NOVEL FROG Chapter 7: Showdown (2)
It was no longer than three minutes.
My plan was to buy time by talking. I noticed that the guy preferred to talk and use his intellect to swindle us rather than combatting. I thought I could use that. My body's still not recovered yet, and I had a hunch our team cannot last long if we truly met with aggressive retaliation. Having cornered with just a spell, I was no longer convinced we could stall him by fighting.
I got us exactly one minute of time with just having a conversation, and grasping a little bit of understanding about this creature.
I could do this until the support arrived. I thought.
One minute forty-five second, his demeanor changed.
"Do you think you could survive by the time they came?"
My intuition instantly tells me something's changed. Now it's more dangerous. The difference was analogous to a snake suddenly morphing into a bear. The change of air was palpable. If it was thick with unseen danger, now we are gripped with the aura of extreme violence. It was to the point where I'm visibly shaking. My recovery is not done yet, and I doubt Woyong could tanked him. But I pushed myself once again, readying my ice magic, timing it to when he's rushing.
But who would've predict. All he need, is just one step.
One minute fifty second, he blinked in front of us.
"Huh?"
*BUUGHH*
Woyong, unable to react in time, was sent flying into the sea. His body was bouncing on the water's surface.
Having to deal with my frozen body, my mind was jumbled at the time. I know, it's my fault. I should instantly retaliate even if it would worsen the cold. But before I could even do anything, a black chain binds me from my shadow. Not even ten seconds after he decided to counter-attack, I was rendered powerless. The black chain sealed skills and my mana. All I could do is wrigling, trying to escape but to no avail.
That monster was staring at me for a moment. We lock sight, and all I could feel is the chilling sensation of something sinister. That's all I could feel from that indiscrebable eyes of his. Eventually, he retreated his gaze from me, and shift his attention to Moojin.
Two minutes mark, more accurately, in two minutes fifteen second, the two were about to duel. My heart dropped watching Moojin, that kid, now standing alone, challenging the monster beyond his level and risking his life. Weren't you always complaining about safety? Why are you suddenly acting brave…? You should run, you fool. At least, if you were alive, our legacy won't be forgotten. Y-You— think about your girlfriend, you deadbeat! Are you trying to leave the bright future for dying here?!
"RUN!! YOU BASTARD!!! WHY WON'T YOU RUN!!!"
But my pleas fall into deaf ears. No matter how much I shout, even if my throat went sore, Moojin has no intention to drop the casting. Those eyes blazing with determination, have no intention to back down for a bit. Conviction tells me, even if that monster attacked him, as long as he's alive, Moojin would not stop casting until the spell was done.
I was really proud of him. Finally, our cowardly mage shed his cowardly self and showed us a manly attitude!
But the only emotion in my heart was despair.
Because this may be the last time I see Moojin shine so brightly.
"[Kagutsuchi Divine Arrow]."
I heard the monster speak softly. My mind's telling me to look away, but my heart wants to burn this sight forever until I die. At least, that way Moojin will know that one person is watching.
Two minutes forty-two seconds, their spells collide.
Just like how mine did earlier, Moojin's silvery lance broke into smithereens, but he succeeded in dispering that monster's spell. But not without a cost. The explosion sent him flying backwards, greatly incapacitating him.
Two minutes fifty seconds, the battle ends with our defeat.
It was then I realized,
Ah, I'm so incompetent as a leader, aren't I?
***
[Lunar Swordsmanship]
A branch discipline of the main branch, [Nebula Swordsmanship], one of the hardest and powerful Swordsmanship to master. Both [Nebula Swordsmanship] and its four branches of discipline, ranked high in players independent ranking.
But ranked high doesn't mean the one who practice them automatically dominate their enemy. As good as the technique is, the difficulty equals its power, thus, mastery is almost impossible. I said almost, because there are madlads who abandon the path of hybrid build and solely focus on mastering their respective discipline.
I'd say, even if she belongs in the humanoid faction, that woman is admirable. Both her beauty and swordsmanship. Since, in that vast plain, where millions of players gather, she alone confirmed hundreds of thousands of kills.
