pay vs strike back

pay

verb
  • To suffer consequences. 

  • To discharge an obligation or debt. 

  • To cover (the bottom of a vessel, a seam, a spar, etc.) with tar or pitch, or a waterproof composition of tallow, resin, etc.; to smear. 

  • To be profitable or worth the effort. 

  • To admit that a joke, punchline, etc., was funny. 

  • To discharge, as a debt or other obligation, by giving or doing what is due or required. 

  • To be profitable for. 

  • To give (something else than money). 

  • To give money or other compensation to in exchange for goods or services. 

adj
  • Operable or accessible on deposit of coins. 

  • Pertaining to or requiring payment. 

noun
  • Money given in return for work; salary or wages. 

strike back

verb
  • To respond to an attack by attacking one's opponent or opponents. 

  • To leave or set out (in a particular direction, often to where one has been). 

How often have the words pay and strike back occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )