer, but... we are eight. The wounds will accumulate in your body until you die."

And yet I shook my head.

"I understand... Then you will pay for the deaths of my comrades. Let's avoid more casualties! Let's attack him at the same time!"

"Dieeeee!!!" They all shouted at the same time as their weapons were pointed in my direction.

Four of them use swords and attack me from different positions and directions. Only two used daggers, and they swiftly threw them towards my body. The last two use a saber and an axe, respectively, and both attack differently from the others, adding more difficulty to avoiding them.

Those who arrived first were the daggers, and I deflected them with my sword towards those at my back possessing light armor. The daggers did not lose any speed in their path and were perfectly stuck in the stomach and chest of the two soldiers, respectively.

Thanks to the daggers, two of the swords lost the force behind them due to the wounds inflicted on their owners. I immediately deflected these swords just a little enough to interfere with the direction of the ax.

The ax and swords clashed noisily, causing the three people to go out of the game momentarily. They joined the two people who lost their daggers, making a total of five soldiers who lost their target.

Thus, leaving only 3 attacks that target different parts of my body. Attacks that were performed with two swords and a saber.

All of this takes a while to describe, but only one second has passed since they started attacking. Unfortunately for me... Time's up.

'I can't deflect anymore. Do I have to resign myself and choose the lesser evil?'

If I move my body, I will choose where those attacks will hit, but that means I will be seriously injured. If I were to win the battle, I would have to run as fast as possible to the enormous tree near the river and go to Delia to heal my wounds.

Because, if I get seriously injured... Only a Saint will ‌save my life.

HP potions will only slow down my death.

'Isn't there anything else I can do? Have I run out of options? No... Wait.' 

It'll be risky, but I can't stop my heart from pounding with hope. 

'Activate [Strength] profile!!!'

At that very moment, the mammoth strength returned to me, but I didn't have the time to be surprised by the sudden change. I quickly swing my sword towards the three attacks in the air.

*Swish*

'I can't believe what's happening before my eyes.'

The attacks that a moment ago seemed like they would ferociously cut through my body in just a split second, now instead... lost all ferocity when my sword clashed with them.

The two swords and the saber... They were cut in half by my sword.

"!!!" 

Everyone was surprised at the turn of events. 8 against 1 seemed very advantageous to them. What could go wrong? But now the tables were turned. They all found themselves in a vulnerable position. Their attacks missed, and now it's my turn to attack.

'If my sword could cut through their weapons like butter, would it be able to cut through full-body armor?'

"Don't lose sight of your targ-...!" He stopped his words midway.

"It can't be..."'

"Damn it! His sword has abilities!!!"

The event that made everyone's hair stand on end is... My sword piercing through the steel and stabbing into the heart of the soldier in full armor.

Withdrawing the sword gently, his lifeless body fell to the ground. That's my way of showing respect for the deaths of others: a painless death.

"Quickly! Attack!"

"AAAAH!!!" They shouted to give themselves courage.

'Activate profile [Agility].'

Again, all of their attacks were directed at me, but they are no longer surrounding me. In just four steps, I escaped from their effective area and approached the nearest lightly armored soldier.

Then I cut his throat.

Next to him was another soldier, so I attacked in a straight line, and my sword pierced his stomach. I swung the sword 180 degrees, and the man fainted.

With this, there are only five soldiers in front of me. Two of them were severely wounded by the daggers I previously deflected.

The [Agility] profile allows me to move at great speed, and although I can't quite control it, this was enough to assassinate the remaining 5 soldiers in just one move, respectively, and thus kill them with as little pain as possible.

"Rest in peace."

Those last words ended this battle.

I silently gathered all of their belongings, including their remnants, and put them away in the inventory. When it was my turn to put away the full-body armors of the Knights I initially killed with arrows, I found a crystal sphere with magic symbols surrounding it.

'This must be the magic item to call for reinforcements, and from the looks of it, the item gets activated the moment it breaks. I will be careful from now on. If I ever fight with a group of enemy soldiers again, I will first kill the one who possesses this magic item.'

After clearing the place and leaving no trace of what happened, I headed towards the enormous tree near the river.

Just before I got to it, I found a group of 22 red dots on my map.

I walked away a bit, and then...

*Crack*

I broke the magic object to call for reinforcements.

The red dots immediately became static.

The next second, they formed up neatly and started running at high speed in my direction. I looked at the enemy groups further away, but only one more group reacted. The others didn't catch the signal.

'I see. The magic object becomes effective at the very moment it breaks and emits a signal in the surroundings that is received by the nearby groups.' 

How will they receive it? I don't know; maybe it emits a sound or a light on the receiving side.

The most important thing about all this is that the signal has a limited range. If I can figure out exactly what that limit is, then I can use it to my advantage.

"Well, it's time to escape."

I turned and ran away like someone escaping from hell.