Chapter 20 Chapter 19 Friends Lost, Friends Found

The four-foot-high counter surrounded the three besieged companions on both sides, and the two ends of the eight-foot-wide front area were supported by thick pillars from the floor to the ceiling.The wall blocked their back, leaving only a small gap on one side leading to the back of the counter, which could only pass through two goblins or a tall human.So far, only one enemy has chosen to attempt that route—and he is instantly and cleanly blasted away by the elf maiden's deadly bow. Enemies approached in large groups, and Ivan and Pikel stood on top of the counter, shaking their fists while taunting and taunting, although none of the enemies approached within the attack range yet.Ivan yelled that the orcs "live to wipe the snot of an ogre", and three of the pig-faced humanoids rushed over.The first one slipped on the overturned soup just as it was about to jump up and pounce on Pikel, and its back foot slid away from it, while its front foot went straight ahead and flew into the air.It hit the counter hard, ankle and forefoot protruding over the edge of the countertop, and Pikel immediately planted his heels on the orc's toes, bending it upside down against the counter, with his full body weight on it.

The two orcs who followed also stumbled, but managed to maintain their balance with the support of their fallen companions, before slamming into the side of the counter.Ivan's ax split the side of one of the orc's heads, but the other managed to parry Pikel's first club blow.The orc was soon slumped down against the side of the counter, though, as many of his fellows rushed upon seeing the sudden fuss of the intruders. "We can't take it!" Xuelin yelled. "You're dealing with archers," Ivan replied, too busy to speak, swinging his ax frantically to fend off the sudden hordes of enemies. "My brother and I will cook this pile!"

Xuelin looked helplessly at her almost empty quiver.A soldier came round through the gap, and she reached for her short sword, but the elf realized she had no time to waste in hand-to-hand combat.She regretted having to waste an arrow, but shot the man down anyway, hoping his death would stop other enemies from attempting the route. The counter suddenly arched as an ogre slammed in from behind the crowd of enemies, and the unstoppable monster pushed on.Xuelin felt that the counter would break, that she would be crushed against the wall. Acting out of sheer fear, she turned to face the counter and shot an arrow into the ogre's face.It fell back, and the counter seemed to rest on the pillars again.The elf girl was still not sure whether the counter was stable or not, so she hurriedly climbed up to a food rack fixed on the back wall. This position gave her a better view, and she could see the area behind the battle in front of her.

One man put his hands and one foot on the counter and started jumping up, thinking the dwarf brothers were too busy fighting to stop him.Ivan's ax snapped through his back, though the dwarf took a sharp blow to the hip from the distraction.Ivan grinned in pain, then let out a roar to force the pain away, and angrily slashed at an attacking goblin.The dwarf's great ax shattered the creature's raised spear, as well as the creature's upturned face. However, Ivan could not revel in the slashing, for swords and spears swarmed, and sharp-pointed polearms and slashing short swords struck relentlessly.The dwarf ran and jumped, crouched and blocked, and every now and then managed to return a counterattack.

An arrow flew over suddenly, half piercing into Yiwen's yellow beard, and waves of pain let Yiwen know that the arrow also cut his cheek. "I told you to deal with the archers!" he yelled at Xuelin angrily, but when he looked where the arrow had shot, his menacing snarl disappeared, because the enemy archer had fallen dead on the ground, a branch Elvish arrows protruded from his forehead. "Forget it," the frustrated dwarf concluded.A sword slashed low, and he jumped up, landing with one foot on the weapon on the counter.Ivan's kick shattered the man's jaw, sending him flying backwards into the crowd of enemies.However, the other two enemies stepped up, and Yiwen fell into a tight siege again.

Pikel fared slightly better.The dwarf managed to kill three enemies quickly, but was bleeding in several places, one of which was badly wounded.He swung the club back and forth, trying to forget the weariness in his strong arms, trying to forget how obviously unfavorable the whole situation was. A sharp blow to the left side misses a thrusting spear, but a sword slices in after his club swings past, hits something under his sleeve, and goes through to cut through the skin. Kyle forearm. "Woo!" shrieked the green-bearded dwarf, clenching his arms defensively at his side.Pikel's pain flies away, though, to be replaced by shock as the upper half of his pet snake falls out of his cuff and onto the counter.

