Chapter 323: In Capable Hands (1/2)

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”Hold, lads, hold!” Old Thane's shout resonated through the burning forest battlefield, rising far above the raging crackle of flames, the heavy thudding of fire giant steps, and the clash of giant flame swords against wood.

The shout had no reason to belong to a man as aged as Old Thane, and yet, the way the blind man moved, it was difficult to tell he was far past his prime.

He shoulder slammed into the knee of a fire giant, catching the giant off balance and forcing the slamming trajectory of his flame sword away from turning Mason into a smidgeon of burnt blood.

”Asala!” Old Thane shouted again as the fire giant reared its attention on him, burning eyes of pure flaming light flickering in annoyance.

The giant slammed a crushing hand down on to Old Thane, but he raised his arms up and caught the attack.

A surge of fire and heat wave distorted winds burst out from Old Thane stopping the impact, and the palms of his hands singed as his muscles rippled and bulged, surging with a red aura that indicated he had activated [Berserker's Rage], a staple of the Berserker subclass to boost strength, speed, and damage resistance.

Yet, fire giants were ever the formidable foe, and though their great size meant their agility stat was low, making their accuracy and movement speed unimpressive, they more than made up for it with their prodigious natural strength, easily surpassing pure brawlers like Old Thane in single combat.

But this was not single combat.

”Reprieve shalt come to thee soon,” said Asala, calm in her voice for as situations became tenser, she only ever became more focused, more calm.

Her yellow eyes glinted as her pupils slit into narrow lines as she pointed her wooden staff at the fire giant.

Wreaths of golden light swirled around the staff in flowing patterns, causing sands to arise from around the fire giant's locking into a solidified mound around his legs.

The giant grunted as it saw this sudden development, and instead of trying to break free, aimed its flame sword against Old Thane while he was pinned by the giant's hand.

”Tis' brutish but predictable,” said Asala as she pointed her staff down.

The [Sand Tomb] around the fire giant's legs sunk under the ground as if parted by quicksand, and the giant lost its balance again.

Old Thane took this moment to get out from under the giant's grip and side step back, and as the giant crashed face first into the ground, Old Thane charged up a [Painkiller], a powerful Berserker class blow that dealt more damage based on how much the user had taken.

Old Thane's wooden, gauntleted fist smashed into the side of the fire giant's head with resounding impact, causing it to snap back and disorient the monster.

”Now!” growled Old Thane. ”Converge!”

From stealth emerged Mercer with his twin blades and Sheela with her short sword.

They were not too coordinated, both of them circling in front of the fire giant to try and cut its eyes out, but Sheela was more experienced, allowing Mercer freedom to act as she broke off, leaping onto the giant's head and using it as a platform to flip to its back exposed back which she stabbed into with no hesitation.

Mercer grunted as he slammed twin daggers into both the giant's eyes.

The critical damage caused the fire giant to roar in pain, fire bellowing out from its body and causing Mercer to immediately scramble backwards.

Mason grabbed his brother's cloak from the back and pulled him back to aid his escape, leaving them both with just lava singed hairs for their trouble.

Sheela, however, smiled and continued forwards, letting the lava spatter around her skin and burn it. She used the damage to channel her blood shamanism, and with it, cast [Bleeding Edge], coating her wooden sword in a rapidly rotating layer of sharpened blood meant for inflicting as much bleeding damage as possible.

With [Blood Boost] pumping through her body, lighting all her veins up with a crimson red visible through her skin in grotesque fashion, Sheela sped around the giant, slashing everywhere she could, some of her attacks sinking into critical spots and causing veins of fiery blood to burst, gushing out molten rock and flame everywhere.

”Gods, we really are weak,” commented Mason as he and his brother stood shoulder to shoulder, supporting each other through panting breaths and watching as Sheela wreaked bloody havoc on the fire giant.

”You've got that right-,” began Mercer before his sharper senses caused his blue eyes to widen. ”Watch out!”

A fireball flew their way before Vilga emerged alight with flames from having managed to defeat a fire giant in single combat.

Cauterized sword wounds littered her muscular body, but she still had more than enough energy to snarl and punch the fireball with a [Iron Fist], the Qi wreathing her hand in a layer of blue aura that let her interact with projectiles.

The fireball shattered apart into tiny specks that Mason managed to block with his shield.

”No time for chatter, lads!” said Old Thane as he retreated back, staying near Mason, Mercer, and Vilga. Sheela had come back too, having executed the fire giant. Asala stood back further behind them as their mage and support.

In front of them, more giants were closing in.