He swallowed, his body throbbing and causing the sight in front of him to distort for a millisecond. Even though his body was completely healed, his heart was beating like crazy.
The new enemy—a red giant over two meters tall with the face of a pig—was, at that moment, the one who had unleashed absolute terror into his soul.
He thought he heard the sound of a goblin when he turned around, only to see Kazuma lying on the ground, trembling while clutching his head.
Despite every cell in his body screaming to warn him of the danger, Inox put up his guard, gripping the two swords in his hands tightly, ready to slice into the Berserker Rider.
"Groahhh!!!!" the Berserker roared. The massive wolf he was riding reared up on its hind legs before letting out a howl and stomping hard on the ground.
The sound waves passed through his entire body, making his internal organs and bones vibrate. His breathing grew heavy as his eyes snapped wide open. "Heh-heh-heh," he let out a small chuckle, forcing a smile onto his worried face.
"Run away?" the prince asked himself. He quickly watched as Dust struggled to get back to his feet after being sent flying by the Berserker Rider. A few meters ahead of him, Darkness was also on guard, her previous mockery and masochism entirely absent from her behavior.
He let out a slight scoff at the possibility. His mind, now more accustomed to the life-or-death danger, worked with the speed of a tiger. "Darkness, can you... hold him off for a moment?" he asked in a low voice.
The blonde girl up ahead glanced slightly over her shoulder. "Huh?" she questioned, before her eyes widened in surprise and she nodded.
"Mrglll," the Berserker Rider seemed about to say something when Darkness pushed off with her legs and charged forward with a leap.
"Watch out for my sword!!!" the blonde let out a battle cry as she charged forward with a thrust.
At any other time, Inox would have used the moment to watch the paladin girl completely miss her attack, but right now, he quickly dropped his swords, pulled a food container from his backpack, opened it, and started eating.
The first bite... it shouldn't be pleasant to eat papaya and boiled corn kernels at the same time; however, Inox's taste buds danced in his mouth at the flavor.
"Mrglll!!!" the Berserker Rider yelled as his massive machete slammed into Darkness's ribs in a vertical slash. At the same time, the wolf followed up with a powerful swipe at her legs.
The shockwave alerted Inox, who shoved all the remaining food into his mouth before swallowing without even chewing.
The blonde girl spat out a mouthful of saliva. Her incredible defense meant the enemy's machete and claws barely penetrated half a centimeter into her skin before she was sent flying.
Immediately, a powerful magical force surged through his body. In less than a second, his bones strengthened, his skin seethed with a strange power, and a bright, maniacal smile appeared on his face.
It was a roughly 25% cumulative increase to his physical strength and agility. This wasn't just adding two and two together; instead, it was a complete reconstruction of his DNA for just a few moments.
The strength increased the toughness of his skin and the durability of his tendons and bones, while the agility increased the stamina and explosive power of his entire body.
Combined, the power increase behind his attacks shouldn't be anything less than 50%.
"Mrrgll??" The Berserker Rider looked at Inox, a bit weirded out by the strange human's behavior.
The wolf roared ferociously, about to charge forward, but Inox beat it to the punch. "Yeehaw!!!" the human roared, picking up his swords and lunging forward with a powerful leap that made the ground tremble beneath him.
He swung the two swords in his hands forward. Slicing through the air and gleaming, the twin blades looked like little white lights.
But, "Mamama!!" the Berserker Rider let out a maniacal laugh before swinging his giant machete forward with all his might.
The two swords and the giant machete clashed, sending a small shockwave of wind into the surroundings.
Inox's eyes widened once more. The powerful grip in his hands felt entirely off; the muscles and bones in his palms vibrated violently before cracking loudly. He spat blood as the inertia of the attack sent him flying off to the side, completely defeated.
The Berserker Rider had barely needed to swing his giant machete casually. He was about to turn around and finish off the prince when he swung his machete again, this time toward a blue light zooming toward him.
Clang
The tip of a broken spear was sliced in half by the machete, a piggish grin accompanying his expression. But, "Idiot..." a mature voice sounded nearby. Dust had taken advantage of the Berserker Rider's focus on the spear to stealthily close in at high speed.
There was a bit of papaya juice at the corner of Dust's mouth—clear proof that he had also eaten the food to boost his strength and agility.
Dust punched the Berserker hard in the stomach. The ground cracked beneath him as the enemy let out a small roar before the wolf stumbled back several steps. The Berserker Rider, clearly affected by the attack, shook his head a couple of times before recovering.
"Mrglll!!!" he roared, the wolf he stood upon charging forward fiercely.
"Darkness!!!" Dust roared as well.
The corner of the girl's mouth also had papaya juice on it. Taking advantage of the moment, she closed the distance and, while the giant black wolf was mid-air, grabbed it by its hind leg and forcefully used it like a sledgehammer to smash the ground.
Separated from his mount, the Berserker Rider spun in the air a few times, trying to right himself, but Dust was faster. Exchanging a glance with the blonde, he borrowed her sword and sprinted after the Berserker.
"Ah, sloppy..." Inox appeared behind the great wolf, slashing downward hard with his two giant swords, while Darkness lunged at it, ready to initiate a melee attack.
"Whoaaa!!!" the giant black wolf roared. It unleashed a goat-style backward kick that slammed right into Inox's chest, but simultaneously took two sword slashes that bit half a centimeter into its back.
In mid-air, the prince opened his mouth in surprise, spitting blood once again. His ribcage shattered into a thousand pieces as he was sent flying far into the distance.
Darkness seized the opportunity to grab the wolf by the head with both arms, climbing onto it to choke it out.
Not far away, Dust swung the sword masterfully, leaving a deep gash on the Berserker's face. He flashed a smile, thinking it wouldn't be long before he won.
But the enemy took advantage of the blonde man's slash to grab his arm. Opening his pig-like mouth, he used his massive strength to pull Dust's arm close and chomp down hard.
"Aahhhh!!!!" a man's roar of agony echoed through the forest. The Berserker's mouth, much like a giant boar's, exerted enough force to crush solid stone.
"Mraglll!!!!" After the attack, the Berserker let out a cry of victory. Dust backed away, quickly wrapping his fresh stump in white bandages. He looked at Aqua, who was passed out near a constantly trembling Kazuma, and roared loudly.
"Wake her up!!" he screamed at the Japanese boy before charging forward once more, picking up the sword with his left hand to face the Berserker again.
Read Chapters Ahead :3
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