Chapter 269: Silvyr vs Charlotte, Sah Ul’ vs Bromdo
<span style="font-weight:400">Charlotte breathed heavy her steps breaking the small puddles beginning to form on the ground as she ran after the three people appeared on the wall with Sah Ul’, trailing behind her.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Sarah, what are we going to do about them?” she asked.
<span style="font-weight:400">Sah Ul’ looked over her shoulder, taking long strides, “We are first to reach the temporary camp. The Patriarch instructed us to go but he would not want us to allow them to harm Landin and the others. There must be more of these undead hiding in the city… Patriarch will be fine, but we must regroup.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Sah Ul’ picked up speed, digging divots into the ground as she moved to catch up and move past the three ahead of them.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Looks like the fun has followed us,” Silvyr hummed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You two can deal with the tagalongs, I’m going to have my own <i><span style="font-weight:400">fun</i><span style="font-weight:400">!” Mae sneered.
<span style="font-weight:400">“There is no helping it. We shall stop them here,” Bromdo grunted, turning on his heel and pulling arge hammer and shield from his inventory.
<span style="font-weight:400">Charlotte and Sah Ul’ skidded to a stop, both readying their weapons.
<span style="font-weight:400">Silvyr smiled widely, pulling a pack of cards from behind her back, shuffling it in a wide arc.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m not one to pass up on an eager audience but I am in a hurry. We’ve been here longer than we intended already and I have more shows to perform,” she snickered.
<span style="font-weight:400">“It would be problematic if we allowed them to follow us, the count would surely give us severe punishment… I will take the stronger one, Silvyr,” Bromdo huffed.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Charlotte, I will fight therge one. His armor will be difficult for you. I am not confident that I can keep up with the more nimble one, I leave her to you,” Sah Ul’ whispered, gripping her axe tightly.
<span style="font-weight:400">Charlotte’s face slightly frowned at being called the weaker one, but she nodded. Right now she wasn’t prepared to take on a heavily armored opponent, her skill set simply wasn’t made for it.
<span style="font-weight:400">Charlotte began chanting and the moment the first word left her mouth, Sah Ul’ was already running headlong into her opponent, her aura burning red hot around her.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Our victory to the sound of thunderous apuse!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">The lightning magic circle spread out covering Charlotte and Sah Ul’ endowing them with lightning attune magic. Once thest word left her lips, Charlotte immediately raised her short spear, deflecting a white card aimed at her head.
<span style="font-weight:400">The card hit the spear with a metallic sound and much more force than was possible for a paper card. Charlotte tracked it with her eyes as it changed trajectory, embedding itself into the ground and begun glowing.
<span style="font-weight:400">Gasping, Charlotte rolled out of the way, the card exploding a momentter.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Just one of my tricks,” Silvyr said gleefully, shuffling her cards in an arc, “Let’s put on a fun performance shall we?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Charlotte’s emotionless face gave away nothing, but her heart was racing. It was the first time outside of Drake and the group that had followed him, she had faced someone remotely strong.
<span style="font-weight:400">Gripping her spears she steeled herself.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">It’s time to put everything into practice, I know what they’ve done to these people, what they want to do to everyone… I’ll do my part, I’ll stop her here!</i><span style="font-weight:400"> Charlotte shouted in her mind, throwing her short spear forward.
<span style="font-weight:400">Surprise painted the white face of Silvyr as she turned to dodge the spear.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Throwing your weapon? Dubious indeed-”
<span style="font-weight:400">But before she could finish, Charlotte appeared gripping the thrown weapon, her other spear d in lighting as she thrust it forward, aimed right for the elf woman’s chest.
<span style="font-weight:400">Silvyr smiled, pulling and flipping a card in her hand, a ck joker on a white background and when the spear contacted her, she went up in smoke.
<span style="font-weight:400">Charlottended, skidding against the muddy ground and immediately spreading out her aura to find the woman, small sparks striking the area.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Interesting skill, but I have quite the bag of tricks myself,” a voice hummed from behind her.
<span style="font-weight:400">Put on her back foot, Charlotte turned, arcing her spear in a wide swing but hitting nothing. Then she felt something on the edge of her aura, turning to it she saw Silvyr smiling broadly, holding up another card, a yellow spade.
<span style="font-weight:400">Charlotte tried her best to process the information, the cards color and suit having something to do with their abilities but she didn’t have enough to say for sure.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’ll have to be cautious but still press her…” she whispered, sprinting forward.
<span style="font-weight:400">Silvyr threw several more white cards at Charlotte, and Charlotte easily deflected them, a few momentster the cards letting out small explosions.
<span style="font-weight:400">Finally able to get in close, Charlotte began her assault, thrusting and swiping with her spears inbination. Large arcs of lightning striking the area as she did, some hitting their mark but seeming to have little effect.
<span style="font-weight:400">Silvyr was no slouch however, and with each sessful strike, Charlotte slowly umted cuts here and there from the cards she wielded between her fingers.
