Chapter 248 – The General vs 5 Mages
Nathan Evenhart:
In front of me stood five mages who exuded power. Judging by their stance, their leader appeared to be a demi-human woman with a confident posture and sharp eyes. I quickly assessed their abilities, analyzing each of them, and decided to dismiss my golems. I couldn't afford to waste my mana unnecessarily.
My right eye started failing again, my vision blurring and forcing me to blink repeatedly. I had pushed the limits of my special eyes far too much in recent days. Creating that colossal storm cloud had consumed two entire days of cultivation, requiring an absurd level of focus. But it had been necessary. The Storm Dome needed to be powerful enough to envelop the entire fortress, trapping the enemy army inside with me. It was the only way to ensure that the battle outside followed my family's plan.
Elsewhere on the battlefield, my mother was using her magic to infect soldiers. Slowly but surely, a significant portion of the enemy army would be turned into allies. It was a calculated risk, but one that could turn the tide in our favor.
Suddenly, my face felt warm. When I touched my right eye, I realized blood was dripping down. It wasn't just exhaustion; overusing the elements through my special eyes was taking a serious toll. Deep down, I knew I was nearing the point of no return.
Adrihna had already warned me about this; I just didn't think it would happen to me so quickly. The reason she wore a monocle was because years of constant use of her own powers had permanently damaged her vision. Now, I was facing the same risk. Every spell I cast with the help of these eyes brought me closer to potentially losing my sight forever.
I don't think I can sustain this Storm Dome much longer. At least it has served its purpose, securing a significant advantage in the war outside.
I took a deep breath, fully aware that everything from this point forward would depend on how I handled the mages standing before me.
The demi-human woman with brown dog-like ears stepped forward, keeping her sharp gaze locked on me.
"Pleasure to meet you. My name is Illana," she said with a mocking tone. "I'm a user of earth and water elements. That might not seem like much to you, but for my kind, mastering these elements allows us to awaken the power of mud."
As she spoke, her body began to ooze mud, and she conjured a ball of it in one hand.
Another mage stepped up right after her.
"I'm Dudan," said the man beside her. "We don't know what's happening outside, but the war has likely already begun. We've received authorization from Nikolaus Wolves to kill you. It doesn't matter whether you're alive or not; we'll just tell your family you were captured, and that'll be the end of them when negotiations fail." A sphere of ice materialized in his hand, marking him as an ice mage.
An ice mage… and that demi-human is a mud mage. This isn't going to be easy.
"Name's Richard," said the next one, summoning a combination of wind and fire in his hands.
Beside him was a mage whose arms were encased in a layer of earth. One arm formed a spiked ball, while the other morphed into a large drill-like tip that started spinning rapidly.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Bernard," he said with a smug grin.
A drill arm... This is going to be really tough.
The last to introduce herself was a woman who gave me a sly smile.
"My name is Michelle. Such a pity... such a handsome face for someone about to die. Don't worry, I'll flay your corpse carefully," she said, her body completely engulfed in water, transforming into an aquatic creature.
"Is this supposed to be some kind of show? I couldn't care less about who you are."
"It's customary for us to introduce ourselves. We like the people we're about to kill to know our names," Illana said, her voice cold and threatening.
"So, how's it going to be, kid?" asked the woman in her water-creature form, her tone dripping with provocation. "Quick death or slow?"
I drew the Cursed Blade from my storage bracelet, feeling the familiar weight of the sword in my hand. In front of me, the demi-human woman wielded a massive axe, the fire-and-wind mage held a sword, and the ice mage gripped an iron club with a spiked metal tip.
"After we kill you and bring down this storm dome, we'll come for your family," the demi-human woman threatened.
"Good luck," I replied sincerely, feeling the echo of the storm around me. "I can assure you, they won't fall easily."
The five mages began to spread out, positioning themselves to surround me.
"Water Bomb!" The woman in the water armor rushed forward with incredible speed, forcing me to raise a wind barrier at the last second. However, she detonated herself before impact. The force of the explosion launched me into the air, and from below, I saw the demi-human firing mud bullets in my direction.
"Damn it!" I muttered, pointing my arm upward and firing a lightning bolt that tore through the ceiling. I shot through the opening, emerging on top of the structure. Soldiers attempting to break open the black storm dome saw me and fled in panic, seeking refuge in nearby buildings.
BOOM! The ground beneath me exploded, and I barely dodged in time. The mage with the spinning drill arm emerged, shattering the earth as he leapt.
"Where do you think you're going, pretty boy?" the earth mage taunted, laughing mockingly. Rain poured heavily around us, drenching everything as we stood atop the building, the Nikolaus Wolves' castle looming in the background.
"I don't see a problem with causing a bit of destruction here," I murmured to myself.
Sparks began to dance along my arm and sword as I charged toward the earth mage. The demi-human woman burst out of the hole with incredible speed, her axe raised for a strike. I reinforced my body with wind, and our weapons collided.
BAM! The impact shattered the glass of nearby buildings. The woman smirked.
"How cute. You don't even seem that strong," she taunted, spinning to deliver a kick. I dodged just in time, blocking with my sword, but the impact sent me sliding back. I felt a sudden chill. A beam of ice zipped past me, freezing the ground as the ice mage attempted to corner me.
