Chapter 56: Like A Pig…
Translator: AtlasStudios Editor: AtlasStudios
The Necromancer snorted coldly at Rhode’s incoming attack. A wall of bones formed before him and it blocked Rhode’s sword attack. At this time, Shauna and other mercenaries moved according to Rhode’s command and positioned themselves in a triangular formation surrounding the Necromancer.
“Hmph, such petty tricks.”
Although the Necromancer couldn’t retreat any further, clearly he didn’t regard Shauna and the others as threats. He snorted coldly, causing an intense glow to flare up within its empty eye sockets as he gripped his staff and strafed to the side, swinging his weapon in a sideways arc.
Typically, mages were weak in their physical attacks, but the Necromancer was an exception. After losing its mortal body, it obtained a power far beyond humans. Facing the Necromancer’s incoming attack, Shauna instinctively held her weapon up to block but little did she expect that the impact was akin to a barbarian waving a huge stick. Shauna’s body trembled violently under the immense pressure. If her reaction was a tad bit slower and didn’t swiftly retreat after the initial blow, then she might have been already thrown towards the ceiling.
“Don’t clash with it head-on, keep your distance and don’t stop attacking!”
Rhode discovered Shauna’s miserable state and frowned before reminding her once again. After hearing his voice, Shauna and the other mercenaries immediately regained some of their spirits before surrounding the Necromancer, launching periodic mid-to-long range attacks. Since the Necromancer possessed abnormal physical and combat prowess, he was able to tie Rhode down with a wall of bones while swinging his staff like a club on his other hand. An intense ember burned from deep within his bottomless sockets, emanating a chill aura of danger.
But that was all it could do.
After dodging the relentless assaults, the Necromancer sneered and raised its left hand, conjuring an eerie ball of negative energy at the tip of its bony finger. Then it slowly pointed outwards, waiting for the right moment to launch it…
However, at this moment, he felt that something was amiss when its wall of bones suddenly trembled.
Bang!! A raging storm surged in when the solid wall of bones collapsed like a bunch of building blocks falling apart. At the same time, a flash of light reflected off the white bones, creating a white, straight line which pierced right into Necromancer’s forehead.
Damn, how could this happen!
The Necromancer was shocked. The negative energy that it had painstakingly condensed instantly dissipated. At this moment, it discovered a whirlwind emerging from under its feet and quickly dodged it along with an attack from Rhode. At the corner of its eye sockets, it found a young girl adorning a luxurious magic robe holding a wand which emitted a crimson light.
“Damn, my spell was nullified?!”
The Necromancer’s expression sank. It had assumed that Marleen was just another mage apprentice, which was why her presence didn’t bother it too much. But now that it discovered its magic had been nullified, it realized that her power was far beyond any apprentice, rather, it was certain that she had entered the middle circle! It was impossible to nullify its protective magic with this vast gap in levels between them, but since she could do it…
These thoughts crossed the Necromancer’s mind in a flash. Then, in no time, it found a way to counter her. The staff that it was holding on suddenly fell to the ground and disappeared.
Only Rhode caught this subtle action.
“Walker, Lize, pay attention to the surrounding!”
Rhode put down his sword and shouted towards the two. Then, at the very next moment, the ground suddenly rose.
“Boom!!!”
Numerous heavily armed undead clawed out from the crevices caused by the quake. Many of them held old, broken weapons and were bellowing in a fury. Though their pace was slow, their unwavering stance and superior numbers surrounded every one of the mercenaries. Rhode thought that this move was indeed a right choice. Fortunately, he had already reminded his men, if not, all of them would be running around like headless chickens. Now, each mercenary scattered around the battlefield to kill the spawned undead. Two mercenaries from Red Hawk immediately guarded Lize and Marleen’s front and flank. In response, Lize cast a protective shield on everyone. As for Marleen, she wasn’t the slightest bit worried about the situation as she pointed her wand towards the Necromancer while murmuring a spell to analyze the protective spells on its body.
This battle was a race against time.
“Tch!”
When the Necromancer realized that panic didn’t settle in as it had expected, it scoffed in contempt. It retreated once more and dodged two attacks at the same time. Since these attacks were so weak, it did not care about those who launched it. Even if it landed on its body, it wouldn’t inflict any injuries. However, what made it anxious was the black-haired man before him. No matter what it did, that man was able to derive a counterattack. It was just odd… how did this young man who appeared to have a girlish face, have such familiarity with its fighting style?
“Swoosh!”
Rhode could care less what the Necromancer thought about him. He swung his sword and shot forward once more. When his sword collided with the bone staff, a spark ignited at the point of contact. Then, at the very next moment, he discovered lines of magic surfacing in the air which scattered soon after.
“I did it!”
