novellaaa Chapter 180 Counterattack Amidst Encirclement
Chapter 180 Counterattack Amidst Encirclement
Chapter 180 Counterattack Amidst Encirclement and Suppression (2-in-1)
"It's daytime, yet they've sent out so many mercenaries; this is clearly a violation of the Susas Royal Court's law of law and order."
Arundel exclaimed in shock and anger.
Kane spoke, his voice clear in the silence.
"This shows that the other party has even given up on using official power."
Moreover, even if something goes wrong, all we can do is abandon this mercenary group.
"Arundel, take Risa and the others directly to the place we agreed upon beforehand."
Arundel frowned and said, "I know, you take care too."
Kane watched his figure disappear through the back door, not too worried.
Arundel is skilled in illusion magic, so it wouldn't be difficult for him to lead everyone away.
Unless—there is interception elsewhere as well.
"Now, let's see who's coming."
He took a deep breath, gripped the scimitar in his hand, took a step back, and leaned against the wall.
Whoosh!
A sudden whooshing sound rang out! Several crossbow bolts shot through the window and embedded themselves in the spot where he had just been standing.
Kane swung his sword and knocked the stray arrow away.
Bang! The wooden door was violently kicked open at the same time.
Two human mercenaries, wielding large shields, forced their way in.
Kane retreated to avoid the impact, but his eyes narrowed—the two men were expressionless, their eyes vacant, like puppets on strings.
They even ignored the wounds inflicted by splinters when they rammed the door, letting the blood flow freely.
The eye behind the shield locked onto Kane.
Without hesitation, they discarded the cumbersome shields, pulled out their crossbows, and quickly cocked and aimed.
Just before the crossbow bolt was about to be fired, Kane moved.
He exerted force with his feet, using his spider-walking technique to adhere to the wall, and suddenly flipped over the two people's heads.
The flash of the blade was fleeting.
Whoosh!
Both arms that were gripping the crossbow were severed at the shoulders and fell to the ground.
The two mercenaries' faces contorted for only a moment, but they didn't scream. Instead, they staggered with their mangled bodies and tried to continue their attack.
Kane landed, but his brows furrowed.
The feeling from the blade was wrong—stiff and sluggish, not like cutting into flesh and blood, but more like chopping into damp hardwood.
He even used "blood acceleration" to sever it.
"Is it a bewitching spell, or something else—"
Kane's mind raced, and he swiftly dodged.
boom! ! !
A massive, heavily armored figure charged in like a siege engine, slamming everything in its path—including the two crippled mercenaries—slinging them violently against the wall.
Both men coughed up blood, and one of them even had fragments of internal organs mixed in with his vomit.
The person stopped in their tracks, their face equally blank and their eyes unfocused.
Kane recognized the face and his pupils contracted slightly: "Oliver—you—"
This was a former mercenary under old Jack, but his condition was clearly not right.
Oliver slowly turned his head, his lifeless eyes "staring" at Kane, and announced in a flat, emotionless tone: "Target confirmed, criminals—all eliminated."
Before he finished speaking, the heavy greatsword tore through the air and came crashing down!
Kane stood his ground.
clang-!!
Amidst the deafening clang of metal, Kane's arm sank, and cracks appeared in the ground beneath his feet.
He was startled: This power is wrong!
Oliver's strength has increased dramatically compared to when they fought in the tavern.
This seemingly ordinary slash possessed a power comparable to a combat technique unleashed by a second-tier warrior.
Before he could think any further, Oliver's greatsword came crashing down like a storm.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The scimitar and the greatsword clashed wildly in the confined space, sparks flying everywhere, and each strike made Kane's hands go numb.
Dust fell from the ceiling, and the two already mangled corpses on the ground were further crushed by the aftershocks during the fierce battle.
Crack.
After another violent collision, Kane used the momentum to leap back half a step and noticed that the blade of the ordinary scimitar in his hand was covered with cracks.
Although the giant sword on the other side also had several cracks, it was clearly still able to hold on.
"We cannot afford to fight this battle for too long."
He glanced at the doorway, which had been smashed open again, and more mercenaries with lifeless eyes poured in.
They are raising their crossbows.
"Arundel and the others should be far away by now, and I need to get away as soon as possible."
Having made up his mind, Kane charged at Oliver again, suddenly ducking down just before the greatsword was about to strike, rolling on the ground, and grabbing a scimitar from the dead mercenary on the ground.
