Chapter 132

I wished that the necromancers didn’t wear hooded cloaks, because I would have loved to see their expression of shock as we started to levitate with a great speed. “Be ready to cast a shield, even if it makes you fell unconscious,” I advised the girls, even as I started gathering my remaining mana for the next step of our little adventure.

I only now tried to use an air-elemental to escape, because it was only through the necromancer’s strategic mistake that it was possible. Most of them committed themselves to defend the remaining two death knights after I easily got rid of the third, unaware that I had depleted my reserves just to have that opportunity.

It was not something I could replicate, and even if some of them suspected it, I doubt it would help their determination to protect the remaining two death knights. With that, Zokras already lost six death knights that represented years —maybe decades— of work. Naturally, his henchmen tried to protect the remaining two.

Pity that it gave me the second I needed to work undisturbed to stretch my capabilities to the limit as I created a ward-breaker, slamming it into the wards, depleting my mana back to single digits in the process.

[-330 Mana]

Under normal conditions, the mana I had spent was far from enough to destroy a ward comprehensive enough to cover a city, not even close. But I had several advantages. The first was the distraction of their spellcasters as they hurried to protect the death knights.

The second was the fluid state of the wards. They were initially designed to defend an attack coming from the outside, only to try and forcefully change after my surprise appearance. And, considering barely two minutes passed since my arrival, they were barely halfway done, allowing me to cut through the wards.

We were barely out of the wards when an impressive number of ranged attacks started following us, from easily ignored arrows of skeletons to death bolts throbbing with necrotic energy. “Try to keep your shields closer to the elemental, I’m going to try to dodge the most,” I said even as I tried my best to avoid their assault.

Thanks to the mobility of the air elemental, we managed to avoid the majority of the attacks in the first salvo, while the rest peppered against the shields of the girls. But before we could leave the range, the second salvo followed, with even more impressive numbers.

And this time, things didn’t go as smoothly. Some of the attacks were as easy to dodge as the first —skeleton archers seldom had the intelligence to position their attacks strategically to cut off my path— but for the second salvo, the necromancers relied on a different approach. Their attacks got bigger, and some targeted possible escape routes rather than targeting us directly.

I could have avoided them as well, of course, but only by significantly extending my escape route. “Try to hold on, it’s going to be rough,” I said to Helga. Cornelia, unfortunately, was on the edge of the collapse after the first salvo. Funnily enough, Helga’s earlier collapse under the assault was working for her benefit.

I grabbed Cornelia and pulled her behind as I turned to face the salvo, watching as every hit exhausted Helga visibly. When the third death bolt made contact with her shield, it flickered before disappearing, just as Helga collapsed. She would have fallen off the elemental if it wasn’t for my reflexes, pushing her next to Cornelia.

And I was far too close to collapse than I wanted to count.

[HP: 1477 / 6324]

[Mana: 83 / 7595 ]

Despite my dodging attempts, the second salvo continued, forcing me to defend without any mana. A crackling black bolt came nearer and nearer, three others chasing it from a close distance, but moving the elemental would keep us in range for the third salvo, so I had no option but to take it to the chest. Unlike the girls, it wouldn’t kill me.

Hopefully.

But when the first one made contact with my chest, it reminded me once again why the necromancers were scary enough to be hunted.

[-541 HP]Finnd new chapters at novelhall.com

The damage was certainly significant, and that was with my vitality limiting the damage. I couldn’t survive three others...

“Idiot,” I suddenly murmured as I raised my hands. I would have slapped myself if it wouldn’t have cost me the precious second I needed to keep all of us alive.

[-14 Mana]

I transformed my mana into life energy before letting it coat my hands like a glove, just in time as the second bolt arrived in front of me. Then, I punched the bolt to the side, hopefully not about to receive another jolt of necrotic energy that might as well kill me.

[-119 HP]

A fun celebratory fivesome was a better idea anyway.

[Level: 31 Experience: 489893 / 496000

Strength: 46 Charisma: 58

Precision: 40 Perception: 42

Agility: 40 Manipulation: 45

Speed: 39 Intelligence: 49

Endurance: 39 Wisdom: 51

HP: 1477 / 6324 Mana: 847 / 7595 ]

SKILLS

Master Melee [100/100]

Master Tantric [100/100]

Master Biomancy [100/100]

Master Elemental [100/100]

Master Arcana [100/100]

Master Subterfuge [100/100]

Expert Speech [75/75]

Expert Craft [75/75]

PERKS

Mana Regeneration

Skill Share

Empowerment (1/1)

Teleportation

COMPANIONS

[Cornelia - Level 21/25]

[Helga - Level 17/21]