Panting, I leaned on my knees, catching my breath. Elise wiped the blood off her bde, looking around at the carnage.

  "That was… better," she admitted between breaths.

  I grinned. "Told you. Stick close, control the fight."

  She huffed a ugh. "Yeah, yeah. Let's grab the loot and move on before more show up."

  With that, we began collecting our rewards, another hard-fought victory deep in the dungeon.

  With each battle, Elise and I refined our coordination, learning how to anticipate each other's movements.

  The first few fights had been tense, every move calcuted, every strike a test of endurance. But now? Now it was almost instinctual.

  We had fought through several more groups of goblins—normal ones and elites alike. The once-daunting elite goblins no longer felt like insurmountable threats to us.

  Their predictable attack patterns, their reliance on brute force, all of it became easier to counter.

  Elise had become a solid wall of defense. Her shield work had improved significantly, blocking and parrying with smooth precision. Whenever a goblin tried to rush her, she'd bait it into striking her shield, using the opening to nd a fatal counter with her short sword.

  For me, my axe work had become more fluid. I had learned when to strike hard, when to feint, when to switch from a two-handed grip to a single-handed one for faster movements. My throwing axes had become a crucial tool as well.

  Whenever goblins tried to flee or attack from range, I'd send one spinning axe through the air, embedding itself into their skulls before they even knew what hit them.

  As we traveled deeper, another group of goblins appeared ahead. A dozen of them—eight weak ones and four elites. If this had been our first battle, we might have hesitated. Now, we knew exactly what to do.

  I raised a hand, signaling Elise. She gave a small nod in return. No words were needed.

  The first move was mine.

  I unched a throwing axe, hitting one of the weaker goblins square in the chest. Before the others could react, I charged forward, closing the distance in an instant.

  One elite tried to stop me, swinging its rusted sword in a downward arc. I sidestepped, bringing my axe up to meet its wrist. The weapon cttered to the ground as the goblin howled, gripping its now-bloodied stump. A quick follow-up strike to the neck ended it.

  Elise, on the other hand, held her ground as two elites rushed her at once. One swung low, aiming for her legs, while the other tried to bash her with a wooden club.

  She raised her shield, blocking the club strike and twisting her body just enough to avoid the sword swipe.

  Seizing the opening, she bashed the goblin with her shield, making it stumble backward. Without missing a beat, she lunged forward, her short sword piercing straight through its throat.

  I turned my focus back to the remaining goblins. The weaker ones hesitated now, seeing how quickly we had dispatched their elites. Their hesitation cost them.

  I sprinted forward, axe swinging in a wide arc. One goblin barely had time to react before my bde cleaved through its side. Elise followed up, expertly finishing off another goblin that had tried to run.

  Before long, the cavern was silent once more. The battle had ended as quickly as it had begun.

  I exhaled, rolling my shoulders to loosen the tension. Elise wiped the sweat from her forehead, gncing at me."That was faster than before," she noted.I nodded, crouching to retrieve my throwing axes from the fallen goblins. "We're getting better. Our coordination, our movements… we're finally in sync."She smirked. "Don't get too cocky. We still have a long way to go."I chuckled, knowing she was right. The deeper floors of the dungeon held even greater threats, and while we had improved, we weren't invincible.

  But for now, we had carved our own rhythm in battle, and that was enough to keep us moving forward.After catching our breath, we looted the goblins and pressed onward, ready to face whatever else the dungeon had in store for us.The deeper we ventured into the dungeon, the more the atmosphere seemed to shift. The air grew heavier, the walls narrower, and the hum of distant monsters grew louder. We were about to face something that would test our limits.As we rounded a bend, the sound of metal scraping against stone rang out. There, in a rge chamber, we saw them—twelve goblins, each wielding a proper weapon, their eyes glowing with a dangerous gleam.

  Unlike the usual ragtag groups we'd faced, these goblins were organized, their weapons far sharper and better maintained. There was no hesitation in their movements. They were ready for a fight, and so were we.I turned to Elise, my heart pounding, but my voice steady. "This is going to be tough. Stick close."Elise nodded, her expression hardening. "Understood."I led the charge, throwing my axes with precision. One of the goblins staggered back, clutching its chest, but the others advanced with frightening speed. The first goblin that reached me swung a wicked-looking curved bde.

