Alone Against the Tower - Chapter 11

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Irevi

Chapter 11: Solo Raid

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The Goblin Lord's axe had an absurd reach, just like a greatsword.

Compared to my main weapon, it was probably twice as long. The advantage of reach in close combat was obvious.

On top of that, the Goblin Lord's overwhelming size and greater Strength meant that neither blocking nor trading blows would be possible.

As if that wasn't enough, three Crossbowmen were aiming at me. The odds were pretty damn bad.

There was only one move to make in this situation.

"Hup!"

I pressed in deeper. Inside the axe's reach, into the Goblin Lord's embrace.

I burst forward and closed the distance at once. Unlike a greatsword, an axe had a narrow striking surface, so getting this close actually made it useless.

Still, there was no getting around the hesitation that came with closing in on that mountain of muscle.

-Pyung!

A crossbow fired. I immediately raised my shield and covered my left shoulder.

-Ting.

The bolt slammed into the shield and bounced away. It had been half a gamble, but it looked like I'd guessed right.

A moment ago, the Goblin Lord's huge body had hidden much of mine. From the Crossbowman's view, this was probably the only spot worth aiming at.

But there were still two Crossbowmen left. And in front of me, the Goblin Lord had raised the hand that wasn't holding its axe.

"Graaah-!!"

With a roar that left my ears ringing, it swung its pot-lid-sized hand. I ducked sharply to avoid it.

My Strength stat couldn't overcome the power of the Goblin Lord in Phase 2, but the reaction speed and explosiveness born from my Agility stat were another matter.

Having the advantage in speed meant I always had the initiative. That was true even in a one-against-many fight like this.

While the goblins used one turn, I could use two.

-Ting.

Right after avoiding the Goblin Lord's hand, I blocked the second shot, fired as if it had been waiting for the opening, with my shield.

The problem was the last Crossbowman's shot. I'd never considered the possibility that three Crossbowmen would appear the instant Phase 2 began.

Praying I wasn't too late, I pivoted around the Goblin Lord's injured leg, the one I'd cut with [Brandish].

The bolt didn't come.

Using the Goblin Lord as cover had worked.

No matter what happened, these bastards never caused friendly fire. That meant I could delay their shots by a beat like this.

"Grah-!"

The instant the final Crossbowman missed its firing window, the Goblin Lord raised its axe over its head.

This was bad. I'd been forced to avoid the bolt, and now I'd missed the timing to respond to the axe attack.

Fuck, I couldn't dodge this. And I couldn't block it, either.

-Kakang!

The massive bone axe scraped along the side of my raised shield with a deafening screech.

I somehow deflected it. My shield looked like it had been shaved down a little. Even deflecting it left my arm numb.

But now it was my turn again. The Goblin Lord didn't have the explosiveness to attack during this brief opening.

The moment I thought that, the Goblin Lord's shoulder came rushing at me. I hurriedly raised my shield.

-Bang!

The shield, overwhelmed by its strength, smacked me in the face. Then the Goblin Lord scooped me up with its body like a bull, aiming for my lower half.

Fuck, a tackle at close range with a body that big? Didn't that thing have even a shred of conscience?

My reaction speed had been more than enough, but the move was so bizarre that I couldn't find a way to deal with it.

-Bwoong!

After launching me into the air, the Goblin Lord drew back its bone axe in a wide arc. It was the same stance as the horizontal slash I'd taken before.

The Goblin Lord's strongest strike, one I absolutely couldn't take head-on. It looked like it planned to smack me with the axe like a baseball when I fell.

If that hit me, shield or no shield, I'd be split in half at the waist.

I had to dodge somehow, but it was impossible to make an evasive move in midair. Goddammit, this was a completely unavoidable situation.

Just like the tackle before, my reaction speed was enough. I just had no way to respond.

No, come to think of it, there was one.

"Hssup...!"

Still gripping my sword tightly in midair, I drew back my shoulder. My legs took the stance of bracing against ground that wasn't even there.

If I took the right stance, swordsmanship skills made my body move on their own and perform the motion. That meant this was possible too.

-Pukak!

A faint light flashed over the sword, and my body shot forward on its own as I thrust.

