"Roar!"
A deafening roar tore across the battlefield. The Winged Kobold suddenly threw back its head and let out a chilling howl.
Before the mercenaries and adventurers could react, it swung the enormous axe in its hands. Rust covered the weapon, but its edge reflected a bone-chilling gleam beneath the sunlight.
"Whoosh!"
The sound of something tearing through the air rang out. The Winged Kobold suddenly beat its wings and dove like the Grim Reaper, plunging straight toward the densest part of the crowd.
The giant axe swept across, as if carrying the force of a thousand tons.
"Splurt! Splurt!"
Fountains of blood erupted, and severed limbs flew through the air.
In a single exchange, a heap of mangled corpses had appeared on the ground.
Viewed from above, the Winged Kobold was like a farmer harvesting a wheat field, while the mercenaries and adventurers were nothing more than ripe stalks awaiting the sickle, utterly powerless to resist.
A few of the quicker mercenaries and adventurers instinctively raised their weapons to block. Several others ducked low to evade the attack and tried to counterattack.
However.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Their weapons struck the Winged Kobold's scale-covered body and merely sent a few sparks flying. They failed to leave even a scratch.
Despair spread like a plague.
"This—this monster is way beyond anything we can handle!"
"Its scales are harder than steel! Our attacks are completely useless!"
"Retreat! If this keeps up, we'll all die here!"
"Damn it, did this thing crawl out of hell?"
After witnessing the Winged Kobold's brutal slaughter, the mercenaries' and adventurers' fighting spirit collapsed in an instant.
They abandoned the spoils that had nearly fallen into their hands and fled in all directions, throwing the battlefield into chaos.
The Winged Kobold hovered at low altitude, its single wing slowly beating behind it. Its scarlet eyes flashed with bloodlust.
Like a raptor toying with its prey, it unhurriedly hunted the fleeing humans. Every dive was accompanied by a shrill scream.
Meanwhile, the monster army that had previously been suppressed by the humans was now greatly heartened.
They howled excitedly, brandished their crude weapons, and joined the one-sided slaughter.
As for Roland—
The instant he recognized the Winged Kobold, he calmly put away his short bow and quietly retreated.
His steps were light and swift. In the blink of an eye, he had moved far from the center of the battlefield.
As for the screams coming from behind him, he turned a deaf ear.
He had saved Darko in the jungle earlier because Darko was a young nobleman, Baron Foslin's only son.
His life or death was directly tied to Roland's own.
But what about these mercenaries and adventurers?
They were nothing but a bunch of greedy profit-seekers. What did their lives or deaths have to do with him?
With Roland's current strength, if he used Momentum Slash, he indeed had a chance of killing the Winged Kobold in a single strike.
But what then?
Could he really expect these desperadoes who lived by the blade to feel grateful while he was weakened afterward?
The answer was obvious.
Therefore, staying away from this mess was the wisest choice.
"It's a shame. I'm only three kills short of the requirement to become a warrior..."
Roland kept walking as his mind rapidly calculated.
He deliberately kept the sound of breaking branches beneath his feet to a minimum, placing each step precisely on the safest footing.
"But it doesn't matter."
"Master Hawk's approved leave is still long. At worst, I can stay in Pine Wood Town for a few more days. With that kobold around, the monsters nearby probably won't be staying quiet."
As his thoughts raced, his steps grew even faster.
Suddenly, the clang of colliding metal pierced through the wails.
Roland frowned.
Someone was actually able to hold their own against that Winged Kobold?
And judging by the frequency of the exchanges, they did not seem to be at a disadvantage?
It was not that he underestimated those mercenaries.
After fighting the Blood Scale Kobold, he knew all too well how terrifying this monster was.
Its scales were impervious to blades and spears, its strength far beyond that of an ordinary human, and now it also possessed the mobility granted by its wings.
When he had faced the Blood Scale Kobold, even John and the others, who were regular soldiers, had struggled to withstand it. How could this ragtag group possibly—
The sound of clashing metal suddenly became denser, faintly mixed with the pained hiss of a monster.
But Roland's steps did not slow out of curiosity.
Whoever was holding that monster back was buying him precious time to escape.
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted behind him. Roland instinctively turned his head.
A black shadow came hurtling toward him like a cannonball, moving so fast that it dragged an afterimage through the air.
Seeing this, Roland's body instinctively dodged to the side.
The black shadow grazed his clothes and slammed into a tree ahead.
The thick trunk let out a strained groan as splintered bark flew in all directions.
"The Executioner?"
Though he had seen him for only an instant, Roland still recognized him.
The Executioner's distinctive black robe was torn in several places, revealing a slender figure clad in leather armor beneath it. His pale fingertips still gripped that signature slender sword tightly.
Before he could steady himself, a bone-chilling sensation suddenly came from the back of Roland's neck.
His sharp combat instincts made him crouch and roll without hesitation.
"Crack!"
The rust-covered giant axe swept past his hair and cut through the thick oak beside him.
Amid the flying wood chips, Roland rose with the momentum of his roll. The iron sword at his waist was already out of its sheath, drawing a cold arc beneath the sunlight.
But in the next moment, the Winged Kobold suddenly changed targets.
The Executioner, who had just been leaning against the tree trunk and slowly sliding down, had now risen to his feet. He lunged toward the single wing on the monster's back with incredible speed.
"Clang!"
As the giant axe tore through the air, the Winged Kobold suddenly spun and swept it sideways.
The Executioner's slender figure arched backward like a falling leaf.
The axe blade skimmed past the tip of his nose before abruptly changing direction midway and colliding with his slender sword.
"Cough!"
A muffled groan came from beneath the black robe.
