Chapter 266: A critical moment of life and death Chapter 266: A critical moment of life and death “Boom—!!”
Deep within a canyon cave, a fierce explosion erupted without warning, sending flames leaping out, scorching everything around.
Vivian, holding her shield in front of everyone, shielded the group from the flames while shouting to those behind her, leading the rush out of the cave.
But no sooner had they emerged from the cave than another wave of flames came at them.
The sound of the explosion set the path ahead of Vivian and her party ablaze, blocking their way.
“Don’t let them escape anymore!”
Jiorrido bellowed at the surrounding nobles and knights.
“Attack! A reward of one thousand gold coins to whoever kills Thiel Elbein!”
Jiorrido’s command sent the knights charging forward with murderous intent, without a moment’s hesitation.
As for the nobles, they were all raising their magic wands, chanting spells from the back.
Lu Muya and Merica were somewhat panicked seeing the scene unfold.
“Don’t panic!” Vivian immediately said in a stern voice, “Merica, get ready to cast your spell. Thiel and Lu Muya will guard on the sides, leave the rest to me!”
Vivian’s instructions swiftly restored calm among the women.
Without hesitating, Merica began chanting spells, and Lu Muya, her face tense, raised her gauntlets in readiness.
As for Thiel, she was the calmest of them all, raising the blades in her hands and watching the approaching enemies with a cold stare.
But they clearly couldn’t get to Thiel.
Because, in front of them, the Shield of the Kingdom stood guard.
“Deflection (Resist)!”
Vivian employed two of her adept skills, letting magic flow through her body.
Under the influence of that magic, all the charging knights involuntarily focused toward Vivian, as if enraged by her, their eyes fixated solely on her as they raised their weapons and swung.
“Clang clang clang clang…”
In the clamor of clashing steel, countless weapons hacked at Vivian’s shield, sparking off myriad sparks.
“Mages! Get ready to release your spells!”
From behind, seeing this scene, Jiorrido wasn’t surprised; instead, he shouted loudly at the people preparing their spells beside him.
Vivian’s expression immediately changed.
[Taunt] was a very excellent skill, enticing all enemies within a certain range to her position, attracting all attacks to herself, a must-have skill for a defensive frontliner in an adventurer team.
But the skill wasn’t without weaknesses.
First, its effective range was limited.
Second, it had no effect on beings of a higher level than the skill level.
For example, if [Taunt] was upgraded to Level 5, it would be effective against beings around Level 50, and its range would be substantial, but it would be ineffective against beings Level 60 and above.
Vivian placed great emphasis on this skill, having raised it to Level 6, it was effective against Level 60 beings and could even cover all individuals within a sixty-meter radius.
However, the nobles and knights attacking Vivian’s team were all below Level 70 and did not exceed the scope of Vivian’s skill.
Yet, they seemed to have figured out the range of Vivian’s skill, maintaining a significant distance.
That is to say, Vivian couldn’t attract the next wave of attacks.
Jiorrido then gave his ruthless order.
At his fierce command, the mages released their spells, bombarding from dozens of meters away with a barrage of magic.
“Freeze Dark Vortex (Freeze Whirlpools)!”
Just then, behind Vivian, Merica’s shout rose.
With a surge of magic, a cold wind blew, turning into whirlpools of frozen air, appearing in front of Vivian.
“Boom boom boom boom boom…”
The spell of attacking magic rained down, all falling upon the vortex of chilling airstreams that had frozen the atmosphere, and none could penetrate it—only succeeding in stirring up flurries of snowflakes and ice crystals.
Merica looked as though she had exhausted all her strength, collapsing to sit on the ground.
Vivian instantly reacted, unable to help but cry out.
The attackers, meanwhile, were taken aback.
“Did one person actually block all the attacking magic cast by so many of us?”
“Could she have used Upper Level Frozen Defense Magic?”
“Impossible! That was clearly Intermediate Magic!”
“How could her defensive power be so high?”
“Even if she is an elf, she shouldn’t be able to do that!”
The noble mages began to stir.
They had cast Intermediate Magic, yet it had been completely deflected by Merica using magic of the same level, little wonder they found it inconceivable.
They had no idea that, during this time, Merica’s magic power had been continuously climbing, and at an increasingly rapid pace. By now, the magic she released faintly bore the might nearly matching that of Upper-level Magic.
It was her magic power that propped up this force.
Yet, to cast such powerful magic had naturally consumed a great deal of Merica’s magic power.
Jiorrido noticed this and quickly spoke up.
“Attack that elf mage first!”
The knights received this command.
They all rushed in the direction of Merica.
Vivian wanted to stop them, but her magic power was almost depleted, too, causing her to stumble and kneel on one knee on the ground.
In the end, it was Lu Muya who acted.
“No… You can’t hurt Merica!”
Lu Muya cried out in a high-pitched voice, raising her fists and charging forward.
Two knights, around Level 40, immediately engaged Lu Muya, entangling her in a fight.
The rest of the knights tried to bypass her and directly attack Merica.
In the vibration of the air, a pair of blades lit up with red Magic Light.
Tielle, like a gust of wind, swooped forward, her blade—now imbued with a “Magical Sword”—swinging wide in a grand Helical Slash.
The weapons that touched the “Magical Sword” were chopped off.
A knight unfortunate enough to be within the range of the attack had his chest split open, blood spraying everywhere.
For a moment, the knights reeled with painful cries, either collapsing with severe injuries or having their weapons shattered, kicked away by Tielle.
“I finally got my chance!”
A voice, ecstatic with joy, reached Tielle’s ears, causing her pupils to shrink dramatically.
The next second, an arrow sliced through the air, shooting straight toward her.
The arrow pierced through the side of the unprepared Tielle, blood spurting out.
Vivian, kneeling on the ground, Merica, collapsed on the ground, and Lu Muya, caught in the struggle, all witnessed this scene and could not help letting out cries of grief.
Tielle coughed up blood, her gaze trembling as she looked toward the direction from which the arrow came.
There, Jiorrido, with his bow drawn, was sneering viciously.