At the same time, he exerted force with the soles of his feet, using his spider-walking technique to adhere to the walls, scaling walls and narrowly avoiding Oliver's sweeping greatsword.
The blade flashed, and blood splattered.
Several mercenaries who rushed the closest collapsed, clutching their throats, their faces still showing no fear, only an empty stubbornness.
Kane suddenly sensed danger and quickly dodged to the side.
boom!
The greatsword grazed the corner of his clothes and cleaved a mercenary who had just rushed in from head to toe in two.
Oliver showed no reaction to his companion's death, and with a swift upward thrust of his greatsword, locked onto Kane once more: "Kill you—kill—"
"Heavy armor, rigid, but instinct will protect vitals—"
Kane glanced at Oliver's armor, made up his mind, and slammed into the weak spot on the side wall that was already too heavy to withstand the strain.
The wall cracked, and Kane leaped out of the window.
Without hesitation, Oliver roared and smashed open an even larger gap, giving chase.
The two ran one after the other through the alley behind the house at an extremely fast speed, leaving the other ordinary mercenaries far behind.
Behind the house was a waterway within the city, its waters murky and only waist-deep.
Kane rushed towards the water's edge, a fierce wind already approaching from behind.
He twisted his body, narrowly avoiding Oliver's heavy vertical slash, while simultaneously shouting, "Cloud Mist!"
As if summoned, the pervasive water vapor surged up wildly at a concentration and speed far exceeding normal levels, instantly enveloping the area several feet around the two people in a thick, white fog so dense that one could not see their own hand in front of their face.
Oliver paused, a hint of confusion appearing for the first time on his blank face: "Criminal—lost—search—"
Before he could finish speaking...
Bang! He was struck hard in the back, and sparks flew from his armor.
He roared instinctively, sweeping his greatsword behind him, but it only cut through the mist.
Kane's voice drifted from the other side of the fog: "Oliver, think of old Jack. Have you done right by him?"
"Old Jack—" Oliver's eyes flickered violently, a deep pain flashing across them.
But then, that hollow malice regained its advantage, and he swung his greatsword even more violently, hacking at everything around him without any strategy, splashing stones and water everywhere.
He tried to follow the sound, but suddenly his feet slipped and the ground beneath him began to sink.
His massive body immediately lost its balance.
It's now!
A figure, like a ghost, burst into his arms from the thick fog on the side.
Oliver grunted, and his already unsteady foot slipped completely off the wet bank.
Pfft!
The heavy armor carried him as he tumbled into the waterway, splashing up a large spray of water.
Kane stood on the shore, coldly watching Oliver struggle to his feet in the water, and raised his hand, his fingers loosely clenched.
Water manipulation technique activated.
Instead of precise control over his own blood, he brutally manipulated the vast amounts of river water surrounding Oliver.
"Gurgle—Ugh!" Oliver had just surfaced when he felt an invisible hand choke his mouth and nose.
The murky river water rushed in, blocking his airway.
He struggled desperately, even throwing away the greatsword, and scratched his throat in vain with both hands, but the gushing water kept flowing in.
His movements gradually weakened, and Kane knew the time had come.
He stomped his foot, activating the Blood Acceleration Technique to its maximum, and his figure shot into the water like an arrow, instantly closing in.
Oliver seemed to regain a sliver of his senses, his eyes reflecting the approaching glint of a blade.
But as the blade sliced across the side of her neck, it left a trail of blood.
The wound wasn't deep, but it was enough to draw blood.
Kane used his other hand to cast Water Manipulation spell on the wound again.
"Well--!!!"
Oliver's eyes suddenly bulged out.
The blood from the carotid artery no longer just seeped out, but under the pressure of the spell, it gushed out in small streams.
Life force is rapidly lost along with the blood.
He fell heavily backward, crashing into the water and leaving only a few ripples.
On his deathbed, he looked in Kane's direction, and the empty malice in his eyes finally faded away, leaving only an overwhelming sense of regret and pain.
His lips moved, but he could no longer make a sound.
The sounds of hurried footsteps and shouts rapidly approached from a distance.
Kane took one last look at the body in the water, then turned away.
He activated his Spider-Like Technique and, like a gecko, swiftly climbed the exterior wall of the adjacent building, leaping onto the roof in a few bounds.
