The giant's strength was several times greater than that of an ordinary beastkin. Aside from a few special exceptions, very few beastkin could ever defeat a giant. If not for their sparse numbers, given their physical superiority, this era would have belonged to the giants.
"Clang!"
"Ahhh!"
A clash of metal was followed by a scream. A flying birdkin was sent flying, hacked away. If he hadn't been blocked with his longsword, he would have been killed. As it was, he was severely wounded, his arm bone shattered.
"Amin?!" Mila rolled across the ground, dodging a sweep of the giant's arm, and stared at her companion, who lay wailing over ten meters away.
"Clang! Clang!"
The giant's axe deftly parried two longswords that came from the side. He swung his left fist in a wide arc, smashing into the two birdkin and sending them reeling to the ground, vomiting blood.
"Heh. So weak," The giant sneered, brutally lifting his foot to stomp them. The blow would have been fatal.
"Dammit!" Seeing this, Mila leaped forward, her knife aimed straight at the nape of the giant's neck. It was a killing blow.
"Get lost!" The giant aborted the stomp. He reversed his grip on the axe and swung it backward, aiming for Mila's head. Her small knife could never stop such a blow.
Am I going to die? Mila's eyes constricted. She was in mid-air, with no way to dodge the cleaving axe.
Swoosh!
A sharp sound split the air. The giant's expression changed. He abruptly halted his swing and threw himself into a roll.
THUD!
A heavy spear impaled the ground where the giant had been standing, its shaft still vibrating violently from the force of the throw. No wonder he had dodged.
"Huff... huff..." The giant caught his breath and slowly rose, looking to the sky. He saw a birdkin wearing a white mask. She had wide, white wings, and waist-length white hair was tied back in a ponytail over her tight leather armor. Her body was still in the follow-through of a throw.
"So you've come, Predator." The giant hefted his axe onto his shoulder, his bloodshot eyes locked on the figure above.
"It's Big Sister! She's here! Cough, cough..."
"Quick, get over here and rest. Don't talk."
"Hurry! Two of you, carry Amin back to the refuge!"
Rhea relaxed from her throwing stance, her cold eyes sweeping over her companions on the ground. Of the dozen who had been here, eight were now down—all of them core members of the refuge's fighting force.
"You... deserve to die," Rhea's voice was ice, brimming with killing intent. With a beat of her wings, her figure dropped from the sky. She flared her wings twice, cushioning her landing perfectly.
Shing!
Rhea yanked her spear from the earth, flicked the dirt from its tip, and waved at Mila, signaling for her to back away.
Mila immediately retreated. She knew her Big Sister was angry. Very angry. It was the same anger she'd had when she discovered Amelia was missing. Mila looked at the giant with an expression of pity. Her Big Sister's skill was terrifying, especially her mastery of her wings. She was dozens of times stronger than the rest of them.
"I've finally found you." The giant cracked his neck, his voice a hoarse grate. "If you dare to run today, I'll slaughter every last one of them."
He pointed his axe at the wounded, flightless birdkin on the ground. He hadn't expected some of them to only have half-formed wings.
"You won't get the chance to do anything." Rhea pushed off, her wings flaring, and shot forward, her spear aimed straight at the giant's chest.
"Good!" The giant raised his axe and brought it down in a vertical chop, right where she would be.
Whoosh!
Rhea's eyes narrowed. With a sharp fold and flap of her wings, her body shot sideways. Her spear, a feint, changed from a thrust to a whip, arcing around to slam viciously into the giant's waist.
CRACK!
Thud!
The giant lost his balance and toppled. His danger sense was sharp; he immediately rolled twice, dodging the follow-up thrust of the spear.
"Dammit!" The giant roared. He had never expected the Predator's speed and experience to be superior to his. Is this the power of the assassin ranked fourth in the world?
The last mission Rhea took, the 'Dragon' mission, had been a failure, knocking her down a rank. The top three all had perfect 100% success rates. Unless Rhea could one day succeed in that 'Dragon' mission, she'd stay at number four.
Whoosh!
Rhea gave her enemy no time to rest. With a beat of her wings, she was on him again, her spear striking like a deadly viper, attacking again and again.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The sound of metal on metal was incessant. The giant swung his axe wildly, parrying the spear, but he was already bleeding. He was being completely overwhelmed.
Dammit, how is she so fast? I have no opening to counter-attack! The giant thought, gritting his teeth, his mind racing.
"Clang! Clang! Pfft—!"
Blood splashed. The giant couldn't keep up. The spear plunged into his shoulder. He roared, swinging his axe in a wild arc, but Rhea just flapped her wings, retreating several steps and pulling the spear free as she moved.
This is bad, The giant thought, his expression grim. I'll retreat for now. I've found their refuge, anyway. I'll gather the others and come back.
At this thought, the giant turned and ran.
Rhea and the others were stunned. This was the fearsome giant? They had only ever heard stories of how reckless and violent he was.
"Trying to escape?" Rhea's voice was cold. Her wings beat, and she shot off in pursuit. The location of the birdkin's refuge could not be revealed.
"That..." Mila's eyes constricted. She was staring at the giant's sprinting speed. A speed like that... he could have easily caught her.
"Dammit... he was toying with... me... No..." Mila gritted her teeth, as a terrible possibility struck her. He wasn't chasing her. He was herding her... forcing her to lead him here.
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