Discovering this phenomenon, Rhode’s resolve became firm. Meanwhile, the Necromancer’s expression darkened. It retreated once again while raising his the staff on his hand.
At the same time, Marlene aimed at the Necromancer’s body with her wand.
A bright, dazzling white light condensed on the tip of her ruby wand which soon shot forward. In a flash, the spell successfully collided with the Necromancer.
“Boom!!!”
An intense surge of heatwaves burst out from the point of impact. Even Rhode couldn’t help but take a few steps back. The temperature within the room soared up. At this moment, the Necromancer’s anguished roar sounded out from within the flames.
“Damn bastard!! ALL OF YOU WILL PAY!!”
The protective spell which encompassed the Necromancer had been lifted. It no longer maintained its lofty demeanor and sank into a crazed state of fury. Almost instantaneously, it conjured five to six sharp bone spears around it and shot them towards Marleen in retaliation. But before the bone spears could pierce into Marleen’s body, a Shield Warrior intercepted its trajectory and raised his colossal, steel tower shield before slamming it downwards to the ground, protecting Marleen to his rear.
Boom!! Followed by the sound of the metal screeching, it appeared that some of the sharp spears had broken into countless fragments. However, due to the terrifying force of acceleration, the Shield Warrior also fell to the ground.
Damn it.
Waving his two-handed sword, Barney fought the undead at the front. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Rhode’s figure fighting against the Necromancer. Never did he imagine that Rhode was this strong, and the scene that he saw seemed to reflect his thoughts. The Necromancer ran berserk, and under its crushing blows, that nasty noble and his big sis barely managed to avoid its attacks. If this situation went on, they might not be able to win!
Barney cut down one undead after another. Looking back, he saw Shauna’s ‘miserable’ state, and that cunning noble was hiding behind the Necromancer, as though having no intention of helping her.
See, I was right. That guy planned on using us at meat shields, and would reap the rewards by himself! Damnit! I won’t let him have his way!
Barney decided on his next course of action. He turned his body and raised his sword, charging towards the Necromancer.
“Go die, you evil monster!!”
Barney shouted while waving his sword, but he did not expect that Shauna who was supposedly ‘in dire straits,’ suddenly changed position and arrived in front of him.
The sound of swords could be heard.
Discovering the threat behind her, Shauna was surprised. Under Rhode’s command, both her and her comrade finally managed to switch position to guard against the Necromancer’s counterattack. After it went berserk, the Necromancer had used a lot of its power and was currently exhausted. Just one more push and they would win this battle. But Shauna did not expect that another person was attacking behind her?!
Right now, the red-haired female swordsman had no opportunity to back down, the only thing she could do was to clench her teeth and stand her ground. But at this time, the Necromancer used the opportunity while Shauna was confused to target her. It bent his finger while chanted a spell and sneered.
“Bang!!”
“Aaa!!!”
Shauna, who was distracted, was unable to dodge the Necromancer’s attack. A sharp bone spear penetrated through her left shoulder, and the massive inertia sent her body flying before finally falling to the ground.
The Necromancer who had finally gotten the upper hand also did not plan to linger and turned around to escape.
“Damn it!!”
Looking at the scene before him, Rhode cursed inside. He flipped his right hand and a red card appeared.
“Marlene, use your full power to attack it!!”
Rhode yelled at the top of his voice and threw the red card on his hand. Soon the Flame Killer appeared and rushed towards the enemy who was about to flee. A red shadow flashed in the dark and a violent explosion sounded, followed by the Necromancer’s roar which spread towards all directions.
Damn it, as expected, the protective spell wasn’t completely lifted.
The summoned spirit had not made contact with the protective spell and was already sent back home. Rhode immediately rushed past the black smoke.
The Necromancer’s state wasn’t good either. Right now, it had already fallen into a miserable state; its protective spell had been reduced by 70-80%. That was the reason why the Necromancer could not completely block the Flame Killer self-destruction. The robe it wore had been blown up and was in tatters, even its bone staff was in a complete mangled mess.
“Cursed mankind!!”
Looking at Rhode who rushed towards it, the Necromancer clenched its teeth and cursed. It raised both of its hands and aimed towards Rhode.
A crimson ball of light flew straight to Rhode’s position. However, Rhode didn’t choose to dodge, rather, he held his sword forward and continued on.
He’s a dead man!
Watching how Rhode disregarded his defense and rushed towards it, the Necromancer exposed a confident smile. In his opinion, this young man was going to die soon.
But soon, the smile on his face turned into fear.
A translucent pair of wings appeared before Rhode. Soft, white feathers scattered in the wind; it was such a fantasy-like scene.
The Necromancer had no time to appreciate the beauty. Because the negative ball of red energy also turned into a breeze and disappeared.
“You are…”
The Necromancer opened its mouth, but at the same time, Rhode’s sword pierced right through it.