Chapter 29
Miraculous Finish
Arthur intercepted a swing from one of the two in front of him and pushed the blade back, trying to knock him off balance. The man recovered faster than expected, and Arthur had to quickly block an attack coming from the guy on his side.
He needed to find an opening quick, or this was going to turn ugly. He just couldn’t figure out what to do. It was about this time that his mind finally caught up to something that he felt stupid for not remembering. One of his biggest problems had been learning to blend magic into his fighting, and that was just what he needed. He quickly let out a Basic Fire Bolt directly into the face of the Bandit on his right. The cast time didn’t affect his fighting. It was merely a delay. He had to wait before the spell happened after he willed it to activate. The stunned look on the Bandit’s face, as well as the face of the Bandit next to him, told the story. They were both so surprised by the attack that they stood there with jaws hanging open. Arthur took that chance to lunge a blade at each of them. The one on his left received the dagger in his stomach, and the one on the right took his sword directly to their heart.
You have dealt 15 damage to Bandit (6)(Level 12) with Basic Fire Bolt.
You have dealt 140 damage to Bandit (6)(Level 12) with Enchanted Basic Mage-crafted Iron Dagger (Critical Strike)(Mortal Blow)(Fatal Blow).
You have dealt 160 damage to Bandit (7)(Level 12) with Steel Longsword of Minor Beastslaying (Heart Strike).
Bandit (7)(Level 12) has Died.
Congratulations, you have reached level 4 in Swords. Swing speed with swords increased by 9%. Kind of behind on these skills.
Congratulations, you have reached level 3 in Dual Wield. Accuracy penalty with off-hand weapons decreased by 6%. Ambidextrous as well?
Congratulations, you have reached level 2 in Block. Successful blocks grant you a 3% chance to stumble the opponent. You almost had it, got to be quicker than that.
Bandit (2)(Level 12) has Died.
Congratulations, you have reached level 2 in Parry. Increased success chance with parry by 3%. Push back!
Bandit (3)(Level 12) has Died.
Congratulations, you have reached levels 2 and 3 in Light Armor. Movement speed increased by 6% when wearing Light Armor. Something is better than nothing.
It looked like some of the original Bandits were starting to die from the bleeding since no one had attended to them. Arthur decided to change things up and try to adjust tactics. He pulled a small wall up in front of two of the bandits who were chasing Vana. Both of them ran into the short wall and fell to the ground on their faces. She took that chance to place an arrow in one of their backs and kept moving. He then sent a Basic Fire Bolt at one of the two people after James. The man was using his bow to block the club blows as they flew at him, but he was slightly beaten up and having trouble moving quickly enough to keep up with them.
That slowed down many of the problems out in the field. There were still people clamoring over the walls, but not very many were left. It looked like they were finally getting to the end of the group. Arthur turned to look at Samson. The man was barely holding on anymore. He didn’t look like he had taken a lot of damage, although his armor was a little banged up. More than anything, he just looked like he was out of Stamina. Arthur decided it was time for him to get a break.
He came up to Samson’s side and poured raw mana into his Fire Magic and sent a ball of fire at the group, trying to beat Samson into submission. The group all jumped backward and tried to dash out of the way.
“Samson, Step back quickly!” Arthur yelled at him.
As soon as he had given some room, Arthur cast his Raise Stone Wall spell, and the wall started coming up in front of the gatehouse. The group outside stood there and watched as it kept climbing and closed off the gatehouse.
“Catch your breath real quick and get back into the fight. It won’t take those guys long to hop the wall, and we are going to be fighting in open field then. We all need to regroup.” Arthur told him.
Samson nodded at him, looking exhausted. He stood still for a moment, taking a couple of large breaths before he turned and surveyed the field of battle. He was a military veteran and saw the field of action as the mess it indeed was. Zeke had been knocked to the ground and appeared to be unconscious. He didn’t look like his life was in danger, though. James was barely able to walk anymore because one of his legs was in bad shape, but he was still holding off strikes of one other person. The man that Arthur had hit in the back with the Basic Fire Bolt had turned and headed for Arthur. Vana was still running around, trying to stay out of range. Now and then, she would stop and quickly fire and then take off again while she grabbed another arrow and made ready. He saw plenty of people down and bleeding with arrows sticking out of them. He also saw eight more people climbing the walls on both sides of the gatehouse.
