Thundar cast spell after spell as the trio stalked toward the battle.

Body enhancement for strength.

Body enhancement for endurance.

Body enhancement for agility.

His magic swept through Theresa; strength flowed into her limbs, her heart thundered, and her muscles tingled. Her entire body felt more responsive. The minotaur also recast Blows of Lead, adding more force to their strikes.

“Okay,” he said. “That burned up a lot of mana; I’ll try and use some mana regeneration, but I don’t think I’ll be doing that too many more times during the fight.”

“Then we’ll have to make this count,” Theresa said, stalking toward their prey.

“We will,” Grimloch growled.

“Okay, here’s what I think.” Thundar slapped the head of his mace into his palm. “Grimloch, you go and try to beat the hell out of Hanuman. Theresa and I’ll go smack his two friends around and keep them off your sides. Sound good?”

“Sounds fine,” Grimloch growled.

Theresa peered at the two shieldbearers helping Hanuman; one moved a tad faster than the other. “I got the quick one on the left.”

“That leaves the one on the right to me,” Thundar snorted. “Won’t have a repeat of the mana vampire: I’m not going down so easy this time. Alright, enough jaw-flapping. Let’s go get the gold.”

Moving as quietly as they could—considering Grimloch and Thundar’s bulk— the three of them charged toward the melee.

Some of the warriors fighting Hanuman turned just in time for Grimloch to crash through their ranks and toward his target.

The cultivator glanced at Grimloch as though he’d expected him. “Keep the other two off of me,” he called out to his shieldbearers.

His companions whirled toward Thundar and Theresa while still fending off their other attackers. Their enemies took one look at the minotaur and huntress and scrambled out of the way.

Crash!

Everything turned into a whirlwind of steel.

Theresa came at her target, her blades blurring with the added help from Thundar’s agility enhancing magic.

Clang! Clang!

Her falchion crashed against the opponent’s long, curved blade: a tulwar. His counter strikes slashed at her with unnatural speed.

‘Probably using a Haste Spell,’ she thought, as they struck at each other.

The fighters around them froze, then leapt at the shieldbearer, eager to take advantage of Theresa's attack. He swore, but focused on defence, raising his shield and tulwar. The blade snaked around him, parrying blow after blow while he kept the shield between him and Theresa, using it to defend against her quick, fierce attacks.

He grunted.

His movements were smooth, his stance practised, and the Haste Spell made him unnaturally fast, but he couldn’t defend against so many blows at once. Weapons found their way through the gaps in his guard, delivering blows to his chest, arms and legs. He twisted and rolled his body, turning what should have been solid hits into glancing blows, but that still would only delay his inevitable defeat…

…or it would have, had this been a real battle.

The blunted weapons stung when they connected, but if they’d been sharpened, they would’ve opened a dozen cuts on him by now. He would be bleeding, losing strength, and eventually, someone would have caught him with a blow that would have finished him off.

But the only kind of blow that would trigger his spell-mark would be the kind that could inflict a grave injury, not just a glancing one. As long as he kept enduring, they’d never wear him down without hitting him with a mortal wound.

Theresa growled in frustration. Even with Thundar’s spells enhancing her, she still couldn’t land a finishing blow on the warrior; she had to admit a grudging respect for his skill.

…still, it would have been nice if he’d just fallen already.

Time was on his side.

Thundar and some of the other fighters were swarming the other shieldbearer, but the minotaur wasn’t quite as quick or as skilled as Theresa. Even with his body enhancement spells, he was barely keeping his opponent pinned down. The shieldbearer didn’t have to concentrate as much on defence; his own tulwar slashed around him in precise cuts, striking opponents in the head, chest or in places where large blood vessels were located.

Each time he struck a vital point, one of his foes would vanish and the battle grew a little easier for him to control. Theresa could see Thundar pushing himself just to keep the shieldbearer pinned; if the man managed to thin out enough attackers then focused on the minotaur before his Haste Spell ran out…

…then there was Hanuman.

