[Author's Note: For bonus chapters, the goal every week is:
- 25 Power Stones ✔️
- 50 Power Stones]
[Bonus] Volume 2 Chapter 16: Versus Daniel Part 2
Upon observing the trio's reactions, Daniel discerned their lack of battle experience. He noted that they remained in their starting positions, openly discussing a plan to confront him.
Upon hearing the plan suggested by one of the three, Daniel's eyebrows couldn't help but twitch. He really wanted to approach the one who suggested that plan and smack some sense into her, shouting, 'Who in their right mind would fight an archer on its home ground?'.
In the forest, armed with swords, as archers prefer toying with foes who willingly engage in the wooded battleground.
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If they are in a plain area or an arena, he would applaud that plan, as an archer would have no place to hide with two enemies trying to approach in a melee fight.
Since an archer can only retreat while shooting, having an enemy archer along with the two other foes puts a lone archer in a passive situation.
An archer cannot shoot back at approaching enemies when all their focus is on dodging the arrows from the enemy archer.
When Daniel saw the trio hurriedly using blood magic to create a shield to block his arrows, he applauded their fast reflexes. However, when he saw them finish crafting the great shield using pure mana instead of their own blood to save a considerable amount of mana.
He truly desired to halt the trial immediately and teach Carmilla the proper ways of vampire combat, but all he could do was lament.
Daniel: "What a waste of mana."
Back then, when he was just starting out, he would feel heartache every time he wasted even a small amount of mana.
Their natural mana regeneration was too slow, and they couldn't use potions like restoration potions to replenish their mana due to their innate skill.
So being thrifty in using every bit of mana became second nature for vampires until they learned the [Automatic Mana Recovery] skill.
If he had known that Carmilla had [Automatic Mana Recovery] from the beginning, he wouldn't have felt the pinch of their wasteful mana usage. Instead, he would probably have unleashed a non-stop barrage of arrows towards the three of them, considering how Carmilla's ability would change the dynamics significantly.
Unaware of Carmilla's [Automatic Mana Recovery], Daniel gave the trio some breathing time as they hid behind their great shield. Drawing from his abundant experience, he recognized that some enemies tend to turtle up in similar situations.
Through ample time, trial, and error, Daniel had devised three distinct actions to take depending on how his enemies chose to turtle up. He felt no worry about the current situation, confident in his ability to solve this kinds issues.
Among the three solutions, only two had the chance to work, as one of his strategies involved circling around the back of the enemy he was currently facing.
In this particular situation, circling around was not an option, given their close proximity to the wall.
If they were deeper in the forest or at its center, circling around would be the perfect choice for this solution.
The other two solutions are relatively simple: the first involves shooting several times in the same spot to overwhelm the defense of the shield and eventually penetrate the enemy's shield, while the second solution requires shooting in a parabola to exploit any openings at the top.
Noticing that he had already given the three of them enough break time, he aimed slightly at the sky. Doing this in a forest proved challenging due to tree branches potentially blocking the arrows, but he was fortunate that the trees were tall enough.
*Swoosh*
*Swoosh*
*Swoosh*
Despite Daniel not having shot arrows for some time, the three of them remained cautious and vigilantly surveying their surroundings.
The three of them didn't anticipate that Daniel would shoot at a particular angle, allowing his arrows to descend from the sky.
The three noticed the arrows a bit too late and didn't have enough time to make a shield to block the rain of arrows. Consequently, they let go of their hold on their great shield and began dodging the arrow rain.
Dodging the arrows, the three of them looked at the sky, maneuvering carefully to avoid colliding with each other.
After some time, they successfully dodged the rain of arrows, but Carmilla and Pepper had lapses in their concentration. Consequently, both of their great shields began to dissipate, as no one was providing the spell with mana.
Eventually, the spell would start begin to dissipate until all the remaining mana within it was consumed.
While the two of them were doing that, Eve, who managed to maintain her focus and control of the mana in the great shield while dodging the rain of arrows, started creating a shield that would act as a roof to block Daniel's next arrow rain.
Daniel clicked his tongue, observing the three of them using mana generously, especially the one who created a roof made of a great shield using pure mana.
Since it was not completely finished yet, Daniel took advantage of this and quickly fired several volleys of arrows.
Carmilla and Pepper managed to stabilize their dissipating great shield in time before Daniel's next volley of arrows arrived. The two of them then assisted Eve in finishing their makeshift roof.
Right after they completed their roof, they spotted several volleys of arrows heading towards their direction.
The four of them strengthened their roof by infusing it with more mana to fortify its protective capabilities against the incoming volleys of arrows.
*Ding*
*Shatter*
*Ding*
*Shatter*
*Ding*
*Shatter*
Upon colliding with the great shield roof, the blood arrows instantly shattered, transforming into particles and disappearing.
The blood arrows, upon shattering, resemble red crystals. As they transform into particles, they take on the same appearance of stars in the night sky, alternating between bright and dim before ultimately disappearing.
Adding to the beauty of the scene is the continuous shattering of a multitude of blood arrows, creating a mesmerizing display as they transform into red crystals and then into star-like particles before fading away.
The three of them contemplated that they could watch this enchanting scene for hours without growing bored, if not for the imminent danger posed by the arrow rain.
Despite the strengthening of their roof, the blood arrows occasionally managed to create small cracks in the areas where they landed.
Upon seeing those cracks on the strengthened roof, Carmilla couldn't help but recall one of the sayings she had heard.