Marco advances towards him with his sword blazing!
Rodic immediately tries to get up as quickly as possible, but he doesn't have time to stand up completely.
On the other hand, the adventurer was making a wooden shield, which he uses to protect himself, when Marco reaches him and delivers a furious blow, causing the shield to crack and Rodic to be thrown back!
While he is down, Rodic conjures two roots from the ground that bind Marco's two hands in a kind of handcuff.
The leader of the invaders tries to free himself but is soon surprised by a third root, which appears in front of him and moves towards his head!
it's sharp as a needle; anything that gets in its way will be shattered.
Marco's reflexes are quick, but not enough to stop the root from grazing the side of his face, creating a small cut from which blood flows.
Looking ahead, Marco is caught off guard and doesn't notice that the golden adventurer is conjuring another root, which rushes towards him. This root, however, has a characteristic that sets it apart: thorns!
The root spreads across the ground like an uncontrolled whip, and Marco tries to dodge, but it's not enough to avoid being completely pierced in his right side!
The root goes through your body, the pain is burning, just like the flames of your magic. The thorns make the agony worse, as if it feels like being pierced by needles in your belly muscles.
Marco screams in distress, and, as in the blink of an eye, his body catches fire, and along with it, all the roots are burned!
The glow emanating is so strong that Rodic partially blocks the light with his hand.
When the fire stops, the adventurer doesn't miss the chance and throws a vine that attaches to Marco's right arm, aiming to launch him into one of the houses.
The strongest invader, Marco, makes an unexpected decision for the adventurer. Instead of resisting or burning the vine, Marco uses all his remaining strength to brutally pull Rodic!
Caught by surprise, the adventurer is unable to react in time, and his body is taken away by the sudden pull, which causes him to be taken against Marco.
Marco lands a devastating punch at close range to Rodic's stomach, in which even his liver is hit, making him lose the air almost instantly!
Marco's arm exerts so much force that it can carry Rodic's body while his fist hits him. And then he throws the adventurer at high speed into a nearby house, made of massive black stones.
The stones are cracked, but it manage to resist the impact, keeping the house standing.
Rodic sits, thrown to the ground, with his legs stretched out. Blood flows from his head; his arms and legs have completely lost their strength and cannot move, even though the adventurer is begging them to work.
He has difficulty breathing; his lungs seem to be unable to receive air.
Marco approaches walking—he's tired too. His injuries cause his clothing to be dyed red, and his cape turns a dark wine color.
The injuries he suffered to his shoulder appear to have weakened Marco's mobility. And with his left flank pierced, every move he makes becomes agony.
Rodic could do nothing but watch his enemy slowly approaching. The adventurer's body suffers small spasms but does not move of its own accord.
At this point, Marco had gained respect for his adversary. In his view, Rodic was a worthy opponent to be considered a threat to Zakov, his boss.
It wasn't time to receive his admiration; after all, the only one who had it was Zakov. However, the adventurer made Marco feel useful and powerful for being able to make a difference.
Marco doesn't just fight for his boss, but also for his pride. He has a constant need to take the lead and show his soldiers what it means to be an example of strength.
Following this philosophy of being an exemplary role model for soldiers, Marco rose to the top of Zakov's hierarchy, becoming his right-hand man and deputy chief.
With his ambition to be more powerful and feared, even Zakov began to question whether he was stronger than Marco, but the two never faced each other in a fight to the death.
Rodic, on the other hand, does not and has not felt any emotion for his enemy throughout the entire battle.
Only a subtle anger hovered over his mind, and it wasn't even intense.
For the adventurer with the gold badge, his job was simple and objective: not to let the invaders take over the kingdom.
Rodic does not feel any strong emotions regarding Marco. For him, killing or incapacitating Marco is part of completing his assigned task. There are no personal motivations—remorse, hatred, revenge, or any other motive. Rodic just wants to do his job as efficiently and quickly as possible.