The army marched with caution as they were about to enter the tribe of Borka. It was a big tribe, with hundreds of pix living in small wooden houses. Despite their numbers, their technology was primitive and basic.

The leader, Borka, abandoned the Empire and decided to live a life in this world. He made it his mission to conquer this world and only work for himself, using his own power. He killed anyone who opposed him, from pix to beasts and even Bors.

He was a brute who only believed in his axe and his power to dominate everything. To deal with him quickly, it was necessary to attack and separate him from his soldiers. According to Cink, he could also gain power by wounding his enemies. That’s why only a small group was going to fight him.

Nathan walked to Valks's side. "Are you ready to attack?"

"Yes, our men are in position. We will strike from three separate points and burn the houses there. This will be a distraction so the three of you can go directly for Borka."

"Once we finish with him, we’ll help you deal with the rest of the army." Franco was practicing his footwork and jabs in the side.

"I don’t know, it is probably going to be easier for us to defeat the army than you three putting Borka down."

"Is that strong?" Nora asked while putting on her armor. She wasn’t going to fight unless her life was in danger, but she needed all the protection she could get.

"I saw him once during a scout mission. He’s stronger than a whole army. He killed a whole migration of giant snakes to make a passage for his people. You need to kill him before he prepares, or our chances of winning are going to drop to the bottom."

The army moved to the points, and the ones in the front lit their arrows on fire and shot at the houses. The pix inside came out in a panic with weapons in hand. They were ready to fight. At the same time, the main army attacked the front of the village to divert their attention.

The horns sounded, and the alarm was raised throughout the tribe. It was impossible to stop the alert, so they accounted for the time it would take for it to reach the center and Borka, who lived in a stone house.

As they were simpletons, the guard left their place and went to help at the entrance. Nathan and the rest took that chance to pass above the wooden wall and ran straight toward Borka’s house.

The fires set in different parts of the village made it easy to infiltrate. The security and order were very poor.

"This is too easy. If Silas were here, he would say, this is a trap."

"Yeah, they must be confident in their leader’s power. There are no guards around here. In any case, we can waste the opportunity." Franco ran forward and summoned his gloves. With a single hit, he brought the door down. Nathan came behind, and Nora kept her distance but was ready to help.

They made their way across the house until they arrived at the bedroom. It was crude, with a giant bed in the middle. In the center, Borka slept peacefully, snoring and ignoring the noise of the alarm.

It was the perfect chance. Franco made a signal, and Nora used her power. After training with Cink, she gained more stamina and energy to use her power. She could also maintain it on multiple people throughout the fight.

She filled Franco with her power to enhance his power, speed, and senses. It was a perfect buff for combat. She could see through his eyes. The yellow light pointed everywhere, meaning that Borka was full of openings.

Franco jumped forward and slammed his fist right in the face of the sleeping pix. The bed cracked, and a loud noise came from the broken floor and stone. But it was Franco who got injured.

"What?" He looked back at Borka, who was awake and holding an axe in his hand. He felt the pain of a cut on his chest. He wasn’t pretending, he just woke up and attacked me. His reflexes are insane.

"Who are you? You interrupted my sleep. I take that you are ready to die." The axe was already covered with some blood.

Borka smiled and licked his lips. "Don’t be so tense, you pick up a fight by coming here. Oh, I don’t remember seeing your kind before. What race are you?"

"Human." Franco attacked again. He couldn't see any openings now that Borka was awake. In that case, I only need to make my own.

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He moved below and threw a right hook. Borka responded by swinging his axe at Franco’s head, but Franco didn’t try to dodge. A shield came between them and stopped the axe.

"So hard!" He could feel his shield slowly cracking under the power of the axe. This was the first time Nathan's shield broke. Not even Gloom Scent, with his disintegrating spell, destroyed it.

Franco moved and hit Borka in the gut. He followed with a left hook and sent him backwards. Those attacks were meant to destroy his body, but Borka was standing with only some bruises and a little blood coming from his mouth.

"Hahahahaha! I see; that shield is good. You guys are the new bunch that the System decided to drop here, aren’t you?"

They didn’t respond. There was no time to waste on useless chat. They had to kill him before reinforcements came.

"Nathan, stay close to me. I’ll try to deal a good blow if I see the chance. I’m counting on you to block all the attacks you can. Nora, don’t stop giving us your power."

"Leave it to me!"

"I can only keep this for a few minutes. Please win before I run out of energy."

