Agmar First Encounter - Overwhelming!

The pair counted seventeen goblins creeping closer with crude weapons. Yet, by luck, none of the goblins held ranged weapons.

Sigurd stepped forward, his hands grasping the long handle of his blade. His feet stepped on the goblins, whose bodies were strewn everywhere.

'I can do this; these are nothing compared to the monsters I fought before.'

"Phew."

He released a long breath before relaxing his muscles while Eva wanted to fight. "Please, let me fight them and only step in should I be in danger."

"O-Okay, if you're sure." She said with a curious glance at his back, her azure eyes shimmering in the dull forest with murky moonlight.

"Thank you. I want to restore the feeling in my fingertips." He replied while spinning the blade, but his fingers tingled strangely.

'This won't do; I feel sluggish; the effects are there.'

He noticed the goblins splitting into groups before they charged forward, his left hand constantly collecting magic, ready to cast Noctra at any moment he might need it. 

Sigurd moved his long muscular legs and projected him several metres forward in seconds as the small goblins holding rusty swords lunged at him from several directions; Eva's footsteps and the howl of her frosty glaive sounding from his right meant she covered his blind spot once again. 

'There are too many to fight with a sword.'

Their blades bounced off his durable plate armour without leaving so much as a scratch while Sigurd's swift, large hand grasped two goblins' throats simultaneously before chucking them against a few others that scurried out from the forest.

Then, a black spear formed at the centre of his palm before throwing it toward those goblins, piercing three of them swiftly, as their screams filled the forest, a baneful wailing sound.

'If the goblins scream like this, then more might rush here faster!'

Another goblin stabbed towards Sigurd's crotch as Sigurd grasped his broadsword with both hands, swinging down with haste, slicing the goblin cleanly in half with the loud squelch of torn meat and crack of bone.

A familiar whistling wind sounded within Sigurd's ear, and then, one after another, frozen glaive targets died to where the whistling halted.

'She's amazing. Now let's kill the remaining five.'

He focused his mind and body, wanting to defeat them with his sword, which burned with an emerald flame. The goblins didn't seem fearful; rather, it was their confidence as they inched closer to Sigurd.

Sigurd concentrated as he sliced through goblin after goblin with his brutal swordplay. Despite his former style being like a dance, this was more of a massacre, his right arm and blade tearing their bodies apart with powerful cleaving strikes and using the brutal weight of the blade to crush their bones.

The blade burned an even brighter emerald flame, flickering as a malevolent gust, and the last of the five goblins' heads fell. The pair killed around thirty goblins.

Yet Sigurd struggled as Eva cared for a portion without batting an eyelid. Her confidence and skill with the frosty glaive were unbelievable; despite never wielding one, she quickly mastered it and gained so much skill.

'Is this the power of twenty times? Or the difference in the ages of a human and an elf.'

He thought of the various scenarios as Eva hummed to herself as she began arranging the bodies. The bodies piled up together while the emerald flames diminished, and the strange tingle in Sigurd's fingertips was finally returning.

'At least recovering doesn't take long like it was at the start.'

"Let us burn their bodies, Sigurd. Otherwise, it will attract more foul creatures."

The two returned to the path and created a small fire to destroy the corpses of the dead goblins. The pair spent close to ten minutes until nothing remained of the goblins except ash.

Eva then sat, cleaning her glaive intently while Sigurd meditated and relaxed. Their eyes gazed at the tranquil path for another two hours as nothing else crawled into view while Sigurd used his passive sonar ability to check for approaching enemies.

"How long have you been training with the glaive?" Sigurd asked with a curious smile as the pair sat shoulder to shoulder in the cold clearing.

"Almost twenty years, maybe a little longer. Although, mother made me learn basic swordsmanship for ten years first." Her beautiful blue orbs appeared ethereal in the dull forest. "For now, Sigurd, why don't we sleep first? I will use these to create a barrier to make monsters avoid attacking us at night." 

In her hand were two strange black and silver objects shaped like eggs.

"What are those items?" Sigurd raised an eyebrow curiously.

"These are magical crystals gifted from the alchemist tree. Inside here is a deadly acid-like compound; when thrown outside the barrier, it forms a wide shield of liquid that won't hurt people but will corrupt and instantly kill monsters. The other is a solid barrier made from light and earth magic that repels most monsters."

