"What a bunch of cowards," Hector muttered, his voice dripping with disdain as he heard the others panicking. "Stone Torrent," he intoned, and sharp stones manifested in the air behind him, hurtling towards the terrified group.
The woman clicked her tongue, frustrated. She and Hector were currently at a stalemate, unable to move to save the panicked individuals. She muttered an incantation, and single runes formed barriers that blocked the stone assaults.
"So your task is to protect these plebeians," Hector sneered, a cruel smile spreading across his face. The woman's expression twisted, knowing what this could lead to. Hector chanted and fortified his strength, causing the ground beneath them to crumble. She deflected his blow and jumped backward, but this was exactly what he wanted. Hector's muscles tensed as he charged straight at her like a runner at the starting line.
The woman fortified herself, ready to meet Hector's advance, but then she heard a sudden scream—someone getting slashed. She glanced to the side and saw Hector attacking the pharmacists. The Hector she had been focusing on was a mere illusion, a trick to draw her attention. Rage ignited within her as she cast numerous buffs, rushing to stop him. But by the time she reached him, there were only two left, cowering in fear.
Their eyes met, and Hector smiled. With his left leg, he kicked the woman, sending her backward. She had a barrier protecting her, so she didn't sustain any damage. She dashed forward again, slashing with her right top arm at an angle. Hector blocked the attack, and she continued with her left bottom arm, upper slash, and so on, trying to give him no room to breathe.
At first, it worked. Hector kept defending until he let out a roar, releasing a pressure wave that pushed everything near him away. He clasped his axe strongly, raised it with a vertical slash, sending a projection of energy toward her. The woman blocked with all her swords, but the area behind her was left with a huge crater.
Realizing the danger, the woman mustered all her mana, enchanting her body to the maximum. She charged at him with a blur, her movements becoming faster and her blows heavier. Hector blocked and counterattacked, feeling as though he was facing two people. Her holographic arms allowed her to launch a greater series of attacks.
As the ground crumbled beneath them, Hector noticed her two extra hands turning into flowers and falling off. He muttered something and pushed her swords down with his axe, but she quickly regained her footing. Hector acted faster, swinging his axe horizontally with his left hand. The woman blocked the slash but Hector let go of the axe, turned sideways, and launched a kick at her head.
She tried to create a barrier, but it shattered upon impact. The axe landed, and she blocked it, but her wrist was bruised. She focused on Hector's kick coming at her, but the barrier she made shattered, sending her crashing into the remaining parts of the building.
"Silent Casting," Hector muttered as he strutted toward the woman. Holding his axe high, ready to land the final blow, he approached her. She struggled to summon her strength, lodged against a wall, her right eye swollen shut, blue-black blood oozing from her nose. She coughed, spitting out teeth and blood, her breathing heavy.
"Mi-m," she stuttered, but Hector approached and with a clean strike, swung horizontally. A loud clang erupted, and everything was swept clean by the blow. Dust and silence followed, Hector's blue eyes glowing amidst the dust.
"So this was your trump card," Hector muttered as the dust cleared, revealing another person who looked exactly like the woman he had been facing. It was a cloning spell. The extra limbs had marked the beginning of the spell, and now it was fully activated.
"If you'd done this earlier... but now," Hector said. His breath was visible in the cold air. "Judging from that tattoo on your arm, you aimed to transfer bodies, but you acted rashly. Revealing your clone means you're vulnerable."
The woman had miscalculated, thinking Hector would be exhausted by now. "A level for a combatant isn't everything. Sure, it states a lot, but for us of the same level..." Hector muttered. The place was now covered in ice for a radius of ten kilometers. "Skill and experience lead to success," he said. "Now then! Judgment of the Ice King! Frost Cage!"
At the end of the ten-kilometer radius, pillars of ice rose from the ground, each spanning ten kilometers high. Around the woman and her clone, ice pillars arose as well, chains of ice forming and binding them. The woman and her clone were frozen, unable to react.
Though she had no strength left, the woman's last gaze at Hector was full of disdain and rage. Her body, along with the clone, was encased in ice, turning them into mere statues. Hector spun his axe and placed it on his back. Like a shattered mirror, the ice cracked and disappeared. His battle was over.
At the same time on the other side of the dwarf planet, Ethan and Dianna were facing ten Court Mages, each of them squaring off against five.
"Don't give those brats room to move! Continue firing!" one of the mages commanded, his voice laced with urgency. Ethan and Dianna darted around, evading the long-ranged spells being hurled at them.
"One at the back," Dianna muttered, her eyes scanning the battlefield with precision.
"Another underneath the pile of rubble," Ethan added as they continued their evasive maneuvers. It was clear they were searching for someone specific.
"Their faces look different, but their mana signatures are the same as the data we received," Ethan said, his voice tinged with determination.
"Then let's not waste time," Dianna replied, her resolve steeling. They both began to move with purpose.
Two magic circles formed around Ethan as he dodged. They were packed with elven runes, with an ancient rune at the center. "Don't kill the targets," Dianna muttered through their telepathic network, ensuring they weren't overheard.
"Relax, just get ready to attack the weaker ones," Ethan reassured her. The magic circle that had formed around him grew larger, covering a hundred meters. A bubble formed, and everything within it except for Ethan and Dianna slowed down, moving sluggishly.
Dianna stopped dodging and advanced towards the Court Mages. Their spells and movements were slow, allowing her to move through the fireballs in the air with ease. She approached them, green mana circles glowing on her palms. Touching four of the Court Mages at the front, she released her spell. The remaining mages, using their mana, broke through Ethan's spell forcefully. But Dianna had already closed the gap.
The Court Mages she touched began to choke, their veins tensing as they foamed and collapsed to the ground. "Chhh, damn it," one of the remaining Court Mages growled, frustration evident in his voice.
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