"Stop."
Upon the Commander's word, Borus immediately halted his galloping.
As the latter's hooves left trails on the ground, the former stood up.
"Mm. This should be a good enough distance." Lin whispered as he stared at something in the distance. "Make sure to jump back in time."
"Huh?"
'Let's get this...
A second later, the Commander leaped forward.
'Over with.'
Krista's ears twitched.
So did Mark's eyelids.
Something was coming.
But before they could even turn around,
[The Title "Commander Of Sloth" is making its presence known.]
Through the space that separated the two, Lin drifted.
"Found ya." He said as he stood a dozen steps in front of them.
'Krista...'
With their bodies frozen by the Aura emanating from the Monster, the order really wasn't necessary.
'Don't move.' Mark warned telepathically.
"Mmmm!" With his eyes closed, Lin stretched his arms upwards. "It's you, isn't it? The one I'm supposed to take."
No response was given.
"Can't you talk? I doubt Yarnha would have given you the time of day if you couldn't."
Mark's eyebrow rose at the mention of her name.
"Oh well..." Lin opened his eyes. "Let's see."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtImmediately, Mark felt the urge to step back.
'He's...!'
Completely naked.
Defenseless.
As if his tough scales and muscles had evaporated. As if those glowing eyes could see through him.
"Yes, it's you. Now, let go of that one." The Commander ordered while staring.
The Aura emanating from Lin's body was calm and smooth. Nothing like the fierce and burning Aura that used to emanate from Mark's. And yet, that only made it seem all the more fearsome.
'He managed to get here... Without anyone of us noticing-'
"Let go, I said."
[The Title "Commander Of Sloth" orders you to heed its words.]
'Commander? Then he's... Just under the Generals-'
Mark blinked and,
Grab-
Squeeze-
Elisa was suddenly let go of.
Lift-
Thump-
"Agh." She fell to the floor and her butt hit the ground. "You didn't have to drop me like that-"
Lin's gaze moved away from Mark momentarily and towards Elisa.
"Please, continue." The Orcish Fiend sneered. "Didn't have to... What?"
Elisa cursed internally as she rose to her feet.
All grogginess and tiredness faded at once.
How could it not, when the one standing in front of her was,
'A Commander? When... Where-'
All thoughts were ignored by Elisa. Her hands quickly moved over to the sheathes around her waist and pulled out two Timeworn Elven Daggers.
"Now, now. How about we discuss this?" Lin asked, a slight smile on his face and not a hint of fear or hesitation.
The enemy wasn't wearing Armor.
The enemy didn't have Weapons either.
The Commander's lower body was veiled by clothes akin to loose and baggy pants.
His wrists and forearms were protected by Gauntlets.
It took less than a second for Elisa to analyze the enemy and decide to leap forward while brandishing her Timeworn Elven Daggers without Equipping her Elven Light Armor Set.
'Prioritizing speed?' Lin asked himself as he directed his gaze away from the approaching Elisa.
'Freeze his arm. Ice...'
Manip-
The instant Mark's Magic Skill was about to activate, his throat was let go of.
And as his body was hanging in the air, with his feet inches away from the ground,
BAM-
A powerful kick landed on Mark's left side, sending him away.
"Now..." Lin redirected his gaze towards Elisa. With great agility, he dodged the swung Timeworn Elven Daggers. "How about we talk about it?"
Once, twice, thrice.
Elisa swung her Daggers, but they didn't connect once.
By the fourth swing, she stopped momentarily. Her right hand was shaking.
Meanwhile, Mark, who had quickly risen back to his feet, was running towards the Orcish Fiend's back.
To Lin's side, a Lioness stood with her mouth wide open as Mana was condensed between her jaws.
"Attacked on three fronts, I don't like that." The Commander said as he raised his hands. "Let's talk, shall we?"
Lin sighed, as the three didn't seem interested in a discussion.
Perhaps it was because of his violent and aggressive entrance.
Perhaps it was because of the hostile and creepy Aura that was emanating from him.
"If I can just take the Monster, I'll leave the two of you go. How does that sound?"
"Fuck you." Elisa answered as she leaped forward while making her Timeworn Elven Daggers spin.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Agh... Fine."
With perfect timing, the Commander turned around before the white-scaled Monster could reach him.
Lin consciously turned in the direction that would allow him to peek at the Moonlit Feline.
"You're," Before Mark could reach the Commander,
'Too fast-'
Punch-
"Coming with me."
The white-scaled Monster stumbled, and Lin took a sidestep to let it do so freely.
"Mark!" Elisa shouted as Krista growled.
'What is... How...?' The confused Monster took two steps while swaying from side to side before,
Thump-
"What..." With hateful eyes, she stared at the attacker. "What did you do?"
"Nothing much. Just a quick punch to the chin that's..." Lin took a short pause as he smiled. "What works best against such Monster, don't you think?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Elisa asked with a voice filled with hostility after raising her Timeworn Elven Daggers.
The Commander smiled brightly.
"Does it matter?" He walked forward and started lowering his body. "Now, I'll be taking him-"
Pierce- Pierce- Pierce-
"Well, that was quick." The Commander whispered after jumping back. Three arrows were embedded in the ground, right on the spot where he stood a fraction of a second earlier.
"You're not taking anything."
"We don't have to make this difficult."
"Shut up." Elisa swiftly put her bow over her shoulder and took hold of her Timeworn Elven Daggers once more. "Krista, you're with me."
The Lioness growled.
"Do we really have to? You're making my job more difficult than it needs to be."
"Stop talking." Elisa warned.
And the Wind started dancing around her Weapons.
With a horizontal swing,
Slash-
"Phew..." The Commander whistled as he jumped up. "Almost looks like Sword Aura."