The Executioner dropped to one knee. His slender sword gouged a long trench in the ground before finally stopping his retreat.
When he raised his head, the Winged Kobold was already pouncing again!
"Swish, swish, swish!"
The slender sword instantly transformed into a storm of silver light.
The blade struck precisely at its eyelids, earholes, wing membrane, and other vulnerable spots, but all of the attacks were blocked by its scales.
The Winged Kobold grinned viciously as it endured the attacks head-on and swung its weapon with force.
"Boom!"
The axe blade slammed into the ground, instantly spreading spiderweb-like cracks across the earth.
The Executioner hurriedly rolled sideways to evade, but the fierce shockwave tore half of his black robe open, revealing a section of his pale chin and several loose strands of silver hair.
Before he could steady his staggering body, the Winged Kobold raised its battle axe again. Its second strike descended toward his head with a whistle through the air.
There was nowhere to dodge.
The Executioner's deep-blue pupils suddenly contracted, reflecting the axe blade's icy gleam.
"Get out of the way!"
At the critical moment, Roland's furious shout exploded through the air.
His body shot forward like a cheetah. The iron sword in his hand tore through the air, carrying a cold gleam as it stabbed toward the single wing on the kobold's back—the one unprotected by scales.
However, the Winged Kobold reacted extremely quickly. Its wrist twisted violently, and the giant axe that had been descending suddenly changed direction, transforming into a fierce horizontal sweep!
"Bang!"
The axe and sword collided, sending sparks flying.
Roland felt tremendous force travel along the blade. His entire arm went numb, and the impact sent him staggering several steps backward.
"It's stronger than the Blood Scale Kobold, and faster too."
He gritted his teeth, secretly alarmed.
"Fortunately, [Adaptive Training] raised my Agility to seven. Otherwise, I probably couldn't have kept up with its movements!"
On the other side, the Executioner also used his slender sword for support as he slowly rose.
Facing enemies on both sides, the Winged Kobold did not continue its attack. Instead, it warily beat its wing and quickly retreated.
Its scarlet eyes swept back and forth between the two of them. Only after confirming that both remained within its field of vision did it suddenly stop and assume a guarded stance.
"That is..."
Roland's gaze locked onto the white object cradled in the Winged Kobold's left arm. An inexplicable sense of familiarity welled up inside him.
But he immediately cast aside this irrelevant information. Looking at the exceptionally cautious enemy before him, he could not help feeling troubled.
The Executioner had had a chance to escape while fighting the Winged Kobold earlier.
But it was obvious that the Executioner was no match for this monster.
If Roland had not intervened in time, the Executioner would probably already have been cut in half.
And if the Executioner died, even if Roland fled, he would not be able to get far with the Winged Kobold's flying speed and mobility.
After weighing his options, joining forces with the Executioner was clearly the best choice compared to fighting alone.
It was just that—
The Executioner had killed mercenaries, adventurers, and monsters alike without distinguishing friend from foe.
Roland had to make sure that this temporary ally would not suddenly turn on him.
"We'll deal with this monster together. You're not going to attack me as well, are you?"
Roland kept his eyes fixed on the kobold and asked in a low voice.
The Executioner's silver hair fluttered lightly as he shook his head.
The next second, the slender sword was already out of its sheath. The Executioner shot toward the enemy like lightning, exposing his entire back to Roland.
Seeing this, Roland immediately followed with his sword.
"Attack its wing from behind and create an opening for me!"
The confident declaration made the Executioner pause for a moment. He quickly adjusted his steps, nimbly dodged the giant axe's sweep, and flashed behind the monster.
Roland seized the fleeting opportunity. His iron sword transformed into a silver arc.
In an instant, the dense forest echoed with an endless series of metallic clashes.
Perhaps because they both possessed superb combat skills, Roland and the Executioner displayed astonishing coordination in battle despite never having met before.
However, perhaps because of his earlier injuries, the Executioner's steps gradually grew disordered as time passed.
The Winged Kobold keenly noticed the opening, but Roland's perfectly timed attacks repeatedly forced it to abandon its chances to deliver a killing blow. The fury in its scarlet eyes grew more intense.
And just as the monster ignored everything else and swung its axe into a clash with the Executioner—
"Now!"
A sharp light surged in Roland's eyes as the [Focus] trait activated instantly.
He suddenly stepped forward and leaped into the air. The longsword gripped in both hands drew a fierce cold gleam beneath the sunlight.
Seeing this, a trace of mockery flashed through the Winged Kobold's scarlet pupils.
It struck with all its strength, colliding with the Executioner's slender sword.
After seeing the Executioner spit blood and collapse to the ground, it swiftly turned around and raised its rust-covered giant axe across its chest.
In its eyes, the human who had leaped into the air was already a helpless lamb awaiting slaughter.
With a light twist of the axe blade, it could cut him down!
"Clang!"
However, the instant the axe and sword collided, the contempt in the monster's eyes suddenly froze.
A terrifying force traveled from the axe handle, numbing its claws. Caught off guard, it let out a shrill screech.
Feeling strength surge toward his arms like a rising tide, Roland gritted his teeth and suddenly pressed both hands down on the sword.
"Momentum Slash!"
Accompanied by his furious roar, the blood-red scales that had previously been impervious to blades and spears now seemed as thin as paper.
The longsword cut down without the slightest resistance, sliding diagonally from the axe handle and heading straight for the Winged Kobold's left abdomen.
"Thud!"
As the muffled sound of both feet landing heavily rang out—
The Winged Kobold remained frozen in place, as if it had not suffered the slightest injury.
But in the next instant, a scarlet line slowly appeared across its body.
"Splurt!"
Blood gushed out like a fountain.
Before you continue