<span style="font-weight:400">The exchangested several seconds before another joker found its way into Silvyr’s hand and she went up in smoke again.
<span style="font-weight:400">“This will simply not do… I have underestimated your ss specialty. I’m at a loss in speed, so it seems I will have to overwhelm you,” Silvyr mused, pulling a red heart from her deck in one hand, flipping it in her hand to produce two, then four, then eight, and then sixteen.
<span style="font-weight:400">Each flip of the card doubling the amount of cards until Silvyr threw them into the air and they began flying straight for Charlotte.
<span style="font-weight:400">Charlotte clicked her tongue, but she couldn’t pull her punches against someone several levels ahead of her.
<span style="font-weight:400">Throwing her long spear into the air, she threw her other straight at Silvyr.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Snc thintrí, </i><i><span style="font-weight:400">Cóipleabhar.”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Using her skill once more she moved to her thrown short spear, her long spear above her crackling with electricity and then suddenly splitting into six identical spears of lightning.
<span style="font-weight:400">Charlotte quickly gripped one of them in her free hand, “<i><span style="font-weight:400">Titim!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">The bolts of lightning instantly convened on Silvyr along with Charlotte’s main and off hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">But the fight was not over. Silvyr managed to dodge several of the spears, but two of them hit home, skewering her to the ground with a grunt.
<span style="font-weight:400">Now was Charlotte’s chance, she had a vague idea of how Sarah’s fight was progressing in her favor but there was no telling what might happen. She had to finish this now.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">The thunderous roar of your end is nigh!”</i><span style="font-weight:400"> she shouted, raising her spear into the air, the lightning around it humming to a crescendo, “<i><span style="font-weight:400">Foclóir Gaeilge!!!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">The sound of rapturous lightning struck down on the elven woman like a hammer from above. The blow dealt a significant amount of damage to Silvyr but somehow she remained alive, struggling to pull another card from her deck.
<span style="font-weight:400">And just before Charlotte was able tond another thrust with her spear, she went up in a puff of smoke.
<span style="font-weight:400">“No!” Charlotte screamed trying to pinpoint the woman again.
<span style="font-weight:400">She clenched her jaw and fist, frustration welling up after being unable to finish the job. But she knew that the elven woman could only travel so far with the skill. Charlotte had to use her trump card, but it would exhaust her of her resources. She would bet it all on this.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">The unforgiving lightning, strikes at my beck and call. Tempest’s Beckoning!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Calling down a cacophony of lightning strikes each one hitting the groundrger than thest as she fought back against her waning vision struggling to stay conscious from the exhaustion.
<span style="font-weight:400">And finally when thest bolt of lightning struck, Charlotte heard a wail of pain and a notification entered her darkening peripheral.
<b>[You have killed Silvyr Rava Level 17] [Experience Earned, 115 Nobility Points have been awarded]</b>
<b>[Congrattions you have increased to Lightning Spearman Level 16] [25 Free Points have been awarded]</b>
<b>[Congrattions you have increased to Lightning Spearman Level 17] [25 Free Points have been awarded]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">—---------
<span style="font-weight:400">Sah Ul’ lunged forward, leaving her husband’s young student to fight her first real battle as she went to take on the full te armored man in front of her.
<span style="font-weight:400">Bringing her ax horizontally from one side to the next she began ramping up her Berserking Aura.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">“Heavy Crescent Cleave!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Sah Ul’s ax glowed with red light as it arced forward towards the armored man’s neck.
<span style="font-weight:400">But Bromdo raised his shield, pping his shield like a gong with his hammer.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Heavy Fortress!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">With the skill activation his skill hummed a deep blood red just before Sah Ul’s ax crashed against it, sparks of metal and mana flying in every direction as they both fought for supremacy.
<span style="font-weight:400">Sah Ul’s skill ran out and she pulled back her ax with one hand, gritting her teeth as she brought it down again and again against the man.
<span style="font-weight:400">Bromdo was fighting a defensive battle not because it was his especially but because of Sah Ul’s unrelenting fighting style.
<span style="font-weight:400">Each swing of the ax forced Bromdo to grunt in displeasure, and despite digging his heels into the ground he was slowly being pushed back.
<span style="font-weight:400">The assault from Sah Ul’ continued for several more seconds as Bromdo was forced to bet on him ousting her in a fight of attrition and her exhaustion.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You are very sturdy!” Sah Ul’ shouted, “But my husband is much more sturdy!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Suddenly her strength increased, her passive skills and Beserking Aura finally reaching their peak.
<span style="font-weight:400">Bromdo couldn’t help letting out a gasp as he saw his shield begin to chip against the consecutive swings and began to panic, shouting out several more skills.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Stout Guardsman’s Vitality! Bulwark! Unbreakable!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Sah Ul’ lifted her ax high, gripping it with both hands this time.
