The battle started badly. Lily was still out of action and injured, attending to the action while struggling to free herself. Moreover, if the trolls were poorly coordinated at first, they rapidly started to put a decent fight together, one striking blow with a club while the other used his monstrous bare hands.

  Me? I was focused on the incoming blows, avoiding them as much as possible to stall for time for Lily to free herself, as I had yet to know if her condition was stable.

  If she was OK, then I would fight with a peaceful mind and finish this damn situation properly. An injured target shouldn’t attract the trolls’ attention; she should be able to take cover and start healing herself.

  Otherwise, in the worst-case scenario, if she was heavily wounded, I would try my best not to drag things and hasten my offensive, even if it meant endangering myself.

  I exhausted them faster than I lost my stamina anyway.

  Contrary to popular belief, they’re not that hard to manage. Trolls are both sturdy and powerful, yes. Quite fast for their size and having the capacity to recover from light injuries on the spot, they make strong enemies.

  However, they were so dense and overweight that their muscles took a hit whenever they fought. Making lasting and constant movements was very tiring for them as if they were enduring and hurting themselves, needing to regenerate the flesh. Not to the point of wearing them out easily, of course, but enough to weaken them at least.

  Therefore, an endurance battle was a wise choice as long as you knew how to manage your stamina.

  Thus, I kept avoiding the hit, maintaining some pressure and striking them slightly occasionally to weaken them further. Making short glances after Lily’s situation. Seems she had made an effort to extricate herself. She was currently sliding down the rubble.

  Bang, woosh. “Bah then, fatty! Can’t get a hit on Daddy?” I told the struggling troll, who had yet to land a proper hit. They may not understand human language, but I had to attract their attention as much as possible.

  Lily was obviously not in shape for a fight… or moving. I could notice from her actions that she had difficulties. One leg was hurt and bleeding abundantly, yet she was relying on it while crawling. Something was evidently wrong, presumably broken.

  “Are you okay, hero? Give me a minute, and I’ll help.” She said even though she was unable to stand properly…

  Hey! Why the f*** are you even attempting? She was now trying her best to put all her weight on her valid leg and lift her body.

  Bang

  “I’m fine. Be a good girl, and just stay focused on recovering; don’t draw attention.” Woosh

  “But…” she spoke with a trembling voice. “It’s entirely my fault if we are in such a dire situation, and I got hurt alone. I can’t let you do all the work alone while doing nothing and hiding… I’ll just use some magic without them notici--.”

  “Lily! I can see that you’re not in good condition; don’t be stubborn. I won’t hold it against you, so don’t be silly and stay still.”

  “… Understood…” Her answer was almost inaudible, and I could only hear part of it.

  Oh, man! She finally dropped it. Why persist? Want to use magic while in an already terrible state? What a joke. Do you want to collapse from mana depletion?

  Magic is not something that easy. You can’t do whatever you want. When you’re hurt, it’ll greatly reduce your capacity, and using the ambient one is, of course, much harder.

  Furthermore, more attention is needed to control it, making the whole thing dangerous when you feel pain. I'm not even speaking about using magic. I don’t think you could condense enough mana for a spell.

  “Sorry… Because of me…” Her voice was full of regret.

  Hey, hey, you’re not gonna cry, are you? I could see sadness all over her face. Am I that unreliable? Untrustworthy, I agree. But is it so serious that you have to hurt yourself to help?

  I can at least take care of these foes. I defeated the demon’s army, you know. How can I let a suffering girl help me instead? I may be a scumbag, but I’m the defender of all women, even scary or evil ones.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Take that! You insolent creature. How dare you make a girl cry!” Cut

  Now that I knew that Lily was out of harm's way but could hardly move an inch, I should stop evading and take the fight to an end. It was too late for safety anyway. At most, I would end with a few light injuries, but I couldn’t take the risk of dragging her into the fight.

  Worse yet! she might try to help me.

  “I’ll make you regret your last meal, fiend! En garde!!” Strike

  “I’ll save the damsel in distress you blatantly kidnapped. I challenge you to a duel of honor and glory!” Strike BANG

  Oops, I forgot there were two of them… Maybe I should stop with the chivalrous knight acting.