Sword Charge, a charging skill for one-handed swords.

The charge activated in midair, changing my trajectory before I fell. My extended thrust buried itself in the back of the Goblin Lord's neck.

I'd used the skill dozens of times to raise its proficiency, so I could take the right stance even in midair.

It wasn't just numbers like stats or levels. All the effort I'd put in saved me in a moment like this.

"Got you, you bastard!"

A thrill unlike anything I'd ever felt surged through me, and I grinned as I shouted.

Euphoria ran through my veins. Holding the sword lodged in the Goblin Lord's neck, I climbed back up onto its shoulder.

At that moment, a Crossbowman spotted me popping up over the Goblin Lord's shoulder and fired.

"Ugh."

The bolt struck my shoulder dead on, but my high Durability kept it from piercing through. It only lodged partway in.

It still hurt like hell. It hurt, but somehow it didn't.

I thought I knew why.

This was real adrenaline, wasn't it? They said you couldn't feel pain when blood rushed all the way to your head. Guess it was true.

[You have acquired Passive Skill: Battle Awakening Level 1.]

The interface popped up before my eyes without warning. Before I could think about what it meant, I raised my sword.

"Dieeeeeee!!"

Clinging to the Goblin Lord's neck, I drove the raised sword into it.

For some reason, the blade seemed to sink in better than before. Was that the adrenaline too? Whatever.

There was only one thing I could say for sure.

I was going to win this fight.

* * *

Lost in the moment, I kept stabbing the Goblin Lord's back.

I'd even forgotten the dagger I'd prepared for a moment like this, stupidly hacking away with my longsword.

"Graaahhh-!!"

"Uaaahhh!!"

The Goblin Lord thrashed around in pain, trying to shake me off, but I shouted back and kept driving my sword into it.

Whenever the three Crossbowmen caught sight of me clinging to the Goblin Lord's back, they fired bolts, but it didn't do much good.

-Puk!

Several bolts lodged in my body. Two or three, maybe. I'd stopped counting halfway through. None had hit anywhere dangerous anyway.

A Challenger didn't suffer fatal injuries until their HP hit rock bottom. It hurt like hell, but it wouldn't kill me.

HP: 411/510

It would probably take another hour for bleeding damage to chew through a Level 39's HP pool.

Under the constant stabbing, the Goblin Lord tried to shake me off the same way it had before. It charged backward toward the wall.

I let go of its neck, used its back as a foothold, and jumped toward the wall at the last possible moment.

Then I kicked off the wall again, leaping into the air and taking the stance for [Sword Charge].

-Puuuk!

I charged into the Goblin Lord's back as it ran toward the wall, and the combined force drove the blade in incredibly deep.

"Graaagh!"

The boss let out a slightly weaker scream, and a red effect burst out. It was a critical hit.

The blade buried deep in its back was clamped tightly by muscle and wouldn't come out. That was fine. I opened my inventory.

[+7 Kingdom Knight's Straight Sword]

[+6 Kingdom Knight's Straight Sword]

[+5 Kingdom Knight's Straight Sword]

Over the last half year, I'd claimed every treasure chest in the Floor 1 Labyrinth Zone without leaving a single one behind. Thanks to that, I had more weapons than I could count.

I abandoned the sword stuck in the boss's back and pulled out a new one. Leaving the half-disabled boss behind, I charged at the Crossbowmen.

"You've been pissing me off this whole time, you fucking bastard."

-Kwajik!

I killed the goblin that had kept firing bolts and getting in my way. Then I quickly stabbed the remaining two to death.

During that time, the staggering Goblin Lord regained its footing. Gripping its bone axe tightly, it took the stance for a deadly horizontal slash.

I removed the shield I no longer needed from my arm and gripped my sword.

-Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Goblin Lord charged at me with everything it had, axe raised. But it no longer carried the same oppressive presence as before.

The leg I'd hit with my first strike must have been starting to give out. It had also been stabbed so much and lost so much blood.

It came charging at me in an awkward posture, preparing to unleash a horizontal slash. I ran toward it too.

My Agility stat was enough. Deadly horizontal slash or not, I was confident I could dodge it even head-on.

-Wheeng!