<span style="font-weight:400">“<i><span style="font-weight:400">Overload! Overwhelm!”</i>
<b>[You are now under the effects of Overload]</b>
<b>[You are now under the effects of Overwhelm]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">Bathed in red light her muscles bulged and she roared one final skill, “<i><span style="font-weight:400">Heavy Crescent sh!!”</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Chopping downward her de passed through the te armored man effortlessly embedding itself into the ground.
<b>[Bromdo ckrock Level 18] [Experience Earned, 139 Nobility points awarded]</b>
<b>[Congrattions! You have increased to Orc Ax Master Level 24] [20 Free Points have been awarded]</b>
<span style="font-weight:400">Bromdo’s body slumped to the ground splitting down the middle, his helmet falling leaving his aghast face staring back at Sah Ul’.
<span style="font-weight:400">—----------------------------------
<span style="font-weight:400">It had been less than a day since they left the city, Rvul and Mikhail’s party were escorting a group of people to the next nearest city to help improve their rtions for the uing summit.
<span style="font-weight:400">Rvul led the expedition with Mikhail helping, his party bringing up the rear while he stayed in the front with the rest of the Rahk guardsmen who begrudgingly came under his orders.
<span style="font-weight:400">The guardsmen were disgruntled but easily silenced after their poor showing against the Patriarch’s students whipping the floor with them.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Keep your heads up! There is no shame in losing to stronger warriors of the same tribe! You must simply grow stronger and win next time!” Rvul encouraged thumping his chest and chuckling.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Chief… We did not simply lose, we were beaten so one sidedly. Even Haygur… did not have a chance to disy his skills. None of us did!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Rvulughed again, “And that is just how strong the Patriarch students are! My son is great! Imagine how strong he has be when even his students are this powerful! It’s amazing, yes?” he guffawed, pping one of the people they were escorting on the shoulder.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Will you shut up already? It’s been Patriarch this, Patriarch this the entire trip! I’m sick of hearing about him!” Marrissahined.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Now, now. We are almost to our destination, please just put up with his bragging about his son-inw for a few more hours,” Mikhail said, trying to cate the angered woman.
<span style="font-weight:400">Marrissah scoffed, rolling her shoulder to bring up her coat.
<span style="font-weight:400">The group had encountered monsters through this trip but seldom other people, which made for a fast pace. Everyone was also part of the system which allowed them to travel through most of the night, leaving little trouble to be had.
<span style="font-weight:400">Rvul looked upward, seeing the snow cease and feeling the droplets of cold water hit his skin.
<span style="font-weight:400">“We will want to pick up the pace, being out in cold rain will not be good for too long!” he shouted, hurrying them along.
<span style="font-weight:400">But quickly feeling people enter his aura’s range along with his sensing skill setting off rm bells, he held up his hand an instantter.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Wait!” hemanded, pulling two axes from his inventory, “Who’s there!”
<span style="font-weight:400">Out of the treeline, rows upon rows of pale faced men and women, along with humans in all white robes stepped out.
<span style="font-weight:400">“State your business!” Rvul demanded the line of Rhak Warriors forming around him.
<span style="font-weight:400">“We do not need speak to lesser trash…” one of the men growled.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mikhail’s party took up the rear forming a small circle around the people they were escorting.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Stay your ground! We can hold the line if we remain calm, many of them are lower level!” he shouted, pulling his daggers out.
<span style="font-weight:400">Rvul and the rest of the group began shouting and chanting skills, waiting for the mass of newly announced opponents to make the first move.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Do not worry, we will make sure you will reach safety. I bet my life on it as the former chief of the Rahk, and a member of the Patriarch’s city!” Rvul roared.
<span style="font-weight:400">But he only felt a pain in his side and a soft whisper in his ear.
<span style="font-weight:400">“You took the wrong bet, green man…” Marrissah hummed, “Don’t worry, we will let one of you tell Drake what happened here.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Rvul pped away the hand holding the de in his side, turning around only to have other members of the guardsmen shout out in pain as well being stabbed,shot and hit with skills or spells from behind.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Damn it…!” Rvul growled, nursing his side, “Y-you nned this from the beginning…?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Marrissah pulled another dagger from under her cloak, ying with it in her hand as she smiled.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yorth! Heal Rvul! Hurry!” Mikhail screamed, turning around trying to reach the Orc Chieftain, only to be shackled to the ground by threads of light.
<span style="font-weight:400">Mikhail knew exactly what this spell was, it was Yorth’s only form of crowd control.
<span style="font-weight:400">Turning his head he spotted Yorth pointing his staff at him, his eyes dead and distant, a small sun radiating orange on his right cheek.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Drake always was soft. And of course… No one can outsmart the Emperor,” sheughed, “Praise the sun! All hail, the Grand Sun Mage!”
<span style="font-weight:400">A cacophony of triumphant shouts rang out from the people in white robes and the group that came with Marrissah.
<span style="font-weight:400">She pointed to Mikhail, “Leave him. The rest can be cleansed and sent to the undead as was agreed,” she smiled, moving next to Rvul, “He will send Lord Atticus’s message just fine…”