"Ouch!" My eyes stung. Even though I had a better physique than other mages, it didn't help. I could feel that the damage was severe and wouldn't heal fast without a healing mage or herbs.
Those damn cultists. first my hearing and now my sight. They really are cruel and crazy to target my senses like this.
This is why I shouldn't have been the one sent back. I was never good at preparing for situations like this. I was never good at thinking ahead more than 2 steps. If it were Ryan, he wouldn't have made this mistake of deviating so far from the original events.
I still don't understand why it had to be me.
"These damned cultists. What am I even supposed to do here." I hear Ryan's voice as he complains.
This situation is really hopeless. We were trapped inside the mansion while our enemies had become untouchable. Even the most brilliant strategist would have a hard time with such a problem.
"Hey, can you see anything?" he asks me. I could feel his breath right next to my ears.
"No. I'm completely blinded. There is only darkness." I respond.
"That's good then. I wouldn't want you to see this anyway." he sighed in relief while saying.
"Huh?" I was about to ask what he meant by that when I heard it.
CRACKLE!
"No! Don't do that! Your core isn't stable" is what I wanted to say but I didn't. He wasn't to go to listen anyway.
-------------------
Out of the magic circle that had blinded all of my mages, came out red octopus tentacles. They were as thick as an oak log and were writhing strangely.
Unlike an actual octopus tentacle, the skin didn't seem to be wet. It seemed dry like it had been left in the sun for a couple hours.
The tentacles wriggled out of the shield that encompassed the cultist as if it didn't even exist in the first place.
The numerous tentacles rapidly grow more tentacles out of itself like a tree growing its branches. These new offshoots lunged at us all in an instant.
"Hah!" The warriors that had lunged at the shield earlier and Aunt Jenny dodged. They swerved, jumped, and rolled as the tentacles aimed to entangle them.
"Drop back!" yelled one of them. The rest didn't respond but understood. They couldn't dodge the tentacles for long as it seemed they were getting faster and faster.
Even with their superhuman speed, they were having a hard time kiting their foe.
I stood next to my mages who held their eyes in pain. They were being guarded by the guys I had brought from estate guards.
With the masked unit taking all of the aggro, they were able to keep the incapacitated mages safe. The mages were pretty much useless without their sights when it came to offense. You needed to be able to see your target to hit them.
The earlier sound wave followed by the blinding light must have taken a toll as they were huddled tightly together, sweat dripping from their faces.
"Your orders young master." The masked warriors had been able to collectively fall back along with Aunty. Their combat training was extensive so they should have been able to do this much.
"How much strength do they have?" I asked Aunt Jenny as she had actually been hit once by the tentacles. She wasn't trained in combat but was the person with the highest tier in this room.
She was able to dodge with pure stats alone but her skills were lacking as she was a medical mage at the peak of 6th tier and also had a 5t tier warrior physique. She was talented in both sides of cultivation.
"4 more hits from that and I'm done for " she gravely said. My subordinates frowned when they heard this.
"At the rate that it is speeding up, we will not make it." said one of the masked.
"Will the commander arrive in time?" asked another one while rolling to his left.
The tentacles had followed them to our spot. A new round of attacks commenced with us only being able to dodge.
I however stood there in silence as my hands sparked with purple thunder. I did not answer their questions as I had no answers.
I only knew one thing, if the tentacles got any faster and their numbers increased any further, we would not make it out alive.
I couldn't rely on the commander and my family as I could not even see past the dark red barrier that surrounded this mansion. It was not transparent at all. It was solid.
Instead of waiting for the unknown was not something I do. I had to take things into my own hands.
Shwing!
I unsheathe my sword and look at my reflection on the reflective blade.
Zzzzt!
I pour my mana down the beautiful weapon and wait for the perfect moment.
With my guards protecting me and my mages while my elite warriors keep the tentacles' attention on them. I looked at Aunt Jenny who was doing her best.
She had blood seeping from all over her body. She was breathing heavily as her face was bruised and her mouth was bleeding.
She had been hit 2 more times, once in the face and another in the abdomen.
'Ah!"
"Khuk!"
"Eeee!"
It didn't take long for my guards to take hits as well.
They were all between the peak and early stages of tier 5. They would be in the same state as Aunt Jenny soon enough.
Once everyone had been hit 2 or 3 times, the tentacles branched out once more.
"It's time." I take a red pill from my pocket and swallow it.
I preferred to drink water when taking pills as swallowing it dry sucked. That sounds kind of wrong.
Whatever, I could feel the surge of mana entering my mana core. A purple sphere that was leaking lightning from the cracks dotted all over it.
"I don't need my core. My memories my mind and everyone's support is all I need." I said, reassuring myself of what I was about to do.
I held my sword in a reverse grip. It was in a manner that the bladed sides faced the ceiling and the ground.
"Supreme Lightning Sword: First Form: Limit Breakers Overflow!" I chanted quietly.
However, the words echoed in everyone's ear like a burst of thunder. It was loud yet somehow soft. If they were not occupied with the dodging., they would turn to look at me.
My lightning mana surged through my arms as burns appeared all over my skin. From my waist to my arms, my body was covered in purple lightning.
The mana made its way into my sword and coated the blade in a chaotic form. Little lightning snakes were so numerous that not a piece of the metal could be seen.
GRUGULUGUGULU!