The arriving mercenaries only saw a blurry figure leaping away between the rooftops.
A few crossbow bolts were fired futilely into the sky, none of them hitting their mark.
In a secluded alleyway on the other side of the city, Arundel led the group stealthily.
His illusions can create realistic illusions and cover, but due to the limitations of his spell slots, concealing so many people at the same time is an extremely heavy burden.
It may even require the assistance of medication.
The group dared not be careless in the slightest and finally arrived near the designated area.
"We're almost there. Just cross that open space ahead, and you'll reach the safe house."
Ashland pointed ahead and whispered. That was a secret outpost of the Crimson Gold Merchant Guild on the outskirts of the city, an inconspicuous little hut.
With hope within reach, the group quickened their pace.
"Wait!" Risa, who had been silent all along, suddenly turned pale and stopped abruptly. "It's them!"
Before the words were finished, three sharp whooshing sounds, like the whispers of death, shot out from the shadows on the side, aimed directly at the core of the team. Asler and Arundel both paled at the same time.
"Shield!"
"Defend against arrows!"
Two layers of magical light instantly illuminated, deflecting the two deadly arrows.
But the third arrow, at a tricky angle, pierced through the gap in the protection!
Risa gritted her teeth and stared intently at the arrow hurtling towards her.
Under her forceful intervention, the arrow's speed was reduced to a visible degree, as if it had entered a viscous liquid.
But then she shuddered violently, coughed up a mouthful of blood, and her face turned ashen.
Ella grabbed her and cried out urgently, "Risa!"
Ashran stared in horror at the direction from which the arrow had come.
From the shadows, three figures slowly emerged—they had the appearance of half-elf rangers, but the outline of their bodies flowed slightly like melting wax, and they held longbows with a grotesque design in their hands.
In those three pairs of eyes, there was only pure, undisguised malice.
They spread out and slowly surrounded the group from three directions.
Asler and Arundel's hearts sank.
They were only second-tier mages, while these three "rangers" transformed from wax demons each possessed second-tier strength.
Risa was severely injured, and Ella and Ashland were almost powerless to fight.
We must strike first to buy time for others!
The two exchanged glances and instantly reached a consensus.
Asler swiftly pulled a handful of metal fragments from his robes and tossed them into the air, chanting a spell rapidly.
The fragments exploded in the air, turning into countless sharp shards that shot towards the three melting wax demons in a fan shape.
Arendl raised his short staff almost simultaneously and shook it at the flying metal fragments.
Under the influence of the illusion, the number of metal fragments suddenly increased several times in the eyes of the Wax Demon, covering all escape routes.
Bang! Smoke and dust billowed everywhere.
The three wax demons were forced to retreat in unison.
Several metal fragments were embedded in the face and body of one of them, and its facial features were almost completely destroyed.
"They took one down?" Ashland felt a glimmer of hope.
But the next moment, hope was dashed.
The wax demon, its face studded with shards, began to writhe like wax.
Fragments slid off the melting "face".
Once the wax solidified again, a perfectly intact, malevolent face reappeared before everyone.
Physical attacks have limited effectiveness!
Arundel's face grew even uglier, and he shouted rapidly to the three women behind him, "Run to the other side! Immediately! Get to the backup location! We'll hold them off!"
"Watch out!"
Without hesitation, Ella exchanged a glance with Ashlan, then lifted the weakened Risa up on either side and turned to run.
Whoosh! A wax demon tried to give chase, but was forced back by Asler's precisely raised earth spikes.
With a single slash, it only managed to shatter one of the phantom clones created by Arendel.
It paused for a moment, then its malicious eyes locked onto the real Arundel.
"Demon," Arundel raised his short staff, trying to remain calm.
"Your opponent is a noble spellcaster from the Susas Academy of Magecraft."
The three women ran desperately through the winding alleyways, their lungs burning with pain.
Having temporarily shaken off their pursuers, they stopped to catch their breath in a corner filled with clutter.
Ella looked at Risa with concern: "How are you?"
Risa wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her voice weak but clearer: "Mental energy depleted—I need some time to recover—"
Ashran glanced back at the way they had come and said anxiously, "We can't stop. The illusions cast by the mage Arundel won't hold them for long."
Just then, a faint "clucking" sound, like flowing wax, came from the alleyway ahead.
The three women's faces turned deathly pale instantly.
