Chapter 134: The Thieves

There was also a class in Magique called "Defender". Since Magique played with the person's personalities, Defenders were the players who had absurd defensive mechanisms. Those who did weird things every time something bad happened became Defenders in the game. Those bulky people in the gym also earned this title for their braun, not their other capabilities.

And since Magique was in desperate need of adding more characters, they wanted someone who would hold the shield.

However, from my gametime, there was nothing like Aegis. All those Defenders had simple weaknesses, which were just piercing armour abilities and weapons. And the shields they obtained had worthless abilities that couldn't even defend other teammates from area of effect damage or AOE.

Communities worldwide went full rage mode about this stupid character. Even after countless buffs for that class, nobody liked to be the one who protects the team. And when the game developers made the character viable, those assholes had to invent some sort of overpowered weapons.

And those things outshined the defenders, leaving them dead for good.

Since I was a nerfed hero, all I had was nothing but crappy abilities. But when Fisher gave me this shield, I had a purpose. If this barrier could defend us from anything, that was good enough for me.

As soon as those lights crashed against Merleen's, those luminance failed to destroy her shield. I also amplified her shield using an ability from Aegis, which I found from my system. And when that finally kicked it, those light projectiles didn't scratch us. 

However, that defensive ability came with a cost. My system immediately notified me that the cooldown for this spell was around an hour. Nobody had the luxury to wait for that time, especially on a battlefield. But I had to use every resource I could to progress in our trip.

And since Merleen and I successfully defended the carriage, Fenrir and Lilith prepared their attack. Meliodas also did what he could to amplify our attacks. Thanks to his musical tone, our reflexes increased. It even made our bodies light as a feather, which would help everyone for this fight. 

After the enemies' attack ended, I ordered my team to move in formation. I used their strengths and weaknesses into considerations while rallying them towards the uncharted field. As soon as I finished my brief instructions, Meliodas, Fenrir, and Merleen prepared for battle.

Before Fenrir could launch her attack, I placed my darkened energy on her nails as a precaution. Although we were up against priests and other people who learned how to use light magic, dark abilities could help Fenrir soon. 

The wolf girl dashed straight towards the location and emerged to her wolf form. That form increased all her senses, which would aid her for this assault. Fenrir also revealed her claws as her weapon and zoomed in the empty field.

Since Fenrir was also a dependable ally in our team, I didn't mind if she charged first before us. And we needed someone to go in the front lines and be the warrior for our team. 

Lilith was also a mage, but could also fight in close quarters. Since Fenrir already went ahead, Lilith flew to the sky and covered her with magic circles. Those magical runes had dark projectiles that shielded Fenrir and attacked our enemies. It also served as a distraction against them and allowed Fenrir to close the distance. 

Merleen still had remaining mana inside of her, which she used to cover our team's tracks. She used her light and shielded Fenrir in case of any sudden assaults. That mage girl also launched radiant spikes that pierced through the enemies' territory. Dozens of screams echoed in the distance as those luminance hit them.

Unfortunately, I couldn't do anything at all compared to my teammates. I had a skill called [Phoenix Sphere], which was an amplified fireball that explodes upon impact. However, instead of creating some damage on our foes, it would only destroy my team's plan. 

I was the party's leader, but I couldn't do anything at all but analyse the situation. Although I played a vital role in this fight, there was nothing I could do but sit on the backlines. 

But that grim thought went to the side as Merleen tugged my frozen hand. My blank eyes stared back at Merleen's orbs as the girl asked me a question.

"What do I need to do next? And Lilith asking the same thing, "Merleen announced, with her fingers pointing upwards.

I raised my head and witnessed Lilith winking below me, while preparing a couple of magical runes on her hands. She cast those spheres ahead of Fenrir and supported her back. Within a few seconds, those spells Lilith produced ruined the enemy's fortress, which made them retreat for now.

Luckily, those spells Merleen and Lilith cast killed no one at our fore. If we squinted our eyes up ahead, those affected by the spells fell unconscious or staggering from the ground. Although they may have lost an arm, those priests and creatures could still fight.

But Fenrir didn't let them, as she pounded each one of them against their make-shift walls. While she did that, Fenrir also remembered my words haunting her mind. Since I told her that we kill no one, Fenrir stayed truthful to my words. She carefully attacked her enemies and made sure they were just fast asleep.

"Right now, we will join her fight. But Lilith, be our eyes in the sky and tell us what you see. There may be another form of attack that we can't see. You're the only one who could fly. You also need to cover yourself with dark protective armour. We would never when those people….creatures would attack us from behind.," I commanded, and rushed towards Fenrir. "Meliodas, you join us too. Boosts our movement speed, and watch our six."

"Your six?" Meliodas asked, while strumming his harp.

"Our back, you bard!"

Merleen followed behind as we raced towards the trails of footsteps Fenrir left. Meliodas did as I told him and guarded our flank in case of any trouble. He also amplified our speed, which made it easier for us to travel towards Fenrir. As soon as we covered all of our boxes, the three of us ran towards the wolf girl, while Lilith floated above. 

But in the middle of our journey, I stopped and glanced behind. It was about time I realised that we left the cart alone without any defenses. And since we did that, I instructed my Merleen and Lilith to place a shield around our vehicle for the time being. 

We didn't want to walk our way towards the abandoned village, considering that would take us days to arrive. It was better to have some preparation than sorry in our situation. And I was just a cautious guy that didn't like any cheap tricks against our enemies.

I also asked Merleen if she could double the protective layer cast by Lilith. Every player inside Magique knew that light and dark magic were not a combination. However, I had an original idea. The dark covering would be the first line of defense, while the light would remain outside the cart and our bodies.

Those two opposing elements would become barriers, it would defend us from other elements.

It was thanks to our entire effort that we defeated the bandits at our fore. But just like any other assault, these thugs had planned something better. 

After a few seconds, those running bandits gave their signal to their pals elsewhere. Our team knew that the sound coming from the fleeing thugs announced something to our surroundings. But we couldn't pinpoint where that trap would occur, since we were in the middle of nowhere.

But within a moment, lightning struck us and our carriage. But my plans were quicker than this thunderous attack. The protective layer that I requested from Merleen and Lilith proved its usefulness and defended our bodies. Those barriers also shielded the cart, which also had the same wall created by the two mages.

Those bandits saw everything that happened to our team. They all meticulously thought about killing us with their dirty tactics. But with our overpowered abilities, those thugs didn't stand a chance against us.

As soon as that electric shot got fired above the clouds, my map instinctively located their camps. My system marked those enemies with red dots, which I immediately told my teammates about.

Fenrir heard my orders and came right back to our team. The red dots were around a few miles onwards. So we had to use our cart to travel to this campsite before those priests and other creatures escaped for the second time. 

When Fenrir arrived inside the carriage, she brought in an unconscious bandit beside her. That thug was just a random thief with the crest given by the priests, which allowed him to manipulate light. These findings proved my theory earlier that these people had the help from the church of this game.

"We might use him and interrogate him about this fishy organization," said Fenrir, while flashing the guy a mischievous smile.

(Author's note: This is a work of fiction. So yeah I won't hit any religion related to our world. So don't worry XD)