The tentacles made some eerie noise for the first time as it started writhing like crazy. It had felt the danger so it started to generate the new tentacles faster. The ones that were already done, ignored everyone and went straight for me.
It was too late for that.
"Lightning Emperor's Dragon Slash!"
I swung my sword the moment I felt that all my mana was consumed. It was done. This should be enough to buy us time.
GRAAOOOR!!
A deafening dragon's roar was heard as my sword transformed into a purple eastern dragon emitting lightning from every crevice of its 100-meter-long body.
It clashed with the tentacles with ease as it was taller than\ the mansion itself.
BANG!
The clash caused the room to be covered in purple lightning. The dragon attack drowned everyone and everything without consideration for friend or foe.
...
...
...
"I'll break this shield. Step back," commanded Evan Rothensburg. He readied his massive greatsword as his subordinates moved a couple of feet back.
They stood in front of the place where merchant Anton London's smaller state was supposed to be. Instead, there was a familiar red shield that had the same hue as the one holding their city at the moment.
The only difference was that the barrier around the city was transparent while the barrier here was solid. You could not see what was happening inside.
"Haaaah!" Evan yelled as he jumped half a mile into the air.
A second later, he came crashing down at the barrier. Like a meteor, his hulking black sword made contact with the barrier.
Crack!
With the impact came a resonating sound of something shattering. A small, weblike crack appeared at the top of the barrier.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Evan landed on the ground as he watched the shield break piece by piece. He wasn't an imperial commander of one the most important cities in the empire for no reason.
"A single strike is all it took." said one of the knights behind him.
"It would take at least 5, 7th tier warriors attacking together and the same time to do that."
"Despite being at the 7th tier himself, the captain earned himself an honorary title. It makes sense that his strength is beyond his tier."
The knights discussed what the commander had done through brute force alone. He didn't use any fancy techniques or even his mana. Just a pure strike from his muscles and his sword.
Evan Rothensburg is undoubtedly the strongest 7th-tier warrior in the Zlatan empire.
Evan did not say a word as he let his subordinates talk. They were not part of the military anymore so some leniency was allowed.
Poosh!
The barrier had its cracks spread from the top, all the way to where it met the ground. Then it disappeared. There was no sign of its existence left, as it wasn't there in the first place.
"Let's go!" Evan said. The knights and mages that were singing his praises shut up and followed the man in.
Their expressions turned urgent as they saw the sight of the once beautiful mansion.
The front side of the mansion was gone. You could easily see the inside of the place where the shredded furniture and collapsed rubble lay.
You could peer into the many rooms that no longer had all the walls. It was like looking at a house.
"Hurry! The Zocraten and Vornix heirs were here along with Lady Jenny Zocraten. We can't let any of them get hurt." said the small Kalen as she rode her carpet forward.
"Careful. There are still cultists in the vicinity. Squad 1, 2, 3, and 4 shall clear the estate. Squad 5, remove the rubble. Help Lady Kalen as she heals the wounded." Evan ordered.
"Sir, yes Sir!" the city guards saluted with haste. They moved and did as ordered.
Evan, with his superhuman senses, found the presence of a couple of cultists who were running from the estate from the backside.
While his men chased after them, he watched over the victims. He had to stay alert in case of lurkers he couldn't detect.
Squad 5 was mostly warriors with a single mage. The warriors picked up the rubble quickly and efficiently as they tossed them into a corner.
With their strength and speed empowered by their cultivation and man, they had cleared all the rubble in minutes.
They had found many bodies underneath the piles. Most bodies had minor bruising and bleeding and some medium burns. They were relatively safe and didn't need urgent care.
There was a group of maids however that had major burns all over with bleeding eyes and ears. They also had broken bones and twisted limbs. Kalen was focused on healing them since they were close to death.
Kalen was surrounded by dozens of small green balls of mana that appeared and entered the maid's body as she slowly took them away from the edge.
Soon they found a place where 22 mages and Elina Zaocraten were huddled and squished together in a light blue bubble.
Elina's crystal blue earrings were glowing as they protected the Vornix mages who had been incapacitated by the blinding light.
"Magic artifact. A very high quality one with auto-activation and deactivation," said Evan as he recognized the jewelry as something quite unique.
He started to wonder where she got it as artifacts like that one were out of budget for the Zocratens. As soon as the rubble over them was removed. The bubble dissipated.
"I'll ask her later." he said to himself. He saw that she was mostly unharmed.
"Lady Kalen, over here! We've got a serious one." called on the knights and Kalen floated over.
There lay a young man with black hair caked in blood. His clothes were mostly gone as every inch of his skin was burnt black.
The only unburned places were his legs and face. They recognized the infamous young man instantly.
"It's the Vornix heir!" they yelled. Kalne had just finished healing the maids just enough so they wouldn't die.
She rushed over along with the commander who was left shocked by the sight.
Kalen hurriedly placed her hand on his face to avoid the injured body and used a similar ability to Jenny, who was unconscious at the moment.
She was feeling the state of his body to find all the injuries.
"How bad is it?" asked the commander when she lifted her hand off.
She turned to look at the man. She donned a grave expression where her brows were furrowing more than they ever had.
"His core has completely shattered. It's beyond repair." she stated. Her voice wasn't sweet at all to the commander as he heard this.
"Wha.." a grunting noise came from behind the 2 as Elina had awoken, her eyes closed.