"I see... but we need resources first, right?" Sigurd stepped off the log and prepared to gather twigs and other things while Eva giggled and followed his lead. 

"I have enough for the first night, you know?" She chimed as her silky hair swayed, mesmerising Sigurd slightly before a sudden howl of wind sounded, causing them both to frown.

However, before he could summon his sonar, it appeared...

Two wolves around Eva's size lunged through the nearby trees with gleaming red fangs, claws, thick fur, and bloodshot eyes. Eva sighed, looking at Sigurd's crestfallen face and muttering, "The crystals won't work anymore..."

"Eh, why!?"

Suddenly, the wolves howled once again. The moment they did, the magic Sigurd was preparing to attack them with shattered, causing his chest to hurt slightly while an intense desire to give up on the fight sprung in his heart.

'What is that!? I can't concentrate; they want to tear my limbs apart.'

Yet Eva spun the glaive without fear; her frosty magic flowed into the shaft and blade before she let out a loud shout. "Sigurd! These are not monsters but early-stage Agmar!" She then slammed his back with the shaft of his spear, causing him to stand tall. "Their howls seem to affect magic and spell formation! They are Anti-Mage class Agmar! Only use instant spells or enchants!"

With Sigurd standing tall and recovering, he summoned his emerald flames and coated his sword again. His senses still felt heavily suppressed, yet the desire to fight and crush the enemy exploded in his chest as if they were breaking his magic, causing shame and anger to build up in his heart; even Mammon vibrated with a strange feeling.

Eva then launched herself forward before jumping high, the blade thrusting forward. A long-ranged slash formed as Sigurd blinked rapidly at the terrifying display. She maintained the attack with the long glaive and the frosty magic perfectly, even mid-air, without struggling; her range, magic control, and speed caused him to shake his head.

'Let's learn!'

He held his sword and dashed forward, striking at the left wolf. It was a black furry creature with red eyes the size of his fists, growling at him with nasty breath and slimy drool dribbling down its huge fangs. It moved deftly while Sigurd pursued, not willing to look weak.

Their magic and physiques were leagues higher than a goblin's, making Sigurd serious. His sword ripped through the air when the wolf pounced on him.

Instantly, his flaming sword shot toward it as a flash, causing the wolf's huge black paw filled with muscles to smash down; with a loud clang, Sigurd's body floated back six steps while the wolf seemed to snarl at him mockingly.

Sigurd swung again with ferocity as if possessed before lunging into combat in a relentless assault. He never allowed the agile wolf to do anything but brutally swing back at him.

Each collision caused Sigurd to flinch in pain; however, the wolves also suffered some. Eva handled hers, dealing her attacks accurately from distances far away, and any magic it tried using shattered instantly because of their howling.

Soon, Sigurd attacked harder than before. Even Mammon vibrated intensely, with a burning feeling spreading throughout his body, granting Sigurd the slightest hint of extra strength and resistance. He could feel something as they fought, his strength and synergy with the magic churning inside his abdomen and body increasing each time he clashed with the beast.

"GRWOOOOM!"

The enormous wolf howled and rushed Sigurd suddenly.

It clawed and clawed at Sigurd before Sigurd charged a Noctra, not wasting any precious time before punching the beast's exposed stomach, a dim pain in his fist and shoulder as the wolf bit down on his neck. Yet he resisted, gritting his teeth as blood oozed down his body. He released several blows, his hand covered in the black magic of Noctra, without casting the spell as the force exploded against the beast's organs several times.

"KRUAHRRRH,"

The beast felt pain and spat him out as its body seemed to screech and spasm painfully while a green flame flickered in its throat and on its bloodshot eye; he didn't kill the wolf, but the wolf now became more wary, circling Sigurd, who seemed to have entered a state of trance.

"Ah... inferior beast, you dare bark at your maker?"

Suddenly, Sigurd's voice became deeper, more elegant and charming as he brushed his hair back and gazed at the two lesser Agmar. His eyes shimmering with an emerald green flame that resembled his Noctra Enchant.

If you looked closely, his ears also looked pointed, with two small black dots on his temples.

With the flick of his left hand, a black wall surrounded the wounded wolf, with spikes over seven metres high.

"Repent for attacking the heir of greed."