"Oooohoo!" Pikel wailed, his short legs bouncing up and down suddenly and violently. "Oh oh oh oh!" The sword-bearer rushed forward with a straight thrust, but Pikel grabbed the edge of the blade with his bare hands and threw it away, ignoring the blood that was already gushing from his unprotected hand.The dwarf lunged forward with the other arm, and the end of the stick in his hand struck the attacker's face hard.Pikel gripped the club with both hands and slammed it three times in a row, knocking the man to the ground. Then the enraged dwarf struck back, sending a goblin flying a few feet away as he tried to climb up the counter.The heavy club was swung back and forth, slamming the weapon apart and shattering bones.The attacks came back and forth with unstoppable fury; no defense could hold back the howling dwarf's onslaught.

"Oh oh oh oh!" Throwing humans and orcs aside, an ogre rushed to the counter, leaping boldly and foolishly at the same time.Pikel knocked it off its knee with a hard blow, then made a full circle and hit it again as it fell, hitting it straight in the chest, sending it tumbling back into the crowd of enemies.The enemies directly in front of Pikel were knocked away by the collapsed ogre, so he jumped sideways angrily. "Oh oh oh oh!" A man with a sword thrust at Ivan, but before his sword could get close, Pikel slammed the man's elbow against the edge of the counter.

"Hey, he's mine!" Ivan protested, but Pikel couldn't hear what he was saying, and continued howling and smashing.His next blow broke the man's neck, but the dwarf hit Ivan with too much force, sending him flying behind the counter. Pikel didn't even realize that now he was standing alone on the counter.All he could see was his dead snake, the snake that had befriended him.He ran back and forth across the counter, flailing his limbs in rage with no sign of fatigue, and feeling no pain from the many (and still growing) wounds on his body; Taste the sweetness of vengeance.

"We need more support up ahead!" Ivan bellowed angrily as Xuelin helped him get back upright. "Any arrows?" Xuelin argued, pointing to her empty quiver and the last arrow on her bowstring. Ivan reached out and yanked out the arrow stuck in his face. "Here's another one for you," said the dwarf gloomily.He jerked suddenly and strangely, then reached behind his shoulder and drew another arrow. Xuelin looked behind the dwarves, her eyes widening as she saw the enemy roll a table into position, allowing some archers to shoot through the gap at the side of the counter.Immediately she drew her bow and fired an arrow, hitting only the blocking wooden table, but also forcing the enemy archers to duck back.