  I blocked it with my axe, the force of the strike vibrating up my arms. The goblin's follow-up ssh came in too fast. I barely managed to dodge, the bde grazing my side. The pain was immediate, a searing burn along my ribs.Elise was right behind me, her shield up, blocking another goblin's attempt to strike me. She shoved the creature back, giving me a moment to recover.But before I could take a breath, another elite goblin lunged at Elise, aiming for her midsection. Elise barely managed to deflect the blow with her shield, the goblin's sword slicing through the edge of it.

  She grunted, throwing her weight into a counterstrike, but the goblin was quick, darting back just out of reach.I cursed under my breath, gripping my axes tighter. The goblins' coordination was fwless.

  Every time we blocked one attack, another would come from an unexpected angle. It was like fighting a well-oiled machine.Struggling to Hold the Line.We were quickly surrounded, fighting back-to-back. I blocked a heavy blow from one goblin with my axe, but another immediately followed up with a ssh aimed at my legs. I barely managed to step out of the way, but the edge of the bde caught the hem of my pants, slicing it open.Elise's shield bore the brunt of another attack, but she staggered under the force of it. I saw her grimace in pain, her arm trembling as she held the shield up. "Kael… they're too fast," she gasped.I gritted my teeth, feeling the weight of the battle pressing down on us. The goblins didn't give us a chance to rest, their attacks relentless. We had been efficient up until now, but this was different. The goblins didn't just fight to kill—they fought to win, and they were beginning to wear us down.We had to change something. If we kept going at this pace, we'd be overwhelmed. I ducked under a swing from one goblin and motioned to Elise. "I'll handle the front—go for the ones in the back."She nodded, her eyes focused and determined. She sprinted to the side, shield raised, pushing through the chaos.I stood my ground, sshing at the goblins in front of me. My arms ached, my movements slower than before, but I kept fighting. One goblin fell to my axe, but before I could recover, another struck me across the chest. I stumbled back, breathless. Blood trickled from the wound, the pain intensifying as I pressed on.Elise reached the rear of the group, forcing the goblins to split their attention between us. With her short sword, she took advantage of their distracted state, nding precise strikes at their vulnerable sides. A goblin colpsed with a gurgling cry, but there were still too many to keep track of.I couldn't see it, but I knew Elise was struggling too. I could hear the cng of her shield as it deflected blows and the sharp hiss of her sword cutting through goblin flesh. The sounds of battle filled my ears, drowning out everything else.We had taken down four goblins—two elites and two weaker ones. But for each one we brought down, another took its pce. I could feel my stamina running low, my arms heavy, my mind foggy from the exhaustion. The goblins were showing no signs of slowing down.Elise's breath was ragged, and I could see the fatigue in her movements. She was injured too, a gash running along her arm, but she pushed on, not willing to let me down.I threw my axe again, hitting one goblin in the shoulder, but it barely flinched. The goblin was tougher than the others, its armor making it harder to take down. I reached for another throwing axe, but my hands felt sluggish. Every movement was a battle against my own body.Suddenly, I saw it—an opening. One of the goblins had overextended, its sword swinging too far, leaving its fnk exposed. Without thinking, I unched myself at it, ducking under its wild swing. I drove my axe into its side, feeling the satisfying crunch as the bde hit bone.That was the break we needed. Elise saw it too. She rushed forward, knocking a goblin off bance with a shield bash and using her short sword to pierce its heart.I fought through the haze of pain, pushing my way toward Elise. Together, we managed to dispatch two more goblins—one with my axe, the other with Elise's sword.

  But the battle was far from over.We were both wounded, tired, and on the verge of colpse, but somehow, we managed to keep fighting. The goblins, however, were slowing down as well. Their attacks were less precise, their stances growing weaker as fatigue set in.One final push, I thought. Just one more.I gave a battle cry, charging at the st of the goblins. My axe came down in a brutal arc, cleaving through the goblin's skull, and in the same motion, Elise drove her sword into another's chest.Silence.