"You guys are ignoring me? That isn’t very nice. I’m like you. At least tell me your powers before I kill you."

They jumped at him, and a whirlwind of attacks started between the three of them. Despite being two, or actually three, against one, Borka was holding his ground. The old pix moved his axe with power and complete mastery of combat. It moved like the beat of a drum, with a wild and unstable style that overwhelmed Nathan and Franco.

Nathan’s shield could only take a couple of attacks before breaking. He had to summon it again and again. During those times, Borka managed to hit him a couple of times. If Franco wasn’t there to cover for him, he would have died in ten seconds.

It was the same for Franco; his boxing training was the only thing keeping him alive. The axe moved like a flash of steel, threatening to split his head in two. A cut to the leg, another to the cheek, and an elbow into the gut, The skill difference was too big.

"Come, come, come on! Is this all you've got? Show me your real power! You came and attacked my tribe. Don’t let me down now!" He slashed Franco's arm and kicked Nathan in the leg with enough force that it almost broke.

He got past Franco and stuck the axe in his chest, shattering ribs as the axe drank the blood. The steel shone, and the blood turned into power. The real power of Borka’s axe is that it becomes stronger with the blood of his enemies. If they couldn’t deal with him now, they had already lost the battle.

He raised the axe high in the air and was about to split Franco into pieces like a log, but the shield stopped him. "Good! Let’s see which is stronger, my axe or your shield!" He pushed the axe down, and the shield started to crack again.

"Raaahhhh!" Nathan yelled as he pushed back with all he had. He sent the axe flying, and Franco came from behind.

The attack was slow. Franco was still reeling from the pain in his chest. Borka only had to move to the side and...

"Uh?" He felt the punch break his ribs. He was sure he dodged, but in a moment Franco’s speed increased suddenly and caught him. Is he using a skill or magic? No, he has to be a warrior with his power. Then how?

Borka looked at the other side of the room and saw the woman standing there. He finally noticed that she had changed her power. Until now, Nora had been giving 50% to both Franco and Nathan. But she gave 100% to Franco during that attack. That’s why he gained so much power and speed.

"Interesting, she must be a Bard that can give you power. Then I only need to do this." He changed the way he was holding the axe and threw it at Nathan's legs. If he was weaker now, it would be easier to take him down.

The axe flew through the air, and the shield completely stopped the momentum.

"How?" he yelled, but he realized the answer immediately. Nora changed the flow of power again and gave it all to Nathan, preventing the shield from cracking. That Bard is good. It changed the flow of power in a second. In that case, I need to kill her first.

Borka tried to run at her. He summoned the axe back into his hand like it was an afterthought and threw it at her. The axe missed and went flying to the wall. A punch in the side of his face made him lose balance.

"Where are you looking? You wanted to see our real power. This is it!" Another strike on the back sent him into the stone.

Borka attacked without looking, but the shield blocked it. "Again!" Nora was constantly changing the balance of power between Franco and Nathan. It was the perfect combination of attack and defense.

Franco managed to get a couple of attacks in on Borka, and before he could counterattack, Nora gave the power to Nathan, who blocked it. It was an endless cycle of getting hit and not being able to counterattack.

"Augh!" Borka vomited after another hook in the gut, and the shield blocked his kick and the axe. She’s reading my movements. If she misjudges my intention for one moment, I could kill these two with a good attack. How long have they been fighting together, or maybe they came here knowing about my power? Who could have told them?

He didn’t have time to ask those questions; his face was getting wrecked by a rush of jabs and then an uppercut. He was in the last ropes, just a little bit more.

Franco threw another hook, but Borka puked blood all over his axe. The axe absorbed it like a thirsting beast and gained more power. Don’t tell me he can use his own blood to increase his power.

It was just as he feared: Borka's own pain was fuel for his power. In a second, he almost looked like he had teleported behind him. Nathan tried to defend him, but he wasn’t fast enough.

The axe came down on Franco, who managed to roll away, only losing one eye. The axe left him with a giant scar across his face.

"Franco!" Nathan tried to hit him with his shield, but Borka only had to dodge by taking a couple of steps behind him. A kick made him lose balance, and the axe slashed his left hand.

Franco lost an eye, and Nathan lost his left hand. Both were recovering from the pain as Borka licked his lips and spat more blood onto the axe.

"Don’t get too cocky, brats! I don’t remember the last time someone hurt me this much. You broke my ribs and my arm. Let me have some fun!"