Chapter 62: King's Game I
[Game Quest: Defeat the opposing King!]
[Game, Start!]
[Time Limit: 3 Minutes.]
"Holy fuck!"
"Is that a member of their Party or something?!"
"No, it was summoned somehow!"
"Does that mean its Stats aren't changed?"
"Its Stats probably depend on those of the person summoning it!"
"We don't know who has summoned it…!"
The Army of the White King shouted and muttered as the Saber-Toothed Cat roared.
'Good!' Léa thought to herself as the White Queen positioned herself in front of her Army, standing between the Army and the Saber-Toothed Cat. 'They armed the Queen with a Shield. Her job will be to dart around and protect the others. We're at a disadvantage. The Rooks are the ones who will attack.'
Léa gulped, noticing that neither Marianne nor Katherine had made a move yet.
'Next, I have to quickly figure out how to use this!'
She focused on the Summoned Saber-Toothed Cat while the White Rooks were ordered to circle around it and attack!
'I only summoned it as a way to buy us some time. In the end, it was summoned by a Pawn.' Léa's eyes narrowed as she focused further. 'Earlier, the Ghost of the Past fed and thrived on my Fear. Right now, the Summon depends only on me. It won't feed on their Fear. Instead, what it feeds on is…'
"W-What?"
"It's…!"
The White Rooks stopped in their tracks before they could move past the Saber-Toothed Cat!
A ferocious roar echoed through the vault, causing reverberations to pass through every participant's body!
"That must be their Queen's summon!"
"Fall back!" Petra shouted, raising her Shield in front of the summon!
"We have to defeat that first!" The White King shouted as he pointed.
The Saber-Toothed Cat had quickly grew, and now stood at over four meters tall!
The gigantic beast roared menacingly as it barred the White Army's way!
'This will only buy us a small amount of time!' Léa clenched her teeth. 'Eyes like Marianne's, or someone used to sensing Mana like Katherine will see it immediately. It might have grown to four meters tall, but it's not any stronger! All I've done is spread the Mana that makes up its body. If I were to make it attack, they would realize that its size increased while its weight remained the same… The density decreased. Why aren't they doing anything yet?! I threw the first move! Do you expect one Pawn to play the whole opening?! Now would be the time to attack, while they're focused on my Summon!' Drops of sweat were forming on Léa's forehead. 'I need to remain focused on it, or it'll disappear! Think while remaining focused on the Summon! They still aren't moving. Is Elijah ordering them telepathically? What are they waiting for? The other side is preparing to attack my Summon! The Rooks ran towards us with their weapons raised! They're part of the bigger group of looters who have no trouble attacking people. I know Marianne was just acting tough. Katherine doesn't want to fight people either. But the other side isn't like us at all! Even if they're hesitating, why isn't Zarath doing anything either?!'
As the White King's Army started moving so as to make a half circle in front of the massive Saber-Toothed Cat, Léa's eyes widened.
Even now, it was about standing out. About earning Elijah's mark of approval.
Winning the Game against the Ghost of the Past wasn't enough. Summoning the Saber-Toothed Cat isn't enough either.
Katherine has incredible offensive and magic abilities.
Marianne has a Legendary Class and Skills that allow her to see through Illusions and much more.
What can Léa do to stand out?
'The only thing…' She clenched her teeth. 'That the others haven't done yet.'
Léa hesitated. It wasn't an easy decision.
It was the only thing to do.
A Pawn throwing a move isn't enough. Making a move is what's necessary!
"It's about to attack!"
The massive Saber-Toothed Cat raised its paw and swung it at the White Pawn closest to the Black King's side!
'Even if they plan to attack with the Rooks first, they're keeping the stronger Roles closest to the King!
The White Queen, thanks to her much higher Stats, quickly positioned herself between the approaching clawed paw and the White Pawn, Shield raised and held with both arms!
"What…?" The White Queen frowned, confused by the lack of impact!
The paw had moved right above her, missing her completely.
"Argh!" Léa exclaimed as she swung her Iron Sword down at the White Pawn that had previously been targeted by her Summon!
"Arrgh!!" The White Pawn managed to move away, getting away with a shallow wound that went down his arm! "The bitch!" He cursed, preparing to throw an attack of his own!
'They're sending the Pawn first?' The White Queen asked herself as she hurriedly turned around, confused.
Just as she was about to move towards Léa, the White Queen's eyebrow twitched.
Turning around as fast as she could,
"Ugh!" The White Queen exclaimed, moved back by the force of the impact. 'I managed to block. What was that?' Her eyes darted to the other side. 'That girl…?'
The White Queen's frowned deepened as she gazed beyond the massive Saber-Toothed Cat.
"What the hell are you…?"
The Black Rook raised her weapon again.
"Isn't it obvious?" Zarath grinned, her black horns and tail in full view. "I'm a Rook." She answered. 'The Rook Buff seems to meddle with the Restrictions imposed on me.'
The Black Knight's Sword was swung, and another slash of black energy was launched with terrible speed!
'Tsk!' Petra clicked her tongue as she ran. The attack hadn't been launched at her this time. 'They want me to stay away from the orange-haired one, huh? This attack is too strong for the others to block. They would end up dead!'
Léa barely managed to block the axe swung in her direction.
'Tsk! They're only moving now… So that's what he was waiting for, isn't it? When the looters attacked, he was the only one who fought!' Léa pushed back at once and jumped back. 'I'm willing… To fight people too!'
The injured White Pawn was ordered to jump back and,
"Archers!" The White King shouted.
"Shit-"
Léa cursed as five of the twelve enemies shot their arrows at once!
'They're not just aiming at me. They're aiming at the others as well!'
With no time to move, Léa raised her arms defensively… But no arrow had hit target.
"They fired arrows at us." Katherine whispered, her eyes cold as she stared.
All of the arrows had been blown away by a powerful gale.
Marianne's eyes narrowed, while Zarath smirked.
'I need to keep their Queen busy…' she thought, swinging the Black Knight's Sword again and again. 'While our Queen gets started!'