The battle was just beginning, and chaos swirled around us.
"Fire Ray!" I heard a shout from behind me. Moving quickly, I dodged the attack, rushing toward the fire mage. I conjured a wind barrier to block the direct impact while pressing forward.
"Thunder Dash!" I whispered, feeling my body accelerate in a powerful leap. I closed the distance with the fire mage, striking with my sword. He raised his weapon to block, sidestepping and firing flaming projectiles, which I deflected with my blade. In a swift move, I leapt back to gain distance.
I expelled a high-pressure jet of water from my mouth, hitting the fire mage and sending him flying.
Suddenly, a powerful kick struck my back, hurling me through the air. I couldn't fully recover in time but managed to parry the demi-human woman's axe. The impact launched me even higher, and before I could regain my balance, the water mage, cloaked in her liquid armor, leapt at me with blinding speed, landing a punch mid-air.
I was hurled into the castle, crashing through a wall and landing in a room. The impact left me stunned for a moment, but I quickly gathered my thoughts, analyzing everything I had observed about my opponents.
Chronos… if I summon him, he could take care of my enemies, but he'd likely kill me too. I still can't control him.
This thought crossed my mind as I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and got to my feet.
I leapt out of the room, dodging another volley of fire blasts heading my way. But a jet of mud struck my wind barrier, weakening it. Before I could reinforce the defense, the earth mage, with his spinning drill arm, lunged at me.
"Hahaha! Almost there!" he shouted, laughing as his drill spun wildly. The pressure was intense, and my barrier began to falter.
I need to think fast, or this will end badly.
I still had one trump card, but summoning the Soul Golem now could be a massive gamble.
At the last second, I dropped my barrier, catching the mage off guard. Sparks ran across my body, and in a quick movement, I struck his abdomen with all my strength. He had no time to react, and before he could recover, I grabbed him and hurled him against a wall.
Lightning surged around me, and I unleashed a thunderbolt at him. He tried to block with his arms, but his defense crumbled, and the impact sent him crashing violently into the structure, shattering it with a deafening roar.
Boom!
The water mage, encased in her shimmering liquid armor, descended upon me with terrifying speed. I rolled to the side just in time to avoid her lethal strike.
She waved her hand in the air, summoning another attack. A high-speed water sphere launched toward me, exploding nearby and throwing me backward with the force.
Before I could regain my footing, another attack was coming.
"Mud Cannon!" the demi-human shouted, firing a mud projectile directly at me. I hastily conjured a wind barrier, but the force of the impact pushed me even farther back, suspending me in the air as the pressure mounted.
f I use my strongest spell, I might die or end up so weak that anyone could finish me off… and I don't know how the war outside is going.
My options were shrinking, and time wasn't on my side. I glanced up at the storm dome above, feeling the strain of keeping it active.
I've held it through an entire night… I can't keep feeding this any longer.
I sighed, resigning myself to the inevitable. Suddenly, a fist collided with my face, and I was thrown by the impact. I crashed onto the roof of a building, scrambling to my feet as quickly as I could. The mages appeared one by one, each taking position on the rooftops, forming a circle around me.
A lightning bolt illuminated the sky, its intense brilliance tearing through the darkness as torrential rain poured down relentlessly.
The dome was beginning to crack. Each fracture in my control over the elements increased the strain. My connection to the other elements was volatile, dangerous, leaving me with only thunder and wind as reliable allies.
I gripped my resolve tightly. Summoning a sword of wind reinforced with thunder, I held it in my hand, its electric glow pulsating around the blade. Thunder coursed through my body, not as a rigid armor but as a living, dynamic aura.
This was the Thunder Mantle, a skill only a Transmitter could achieve. I felt the tingling sensation across my skin as lightning coiled around me, like serpents hungry for destruction.
"What an intriguing power," remarked the fire mage, conjuring a blazing sphere in his hands. The other mages readied themselves, their eyes locked onto me, analyzing my every move.
Without warning, as if a single spark had ignited the chaos, we charged at each other.
The five mages advanced together, coordinated and deadly. The water mage, cloaked in her gleaming liquid armor, led the charge, her powerful assault aimed directly at me. But before she could reach me, the piercing sound of something slicing through the air echoed. A brilliant blue light streaked across the field, swift and unavoidable.
BOOM!
The explosion was deafening. The Cursed Blade, which I had strategically positioned earlier, returned like a treacherous lightning bolt, wrapping the battlefield in thunderous chaos. The blast threw everyone back, everyone except me. I stood firm, my gaze locked on the storm of destruction, as the sword spun back into my hand, its blade still crackling with electricity.
"Five against one... still feels unfair. For you, of course," I said with a cold smile, pointing the blade toward them.
Without hesitation, I hurled the Cursed Blade like a boomerang, its spinning motion generating a storm of lightning around it. The sword tore through the air, thunder exploding with every rotation, as the mages scrambled to react.
The clash began. Every movement was an eruption of power, every strike a delicate dance between chaos and precision. Thunder roared in my veins as the battle unfolded like a relentless storm, unstoppable and devastating.