"No, it wasn't me—I didn't!"
The startled looks from her teammates in front and behind made Xili's face turn deathly pale, and she seemed almost incoherent.
She wanted to explain to them that it had not been her carelessness, but that some unknown, invisible force had truly and deliberately been applied to the top of her foot for an instant just now, briefly making her lose her balance.
Otherwise, with the support of the Feat [Silent Prowl], she never could have made such a mistake under these circumstances.
But now, no matter what she said, it would not help. There was no time left for her to explain.
The moment her right foot slammed uncontrollably onto the ground, letting out clear footsteps in the silent space—
Battle had become unavoidable.
"Ah."
Sticky guttural sounds overlapped and echoed through the air as all six Dried Corpses turned in unison to look at the Blood Blade Squad.
Then, in a posture that seemed slow but actually held a rigid, brewing explosiveness, they rapidly closed in around the group.
As the team's ranged Archer, Xili still had panic in her expression. The instant the fight began, muscle memory drove her to retreat two sharp steps and hide behind her teammates.
A roar—no longer deliberately suppressed, filled with violent rage—burst from his wide mouth between the two upward-jutting tusks as his throat and neck trembled.
His rapidly swelling muscles stretched his pale green skin taut. A layer of blazing red that symbolized fury seeped from his pores, spreading visibly over the Half-Orc's towering body.
Gorge stood at the very front of the team, his huge iron-studded wooden club creaking in the grip of his massive hands.
"Blood Blade" Marcus reacted the fastest. The instant footsteps sounded behind him, the two coldly gleaming curved sabers