Chapter 196

196 Are they alive?

Two minutes, that’s all Luke was able to buy for his partners.

When Bob saw Lorenzo’s group come close, the first thought that crossed his mind was that Luke had been killed, but he didn’t rush to conclusions. After all, Lorenzo was in the same condition he had been before and Bob knew full well that if Luke was forced to make a last stand, he would at least make sure to hurt him.

Lorenzo, who didn’t even notice about Bob’s state of mind, climbed off his ride.

There was no reason for a strong adventurer like him to risk his mount needlessly in a battle. Pseudo dragons were strong, but those weren’t their own beasts, they were just rented from the adventurer’s guild. This meant they weren’t bonded properly with them, not just that, they were cheap young pseudo dragons, inexperienced in battle and their level was low. They weren’t intended to fight, but to be used as mounts, which was precisely what Lorenzo was doing.

Of course he couldn’t care less about returning them, because his intention was to run away to the sacred empire, and having a mount could save his life in a pinch.

“Where is Luke?”

Bob asked in a low voice giving Lorenzo an idea, he could try to make him angry and take advantage of the situation. He didn’t know Bob’s power, all he knew was how he yelled strange things whenever he attacked.

“Do you really want to know? I guess you’ll have to defeat me first”

Lorenzo didn’t wait for Bob’s reaction and jumped forward brandishing a broadsword, but before he could get to his pupil, Risa came forward with a grin on her face and stopped him by clashing her sword against his.

.....

The huge knife like blade was impossible to stop and Lorenzo had to take a few steps backward. Still, he was ready for that and attacked with one of his spare weapons. Risa, who excelled in fast movements even brandishing her huge sword, quickly blocked the attack, but it turned out to be a feint.

Lorenzo dropped his main weapon and unsheathed the sword in his back, Risa already knew this weapon and she knew it couldn’t be blocked. She tried her best to dodge it, but she didn’t expect him to use it so early on the battle.

A swift motion of Lorenzo’s main weapon and Risa’s hands fell on the dirt.

Risa didn’t show the pain she was experiencing, her usual battle smile was still frozen on her face and she quickly countered with a roundhouse kick directly to Lorenzo’s face.

Lorenzo too was a battle hardened adventurer and shrugged off the attack, but it gave Risa enough time to retreat.

Bob, who suffered from what would have been called post traumatic stress disorder after the hill massacre, was stunned in place. Anger, sadness, fear, everything came back to him and left him completely useless in battle. His mental state was even worse than Lea’s, who had been tortured.

That left only Risa to fed off Lorenzo’s merciless attacks, but after losing her hands she couldn’t even pick up her sword, let alone draw her spare weapons. The only thing she could do was run away, but that meant leaving her companions in an awful situation.

“Bob, get a hold of yourself, we’ll be killed if you don’t do something, our deaths would be in your hands!”

Risa, being the tough adventurer she was, said with a stern voice, she didn’t think it would be enough to actually get him back into a fighting stance, but at least it would be enough to snap him out of his reverie.

What she didn’t know was how her words triggered the only memory inside Bob’s mind that would be able to help him.

A flash of a diner table, Luke and Ryu sitting with him and chatting, empty dishes on the table and a mug of beer in front of him.

His own words resounded into his mind, he told his friends how bad it was for him after he went through the hill massacre, and how he learned that everything was on him, because of his own weakness.

‘I don’t want to go through that again’ he thought to himself as he walked in front of Lorenzo who was getting ready to charge at them using his bash skill.

Lorenzo dashed forward at an incredible speed, brandishing his two handed sword, only to be stopped by Bob’s Iron strike skill.

He didn’t chant a fake spell, he didn’t even chanted the activation of his skill.

He simply wielded his warhammer with such conviction that he would stop Lorenzo, that his body reacted by expelling energy on its own.

Was Bob’s appearance always so fiercesome? that thought crossed Lorenzo’s mind.

He always saw Bob as this cheerful young warrior with a lot of potential but so stupid that he would believe himself to be a mage. Just like many other people, he thought the only way Bob would be able to actually hurt another human being would be by second hand embarrassment.

But the man who stood tall in front of him now was completely different from what he expected.

His eyes were those of a cold blooded murderer, his hands looked so big making it seem he could crush a man’s skull effortlessly and his warhammer, a common weapon without any enchantments, was even able to withstand the shock from his enchanted two handed sword.

Lorenzo looked at Bob right in the eye to intimidate him, but what he found was Bob’s resolve to kill or be killed and now he wasn’t so sure he would be able to win, in fact, he was actually the one afraid.

Left with no choice, Lorenzo clicked his tongue as he picked Risa’s weapon from the ground and turned tail.

“Miss Risa, are you ok?”

Bob grabbed her by the waist to prevent her from dropping on the ground.

“I’m fine, you did well”

“But your hands...”

“I said I’m fine! let’s wait for Luke, he’ll probably know what to do”