As he spoke, Johnsen lunged at Lilia.
Lilia wasted no time. She swung her Shortsword, leaped into the air, and brought it down on him.
Johnsen did not dodge. Instead, he raised his thick arms, each nearly as big as Lilia's thigh, and blocked with both fists.
Clang!
A clear ring sounded as the two sprang apart.
Lilia frowned at the sword in her hand. Johnsen looked a little shaken, but he was unhurt.
Someone could actually block Lilia's sword with his bare flesh? But what was that sound?
Rhode's gaze settled on Johnsen's fists.
Only then did he notice the metallic sheen on the burly man's fists. He must have been wearing Knuckle Dusters!
They were flesh-colored, making them look just like his actual fists.
During his fight with Marin, however, his punches had mostly hit empty air or collided with Fireballs, making them difficult to notice.
Now that Johnsen and Lilia had clashed head-on, they had produced the unmistakable ring of metal striking metal.
Johnsen's strength was truly immense. Even Lilia could not defeat him with a single downward strike.
Of course, from Johnsen's perspective, Lilia's strike had been equally astonishing.
Although he had blocked the attack, the impact had left both his arms numb.
How could such a tiny little girl have so much strength?
The watching Defias members were dumbstruck as well.
Lilia had killed Surena with one swift stroke, but they had assumed that was partly because Surena had not expected an attack from such a little girl. Besides, perhaps this elf swordswoman was simply agile and lacked strength.
They had never imagined that this little elf was actually a skilled melee fighter with both speed and strength!
Among them, Johnsen might not have been the strongest overall, but in terms of raw strength, he