At the critical moment, Achilles finally recovered from his shock. Relying on his speed, which was unmatched in Greece, he narrowly dodged the heavy and powerful strike from the Black Berserker.
But even so, his left arm was grazed by that formidable weapon.
The result was that his entire arm was stained with blood.
"This is a bit troublesome."
Standing in the forest clearing, Achilles looked at his bloodied arm, his brow deeply furrowed.
Although the amount of bleeding looked exaggerated, to him, it was merely a minor injury. With his regenerative abilities, he could fully recover in half an hour, and it barely affected his combat prowess.
But the issue was not the severity of his injury, but the fact that he was injured at all.
He was Achilles. His most famous deed was his mother, the sea goddess Thetis, bathing his body in the River Styx when he was a child, granting him an immortal and invulnerable body.
Although according to the rules, as long as an attack possessed divinity, it could pierce his defense, that also depended on the level of the opponent's divinity.
If there was only a trace of divinity, the damage it could cause him would at most be a minor scratch.
But looking at the effect of the Black Berserker Penthesilea's strike just now, the divine effect on her iron hammer was clearly not weak.
This caught Achilles, who had fought and killed Penthesilea in life, completely off guard.
He clearly remembered that during that battle, although the Queen of the Amazon warriors could also cause him harm, the effect was minimal. The difference between that and the strike just now was vast.
Combined with the name Penthesilea had shouted, Achilles instantly understood.
"So she is a person from the same world as Atalante. Interesting."
Watching Penthesilea, who had missed her strike, roar and swing her morning star at him again, the smile on Achilles's lips remained relaxed.
This time, he did not choose to evade. Instead, he swung his spear and met her attack head-on.
As the hero of the meteor, who promised his mother he would rather die early to live a brief, brilliant life like a shooting star, fear simply did not exist for him.
The meaning of Achilles's existence was to fight and enjoy it.
"Ahhh! Orpheus! Die, die, die!"
Because the opponent was a famous Greek hero and a male, Penthesilea had completely fallen into a state of Mad Enhancement. No matter how Caules called out to her through their magical connection, she did not respond.
She merely swung her morning star relentlessly, destroying the surrounding trees into countless splinters while smashing it toward Achilles again and again.
Facing this morning star, which crashed down like a meteorite and carried the divine blessing of the God of War, Ares, Achilles's response was to utilize his advantages in speed and technique. He perfectly dodged the incoming iron hammer every time. If he encountered an unavoidable attack, he swung his spear, using deft force to deflect it.
Under this ebb and flow, Achilles arrived in front of Penthesilea in a matter of seconds, bringing her into his attack range.
Seeing this scene, Siegfried, who could not enter the fray immediately due to the weapon constraints of the morning star, immediately called out a warning.
"Berserker! Watch out!"
"Too late!"
Without the slightest hesitation, even knowing the opponent was Penthesilea, whom he felt guilty toward, out of respect for a fellow Greek warrior, Achilles naturally showed no mercy.
The next moment, the spear in his hand bloomed with the light of magical energy.
In an instant, accompanied by Penthesilea's cry of pain, several bloody holes appeared on her fair body, all piercing straight through.
Seeing this scene, Achilles could not help but sigh.
"Well, although I know you are not the Queen I recognize, I am still quite happy to see you. It is just a pity your class is Berserker. If you were in another class, fighting you would likely be even more interesting."
Right at this moment, Atalante's serious warning suddenly sounded in his ear.
"Achilles, do not be careless. That woman will not be defeated so simply."
Instinctively, Achilles immediately leapt backward.
The moment he moved, Penthesilea, who had seemed about to fall to the ground, suddenly sprang up. Her fist, wrapped in iron chains and carrying a red glow filled with divine aura, smashed fiercely into the spot where Achilles had just been standing.
The next moment, crushed stones flew in all directions. The originally solid ground was actually smashed into a massive crater five meters in diameter by a single punch from this seemingly petite girl.
"Dammit!"
Seeing this terrifying scene, a drop of cold sweat slid down Achilles's forehead.
If Atalante had not warned him, and he had been hit by that strike, he would inevitably have suffered extremely severe internal injuries.
Thinking of this, Achilles's gaze instinctively fell upon that familiar yet strange figure, only to freeze when his eyes touched her original wounds.
Because in merely an instant, the fatal wounds he had inflicted earlier had all healed completely.
Furthermore, Penthesilea's aura at this moment had become even stronger than before.
It felt as if she had absorbed all that damage and transformed it into her own power.
Such a special effect immediately brought a possibility to Achilles's mind.
"A blessing from Lord Ares, the God of War?"
This time, Achilles finally felt a trace of pressure. At the same time, Penthesilea charged forward again.
"It is useless, Orpheus! No matter how you try to escape, you cannot evade my slaughter!"
It was still a chaotic roar, still the swinging giant hammer. But this time, Achilles clearly felt that Penthesilea was no longer merely attacking with basic, instinctual smashes and swings.
She seemed to be continuously awakening and growing during the battle. Within that savage combat instinct, elements of technique and awareness began to appear.
This discovery astonished Achilles, while simultaneously igniting his interest.
He was already a fanatic for battle. Now, being able to fight the same opponent from a different world was undoubtedly the most enticing temptation for him.
Harboring such thoughts, Achilles forgot his previous battle plan agreed upon with Atalante, and instead laughed loudly as he engaged in a fierce brawl with Penthesilea.
Meanwhile, in the forest three kilometers away, Atalante, who was taking in everything that happened through the moonlight and the gaps in the leaves, had strange light flashing in her eyes.
"I truly did not expect that madwoman would also come to this war."
Gazing at the Black Berserker, who was continuously shouting the name Orpheus, Atalante murmured.
Although she was very annoyed by this savage woman who dared to compete with her for her prey, seeing a familiar face in such a situation seemed quite nice.
At this moment, Atalante, who inwardly wanted to try talking to Penthesilea, thought for a moment and, like Achilles, abandoned her original plan.
Looking at Achilles's situation, it seemed he would not be able to resolve Penthesilea—whose Endurance had reached A+ rank under the God of War's blessing—anytime soon. Then, why not take the opportunity while the enemy Saber could not join the fray to shoot him dead.
Thinking of this, Atalante did not hesitate. The black-gold western longbow appeared in her hand. Green magical energy formed into two arrows and rested upon it. Then, under Atalante's prayer, they were imbued with the power of the sun and moon, gold and silver.
"Lady Artemis, grant me your gaze..."
As she spoke, Atalante's eyes were covered with a faint silver glow.
Under the moonlight, the beautiful and wild Hunter slowly drew back the Bow of Heaven, which represented the blessing of the sibling gods of the sun and moon of Ancient Greece.
The next moment, accompanied by the crisp twang of the bowstring, a golden and a silver streak of light whistled toward Siegfried, who was currently arguing with his Master, Gordes.