Now they had lost the little advantage they had with the short wall and were down one person with another almost useless. Arthur decided it was time to get James out of this fight. He sent a bolt of fire at the man that was still attacking James. The man stumbled, and Arthur rushed in his direction. He decided to ignore the man that had headed for him earlier and needed to get to James first. He wished he had his bow, but instead, he had to close the distance on foot. It took him a few seconds to rush the range. The man had recovered from his stumble and was back to harassing James, sensing he was the less dangerous prey right now. Since the man was focused on James, it was easy for Arthur to come at him from the side and plunge his sword through the man’s ribs, and his dagger came around to hit the man in the chest.
You have dealt 15 damage to Bandit (8)(Level 12) with Basic Fire Bolt.
You have dealt 120 damage to Bandit (8)(Level 12) with Enchanted Basic Mage-crafted Iron Dagger (Critical Strike)(Mortal Blow)(Fatal Blow).
You have dealt 90 damage to Bandit (8)(Level 12) with Steel Longsword of Minor Beastslaying (Critical Strike)(Mortal Blow)(Fatal Blow).
Bandit (8)(Level 12) has Died.
Congratulations, you have reached level 5 in Small Blades. Swing speed with Small Blades increased by 12%. Trying to be an assassin now?
Congratulations, you have reached level 4 in Dual Wield. Accuracy penalty with off-hand weapons decreased by 9%.
Bandit (1)(Level 12) has Died.
Congratulations, you have reached level 4 in Light Armor. Movement speed increased by 9% when wearing Light Armor. Try adding some flair to your leather next time.
Congratulations, you have reached level 5 in Swords. Swing speed with swords increased by 12%. Surely you can do better than that?
Bandit (5)(Level 12) has Died.
Bandit (6)(Level 12) has Died.
Congratulations, you have reached level 3 in Parry. Increased success chance with parry by 6%. Bounce those blades.
“James! Get yourself away from here. This fight is over for you. We can handle it from here.”
James gave Arthur a weary nod and shambled away as quick as he could. Arthur ran over to Allendria to assist her. She was holding two people off, but she had some cuts and scrapes on her upper arms and one on her side. She was starting to look weary from the action as well. He came up behind one of them and rammed his sword into their back.
You have dealt 90 damage to Bandit (9)(Level 12) with Steel Longsword of Minor Beastslaying (Critical Strike)(Mortal Blow)(Fatal Blow).
Bandit (9)(Level 12) has Died.
Arthur turned to the other man assaulting Allendria and channeled his Weak Flame spell into their face. They stumbled and shrieked in surprise. Allendria took that chance to bury her dagger in the man’s throat. He slumped forward, unmoving. She looked at him breathing hard for a moment.
“Look out!” She yelled in a rush. Arthur turned the direction she was looking as she sent a blast of fire over his shoulder. The man that had been pursuing him since he took off to help James stumbled and was trying to brush fire off of his face when Arthur dashed in and stabbed him with his dagger
in the heart.
You have dealt 120 damage to Bandit (11)(Level 12) with Enchanted Basic Mage-crafted Iron Dagger (Heart Strike).
Bandit (11)(Level 12) has Died.
Congratulations, you have reached level 5 in Light Armor. Movement speed increased by 12% when wearing Light Armor. Try padding the armor a bit?
“Thanks,” Arthur told her while gasping for breath. He took a quick look around the field and saw that Samson and Vana had made their way to each other. James had managed to get distance, and everyone was ignoring him as he continued to flee. Samson and Vana were back to back, fighting off four others, and six more were closing in. He looked to Allendria and motioned toward the group.
“Let’s go to help our friends.” He yelled as he dashed toward them.
