"Just treat us like the monsters you fought in the trial earlier. Don't hold back!"
I told the mercenaries as we were preparing to fight.
"You weaklings better not get in my way. I have a score to settle with that bitch."
Jyrgil told his comrades. Not a very good start for their teamwork.
Unlike Lisham, the other 3-stars did not seem really bothered by the giant man's offensive words.
They all soon assumed their fighting stance, ready to battle us.
"It's as usual for us. No changes in our formation."
I told my comrades.
"Jonah and Shanny in the front. Me in the middle and you at the back, right?"
Trudy confirmed.
"These mercenaries are a nice change of pace from those losers on the first floor."
Shanny said, drawing her sword.
"These people are skilled. We can't let our guard down."
Jonah said while belting his throwing spears on his back.
Now that everyone was ready, I finally addressed the arena.
"The fight begins. You may start whenever."
At my signal, the gray-haired archer from the other side immediately pulled the string of his bow.
Swoosh.
Three arrows were launched straight at me.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Jonah rushed forward and easily deflected the arrows with his spear, courtesy of his projectile defense skill.
With the shepherd initiating the charge, Shanny and Trudy joined him.
The three warriors at the other side followed suit.
Swoosh.
Swoosh.
Swoosh.
As quick as picking a string instrument, Darius swiftly drew his bow string and rapidly launched more arrows toward my advancing comrades, aiming to disrupt their formation.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Jonah was able to intercept each projectile, persisting their stampede to the other side.
"What in Dunia? How is he able to block every arrow?!"
Darius wondered out loud.
"Pathetic old man, this is how you fight!"
Jyrgil shouted as he charged ahead of his party.
He made an attempt to swing his axe across his body, trying to cut down both Jonah and Shanny who were at the front.
Seeing his intention, Shanny rushed forward and blocked the swinging axe coming their way.
Clang!
Like hitting a steel wall, the giant axe bounced off of Shanny's shield.
The deflection threw Jyrgil off balance, creating an opening for my two comrades.
Slash!
Thrust!
In unison, Jonah and Shanny struck Jyrgil's two legs with their weapons, felling him to the ground.
"Grahh!"
Jyrgil grunted as he fell to his knees.
"It's unwise to rush alone like that."
Jonah said to him.
"Shut up, you bast--"
Bang!
Before Jyrgil could finish his sentence, Shanny bashed his head with her shield, knocking him unconscious.
Seconds after the battle began, Jonah and Shanny had reduced the number of enemies on the field.
Seeing their unfriendly comrade had fallen, Zecht and Norn stopped their advance.
Instead of continue charging forward, they closed their gaps between one another and assumed defensive stances.
Without hesitation, Jonah and Shanny sped toward the two foes and engaged them in battle.
Corresponding with each other's weapons, Shanny battled with Zecht while Jonah against Norn.
Watching the fight from the back, I could observe the new 3-stars' performance decently.
Despite the size of his weapon, Zecht managed to swing his heavy sword as if it was a slim rapier.
Continuously changing hands, he twirled the heavy sword around, trying to overwhelm Shanny with its force and range.
He somehow was able to predict Shanny's attack pattern. From her feints to her offensive moves.
It disabled Shanny from executing a straight assault that could fell him.
Meanwhile, despite Jonah's agility and varied attack patterns, Norn was able to occasionally penetrate his defense and launch a near-effective attack. Grazing Jonah at the surface of his limbs every now and then.
The woman was on the defensive most of the time, blocking the shepherd's attack with her halberd.
But once Jonah left an opening, however small it was, she managed to notice it and took it to her advantage.
The two mercenaries managed to provide a better resistance than Jyrgil.
Swoosh.
Around the same time, Darius kept firing his arrows whenever Zecht and Norn managed to counter their enemies.
But thanks to their experience facing countless monsters in the fifth floor, Shanny and Jonah managed to withstand the pincer assaults.
Trying to provide aid to her comrades, Trudy stepped in and charged toward Darius.
Swoosh.
He directed his attack toward her now.
Trudy managed to shield herself from the arrows and quickly close the distance between them.
As she was about to thrust her sword toward Darius, the middle-aged man drew a dagger from his hip and deflected Trudy's blade.
Slash!
Clang!
Though he could not counter-attack with his main weapon, Darius was able to parry any blow Trudy launched at him.
Aside from the bow, he apparently had quite the skill with the dagger.
At this point, all three of my comrades were engaged in one on one fights with the newly-arrived 3-stars.
This would be my first time seeing them well-matched inside the lobby.
Shanny was right.
The 3-stars were a nice change of pace from the trainees on the first floor.
That being said, it was not long until the scale of the battle was tipping toward one side.
Zecht continuously waved his heavy sword around, preventing Shanny from getting closer.
Once Shanny knew he was not stopping, she instead stopped making advances and be on the defensive.
As Shanny's moves had turned passive, Zecht was invited to be on the offensive, which he accepted immediately.
He quickly thrusted himself forward and forcefully slashed his heavy sword upward, aiming to dismantle Shanny's shield or unbalance her in the process from the impact.
However, Shanny's eyes and reflexes managed to capture the attack in time for her to swiftly step back.
Zecht missed his swing, leaving his whole body opened.
Shanny took the chance and bashed her shield against the man's torso, knocking him hard to the ground.
She quickly pressed the tip of her sword to the man's neck, preventing him from getting up.
Meanwhile, Jonah kept on pressuring Norn with barrages of attacks.
As he swiftly thrusted his spear toward Norn's right shoulder, the woman shifted her halberd and deflected the piercing blade just enough to miss her.
She would then redirect her weapon toward Jonah's extended arm and swung her halberd toward it.
Jonah quickly drew his spear back and parried the counter-attack.
He would then reattempt on attacking Norn again despite knowing she would counter with a near-effective assault.
What Norn had failed to realize was that she kept getting pushed back by Jonah's attack.
Before she knew it, Norn was only a few steps away from Darius.
Slash!
Undeterred by the added opponent, Trudy swooped in and attempted to strike her blade against both Darius and Norn.
With two against one, it was not that hard for Norn to repel Trudy's attack.
But she soon realized that she had lost sight of her previous opponent.
Swoosh.
A small spear was swiftly flying toward Norn and Darius.
Norn quickly turned her halberd and parried the projectile away.
But because of this act, her side was left open and defenseless.
Trudy quickly rushed in and slashed her blade toward Norn's shoulder.
The mercenary leaped to her left, managed to avoid the attack with just a shallow graze.
But then she sensed a presence behind her and found Jonah ready with his spear.
Norn hurriedly rotated her body, trying to attack Jonah by swinging her halberd around.
Standing within his foe's blindside, Jonah thrusted his spear toward the base of Norn's halberd.
Clang!
The impact between the sharp blade and the steel cylinder caused Norn's halberd to be knocked off from her hand.
With his foe disarmed, Jonah pointed his spear to Norn's throat.
Around the same time, Trudy managed to corner Darius and pinned him by Norn's back, having the two to be pitted by her and Jonah.
With Jyrgil unconscious, Zecht knocked to the ground, Norn and Darius disarmed and surrounded, it was clear which side won this battle.