Giving up was not an option.

Upon seeing the hobgoblin approaching, I quickly escaped from that place. If I had my back against the wall, facing its enormous body, my escape route would be immediately blocked.

The hobgoblin, who advanced at full speed, followed my movements and made a sharp turn. While stomping the ground, it followed me from behind.

Looking at it from the side, it was approaching quickly. Within my trembling eyes, its fierce face gradually became larger.

The hobgoblin violently stamped the ground. Before the attack of the great crimson axe that swung downward, I also violently stepped on the ground and launched myself into the air.

To respond to the attack from the side, I jumped headfirst forward and avoided it. After that, a roar was heard from behind my head.

At the same time my heart trembled, I turned around once and stood up while quickly crouching and jumping backward.

Faced with the cracks in the ground, I couldn't help but sweat. I did my best to create some distance from the hobgoblin wrapped in a crimson tone.

In the instant its strong and tenacious short legs stepped on the ground, the distance was reduced to zero.

Before my wide-open eyes, the huge red axe traveled a wide range. My head was filled with blood red color.

Being urged by the moans of the wind, I used all my strength to lower my knee and escape from the certain death attack at the precise moment.

With unstoppable momentum, the red axe passed through where my torso was originally.

Even some of my hairs were cut into pieces. My wheat-colored hair waved in the air while the hobgoblin wielded its axe at me while I was crouching.

I felt the impact go through my body as I fell to the side, the roar of furious attacks resonating in my ears like an unleashed storm. It was not the time to hesitate.

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The crimson axe of my opponent cut through the air with an ominous moan, its bloodthirst almost palpable. No matter how much I tried to distance myself, the weapon seemed to have a life of its own, pursuing me with unsettling precision.

Every brush of the hobgoblin's fists and kicks against my body was like a cruel reminder of my weakness. I could feel how each impact shortened the thread of my life, but I maintained my composure. I couldn't afford the luxury of fear, not when there was so much at stake.

My heart was beating with anxiety, while my breathing became increasingly labored. The constant pressure of being on the edge of death, where each misstep could be the last, threatened to cloud my judgment.

The warnings resonated in my head like furious bells, almost to the point of breaking my eardrums. My body, once agile and precise, was now covered in wounds, the price of desperately rolling on the ground to evade my enemy's incessant attacks.

There was no margin for error, not even the slightest. My body filled with injuries with each step I took, but I refused to yield. With all the willpower I could gather, I suppressed the cowardly trembling of my legs and faced the hobgoblin directly.

I saw the left hook coming, shining with a blood-red glow. With a calculated movement, I moved the bone spear to intercept it from the side. The impact momentarily paralyzed my hand, but I managed to dodge the axe while strategically retreating.

It was painfully obvious that I was being contained. My eyes, distorted by effort until losing their original shape, met the fierce gaze of the hobgoblin. At that moment, it was just the two of us: the monster with its giant axe and me, a simple child with a bone spear.

Neither was willing to back down. Sweat ran down my cheeks as we engaged in a fierce battle, our weapons clashing with an intensity that made the grass-covered ground creak. The brute force of the hobgoblin left its mark on the terrain with each impact.

The sound of our violent dance of weapons resonated in all directions, the contained roar of destructive power mixed with the sharp cracking of movements at dizzying speed. The flashes of blood-red light intertwined with sapphire blue glows in a deadly choreography.

I was aware that the hobgoblin had the advantage. Its superior physical capacity allowed it to maintain a continuous assault that tested my limits. This was a true fight to the death, where our lives hung by the same thread.

Strangely, my body felt light. My mind was unusually clear. My thoughts roared with an intensity that almost rivaled the heat of battle. I ventured through the gaps between the incessant flashes of its great axe, advancing firmly.

—"UVVVVVVUUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

The bestial cry of the hobgoblin was accompanied by my own scream.

—"HAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

We faced each other head-on, continuing our battle of power against speed. The wind whistled sharply around us, while a faint glow seemed to cut through the very space that surrounded us.