Nilbog swallowed deeply, sweat covering his entire back. They remained in a gridlock.

The Ghouls kept attempting to circle him, one from the back and one from the front, but since Nilbog did not entirely like the sound of that idea, his movements matched the Ghouls. He went in for shallow cuts, stepping back, repositioning, and keeping the Ghouls at his front. They were patient, knowing each moment passed was in their favor.

He would fatigue before they did. Nilbog tried to relax his muscles to no avail. They kept tightening at the Ghoul’s movement. Tensing would only waste his STM further. The advanced food he'd eaten helped greatly, but he was losing more STM than he was gaining.

Time was running out. Nilbog gave a quick glance to his left side, to survey the battlefield. The Chef’s group had grown to a crew of seven, fighting just as many Ghouls.

The Ghoul closest to him, on his left corner, inched forward, as the other Ghoul inched to the right.

Nilbog tensed, smiled, then relaxed. He re-positioned himself. Running was not an option, as they were faster, and inching backward all the way towards the Chef’s group, as ingenious as the idea sounded, it will undoubtedly end up in Nilbog bumping into a hungry, and extremely grateful Ghoul.

He peeked at the right. The group of people that attempted to escape were surprisingly holding their own at the door, using chairs and other miscellaneous objects to keep the Ghouls at bay. There was a dozen of them but nearly all were cut up and fatigued. Few people had survived around him, and if their victim would fall, Nilbog would probably be the next target they hovered around.

The Ghouls once again got closer, inching forward.

 He nodded, that’s all the information he needed. He positioned himself to the left but did not step back, allowing both the Ghoul and him to stay in striking range. The right Ghoul was not in his range, and at that moment, Nilbog once again glanced to the left.

Stolen novel; please report.

The closest Ghoul on his left side went for a thrust at that moment, its left claw flying directly at Nilbog’s bare knuckles. The other Ghoul took that to step to the right, attempting to position itself for a strike.

Nilbog couldn’t block it directly, but since the Ghoul was attacking from extreme range, it was relatively easy to parry the strike. Lowering the point of the blade down and slightly positioning it to the left, the Ghoul’s thrust hit the knife’s flat end at an angle.

That by itself wasn’t enough, as the direct force of the blow would have broken Nilbog wrist, but by tensing his muscles at the moment of impact, as he simultaneously twisted his upper body to the right, while adding forward momentum by stepping forward, Nilbog was sufficiently able to redirect the force of the blow.

The Ghoul flew past him.

Sliding to its left side, Nilbog brought his other knife up and slashed across its neck.

Complete Penetration!

Your strike dealt critical damage!

You have dealt 28 damage!

You have dealt Devastating Bleed Damage!

The knife went a good distance in, sliding across its neck cleanly. The Ghoul’s right hand instinctively attempted to cover the wound. It was morbid, how far the blood spurted. He gave it a strong kick, throwing it in the path of the other charging Ghoul. The bleeding damage should kill it in five to ten seconds. The Ghouls roughly had 100 HP, and with Devastating Bleed damage hovering around 9% of their MAX HP or greater per second, it should be enough.

That had been all according to the plan. Now all Nilbog had to do was flick his eyes again, feigning distraction, and the stupid beast would go in.

What was not according to the plan, however, is that while the Ghoul Nilbog kicked was halfway to the ground, the second one did not step to the side, but rather stepped on it. It pushed off, jumpings heads first up a good half dozen feet into the air, claws and teeth out in equal measure.

Nilbog was utterly surprised. He stood, face blank for a moment, before he ducked.

The Ghoul missed Nilbog by about a couple feet, landing face first into the marble floor behind him. An audible crack was heard.

That, was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of stupid stuff.