Theodore saw Alex's eyes change color while laughing about sending them to the underworld; he yelled at the three men that ran to Alex, "Wait, don't approach him."
But they did not listen. The three men surrounded Alex; and launched their attacks. Green, blue, and red circles appeared under each of their feet, respectively, as they cast their spells.
Alex remained calm in the center as a tornado of wind and flames circled him, combining to create a flaming cyclone. While a vein spouted out of the ground near his feet and latched itself to Alex's body, binding him. When the flaming hurricane dispersed, Alex looked tied up; he did not move, not because he could not, but because Alex was searching for an available space node.
Seeing Alex tied, Amelia smiled, and the three old men that surrounded Alex placed their hands behind their backs like scholars. They did not take Alex as a threat with the space locked.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM; his blades have poison!" Theodore shouted, shocking Amelia, the old man beside her, and the three surrounding Alex.
They were thinking 'why should we care? He is already tied up!'
But it was too late. Alex blinked 4 feet to the right of one of his assailants to the only open node he could find, lunged his body, extended his blade, and effortlessly sliced off a finger. Poisoning the first old man.
It was a surprise attack.
Trying to capitalize on their shock, Alex ran toward the second old man, who draw two giant War hammers from a storage ring, and met Alex head-on. Embedded with blueish lighting, the old man ruthlessly swung both of his hammers aimed at Alex's Chest. Alex placed each blade parallel to the enormous war hammerhead, blocking them from directly crushing his chest. However, the hammers' force still pushed Alex off his feet, sending him fifteen feet in the opposite direction. Alex looked like a rag doll being tossed away by a little girl.
The bluish lightning coursing thru the hammer passed to Alex's ghost blades upon contact, where they traveled to his hands but were nullified instantly by his black lightning that stealthily covered his palm. This cemented that the Warhammer wielder was a lightning elementalist and a mage.
Although Alex Canceled the lightning, his arms were shaking from the sheer force of the hammers. If not for the rift armor, the blades' mune (back part) would have left two deep red parallel lines imprinted across his chest.
This brief exchange showed that he was not their match, and Alex did not want to use ghost fade right now; he needed it to give them a rude awakening.
"STOP FIGHTING, REID CALL YOUR MEN BACK NOW, YOUNG MAN DON'T KILL THEM" Theodore was screaming at the Duchess, and Alex, hoping to resolve this matter. He knew one of the three that surround Alex was already poisoned. Although Theodore wanted this matter resolved, he was not willing to draw his sword to face Alex. He already warned the old men, his sword would remain Sheathed unless Alex came for the Duchess, or Laurel.
While the impact from the war hammers hurled Alex through the air, he heard Theodore and thought, 'don't kill them, aren't they trying to kill me? They already closed heavens door.'
The Duchess ignored Theodore's warnings, so he said no more. Some stupid people could not be fixed.
The third old man was running ahead to the location he expected Alex to be after Alex was sent flying like a rag doll. He knew this would have happened and was hoping to slice Alex in half from the back with his pole-like war scythe while Alex was still off of his feet.
The old man swung his war scythe, expecting Alex's body; But Alex knew where the old man was with his skill perception.
Alex waited until his back was in the range of the old man war scythe, then blinked back to only open space nod. Since the old men were more than he could handle, Alex was going to play with their emotions as he ran towards the first (poisoned old man).
_how much does your comrade mean to you?_
Little did Alex know, the four were brothers, but it would be hard to tell since they were literally uglier than the next. Seeing Alex approaching their brother, they all shouted.
"Stay your hand!" the old man beside Amelia screamed like he was in a horror movie.
"STOP IT!" screamed the other old man with the scythe that was fifteen feet away.
As Alex was closing the distance on the poisoned old man, the war hammer wielder ran to intercept him since he was the closest. Even then, he wouldn't reach Alex in time, but they were experienced mages.