As one of the ten man squad sent to stop her rampage, I naturally understand why that woman could be so powerful. The answer lies in the characteristic of the [Lunar Swordsmanship] itself.
"[Giant Serpent of Pyro]."
[Cremation] + [Centralized Tornado]
A giant snake in the form of fire manifested from that fire mage's spell. In retaliation, I mixed fire and wind to create a concentrated fire attack with low cost mana. A 10 meters radius of explosion created from our spell's crashing into each other in the air. Almost at the same time, the assassin re-try severing my head, now without stealth. A pure speed skill unleashed, leaving a trail of afterimage from his previous position.
But it was a feint.
The moment I tried to block, the silvery woman suddenly teleported to my right, unleashing a sword technique from supposedly my blind spot. Little did she know, I was waiting for that.
When I was casting spells to counter that fire mage, I also cast one simple trap spell in order to catch this silvery woman.
[Lunar Swordsmanship], has the least power amongst the [Nebula Swordsmanship] branch of discipline. But the real usage of this swordsmanship is its unpredictable and unique pattern. For example, the player from that vast plain blitzing our vanguard alone because of the technique which this silvery woman currently uses. Any skill that is used to the enemy will form an invinsible mark, allowing the user to teleport to that mark freely. One weakness of this technique is, you could only teleport to the side where your skill touches.
I already experienced a nightmare created by that swordswoman in that vast plain. Compared to her, who could almost simultaneously blink to 5 people in less than a quarter second, this silver haired woman is only at the level of a beginner.
It also seems she hasn't mastered other techniques yet. If she did, her assault won't be this passive-aggressive.
I had already started to shift my focus away from her, confident that she would be caught. However, in that instant, she fires a [Crescent Moon] with moderate firepower towards the assassin, who catches it just as he retreats from me. The trap spell is a simple fifth tier but has an activation delay of 0.50 second. And in that time, that woman had already found a way out. What's more astonishing is her teammates. They are incredibly in sync. It's still impressive even if I'm currently focusing on defending, waiting for those military perimeters to go away as possible.
I'm not particularly fond of collateral damage in my fight.
Just then, the cleric in my back shouted, "The military has been evacuated five kilometers!"
I looked that way to confirm, and there's indeed a void of previously lined up war armaments.
"We must hold him! The nearest support will be here in one minute!"
I could feel it. They started to unleash everything. With the army out of the way, their overall power exploded exponentially, unafraid of unintentional damage from going all out. Well, unlucky for them, so do I.
Since I am already branded as a villain, why not roleplay until the end?
I also really need to get out right now. Already, there are two additional presences coming. If I miss the timing to run, I will be surrounded in no time. Even if most of them are under my level, quantity is a quality in itself. And when things come to shove, I won't hesitate to kill. When that happens, I won't just roleplaying, but I'll really become a villain.
Then again, this is unexpectedly fun, isn't it?
I could feel my heartbeat soar when I prepared to fully embody the role they've given to me. So, with bravado, I speak.
"Hm. Playtime is over."
Then, I prepare one of the most grand magic of the fire element branch.
"I would like to play longer, but it seems time won't let me. If so, let me bring you all a present, for successfully entertaining me this time."
"You think we would let you?!"
The silver haired girl immediately fired the [Crescent Moon], the biggest one she ever fired at me. The assassin also rushed to me. The cleric unexpectedly used the [Heretic Inquisitor] skill, and bashed me with a big hammer made from divine magic. But the one who surprised me the most is the fire mage, who cast a sixth tier spell, [Breath of Smaug]. Of course, they all repelled by a sixth tier defensive spell, [Box of Isolation]. My casting continues without meaningful disturbance.
"SHIT! GET AWAY FROM HERE!!"
The fire mage, seemingly understood the gravitas of my current casting, shouted to his teammate immediately. Coincidentally, the two last people also join the fray. With this much witness, I wonder how they will tell the majesty of my spell. Would it be in a tone of fear? Or astonished? Or maybe, reverance? Thinking about this, suddenly a thought crossed my mind.
This reincarnation… is not that bad!
"Behold."
With that, I finished casting my spell.
8th Tier fire magic, [The Great Collision of Stars].