"I'll find you an arrow!" Ivan roared after looking back at the situation.At top speed, the dwarf galloped out.An archer stuck his head out and began to aim.But he panicked as the howling dwarf approached, and his arrow missed and flew high. Ivan focused his attention straight ahead, ignoring the multitude of enemies shouting and pointing at him from the sides.He lowered his head and hit the heavy table with all his strength, causing it to fall back and return to its flat position supported by its legs. The three bewildered archers under the table looked up in surprise.They didn't realize at first how vulnerable the barrier had made them suddenly by running up until an arrow whizzed through and killed one of them. Two pairs of eyes looked back at Shaylin; both men were relieved to see a goblin charge by as it inadvertently intercepted the elf's second arrow, which killed it. Yiwen came to the back of the flat table and rolled towards the two men. The flat side of the battle ax hit the side of the head of one of the remaining archers.The other man hastily drew a short sword, and was ready to strike before the dwarf could steady himself and the axe.But Yiwen let go of the weapon, crawled in on hands and feet, and clamped the sides of the remaining enemy's head with his strong hands. A short sword slashed into the dwarf's shoulder, but Ivan yelled and hurled it upwards, knocking the top of the man's head against the bottom of the table.The dwarf continued to apply pressure, his feet firmly on the ground, his shoulders on the table, and he pushed up with all his strength.The table rose a foot from the ground, and then Ivan quickly lowered his head, and the table began to fall, while his arms—and the clamped enemy's head—were still held upright. "This must hurt," the dwarf muttered as the table fell and the man's face crumbled into a ball. The man sat in an odd position, his legs twisted beneath him, his eyes still closed.Ivan punched him in the face anyway to keep him out of the way, and the dwarf grabbed his tomahawk, and the closest quiver, and sprinted back from under the table toward the counter area.A crossbow arrow pierced his calf and he fell forward, but he was up and running again, biting his thick lips against waves of searing pain. An orc slipped in from the far side of the counter, skirting Pikel's relentless frenzy, and Shaylin had to turn around and shoot a third - and final - arrow into its face.When the elf girl turned back in Ivan's direction, she found herself facing another goblin.Xuelin didn't have time to draw out her dagger, she swung her bow sideways in desperation, trying to force the monster back. "You're going to die," the goblin said, but Xuelin shook her head, and even smiled as she saw a huge double-bladed battle ax held high behind the creature's head. Ivan stomped on the back of the still-falling goblin. "Your arrows!" he yelled, tossing three nearly full quiveres to Xuelin.He didn't have time to hear her answer, for he spun around quickly, and with a sharp swing of his battle-axe, he knocked away a jerking spear. Xuelin also turned quickly, and at the same time put her arrow on the bowstring, and then shot an arrow, and then another arrow, over the counter opposite Ivan, as the enemies began to pour in from three sides. "Dead Snake!" Ivan yelled repeatedly, prodding his enraged brother to continue. "Dead snake!" "Oooohoo!" Pikel wailed, and another enemy was sent flying. But Xuelin knew that they would need more than Pikel's rage, or the forty arrows Ivan had just handed her, if they were to hold on.Her arm was in constant jerk, firing sideways and forward beside Pikel, each arrow hitting its mark, each opening a gap only to be filled by another foe. ※※※ "Bonadus!" Danica yelled, sprinting toward the wall and into the swirling mist.But she hit the rock hard and fell back into the room dazed. She does somersaults defensively, feeling betrayed and vulnerable.Dorigen managed to distract Cadderly, and the dangerous woman still held the wand.Danica did another somersault and stood up across the room, more than half the room away from the mage who was still seated. "You said the secret language is clearly Bonadus," Danica said accusingly. "Even if there is a secret word, only those designated by Aballister can enter his private space." Duo Ruizhen calmly explained. "He wanted to meet with Cadderly. Apparently, you weren't included." With a sudden movement of Danica's arm, a dagger flew towards Dorigen.It hit a magic shield, sparks sprang out, and bounced to the ground next to the woman.Dorigen pointed her wand quickly at Danica, raising her free hand at the same time, warning the monk to stay put. "Breach of faith." Danica uttered the words, and Dorigen continued to shake her head in denial as she uttered each one. "You thought you could kill me with that wand?" Danica asked, starting to circle, maintaining impeccable balance.With each well-measured stride, her legs are ready to sprint. "I don't want to do that," Dorigen replied sincerely. "Cast a spell, Dorigen," Danica snarled. "Or just try it once with your wand. That's the only chance you have." "I don't want to do that," the older woman said again, more firmly this time, and to emphasize her point, Dorigen dropped her wand on the desk. Danica straightened up a little bit, her face full of confusion. "I didn't lie to you," Dorigen explained. "Nor tricked Cadderly into going somewhere he wasn't destined to go." Again, Dorigen clearly believed that there was a greater destiny guiding this encounter.Danica was not as convinced as her opponent.She believes in personal power, in personal choice, not in some determined path. "Aballister will probably punish me for letting that young priest through," Dorigen continued to a distrustful Danica. "He hopes I'll kill Cadderly, or at least take half of Cadderly's mana." She chuckled away, and Danica realized that she could kill Dorigen before she had time to react. Jump on the desk