Before Poltus, the Dragon Tooth Soldier who had absorbed his heavy blow didn't fall, but it still perished.
In the instant of their contact, Poltus had already covertly thrust his short sword from the edge of his shield, piercing into the Dragon Tooth Soldier's body before it had any chance to react.
Right in front of Poltus, one Dragon Tooth Soldier lost its combat ability, swiftly crumbling into a dragon tooth that clattered to the ground.
But that was as far as it went.
For on either side of him, other sword-and-shield-wielding Dragon Tooth Soldiers swarmed in.
Originally, Poltus could have pressed the advantage, breaking through to slay one or two more behind the fallen soldier.
But he knew he couldn't.
Right now, he was utterly alone.
When facing an army single-handedly, no matter how powerful one might be, a crucial rule must be remembered: never allow yourself to be encircled by the troops.
Unless that person possessed three heads and six arms, capable of defending every side of their body, being surrounded meant enduring attacks from multiple directions simultaneously, the only outcome was defeat and death.
Poltus, a veteran of countless battles, had charged into enemy lines solo more times than he could count; he understood this principle all too well.
Unless, during the charge, your speed was blisteringly fast and your breakthrough force razor-sharp, overwhelming the enemies ahead while preventing those behind from closing in, encirclement spelled doom.
This was also why cavalry breaking through infantry lines could never afford to lose momentum.
Against these Dragon Tooth Soldiers before him, Poltus knew they weren't fodder he could swiftly overrun.
Just moments ago, if Poltus had greedily pushed forward to exploit the momentum and slay those ahead, the flanking Dragon Tooth Soldiers would have circled behind him, enclosing him completely, while his breakthrough speed dwindled.
The end result? He'd cut down three or four before being slain by assaults from all sides.
Now, thanks to his experience, Poltus had narrowly escaped that fate, but it didn't mean the road ahead would be any easier.
Having lost his initial charging impetus, Poltus was now on the defensive.
The Dragon Tooth Soldiers before him began fanning out in a crescent arc, attempting to encircle him while steadily advancing.
He had no choice but to parry the onslaught with his short sword and shield, slowly retreating to avoid true encirclement.
However, when he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of the Dragon Tooth archers maneuvering to his rear, he finally dared retreat no further.
Continuing like this, fighting while withdrawing, would limit his speed, allowing the archers to position themselves ahead of him.
Then, while fending off frontal assaults, he'd also have to contend with flanking or rearward arrows; such divided attention in battle was a path to certain death.
Since advancing was impossible and retreating equally so, he might as well go all out!
With that resolve, after half-stepping back, Poltus surged forward fiercely.
Just then, a Dragon Tooth Soldier slashed at him with its sword. He smashed his left shield viciously against the blade, deflecting it while twisting with force to skew another incoming spear thrust.
At the same time, his right-hand short sword darted forward like a venomous snake.
The Dragon Tooth Soldier whose sword had been parried hadn't yet regained balance under Poltus's immense strength, leaving it unable to block, the blade struck true into its chest.
This was his second kill among the Dragon Tooth Soldiers.
Yet these Dragon Tooth Soldiers were truly an elite force.
In its dying moments, the slain soldier gripped Poltus's short sword tightly, preventing him from withdrawing it. Simultaneously, two more spears thrust from left and right.
"Damn it!"
Startled, Poltus reacted instinctively, lunging forward a step to narrowly evade the spears.
The two lances grazed his side armor, sparking a trail of fire.
Poltus released the trapped short sword, then clamped both arms down, trapping the spears under his armpits before heaving upward with all his might.
The two spear-wielding Dragon Tooth Soldiers were hoisted into the air by their own weapons.
Before they could release their grips, Poltus spun his body, wielding the two soldiers like massive hammers.
Since the Dragon Tooth Soldiers had spread out to encircle him, their formation was no longer as tight as before, caught off guard, the surrounding troops were smashed aside, tumbling in disarray.
Finally, the two soldiers let go, crashing to the ground, leaving the Dragon Tooth Soldiers before Poltus in utter chaos.
And this was the opening he had been desperately seeking.
He seized the two spears in hand, hurling them forward like javelins.
Without waiting to see the damage, he snatched up a fallen Dragon Tooth Soldier's short sword and charged ahead.
One of the spear-javelins pierced straight through a Dragon Tooth Soldier's chest, while the other shattered a sword-and-shield bearer's shield, grievously wounding it.
Poltus, breaking through, hacked and slashed wildly in the momentum, sending three or four Dragon Tooth Soldiers to their graves in an instant.
Alas, his breakthrough ended there.
The Dragon Tooth Soldiers swiftly reformed their lines, seamlessly shifting to encircle him while those facing him head-on stabilized, uniting to resist and even stall him.
In the end, Poltus realized with despair that he had been fully surrounded by the enemy.
He understood deeply that such encirclement meant death.
But as an Argonaut hero, Poltus was no pushover.
Even on the brink of death, he inflicted massive casualties on the Dragon Tooth Soldiers.
Facing attacks from all directions, Poltus arched backward, then deliberately toppled to the ground, swinging his short sword at the soldiers' lower bodies.
The standing Dragon Tooth Soldiers, unprepared for this tactic, saw several of their number felled by the strikes.
But such a maneuver could only be used once.
For the grounded Poltus had sacrificed his mobility and evasion.
Though he dodged several attacks by rolling desperately, the Dragon Tooth Soldiers were simply too numerous. Inevitably, a spear found its mark in him.
Wounded, Poltus's movements slowed, inviting even more assaults.
Several spears plunged into his chest, and just like that, Poltus perished amid the chaotic horde.
His death filled the watching heroes with shock and fury.
How could they have imagined these Dragon Tooth Soldiers were this formidable, complete with tactics and coordinated unit types?
Poltus had been one of the stronger and more battle-savvy among the Argonaut heroes; even so, he had fallen to the Dragon Tooth Soldiers, inflicting a mere eleven casualties in return.
Just moments ago, they had dismissed these Dragon Tooth Soldiers as mere ordinary fodder.
Now, every one of them had been slapped in the face.
These Dragon Tooth Soldiers were each far stronger than imagined, and united, they were terrifying.
They were like a true army.
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