Chapter 1115: Chapter 1114: Dance Of Death
Chapter 1115: Chapter 1114: Dance Of Death
Charging towards the water bubble that shrouded Jahi and I, the various cultists continued their battlecries and curses as they tossed enchanted items at us in hopes of cracking the shell wide open, or they began to engulf their blades in mana as they drew ever closer.
The explosions of those enchanted items shook the ground around Jahi and I, and I instantly focused on funneling even more mana into the barrier as we withstood the storm as best we could, buying even more time for both our enemies and our allies to join in on the fray.
The Demoness was soaking up most of the damage with her shield and Light Mana, the ribcage of that Fiend absorbing the mana that exploded in front of her whilst her armor of golden mana held up against the reverberations that washed over us.
Each of those items only further guaranteed that the theory we had moments earlier was a correct one; these were reinforcements being filtered into the city by the Fingers through the use of portals, which the Fiends had access to more than we did.
Who knows how many were coming through, and how well armed they really were, but already we were being shown the extent of their preparations as we held out against the dozens of explosives thrown our way.
The sandstone brick beneath our feet was cracked and charred, with giant chunks of it flying through the air after each enchanted item overflowing with mana burst around us, turning some of those pieces into a powder that created a fog around us.
There was no stop in the barrage for many long, worrying seconds as we were forced to just hold our ground, each second stretching out for what felt like eternity as the booming echoes of the magical grenades bounced around in our heads, rattling our hearing and making it hard to concentrate as we stood firm on this damaged ground.
When they finally did stop as the cultists ran out of those grenades, it became our turn to attack even as they poured in towards us, with Jahi hoisting her great sword high into the sky and slowly growing it in size as she funneled her mana into the blade, capturing the attention of everyone as harsh golden light bathed the entire square.
That momentary distraction was enough for me as I picked a side and let my lover know where I was going, claiming the targets for myself as I darted out from the bubble and rushed towards them.
Clad in my Wind Mana and flying through the air at speeds only a handful of them could react to, I focused on the Water Mana based helix spiraling around my short sword and began to hasten its movements, giving my blade a secondary edge that made slicing through armor even easier.Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Pressurized water sliced through metal and flesh like it was nothing as I cleaved through the stomach of the closest woman, bisecting her and sending her legs stumbling forwards whilst her torso crashed to the ground before herself, leaving her to bleed out and wonder what happened.
Instantly pivoting to my right, I slashed upwards and cut through a man's neck and skull as I angled my strike perfectly, allowing me to turn with the momentum and move to the next target, who stood with three others behind him; I didn't even watch as that first man's head smacked against the stones below, but I did hear his body drop as the brain was damaged beyond repair.
Fueling that helix even more, I flipped my blade around and held it in a reverse grip as I made use of the enchantment to its fullest, sending a wide crescent of high intensity water flying through the air and sawing through their bodies as they tried to leap away.
Only two or three heartbeats since I had left the bubble and I had already claimed six lives, but eight took their place as more cultists streamed forwards, and another eight bodies joined them a moment later; bodies not made from flesh and blood like ours, but bodies made from stone that had an unnatural gait as they stiffly approached.
What wasn't unnatural were the giant, boulder like hands that were barbed in jagged rock, each of these constructs shuffling forwards and raised them up high, aiming to demolish the ground and me in a single slam.
Suddenly having that many enemies in front of me was beginning to put the pressure on by quite a bit, and I needed to act quickly lest they manage to get me trapped in this area away from Jahi, splitting us up and making it easier to pile on even more bodies in an attempt to kill us both.
But even though the pressure was beginning to spike with this surge of enemies, it also meant the thrill that Jahi and Anput lived for was also beginning to make itself known to me as I stared at the various bundles of experience and fun waiting to reaped with ease, and since those constructs seemed to be made from stone...
Well, that just meant it was an even easier decision for me as I raised my free hand and traced out the runes for a spell as quickly as I could, my finger dancing in the air and leaving behind a cyan glow that chilled everything around it.
"[Breath Of Chione]!"
Keeping the naming of these spells simple whilst I was on the fly in this fight was key, so I maintained the theme of utilizing Chione as a base and working from there, and it made it easier for me as I released a blast of extremely cold and sharp winds towards the dozen and a half enemies.
The gale roared past them and slowed them down even more, allowing me to go ahead and work some more magic as I cast another spell, this one slightly out of order from what would be the ideal sequence in a battle like this.
"[Priming Showers]!"
Whilst the gale continued to roar at the various cultists and constructs, a deluge of rain crashed against their bodies and soaked their clothing instantly, forcing the cloth to stick to their skin and making the chill even harsher as they began to freeze, my frost spreading across them rapidly.
Two back to back spells halted this group in their tracks, and as the frost spread even more it meant that as I blitzed through them they took even more damage, especially to the
constructs.
Lopping off limbs and leaving behind mortal wounds on each of them, I shattered the constructs as the frost seeped into their unpolished surface and wormed through the cracks, making it easy to break them apart and reveal the pseudo Mana Cores that sustained them.
Those shattered too as I stabbed them or punched them, and soon I was back to facing a new group of enemies, each one larger than the last, but each one becoming more and more populated by constructs of varying sizes and skillsets.
Thinner constructs tried to stab me with arms tapered into points, heavier and chunkier constructs tried to block my attacks and keep me vulnerable to a counterattack, and then there were just those boxer constructs that tried to punch and slam me with their boulder hands.
My feet were never given the chance to be planted for longer than a second as I kept moving around the area, weaving in and out of various kill boxes and leaving behind a mountain of corpses and stone as I slowly raked in a larger kill tally.
The cultists were of low talent and skillset, the constructs were clunky, and the only threatening thing about them were their numbers as they poured out of the trade house unendingly, but even then I could just ignore that number since I had overlapping spells that maintained a workable zone for me to dance in.
Each flourish of my blade was accompanied by a splash of blood or cloud of dust as I kept my movements fluid and constantly in motion, never stopping and not allowing myself to be bogged down as I whittled down their numbers as best I could; behind me, Jahi just swung her sword over and over again, using her raw strength and potent mana to cleave through everything as she maintained a wide arc of open space around herself.
It came as no surprise to me when we heard another series of loud sounds coming from the trade house, this time being a cacophony of horns as something else prepared to come out and face us, something that apparently was demanding an honor guard of some kind to
announce its presence.
Perhaps this had been a trap of some kind placed by the Fingers, or maybe they had just updated their playbooks after that encounter with the Caliph, but either way we were given front row seats to the trade house being reduced to rubble as a six armed, red skinned Fiend erupted from the side of the building, rushing straight towards the center of the square.