NOVEL NEXT Chapter 180: Spiritual Kiss Flower
After hearing Van's reply, Julia couldn't help but smile…
"Then, let's do this together…" Julia said she had already considered Van as her tactician.
Van nodded as they soon waited for an opportunity to strike…
"Circle formation! Pull back to the central tree!" Harrison shouted as sweat poured down his brow…
One beast suddenly surged forward, slamming its horn into a mage's Mana Shield, and it threw her several meters through the air.
Bam!
This time, she landed hard and was already gasping for air…
"Van…" Julia said as she glanced at her slave…
"We're intervening. Follow my lead." Van said as he confirmed that his Ocularis Lens' Support Command Marker was already active.
Instantly, Van's vision was overlaid with outlines of enemies and allies.
Soon, he broke into a sprint…
He cut left through the foliage and circled the outer edge of the battlefield… Julia, on his signal, moved right, sticking to shadows to ensure that she was well hidden.
The Bramblebacks, locked into the central fight against the slaves and apprentice mages, hadn't noticed the two new arrivals.
Van then surged out of the trees… At this point, his aura was already flooding his arms and legs.
"Ha!"
He then slammed both feet into the back of one Brambleback's leg, forcing its knee to buckle.
Just like that, he jabbed his dagger, his secondary weapon, into the soft point behind its foreleg—the only exposed flesh on the beast's armored side.
[ Critical Weak Point Detected – Target Staggered ]
'Nice…'
The beast then roared and swiftly prepared to release its quills to attack Van…
This time, however, Julia struck.
"Concussive Burst!"
It was another Zero Circle Spell that she only learned in the Academy.
The essence of the spell was quite simple, almost similar to Magic Bullet…
However, this was a lot stronger and more spontaneous…
Just like that, a force hammered the Brambleback's face just as it turned.
Bam!
The creature stumbled backward, dazed by the attack, and then collapsed at the same time… Van and Julia didn't finish it off as they still had to deal with other One-Horned Beasts…
Still, this was already a good start!
The Apprentice Mages then turned in shock… They were both surprised and elated after seeing their unexpected allies.
"Julia! Van?!" Clyde gasped while struggling to stand. It was the first time he felt so happy seeing a slave!
Of course, it was the same for others… They had been fighting against Magic Beasts for a couple of hours. They brought some Mana Crystals, Potions, and other tools with them, but it was simply not enough. They were already too tired since they didn't have enough to rest and recover from their fatigue.
After all, using Spells could also strain their bodies!
Van then turned toward Harrison. "We'll take one side. Focus your spells on the central two."
Harrison wasn't used to being ordered by a slave. However, seeing that Julia wasn't saying anything, it must be her order to instruct them.
After thinking about it, they immediately felt better as they found it reasonable. They do not want to offend Julia at this point either.
Now, flanking from opposite ends, the tide began to shift.
Van dashed beneath a second Brambleback and slashed its underbelly and he passed between its legs swiftly… He wasn't caught by the beast due to the spell that Julia used to cover for him.
The creature was in pain and thrashed around… It started attacking everywhere without care but Julia called out, activating Mana Chain, rooting its limbs in place for three seconds!
It may be short, but it was enough time for Van.
After all, once the natural mana barrier of the Magic Creatures had disappeared, they would be weak against his Aura-Enhanced Sword.
Van leaped upward, grabbing the horn and using it to flip onto the beast's back.
"Ha!"
With a downward stab, he then drove his dagger into the base of the neck, or what he believed was its neck…
Thud!
The beast then let out a death groan and fell forward…
Two down.
He had only done this because the rest of the Magic Beasts were occupied by the remaining Apprentice Mages who could cast some spells.
Harrison coordinated with the surviving mages.
One used Earthen Shackles, holding a Brambleback's legs in place.
Another mage unleashed a volley of Magic Needles, chipping away at its armor.
