Chapter 184: Phoerinho

James didn't respond as he started to pull the string again. The arrows he sent were fast, yet the distance they had to cross was vast.

As he launched the second round, he felt more weakness attacking him. "Isn't there anything to reduce this backlash of yours? Hand me the other bow, I will use it."

"What bow? I'm the only bow here!"

"No, you had one bow, the one you tried to kill yourself and me with it."

"I'm indestructible if hit with other artifacts, in fact if any artifact hit me he or she would be destroyed."

"Alright mrs invincible, give me the other bow."

"I told you, now bow here but me!"

"Don't waste your breath over her, come and teach her a lesson first to give you all her bows," Stefanie stepped in as well.

"What the hell are you two talking about?!!" he shouted at them in his mind, "this isn't the time for that! C'mon, hand me the other bow!"

"No!"

"Why don't you turn into a dragon?"

He paused, thinking about Stefanie's suggestion. "Good advice," he thought while hearing a sound of growling coming from Lara.

James didn't delay as he closed his eyes, imagined his picture of the dragon before turning instantly into one.

The moment he did, all the weakness and fatigue he felt before was gone! He felt as lively as ever! "Why didn't you say that from the start? Huh?" he sneered at Lara, while holding her with his claw.

"Ouch, you are hurting me! I'm a delicate woman, treat me nicely."

"Do you want me to fire breath at you?"

"You don't know how to do that yet!"

Her confidence told him that Stefanie must have spoken some words to her about his abilities. "But I can lick you, do you want that?" he sneered while enjoying this silence that came up after his words.

"Good, be a good nice girl and endure," he inwardly laughed, "after all I'm thinking of coming to sleep with you ladies with this dragon of mine, hehehe."

He then held the string, pulled it before releasing the arrows. He didn't only get rid of the fatigue feeling, he also had his arrows' number doubled.

"Ouch, careful of your claws!"

But on the other side, Lara seemed to be really in pain.

"She is fine, she is faking it!" Stefanie said, and her words made James know she wasn't!

"You… just wait when we return inside him, if I didn't torture you to death…Ouch, careful, ouch…" Lara was enraged by Stefanie's remark, yet she couldn't continue a sentence without feeling more pain from James' continuous string pulling and releasing.

He didn't stay alone for long, as after five minutes, and the destruction of hundreds of large cruisers, the main fleet of the enemy finally noticed his presence.

"They are fast," he shook his head while glancing at the incoming cannon fires from many cruisers.

"Use me to defend," Stefanie hurried to say, "I won't let a scratch happen to you," she promised and the next moment he held her from the central jewel and pointed her out towards the incoming fire.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Explosions started to rage on, yet nothing happened to James. Stefanie used a shield to surround him, and all the attacks fell without causing a single scratch on the three of them.

"That's nice, can you float alone?" he thought to himself.

"Go and smash these bastards," she replied, while he let her in the space and started using his bow again.

The first arrows he launched met the incoming fire and exploded, yet after a few minutes, the arrows managed to escape the fire and hit the distant cruisers firing at him.

He wasn't able to see things clearly outside the shield of Stefanie, so he didn't notice the large number of small and medium sized cruisers that were trying to get near him.

And the arrows he launched managed to take them off guard, destroying all before heading towards the large cruisers in the back!

Amidst all these attacks, the shape of James appeared in front of everyone; a dragon!

A dragon holding a strange golden bow and scepter with a shiny jewel in the center.

James didn't know but the elder of the shrine of light in the fleet noticed his presence a long time ago. He didn't hurry to come out and face him.

First he was surprised to see someone as young as him having two artifacts; both were top grade!

Also he didn't want to volunteer, after all he came here on a commission to safeguard the princess when they captured her.

His contract didn't include anything about his taking part in the fight to capture the princess, or even mentioned the presence of someone like James, a powerful young user.

"That's promising," he muttered as he watched what James was doing, "he could use both artifacts efficiently without being over exhausted, interesting."

Despite the distance, the elder of the shrine of light, Phoerinho could see James and his doing through his sharp eyes.

He was specialized in two things; using his superb eyes, and forecasting the future events.

"I wonder if they would ask for my help," he greedily smirked as he wanted to gain more benefits from this simple campaign. "But what does a young sprout like him do here? Wasn't everyone preparing for the tournament already?"

This was one of the things that puzzled him, alongside with the identity of the shrine James belonged to. "A dark scepter and light bow, how can both meet without clashing together?" he muttered, but he didn't have time to think deeply about that.

A messenger just entered his dorm, delivering the request of the higher ups for him.

They wanted to hire him to face this boy.

Phoerinho if had quite some time to think deeper about this situation, he would have reached a conclusion about James' identity.

And he wouldn't be so foolish to stand out and face him!

He would have run away, far as much as he could from here. Just like the Immortal and Dora's mother did.

Yet he was blinded with his own greed, accepted the task without any second thoughts. All he cared and talked much about was his own demands! Which were all granted by the general himself.

He only had to go out and kill this boy, a simple task for him, for a shrine elder like him.

James was still attacking the cruisers, yet the moment Phoerinho stepped out of one large cruiser he sensed an old feeling.

A feeling of imminent threat eyeing him!

"Is that shrine elder coming here" he thought to himself while the two girls went silent for a moment before Stefanie exclaimed in surprise: "You can now sense from so much distance? That's an improvement!"

"Sleeping daily with you can improve me far more than that," he teased her before adding, "can you assess his strength?"

"He is stronger than you, in the light energy of course," Lara said before adding, "so using this lewd scepter here would be the most appropriate thing to do."

"He can't unleash my full strength yet!" Stefanie argued, not feeling any offense of Lara's words.

"I will support him, don't worry yourself."

"Support him… how?" Stefanie laughed a loud and sexy laugh that made James even pause in his own attacks. "Stop it you two, after this I swear I will discipline you till you lose your consciousness under me!"

"She started it!"

"She is the lewd one!"

"Shut up and focus!!!"

He was so enraged that if he wasn't in such a dangerous fight already, he would prefer to go inside his soul room, dragging those two playful sexy and make sure they would be properly disciplined.

"Can your arrows kill him?"

"Kill? Say even scratching him will be difficult from this distance," Lara replied on his sudden question.

"He is this strong!"

"He isn't, yet he has such a defensive shield that is slightly one step behind me. With it I can't attack him, yet she can."

"Am I not weaker than you?" Stefanie smirked.

"Don't play dumb! You already know the reason! You have a dark side, and he is light, so you are the perfect match for him than I!"

"Are you a light based artifact?" James asked, as he didn't ever think this vulgar lady in the bed, this aroused and always obsessive with Stefanie , was a light sided artifact!

"What? Ain't I look angelic and holy as light? Can't you see the arrows? I'm GOLDEN!" she said and he just went silent, not knowing if he should laugh or mock her!

"Alright, holy angelic sexy lady, can you be generous and start to be ready? Both of you?"

"One request," Stefanie said, and he instantly guessed what she wanted!

"The shield is off limit!" he hurried to refuse her request head on.

"The shield is a she not he, and I don't like eating a girl like me," Stefanie said, and before she continued, Lara stepped in, "Sure, you love ladies eating you, right sweetie?"

"Grrr…" James roared and the stopped their war, loudly, before Stefanie said:

"I want other artifacts, this man is FAT!"

"Is he this big?" James muttered to himself.

"Not in size, she meant he is filthy rich. Probably one of those elders with dark reputations," Lara said.

"Edler of shrine of light with dark reputation, and an artifact of shrine of light that loved to torture girls, sigh," James muttered to himself, teasing Lara before adding, "be ready, I can feel him coming near!"