Chapter 175: Flail

Chapter 175: Flail

Jadis wasted no time. Jay and Syd rushed to cover the northern approach as Kerr dashed towards them with a mob of bone thieves hot on her heels. In a flash she could see that Kerr had taken out several of the bony demons with her powerful arrow shots before turning tail, but there were still dozens of them silently charging towards their group.

The traps Aila had laid on either side of the valley started about two thirds of the way in, which meant that Jadis’ team wouldn’t have many of the traps to help in the fight since they were about in the middle of the narrow pathway. Many of the traps had been triggered by the twisted wretches anyway, so there was no use relying too heavily on the preparations they had made. Eir had said it would take a full minute to heal Dys’ broken arm and Jadis didn’t doubt it. A lot could happen in a minute’s time, so Jadis didn’t bother wasting time, she just moved to the best position she could while activating her Mirror Shine spell to make sure the demons focused on her as much as possible.

As Syd took up position in the center of the lane with her lance held at the ready, Thea rushed in front of her with her shield raised and spear set on the top edge. There was no outward sign, but Jadis knew the woman had activated her Brace for Impact skill in preparation for taking the bone thief charge head on. Jay took up the spot to the left of Syd, while without being asked Bridget covered the right flank with her flail.

Jadis had to appreciate the orc’s professionalism at that moment. She didn’t panic or complain or question her duty. She simply moved to cover the open side to the best of her ability.

Kerr slipped past Thea and Syd to enter the backline just as a ghostly force bolt from Aila shot out hit the first bone thief to get into range. The quadrupedal amalgamation of stolen bones that had been mashed together into the shape of a four-headed wolf had its front half blasted into bits by Aila’s spell, causing the squirming mass of dark tentacles within to spill out as the body tumbled forward and was almost immediately trampled to death by the horde charging right behind it.

Congratulations!

Bone Thief Defeated.

Bonus Experience Points AwardedNnêw n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com

for Defeating a Demon Spawn of Samleos.

Aila was able to destroy two more demons with her force bolts in just as many seconds before the wave of bone demons hit them.

The initial crash was chaos. The only way Jadis was able to keep track of everything that happened was because Dys was further back, still being healed by Eir. Even with that distanced perspective and her other two sight lines, it was still a jumble of bones, weapons, and moving bodies that was nigh on impossible to track.

The leading edge of the bone thieves crashed against Thea’s shield like they’d run headlong into a rock. Thea’s skill reinforced her so greatly that she didn’t even budge when a five-armed demon half-again as tall as her slammed into her. For the demon’s part, it barely seemed to notice the obstacle that the shieldsworn presented as it instead focused on the darkly shining target that Syd presented just behind her. Working together with Thea, Syd thrust her lance into the center mass of the bone demon, skewering the abomination. Before she could do anything further with the now dead creature, Thea suddenly knocked the bone thief backwards with a powerful shield bash, the move no doubt empowered by her skill Sheildsworn Shield Bash. Clearing the corpse from her weapon, the demon was immediately replaced by a new enemy who was treated to much of the same as the first.

To the left, the demons who spread out to envelop their formation ran into leading edge of the traps Aila had laid. Translucent spikes and chains that came in multiple different sizes and shapes appeared as the traps were triggered. The bone thieves were slowed and crippled, if not outright killed, as they ran into the traps which greatly helped to thin their numbers. But the fearless and relentless demons were unaffected by paltry concerns like morale. Those that fell to the traps became steppingstones for the ones coming from behind to get to their prey.

It was simply unfortunate for the demons that their intended prey was Jay.

With a powerful overhead swing, Jay crushed the first bone thief to reach her into a shower of splintered skeletons and demonic goo. As she raised her club to take on the next demon, another ghostly force bolt blasted the incoming derangement into pieces, giving Jay time to change her footing and knock the third demon away with enough force to send it crashing against the far stone wall of the cliffside.

“Well,” Jay heaved a sigh before turning to look at a heavily panting Bridget. “I guess that’s one way of testing out your combat capabilities. Are you alright?”

“Fine!” Bridget responded a little louder than was necessary. After swallowing and taking a deep breath, she repeated more softly, “Fine, actually. I, uh, took a few hits that bruised me, might need a healer, and I think I pissed myself, but yeah. Doing alright.”

After a few more breaths, she quickly looked up at Jay and waved one hand back and forth.

“I’m joking about the pissing myself part. I, uh, didn’t do that.”

“Even if you did, I don’t think we’d hold it against you,” Jay laughed as her two other selves walked closer along with the rest of her teammates. “You did a fantastic job in that fight. Especially considering the unexpected circumstances. If you still want a spot on the team after all this, I think we’re all in agreement that it’s yours.”

As the others nodded their agreement with Jay’s words, Bridget took her helmet off and looked around the group with wide eyes.

“Before I answer, I’ve gotta ask. Is every fight like this with you lot?”

“No,” Aila answered immediately. “Most are far more reasonable.”

After a few seconds, she continued.

“But unexpectedly intense moments like this one happen often enough that you’ll get used to it.”

“Or you’ll run screaming for cover,” Kerr sniggered off to one side.

“Well then,” Bridget shrugged. Then, with a small smirk on her lips, she shook her lantern flail and made the fire on it flare up. “I’m here to burn as bright and hard as I can! Count me in!”

Jadis had to roll her eyes at the bad pun, but she readily welcomed the orc into the fold. As the others congratulated Bridget with warm words and pats on the back, a bit of movement caught Syd’s eye.

From the angle that she stood at, Syd watched as Noll approached from the southern side of the valley. She had no idea where he’d been during that whole fight; she’d not seen him before that moment. He came to a stop a few yards away, arms folded across his broad chest as she watched their group with what Jadis interpreted as a grumpy look on his wolf-like face.

“Alright, now for the unpleasant part,” Jay announced. “Let’s see about collecting our bounties.”

Jay and Syd and all the rest got to work on the distasteful but necessary task of cutting the cyclopean eyes of the demons from their bodies to turn them in for silver coins back at Far Felsen. Dys, however, approached the older therion. Coming to a stop next to Noll, she crossed her arms in a mimicry of the man and waited. She knew it was only a matter of time. Her teacher absolutely had something to say about the way she’d handled that fight.