There Was Still A Chance Left.

Then I had no choice but to fight. Throwing my weapon was a bad move. If that gauntleted hobgoblin got its hands on it, it would be the worst possible outcome.

Even so, I had to watch out for both the hammer and the axe. Either one could deal Kikori a fatal wound with ease.

If he fought normally, he couldn’t win. He couldn’t win, but… he couldn’t run either.

“Yeah, this is the worst. But I’ve gotta do it, don’t I?”

Kikori drew in a breath.

If he did this, he might draw other monsters in.

But either way, this place was a killing ground. If the worst became a little more worst, what would that change?

So he would kill. He would kill them even if it killed him—he stoked his murderous intent.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

A war cry. In the air that trembled with it… Kikori saw the hobgoblins flinch, just slightly.

He ran. He laughed. Ah, I see. These guys were way weaker than an orc.

They were stronger than Kikori, but not the same hopeless despair as an orc. Then he could do it.

There was still a chance left.

Kikori brought his axe down at the gauntleted hobgoblin.

“Gih…”

The hobgoblin caught the axe with its gauntlets without breaking a sweat. Kikori kicked it in the groin, then used a backstep to evade the swinging axe and hammer.

The knife he threw sank into the axe hobgoblin’s shoulder, and it let out a scream.

He went to throw another knife—when dirt kicked up by the hammer hobgoblin blocked Kikori’s view.

“Guh… gaa!”

Dogon. With a thunderous impact, the hammer hobgoblin’s hammer sent Kikori flying.

Even with armor on, the pain was brutal.

He rolled across the ground and slammed into a tree. Pain tore through Kikori’s entire body.

He tried to get up and fell—right as the enraged axe hobgoblin’s axe swept over his head and chopped down a tree.

That power really was monstrous. Kikori couldn’t do that.

If Kikori hadn’t fallen just now, that would’ve been him.

He rolled to the side, dodged the follow-up, and somehow got back to his feet, raising his axe.

His knees shook. His arms hurt. The axe felt heavy. His vision blurred.

But even so, he still wasn’t dead.

So he pushed forward—only to get kicked by the axe hobgoblin and tumble across the ground again.

The axe slipped from his hand. And the buckler… where had it gone?

And what he saw was the axe hobgoblin’s feet, walking toward him.

I’m going to die. I’m going to die. Is there really nothing I can do?

No. No. I didn’t want to die here.

He grabbed the axe hobgoblin’s leg as it came close.

It started to shake him off, annoyed—at that very instant.

Kikori… poured magic power into that leg.

“…Brea-k.”

Bang echoed through the air, and the axe hobgoblin—now missing one leg—lost its balance and collapsed on the spot.