C203 - Assassinations
Zura's incredible technique made the human group take a step back and interrupt the assault. They didn't know what was happening, but they didn't dare to get too close when an enemy could make their skin shatter with a simple wave of his hand.
Some Niqols who had heard stories about the old ways could probably understand the nature of the [Mana Control], but they didn't know its details. They weren't sure whether Zura could deploy it against all of them or only Paul.
Ilman knew something more due to the unique role of his tribe, but he also ignored the level of expertise that Zura had reached. Moreover, the boy couldn't understand who Zura could target with his deadly technique. After all, the battle had lasted for mere minutes. Becoming able to control the mana of a single opponent was already an incredible feat.
Instead, Liiza and Khan knew every detail about the [Mana Control] since the latter had the chance to learn it. They were aware of the harsh requirements that accompanied it, so they started to see Zura in a new light after his feat.
However, the situation didn't change too much.. Paul's injury didn't turn the tables of the battle. The servants were still losing, but they had managed to instill fear in their opponents.
Khan quickly realized that he couldn't let the situation continue like that. Zura would only learn to manipulate the mana of more opponents if he allowed him to study them from a safe position. The chaos of the battlefield benefited the human group, so he had to restore it.
Many eyes had converged on Khan after he stopped running. The servants didn't want to lose track of his position, but they had no control over the matter. They limited themselves to voice warnings as soon as his figure disappeared and resumed running around them.
Zura promptly jumped among his underlings while the other five first-level warriors took specific positions at the edges of the battle formation. They were clearly trying to protect him, and their behavior disclosed important information about their power.
Everyone understood the nature of that behavior. The servants were probably protecting Zura because he was the only one capable of deploying that threatening technique.
Felicia and Ryan didn't hesitate to step forward and launch their spells. A sharp gale and a large fireball flew out of their figures, but two powerful servants jumped on their trajectory to intercept them.
The two servants crossed their arms in front of their faces and chests and let the spells crash on them. The impact generated two different explosions that torn their white robes and gave birth to trails of smoke. Still, the squad leaders saw how their targets had only suffered superficial injuries once they managed to check their state.
The skin on the servants' arms and torsos featured a tight array of pale blood vessels. The two Niqols could deploy the [Blood Shield], and they didn't have to limit it to small spots. They could cover almost a third of their bodies with that defensive technique.
The human group's morale almost fell when they saw that their strongest assets had failed to inflict any damage with a direct attack. Their hesitation deepened when Zura raised his hand from behind the servants and pointed it at Felicia. They felt the need to run away, but they stopped their tracks when a head flew in the air between the two teams.
Khan didn't remain stunned by the servants' old ways, so he had seized that silent opportunity to reach one of the Niqols that had deployed the [Blood Shield]. He had aimed for the neck, but the Divine Reaper succeeded, so his knife beheaded the alien.
Liiza shared a similar mindset. She had held back her spell until now, but the opportunity created by Khan allowed her to take her opponents by surprise.
A thick layer of ice came out of her position and spread quickly until it reached the enemy group. Only some servants managed to react to the sudden event. They jumped back to dodge the incoming spell, but the ground under them froze nonetheless.
The servants who couldn't react to Liiza's spell ended up stuck on the ground, with a layer of ice trapping their feet. Instead, those who had jumped saw a series of sharp spikes growing out of that frozen layer.
Khan's assassination had claimed the servants' attention, so Liiza's ice ended up trapping most of them. The Niqols who fell on the spikes saw injuries opening on their legs, and only a few of them succeeded in protecting themselves or avoiding those sharp traps.
Zura found himself unable to complete his technique. He had jumped and had used the [Blood Shied] to protect his feet. Still, he couldn't do anything to improve the situation of his companions.
Felicia and the others had remained stunned, but Khan and Liiza made them snap back to reality. The human group charged ahead as another gale and a fireball flew in front of them.
The spells hit the unprotected spots of the servants' group. Those Niqols were too busy trying to free themselves from the ice to deploy any defensive technique, so the fireball and the gales ended up having deadly effects.
A first-level warrior saw her torso opening in half after the gale hit her. The spell didn't cut her from side to side, but it reached deep enough to make some of her organs spurt out together with a torrent of pale-red blood.
The fireball landed in a spot occupied by weaker servants. It didn't land directly on anyone, but its explosion burned two Niqols who were stuck in the ice. The flames melted part of Liiza's spell, but Felicia had done her best to limit that effect by aiming at her opponents' heads.
Khan didn't immediately attack after beheading the servant. He let the battlefield fall into chaos as he ran around the enemy group. The explosion of the two spells distracted the Niqols from him, so he used that chance to cut the neck of the first alien that he found.
