Chapter 10 : Decimatio

Ordinarily, being encircled by multiple adversaries was a death sentence for a single person, no matter how skilled or strong they might be. It was impossible to guard every point of the body at once, meaning that multiple weak spots were inevitably left open to be exploited by the enemy. So why was Emma happy to charge into an obvious trap despite being far from a master of combat? Simply put, because she wasn't actually a person at all where it mattered here. Swords weren't made to shatter armor by design; their focus was to pierce weak points to get at an enemy's vulnerable innards; an excellent tactic against squishy humans, but much less effective against her current form. [-1 Anima] Still locked in a contest of strength against the shield-bearer, Emma completely ignored the twin swords plunging into where her armpits would have been. Leaning into the blows, she jabbed her free hand at the dual wielding swordsman, twin steel tipped points piercing his throat with ease (do note, her Wolf trait wasn't restricted to sword strikes alone). As the man fell to the floor, breathing his last desperate gasps, Emma eased up on her forward charge. Letting the shield-bearer force her back, Epitaph lashed out to cut the fisherman's incoming net in two. [-5 Anima] She took a glancing blow to the helm from his trident in reply, but that was still much preferable to being entangled, and she got the better of the exchange with her follow up swipe, taking his eyes and effectively putting him out of the fight. As the fisherman fell to his knees grasping his face, Emma spared a second to look towards the archer. She found him training an arrow her way, but clearly hesitant to fire given the chaotic melee that initially embroiled her alongside his comrades. Holding Epitaph horizontally to parry an incoming shield bash from the shield-bearer; who had discarded his short-sword in favor of pure bludgeoning force, Emma made sure to keep him between her and the archer, much as she'd done against the lions in the previous trial. "Is that all you've got?" Emma taunted, buoyed by her significant success so far. "Honestly, the lions were much harder than this!" [+50 EXP Anima restored to full. The death of their companion has enraged the survivors.] Immediately after issuing her boast, Emma was forced to throw herself bodily to the side, barely dodging a followup shield slam that cracked the earth where she'd stood just a moment ago. [-50 Anima] An arrow followed up, tearing a massive hole in her breastplate as the archer made his third shot count, putting his suddenly increased strength to good use. The shield-bearer meanwhile pivoted in place, rushing towards her like a living battering ram. Note to self, don't tempt fate. Emma thought as she backpedaled, no longer wanting to meet her opponent head on given his obvious empowerment. Changing tack, she sidestepped at the last moment, letting the shield-bearer overrun past her position. Epitaph arced downward, severing his femoral arteries, but unlike before she didn't bother with a finishing blow. He'd bleed out soon enough, but Emma preferred to delay the enrage for as long as possible. [-50 Anima] She took another arrow to the knee for her troubles, plunging her Anima down to a third and leaving her one hit from death. Undeterred, Emma darted forward, this time zigzagging as she approached the archer. An arrow flew past, missing by inches, Emma bursting into a dead sprint the moment the miss registered. She arrived at her target well before the archer could reload his bow, and parted his head from his shoulders in a single swing. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. [+100 EXP. Anima restored to full. You have leveled up! Emma Knight - Level 3 Revenant Alignment: True Neutral Anima: 200 EXP: 285/400 Select one of the three options below: 1) Ability - Can I Play With Madness? (Cost: 10% Current Anima /second): Inflict visions of madness upon all who see you. Arcanivore: The living restore Anima when wounded or slain, based on damage dealt. The Wolf: Your strikes are preternaturally sharp, tearing through flesh and steel with equal ease. The Ram: The faster you're moving, the more damage you deal. Main Quests Blood Borne Objective: Find your Father Objective: Find your Mother Objective: Find your Brother [X] Reward: ??? 404 - Answers Not Found Objective: Discover the cause of the Apocalypse Reward: ERROR When In Rome Objective: Defeat Academia Mortalis -Clear the First Trial [X] -Clear the Second Trial -Clear the Third Trial -Clear the Fourth Trial Bonus Objective: Deal with Imperator Felix Knight Reward: First Hint (The Apocalypse)] Bonus Reward: ??? Side Quests High School Musical Objective: Find a working digital music player Reward: Built-in song library.