Alex moved his body like a snake, dodging every attack launched by the giants in front of him.
He jumped onto one of the most fierce monsters, deflected its great sword with a kick, and then delivered a butterfly kick straight to its face.
His right leg took a heavy toll, but he dismissed it as the most active one lost its balance. Alex seized the opportunity to crush its skull and separate its head from its body.
Small skeletons jumped at Alex in large numbers. Even though he was fast, dodging all of them in such a narrow space proved difficult.
One of the skeletons grabbed his leg, and as Alex tried to kick it off, another grabbed his hand, then another his other leg. Before he could react, the entire army swarmed over him.
Alex summoned every bit of his strength to throw them all off at once. He kicked the one holding his right leg with his other leg, smashing the skeleton's skull.
He swiftly cut down the two charging at him, then spun 360 degrees, sending the rest flying backward.
One of the elite skeletons charged from behind the Lich, holding a chain and swinging it around.
With precision, it hurled the chain at Alex while he was preoccupied. The sharp blades of the chain aimed at Alex's hands, but he barely managed to dodge them. However, the chain landed straight on his right leg.
"Ahhhhh!" Alex cried out as the blade pierced deep into his leg, and the chain wrapped tightly around it.
As the elite skeleton pulled the chain into the air, Alex was lifted, flying face-down in midair.
The skeleton swung the chain in a curve toward the ground, but Alex used the momentum to his advantage, maneuvering with the chain's dynamics to cut down all the enemies in front of him.
Upon landing flat on the ground, the elite began pulling Alex toward him.
"You fell right into my bait," Alex grinned.
Alex quickly dashed forward, charging straight at the elite, and cut him down before he could make a move. The elite's head fell, rolling like a ball. Without wasting a second, Alex immediately rushed toward the Lich.
____
The wolf was immersed in full rage, his eyes fully drenched in bloody red. He jumped straight towards the white tiger in the air. The tiger immediately swung his fist straight towards the wolf. Dodging it, the wolf firmly bit the tiger in the neck.
The tiger was still wounded from Alex's sword, making its attacks clumsy and easy to dodge.
Desperate, the tiger thrashed its body left and right, trying to loosen the wolf's grip, and then leaped 7 feet into the air. The wolf eventually lost its hold but immediately charged back at the tiger, unaware it was his only chance.
The tiger launched its fist at the wolf, delivering a hard blow. The impact was strong enough to make the wolf lose consciousness.
____
A mysterious man was smiling as he watched the battle taking place. It was a messy fight where a human, a group of undead, and spiritual animals were fighting all over the place.
As the Lich raised his staff and started enchanting a spell, all five elite guards came up from his back and ran toward Alex.
The first two were carrying spears, the other two had swords, and the last one was a huge 7-foot giant holding another great sword.
Alex was starting to grow tired as the enemies kept coming from every direction, seemingly endless.
For every skeleton he cut down, two more emerged. He was now breathing heavily, nearly reaching his limit. The numbers kept stacking, leaving him no chance to catch his breath.
Alex closed his eyes for a second, imagining the best-case scenario to effectively attack them without wasting effort.
He took a deep breath and re-positioned his sword, reaffirming his leg stance while keeping a close tab on the number of enemies.
He lightly swung the tip of the sword at the end point of one of the skeleton's arm joints. His hand broke apart easily, and then Alex stabbed him in the forehead. At the same time, he turned backward to the other opponent and cut the edge of his neck.
Alex's Sage Vision was gleaming blue in color, although not clearly visible.
[You have gained a new skill!]
[Swordsmanship : Level 0]
Alex's eyes could now see the flow of where the attacks were coming from. Even though he was aware of it previously, now it seemed much more accurate and detailed.
Alex stared at the Lich and raised his sword at him.
"Let's end this."
Alex jumped straight at the giant, accurately stabbing him in the center of the skull, then cut down all three of the other enemies in a single strike. His attacks had grown stronger as soon as he received the skill. He could feel the subtle change immediately.
The two elite swordsmen circled him from both sides, swinging their swords to strike at Alex's neck and feet. Alex jumped between the two swords, spinning his body.
He threw his sword at the one on the right, then took out his dagger and threw it at the other at the same time.
Both of them dodged it, but it was exactly then that Alex used Quick Dash to kick the one on the right with his knee. The elite fell to the ground.
The 7-foot giant jumped on top of Alex and slammed his fist on the ground. Alex barely escaped but found himself being attacked from the other side.
A spear was heading straight toward Alex's head, but he caught it with his bare hands.
"Thanks," Alex said, looking a little more confident as he stared at the giant holding the spear. The giant swung its fist straight at Alex, but Alex was fast enough to dodge and get close. The giant was full of openings. With the opportunity at hand, Alex slammed the spear into its head.
[Swordsmanship Activates]
Alex could feel the muscle memory of using the spear from his early life.
After fighting for the next five minutes, all of the elites were now lying on the ground. All the spears had broken after exchanging blow after blow.
But the issue still hadn't changed. The skeletons kept coming, and the Lich had already gathered a huge amount of mana in his hands and was still continuing to gather even more.
The skeletons were gathered everywhere, leaving no space for Alex to run. He picked up a sword from one of the fallen elites and started running straight forward.
Quick Dash!
Alex was jumping on top of the skeletons. Since the elites were now gone, the rest were too slow. The arrows weren't able to deal any impact either.
Meanwhile, the Lich was almost ready. The mana was nearly stored in his staff, getting ready to be launched.
Alex instantly knew what the Lich was up to, so he threw the dagger straight at him.
The spear moved, maneuvering in the wind, hitting straight into the heart of the Lich.
But to his avail, nothing happened.
"Ah right, I forgot he was an Undead."
Alex took out the sword and dashed straight toward him, instantly closing the gap. The Lich panicked and immediately launched the premature spell he had been preparing earlier.
A bright yellow explosion burst out, destroying everything within 100 meters. All the nearby skeletons were gone, their bones either perished into ashes or broken into brittle sand.
The Lich was now lying on the ground, most of his body parts missing, only some bare pieces remaining.
The entire place turned into dust, with sand covering the visibility of the area.
Meanwhile, Alex stood tall, holding the sword, which had broken in half. His armor, however, was still in great shape, as if it hadn't even been scratched.
[Congratulations! You have done the impossible!]
[You have slain a low-ranking Lich]
[You have gained 50 exp]
[You have slain a low-ranking skeleton general]
[You have gained 15 exp]
[You have slain a low-ranking skeleton soldier]
[You have gained 2 exp]
[You have slain a low-ranking skeleton soldier]
____
The sword Alex was holding slowly began to shake. Not understanding why, he looked at it and realized it was his hands causing the tremor.
Just after staring at his hands, his entire surroundings turned white, as if time itself had stopped. He could no longer hear anything.
He could see the bones in his hands, as if the skin had melted away. His hands shook more and more from the sudden shock.
Alex quickly sat on the ground, losing the strength to stand. He stared at his palms in wide disbelief, then touched his face. Only then did he feel the burning sensation, realizing even his hair had been badly burned.
When Alex initially charged at the Lich, he immediately blocked the burst of mana. The highly flammable magic instantly shattered his sword and sent him flying 10 meters from his original position.
The magic burned his entire body. Now, Alex sat on the ground, hopelessly in shock, as if he could feel his final moments right here.
Despite all the stress, pain, and torment, for some reason, he felt peaceful.