Helpless

Colt sighed as he used Minor Blessing to bring himself back up to close to full health. He had struggled to finish off the last few remnants of the Devout Souls as they became wise to his strategy. It also helped the Devout Souls that the more he got rid of, the more space they had to manoeuvre.

He had almost fallen off the edge himself when they first dodged his charge. Luckily, one of the others smashed him with their shield, which stopped him in time. Colt was unsure whether it was done on purpose or not, but it no longer mattered.

Colt glanced towards the open door at the end of the bridge. 'Let's see what you guys were protecting.' He kept his axe and shield at the ready. Just in case there was a surprise waiting for him. As soon as he crossed the threshold of the doorway and left the abyss behind him, the doors ground to a close.

New, blue lights lit up the new area for Colt to catch a glimpse of what was waiting for him. There was another bridge spanning another canyon. A circular platform took up the centre of it. However, three Devout Souls were standing there waiting for him.

One was holding the standard spear and shield he had dealt with in the last area. The second held two one-handed axes, while the last one had a sizeable two-handed hammer. 'Why does it look like it should be easier?' Colt was apprehensive about the new situation. Just because it looked like it would be easier did not mean that it would be.

In fact, there was a good chance that it would mean the opposite. Colt started to move towards them, and the Devout Souls readied their weapons but did not move. It was as if they were waiting for him in the small circular arena. Colt eyed them carefully as he tried to imagine how a fight with them would go.

The only problem was that he only had the other Devout Souls to base the strength of these three on. He frowned as he noticed the Devout Souls twitch as he was about to take another step. 'I guess this is the line. They'll probably attack the moment I cross this space.'

Colt prepped his shield to receive the first blow as he rushed forward. The Soul who had the shield and spear came forward to meet him. It swung the spear in a wide arc instead of thrusting it. Which caught Colt off guard. It was a very player-like thing to do, which made these mobs feel more natural.

As Colt blocked the spear, he was flanked by the other two. A pair of axes hit his shield with such force that splinters actually broke off from it! Just as he was surprised by that, he felt a dull pain in the right side as the Devout Soul with hammer struck.

[-5 HP]

Colt gaped at the damage he had just been dealt. It was the highest amount of damage he had ever taken in a single strike! 'They're a lot stronger than the others. It doesn't help that they actually work together!'

Colt lashed out towards the hammer-wielding one only for it to block his strike using the handle of its weapon. Colt coughed as the shield-bearer slammed into him, winding him in the process. A sharp pain assaulted the back of his neck, and more damage was done!

[-4 HP]

Colt immediately activated Minor Blessing again at this point to restore his health to full. However, he felt uneasy with how quickly they had forced his hand when he had not hurt any of them yet!

He caught sight of the hammer swinging towards his head and chose to duck below it. Colt hacked at the Devout Soul's leg with his axe, but no damage was done! As he came up behind the mob, he struck with his shield!

'Dammit! Nothing?' Colt had to move quickly to block the spear that thrust towards his throat! Using both his weapon and shield to parry the blows launched at him, Colt was forced into a passive battle. None of his attacks could hurt any of the three, which annoyed him greatly.

'How the hell are you meant to get through this?' His first thought was to toss them off the edge. But none of them took the bait. They were cautious with their footing, and the other two would always prevent him from singling one of them out. Colt was beginning to believe that the challenge was unwindable at his current level.

Still, he refused to go down without a fight! The dual axe wielder hooked his axes over the edge of Colt's shield before pulling on it. Preventing him from accurately deflecting the attacks of the other two,

[-5 HP]

[-5 HP]

Colt was losing his cool as he activated Minor Blessing again. Just as he recovered, he felt a solid kick land in the crease behind his left knee. His leg buckled beneath him, forcing onto one knee as he blocked an overhead hammer swing. Colt grunted as he absorbed blow after blow as they rained down on his shield.

'There's nothing I can do.' Colt sighed reluctantly as he struggled back onto his feet. Four more blows made it past his shield in quick succession.

[-5 HP]

[-5 HP]

[-5 HP]

[-5 HP]

For the third time and the fourth during this fight, he was forced to use Minor Blessing. These two uses meant that his DP had run dry, and he could only rely on himself for now. Colt put up a good fight until he was kicked to the ground by the dual axe wielder. As the Devout Soul swung his axe downwards, he was suddenly struck by the hammed wielder by accident!

Colt noticed that the Devout Soul seemed to be in pain from the blow. His eyes went wide as he stared at that reaction! 'It's not a test of brute force, but of your technique!' Finally, Colt had an idea of what was expected of him…