This was the first time Grinya Loran had faced two magical creatures at once.
A level 22 war-blade goblin and a level 25 shadow lizard were formidable opponents for her, as she was only level 20 and had yet to break through.
Gexi was doing her best to hold off Duoze and the others, their battle between saint-rank archmages looking like a magnificent display of fireworks as various colored torrents of energy clashed in the sky.
The pouring energy was like falling sparks, triggering violent explosions when they hit the ground.
The battle at the saint-rank was already at its peak, but the fight on this side left Grinya Loran with no time for thought.
The shadow lizard was a speed-type creature, and it let out a low, raspy roar as its armored, mottled hands gripped its spear.
After aiming the tip at Grinya Loran, its figure blurred across the ground like a sudden gust of wind.
The spear tip rapidly enlarged in Grinya Loran's vision, and though she was gripped by intense fear, her body had long since developed a reflex from the time the evil god had controlled her.
Almost without thinking, she subconsciously raised the Sword of Honor and parried the spear with pinpoint accuracy.
A piercing metallic clang rang out, and the shadow lizard's palms went numb, nearly causing it to drop its weapon.
A trace of human-like surprise appeared on its hideous face.
It seemed completely unexpected that a mere top-tier opponent could withstand its strength in a direct confrontation.
Although the shadow lizard was not a creature known for its strength, a human woman should have been even more fragile by comparison.
Grinya Loran panted slightly, but the act of forcing the shadow lizard back gave her a surge of confidence.
Her Innate Talent: Peerless and the passive effect of the Sword of Honor provided her with massive attribute bonuses.
This meant that even though she was at a level disadvantage, her numerical stats were actually higher than those of the shadow lizard.
However, as the war-blade goblin joined the fray, her Innate Talent: Peerless lost its effect.
The shadow lizard's offensive was sharp and frenzied, and Grinya Loran didn't dare to be careless, knowing the spear could thrust from any angle if her focus wavered.
The goblin stayed at the front, its war-blade full of power, and every clash of their weapons sent a massive force through her arms, making her expression turn grim.
Fighting two spirit-rank opponents alone was too exhausting, and she felt that if there were only one, she might have been able to secure a solo kill.
Grinya Loran didn't notice the shift in her own mindset.
She had been timid and full of fear before the battle began, but once she felt the thrill of actual combat, her blood couldn't help but boil with excitement.
She even felt as if she, a top-tier mage, could solo a spirit-rank foe.
But she also knew that without the accumulation of training the evil god had put her through, she would never have had this strength.
Memories of past battles seemed engraved into her body, allowing her to make the correct response in the most critical moments even when her limbs were numb and exhausted.
This was the subtle influence the evil god had exerted on her all this time.
An explosion from high above reached the ground, and the deafening sound caused Grinya Loran to daze for a moment.
In such a perilous battle, she couldn't rely solely on her eyes to observe the movements of the two creatures, instead, she relied more on her hearing to sense the movement of the wind and react.
But that roar interfered with her hearing, and the shadow lizard seized the opportunity, its spear striking like a dragon in a sharp, wind-like sweep.
Although Grinya Loran responded in time, her face was still grazed, and a small wound opened to reveal a hint of crimson.
She raised her hand and lightly wiped the wound, the scent of blood reaching her nose.
There was no fear or panic, only excitement.
This feeling was truly enough to make one's blood boil.
She felt she had found the meaning of battle and the meaning of her own sword!
A sudden chill rushed toward her as the war-blade goblin and the shadow lizard attacked simultaneously.
Grinya Loran didn't panic, her lips curling into a trace of a crazed smile.
As the opponents launched their attacks, their exposed weaknesses appeared with precision in her eyes!
She bent low and swept her sword in a single strike, the cold, moon-like blade light cutting across the waists of both the goblin and the shadow lizard.
【Weak point hit, triggered double damage!】
This was not a game, and the creatures naturally reacted to receiving such severe damage.
The two creatures let out raspy screams of agony as a large amount of dark green blood sprayed from their waists.
The goblin fell to its knees, its expression full of pain.
Its walnut-sized brain couldn't comprehend how a top-tier human woman could possibly defeat it, as such a thing was impossible in its worldview!
A grinning, handsome face filled with madness suddenly appeared in its vision like a ghost.
It froze, and then the fear from the depths of its heart completely overwhelmed it.
Grinya Loran thrust her longsword forward, the tip easily piercing the goblin's throat.
She poured all her mana into the blade, and an astonishing sword pressure erupted.
With a boom, the goblin's head was completely reduced to fine powder and scattered.
The shadow lizard nearby widened its vertical pupils, looking as if it had seen a ghost.
It was as if it were witnessing something utterly terrifying.
"Come, let's keep going!"
Grinya Loran still felt unsatisfied after killing the goblin and turned her target toward the shadow lizard.
A savage and delighted smile appeared on her face, and she didn't even seem to notice the foul smell of the monster's blood staining her clothes.
This woman was different from any human the shadow lizard had ever encountered.
She was a monster, a lunatic!
The shadow lizard looked terrified, its will to fight completely gone.
Duoze, who was locked in a fierce battle with Gexi in the sky, suddenly noticed something was wrong.
He looked down and saw that his war-blade goblin had become a headless corpse, while the shadow lizard on the other side looked completely defeated.
Even with his vast experience, his mind went blank for a moment.
"How is this possible?" he blurted out in disbelief.
A top-tier mage had actually defeated two spirit-rank creatures!
Such terrifying talent and temperament made Duoze feel a chill of fear from the bottom of his heart.
Using the recoil from a clash, Gexi pulled away from the war-flame troll.
She turned to look at Grinya Loran, her mouth hanging open in surprise.
"My god..."
Grinya Loran suddenly felt she understood why the evil god always looked forward to battle, because fighting was truly interesting.
That blood-boiling sensation, the satisfaction of blood mixing with crushed organs, and the feeling of her brain being completely stimulated, discarding all other senses until only primal madness remained.
She felt fantastic.
Rate on N.U.
