Chapter 50 (1/2)
Translator: Sigma Editor: Sigma
The four young people had a solid base, with excellent coordination and trust among each other, which allowed them to fully exert their power for a long time even in the face of an enemy far more powerful than them.
However, this did not change the balance of strength between the two sides. As time went by, the spellcaster’s power was constantly consumed, and the situation became even more untenable. When the moon rose, they’d finally reached their limit.
“My magic has almost run out,” said the priest suddenly, his face covered in sweat. “I can only use one or two more recovery spells at most.”
At this moment, the archer had run out of arrows. He could only continue fighting by using the arrows on the ground that he’d already shot.
As for the mage, the youngest and the weakest of the four, he had run out of strength, so he was lying on his belly in a tree, exhausted and out of breath. The dizziness and headache caused by his depleted magic made him unable to talk. He could only tell the others with a pitiful smile that he absolutely had no strength to escape.
The warrior let out a wry laugh and said, “Well then, I will shield your retreat. In the future, if we have the opportunity to kill the old bear, that’ll be revenge for me.” They were obviously so familiar with each other that even without using names they knew who was being referred to.
The priest immediately became angry, shouting, “As the servant of the God of Glory (the chief god of human beings), how can I abandon my partner to escape? Are you trying to insult me?!”
“It’s just a temporary retreat,” said the soldiers, forcing a smile. “When fighting, there are always attacks and retreats, and I’m asking you to retreat because you can help the others leave alive. If you don’t retreat, I won’t have the confidence to do so!”
The priest was speechless, but he just stubbornly shook his head and never agreed.
The two sides could not reach an agreement, but the bear wasn’t going to quietly wait for them as they negotiated. Seeing that the enemy was distracted, the bear immediately intensified its attack and focused on the group’s flaws. With only one attack, it tossed aside the priest with his hard shield, leaving a crack in the shield. The priest felt a sharp pain in his chest when breathing and coughed violently.
“Oops!” The soldier was shocked, waving his sword in a hurry and trying to draw the attention of the giant bear so he could buy time for the gunner to rescue the priest. But in that moment, the giant bear’s violent intent spurred it on: its strength substantially increased in a short time, and it struck them with its claws and pounced on its opportunity. The warrior responded in kind, withholding the attack with his shield. But the last of his remaining strength wasn’t enough for him to stand his ground, so he staggered back and finally fell to the ground.
As he fell, his heart sank. Damn!
The giant bear roared loudly and rushed toward him, but he felt sore all over with no strength left to save himself. He could only wait to be killed.
Just then, a sneer came from a nearby place. A gray figure, which had been hidden in the underbrush before, rushed towards him in an instant and stopped in front of him.
The giant bear roared, rushed towards him, and immediately arrived in front of him. What it found waiting for it was a brightly lit sword.
The light of the sword flashed, and blood splashed everywhere. The giant bear, which had been sprinting, lost its balance and hit the tree beside it. Blood spewed from its jagged wounds like water from a spring.
Only then did the warrior see his benefactor, the one who’d beheaded the giant bear to save him and his companions. He was of medium build and handsome, but his eyebrows and eyes showed an excessive perfectness that was somewhat strange. It made others think he was more a portrait or statue than a living human being. This man was not tall, wore lightweight black leather armor, carried a long gun on his back, and held a sword still dripping blood. The leather armor, gun, and sword all glimmered amid the darkness. At first glance, it was easy to see they were powerful and expensive weapons with enchantments.
Judging by the gun, sword, and assault, this benefactor was obviously a knight. However, unlike the knights who wore heavy armor, he was dressed in leather armor, so he could focus on maneuvers and attacking.
Although he’d dashed so far and killed the horrible giant bear, the powerful knight hadn’t even broken a sweat, and he was still breathing regularly. After a long exhale, he completely regained his composure, as if the startling moment had nothing to do with him and he was just passing by.
Paying no attention to the stares of the others, he walked over to the dying giant bear, wiped the bloodstains on its thick fur, and then put his sword back in its scabbard. Then, without looking at the group of four, he walked straight away.
Saving people and killing a bear didn’t seem worth mentioning to him.
“Great…great knight…please accept our… our gratitude…” stammered the priest loudly. He was first to recover and called out to the knight with a tingle in his chest.
The knight in black armor stopped without looking back but waved toward them.
“You guys did a good job, but you need to be more cautious and ask your seniors more questions to learn from their experience,” he said in a clear and powerful voice. “Go on with your lives, and one day you can also wield a sword like me!”
Without another word, he walked away, leaving only the four adventurers full of gratitude and the giant bear that was finally dead.
After a long time, the excited soldier could not help but shout, “I have decided! After going back, I will continue to study diligently and strive to wield a sword like him as soon as possible! I have to practice hard, but I will also help others, just as he selflessly helped us!”
The priest, holding the holy emblem, was greatly moved by this celebration of what was true, good, and beautiful. “I will also work harder! If not, then in the future I won’t even be qualified to pay him back!”