The improvised Kusarigama, spun brilliantly, creating a wave of sharp whispers as it tore through the air.
Atlas was changing form at every moment as he gauged his opponent, trying to figure out what style would be best suited for the beast.
The orc on the other hand let out an annoyed grunt as it tried its best to defend itself from the avalanche of strikes Atlas was throwing at it— then it finally clicked in Atlas' head.
He had found the perfect style to fight the beast. Atlas had to always be on the move to avoid being ensnared, distance was his best friend in their battle, everything he hid, he had to do out of reach of the orc.
That was the best way to win or survive at least.
Atlas darted forward, the vined-dagger not too far behind. He closed the distance between himself and the orc and drew the rope of the dagger taught, causing it to zip forward like a violent snake.
Whoosh!
The orc once again tried to block the attack with its great cleaver, but the dagger simply slid past its defenses, digging deep into its shoulder.
The orc took a step back, surprised that it had actually been stuck, but Atlas was not yielding.
He pushed his attack, creating an impenetrable wall of slashes.
Atlas could feel his muscles burning with pain, he could feel his joints creaking from overuse, yet he could not stop.
The monster was so powerful that he had to go above 100 percent just to keep it at bay, any less and he would be dead.
'If i can keep this up, then maybe… maybe we can win!'
Clang!
Bouncing helplessly against the cleaver, the dagger lost all its momentum and before Atlas could fill it back, the monster grabbed it by the rope and yanked him forward.
'Shit!'
[Warning! A direct hit will result in death!]
'Like I don't know that!'
Atlas found himself flying towards the beast who had balled up its fist, ready to meet him with a bone crushing blow.
Within the few seconds Atlas had till certain doom, his mind raced for a possible solution, that was when something clicked in his mind.
'This may either be a good plan, or the stupidest thing I've done in my life!'
Even if he let go of the rope, he would still be flying due to the inertia so he could not stop himself, but he could go faster!
With a desperate scream, Atlas grabbed the rope and yanked it, increasing the speed of his approach.
All for the extra fraction of a second it would buy him, just before the fist would collide.
As the orc launched its powerful blow, Atlas twisted his body downward and using the rope as leverage, he managed to flip to his back— pushing underneath its arms with his feet and landing right in front of it.
The orc paused, seemingly surprised by his suicidal manuver and in that moment Atlas did one thing the orc never expected…
He ran.
***
"Keep the formation, don't let them get past you!"
Akaman stared at the mass of horrid creatures that besought them.
'First a dragon and now Goblins!'
It was the type of thing he only heard of in fantasy novels, not like he was a very big reader though.
There was one thing they did not usually mention in all those novels though, and that was their strength!
The goblins were just as strong as they currently were which didn't bode well for them, and it seemed they were also rather venomous.
One of the guards had been bitten not so long ago and shortly after he collapsed, leaving them one man short.
Since then, he had been wary of their nasty teeth.
Akaman darted forward, dodging to the side as a goblin pounced at him just before driving his spear into its exposed back.
The feral creature let out a shrill before collapsing to the floor.
Akaman was already retreating, jumping backward as the trove of goblins pounced at him. Immediately he reached the formation, the guards pushed their spears forward, baring their path.
He took a deep breath, sweat dripping down his arms as he stared at the goblins.
"8 more…"
He lunged once more, his stone spear like an executioner's rod.
***
Save for the dagger tucked in his waist, Atlas was weaponless, and so he ran in the direction he had dropped his spear.
The orc seemed surprised at first, considering that he had shown so much girt at the start of the battle, but when it saw the shiny object Atlas was aiming for, fury filled its veins as it charged.
The ground trembled and the earth caved with each malevolent step.
It closed in on Atlas just as he grabbed the spear!
The moment Atlas' hands touched the weapon, a large shadow covered him and he realized it was over. Unless something happened, he would die today.
It was not that he was weak…
Atlas was more than capable of tackling most threats back on earth— but that was the thing, this was not earth.
Still…
Atlas sucked in a breath.
He would not go down without a fight.
Tossing the spear to his left hand, Atlas jumped backward and simultaneously reached for the dagger.
Whoosh!
As the orc descended on him with a maddening fury, Atlas released his dagger, tossing it right at the monster's face.
"GAHHHHHHH!" The beast screamed as the dagger sunk into its left eye.
But it did not stop its attack, its cleaver was still descending upon Atlas who was still in the air and unable to dodge.
Just then, he heard a high pitched shout from behind him.
"Duck!"
Atlas lowered his head instinctively, watching as a clay pot flew right past him and into the face of the monster.
Boom!
The pot exploded on contact, creating a cloud of dust. Dahlia had created a medieval smoke bomb!
Tenacious as ever, the orc tossed its clever as it stumbled backwards, trying to blink away the dirt. But its aim was off and so Atlas easily evaded its strike.
Rotating his spear around his body, Atlas darted forward, using the orc's body as a stepping stool to push himself into the sky.
The orc reached wildly, hoping to grab him but with both eyes out of commission all it did was grab air.
Atlas came down with a vengeance, driving the spear right into its last remaining eye and pushing it deeper until the wooden spear snapped.
Blood shot out of the wound, sprinkling on Atlas' face and down to the floor.
The orc's hands remained in the air for a moment, as though frozen in time, just before falling numbly at its sides—Then the monster came down as well.
Not too far away from him, Atlas watched as Akaman drove his spear into the last of the goblins.
He turned to where the villagers stood, hiding behind the shelters.
Everyone seemed fine, they had survived…
Atlas let out a sigh of relief as he turned back.
"Thanks Dahlia, I would have died if not for…"
"Dahlia?"
Lying on the floor with a gaping wound on her shoulder was the girl who had saved him.
The cleaver the orc had thrown, the one he had dodged—
It had sliced open her thigh, leaving her covered in a pool of her blood.