Chapter 291: The Minion

Chapter 291: The Minion

Spread out! Vend ordered.

All members of the party dispersed as they kept climbing the mountain at lightning speed. Like hyper goats they went up and up, not stopping for an instant, hot in the pursuit of the root. Most of them knew they couldnt take a guardian alone, but together, they had more than a fighting chance. Only four people remained in the cave: Dallion, Agnii, and two backup guards with shields at the ready.

The adrenaline in Dallions veins was so much he could practically taste it. In contrast, Agnii seemed calm, almost bored with the unexpected development.

It wont try again, she said after a while, breaking the silence.

What? Dallion blinked.

The guardian, it wont try again, not with so many people after it. Of course, March chose the ideal time to go off scouting, the woman grumbled. Always eager to do everything by herself, even when it isnt needed. If she hadnt bothered with that nonsense, this never would have happened.

But it did, Dallion thought. A guardian had attacked beyond its arena. As far as he knew, they werent supposed to act in such fashion.

Grab the essential and lets get going, Agnii said.

The two guards glanced at each other.

Vend said we must stay and Dallion began.

I know what he said, the woman snapped. Were climbing to the top and were doing it now.

That was the end of the conversation. Dallion hesitated a few moments more, then went on to prep his backpack and follow the rest outside onto the cliff side. All the way up, Dallion kept five instances of himself, always ready to react. From when he could see, the others did the same. Fortunately for all of them, no further attacks followed.

On a positive note, this is some good experience for you, Dallion said.

Climbing during the night? Dallion asked.

Climbing under pressure. This wont be the first time youll be targeted. Its always better to get the experience in a safe environment. This way, even if you fail, youll gain valuable insight on the matter.

Dallion didnt agree, but remained silent. There was nothing especially challenging in climbing a mountain, not with the skills he had. All it was was repetitive and exhausting. There was no rest, no talk, no sight of anything out of the ordinary. By now the rest of the group had probably reached the peak, although there didnt seem to be any indication they had engaged the guardian.

COMBAT INITIATED

A new rectangle appeared.

Not good! This was precisely what Dallion feared. If he was in the cave hed have protection, if he had reached the peakfreedom of movement. Being in-between didnt offer either, making him a sitting duck. All of his instances leapt in different directions, grabbing hold where he could on the cliff. In one of the instances, Dallion lost his grip. In two more dart-like branches hit him in the back, dealing moderate wounds.

A member of the group turned around, aiming at something in the darkness, then shot a pair of bolts. A loud pop sounded a short distance away.

Echoes, the awakened said.

Pick up the pace. Agnii sounded calmer than she should have been, as if she were dealing with a minor nuisance rather than a real threat.

In one of his instances, Dallion turned around, spotting a dryad a short distance away. The echo wasnt attached to anything, slowly floating down what could be best described as a makeshift parachute of leaves.

Without hesitation, Dallion summoned his dartbow and fired a bolt at the target. A wooden shield formed in front of the dryad, extending so as to cover the entire upper half of its body. Dallions bolt hit the wooden surface, dealing no damage whatsoever. A second boltcoming from the sideproved more lethal, hitting the echo in the shoulder and causing it to shatter into grains of light.

Just keep going, kid, the awakened shouted. Well take care of these.

Shield, cover my back. Dallion thought.

The armadil shield disappeared, then reappeared on his back, extending slightly to protect him better. Not too long after, several projectiles bounced off, followed by a popping sound.

Another echo? Dallion asked, using an instance to look back. The sky was empty as far as the eye could see. Where are they coming from?

Theyre just falling from the sky. The other party member replied, just as surprised.

Were halfway there, so theres no point in stopping, Agnii said. Our best bet is to get to the top as fast as possible.

How are they getting here? I thought the rest of the party were up chasing the guardian.

Hes having his echoes jump off, the armadil shield said. Its an old tactic. Takes a bit of timing and lots of echoes, but its pretty useful against invaders. It was used a lot in battles and always managed to slow the enemy down.

Or maybe hes just bored beyond his skull. Being locked up in a realm tends to have that effect. After a while, you can never tell. The only thing certain is that you and Eury are the only new things that have appeared in the world for a while.

Thats wrong. Some of the others also

COMBAT INITIATED

Enemies! Dallion shouted, summoning his harpsisword.

The awakened near him instantly summoned their shields, moving them above Dallion in near perfect unison. Several others summoned dartbows, aiming at the sky. This time, though, it wasnt echoes that appeared.

GUARDIAN MINION

Species: Vine-whale

Class: Minion

Statistics: 100%

Skills:

- Levitation

- Vine Mesh

- Torrent of Leaves

Weak Spots: Eyes, Mushrooms

The new creature was as large as the name suggested, covering an entire moon in the sky like a giant blimp. Dallion had neither faced nor read about any creature such as this. Normally, it would be considered a guardian in its own right. Covered with vines and mushrooms, and kept in the air by some unknown force, the creature tilted forward.

Scatter! Agnii shouted as she fired at it with a crossbow.

Bolts split the air, just as the vine-whales mouth opened, releasing a torrent of leaves. Two opposite forces clashed with one another in a giant flameless explosion, sending shockwaves throughout the area.

Shield! Dallion thought as someone pulled him to the side.

The shield extended just in time to block the dozens of leaves that hit it with the speeds of flying daggers.

What is that? Dallion shouted, running away from the creature.

Never seen it before, Ezra said from nearby. At least now I know why weve never seen a minion here.

That also explained why there were no settlements, either. Something this big could destroy an entire city unopposed.

Dont worry, he only has one minion, the armadil shield said.

Ones enough, Dallion thought. How am I supposed to hit its eyes?

Easily, if you let Lux carry you up. Otherwise you have to be a very good shot and quite lucky.

More bolts flew up at the whale. This time, they were blocked by a mesh of vines that sprouted around it. The perfect attack and the perfect defense. If there was a way to defeat this monstrosity, Dallion couldnt see it. Given enough time, maybe he could use his music skills to add weight to the vine-whale until it got crashed into the mountain, but that didnt seem likely.

Dont do it, Gen said, reading Dallions thoughts. Not yet.

Only Nox has a chance of piercing its defense, Dallion said.

Its just a minion. Save Nox for when you need to fight the guardian.

What if I dont make it to the guardian?

Normally, the chances of him losing all my health with so many people protecting him were low. Facing a flying creature such as this, though, they seemed more like fifty-fifty.

Just as Dallion was thinking on the best course of action, a line slash split the air, striking the minion with full force. March had arrived.