The humans and recruits eventually reached the servants and quickly killed those who were still struggling to free themselves from the ice. Two more first-level warriors died after being overwhelmed by a series of palm strikes and techniques that they couldn't dodge. The weaker Niqols obviously had it far worse in that exchange.
Twelve servants had remained when Zura revealed the [Mana Control], but the last exchange left only four of them alive. Two of them were first-level warriors, and one of them had even fallen prey to the ice.
The first-level warrior stuck in the ice pointed his hands at the ice and released a wave of flames that partially burned his legs. He appeared unable to deploy the [Blood Shield], but he endured the pain and jumped out of the melted layer to turn toward the marsh.
The Niqols wanted to run away, but a familiar figure appeared on his path before he could escape the area frozen by Liiza. Khan jumped to slam his knee on the alien's face, and his knife descended right after. The weapon pierced his opponent's head smoothly.
Ilman reached one of the weaker servants stuck in the ice and delivered a precise palm strike at her head after dodging her panicked attack. The girl died quickly, and the dying scream of the other weak Niqols soon resounded in the area.
Khan and Ilman exchanged a glance before focusing on the escaping figure in the distance. Zura had left the battlefield as soon as he understood that the battle was over, but the two boys couldn't let him go after all the deaths he had caused.
Khan and Ilman didn't need words to decide what to do. They were the fastest in their group, and Zura was slower than them, so they shot toward him without showing any hesitation.
Khan was far faster than Ilman. The Niqols struggled to keep up with him, but Zura wasn't too far away, so the difference in their speed didn't matter too much.
Zura turned when he sensed the arrival of those two opponents. His usual aloof face had turned into an ugly expression that expressed the full spectrum of his emotions. The defeat didn't only hurt him due to the loss of his companions. It had also damaged his belief in the old ways.
Zura studied the situation in less than a seconds and realized that he still had a chance to escape. His opponents were a mere boy and the annoying human who had killed many of his companions. He could fight, and he even knew how.
Khan couldn't help but stomp his feet on the muddy ground to stop his sprint when he saw Zura pointing in his direction. Water and dirt flew in everywhere due to his sudden action and even more spread around him as he shot toward his left.
Khan wasn't sure whether Zura had managed to understand his aura. He had been careful, but he had also been at the center of the attention for a long time. There was a chance that the Niqols could use the [Mana Control] on him, and he didn't want to risk getting hit by it.
Zura snorted. He couldn't focus on Khan's mana when the latter was doing his best to avoid being in the trajectory of his fingers. The Niqols turned toward Ilman and prepared his fingers for the imminent impact, but a shadow suddenly appeared at his side.
Khan had been fast enough to reach Zura as soon as he decided to focus on Ilman. The mud and shallow waters didn't hinder his movements nor affect his speed. His knife rose to reach the Niqols' neck, but his eyes widened when he saw a hand grabbing his wrist.
"[You are predictable]," Zura revealed in a chilling tone while pulling Khan and placing his palm on his face.
Khan sensed the mana inside him escaping his control. A foreign force had entered his body and had taken over his energy. Zura was trying to make his face explode, but the blood vessels on that spot quickly clotted.
A faint rumbling noise filled Khan's ears as his vision blurred. Pain spread on his face, and a headache immediately filled his head. However, he was alive, and he could feel that his condition was far from bad.
Zura widened his eyes in surprise. He could recognize the [Blood Shield] when he inspected the opening among his fingers. His mind froze when he realized that a human was relying on the Niqols' old ways to protect himself, but his stupor ended when a powerful blow landed on his belly.
Khan had regained his focus during Zura's stupor. He had delivered a powerful kick as soon as he felt able to move his mana, and the blow made the Niqols spit a mouthful of blood.
Zura had no words to describe Khan's strength. The latter wasn't only as strong as him in terms of physical power. He could even deploy techniques that the other servants struggled to learn.
Khan resembled the perfect fusion of the human teachings, the Niqols' old ways, and their new ways. Moreover, his young age made his achievements spectacular.
Zura felt his will to fight fading, but he forced himself to tighten his grip on Khan's face anyway. Yet, he lost control of his body when a palm strike hit his spine and made his insides tremble. Ilman had finally reached his opponent, and he didn't hesitate to deliver one of his strongest attacks toward a vital spot.
Khan's knife lit up as he forced his arm to twist. His physical strength overwhelmed Zura's, and his weapon severed the Niqols' forearm. Ilman delivered another palm strike, and Khan followed with a piercing attack.
Zura's lung collapsed as the glowing knife pierced the center of his chest. Blood filled the Niqols' mouth as his eyes darkened. Khan drew his weapon and slashed it at his side with a quick moment to remove some blood from its edge, but his gaze remained on the dying alien. He didn't stop looking at him even after he fell next to his feet.
To be continued