He closed the distance and decided it was time to stop holding back he sent Fire Bolts at both of the attackers who were attacking Vana. Her safety was in more danger than Samson. She didn’t have the protection Samson did. The bolts stumbled both the bandits and Arthur had closed the distance enough for an overhead chop at one of them. His sword dug into the man’s shoulder and sheared through his collarbone. Arthur quickly followed with a dagger thrust to the back. At the same time, Vana leaped at the other surprised attacker and stabbed him with her dagger, and he fell to the ground writhing.
You have dealt 15 damage to Bandit (12)(Level 12) with Basic Fire Bolt.
You have dealt 15 damage to Bandit (13)(Level 12) with Basic Fire Bolt.
You have dealt 130 damage to Bandit (12)(Level 12) with Steel Longsword of Minor Beastslaying (Critical Strike)(Mortal Blow).
You have dealt 80 damage to Bandit (12)(Level 12) with Enchanted Basic Mage-crafted Iron Dagger (Critical Strike)(Mortal Blow)(Fatal Blow).
Bandit (12)(Level 12) has Died.
Congratulations, you have reached level 6 in Small Blades. Swing speed with Small Blades increased by 15%. Trying to power level a little combat, I see.
Congratulations, you have reached level 5 in Dual Wield. Accuracy penalty with off-hand weapons decreased by 12%. Unlock those talents!
There were only eight of them left now, that he could see, and luckily only a couple of them had blades while the rest had clubs. His group was exhausted, though. Samson had dings and cuts all over his armor and was bleeding a little on his upper arms and legs. He managed to cut down one of the two people who he had been holding off, and the other got a hit on his helmet that caused him to stumble sideways and fall to a knee. Arthur and Allendria both sent a blast of fire at the man who had hit him and forced him backward.
You have dealt 15 damage to Bandit (14)(Level 12) with Basic Fire Bolt.
Arthur swung his sword at the Bandit while Samson tried to regain his feet. The man parried his attack and tried to counterattack. Arthur was tired and running out of energy. He managed to dodge most of the damage but still took the hit to his left arm. His dagger fell from his grip, and the limb felt somewhat numb.
Bandit (14)(Level 12) has dealt 40 HP damage to you with Rusty Iron Dagger.
Bandit (14)(Level 12) has inflicted Paralyze (Left Arm) on you. This will last 2 minutes unless an additional injury occurs.
Arthur didn’t let the damage deter him. He gritted his teeth against the pain and swung right back with his sword. The sideways arc managed to cut deep into the man’s neck and nearly decapitated him.
You have dealt 195 damage to Bandit (14)(Level 12) with Steel Longsword of Minor Beastslaying (Decapitating Blow).
Bandit (14)(Level 12) has Died.
Congratulations, you have reached level 6 in Swords. Swing speed with swords increased by 15%. Nice decapitation!
Arthur still couldn’t feel his left arm. There were still six more headed their way, and they had almost arrived. Samson had regained his feet and was ready to hold his ground. Vana looked on the verge of collapse due to some blood loss and exhaustion. Allendria didn’t look much better. Arthur stepped up beside Samson to hold the charge. When the remaining six closed on them, he cast another Fire Bolt at the closest to him. The spell startled the man and caused him to run blindly at Arthur, giving Arthur the chance to run him through with his sword.
You have dealt 195 damage to Bandit (14)(Level 12) with Steel Longsword of Minor Beastslaying (Critical Strike)(Mortal Blow)(Fatal Blow).
The remaining five fanned out a bit, and three of them came for Arthur while two faced off with Samson. Arthur parried a blow from the first on him and blocked the second swing. The third man came in with a high swing, and Arthur managed to get his sword up to prevent part of the damage but wasn’t fast enough to stop it all. The club the man was wielding slammed into Arthur’s left shoulder with enough force to cause him to stumble.
Bandit (14)(Level 12) has dealt 30 HP damage to you with Wooden Club.
Your Paralyze(Left Arm) has been extended by 2 minutes.
The man started to advance on Arthur, but a dagger punched through his side as Vana jumped up beside him to assist. This gave Arthur the short time he needed to recover from his hit. He did a quick check on his essential stats.
