Strength Is Born From Unity

The elite soldier was holding his own against the two of us. However, he knew that the longer the fight went on, the harder it would be for either side to gain the upper hand. So he decided to even the odds.

Being half-human and half-animal, the elite soldier also possessed the powers of the possessive lineage. He used these powers to reveal a monster to fight Prince Arthur.

The monster was huge - almost fifteen meters tall - and resembled a deer. Its black fur was marked with white patterns and it had a long tail. The seal that controlled the beast was on the elite soldier's back, making it harder to break than if it were on his arm.

At the elite soldier's command, the monster charged toward Prince Arthur on all fours. I wanted to help but the elite soldier blocked me.

"I'll be your opponent, witch," he said and attacked me with his sledgehammers.

I had to focus on fighting the elite soldier and dodged his blows with my magic while using my earth powers to fight back.

As much as I wanted to read the enemy's mind, it was difficult to do so during a fight. So I focused on my attacks. Another reason was that the enemy was strong.

Whenever my staff collided with the enemy's sledgehammer, powerful waves of energy were released. I managed to dodge backward and surrounded the enemy's right arm with magic. I pulled his arm and attacked with my earth powers.

The elite soldier kept his balance and stopped my attack with his exposed arm. Seeing an opportunity, I ran towards him and aimed for his head. I jumped and swung my staff at him.

I tried to protect myself from the blow with my magic but it was too strong and threw me into the trees behind me. The elite soldier quickly followed and aimed his sledgehammers at me from both sides. I stopped them with my magic and cast spells toward his stomach.

The elite soldier took some damage and countered with his right knee. He knew I could stop that move so he caught me off guard by aiming his elbow at my head. He followed up with another kick and knocked me back.

The distance between us had widened slightly but I was still ready to stand up and fight back as if nothing had happened.

While the elite soldier and I continued to fight non-stop, Prince Arthur was dealing with the monster. Each blow we landed was heavier than the last. The elite soldier fought back with everything he had and I refused to back down.

I used my fists and kicks along with my spells and powers when necessary. Despite his large build, the elite soldier was fast. But I was able to counter him and was determined to win.

I rose into the air with my earth powers and shot spells at the elite soldier from above. He defended himself with his sledgehammers and eventually leaped toward me. I blocked his attacks with my staff as we floated in the air.

Our breathless battle continued even after we landed on the ground. I created a small crack under the elite soldier with my earth powers and trapped him. Then I managed to land a superficial blow with my staff.

In response, the elite soldier swung his sledgehammer and collapsed to the ground beneath him, causing him to fall. He got up as if nothing had happened and approached me quickly to attack.

I gradually memorized the enemy's movements and tried to respond accordingly. The elite soldier was angrier and faster than before, so I had to be careful. One wrong move and he could seriously injure or even kill me.

Instead of attacking with his sledgehammers one at a time, he swung them both together. The force of each swing created a gust of wind and when the sledgehammers hit the ground, I could feel it shake.

As the elite soldier grew more desperate, I caught his openings and continued to attack while staying on the defensive. I used the earth beneath me to not only stop his sledgehammers with my magic but also push myself forward with its power. This caused him to drop one of his sledgehammers.

Now that he only had one sledgehammer left, the elite soldier was more vulnerable. I had to fight him before he could retrieve his other weapon. I attacked him relentlessly, using my spells and earth powers to prevent him from reaching his sledgehammer.

As I continued my relentless attacks, reciprocated in kind, I noticed the prince was trapped. For a moment, I shifted my attention from the elite soldier to the creature, firing my earth power at it with all my might. The monster was caught off guard by the unexpected blow, and taking advantage of the situation, the prince sprang into action, hurling his sword forward and delivering a crushing blow to the monster, knocking it down.

Despite this distraction, the elite soldier remained singularly focused on me, convinced that I had missed my target. He seized me by the throat, completely unaware of the developments behind him. Just as he was about to deliver the final blow, the prince made a surprise attack and plunged his sword into the elite soldier's back. Caught off guard and bewildered, the elite soldier released me and turned his back. Seizing the opportunity, I summoned enormous chunks of earth from the right and left and squeezed the elite soldier between them.

The elite soldier, trapped and defeated, fell to the ground. Although it was a hard-won victory, we managed to emerge triumphant from the battle.

I was angry with Prince Arthur for the previous incident, but I knew he meant well. The way he helped me and the look in his eyes showed that he was sorry. I would definitely talk to him after the current war was over.

But for now, we had to keep our focus on the war.