Chapter 12 : Battle Against Odura

Battle Against Odura

Turning back to the Skeleton Warriors, after finishing off the remaining heavily injured mercenaries, the five Skeletons looked toward the last seven mercenaries and Odura.

At that glance, all seven felt a chill in their hearts, and an even denser pale purple mist surged out from their bodies.

Fear Crystals!

"For the Queen!"

The five Skeletons shouted in unison. This outcry stunned everyone; the bodies that had just calmed down started trembling again.

But, thinking about the ten gold coins they could obtain afterwards, the seven gripped their swords tightly, shouting to bolster their courage.

"Ahhhh!"

The seven charged forward, engaging in a melee with the Skeleton Warriors.

Three Skeletons formed a frontal defense, while the other two attacked from the flanks. With such coordination, in just one exchange, three out of the seven were gravely injured.

Seeing this, Fear crept into their hearts. Odura also realized that he could not delay any longer—if the mercenary wall was breached, facing the charge of five Skeleton Warriors, his advantage as a mage at range would be completely lost.

"Flame spirits, heed my command!"

Odura began muttering incantations, and as he chanted, a ball of fire ignited at the tip of his staff. The flame was so intensely hot that, even standing meters away, Serea could still feel the terrifying heat radiating from the fireball.

"Fireball!"

After completing the incantation, Odura swung his staff. It was Serea's first time witnessing such magic in another world, and inwardly, she marveled at the power it held.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

As Odura waved his staff, the flames burned fiercer and fiercer, swelling to the size of a washbasin.

Then, Odura hurled the now-formed fireball. It traced a beautiful arc through the air and struck a Skeleton Warrior who had just finished off a mercenary.

Boom!

The flame exploded, fiercely burning and engulfing the two Skeletons at the front, while a heavily wounded mercenary lying on the ground was also unable to escape his fate.

"Aaaargh!"

One Skeleton, whether from pain or some other reason, let out a wail as its body was blasted away. One of its legs had even been blown off. Although it would regenerate, it would not be able to rejoin the fight anytime soon.

The other Skeleton was comparatively lucky; only singed by the flames, its body was charred, but it could still stand and continue fighting.

After witnessing the power of magic, Serea was astonished. She hadn't expected that this fireball, which didn't look especially large, could be as powerful as a grenade.

"Hold the line!"

Seeing that some were about to flee, and not yet having gathered enough strength for another fireball, Odura shouted. Hearing this, the others had no choice but to grit their teeth and charge forward.

Sensing Odura was preparing to cast another fireball, Serea knew she could not let him finish a second time.

Although her Skeletons could regenerate as long as there were corpses, it was best to eliminate this threat as soon as possible.

And now, with Odura busy chanting magic, this was the best opportunity.

Seizing the moment, Serea used her mind to deliver a command.

At this point, out of Serea's original seven Skeletons, only five were in play—the Skeleton Archer and the Bone Warrior had not been revealed; Serea had kept them as her backup.

As for why—

Magic Shield (Second Tier): Consume mental power to generate a shield around oneself that blocks incoming attacks and deals magic damage to melee attackers.

If she acted rashly, she could easily expose herself and have her attack blocked by Odura's shield skill—this was the time to use "Little Black" and the others.

Upon receiving Serea's command, the Skeleton Archer's dim Soul Fire suddenly flared up. Hidden in the woods, it swiftly nocked an arrow to its bowstring.

Through their soul connection, Serea could almost see the chill in the Skeleton Archer's eyes.

Power Shot!

Whish!

"Flame spirits, heed my—hmm?"

Just halfway through his incantation, Odura felt a stab of pain in his head. His strong mental power granted him some sense of impending danger.

But he couldn't react faster than the Skeleton Archer's arrow.

Thwack!

In a critical split second, Odura abandoned his incantation, twisting his body to evade as much as possible, but the arrow still pierced through his shoulder.

"Aaaagh!"

As a noble mage of the Empire, he rarely suffered any injury in daily life—now he screamed in pain.

Triple Shot!

Whiz, whiz, whiz!

With the arrows hurtling toward Odura's heart, their sound was mixed with his cries of pain.

"Magic Shield!"

In danger, Odura activated his survival skill, consuming his mental power to withstand the attack.

A faint blue arc appeared around Odura. This instant-cast spell granted him a defensive shield.

Clang, clang, clang!

As the arrows struck the Magic Shield, crisp metallic sounds rang out—the arrows were blocked.

However, at the same time, the shield around Odura faded a little.

"Bastard!"

Odura howled in anger, trying to identify his assailant. But as he looked up, he locked eyes with two fiercely burning Soul Flames.

What sort of monster was that?!

A black body over two meters tall, bone blades in hand glinting with chilling light, and most terrifying of all, those Soul Flames burning violently in its eyes—just one look was enough to chill a person to the bone.

Odura—usually an invincible magic prodigy—found himself gripped by fear!

"For Queen Serea!"

Little Black roared, unleashing a Fear Roar. The mercenaries' faces twisted—fear of this monster caused them to ignore the Skeleton Warriors right in front of them.

But the outcome was that the mercenary line was completely shattered by the Skeleton Warriors, and Odura was left utterly isolated.

"What... what is that?!"

Seeing the monster suddenly appear and charge at him, Odura's eyes were filled with terror.

Seizing the moment, Little Black rushed to melee range.

Blade Thrust!

In an instant, Little Black crossed ten meters, his bone blade stabbing at Odura's chest.

Thump!

A semicircular arc of light solidified—the Tier 2 Magic Shield was not broken by Little Black, but that was only the first strike.

Blade Rend!

The bone blade slashed swiftly; before Odura could react, his shield had already been torn apart.

Crack!

A shattering sound rang out—the Magic Shield was destroyed. Little Black broke through Odura's defense, even though Odura was six levels higher.

Screech!

But as the shield broke, its energy wave also exploded outward. Little Black, six levels suppressed, could only raise his claw to block. In an instant, several deep scars appeared on his bone blade.

Realizing the danger, Odura knew he must counterattack; otherwise, faced with this monster's close-range assault, he would be torn to pieces.

"Arcane Burst!"

Pure arcane energy unleashed—a quick-cast, chantless spell, often a key to victory, just as now.

Vvmm!

A powerful shockwave blasted Little Black back, giving Odura a moment to breathe.

Seizing the opportunity, he hurriedly reached for the scroll strapped to his back—a crucial prop his mentor had given him for this mission, and also a precious treasure.

Though it pained him, there was no time for hesitation. As long as he used that, he would still have a chance to resist!

(To be continued...)