Defiance of the Fall

Zac pushed his power to the limit and gripped his axe with both hands and swung upward with all his might , hoping to intercept the sword .

With a tremendous clangor that echoed through the vicinity the axe and the great sword connected . The force actually created a shockwave that blasted outwards .

Zac was slammed down into the ground again from the force creating a small crater . Even with his superhuman stats he couldn’t handle the power of the sword . Luckily for him he at least managed to get the leader demon off-kilt and change the trajectory of the strike . It actually slammed down in the gut of the dying Demon . The might was so strong that the torso of the underling veritably exploded , instantly killing him . That wiped the smirk of the leaders face and seemed to enrage him instead .

Meanwhile , the dark lightning from the demon’s skill passed into Zac’s axe when they collided , and burrowed into his arm . A blazing pain ran through his whole body , and his muscles spasmed uncontrollably .

That was actually the only reason Zac survived , as a great spasm jerked his head some distance away . Another arrow slammed down right where his head had been before .

This arrow was different than the other , with a jagged arrowhead and being pitch black . It whizzed down with a great force and actually completely embedded itself into the ground , right down to the feathers . The extreme penetrating power was evident from that shot , likely from a skill .

It was only thanks to being bombed with black fireballs by the imps that Zac was able to retain consciousness . He pushed the pain away with all the resilience he could garner , and with a quick swing cut through the roots that ensnared his feet . The roots were far sturdier than they looked , and it felt like he cut through steel wire rather than wood .

Still it was no match for his power and the sharpness of his axe , and he was free in no time . He rolled a way as quickly as possible , trying to gain some distance before the leader swung down again .

He got to his feet just as another batch of roots closed in on him . This time they came as a swarm from the ground under the other demon . Zac whirled his axe back and forth in a frenzied manner and cut them down as they came , stopping their advance after a while .

The battle reached a short lull as Zac stood panting , while facing the two Demons . He tried to survey the treetops but couldn’t locate the female archer . Her existence was like an annoying fly in the periphery that made him unable to fully concentrate . Even worse , this fly could kill him with one strike if he wasn’t careful .

Fighting one against many truly was a pain in the ass .

Chapter 28 - Melee

Zac was a bit unsure of how to proceed . He knew that one should maintain the initiative in a battle , but he didn’t want to just charge over like a stupid barghest .

His enemies made the choice for him . The leader started advancing on him , anger smoldering in his eyes . Both his hands gripped the great sword , which was angled down toward the ground .

The other man was stationary , but mumbling something in their own language .

Zac could only put his game face on . He was still hurting all over from the dark lightning , but he pretended he was fine . With his axe in his hand he got ready for round two .

Zac really didn’t want to meet the great sword straight on . The leader seemed to have roughly the same level of strength as he did , and even if he managed to parry the strike , he was afraid that he would be shocked again from the skill . He would have to fight around it somehow .

Luckily a weapon of that size was unwieldy , and the trajectories would hopefully be telegraphed .

Zac took out a second knife , leaving him with only one remaining . He launched it at the weaker enemy , and started to rush forward .

The demon deflected the knife with a couple of roots even though the force from Zac’s throw was immense . The demon obviously was some sort of earth- or tree-mage , and the roots were far sturdier than something coming from a normal tree .

The demon was interrupted in his chanting though , which was Zac’s main goal . If he actually had managed to hurt him , all the better .

Wasting no time he rushed toward him , trying to avoid the leader and his great sword . The great sword whizzed in a wide upwards arc , seemingly trying to cut Zac’s in two .

Zac pushed forward with his legs and jumped forward into a roll to avoid the swing , but somehow the leader changed trajectory mid swing , and still managed to nick Zac in the side . The cut drew blood but wasn’t too deep , and fortunately the black lightning didn’t emerge again . It seemed the leader couldn’t continuously use the skill .

Zac ignored the pain and quickly got on his feet and charged at the underling . The leader was right behind him , so he quickly swung his axe downward , hoping for a quick kill .