Chapter 42: Unyielding

The Gogi Lord was four-meter-tall and bulkier than the rest of his people.

He was wielding a huge mace in his right hand, which the Gogi Lord had smashed against the nearest tree to pull everyone's attention over to him.

The Gogi Lord shouted something in their native language, and his subjects retreated from the battlefield at once. They heed their Lord's command without hesitation, even if that turned into a deadly situation for some Gogis.

The Lizard ignored the Gogi Lord and continued attacking the Gogis in her vicinity. She tore them apart as they retreated before continuing her advance.

Suddenly, something big and heavy crashed onto the Lizard's head as she was about to clamp her jaw on a helpless Gogi. It was the Gogi Lord's mace, which he threw at the Lizard with all his might.

He roared out loudly and beat his chest loudly before he charged forward.

A huge two-bladed battle-axe and a Galea helmet materialized a moment later. The battle-axe was grasped tightly in the Gogi Lord's right hand while the Galea covered his head from all sides.

The moment the two Artifacts materialized, the atmosphere on the battlefield changed at once. The Gogis began to shout out their battle cries in a voice loud enough to make someone deaf and the Gogi Lord's high speed accelerated further.

He swung the heavy battle-axe at the Lizard without hesitation. The Gogi Lord ignored the acid ball that formed in the Lizard's mouth and viciously cleaved downward.

A moment later, the Lizard released the acid, and the battle-axe impacted upon her.

Chaos and mayhem ensued as the battlefield was stirred up and the Gogis' battle cries were overwhelmed by the roars of the Lizard and the Gogi Lord.

Blood splattered all around and the pungent smell of burned hair and flesh filled the air once again.

Meanwhile, Michael frowned deeply after seeing what happened.

'The Galea helmet cast a protection layer on the Gogi Lord, but it was too weak to repel the acid fully and protect him. Simultaneously, the battle-axe sunk deep into the Lizard's shoulder...a lot deeper than expected...'

Both combatants had grossly underestimated their opponent's attack power, causing severe injuries. But that was not all. The Gogi Lord could retreat now and order his warriors to aim their spear throws at the severe injury he had inflicted, while the Lizard didn't have this opportunity.

It injured the Gogi Lord, whose chest would continue to burn, and his flesh would sizzle as the aftermath of being hit by lethal acid, but that was already it.

Neither of them was in a mood to back off.

The Gogi Lord's muscles bulged, and his veins popped out as he used his full strength to pull the battle-axe out of the lizard. In the same instance, the Lizard pounced on the Gogi Lord.

Her tail coiled around the Gogi's legs tightly and the Gogi Lord crashed hard on the ground with the Lizard on top of him.

The Gogi Lord reacted quickly. He thrust the battle-axe between him and the Lizard before using his feet to push the monster away. However, the Lizard didn't budge in the slightest. Instead, more dark-greenish acid formed in her mouth, and she sprayed it all down on the Gogi Lord who was trying to move with all his might.

He couldn't avoid the acid fully and had to decide between sacrificing his shoulder and arm, or his head. The protection layer of the Galea Artifact had already been destroyed and the Gogi Lord knew that he needed his head to keep fighting. Thus, the only option he had was to allow the Lizard's acid to be showered on his left arm.

But while the acid gushed out of the Lizard's mouth, she was distracted. The Gogi Lord roared out and exerted strength beyond his natural capabilities. The adrenaline and energy surging through his body allowed him to tap into power he didn't know he possessed.

The burst of strength allowed the Gogi Lord to tilt the battle-axe and pierce the Lizard's abdomen with its razor-sharp edge. The Lizard noticed that something was amiss, and it stopped releasing acid, but it was already too late. The battle-axe's edge had already cut deep into the Lizard's abdomen.

After a short struggle, the Lizard rolled down from the Gogi Lord as a bolt of pain erupted from the injury. She was bleeding severely and took a few strides back to observe her surroundings thoroughly.

She was heavily outnumbered as more than a hundred Gogis surrounded her and the Gogi Lord. Their encirclement formed a large arena for them to battle in. Simultaneously, it was a cage to restrict the Lizard from escaping. Now that she had sustained multiple wounds, it was much easier to worsen her injuries with the spears each Gogi held tightly in their large hands.

The moment the Gogi Lord ordered his subjects to attack, spears would be thrown at her from every direction. Few would hit the Lizard's injuries, but it didn't require many to further deepen her wounds and gravely injure her.

However, the Gogi Lord didn't give such a command. He got up from the ground, looked at his left arm, and let out a blood-curdling growl. His battle-axe pressed against his shoulder, and he roared out in anger. The next moment, the corroded and half-rotten arm fell to the ground, and a fountain of blood gushed out of the Gogi Lord's shoulder.

"Damn..." Michael blurted out.

He was impressed by the Gogi Lord who possessed an unyielding spirit and resolute attitude. Once again, Michael was glad that he didn't attack the Gogi Lord on his own, and that he was observing the fight from further away.

If he wanted to, he could run away at any time, and nobody would notice it. However, the opportunity that unveiled itself in front of him didn't come by easy. Michael was certain that he would have to clean up the mess he had created today.

The Gogi Lord lost one of his arms and the protection of the Galea Artifact was also destroyed. Meanwhile, the Lizard was bleeding severely, and surrounded by more than a hundred Gogis, who were more than willing to sacrifice their lives to deal the finishing blow.

'Should I start moving?' Michael thought at this moment. The Antler Bow manifested in his left hand, and he retrieved an arrow but stopped moving mid-way.

'No, not yet...'

Michael held himself back at the right time or he would have fallen victim to his greed. He wanted to kill all Gogis and land the finishing blow on both the Lizard and the Gogi Lord, hitting two birds with a stone. That way, he would receive the energy influx from everyone, which would increase his degree of refinement tremendously.

Refining his War Rune and advancing to the next Tier was important, that was a given, but Michael was currently not desperate to advance quickly. At least, he was not desperate enough to jump into the fight like a suicidal maniac.

Michael resumed his observation, but he didn't put the Antler Bow and arrow back inside his War Rune. He used his Eagle Eyes to watch the fight even more intently than before and nocked the arrow on the bowstring after a while.

The Gogi Lord and the Lizard continued to fight a terrific battle. It looked like they were becoming more vicious and feral the more injuries they sustained, but Michael knew that this was just a temporary thing. Both the Gogi Lord and the Lizard were overflowing with adrenaline, which had an increased potency upon encountering the churning energy of the Origin Expanse that circulated through their bodies.

However, being able to release more power than usual led to rapid consumption of stamina and the inability of their wounds to heal. Their bleeding showed no signs of stopping. No, it grew worse!

At last, when Michael thought it would be over soon, the Gogi Lord raised his right arm high in the air.

He gave a command, and the Gogis began to act.

A moment later, more than a hundred spears soared through the air.