The first thing that I understand about the dagger is just how sharp it is. The wound is deep, and it hits my bones. Waves of pain appear from where I have been struck.
The first thing that I do is to pull my arms down sharply. The blade will do less damage to my legs than to my heart.
It hurts like a bitch, but I focus my mana on my other arm and punch at the figure on his head. Attacking the head is one of the best ways of causing damage, I find. Even if nothing breaks, it can disorient the enemy. The attack does little more than temporarily push the attacker away from me, though. That is a very solidly built defense.
This is no amateur mage who would panic at the first sign of an attack. I am sure that if I were to push my attack a bit more, I would be able to kill him. Just as I attempt to do this, though, I can feel another strike at my left.
This time, I block the strike with fewer injuries as my channeled mana bolsters my defenses. This strike barely grazes my skin. Before I can counter his strike, the other guy retreats.
Right now, the two are standing on either side of me. I can't attack one without the other attacking me. A classic pincer with the classical methods of countering it. This is either going to be very easy or it is going to be very hard.
Well, I charge towards the dagger wielder, not to attack him as he must be expecting. Instead, the goal is to cross him into the street behind him. The few moments that he wastes trying to defend against a possible attack of mine are enough for me to cross him.
That is the trick with breaking pincers, you see. Whatever you do, make sure that you do not end up surrounded by enemies. You will end up in a defensive position regardless of how strong you are compared to the enemy. Let's just say it would be a very bad position to be in.
As I record this, I have managed to create some distance between me and the enemy. Both of them are now in front of me, which is still a pretty risky position to be in, but infinitely better than before. More importantly, I have them locked to the street. They can still run away, but it does expose them to my attack. If they run, at least one of them is going to die.
Well, the main threat in this narrow street is the dagger wielder. The sword wielder's blade is just a bit too big for this street. It would be quite easy for him to get his sword stuck on these walls.
Still, the ease with which the two enemies have turned in my direction confirms two things to me at the very least. The first is that these people's target is me and not Eric. Second, they are not trying to mug me. They would be targeting my bag, which is in the shop with Eric right now.
Anyway, this is not a place in which people would be mugging you with such intensity and dedication. An assassin would have both. Secondly, Eric has been kept busy by something in the shop, most likely the shopkeeper. When did that asshole enter back into the shop?
I would have to assume that a fight is ongoing at the very least and that I can't rely on my guard to ensure my safety.
As I record this, there is something of a stalemate in the street. The two men opposite me are studying me to find a weakness in my defense, while I am attempting to do the same to them.
This allows me to study the two men. The clothes that they are wearing are new and freshly torn to look as if they had happened naturally. It is so clear that these men are not from this area that it should have been impossible to miss them. At least for Eric. I wonder if I have been led into an ambush. (Well, you can never say what a noble whose pride his hurt can do.) So much for the honor and all that crap.
Other than that, the sword wielder is taller than I with thin and long arms. He would have quite a range if it were not for this street. The other is quite unassuming and has no feature that I would be able to recognize him with. This just solidifies my fear that this man is the one that I have to be especially wary of. No man who cultivates mana would be this unassuming if he did not have a reason to be so.
Well, there goes my moment of peace as the two men finally attack. The sword wielder aims high, trying to strike my head, while the dagger wielder aims for my chest. There are so many holes in their coordination.
Regardless, I do not move. Instead, I finally released the two thorns I have been making in all this time. (One of the drawbacks of my Armor is the time it takes to create good thorns. Not every enemy tends to be this careful.) I duck down, dodging the sword strike, and aim one thorn at the throat of the dagger wielder. I use the other to block his strike. The dagger wielder manages to react at the very last second as he brings down his dagger. I can feel the thorn being cut by the dagger, but it has held for now. Meanwhile, the thorn meant to block him bites into his arms.
The man doesn't retreat as he keeps moving through his injuries. I can feel my heart drop as the two men pass me by. (Doing this means my thorn is going deeper into the dagger wielder's arm by the way.) The bastards goal wasn't to attack me. It was to get behind me.
Both sides take a moment to assess their losses in this clash. Firstly, I am again in the deadly position of being in a pincer. Behind me at the moment is the door to the shop. I can now hear the sounds of a clash that is occurring in the shop behind me.