and strangle her.But Danica didn't move, the sincerity in the wizard's voice stopped her. "Aballister thought that malevolent ghost, the crouching embodiment of evil, would end the number one threat to Wall Trinity," Dorigen continued. "The goblin you sent after us," Danica said accusingly. "Not really," Dorigen replied calmly. "In the first place it was true that Aballister sent the 'Mask of the Night' to Caladon to assassinate Cadderly, but it was purely a coincidence that the ghost returned to the world—a very lucky coincidence for Aballister." "He didn't know that Cadderly could defeat that ghost," Dorigen went on, and gave that strange chuckle again. "He thought his magic storm could absolutely wipe you all out, and he could, but Aballister didn't know it, and you were far away from the Everglades by then. Besides, if he knew that Cadderly had even The ancient dragon Valen has been defeated, and if he can still control it before then, he must feel extremely fearful." Danica was shocked, her almond-shaped eyes widening. "Yes, I watched the battle," Dorigen explained, "but didn't tell Aballister. I hope Cadderly comes to Wall Trinity so soon that he's completely caught off guard. " "Is this repentance?" Danica asked. Duo Ruizhen looked down at the desk, shook her head slowly, and combed her long black and white hair with twisted fingers. "Practical considerations, I guess," she said, looking back at Danica. "Aballister has made many mistakes. I don't know if he can beat Cadderly, or you and your other friends. And even if we win today, how can we be defeated with our army broken?" Can you conquer this land?" Danica found herself genuinely believing what the woman said, and this made her even more defensive, fearful that Dorigen had cast some sort of charm spell on her. "Even if you defect now, it will not absolve you of your actions over the past few months," she said ominously. "No." Dorigen agreed without hesitation. "And I wouldn't call this a 'defection.' Let's see who wins." She pointed to the vortex door on the wall. "Let's see where fate leads us." Danica shook her head questioningly. "Why don't you understand?" Dorigen snapped, the change in tone causing the alert monk to immediately crouch into a threatening stance. "What the hell are you trying to say?" Danica demanded. But Danica's knees went limp at Dorigen's yelling answer, and she was so overwhelmed that she couldn't even utter a rebuttal. "They are father and son!" ※※※ The battle in the canteen is in full swing, and Ivan is faring the best of the three beleaguered companions.At the narrow opening on the side of the small space, the strong dwarf and his ferocious battle ax formed an impenetrable barrier.Humans and monsters charged at him two at a time, but couldn't get past his furious defenses.In addition, although Yiwen's injuries were not serious, he began to sing a dwarf war song repeatedly, fully concentrating, not letting himself feel the pain, and not letting his injured limbs weaken. However, the enemy keeps on advancing, preventing Ivan from getting to where his brother or Shaylin are, both of whom need assistance.All the yellow-bearded dwarf could do was cheer Pikel up by shouting, "Dead snake!" from time to time. Xuelin knocked away the first human attempting to get over the counter, and then quickly fired four arrows into the next enemy—the hairy bear goblin fell dead before he could climb the narrow area.Xuelin then fired an arrow sideways, which passed between Pikel's legs and hit an orc in the face, before she turned around as another enemy goblin jumped onto the counter. She hit it in the chest with an arrow, causing it to sit down, and then added another arrow, extinguishing the light of life in its eyes. But the other goblins of the same kind behind the dead goblin were smarter than usual, because its body did not fall down.The next goblin used the bleeding corpse as a shield and arrived at the counter.Xuelin hit it anyway, as it poked its head over the shoulder of its dead companion.But when the two monsters fell behind the counter, an unobstructed space appeared between the goblin and Xuelin behind, allowing them to pounce directly on the elf girl. Not having time to take another arrow from the bow, Xuelin instinctively grabbed for her sword.She swiped the bow with one hand to fend off the spear attack, and when the goblin was approaching, she raised the short sword in front of her with a split second, causing it to be short due to its own momentum. The sword runs through. Xuelin shoved the dead monster aside, flung it off the counter, and drew the sword, its delicate blade glowing with elven magic.However, she didn't have time to raise the bow, and she knew that she would probably not have the chance to use it again in this battle.She drops it on the ground and lunges forward to intercept it before the next opponent is fully over the counter. The goblin was leaning and starting to jump off the counter when Xuelin arrived, her sword slashing quickly to one side, distorting the goblin's defensive motion, and then slashing the other way.Before the goblin could regain its balance, Xuelin's sword thrust straight out, opening a hole in the monster's throat.The monster fell slumped.And Xuelin used its shoulders as a springboard to jump onto the counter, just facing the next enemy soldier who came up at the same time.The man didn't expect her to pop out of nowhere, and was pushed back, falling sprawled into the encroaching crowd, freeing Xuelin to continue punching the next orc. She killed it cleanly, but as she bent to strike, a spear arced over its shoulder. Xuelin stood upright, trying to stay focused through the sudden shock and pain.She saw the spear hanging low from her hip, and saw a man clutching the other end of the spear.If he gets the chance to turn the spear... Xuelin slashed at the position where the spear just protruded from her body.The sharp elf weapon cut through the wood, but the astonishing impact