"This power I just gained… What sort of ability is this?"
Joan was wondering this deep within his own mind as he ran forward towards the Giant Demon. The monstrous titan mercilessly slew the soldiers as it wanted, unable to fight something so big, they mostly ran away. Only a few talented magicians were in here, firing fireballs, slicing winds, and icicle spears at the giants from afar.
Although their magic was strong, Giant Demons were resilient, and these magicians lacked enough MP to abuse their magic.
"I remember… I… When I stepped, I am pretty sure I bend the dirt below me. It was almost unconsciously, but I do remember that somehow, I "willed it"…"
Joan continued to think what his power could be. This was certainly not [Bloody Harvest] at all, but most likely… [One with the Earth]! It was just an assumption, but it perhaps allowed the young adult man to bend the dirt below his feet!
And the best part was that he didn't even felt any MP being lost by using it, as if it was a mere action of his body… or more like a reaction from dirt itself to his body.
"Damn it, I need more time to test this but… Mouse, come out!"
Joan quickly summoned his spirit, the Earth Mouse, a creature good at digging and… shaping dirt a bit. To make useful traps it needed a long time of preparation, and its combat power, aside from the slightly lethal rat fangs it had, was very low. However, he knew that nobody was better at digging and shaping dirt than this little mouse.
The Earth Mouse jumped out of Joan's chest, landing spectacularly over his head. However, he was quickly horrified when he saw all the demons surrounding them in the battlefield.
"Calm down! We are doing something special today… Oi, you can use my Skills, right?" Asked Joan to his spirit, as the mouse nodded.
Indeed, if the bond between spirit and master was very strong, spirits could sometimes learn a special ability named [Spirit Link], something that Blake had already unlocked with Eleanora. Joan had already unlocked this some years ago with his Mouse, allowing his spirit to wield selected skills.
As of now, it could only use two from him, so he quickly took out an useless one and put [One with the Earth] on his Earth Mouse with a mere thought.
"Take this new one and use it to dig as much as you can… I want you to make a big trap for this bastard! Can this Skill let you do it quickly?" Asked Joan, his eyes met with his spirit, the two had shared years of bonding together, and the mouse was more than capable of understanding what he spoke about.
The mouse nodded in affirmation after a few calculations… the new power of Joan might be the key to win this fight after all, but he was too much of a brute to use it properly, his Earth Mouse, however, was more than capable of using it way better, as it was a spirit of the earth, directly connected with the element. There was just nobody better for the job!
"Then go! I'll protect your back, dig around the giant with everything you've got!!!" Roared Joan, launching his Earth Mouse near the giant, as the mouse cried in surprise and a bit of fear, quickly landing in the ground as several Imps noticed it and tried to attack it!
However, Joan reached them first, as his spear swung horizontally, unleashing a dark gust of cutting winds against them, cutting the weak Imps into pieces, and letting his Earth Mouse dig underground, away from the Imps hands!
Lukas and the rest quickly caught up with Joan, slaying countless demons in the way. The young knight seemed surprised by what Joan had just done though!
"Sir Joan! What have you done?!" He asked.
"I got a plan. I learned a skill that could help… I sent my spirit to do the job, let's buy him time in the meantime… Evade the giant attacks and let's take down the little ones climbing over it!"
"Alright!" Lukas said without doubting Joan's words, he was already too deep into the battle to even falter, deciding to obey someone with way more fighting experience than him!
The soldiers ran forward with Joan, as they began massacring more demons. Meanwhile, the Giant Demon noticed this big and organized group, and thought of them as more annoying ants, moving towards them and ignoring the other groups that were all getting massacred. His enormous foot made the earth tremble, making it slightly harder for the Earth Mouse to dig through the underground.
The steps of the giant approached; each step made the hearts of the men doubt about the whole situation. Could they even fight such a creature? What were their chances without proper long-ranged magic like nobility? Their spirits were not the strongest either… So why? Well, because of a single man that wanted to slay them.
Joan had always inspired the hearts of the people due to his heroic actions in the village, Gradus, a companions of his, knew very well of his nature.
However, as if fate itself was trying to insult his heroic will, Joan suddenly noticed something even more terrifying… another Giant Demon chasing them from behind! It was emerging from within the woods, perhaps having been hiding there until it saw another like him.
"T-Two…?!" Wondered Joan as a defying smile emerged on his lips. "Fine… I'll also work hard, not like the Earth Mouse stole the skill from me…!"
The giant closest to them quickly moved forward, as his giant foot hit the ground where the entire group was! All the men quickly evaded, but one of them was too slow, and ended tripping over the ground, about to be crushed!
"Move aside!!!" Joan roared, as he imbued mana into his legs and kicked the man away with all his strength, all while the giant foot neared over him!