“Mana Reflux!”
An unexpected spell accurately struck Asudo, who was in the midst of gathering his mana.
He felt like someone had slammed a metal hammer into his temples, causing his vision to turn dark and his head to spin. Blood seeped from his eyes, noses, ears, and mouth.
Pu!
Unable to take it anymore, Asudo spurted blood.
At the same time, the red cloud he had conjured vanished into thin air.
Shu Yichao was obviously a hero-class warrior, whereas Miazova didn’t look like a mage, with his heavy armor and weird getup. As for the ghost horsemen and skeleton soldiers, they emitted not the slightest mana pulsation.
Asudo was misled into thinking that the enemy had no mages, and he ended up letting his guard down. He was so angry earlier that he didn’t even prepare a barrier before channeling a large-scale spell.
This created a perfect opening for Miazova to exploit.
It didn’t help that Asudo was channeling a powerful spell, so the effects of the mana reflux were more pronounced. It was so painful that he felt like his organs were melting.
“Wuu!”
Asudo wavered in midair, nearly plummeting to the ground.
Shit, I got careless! I underestimated the enemy!
Asudo was filled with regrets. Despite his spinning head, he hurriedly tried to take out his potions and activate his protection necklace, but it was too late.
“Light Weight!”
An inexplicable breeze blew, and Shu Yichao suddenly felt as light as a swallow.
He galloped forth and leaped straight toward Asudo. He raised his modao up high and swung it down on the enemy.
Pah!
Too distraught to put up any defense, Asudo fell from the sky like a bird with broken wings, spiraling down to the ground.
Bam!
He crashed into a house, breaking the roof tiles, before plummeting into what could have been a pond or a drain.
“Grandson, that fellow isn’t dead yet!” Miazova shouted. “Deal the finishing blow!”
“I know, I know!” Shu Yichao galloped toward where Asudo fell. “It pays to be thorough.”
...
“Argh...”UppTodated from nô/v/e/lb(i)n.c(o)/m
Asudo lay helplessly in the turbid water, his eyes widened like a frog. He clutched his chest and let out a barfing sound. His body was aching so much that it felt like a dull knife was cutting into every inch of his flesh.
“D-damn it!” he howled.
How did things end up like that?
The deceased Tang army suddenly came back to life. Terrifying skeletons are flooding Shule. The rebel army almost barged their way into the City Lord Manor...
These disasters challenged the limits of his imagination of ‘What’s the worst that can happen?’
Yet, the faint layer of a light persisted.
“This really is...” Shu Yichao clicked his tongue. To vent his frustration, he grabbed Asudo by his feet and smashed him onto the ground from left to right and back again. “Is this a divine artifact? But where’s the artifact? I don’t see it at all.”
Miazova arrived at the scene just then. It took only a glance to understand what was going on. “Grandson, I told you that there are many powerhouses in this world. It’s only a matter of time before you bump into a wall if you charge blindly ahead. See what I mean? It would have been over for you if not for me!”
Miazova picked up a scroll Asudo dropped and pressed it against the latter’s head.
Pshhhhh...
Corrosive acid gushed out on Asudo, drenching him from head to toe.
“WUUUU!” Asudo cried with tearful eyes.
The faint layer of light protected him from the corrosion, but the terrible smell and pungent gas still choked him up.
“It’s a Divine Bone,” Miazova explained, “It’s a protection artifact forged out of infant bones. Tibetan mages fancy it because they can be fused with the caster’s bones, so their enemies can’t steal it from them. This fellow’s Divine Bone is pretty high quality. Not only does it provide astounding defensive prowess, but it can also replenish his life force.”
“No wonder he’s able to take so much beating.” Shu Yichao nodded. “Basically, you’re saying that he has absurdly high defense and regeneration, so it won’t be easy to kill him, right?”
“You can say that again,” Miazova replied with a nod.
“That’s right!!!” Hearing Shu Yichao and Miazova discuss his Divine Bone, Asudo suddenly howled as if he had found his straw of hope. “My master is an unparalleled archmage of the Tibetan Empire! The world shakes at her word! Let me go right now, or else...”
His body wouldn’t stop trembling out of fear, but he thought that he was at least saved now.
Archmages were known to be able to single-handedly take on a nation, and there were only three archmages in the entire Tibetan Empire. Anyone with a brain would know better than to offend an archmage.
I’m saved! They should let me go now...
Even if the Tang army conquered Shule, it was still lacking compared to the Tibetan Empire. They were not in a position to provoke an archmage yet.
However, his little hope was doomed to be quelled.
“You have a way to breach it?” Shi Yichao ignored Asudo’s outburst.
“Of course.”
Miazova pulled out several talismans and pasted them on Shu Yichao’s modao. The modao began emitting a blue light.
“You just have to enchant your weapon.”
Asudo, who had put on a brave front thus far, dropped to his knees and begged for mercy. “Heavenly soldiers, please spare me! I was foolish to have crossed you! I won’t dare to do it again, I swear! Please have mercy on me!”
Shoosh!
The modao was brought down, and the faint layer of light cracked like glass.
Shu Yichao’s eyes lit up. “Woah, it worked this time.”
“AHHH!” Asudo let out a scream of despair.
His greatest trump card was his master’s Divine Bone, but it looked like even the Divine Bone couldn’t protect him now. Weakness gripped his body, as he watched in utter fear as Shu Yichao raised his modao shrouded in blue light...
“NO, SPARE ME! I’LL BE YOUR SLAVE! I’LL BE YOUR...”
Kak!
The faint layer of light shattered, and blood splattered. Asudo’s screams were silenced.