NOVEL NEXT Chapter 253: Protected Loot? (2)
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Making good on his promise to watch Henry's back, Andor stuck close to him. Spinning his Spear in a show of further improvement in its handling and twirling so fast to defend himself against two Orbs tossed by an Orc Caster. The third Orb disrupted his rhythm but he managed to strike it to the ground where it scorched the green earth.
"Ah!" Andor yelled in a battle cry as he charged at the Orc Caster managing to dodge a red bolt by about an inch before striking out his Spear with every bit of strength in his body.
*Bang!*
Andor's attack was intercepted by the Orc's red translucent shield but he charged his Mana into the Spear and, as it always did, the weapon became a conduit that condensed his Mana and unleashed it in a blast.
*BOOM!!!*
The Shield cracked and the force of the impact sent the Orc Caster sliding many feet away where it struggled to keep the shield up. When it began to fluctuate, the Orc gritted its teeth and reformed its seal. There was about a second of delay and that was enough for Andor who was already on the move.
Andor stabbed his Spear into the Orc's abdomen and twisted before unleashing another Mana blast through the spear to rupture the enemy's insides, killing it.
*bang!*
That was the sound of a gunshot.
While Andor was busy with the Orc Caster, an Orc Warrior stomped close and swung its ax. It was unclear whether Andor would be able to react fast enough to raise his weapon in a parry but fortunately, there was no need to find out as Henry intercepted the Orc Warrior with a headshot that instantly killed it.
"Thank you," Andor said with a hard head nod, and, pulling his Spear out of his victim, he leaped away just in time to avoid a series of red bolts that fired at the spot he had been just a second ago.
More attacks came from other sides and the force of their contact against the ground disrupted Andor's rhythm but he was holding on.
Meanwhile, Henry unleashed [Extra Arms!] and combined all five tentacles into a massive convergence that he struck at a Caster's shield cracking it. He completed the damage he started with shots from both 'Violent Retort' and 'Cudgel' completely shattering the shield and the barrage that followed, had the Orc spotted with five bullet holes as it was sent flying. Dead before it hit the ground.
Henry activated <Hat of Shielding> and stood in place as multiple shots from multiple casters came at him. The force of contact caused him to slide but he paid it no mind. He didn't have to get close to continue his barrage of shots.
Andor went after one of the Casters firing at Henry, attracting its attention as he unleashed his Mana surge in a torrent and swung his Spear in a few arcs to unleash Mana surge attacks against its erected shield.
The Mana surge attacks were mostly a cover. They intercepted all of the spells the Orc Caster tossed at Andor and as they exploded in mid-air with every contact —and while gritting his teeth at the pain of the few that did manage to strike him—, Andor got close enough to attempt another Mana burst.
*BOOM!!!*
The shield shattered and just as it had been with the last Orc Caster that suffered a similar attack, the Orc was forced sliding away. However, it was smarter than the last. Or maybe it had just learned from the mistakes of the dead.
Either, way, by the time Andor's spear was connecting with its shield, it gave up on it and was preparing a far more complex shielding spell that it let loose while still in the air to unleash shield after shield until there were four layers of protection in front of it.
The Orc's feet hit the ground when Andor struck the first shield and it smiled while mouthing a different spell. A killing spell that it believed it would have the time to compete considering the multiple layers Andor would have to break through to get to it.
Alas…
*BANG!*
*BANG!*
*BANG!*
*BANG!*
Four resounding sounds of impact later and Andor shattered all four shields. How he did it had the Orc's eyes grown wide in sheer shock. Andor's Spear was a foot away from its face when it gave up on its killing spell that was not even halfway complete and put all focus into a movement spell to create the required space.
As though Andor had read its mind, he struck out a Mana arc just in time and it struck the Orc in the side. Even though it tried to use its Staff to parry, the attack still disrupted its movement rhythm causing it to stumble which Andor took ready advantage of.
"Ugh! You bastard…!" The Orc Caster managed to let out a yell right before Andor's Spear stabbed into its mouth and out the back of its head.
Before Andor could even truly appreciate the kill he just made or turn around to face other enemies that still littered the field, his instincts warned of an attack from behind but he was still too slow to avoid the magical spear conjured with violent red Mana from stabbing into his back out the front, leaving behind a substantial hole.
"Argh!" He yelled out in pain and arched his back while swiveling around so that in one move, he pulled his Spear out of the Orc's head and used it to parry another attack.
He had just succeeded when he saw the Orc Caster make a grand move with its arms and summon a massive spell circle that primed to unleash a barrage Andor knew he had very little chance of avoiding completely.
But then a single watery tentacle wrapped around the Orc's legs and pulled it off its feet so it smacked its face against the green earth. Andor stepped forward and speared the creature's head into the ground immediately after.
He placed a hand over his wound bleeding and had to stifle an intense blood spurt. And then he felt a wave of refreshing energy he had come to know well. He glanced out of the corner of his eyes and saw where the Clerics were grouped up supplying healing from a distance. Meryna's attention was on him. That warmed him more than the healing did.
He gripped his Spear even tighter and was back into the thick of it. While Henry fired more shots, shattering Orc Caster Shields and killing the unfortunate Orcs who were a tad too late in redeploying their shields, Andor picked off the ones Henry's attention wasn't on.
Speaking of Henry;
When the activation time for his shield was over, he was forced back on the move. Two of the total five tentacles of [Extra Arms!] had been destroyed but he retained the initiative. This was more the case when he activated <Raider's Intent>.
The Aura of Fear spread from him, affecting all Orcs he managed to get close to and scrambling their ability to react to his attacks which made them easier to kill.
Of course, after the first three died to this tactic, the others became wiser. As it turned out, protection against mental attacks was not all that difficult for them being the more spiritually attuned bunch within their monstrous race.
Unfortunately for them, however, they caught on late, and by that time, their numbers were far too reduced and they had to worry about Andor as well so they fell all the same.
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Henry made so many kills that he was not too surprised when he received a familiar alert in his head that brought it a series of notifications.
[Level Up!]
[You are now Level 33]
[Hit Point Maximum increased to 330]
[Hit Points: 161/330]
[Mana Point Maximum increased to 440]
[You have received 6 Stat Points to Allocate]
[You now have 18 Stat Points to allocate]
Henry did raise his brow at the notifications though. Or more accurately, he raised his brow at the last one.
'I hadn't even realized I was hoarding so many Stat Points.'
So far he had not been forced to use them and even now, beyond being amused, he was not at all too eager to allocate. The more Stat Points there were, the better he always was at allocating them when he didn't have to worry about neglecting one important Stat for the other.
While Henry smiled lightly at this thought, Andor pinned down the last Orc Caster, and a stab and Mana burst later, it was dead.
Henry gave an approving nod to which Andor beamed with pride. And then they heard the sound everyone else on the field heard at the same time.
*BANG!!!*
It came from a bit far off where a female Mercenary —the one named Marla—, struck her sword against a Semi-Sphere formed through the collation of Spell Circles.
It wasn't just the sound that intrigued Henry though. There was something chilly the aura that was displaced. Eloise pulled her sword out of an Orc's gut and she had a similar expression to Henry's on her face.
"NOOOOO!!!" An Orc Warrior yelled only now realizing how much they had neglected their task. Its neck was slit by a Mercenary belonging to Marla's group quickly enough.
Marla ignored the yell. She just grinned as she spotted a crack in the Semi-Sphere from where her sword had last made contact. She struck hard against that spot for a second time and this time there was no mistaking the chilly aura.
All the hairs on Henry's body stood on end in reaction to it and he just stood in place, his eyes focused on the 'chest' in the very center of the Semi-Sphere.