Leo smirked. "Nice work." He looked toward the burning streets ahead where more monsters rampaged. "Let's do this before the hunters and awakeners show up."
He pointed his spear forward. "We're farming exp today."
The five of them moved together, silent and deadly, his shadows slipping through the chaos, taking out one monster at a time.
…..
"Mongmor, assist Mor3 from the right!" Leo shouted over the clash of blades and snarls.
At once, Mongmor spun toward the right. His spear shot out like a streak of black light, piercing the goblin that was about to strike Mor3 from behind. The creature let out a gurgled cry before collapsing.
Mor3 didn't waste the opening. He slammed his shield into another goblin's sword, knocking it aside, then thrust his spear through its chest.
"Mor2, fall back! Don't go too far, maintain formation!" Leo barked.
Mor2 immediately retreated, stepping back into position beside his fellow shadows.
Their movements began to sync, shadows and man moving as one. Four shadows formed the front line, shields raised and spears poised. Leo followed closely behind them, his own shield and spear ready.
Their shields were mismatched and dented, looted from their fallen enemies, but they served their purpose well.
"Another five goblins incoming!" Leo called out. "Brace yourselves!"
From the smoke and rubble, the goblins appeared, snarling with twisted grins. They circled around, their crude weapons glinting. Then, with wild screams, they charged.
The first wave clashed against the shields with loud clangs. But the line didn't move an inch.
"Now, spears!" Leo ordered.
In perfect rhythm, they stepped forward and struck. Spears shot out from every direction. Two goblins were impaled instantly, their shrieks echoing.
"Keep the line steady," Leo said under his breath. "We're just getting started."
Seeing their comrades fall, one of the remaining goblins lost control. It let out a furious roar and charged straight at the shield wall, its jagged blade raised high.
"Open!" Leo shouted.
At once, the two shadows in the center shifted. Their shields parted just enough to create a narrow gap, the perfect lure.
The goblin rushed in, thinking it had found an opening, only to realize too late what awaited inside.
"Now!"
The shields slammed shut behind it, trapping the creature between walls of steel and darkness. Spears from Leo and the shadows thrust forward in perfect sync, piercing through its chest and back in one swift motion.
The goblin froze, eyes wide with shock. A wet gasp escaped its throat before its weapon slipped from its hand and clattered to the blood-stained ground.
"Mors, shields up! Maintain formation, no one strays,"
They reacted at once, seamless and sharp. The formation tightened once more.
Leo moved behind them, scanning the battlefield. Every few seconds, he'd step forward to strike, thrusting his spear through a gap between shields before pulling back. Each time, another goblin fell.
Their rhythm grew smoother. The sound of spear striking flesh mixed with the goblins' dying cries.
Any goblin foolish enough to charge the shield line was cut down in an instant. Their bodies piled at the front. With each coordinated strike, their formation held strong.
Was what he thought, until more goblins appeared, pouring out from the side streets. Dozens of them, their red eyes faintly glowing.
"Tch… of course," Leo muttered, tightening his grip on the spear.
"Retreat!" he barked.
He turned and ran, his shadows following close behind. The goblins roared and gave chase, their footsteps pounding against the stone.
Leo led them through the twisted streets, his body moving on instinct. Every turn, every corner, he knew them all by heart.
Then he saw it, a tight alleyway, walls closing in on both sides, only two exits, front and back.
A grin flashed across his face. 'Perfect.'
"Mors, hold the front! Mongmor, you're with me at the back!"
The shadows obeyed without hesitation. The three Mors moved like extensions of his will, locking their shields together to form a solid wall at the front. Leo and Mongmor took the rear, watching the back and covering the gaps.
The goblins came screaming into the alley, their claws scraping the stone as they rushed in. But the tight space turned against them, they couldn't swarm, couldn't surround. They could only come a few at a time.
And that made them easy prey.
Each time a goblin lunged, it was met by the crash of shields and the flash of steel. Spears shot forward through the gaps, piercing flesh before the creatures even had the chance to swing their blades.
Leo's breathing steadied, his rhythm matching Mongmor's beside him. Their movements flowed together, strike, pull back, step in, block.
The narrow path soon became a graveyard. Goblins tripped over the fallen, their bodies piling high, blood spreading across the stone. Yet still, they kept coming, crawling over their dead like beasts.
Leo's eyes narrowed as he thrust his spear again, driving another goblin back into the heap.
Step by step, the shadows held their ground, turning the narrow alley into a killing field of their own making.
….
Time passed, and the fight showed no signs of stopping. Goblins and kobolds kept coming in from both ends of the alley. Every few minutes, another came, only to be cut down and replaced by the next.
Leo's arms burned, his breathing heavy, but his focus never wavered.
Then, amid the chaos, a new notification rang in Leo's head, different from the usual experience chime.
(You have become Level Two. All stats +1)
"Finally," Leo breathed, a grin forming on his face.
A warm surge spread through his body, filling his limbs with strength and clearing his fatigue. His mana stirred and slowly began to recover, enough to summon one more shadow.
He glanced at the fallen monsters around him, their bodies littering the floor. For a moment, he considered raising one of them, but then he shook his head.
"Better save that slot for something stronger," he muttered.
His shadows had grown too. Mongmor and Mor1 had leveled up, their movements now sharper and faster. Even the remaining Mors were close to leveling. With every fight, they moved more efficiently, striking and defending as one unit.
Minutes passed before the noise faded. No more roars, no more footsteps. Only silence and the thick smell of blood filled the air.
Leo looked around. The alley was piled with corpses, dozens of goblins and kobolds, their bodies tangled together.
"Search for crystals," Leo ordered, his voice quick. "We need to gather them fast and find more monsters before the hunters show up."
To others, this would've been chaos and danger, but to Leo, it had become an opportunity. What had started as a threat was now turning into his hunt.
The shadows moved at once, pulling out faintly glowing mana crystals from the corpses.
By the time they finished, eight crystals gleamed faintly in Mongmor's hands.