"Damn it!" Greck roared. He swept his greatsword, forcing back the enemy in front of him, and tried to go to Healy's aid, but another gnoll engaged him head-on.
That gnoll jabbed and swung its spear. Its moves were simple but brutally effective, and every clash left Greck's blood and energy churning.
One moment of carelessness was all it took. The gnoll's spearhead cut across his thigh between his blocks, slicing open his studded leather jerkin. Blood quickly soaked through his pant leg.
A searing pain shot through Greck's thigh. He parried a heavy blow from the gnoll in front of him, then glanced to the side. The sight he had expected—Healy pierced through the shoulder and drenched in blood—never came.
The spear thrust toward the gap in the armor over Healy's shoulder had pierced her inner garment, but its tip couldn't penetrate any farther.
Healy hadn't even swayed.
She seemed to have expected this. The moment the gnoll was left exposed by its failed attack, her War Hammer, wreathed in orange light, swept upward in a swift arc!
"Crack!"
The crisp sound of breaking bone rang clear even over the din of battle.
The gnoll let out a piercing howl. Its forearm bent at a grotesque angle and hung limp, and its rough spear clattered to the ground.
The pain instantly robbed it of its ability to fight. Its intact claw could only uselessly paw at the air as it stumbled backward, its beady eyes showing shock and uncertainty for the first time.
Greck was shaken. Only then did he realize that this seemingly gentle female priest had not only an unbelievably powerful physique, but also a grasp of combat timing and a precision and ruthlessness far beyond what he had imagined. She was no frail spellcaster who needed