Zephyr knew that he had to finish the battle quickly. Lefiya and Charles were helping him share the pressure of being surrounded. The longer it dragged on, the more dangerous it would be for them.
He couldn't let the friends who were helping him get hurt because of this dispute, could he?
He quickly scanned the chaotic scene. Charles was standing on the left side with an axe, knocking away all the Adventurers who attempted to flank them. Kate and the others were doing the same, buying time for Lefiya to chant.
The coordination was very tacit but the numbers were there. Even if the strength gap was obvious, the pressure accumulated by the numbers could not be ignored.
Zephyr withdrew his gaze and looked at Zanis.
A life-and-death struggle.
He had experienced this in the Dungeon, but this was the first time with a human. But honestly, he had no psychological burden.
If his strength were insufficient, would they show mercy to him?
Watching Zephyr approaching him, Zanis had a foreboding feeling deep in his heart.
He looked around at the Familia's Adventurers. Even with the Divine Wine as a driving force, they weren't particularly serious about the battle. At most, it was like they were just putting on a show for him, swinging their weapons, but there were very few attacks that actually landed.
What's more, Charles and Lefiya, as Level 2 Adventurers, were many times stronger than these wild cards of his Familia. Even if there were more of them, at best, they were just cannon fodder to delay time.
'This bunch of trash!' Zanis cursed inwardly.
He turned his head to look at Canoe beside him. "Canoe, you go and take care of Zephyr."
"Huh?" Canoe was stunned.
He looked at Zephyr, who was walking in his direction, and then glanced at Zanis, his lips twitching.
"Me? Fight Zephyr?"
But this question didn't get a response from Zanis. He just stared at Canoe with a threatening gaze. The meaning was very clear—either go, or die.
At this point, Canoe knew he could only choose to fight. Otherwise, afterwards, he would definitely face a reckoning from Zanis.
If he failed...
He was the one who brought Lili back tonight, and Zephyr's hatred for him would certainly not be less than for Zanis. No matter how he chose, it was a dead end.
Might as well take a gamble!
Canoe gritted his teeth, his eyes radiating viciousness. His gaze swept over the Soma Familia Adventurers beside him, and he nodded, signaling, "Surround him!"
Five adventurers moved simultaneously.
Canoe chose to charge head-on, his scimitar tracing an arc as he aimed for the neck.
On both the left and right sides, adventurers held blades to flank him. Two others circled to the back, attempting to ambush from his blind spot.
Their coordination was much better than that of the ordinary members. After all, Canoe was Zanis's confidant, and they had undergone training in coordinated combat. But against Zephyr, it still wasn't enough.
As for techniques, having just transmigrated to Orario and become an Adventurer not long ago, Zephyr didn't think he could outmatch these old veterans in that regard.
But then again, since he was already cheating to this extent, he had to let them feel the effort and sweat of a stat monster.
Dragon Scales!
Bronze-colored scales covered his left hand. Facing Canoe's tricky angle of attack, he raised his arm to block.
Bang!
The blade bounced off the surface of the scales, not even leaving a white mark.
"Did you eat dinner tonight?"
"...No."
Facing Zephyr's casual inquiry, Canoe gulped and answered subconsciously, but what awaited him next was Zephyr's fist slamming into his chest.
"I was wondering. Why is your slashing so weak, yet you still come out to be a hired thug?"
Bang!
The gap in stats was laid out right there.
Canoe flew backward. He looked down at his chest—the leather armor was dented, and intense pain radiated from his ribs.
After just a simple clash, the disparity in strength had already made him lose the desire to continue fighting.
Zephyr remained highly focused. Facing the adventurer on the left who swung his sword, he dodged to the side and struck the opponent's temple with a back-elbow. The enemy's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground.
The adventurer on the right saw his companion fall, and his movements paused. In that brief moment of timing, Zephyr had already turned around, driving his knee straight into his abdomen. He doubled over, nearly vomiting the contents of his stomach.
As for the two Adventurers in the back, when they faced Zephyr's calm gaze, they dropped the weapons in their hands. Obviously, they wanted to earn some Divine Wine, but that didn't mean they were willing to throw their lives away.
"You go fight the Captain, we won't interfere!"
The battle ended in an instant!
Zanis hadn't anticipated this result. Regarding Zephyr, his impression was stuck at the identity of a low-level Supporter with little combat capability, but what the hell was the situation now?
As a Level 2 Adventurer, he could clearly feel it—the force of Zephyr's punches, his body's flexibility, and his speed had already exceeded the scope of a normal Level 1 Adventurer.
This guy... when exactly did he become this strong?
When Zephyr closed in on him step by step, Zanis could feel sweat beginning to break out on his back.
He forced himself to squeeze out a smile. "Zephyr. Between us, there doesn't seem to be any irreconcilable conflict, right?"
Zephyr did not stop his steps. As he moved closer to Zanis, that sense of oppression became stronger.
Zanis opened his mouth to continue explaining, "The thing with Lili is a misunderstanding. I can explain."
But this still received no response from the other party, and the distance was constantly shrinking.
Eight meters.
Five meters.
Three meters.
The smile on Zanis's face gradually became harder to maintain.
When Zephyr walked to within two meters, he backhanded the rapier hidden behind his back, the tip of the blade aiming straight for his heart. He switched from a talking posture to a full-force stab, with no warning in between.
The tip of the blade pierced Zephyr's chest, and a triumphant smile appeared on Zanis's lips but soon, the smile stiffened.
The rapier only pierced the clothes, it stopped completely as soon as it touched his skin.
No matter how much of his strength he used, he simply couldn't push it forward.
Zanis saw that scales covered Zephyr's chest. After the sharp tip of the rapier pressed against the Dragon Scales, it was tightly gripped by the hard keratin layer.
"Is this interesting?" Zephyr asked.
Zanis felt the threat of death and wanted to pull back the rapier. But Zephyr's left hand had already been raised. The left hand already covered by Dragon Scales grabbed the weapon he wanted to pull back. The blade began to bend and deform.
Zanis clearly felt the obvious gap in strength between them.
Zanis abandoned his weapon, letting go of the hilt and turning to run. But Zephyr was even faster than he had expected. Zephyr sprinted in front of him the moment he turned and kicked his abdomen.
Bang!
Zanis flew backward, crashing onto the ground. His body slid several meters on the ground before barely stopping, leaving a long scratch mark along the way.
When he raised his head again and looked at Zephyr, the fear in his eyes was not fake. The full-force sneak attack just now couldn't even penetrate the defense, and even in terms of strength and speed, he was crushed by Zephyr.
"You are definitely not a Level 1 Adventurer!"
He wanted to crawl up and run away, supporting himself with his hands on the ground, but he found that he couldn't exert any strength at all. The intense pain in his abdomen made it very difficult for him to even breathe.
He had worked so hard to get this far and become the Captain of the Soma Familia. He absolutely would not allow his future to end here.
When he looked at Zephyr, his voice trembled uncontrollably. "Wait... wait..."
"Lili, she is safe! She's in Soma's room!"
"Whatever you want, I can give it to you! Just let me go!"
Zanis recalled that conversation in the Familia that day and hurriedly said, "Don't you want the position of captain? I'll give it to you! From now on, all affairs of the Soma Familia will be under your control! The Divine Wine, resources, manpower—it's all yours! I can even help you!"
This was his last bargaining chip.