Chapter 587: Thousand Greatest Hits

Chapter 587: Thousand Greatest Hits

The guardian extended like a whip blade, filling a large part of the room. The echoesso aggressive only moments agoleaped out of the way, avoiding any damage. Judging by their actions and the occasional bolt theyd shoot at Dallion, it was obvious that they composed one team. This was the first time that Dallion had fought against a party composed of echoes and a guardian. The combination was unusual, though considering everything else unusual about the tome, he couldnt say he was surprised.

Out of the hundred instances Dallion maintained, eighty were in a permanent state of getting killed, leaving him twenty realities to choose from. It was clear that he would have to spend more time training the basics if he wanted to grow stronger. Having eighty percent of his instances killed was the equivalent of winning one battle out of five.

Pages sharp as razors skimmed past, striding everything they touched similar to a curling. In a few of his instances, Dallion used the armadil shield to protect himself. Thankfully, there were no serious consequences. As sharp as the parts of the guardian were, they didnt have the properties of a crackling.

While Dallion was doing his best to block the millipages attacks, Nox leapt, clawing through the creature in halt. Deep black cracks formed on the spine of the caterpillars back. There was a loud crack, after which half of the guardian broke off, falling to the ground. Unfortunately, things didnt end there. Moments later, the second half of the guardian sprang to life, starting an attack pattern of his own.

Damn it! Dallion thought. Thats what splitting meant! He had mistaken it to be combat splitting, but it wasnt. Against such an enemy, indiscriminate line attacks werent going to work.

Nox, get back! Dallion ordered. Dont attack it!

Barely half a dozen of Dallions instances were safe now. The entire space was filled with green cones, marking the danger areas. Dallion had to combine several skills to remain safe. At this point, it was no longer possible to use his guard skill bonusthere wasnt enough space for him to complete a full guard sequence. The only option was to do what Veil would have done: go on an all-out attack.

Attaching the armadil shield to his back, Dallion summoned his hammer, slamming the side of the guardian with all his strength.

AGGRAVATED STRIKE

Dealt damage is increased by 100%

One of the guardians slammed into the wall behind. Blunt attacks were clearly useful, although Dallion had hoped to do a lot more with that hit. Despite its weak traits, the creature was capable of defending itself quite well.

The second guardian darted at Dallion, spinning as it did. Pages of paper flew everywhere, each as sharp as a blade. In a single action, all but two of Dallions instances were shredded to bits. The echoes, too, switched from attacking Dallion to protecting themselves in order to avoid an onslaught.

Pulled back by Lux, Dallion heaved the hammer right at the guardians head.

CRITICAL STRIKE

Dealt damage is increased by 200%

MODERATE WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 20%

A pair of rectangles emerged.

What the heck? Dallion wondered. Using one of his instances, he looked down at his body. There was a page sticking out of his thigh. It didnt hurt; if it wasnt for the rectangle, Dallion never would have known that hed been wounded. That didnt make things better.

MINOR WOUND

Your health has been reduced by 5%

This time the pain was noticeable, coming from the wound itself. Without a second thought, Dallion pulled the sheet of paper out. His fresh ripped as it did, as if the page had turned into a series of arrowheads.

Seen anything like this before? Dallion asked as he summed his thread splitter and slashed the page in two. There didnt seem to be any changes.

This is a generally common book guardian, the echo replied. This one just happens to be a bit more advanced. Its just a guess, but I would venture that several prime hunters have defeated it to establish control. Either that or there have been that many successful invasions.

Dallion summoned his hammer again, then threw it at the nearest guardian. The millipage rolled in a ball, deflecting the strike without any damage. At the same time, the other guardian extended in the direction of Dallion.

Three down, twelve to go, Dallion thought.

On the positive side, at least there appeared to be a finite number of pages. That made things quite easy. At Dallions present level, it would be a while before hed be out of stamina. The greatest danger was receiving more damage that his firebird could restore. The second greatestthat hed split up and destroy one of the echoes, possibly the one he needed.

Its over, he said, adding a sensation of helplessness in his words through his music skill. You had your chance. Ill keep cutting you up until theres nothing left. You know I have the stamina to do it. Better give up and avoid the pain.

There was no response.

Im not here to harm you. As I said, I just want to learn about a specific mission.

Not to stop you, dear boy, but youre fighting books, Nil said. Book guardians are immune to music.

Of course, they would be, Dallion thought.

The guardian apparently was of a similar opinion, for all its parts gathered together. Like a rat king, the tails of all the caterpillars merged, creating a cross between a snake and a hydra.

Out of habit, Dallion summoned his hammer and threw it down again. Two of the guardians heads grabbed the instrument midair, before it could cause any damage. The guardian was much faster at learning than most Dallion had seen. That only meant that he had to win on this go. Getting ejected and returning would put him at an even greater disadvantage.

Ready, Nox? Dallion asked. Itll be like old times, just with a bit of a challenge.

The crackling purred.

Gleam, youll be defense. If it tries a page attack again, you deal with it.

Its annoying constantly dealing with your trash.

I know. I promise to find a way to level you up.

The promise appeased the shardfly who fluttered to Dallions head.

Six of the eleven heads of the guardian pulled back, shrinking to half their size. Many of the pages bend, forming layers of scales. From here on, it was all a matter of tactics, rather than brute strength.

Nox, heres the plan. Ill separate the heads and you finish them off.

Sounds like fun, the cracklings replied.

Just dont attack the last one. Ill need that alive.

Splitting into instances again, Dallion flew down at the guardian. The creature pulled back. Its six contracted heads shot up, extending as they did.

Shield! Dallion thought as he turned around. The armadil shield extended, protecting Dallions entire torso. Several of the heads slammed right in. One managed to move to the side just in time to escape, though not for long. Dallion was counting on this. As the paper caterpillar passed by on the side, he performed a slash with his thread cutter. The hardened pages were little to stop the lethally sharpened blade. While it didnt have the strength to cut through them, the weapon slit along them up to the smallest of cracks, then continued in like a paper knife through an envelope.

CRITICAL STRIKE

Dealt damage is increased by 200%

One of the guardians heads was instantly severed. Immediately, Nox emerged, leaping off Dallions shoulders and onto the head.

Thats one, Dallion said.