A water bomb was headed straight for Alex's back, sent from the scythe user and a lightning whip to his chest from the war hammer wielder. The attack would be an excellent combination, but Alex blinked back to the only open space node before they could touch him.
' CRicccck KA-DUUUM… FUMFUM!!' the water bomb and lightning whip collided creating a static charged mist in the atmosphere.
The Warhammer wielder (whw) ran past his poisoned brother. He anticipated that Alex would appear back to the same spot(space node). Back at the node, Alex bent down, aiming to slice the old man's feet. The old man jumped in the air and aimed both of his hammers infused with lightning at Alex's head. Alex cursed at the old man's speed and rolled to the right, then jumped in the air as the War hammers slammed into the ground 'boooooooooom' creating a small pit that could have been Alex's head.
The scythe-wielding old man arrived beside his poisoned brother, ensuring Alex would not be able to kill him.
Further limiting Alex's options.
'head to head it is then'
Alex engaged the Warhammer-wielding old man, always meeting the hammers with his sword. However, Alex was still being repeatedly pushed back. The fight seemed one-sided, but Alex had a plan.
Amelia was smiling and nodding her head, seeing the prows of her guards.
Brittany (royal mage) was watching, knowing that the old man would be poisoned; it was just a matter of when. She sighed hard at Amelia's fragile emotional personality and Laurel's Poisonous nature. One man was already poisoned another would join him.
Theodore wondered what conditions Alex needed to allow objects to pass through him since he didn't use it to avoid the hammers. He did not care about the old men anymore; he had already warned them twice and cautioned Amelia.
The Old Warhammer-wielding man didn't slow his attacks as he sent Alex flying to what remained of the barn. As Alex rolled on the ground from the impact, he stealthily released a shadow troll in the shadows casted on the floor by the moon.
While Alex was rolling, the old man followed and attempted to smash his hammer into Alex's body. The shadow troll promptly jumped out of the ground with a dagger aimed at his jugular, surprising him, forcing him back before it jumped back into the shadow.
Alex knew the shadow wouldn't be able to kill the old man or be helpful in a frontal assault, but he knew someone who would.
"Thank you, Luke," Alex said while running beside Luke.
The old man looked at Luke, who was in his mediating position to refill his mana. Everyone looked at him! Surprised! Theodore wondered if Alex and Luke were really partnering since he did not see Alex use a spell. Nor did he or anyone knew Alex was a dark elemental affinity user.
Luke looked at Alex with so much hatred while cursing inwardly, 'give me a fucking break.'
The old man did not allow them to continue their little play before he approached them with hammers aimed at each of them. Luke drew both of his daggers from his side to defend himself. Even with them receiving one hammer each, they were still blasted back.
Luke was partially stunned due to the lightning; he did not have a counter like Alex. While there was a distance between them, Alex handed Luke a mana potion before drinking one himself. The consistent use of black lightning and creating a shadow troll nearly drained him.
"Handle him at long range, and I will take him up close. Plus, I will take you with me when I leave!" Alex threw his word over his shoulder and did not wait for Luke to reply before springing off towards the hammers.
With a shadow by Alex's side and Luke as cover, the old man was a little cautious.
Once Luke finished drinking the potion, two more shadows joined Alex as he launched poisoned Knives from afar. The old man was finally getting grind down; he was in a five-verse-one situation. Every time he extinguished a shadow, Luke would make another, and Alex would throw mana potions toward Luke.
Alex and Luke's fighting meshed more so because of Alex's perception. The Old man with the war scythe could not help his brother; he was afraid Alex would blink back to his other poisoned brother, and he was not wrong in his thought process.
The fourth old man next to Amelia could not leave her side. This was their typical arrangement; one would stay next to her during battles while the other three engaged the enemy.
Alex and Luke were chipping at the old man bit by bit.
"Luke, come in," Alex called, and Luke did with both daggers in hand.
"Withdraw," the old man next to Amelia shouted an order to his brother.
But Alex, nor Luke was allowing that to happen.