and pain almost blinded Xuelin's eyes.She relied purely on tenacious willpower to support herself, forcing herself to swing the sword in the most familiar attacking moves, preventing the enemy from getting close until the dizziness caused by the sweep passed. "Oooohoo!" Pikel's club danced in wide circles in front of a stunned ogre.The gigantic monster swung a hand out to grab the monstrous weapon, but at that moment the club was gone, held high above the dwarf's head. "Dah?" the ogre asked stupidly. The club slammed down on its head. The ogre shook its head, its thick lips crackling.It looked up to see what had hit it, looked up, and up, keeping its eyes on the ceiling until it lost its balance and fell backwards, pinning three of its smaller accomplices under its body. Pikel, who had already run to the other end of the counter, did not watch the ogre fall.A man climbed up the counter, and the dwarf quickly lowered his body, and swung the wooden stick across the side, knocking the man's feet out. A sword cut deep into Pikel's hip, but in his crouched position he had a better view of his poor dead snake.His wooden club swung like lightning, knocking the swordman's head to one side and snapping the man's neck. "Ooooooh!" Pikel stood up in an instant, his anger rekindled.He skidded and turned in the opposite direction, fending off a wave of enemies trying to break through, then spun around again, tripping a goblin climbing up.The monster staggered back, and then it slammed its cheek against the corner of the counter and hung there. It wasn't a good position to take a quick club from Pikel. But how long can Pikel last?Even with the support of anger, Pikel couldn't deny that his movements had begun to slow down, and that the enemy's pressure hadn't diminished at all, and every time they killed an enemy, two more ran into the rear of the cafeteria.In addition, the group of mates are all wounded, all bleeding, and all exhausted. On the other side of the cafeteria, near the door, a man suddenly soared into the air over the ogre standing in front of him, flailing his hands and feet wildly and helplessly.Pikel glanced over there curiously when he got the chance, and in time caught a huge sword protruding from the ogre's chest.With a force the dwarf had never seen, the ogre's attacker yanked the piercing sword upwards, ripping through the ogre's chest and collarbone, and out the side of the dead monster's neck.A huge arm swung across and hit the ogre on the shoulder with such force that the dead monster flew head first heel. And then Vander--it was Vander! ——Advancing straight in, his fury slashes down two enemies with a single strike. "Ooh!" Pikel yelled, pointing his stubby fingers toward the door.At the same time, Xuelin also noticed the Fubao giant, and this scene rekindled her hope and fighting spirit.She was wrestling with an orc on the counter, and with her free left hand, she punched the monster hard on the jaw.She feinted with the sword, followed by another punch, and a third. The orc wobbled, teetering on the edge of the counter.It barely blocked Xuelin's stabbing sword, but she kicked it in the chest, causing it to fall backwards. "Vander is coming!" she called, so that Ivan would know the news too, and rushed to the edge of the counter ahead, crouching low and slashing down with her sword, forcing back the next oncoming enemy. "It's the ghost ring!" Ivan bellowed into the face of the man standing in front of him, referring to the magic regeneration ring that Vander wore, which had (and now, apparently again) The giant named Fubao came back from the dead. Ivan laughed loudly, causing his opponent to hesitate.The dwarf raised the ax to one shoulder, and the startled man swung his sword high in response. Yiwen let go of the hand holding the bottom of the tomahawk, and pressed down the hand holding the top, so the handle of the tomahawk shot straight out, hitting the man's face.He fell back, dazed, and Ivan tossed the ax up into the air, caught the bottom of the handle in one fluid motion, and slashed diagonally into the man's shoulder. Approaching the middle of the cafeteria, a man with a spear slammed the Fubao giant's buttocks, causing a small injury.Vander twisted and kicked, the heavy boot hitting the man in the stomach, sinking up in his ribs, and sending him flying fifteen feet into the air.Vander spun in the other direction, raised the sword above his head, and slashed down with all his strength, splitting a goblin in two on the spot. The sight terrified the goblin's closest associates.They howled in terror and rushed out of the cafeteria. There was another swarm of enemies coming, and Vander had no time to go after the goblins.An ogre charged at him, sweeping the club in its hand, hitting Vander directly in the chest.Vander didn't even flinch, but gave the enemy a malicious smile, indicating that he wasn't hurt at all. "clatter?" "Why do they keep saying that word?" wondered the volbol giant, his sword slicing the stunned ogre's head off its shoulders. In the eyes of the three companions who were still at the counter, Vander's progress on foot looked like a boat sailing rapidly through rough seas, sending waves of goblins, orcs, and humans flying high as it passed. into the air, leaving behind a trail of blood and broken limbs.A minute later, Vander arrived at the counter, and the enemy camp was cut in half.Pikel jumped down to join him, and together they made a side opening so Ivan could join them. When the trio reached Xuelin, she was sitting on the counter, leaning heavily against the pillars, as the remaining enemies around her fled screaming into the hallway. Vander lifted the wounded girl and placed her in one arm. "We have to get out of here quickly," he said. "They'll come back," Ivan agreed.They looked at Pikel, who was carefully taking out the remaining half of his severed snake from the torn sleeves reverently.As the corpse slowly slid down inch by inch, he moaned quietly, "Whoa!"