"Ruler's Verdict."
"Saint's Heart."
"Holy Maiden."
In an instant, Jeanne's three skills took effect at the same time.
Her Abilities rose, the Orc was weakened, and the difference between them changed at once.
She snapped her flag-spear upward and actually forced the giant wooden club back!
Clang!
In the next second, Jeanne unleashed a rapid series of thrusts!
Her spear struck again and again.
Blood sprayed as several deep wounds, enough to expose bone, opened across the Orc's massive body.
Jeanne stepped back half a pace to make space. She frowned at the result.
"Such stubborn life force... it can still fight even after taking this much damage." She tightened her grip on her spear and tensed her body again. "Its defense is extreme too. Breaking through will cost a lot of stamina."
"Luckily, it's big and slow, and it uses those weapons very roughly. That makes things easier." A sharp light flashed in her light purple eyes. Jeanne rushed forward with her spear again!
"Oooooooooh!"
The pain from those heavy wounds only made the monster more vicious. Red light flashed wildly in its eyes as it fixed its stare on the prey charging it again.
"Roar!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The wooden club came down again and again with nothing but raw force behind it.
The Orc had no technique at all. It was just using brute strength.
Jeanne focused completely. Her spear moved so fast that it looked like a wall in front of her, blocking every heavy swing. She did not retreat even a step, because Ronan was right behind her.
But things rarely went smoothly. The fight changed again before either of them could settle into a rhythm.
"Revelation."
A sharp sense of danger hit Jeanne all at once. Her eyes turned cold.
She glanced to the side. Several more Orcs were pushing through the rolling fog. Their mouths hung open, foul drool dripping as they closed in around the "fresh food."
"This is bad."
With those reinforcements, the pressure on Jeanne rose sharply. Her flag-spear flashed again and again, crashing into the enemies' wooden clubs without pause. The ringing impacts never stopped as she fought with everything she had to keep the defense line from breaking.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Ha!"
Powerful skills, a tough will, and highly polished martial arts.
Even while facing four giant monsters with overwhelming physical advantages, Jeanne stayed calm. She used her combat experience to hold them back, and she still had enough focus left to check on Ronan from time to time.
In the back.
Compared to Jeanne's calm, Ronan's side of the fight was much rougher.
"Demon King Emblem."
"Sharp Mind."
"Magic Shield & Guard."
He needed every advantage he had.
His boosted Magic and Endurance, the reduced damage, and the support from his gear were the only reasons he could barely hold on while being outmatched in strength, size, reach, and durability.
"Damn it! How is the damage this bad?!"
One Orc used the wide room and the fog to slip around Jeanne's guard and rush straight at Ronan.
Ronan moved awkwardly with his staff. His face twisted as he barely dodged the sudden attack from the Orc that had rushed right into his face. He cursed the weak damage his magic was doing.
There were too many things to complain about.
Fortunately, huge monsters like Orcs were slow because their bodies were heavy and poorly balanced. Their size also gave Ronan a few desperate options, like rolling or diving between their legs.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As the fight went on, Ronan forced himself to calm down. By watching carefully, he noticed something.
The Orcs' round, bloated bodies and huge size made them clumsy by nature. Their weight made it easy for them to lose balance.
He judged that as long as he dodged one hit, he could use the moment they lost balance to pull away.
Thinking of that, Ronan gritted his teeth. He used his staff to block another heavy blow. Every collision made his hands go numb and his arms weaker.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal crashing filled the air. As time passed, even though he was being suppressed and was constantly in danger, Ronan slowly started to adapt to the Orc's rhythm. Every now and then, in the gap after a block or after a wide swing, he managed to launch a hurried but accurate counterattack.
Thanks to his absurd Endurance and the support from his skills, he barely managed to stay standing against the Orc's brute strength. He did not collapse.
Then, suddenly, the Orc in front of him seemed to notice something. A cruel smile spread across its pig-like face.
Without warning, it sped up and brought the wooden club down again.
"?"
Not good!
Ronan's body went cold.
Before he could react, the shadow of the wooden club filled his vision.
"Shit!"
Bang!
A direct hit.
The pressure of the fight and a single moment of distraction ruined his movement. The wooden club smashed into him and sent him flying.
"Ugh!"
He barely raised one arm in time to protect his face.
His body arced through the air and slammed hard into the floor. He rolled several times before finally stopping.
The pain made it feel as if his bones were cracking. He could not help crying out.
"Ah... ah... damn it... DAMN IT!!!"
Jeanne saw it from the corner of her eye and went pale.
"Ronan!"
Ronan pushed himself up with one hand. Kneeling on one knee, he spat out blood.
"Hiss..."
Before he could catch his breath, a huge blast of air pressed down from above. With a sharp whistling sound, the wooden club came smashing toward his head.
Boom!
Ronan rolled across the ground in a clumsy mess and barely dodged the fatal blow.
He sprang up into a crouch, raised his staff with both hands, pointed it at the Orc's face, and cast at once.
"Cinder!"
In an instant, flames exploded right into the Orc's face.
Sizzle, sizzle!
Fire burst over the pig's head. The smell of burned flesh filled the air.
"Ooooooooo!"
The counterattack landed perfectly. The pain interrupted the Orc's offense.
It thrashed wildly, clawing at its own face to put out the flames. But Ronan had no intention of wasting that chance.
"Screw you!"
A fierce look flashed across Ronan's face. Ignoring the pain and dizziness in his body, he took a deep breath.
The Mind he forced together made blue light flash in his eyes. Then he shouted the spell name again and again as fast as he could.
"Cinder! Cinder! Cinder! Cinder! Cinder! Cinder! Cinder! Cinder!"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A chain of explosions shook the thick fog!
Firelight flashed wildly.
Spell after spell slammed into the Orc. The repeated blasts and intense heat forced the monster back while it clawed at its burning face.
Its wooden club fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Within seconds, the Orc was rolling on the floor in agony.
Forcing that much Mind and magic in such a short time pushed Ronan's body to the limit.
His head felt like needles were being driven into it. His vision even started to double.
"Hiss..."
He used his staff to steady himself and struggled back to his feet. One hand pressed against his throbbing forehead.
Then he looked toward the side of the battlefield where Jeanne was still fighting four Orcs.
He ignored the dying Orc on the ground.
"Damn it. This is just a pure size and stat gap. Cinder is too weak. It took that much effort just to barely kill one, and all I got was a single point of experience."
The effort was not worth what he got back.
To Ronan, there was no point in dragging out a fight this dangerous for so little return.
If his gear broke or if he got badly hurt, the repair and treatment costs would be outrageous. It was a waste of time.
A flood of thoughts crossed his mind in a split second. In the end, he followed his instincts.
"Jeanne, retreat!"
"Huh?"