  “Let’s see which, between the man and the beast, prevail! Haha!” JAB, RoooAR!!!!! BANG!

  Or not… It’s clearly a better idea to lose my sword like an idiot while playing one. Ya know… A concern of realism. I like to perform until the end for the spectator's sake.

  Now, should I tragically die while cursing God, waiting for the true hero to arrive just in time to take the spot?

  But I AM the hero. BANG!

  I rolled on the ground, evading the hit. Okay, let’s focus. I had stabbed the sword deep into one’s knee. I had to let go of the hilt because of the other one’s upcoming blow, but that was a clear win. The first troll was now crippled, bleeding profusely.

  Time to implement a strategy.

  I picked one of the bandit’s rusty swords from my magical storage pouch. Again! ROARRRRR!!! Another sword joined the troll’s body. Right in the middle of the wrist, making it drop his weapon at the same time.

  So far, so good. Sustaining my pace, I took swords, knives, and daggers out, steadily thrusting and sinking weapons on his body without removing them so the wound wouldn’t close, preventing him from using his regeneration. That’s till he dropped to the ground after several tens of minutes of hard fighting, unable to move anymore. Okay, this one was done for.

  I turned my attention to the remaining troll I had ignored until now and who had neither stopped nor slowed down his harassment while I killed his companion.

  Mmmhh, how should I take care of it? I didn’t have enough weapons to use the same tactics again. At most 2…

  “Okay, let’s do that!”

  I ran toward him. Then jumped forward when the blow came. Pushing a sword up to the hilt in the knee… yes, I know I said not to use the same tactics, but it’s very effective. ROARRRRRR! WHOOSH

  While avoiding a rain of punches and grabbing attempts, I put yet another sword out. My last one.

  And... stabbed it in the knee… again? Am I an idiot? Wait for it!

  While the troll fell due to pain and sudden limb dysfunction, I sprinted to my former victim to retrieve my sword. Mine, not that of the bandits. These were dull, and with all their rust, they were more likely to give tetanus than to cut. Not that it would have been ineffective, but I didn't have time to wait for the disease to act.

  Now, back in possession of a proper slicing tool, I went back to my opponent to finish my work.

  Thud! ROAR!! I gave a powerful blow to the already weakened knee with two foreign objects inside. Not enough, eh? One more time! THUD!

  Finally, the knee gave in, and the shank was gone. The troll falls brutally, unable to keep his balance. After which, I killed him, sparing no effort, abiding by the rule, cut, cut, and cut again, up to the point he couldn't recover. And die.

  And by the way, yes, that’s actually the easy way. They have hard bones that I couldn’t pierce with ease, with my crappy equipment that couldn’t even compare to an average adventurer’s gear. Making them die from exhaustion was really the easiest.

  Phew. All of this had not been a piece of cake, and almost half an hour of blows’ exchange passed by from the moment Lily was discovered until the final stroke, but it was finally over.

  “Are you alright, Lily?… Lily!?” As I looked at her for the first time since I got serious, I discovered she had collapsed and was lying on the ground. Were her injuries worse than I thought?

  Giggle “I’m okay.”Giggle. She responded, trying to maintain her composure by all means while her whole body was unwillingly shaking against her will. Stay with me, Lily! Was she having a seizure?

  “Bwahahahahah! I can’t take it anymore!” Laugh

  “Sigh… I know you hit your head, but... did you suffer brain injury?” At least she seemed particularly fine for a person who just had a serious accident. Phew, I almost thought I misjudged the gravity of her condition. I felt at ease.

  Chuckle “No, no, ehehe, I just… I just couldn’t hold back. Hehe, Your knight-acting play made me choke, ya know! When you stuck your sword and had to let go of the handle. You were really making a face to die of laughter. I didn’t want to bother you, so I stayed silent, but it was too much! Now that the tension is gone... Bwahahaaaaaa!!!! My ribs!!! GASP”