Kallen darted between lines of trees, zigzagging all the way as he dodged attack after attack from behind, and from the sides.
His breathing was labored, and sweat poured down his temple. His eyes, however, were completely cold.
He suddenly pivoted to his right, rounding behind a tree while simultaneously stretching out his left arm, his grip on his short sword as tight as it could be.
Chiii!
The sword sliced open the underbelly of a wolf-like beast that had pounced at him from the front. It had likely been crouching behind the bushes, waiting for him to get in range so it could attack.
Not caring whether it was dead or alive, he stomped on the trunk of a tree, halting his montum and launching himself away from the horde of beasts chasing after him.
Turning back to face forward, he resud his sprint.
He hadn’t gone far when he sensed a shift in the air before the danger even arrived.
Imdiately, he sidestepped away from his trajectory, hiding his body behind the cover of a tree so tightly it looked like he was going to crash into it.
An arrow whistled through the air, slicing past his forr path and likely impaling one of the beasts behind him.
At the last second, Kallen sidestepped again, slipping out from the tree’s cover, brushing so close it that his cloak grazed the bark of its trunk.
He raised his head toward the branches above—and there, more than a dozen beings crouched upon the winding limbs, each wielding a weapon, though most bore bows or crossbows.
They looked like dogs but stood bipedal, wearing beast-skin skirts while their upper bodies were left bare. Their torsos... at least those he could see, were beautifully muscular and furless.
Their fur grew along their backs, with patterns resembling that of a Caucasian Shepherd, complete with large, bushy tails to match.
Kallen quickly ducked behind another tree, a rain of arrows pelting down from above, so impaling themselves into the fastest beasts pursuing him.
One of the closest beasts, which resembled a hare, leapt at Kallen the mont it noticed him slowing down.
Kallen sensed the danger, and responded accordingly.
Twisting his leg in a way that nearly sprained his ankle, so much so that a sharp pain shot up his leg from the masochistic movent... Kallen fluidly spun around 180 degrees, the tip of his other foot drawing a semicircle in the soil as he turned.
His arms moved in fluidity with him, the sequence ending in a swing of his right arm. The chain he held streaked through the air, and its bladed ends split the beast clean in two.
He turned on his heels again, dashing out from behind the thick tree as a round of attacks ca from behind, impacting and exploding the trunk and roots of the tree, as well as the earth behind him.
He moved as though he had eyes on his back.
The mont he erged, he was greeted by a spear rapidly growing larger in his vision with each millisecond.
His pupils constricted as he tilted his head to the side at the last mont. The spear’s piercing edge hissed past his ear, grazing and parting his hair.
Kallen whipped his leg forward into a kick, smashing his shin into the thigh of the dog-man who had attacked him, and twisting his stance into an awkward angle.
His left hand ca down powerfully the next instant, finding the dog-man’s neck and beheading him in one clean motion.
Carrying his montum into a spin, he shifted out of the way of another arrow. It was so close that this one grazed his chin above the cheekbone, leaving a faint cut.
[You have slain a Second Ascension Kobold...]
Kallen dismissed the notification imdiately, letting it flicker just long enough to identify the race of these dog-n. He had been ignoring the flood of ssages from his earlier kills so that he was not distracted.
Refocusing in a heartbeat, he accelerated again, only to find three more of the kobolds blocking his path. Each stood ard with a sword and shield, while archers high above in the trees aid their crossbows at him.
The kobolds banged their swords against their shields as they charged, shields raised and swords angled for a swift, lethal strike.
Kallen, undaunted, sprinted toward them, arrows raining from ahead. He weaved through the incoming volley, parrying what he could, each impact rattling his wrist and building a dull, persistent ache.
With a sharp breath, he tossed the short sword back into his storage ring and held out his bladed chain with both hands, twirling them like cyclones to his side.
Changing direction in a sudden, sharp diagonal dash to the side, he pulled of the shield n’s trajectory . A new wave of arrows chased after him, so nearly rivaling the projectile speed of a certain infamous archer.
The three charging kobolds imdiately caught on and turned to intercept him. But that was where the trouble began... his shifting trajectory had disrupted their formation. They couldn’t charge him as a cohesive unit. To intercept, they’d have to split up.
Ordinarily, Kallen’s tactic would have been reckless—giving archers a clear line of fire with no fear of hitting their allies. But he seed to neutralize that risk entirely, dancing fluidly through the storm of arrows.
That said, he wasn’t unscathed. Blood trailed down his body from shallow cuts. His already battered cloak now looked like nothing more than shredded rags.
The kobolds had no choice but to break formation, each lunging toward him with zeal burning in their eyes... Howling loudly as if they’d already claid his head.
The first kobold suddenly surged ahead, his speed more than doubling in an instant. A burst of dynamis enveloped his shield and fra, and he was almost upon Kallen in less than a blink.
Kallen exhaled sharply and slamd his foot into the ground. His calves bulged with strain as he spun to the right, dodging at the last second.
Mid-spin, he whipped his left arm outward—his chain slicing through the air and tearing a gash across the kobold’s back.
The blow, though solid, was mitigated by the dense layer of dynamis and the beast’s fur, reducing it to a shallow wound.
But there was no ti to follow up.
The remaining two were already upon him.
From the distance, the thunderous stampede of beasts grew louder with every passing second.
But then, he sensed the auras of familiar figures streaking toward him through the chaos.
’Finally.’
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