bookpower Chapter 208: The Man of Darkness (4)
Chapter 208: The Man of Darkness (4)
Chapter 208: The Man of Darkness (4)
"Are they the ones Sora mentioned seeing?"
It was a horde of monsters arranged almost like an army. Kai could feel it for sure as he watched the approaching monsters.
They’re really like an army.
Even during the Invasion Event, the monsters attacked cities and villages like an army. However, calling them a well-organized army would have been an exaggeration.
It was just dozens of different monsters mixed together, charging forward, and that was it.
However, the monsters approaching the Holy Blood Order now were different. They were divided into flying monsters and ground monsters, for starters. On top of that, they were astonishingly arranged according to their respective attack ranges.
It’s as if someone classified the monsters by unit... Who is it?Nôv(el)B\\jnn
Could it perhaps be the doing of the man of darkness Camilla had mentioned?
Kai glanced at the Holy Blood Order, who appeared anxious, and pondered for a moment.
We could run away if we needed to right now.
Since entering the Tuhara Desert, the Holy Blood Order had been forced back by the monsters' assault and couldn't advance even a single step. That meant that the dark red veil was directly behind them.
If he turned around and sprinted, he was confident he could escape the Tuhara Desert within ten seconds.
But if I did that, I’d never find the dwarves.
Even if he returned later, he would have to confront these monsters at some point. Moreover, it was hard to believe the dwarves would be safe by then.
This difficulty level is seriously messed up.
Holding his throbbing forehead, Kai let out a sigh rising from deep within his chest.
The holy items he had already obtained, like the Holy Pauldron and Holy Ring, were the same kind of holy relic, but the difficulty level for obtaining them had been much lower.
No, originally, even those would have been tough.
What if he hadn't acquired the Solaris Cleric class through an absurd method? What if he hadn’t had the chance to meet the mermaids or elves?
I would have had to wander the sea looking for a single ring and break through the armies of the Church of Muldine and the dark elves just to find the Holy Pauldron.
But life was all about timing! Kai had visited the two clans faster than anyone else, brilliantly destroying the Church of Muldine’s shallow schemes. Thanks to that, he was able to obtain two holy items so easily that it could be called a free gift.
However, that resulted in the current situation.
“They’re really determined this time.”
It seemed his opponent was dead set on ensuring he wouldn't be able to rescue the dwarves.
The fact that they targeted the dwarves suggests that the Church of Muldine is behind this. However, while the Church of Muldine might be able to corrupt monsters, they don’t have the power to control such a vast number.
In that case, it was highly likely that the Church of Muldine had joined forces with the Demon King's followers. He had expected this. Having faced repeated failures, the Church of Muldine had evidently made a substantial gamble this time.
“What a hassle for a single sword.”
Crack, crack.
Kai loosened his neck as he stepped forward to the front of the Holy Blood Order, looking at the approaching monsters.
“Well, well. Looks like they only sent the small fry earlier, huh?”
Kai let out a small laugh as he looked at the lineup of monsters. Usually, no matter how smart animal-type monsters were, they were less intelligent than humanoid monsters.
From poison mummies to desert ogres and the desert ghosts... It's a complete set.
Each one was a difficult, high-level monster to deal with, and even flying around were desert bats with their annoying ultrasonic attacks!
“I guess there’s no other choice.”
Kai looked back at the Holy Blood Order members and asked, “What are your opinions on the undead?”
To that question, the Holy Blood Order members glared at the approaching monsters and replied in voices filled with conviction.
“Poor souls wandering in the world even after death!”
“We must grant them death and send them to the place they should have gone to.”
“They’re monsters that we must all tear apart. That remains unchanged.”
“The undead are vile beings used only by evil people. We must slash every one we see.”
The Holy Blood Order members displayed a far stronger rejection than he expected! But thinking about it, it was natural. For the Order’s holy paladins who used holy power, the undead were their top priority to eliminate.
This is not good...
His army of dullahans was needed to somehow raise the odds of winning this battle. However, summoning them without any prior explanation would likely lead to significant backlash. If the situation grew more dire, the Holy Blood Order members could even end up attacking the dullahans.
Then should I try using that?
Kai discreetly checked the additional effect he gained as his Charisma skill leveled up to Intermediate.
[Sophistry: Confuses the listener with absurd words. However, there’s a very high chance of failure.]
Without relying on a skill like this, it would be extremely difficult to sway the minds of these faithful people.
“Ahem. Honestly speaking, the undead aren’t inherently evil. They are merely pitiful beings who couldn’t cross over after death. The ones who use them as tools of slaughter are the bad ones. Just as one cannot compare a sword held by a knight to one held by a petty thief.”
Ding!
“Kyuu, kyuoo...”
With a voice that sounded touched, Mimic stayed behind Kai as he lowered his sword and muttered, “Wrath of the Sun.”
Ding!
[The sunlight is especially strong in this area. +50% attack power to Wrath of the Sun.]
“Dang.”
With unexpected support, the sunlight streaming down scorched the wings of the desert bats.
“Kieek?!”
“Kieeeeek!”
Thud, thud!
The desert bats’ wings fell to the ground!
Kai gathered the fallen materials and then approached the desert bats crawling on the ground.
“Kieeek!”
Laying flat on the ground, the desert bats launched ultrasonic attacks.
Troublesome attack.
The ultrasonic attacks dealt substantial damage, but the scariest part was that the skill’s range wasn’t visible. Moreover, it was too fast to even react, making it impossible to avoid.
The moment Kai’s ankle sank into the desert sand, an unknown force brushed past his body.
It’s ultrasonic.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, all the desert bats simultaneously turned their heads and launched ultrasonic attacks at him.
Hit by dozens of ultrasonic waves, Kai knelt down, blood dripping from his nose.
“Kihehehe.”
“Kieeeng!”
The desert bats laughed, mocking the foolish adventurer who dared approach them and met his end. With their vision deteriorated, the bats located their prey by the resonance of the ultrasonic waves.
“But they won’t realize it’s fake.”
Clown’s Shoes was a Unique-grade item with the special skill Confusion!
Kai’s form, kneeling in the sand and bleeding, faded away like a mirage in the desert.
“Kieng?”
The desert bats instinctively sensed something was wrong.
Positioned right in the middle of them, Kai looked around at them with a nonchalant gaze and snapped his fingers.
“Wrath of the Sun.”
It was the attack they couldn’t avoid even when they were flying freely in the sky. Now, with their wings torn and crawling on the ground, their chances of avoiding this attack were practically zero.
“Kieeeeek!”
“Kirararak!”
The desert bats screamed, but Kai calmly prepared his next skill.
“Chasing Light Arrow.”
Vwooom.
The particles of light that were spread out delicately, formed sharp arrows. And the moment Kai snapped his fingers, the hundreds of arrows formed pierced through the bodies of the desert bats.
[+374,116 XP.]
[+352,871 XP.]
[+...]
[Level increased.]
[Level increased.]
[Acquired 10 stat points.]
.
.
.
The result of instantly taking down over fifty desert bats close to level 400 was indeed sweet. Kai smirked as he watched the dullahan bombs successfully hit their mark.
“Assessing your opponent and planning a slow strategy is commendable, but four hours isn’t enough to figure me out.”
It was a small warning directed at the mastermind who would be watching this scene from somewhere.
“You messed with the wrong person.”