Julia, who was still hidden, cast Mana Shield, protecting two wounded mages from the shockwave of an incoming beast's charge…
At this time, Van regrouped with Julia, as he waved his dagger to splash the blood of the beast to the ground.
"It should be manageable now…" Van muttered.
"Yes… One of them is even retreating... The last two are pressing toward Clyde's side…"
They decided to ignore the retreating Brambleback and focused on helping Clyde's side.
Van quickly acted and dashed across the battlefield, and drove an Aura-infused kick into the beast's jaw as it prepared to release another set of quills.
Well, he didn't like the quill attack as it required a lot of Aura to block. It was easier to prevent it from happening than to defend against it.
The final Brambleback saw its pack dying and hesitated—just for a moment.
However, that was all they needed.
Since it was now alone, a barrage of spells struck it from multiple angles… They may only be Zero-Circle Spells, but as they accumulated, they still ended up crushing their Beast Core!
Just like that, the last beast shrieked as its horn shattered…
***
The battlefield had finally grown silent…
The corpses of the Bramblebacks were then looted by the slaves who could still move…
At this point, they didn't care about the mess they created. They were sure that no Magic Beast would come here after the strong fluctuations of Mana they had released.
"Whew~" Clyde couldn't help but smile even after seeing many of them wounded. There was relief on his expression at this hard-earned victory.
For now, they took shelter near the edge of the clearing, gathering behind a makeshift barricade of fallen logs and tree roots.
The exhausted Apprentice Mages slumped to the ground. Some of them had bruised ribs or burnt sleeves as the potions they consumed weren't high-quality. It takes a lot of time for them to recover…
Still, once they circulated their Mana, it would help them feel more comfortable…
On the other hand, the others were simply waiting for instructions as they knew that the Spiritual Kiss Flower wasn't far from here.
"You did well…" Julia whispered to Van.
Van actually sat quietly against a tree, wiping the blood from his dagger with a patch of cloth that he had brought with him in his satchel.
"Thank you…" Van replied…
At this time, Clyde approached.
"Hey…" His arm was wrapped in a makeshift sling made from a torn robe.
"I… I just wanted to say thanks."
Van looked up, eyebrow raised. A Magician giving thanks to a Slave was something that he had never heard of. He then swiftly looked at Julia to confirm whether Clyde was saying it to her or not…
Seeing this, Clyde also felt awkward…
"You didn't have to come. But you did. And you saved our asses…" Clyde admitted, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly.
"You too, Julia. We would've been Brambleback food without you two."
Julia gave a soft smile. "I will inherit the Rukh Tower someday... Of course, I need to protect my people."
"Ugh…" Clyde didn't expect that reply at all.
Although Julia was indeed the daughter of the Tower Master, inheriting it wasn't quite right… After all, the Archmage could probably live for a hundred or more years.
Furthermore, it wasn't guaranteed that the daughter of the Tower Master would inherit it. Normally, it would be inherited by the disciple of the Archmage, or it would be decided by the Tower Elders to ensure that they would continue to exist for generations.
After clearing his throat, Harrison replied…
"Still, you didn't hesitate to help us… Thank you."
Van said nothing and just listened to their conversation.
Nonetheless, he also appreciated their gratitude… Although they weren't saying it, he could tell from their eyes that they were glad to see him…
Soon, after patching their wounds, replenishing their mana with crystals, and catching their breath, the group set out again—this time, together.
***
It took them about twenty more minutes to reach their destination…
There was a gentle river where the Spiritual Kiss Flower was located…
During this time of the day, there was a mist along the banks that could block their vision…
Furthermore, the ground was soft as it was covered with moss...
Still, with Van's Ocularis Lens, the mist didn't block his vision… This was also true for the Magicians who could use Magic Eyes.
Then, just like that, they saw their mission objective at the center of the clearing.
There was a raised patch of soil surrounded by natural stone. From there, they saw eight tightly closed flower buds about to bloom!
Spiritual Kiss Flowers.