"They...failed?" Ella's voice trembled.
"No," Risa listened intently, her face extremely pale.
"We couldn't stop it. The second-tier Wax Demon was determined to leave, and it was difficult for the two mages to keep it."
They split up—one of them was coming after them.
The sound grew closer, carrying a playful, cat-and-mouse tone.
Risa took a deep breath, stepped forward, and stood in front of Ella and Ashlan.
She uttered a string of obscure, distorted, blasphemous syllables—the language of the abyss.
The "clucking" sound ahead stopped.
At the corner of the alley, the "Wanderer," transformed from a wax demon, slowly appeared.
It looked at the three women, who seemed to be facing a formidable enemy, with malice almost overflowing from it.
The wax was still slightly flowing on its face, making its smile look particularly eerie and ferocious.
It responded hoarsely in the language of the abyss, just as it had.
After hearing this, the last glimmer of hope in Risa's eyes vanished.
She turned to Ella and Ashland, speaking rapidly: "Negotiations failed. I surrendered, and they said their orders were to kill us."
"What should we do?" Ella drew her dagger for self-defense, but her hand was trembling slightly.
She knew very well that with her limited abilities, she had no chance of winning against a second-tier demon.
"I can launch one more mental attack, but after that I will completely lose the ability to resist."
Risa's voice was unusually calm.
"Once I've subdued it, you two don't look back. Run immediately and find Kane to join you."
The Wax Demon revels in the fear and struggle of its prey; it won't kill me immediately—this is your only chance.
"No! Then you—"
"I am the Sleep Demon."
Risa interrupted Ella with a bitter smile.
"This body is destroyed; my essence is nothing more than returning to the abyss. Enough talk, let's go!"
Ashland gave Risa a deep look, his gaze filled with shock and a newfound scrutiny.
She nodded vigorously and grabbed Ella's arm: "Let's go!"
The two glanced at Risa one last time, gritted their teeth, turned around, and sprinted at full speed towards the other end of the alley.
The Wax Demon did not immediately give chase. Its malicious eyes were fixed on Risa with interest, seemingly enjoying this drama of "choice" and "sacrifice".
It even put away its bow and arrows, slowly drew the scimitar from its waist, and walked step by step, unhurriedly, toward the isolated and helpless Risa.
"It seems my journey through the material plane has come to an end."
Risa muttered to herself, watching the approaching demon, the last trace of color draining from her face.
Her mental strength was nearly exhausted, and her physical strength was also depleted, so she couldn't even run away.
At least, with everything that remains, we can exchange it for a glimmer of hope for their survival.
The Wax Demon walked a few steps away from her and raised his curved blade.
Just as the blade was about to fall, "Risa..."
A familiar male voice came from the roof above.
"You've forced me to change my preconceived notions about demons."
Risa's eyes widened suddenly, her gaze instantly filled with surprise, and she immediately stepped back.
The Wax Demon's expression changed drastically. It stopped playing cat and mouse and tried to stab Risa in the heart with its curved blade as fast as possible!
call!
A giant hand made entirely of leaping flames appeared out of thin air and reached for the head of the Wax Demon.
The intense heat caused the wax on its surface to melt and vaporize instantly.
The Wax Demon let out a shriek and had no choice but to abandon its attack, retreating hastily in a sorry state.
At the same time, a figure, accompanied by the sound of wind, swooped down from the rooftop, the curved blade in his hand drawing a cold arc of light, heading straight for the Molten Wax Demon.
In the instant the blade was about to strike, Kane clearly uttered a single word: "Protect from the demons!"
A faint white light emerged from the blade, emanating a power specifically designed to attack demons.
The scimitar sliced into the wax-coated body without any resistance, as if a hot knife were cutting through butter.
The Wax Demon froze, looking down to see a thin line emitting white light appearing in the center of its body.
The next moment, it neatly split in two, turning into two pools of quickly inactive, foul-smelling wax.
escape.
Risa's legs went weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground, but then a surge of resentment welled up inside her: "Why didn't you come sooner!"
Kane walked up to her, extended his hand, and said with a faint smile, "Get up."
Risa looked at the hand, pursed her lips, but still reached out and grabbed it, and he pulled her up.
Hurry up.
""
Kane suppressed his smile and turned his gaze to the direction Ella and Ashland had fled.
"Next, it's time to go find other people."
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