Crash! Crash!

Grimloch and Indrajit’s battle sounded like the brawling of thunder gods. Sunlight gleamed across their weapons.

The shark man stalked after the smaller, more experienced cultivator with his club blurring in his hand. His black eyes seemed to be in a frenzy and his jaws cracked, snapping the air as Hanuman dodged around him.

The cultivator side-stepped every blow—far faster than his shieldbearers—while darting in to give Grimloch punishing strikes to his legs and trunk. It looked like he was under a Haste Spell himself, and he didn’t need to work hard to dodge Grimloch’s strikes.

The other warriors weren’t so lucky.

Every one of the shark man’s swings smashed into some of the surrounding fighters.

Crack!

Grimloch’s iron club would clip them in the back or the legs, launching them into the air. Some vanished the moment the club touched them.

She saw a light smile touch Hanuman’s face.

“Thank you,” he said, sounding not the slightest bit winded. “It was getting crowded. Thank you for clearing them out for me.”

The shark man growled, but didn’t rush in recklessly.

Hanuman’s smile widened further. “Oh? Not as vulnerable to provocation as I’d guessed. Good. Very good! You have my respect!”

He blurred forward, sliding beneath one of Grimloch’s blows and slashing his blade along his thigh. An excited expression touched his face, followed by one of disappointment.

“I thought that would have been a critical blow,” he said. “You’re made of stern stu-Oho!”

Grimloch’s hand shot out, snapping shut just where Hanuman’s head had been a heartbeat earlier.

“You are quick too, I’ll give you that!” Indrajit stepped back, giving Grimloch a salute with his blade.

Theresa’s frown deepened.

Things were not going according to plan.

Thundar couldn’t use his illusion spells or other tricks since they weren’t weapon or body enhancements, and Grimloch was only helping their opponent by clearing out the chaff. It would only be a matter of time before one of them went down.

She looked at her opponent.

Then there was this tough bastard.

Frowning, she tried to step away from him, but he lunged after her. His blade flashed out again and again; his shield and enhanced reflexes guarded against the other opponents.

“Oh no you don’t!” he shouted. “Your fight is with me!”

Theresa let out a breath and struck back without a word.

What could she do? He was too quick and skilled to just blindly disengage from, like that clawed monster she’d fought at the patrizia’s ball. She didn’t have a Haste Potion, a bow, or the element of surprise like they’d had against the vespara’s handlers.

…wait.

Alex had blinded that wizard with his forceball.

She didn’t use magic, but…

Her eyes glanced at the sun. The shieldbearer was backing it, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t put it to use. She parried his tulwar with her falchion, then feinted with her shortsword.

As he moved his shield to block the short blade, she angled her sword so its metal surface caught the sun’s rays. Her opponent grunted as the reflection flashed into his eyes. He froze for an instant.

Just for an instant.

But with her speed and reflexes, that was more than enough.

Crack!

Her falchion snapped across his fingers, striking the sword from his hand. She kicked it away as it fell, and the other warriors swarmed him,covering him in a tide of weapons while he tried defending himself with his shield alone.

As he retreated, she hooked his shield with the crossguard of her falchion and pulled.

Then she drove her shortsword toward his face.

The last thing she saw before he vanished was a look of disbelief on his face. Theresa turned, looking at the battle between Grimloch and Hanuman.

No. Better get rid of the other shieldbearer. He’s weaker, and should fall quicker.

Just one thing first-

Whish!

There it was.

As soon as their mutual opponent had vanished, several of the warriors struck at her from behind, looking to take down a threat while they had her surrounded.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Her blades crashed through their swings, wiping them out of the contest. A single glare had the rest flinching back, while she charged toward Thundar.

She nearly caught the other shieldbearer off guard; but he whirled just as she reached him, catching her falchion strike with his shield. He flinched from her follow up with her shortsword, catching it with his tulwar.

