Even after maxing out his Sword Saint class, Adam's speed advantage far surpassed that of the ogres. Yet, due to the jungle's restrictive environment, the distance between him and his pursuers wasn't widening, it was shrinking.
"This is bad!"
Hearing the commotion behind him, Adam's face darkened.
Though his current strength outmatched a single ogre, it wasn't enough to dominate them. If he got surrounded, the outcome was obvious.
"My mana's too low, only 8 points left. I need to reserve enough for a healing spell."
Adam's expression grew serious as he darted through the jungle in an S-shaped pattern, using sturdy trees as cover to slow the pursuing ogres.
Boom!
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from behind.
Adam paused, glancing back, and his eyes twitched.
The two ogres leading the chase had uprooted a tree as thick as a barrel.
With a thunderous roar, the pair hurled the tree toward him, its massive shadow engulfing Adam.
Faced with this situation, Adam's eyes flickered. He quickly spun, crouching low, and raised his iron sword to shield himself.
Bang!
The thrown tree slammed into the sword, producing a dull thud. The powerful impact surged through the blade, turning Adam's face pale.
Worse, the tree's resilient branches whipped across his body with the force of the collision, shredding his already tattered clothes further and leaving several gashes on his face.
[HP: 109/113]
Adam staggered back several steps, blood trickling from his lips.
Thud! Thud!
While the two tree-throwing ogres lagged, the other four seized the opportunity to close in.
"Pfft."
Adam spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, his eyes hardening. "This real-world isekai isn't as forgiving as it looks in anime."
Whether these ogres had deliberately set a trap with a small goblin tribe or stumbled into surrounding him, their coordinated attack meant they could no longer be dismissed as mindless monsters.
"Argh!"
"Human! Food!"
"ARHHHHH!"
"Wraargh!"
The four ogres charging ahead showed no mercy. Their dark-yellow, ferocious faces glared at Adam with savage intent as they swung their massive wooden clubs down.
Four powerful booms resounded above Adam's head!
"Rapid Slash!"
A cold glint flashed in Adam's eyes. Gripping his iron sword tightly with both hands, he unleashed his most powerful move against the descending clubs.
The 120% attack boost made the sword slice through the air with a shrill whistle. The tremendous slashing force cleaved through the massive wooden clubs.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Snap,
The four broken clubs flew apart under the impact.
Blood seeped from Adam's torn palms, and the already notched iron sword couldn't withstand the collision's force.
Bang,
The sword snapped, flying off with the debris.
The clash's explosive force pushed Adam back two steps before he steadied himself.
"Huff, huff."
Panting heavily, Adam glanced at his bleeding hands and the broken sword's hilt, grinning wryly.
No advantage gained!
But holding his own against four ogres was already a decent outcome.
Fortunately, the ogres' weapons were crudely made from jungle trees. If they had wielded iron weapons, things would have been far worse.
Standard human weapons wouldn't suit the ogres' massive frames unless they were magic weapons that adjusted to the user's size.
The four ogres stared at their broken clubs, confusion flickering in their dark-yellow eyes before rage took over.
Thud!
Tossing aside the shattered clubs, the four ogres charged at Adam, swinging their massive fists.
Adam reached into the air, summoning a new iron sword from his item box, and began counting softly, "10!"
"9!"
A pair of soccer-ball-sized, rough, dark-yellow fists came crashing down. Adam raised his sword to block.
Bang!
A muffled impact rang out.
Adam stood firm, his peripheral vision catching movement. He quickly sidestepped as another fist smashed into the spot he'd just vacated.
"8!"
"7!"
Two more ogres attacked from either side, trying to flank him.
Adam's eyes narrowed. He retreated to avoid being pinned, swinging his sword at the nearest ogre's fist.
Crack!
Blood and flesh splattered.
The sound of breaking bones mixed with the ogre's agonized wail.
"6!"
But at the same moment, another ogre lashed out with a vicious kick.
Adam pulled his sword back, holding it across his chest to block the kick, while his peripheral vision tracked a second ogre's heavy fist swinging in.
"5!"
"4!"
Faced with another dual attack, Adam could only spare one hand. He pulled another iron sword from his item box, positioning it to guard his left shoulder.
Of the four ogres, one had been pushed back with an injured arm, and two were blocked by Adam's swords. But the fourth ogre's attack came unchecked, Adam had no free hand to defend.
"3!"
Bang!
A soccer-ball-sized fist slammed into Adam's right shoulder.
The overwhelming force, against Adam's low physical defense, was unstoppable.
Clang!
The sword in his right hand flew out.
Adam was sent flying, crashing into a tree behind him.
"2!"
"1!"
[HP: 71/113]
"Pfft!" Leaning against the tree, Adam spat out a mouthful of blood, his teeth stained red. "That really hurt!"
"But… the cooldown's up."
"Rapid Slash" Had a ten-second cooldown.
As for other martial skills, Fourfold Slash of Light would reduce attack power, at best wounding an ogre but not killing it. And "Instant Reflection" was nearly useless in a surrounded situation.
"Wraargh!"
The ogre that had knocked Adam back charged again, swinging its massive fist.
Seeing the ogre rapidly closing in, Adam grinned, his eyes icy. "Then die!!"
With a surge of strength, Adam pushed off the tree, his upper body leaning forward. His feet kicked off the ground, and gripping his iron sword, he charged forward.
"Rapid Slash!!"
Adam roared, swinging his sword upward with full force.
The 120% attack power erupted instantly!
Without its wooden club to block, the ogre, armed only with its fists, couldn't withstand the sharp iron sword's slash.
Splurch!
A geyser of green blood and mangled organs sprayed into the air!
The charging ogre was sliced in half from bottom to top by Adam's single strike!
Thud! Thud!
A mass of organs spilled from the split body, splattering onto the ground. The two halves collapsed with a heavy thud.
[Gained 310 experience]
Experience: 1581/5000!
The other three ogres, poised to charge, froze at the sight. Even with their limited intelligence, fear flickered in their eyes.
Adam lifted his head, locking eyes with the three ogres and the two others who had thrown the tree, now catching up.
Taking advantage of their hesitation, he turned and vanished into the underbrush.
***
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