HP: 120/290
Mana: 220/480
Stamina 100/290
He couldn’t let anything significant through, or it could be the end of him. He dodged the next swing coming for him and parried the following one. The feeling was starting to return in his left arm now, but it still wouldn’t respond well. He retaliated with his sword to the man on his left, but the man caught his blade in a block. Vana took that chance to bury her dagger into the man w swing ho was trying to swing at Arthur while his sword was blocked. He fell to the ground holding his side.
Arthur pushed with his strength and forced the man who had blocked his blade backward. He stumbled, and Arthur used that chance to swing across his body and slice into the man’s stomach. The Bandit dropped his weapon and clutched at his stomach, trying to hold it together, and Arthur took that chance to swing in a reverse motion and catch the man in the neck. He fell to the ground dead.
You have dealt 110 damage to Bandit (15)(Level 12) with Steel Longsword of Minor Beastslaying (Critical Strike)(Mortal Blow)(Fatal Blow).
You have dealt 100 damage to Bandit (15)(Level 12) with Steel Longsword of Minor Beastslaying (Critical Strike)(Mortal Blow)(Fatal Blow).
Bandit (15)(Level 12) has Died.
As the last person that Arthur was facing fell, Samson managed to take out one of the two on him, and Allendria came around his side with a burst of fire into the other’s face, followed by a dagger to his chest. Samson slumped his shoulders, the exhaustion plain to see in his eyes as Arthur looked to him.
Before Arthur could react, a war hammer came from behind Samson and slammed into the back of his head. He went down hard and wasn’t moving. Stunned, Arthur took a quick look behind them. The three main problems were there waiting for him. Alex was standing there holding the war hammer while Xavier was standing next to him blades in each hand. Slightly behind them was Lazaru with a rather plain-looking iron sword in his hand and a devilish smile on his face.
“Well, you put up one hell of a fight, but I am sure you cannot hold us off now,” Lazaru said.
“We shall see about that,” Arthur said as he plastered a false smile on his face. He needed to buy a few moments. This close combat fighting was taking a toll on him. He needed to get some distance on them and had an idea of how. He decided it was time to channel a little of his inner Elric.
For absolutely no reason, other than to make him smile, he clapped his hands together and then knelt to place his right hand on the ground. He quickly pulled his Earth Magic to him and caused the dirt under him to swirl into a rod as he pulled it out of the land. He kept pulling the rod up and transforming the entire thing to a dense stone as he did. He kept rising, and when it reached about chest high, he caused the bottom to pull out in a full blade shape to make a Stone Spear.
Congratulations, you have discovered the Combination Spell: Summon: Stone Spear. You have gained 250 experience in Earth
Magic and Fire Magic for discovering a known spell.
Summon: Stone Spear
Requirements: Fire Magic and Earth Magic
Mana Cost: 40 MP
Cast Time: 4 seconds
Description: Calls forth a spear of stone from the ground for combat. This spear’s damage is based on the user’s Earth Magic level multiplied by (1.2).
Mastery Level: 1
The three people facing him stood there with looks of wonder on their faces.
“You ready to try your luck?” Arthur asked with a sly grin.
“Get the bastard. Don’t let his fancy tricks scare you.” Lazaru bellowed.
Alex and Xavier rushed the three remaining people. Alex made his way for Arthur and swung the war hammer at him. Arthur knew he couldn’t block that weapon and would need to dodge. Arthur dodged out of the way, but Alex’s speed was faster and clipped him on his side. He stumbled and gasped as he felt the pain in his ribs.
Alex (Level 15) has dealt 40 HP damage to you with Iron War Hammer (Glancing Blow).
Shit! Arthur thought. If that had been a substantial hit, he was sure he would be dead or crippled. He spun the shaft of his spear and swung the blunt end toward Alex’s head. The man quickly jumped back out of range and tried to close in. Arthur expected this, so he promptly twisted the staff in his hands and swung back the other direction. Alex tried to jump back, but the blade of the spear cut into his chest and caused blood to slowly trickle down the front of his shirt.
Dravincia Page 45