Smash!

Thundar slammed his mace into the shieldbearer’s back, wiping him out of the contest.

“Thanks! Team work makes the dream work!” he snorted. “Now let’s get the prize!”

The huntress and minotaur turned and lunged at Hanuman.

“I see you’ve defeated my friends!” he cried, though he wasn’t smiling anymore. “I won’t go down so easily, though, not without taking some of you with me!”

“We’ll see about that!” Thundar roared.

Clang!

Hanuman barely managed to deflect the minotaur's mace with his tulwar, then swore and had to scramble away from a flurry of blades from Theresa.

Crash!

Grimloch’s iron club swung down like a falling tree, but the cultivator dodged away, then ducked another swing from Thundar. The trio surrounded him on three sides, burying him in an avalanche of weapons. Indrajit went quiet, his body twisting as he tried to dodge or deflect the blows.

Swearing, the cultivator spat out a spell: his sword shimmered, then began leaving after-images in its wake. Every swing weaved a confusing cloud of illusionary blades that hung in the air for an instant before disappearing.

They were creating a blurred swarm of images to conceal his movements. His weapon clashed again and again against the assault from his three assailants. It looked like he could defend against them forever.

“Hey, Haste is going to run out soon, ain’t it?” Thundar suddenly asked. “You can barely hold your own against us now, what happens when your spell goes away?”

Hanuman didn’t say anything, but after a few more seconds of defence, Theresa heard him start another incantation.

She rushed him when his attention was divided, trying to bury him with her blades, but he retreated, slapping her blows aside.

She grimaced.

His blows were so strong that she felt numbness in her palms. He lashed out and kicked her in the torso—driving her back—then ducked one of Grimloch’s attacks and turned in time to parry a blow from Thundar.

The minotaur snorted.

His head shot forward.

Bang!

He slammed his thick skull against Hanuman’s head, ruining his spell and sending him stumbling back.

“Ah, a cheap trick!” the cultivator cried. “I commend you, but-”

A massive, grey skinned hand gripped his shoulder like a vice.

“You talk too much,” Grimloch said.

His fang-filled jaws came down.

Snap!

Hanuman disappeared without a word.

“Nice job!” Theresa cried.

“Now for the rest!” Thundar roared, turning on the warriors surrounding them.

Grimloch gave a satisfied grunt.

Together, the trio crushed competitor after competitor as they surged toward them. Humans. Wizards. Dwarves. Elves. Beastfolk. Cyclopes.

Enemies of all kinds were still in the melee. Those with weak skills fell quickly, but others challenged them before finally going down.

Even with her life enforcement and Thundar’s spells—Theresa’s arms were on fire. Their little team had fought on even after the minotaur’s spells finally wore off until at last…

….the battlefield was empty.

The three stood together panting, but still alert.

It was quiet for a moment.

“And we have the winneeeeeers!” the announcer’s voice roared from above. “The first place position in The Grand Melee goes to Theresa Lu, Thundar, son of Gulbiff, and Grimlooooch!”

Theresa wiped her sweating brow, and smiled. “We did it.”

“Was there ever any doubt?” Thundar laughed. “Well, I guess there was, but all the doubters were wrong.” He raised his fists to fist bump his two friends.

Grimloch chuckled. “Vengeance was delicious. Let’s get back.”

“Yeah,” Theresa said. “Let’s celebrate then get some rest. Alex beat Goldtooth, and now we’ve beaten Hanuman. They’re going to be looking for us during The Grand Battle tomorrow. Then there’s that team with the centaurs on it too…we’ll have our work cut out for us.”

She looked down at her falchion.

Even if they didn’t take the grand prize tomorrow…at least she’d won an event today with her friends.

As they walked back toward the audience, she had a spring in her step, and a huge smile on her face.

Tomorrow’s problems were for tomorrow, today was for celebrating.