Chapter 300  300 Retaliate


    She had waited long enough for her moment.


    With sudden ferocity, she charged forward and stabbed Fitch in the back with her sword of cursed ice. He let out a cry as the frozen de pierced his armor and burrowed deep into his shoulder, dark magic racing through his veins.


    "You treacherous witch!" the lead assassin roared, whirling to counterattack Selina. But Crystal intercepted him, shing her icy sword against his dagger in a shower of sparks. She gave Selina time to withdraw as the assassin pressed his assault.


    "Protect Lord Fitch!" hemanded his fellow assassins. Two moved to support their leader, pulling him back from the sh. The ice lodged in his shoulder radiated menacing magic, resisting all efforts to remove it.


    Fitch grimaced against the searing pain. "Curse you and your treachery, Selina!" he spat through clenched teeth. Already his strength was waning as the frozen shard worked its sorceries.


    Selina''s eyes zed with long-held fury. "The time hase for you to pay for your crimes, Fitch!" She readied another icence.


    Fitch coughed violently, blood spraying from his lips. The icy shard buried deep in his shoulder pulsed with dark magic, sending waves of agony through his body. Gripping the wound, he realized this had all been an borate trapid by Selina and the Russells.


    They had lured him to this cursed forest just to kill him. But the risks ran both ways - the titanic octopus would ughter them all indiscriminately once fully roused.


    Nearby, the witch Crystal had regained some strength and continued draining thest drops of Nexus''s gifted magic. Her legs shook violently beneath her red robes as she channeled the influx of energy.


    With a ferocious cry, she charged the York assassin, intercepting his attack on Selina. Her hand zed as she struck again and again, keeping him upied. Though the blows barely damaged his enchanted armor, she prevented him from aiding hisrades.


    Selina and Madeline attacked in unison, unleashing torrents of ice and illusory fire that battered the remaining two assassins. They scrambled for cover from the magical onught, unable to mount any counterattack.


    Fitch cursed through waves of pain as he saw his warriors being steadily overwhelmed. At this rate, the entirety of his elite force would be annihted.


    "We need to run away" he shouted at them hoarsely. "The monster would soon get to us!"


    Instead, the assassins disengaged and retreated to their lord''s position. Forming a tight circle around him, they turned to face Selina''s group with des ready. Their crimson eyes burned with berserker fury - they would sell their lives dearly. "The russels will not stop" One of the assassins shouted.


    Madeline wove strand after strand of scintiting illusion, ensnaring the assassins in disorienting mirages. At the same time, Selina froze the ground beneath their feet, causing two to slip and fall.


    In that instant of lost bnce, she speared one through the chest with an icynce. He copsed without a sound, red eyes going dim. The other avoided a lethal blow but found his leg encased to the knee in ensorcelled ice.


    Two of theassassins stood back to back, fending off continuous attacks from three sides.


    "You swore oaths to me, my loyal ones, but it is time to run away we need to get out of here" Fitch shouted at them raggedly.


    Instead, the assassins fought on with more vigor, their des striking sparks as they parried blow after blow. But the onught was relentless.


    As one of the assassins moved to Madeline in stealth, but soon one misjudged his step and left his guard open for a brief second. But that was all it took. Madeline''s illusory mes engulfed him entirely, reducing the man to ash within moments.


    The lead assassin was so angry he needed them to end this and run away. Snarling his hatred, he became a whirlwind of steel, determined to take down as many foes as possible before the end.


    His dagger severed strands of fake fire and parried ice sts through sheer skill and reflexes.


    In the heart of the chaotic battleground, the struggle between Fitch''s men and the relentless force of Madeline and Selina unfolded like a dark ballet. Nexus, however, shifted his attention to the two figures he held dear amidst the pandemonium—Nora and the injured Monica.


    "It will be fine, Nora," Nexus reassured, his voice cutting through the mor of the shing forces.


    Nora''s eyes betrayed her fear, her nerves on edge from the relentlessbat that surrounded them. Nexus, attempting to bring a semnce of calm to her trembling form, continued, "We need to stay strong."


    Nora nodded, her attempt atposure evident, a fa?ade to mask the anxiety that pulsed beneath her skin. Monica, meanwhile, bore the weight of her injuries, blood seeping through the fabric of her clothing.


    Nexus, his gaze scanning her wounds, instructed her with urgency, "Keep putting pressure on it, Monica. Stay with us."


    As the sh between Fitch''s men and the sorceresses intensified, Nexus juggled the roles of protector and strategist, keeping Nora and Monica sheltered while overseeing the unfolding chaos.


    On the other side of the tumult, Fitchy weakened, the repercussions of Selina''s earlier assault evident. Bleeding and struggling on the forest floor, he desperately shoutedmands, attempting to regain control over the escting situation.


    "Cease fighting!" he bellowed, his voice carrying an air of authority even in his weakened state.


    Fitch''s pleas were directed at both his men and the formidable duo of Selina and Madeline.


    The urgency in his tone mirrored the impending threat that loomed over them—an approaching monster, its monstrous tentacles casting ominous shadows with every swing. The air thickened with tension as the creature drew nearer.


    Fitchcharged with fear of the imminent danger, continued to shout "Now is not the time to fight," he implored, realizing the impending danger.


    The octopus monster, a creation of Nexus''s intricate trap, advanced with relentless determination. Escape became paramount, a fact that Fitch grasped with a sinking understanding.


    "C''mon, Selina!" Fitch shouted, desperationcing his tone. "I need to escape this monster."


    The two women, however, remained unyielding, their focus unwavering as they shed with Fitch''s men. Their movements were a mesmerizing dance of elemental forces—a whirlwind of ice and illusions that held the forest in thrall.


    Fitch''s mind raced, grappling with the realization that he had unwittingly walked into Nexus''s trap. The impending monster, a manifestation of Nexus''s strategic web, threatened to turn the battleground into a graveyard.


    The monstrous tentacles of the approaching creature cast elongated shadows, the eerie dance of light and darkness adding to the surreal atmosphere. The air quivered with the impending sh of forces, a symphony of chaos ying out against the backdrop of the cursed forest.


    Fitch''s shouts echoed through the trees, a cacophony of desperation, while Nexus, Nora, and Monica found themselves caught in the crosscurrents of an otherworldly conflict.


    The sh of elements, the cries ofbat, and the looming presence of the octopus monster created a surreal tapestry of danger and uncertainty.


    "Selina!" Fitch''s voice reverberated, ast attempt to break through the chaotic chorus. The monster, undeterred by pleas or spells, drew closer, its intent clear—destruction.