Chapter 173 - Maxine Vs Roland (Part One)

The arrows were increased, and some of them were pushed back due to the sheer force of the arrow that was penetrating through them. She was now jumping around them, and the arrows were coming in from all directions. 

People now began to fall much faster than before, since she had become more serious than she was before. She had to finish this quickly and get back to the Palace to help out the people that were stuck in the war.

The Beastmen began to fall under her arrows, and the leader tried to save as many people as he could. He didn't want everyone to die, and he remembered the promise he had made to his subordinates before he came here.

"If this is all an ambush and there is no freedom, I guarantee that none of you will ever go through this hell again. I will lay my life for this promise", he remembered the words that he had said before.

He looked at the sky and his people that were on the ground. Some of them had a smile on their face, and one of them had crawled next to him and grabbed his leg. He looked down and saw her face.

"Lynda...", he trailed off as he saw the smile on her face. There were three arrows on her back, and she was nowhere in the condition to fight. She could self-heal, but she didn't remove the arrows. 

"Why?", he asked as he looked at her. The woman had a smile on her face as she looked up at his face. He began to pull out the arrows, but he felt a soft hand on his that made him stop.

The man was now choking as tears began to form in his eyes. The woman was someone he was close to, and he was planning on marrying her after they had escaped this place together.

He fell to his knees and scooped her up. She laid her head on his thighs and coughed out some blood. It was black and there were bits of meat in it. 

"Leader or I'll call you by your name. Roland. Do you know why I am unwilling to pull those arrows off my back?", she asked as she looked at him in the eye. He didn't answer as he wanted to let her continue.

"It's because I know there will be no freedom in the end. It's all a game to them, and we are pawns in it. Disposable pawns, which are of no value to them. After this whole thing is over, I am sure they will kill us all in the most humiliating way."

"I don't want to go back to that place and get humiliated again and again. They have no humanity, and you remember the kind of treatment those bastards gave to every woman in the Zoo", she said. 

Roland clenched his fist as he thought about the first time he heard the story from her. It made him feel sorry for her, and he wanted to stand up against them for the injustice that was done to the women.

"But I ended up getting sent away on missions and grew my strength to the point that I became a figure in the Zoo. I am still not powerful enough to defend for all of them", he thought as he looked at her face.

There was a soft hand on his cheek, and he looked down to see Lynda holding his cheek tenderly. The look in her eyes shifted from relief to sadness, and Roland felt his heart tremble from it.

"You don't have to fight for us, or yourself. I just want you to know that whatever happens, just don't ever give up", she said. Roland placed his hand on hers and quickly turned her around. 

"What are you... AAAH!", she screamed as Roland pulled out the arrows from her back. There was no coughing, but the look in his eyes had changed. Lynda didn't know what had gotten into him, but she was sure it was something like taking a last stand.

"Didn't you say just now, to never give up? Then why did you give up just now?", he asked the question right back at her. She looked at him and saw him clenching his fists, and the look in his eye changed.

He stood back up and saw the remaining of his men fighting against her, and the resolve inside him was lit up. He was standing in front of Lynda, and his wings sprouted from his back. 

He didn't do a full transformation, but rather he transformed the parts that he needed to increase his speed. He flapped his wings and looked at his dead comrades. He picked up a sword and held it in an underhand grip.

"Now, let's see who is the faster person. You with the bow or me with the wings", he said as he crouched to the ground. His men felt the ground rumble slightly, and some of them stumbled back onto the ground.

He pushed past everyone and headed straight towards Maxine, and the moment he reached her there was a loud clang. The bow and the sword clashed, and to his surprise, neither of them moved an inch. 

"She is strong. No wonder everyone was falling to her this fast though she is a human", he thought as he looked at the bow that was blocking him. He jumped back quickly and readied his stance, and Maxine looked at him.

The rage which she had was gone now. She was no longer bothered by the fact that he had called her 'a witch', and was now intrigued as to what drove him to fight against her. 

"Even after seeing that the situation is hopeless, you are not giving up and are standing for your subordinates. I would like to know why", she asked as she changed her bow into dual swords. 

The man smiled wide, and there was a hint of determination in his eyes. The way he looked reminded her of herself, and she just couldn't stand back. A smile spread across her face as she gripped her swords, and made her move.

"I will now use my powers anymore. Let's have a test of swords, and see who is the better swordsman", she said as she came near him. Roland had a smile on his face as he gripped his sword in reply.

"With pleasure", he replied as he blocked her strikes with his hilt. She swung the other sword but it was blocked with the blade, and she was impressed by his control of the sword. 

"He blocked by using just a single sword. This man is no ordinary person", she thought as she pulled back her swords and began to attack him. Clashes were heard, and some sparks were coming from the fight.

Some of Roland's men decided to attack her from behind when a knife landed right in front of them. The fierce gaze from his eyes made them shiver, and they stopped from making a move.

"This fight is something between us. Make a move and I will personally skewer you guys into pieces", he said in a threatening voice as he blocked her attack once more.

Maxine's attacks were stopped by him regardless of how she attacked. She had made a few scratches, but as she had promised, she didn't draw out the Lifeforce from him. 

Roland winced from the cuts, but they were not threatening to him. He didn't sense any drain from him, and he had confirmed this from his eyes through which he could see the Mana Flow. 

"If this fight goes on, I am sure she will not have much Lifeforce to manipulate, and thus, the swords will cease to exist", he thought. That was one of the reasons why he was making this fight a prolonged one, and he was sure of his victory over this.

The swords were now shorter than before, and Maxine had taken note of this point. She was sure that there was no more Lifeforce for her to manipulate, and thus needed to look for some people from who she could extract some Lifeforce.

Just as she was about to make her move, a sword plopped into the mud right in front of her. She turned around and saw Zephyr with a smile, and he had shrugged his shoulders.

"You crazy idiot", she thought as she looked at the smile on his face. She picked it up and held it in one of her hands, while the other was behind her back.

Roland found her pose similar to that of a squire, and he nodded his head in response to her. Green wings appeared from behind Maxine, and he was astonished at what she was doing. 

"No way!", he thought as he looked at the person in front of him. She was the same copy of him, except that the parts that he had transformed were made of Lifeforce.

"I would like to know your name", she said as she readied herself. The man nodded his head in approval, as this was the toughest person he had come across all this while.

"My name is Roland Fletcher", he said as he took his stance.