Joseph took a moment to steady himself, closing his eyes and drawing in a deep, calming breath. Reaching deep into his soul, he summoned his skills, and they swiftly answered.
When he opened his eyes again, they burned with a mix of excitement, anticipation, anxiety, and so much more. He felt Battle Trance flood his mind with a craving for the clash that was about to unfold.
This is it. No turning back now.
The only way to escape was to carve a path with sheer force and might. "Get ready and follow me," Joseph commanded, stepping forward.
His mind was shielded by Iron Will, yet the tension in his muscles refused to fade…an ever-present weight, no matter how centred he was.
They moved as one, driven by sheer determination to survive this godforsaken night. Close-combat fighters formed the outer perimeter in disciplined lines, while the ranged combatants took position in the middle, ready to assist while staying protected.
It was all Joseph could muster for a formation of less than twenty soldiers against an army of over five hundred kobolds. The sheer size of the horde was staggering. Hundreds of kobolds scattered in every direction, and Joseph found himself grateful they carried no weapons.
To steel his soldiers' resolve, he spoke, "They've got numbers, but each of them is still three times lower-levelled than us." His voice carried over the tense silence.
"If you give up, you will die here. But if you fight, some of us will make it out alive." He hoped they all did. They all had loving families waiting for them.
He turned to them for a brief moment. "So, I beg of you—do not falter. Fight with everything you have… and more."
For a fleeting second, the kobolds merely watched as the group advanced cautiously, pressing toward one side in an attempt to break the encirclement.
Then, suddenly—
A guttural roar tore through the air behind them. Likely their chief.
Joseph tensed as the kobold horde erupted into a frenzy, saliva dripping from their maws as they fixed their beady, greed-filled eyes on their prey.
And then—
All hell broke loose.
Every single kobold surged forward, rabid in their hunger to devour them.
Joseph didn't hesitate. He activated every skill in his arsenal, his sword flashing as he prepared to meet the assault alongside his comrades.
"FOR OUR LOVED ONES!" Joseph roared.
And every single man and woman answered his call. No more waiting. No more hesitation. They must not get overwhelmed.
With Shadow Step enhancing his agility, he vanished into a blur of shadowy mana, striking deep into the heart of the monstrous tide.
The others followed close behind, ensuring he wasn't overwhelmed. The battlefield erupted with shouts and howls…both sides out for blood.
Kobolds ran, jumped, and snarled in savage retaliation against the formation that promised blood and death to any who dared come close. All sorts of skills were unleashed, pushing back the tide of kobolds as the soldiers fought desperately to carve a path to freedom.
Archers fired arrows laced with fiery mana, each shot exploding amid the beasts, killing multiple at once. Some hurled bottles filled with potent acid, the concoction melting reptilian flesh on contact.
Not a single human held anything back.
While the ranged fighters sowed chaos in the deeper ranks, Joseph and his fellow close-combat warriors played a gruesome game of massacre, cutting down any kobold that came too close.
They were making ground…slowly, painfully, toward the village, their advance at a snail's pace. The coordination of so many skills turned them into a butchering force, cutting down kobolds with ruthless efficiency.
Everything happened so fast that Joseph had no time to hesitate. His mind was wholly consumed by the battle, focused solely on killing his enemies. Each time his sword danced, at least three kobolds fell. His Mana Sense stretched to its limits, granting him precise awareness of everything within fifty meters.
Turning to his right, he thrust his sword, stopping a kobold mid-leap before it could pounce on the warrior beside him, gutting it in one swift motion. With a flex of his muscles, he wrenched the blade free, slicing the corpse in half mid-air before moving on.
Joseph was a black blur, his sword flashing with imbued mana as he carved through more kobolds.
They fell in droves, yet for every one that died, two more took their place, only to meet the same fate.
The others followed in his wake, killing fewer but still plenty, struggling to keep up with his speed. Not everyone was as powerful as him, after all. Most of them had common-grade classes.
Alone, they might have taken down a dozen kobolds each…but together, their coordination transformed them from capable warriors into a deadly force.
Turnip, wielding his greatsword, cleaved through a kobold that leapt into his path. His mana-empowered blade hummed as it sliced through another, cutting through flesh like a hot knife through butter.
Simon's arrows flew through the air, each one glowing with a faint light, striking with deadly accuracy…either killing its target instantly or leaving lingering wounds on anything that tried to overwhelm the formation.
By now, they had likely killed over a hundred kobolds combined.
But it was not without sacrifice. Despite everyone's efforts, the corpses of two warriors lay on the forest floor, left behind by the formation with heavy hearts.
Death wasn't their only problem, Joseph noted. They were burning through mana too quickly. Soon, their reserves would be empty, and that would spell doom for all of them.
Savage hunger radiated from the monsters. They cared little for the losses among their brethren, driven only by the desire to consume. Each one of them had murder in their eyes.
If not for Iron Will, Joseph might have given up long ago. A few already had. Some, overcome with despair, screamed and begged the monsters for mercy. Eyes filled with tears.
Joseph felt bad for them. Yet, he had no choice but to leave them behind, saving only those who still had the will to fight.
Ducking back, he deflected a clawed hand descending from his left with a swipe of his sword. The counter created an opening, and in one fluid motion, he sliced the attacker's head clean off before moving on.
The battle raged on.