I will have to leave that to Eric, who I am sure would be able to manage it quite well. Still, his failure would be quite disastrous for me. Meanwhile, the two men seem to realize my position at the same time that I realize it.
They have entered into a defensive position. Their goal is to keep me bound to this street while the shopkeeper wins his fight against Eric. Looks like in that regard, we are pretty much in the same position. The only problem is that the two assassins will be able to escape quite easily when the shopkeeper dies. (I want to catch at least one of these people alive.)
Fuck, I cannot remain passive anymore. I charge towards them while pushing mana into my Armor. I can feel the mana flow into the Armor, making it buzz. Well, I have never tested pushing so much mana into the damn thing. Well, I am hoping that it will not blow up as I charge it.
This time, the target is the sword wielder. Properly managed, I will be able to get rid of the man quite easily. Then, capturing the dagger wielder will be easier.
As I am thinking this, I am pushing all of my mana into the Armor in both of my hands. These won't be any ordinary thorns. While it still won't be as durable as a traditional weapon, the thing will be able to be used in a fight at the very least. This might not sound particularly impressive, by the way. You should ask the soldier who has lost his weapon in a battle how useful this can be. (Or you could ask a captain who is getting assassinated like me, I guess.)
Well, there I go getting distracted again. I don't understand how the others can manage recording and fighting at the same time like this. It is so annoying.
Regardless, while I have been rambling, my thorn has been manifesting. It normally doesn't take long, but the more mana you put into the thing, the longer it seems to take to build itself. (What can I do, it is not like I got to test the damn thing before now.)
The enemy also doesn't seem particularly inclined to attack me. They must be assuming a defensive stance to be enough to hold me back. Well, I will prove them wrong soon enough.
Finally, the thorn gets built as I spring into action. The hope is to catch them by surprise. I reach the sword wielder first, who has already begun to raise his sword to block my strike. He is not fast enough as the sharp end of the thorn stabs into his chest.
It is not a fatal strike as the thorn strikes one of his ribs. I am not able to push my attack as a sharp pain assails me. The dagger wielder had used this opportunity to strike me. I turn around sharply and try to get a strike in.
I do not manage to do this as he retreats, and the sword wielder comes to strike me. Well, it looks like it is time for me to focus on the fight at hand.
(After about ten minutes.)
We have finally reached a stalemate. The two men in front of me at still putting up a charade of attacking me, forcing me to keep moving even though it hurts. The bastards have managed to leave me with quite a few injuries.
Among them, the most painful at the moment is the one that is on my chest, which the other party only got due to luck. Other than that, there is one on my leg that is not particularly serious. Every time I put weight on it, it feels like somebody is pulling out my bones.
Other than that, there are multiple wounds peppered across my body. Well, compared to the people in front of me, I am still in a better situation. The sword wielder is in the worst situation. I managed to get in three strikes, the first hitting his arm, the second near his leg, and the third seemingly striking one of his blood vessels. That is why, at the moment, he looks as if he is bathing in his blood.
The dagger wielder is better off. I managed to get in only one strike, but it cut off his thumb and his index finger. He is being forced to wield his dagger with his off-hand. This means that he is wielding his dagger quite clumsily at the moment.
I have finally forced the two soldiers into a retreat, and that is how we have arrived at our present stalemate. I can't stop them from retreating and they can't stop me from attacking them.
Right now, the only hope that I have left is Eric. Even now, I can hear the man clashing with his foe. It must be a pretty even matchup based on the way that the fight has been intensifying. The clang of their swords has been pretty clear in this entire process.
That is why it is such a shock for us all when the clanging stops. It is only my training that stops me from turning around. No amount of training can stop the expectation of being struck, though. It's like a cold chill that I can feel crawling down my back.
What I need to know comes from the men in front of me. Their faces have taken on a grim expression that men only have when death is imminent. They are so steely in their resolve that I am not able to react for a second when they begin to run away.
At that moment, I do the only thing that comes to my mind, which is to throw the thorn in my hand. (which had not come out unscathed from this battle. It is a wonder the thing hadn't broken yet.) to stop at least one of the guys from escaping.
Well, I am not able to tell whether I was successful or not, as the world around me begins to fade. Looks like my injuries were heavier than I assumed. Well, the thing with adrenaline is just how much it fucking numbs you.