"ROOOAR!"

Amidst the roar, the Bear Goblin furiously swung its weapon, the resulting gale forcing Teresa three steps back.

Then, with a shriek that tore through the air, it hurled its weapon at the cliff wall where Avril stood.

"BOOM!"

Half the cliff wall collapsed on impact.

Through a shower of shattered rock, the red-eyed monster slowly turned. Magma-like saliva dripped from its contorted mouth, and every step it took seared a deep imprint into the ground.

Seeing this, Roland held nothing back.

[Fermented Battle Intent], activate!

"ROAR!"

The Bear Goblin’s massive claw tore through the air, swiping at him. Roland raised his shield to meet it head-on.

"BANG!"

The Fine Steel Shield Surface instantly caved in like a bowl. He was sent flying backward like a broken kite, his leather boots gouging deep tracks into the ground.

Before he could even steady himself, the next attack came.

Roland gritted his teeth and rolled away to evade the pursuit. A half-meter-deep crater was blasted into the spot where he had just stood.

He barely managed to parry with his Longsword, the impact splitting the skin between his thumb and forefinger. Blood streamed down the hilt, and each clash made the bones in his arm groan under the strain.

But in the heat of the escalating battle, his blood slowly began to boil.

After the third parry, the bleeding web of his hand suddenly stopped trembling.

By the fifth dodge, his heavy legs grew nimble.

When sparks flew from the tenth clash of Longsword and claw, Roland could finally keep up with the crimson Residual Shadow’s speed.

’Not enough...’

He let out a hoarse growl. His [Concentration] Trait activated at full force, and the surging Knight’s Breathing Technique accelerated wildly within his scorching blood.

The sluggish nodes in his body were scoured again and again by the burning flow, like frozen earth breaking apart in a spring flood.

A wondrous change occurred.

Faint white steam began to rise from his skin. Every breath brought a burning sensation, but the pain was transforming into a kind of thrilling ecstasy.

As the Bear Goblin’s burning claws tore through the air toward him once more, a fanatical smile tugged at the corner of Roland’s mouth.

He could feel his blood boiling, his heart pounding like a war drum.

It wasn’t out of Fear, but a long-lost excitement.

Not since his duel with Gandar, the "Iron Wall" of the Golden Valley Kingdom, had he met an opponent that could force him to go all out.

Ordinary Demons weren’t even enough for a warm-up.

But now, facing this ferocious beast, every combat instinct in his body was singing with joy.

"Bring it on!"

Roland met the attack with his shield, the immense impact driving his legs deep into the ground.

Amidst the flying debris, a blazing light shone in his eyes.

This was the fight he craved: the pressure of being on the razor’s edge of life and death, the tension of knowing that any second could be his last.

As the effects of [Fermented Battle Intent] became more apparent, Roland could clearly feel his Power steadily increasing.

But surprisingly, the Bear Goblin’s frenzied state was also continuously growing stronger.

The battle was like two rising tides clashing against each other; whoever reached their peak first would drown the other.

Roland’s Sword Techniques grew sharper and fiercer, but the Bear Goblin’s counterattacks were just as savage.

Their exchange was like two erupting volcanoes colliding, each blow triggering an earth-shattering burst of Energy.

The ground continuously crumbled beneath their feet, and the surrounding cliff walls became riddled with deep cracks.

Gradually, Roland began to gain the upper hand in this tug-of-war.

His Breathing Technique circulated more and more smoothly, and the sluggishness in his Sword Techniques gradually faded away.

But even so, the Bear Goblin continued to resist tenaciously, each of its counterattacks carrying a lethal threat.

The roar of battle still echoed through the valley, yet hardly a moment had passed.

Avril stood atop the cliff wall, her Longbow drawn taut like a full moon. The deep green aura that had gathered on her Arrow suddenly dissipated.

She bit her lip lightly, a look of growing curiosity in her emerald eyes. But she immediately nocked another arrow, and three fletched shafts shot through the air, precisely targeting the back of the Bear Goblin’s knees.

’Looks like he doesn’t need my help...’

Galvis watched Roland’s heroic display with excitement, wishing he could pull out a brush and paper to paint and write about it on the spot.

But the Minstrel ultimately realized the battle wasn’t over, so he began to strum the strings of his instrument.

The sound waves transformed into visible ripples of pale gold, coating the edge of Roland’s Longsword in a sharp, brilliant light.

Teresa’s bright eyes flashed as her figure cut into the battlefield like a silver swallow.

Her Foil couldn’t pierce the Bear Goblin’s Iron Armor-like hide, but every cunning thrust struck precisely at its joints.

"Its left!"

She cried out, her sword tip striking the Bear Goblin’s elbow joint before instantly retreating, causing the beast’s attack to falter for a split second.

In that fleeting opening, Roland’s Secret Silver Longsword struck like a viper, tearing a bloody gash across the Bear Goblin’s chest.

The beast roared in pain and swiped its claws, but only managed to shred the Residual Shadow Teresa had left behind.

"Beautiful teamwork!"

Avril cheered from a distance. Her Bowstring hummed as she unleashed a volley of Arrows like rainfall, cutting off the Bear Goblin’s retreat.

Each Arrow landed perfectly in the path it wanted to take, forcing the beast to face Roland’s increasingly ferocious Sword Techniques head-on.

In the center of the battlefield, Roland had completely seized control of the rhythm.

Every one of his breaths came out as a puff of scorching white vapor. Empowered by the War Song, his Secret Silver Longsword blazed with a dazzling silver light.

The Bear Goblin’s frenzied attacks were still savage, but under the combined pressure of the three of them, it was riddled with openings.

It began to retreat more and more frequently, the savagery in its eyes now tinged with Fear.