NOVEL NEXT Chapter 185: They are but a mere façade in the eyes of Time
\\/| The fourth round will begin in 00:10:00 |\\/
\\/| Roles have been chosen |\\/
\\/| Bishop vs Imp shaman |\\/
Half a day had passed since the ogres and trolls began their holmgang. The results were just as Zyrus had predicted– the imp king didn't use its turn and therefore, the players won by a good margin.
The time given before the next round started was also increasing each time. 5 minutes were given before the second round began. The imps who fought against the knights were called 'Tremplars.' They had whip-like arms that could stretch long enough to cover one-fifth of the ring, and their mounts could jump just like knight pieces on a chessboard.
It was a deadly combination. The imps used their arms to bind the players and tried to limit their movement. The players were given a mount in the form of a white horse after Zyrus used his turn on them. Unlike the imperial mammoths that were summoned before, these horses didn't focus on raw strength.
The players who took on the knight role were the ones who had the most balanced combat powers. The best word that could describe them would be 'Stability'. Offence, defense, reinforcements, raids, siege warfare, they were adept at all sorts of things. Many of them had the shield warrior class which caused their tenacity to be at the top alongside the trolls. The mounts given by the usage of turns reflected the power of the given role, so the white horses that were summoned besides the knights were more well-rounded with offensive, defensive, and assisting abilities.
This was a fight where neither side could achieve victory in the short term. The fact that this round took ten plus hours to conclude was enough of a proof for that.
'Regardless, the next two rounds will be over soon.'
Zyrus stretched his arms and looked at the imps and wolves who were squaring off against one another. Rather than the outcome of the fight itself he was more curious about what using a turn on the wolves would do.
Mammoths and Knights didn't have their mounts like the imps, so it made sense that the manifestation of the turn was in the form of a suitable mount. The bishops, however, were mounts themselves. The 100 wol-,no, direwolves were one half of the goblin riders. It could be said that they were the ones who had the biggest disadvantage in this fight. The fortunate thing was that the enemy weren't tricky to deal with.
As the name itself implied, the imp shaman were just that. Unlike others who relied solely on mimicry they were the ones who also possessed their own powers. It could be said that they were an exception in the imp race, and the fact that they were against the bishops was a strong indicator of this.
Their mounts were also different because unlike other professions the mages didn't like to move around while fighting. It was more effective for a mage to have a companion who could engage in melee of pull aggro than to develop some agility-based skills. The cadejo mounts who stood alongside the imp shamans were meant to play such a role. They were similar to rhinos in appearance with sharp tusks and grayish black skin. To counter the direwolves they also wore armor made up of igneous rocks. They had a good synergy in every aspect.
\\/| The second round will begin in 00:00:10 |\\/
*Awooooooooo*
"hs|dg:,/.brgia^/….."
The direwolves howled at the sky while the imp shamans started chanting their incantations. Zyrus didn't want to waste more time so he made a move from the get-go as always.
[You have used a turn on 'Bishop']
[Due to the special environment the ability of Bishop has been altered]
It could be said that the direwolves were on the opposite side from the ogres when it came to their fighting preference. Rather than going against someone in a one-on-one duel, they much preferred to gang up on a strong enemy and take them down.
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*Awooooo*
*Awooooooo*
One, two, ten, hundred, two hundred…..a total of one thousand wolves howled at the same time. Just the echoes produced by it were enough to make the 100 platforms tremble in the air.
'So that's how it is. Makes sense in a way.'
Zyrus observed the 9 miniature wolves that were summoned beside each direwolf. Despite being projections they looked so real that he had to resort to his Eyes of Annihilation. What happened right after was rather straightforward as well. The direwolf and five wolves fought against the cadejo mount while the remaining four wolves tried to interrupt the imp shamans' casting.
Incantation type magic was more susceptible to interruption, but it did have an advantage when it came to overall damage output.
*Shalllaa*
Toxic arrows rained down on a wolf which made it dissolve within seconds. Similar scenes were happening all around the platforms. Wolves died one after another but at the same time, the cadejo mounts were half dead under the direwolves' assault. It was a race against time where either the direwolves killed the mount first or the imp shamans eliminated the wolves first.
In all honesty, the fights were rather lacking compared to previous rounds. What made the bishop role effective was the combination of the goblins and their rides. Regardless of their bloodline evolutions the core of it remained unchanged. The direwolves themselves didn't have any special powers like the ogre's berserk or the troll's regeneration. They were physically strong, but mimicking it wouldn't be as useful since the imp shamans were outnumbered in the end.
"You there Matope? How about we go ahead with the next round as well?"
[…]
"You agree as well, right?" Zyrus asked the imp king as he knew that without both sides' agreement, Matope wouldn't make a move. It wasn't like him to be impatient or bored this easily, but there was a nagging feeling of urgency that he couldn't get rid of.
It came without a rhyme or reason when he was finished with practicing his magic. Perhaps it was there since long ago and it was he who had failed to notice it due to his concentration on creating the vast form of void. Either way, it was better to end things sooner rather than later.
Archmages weren't superstitious, but anyone who dwelled deep in this field would know the importance of intuition.
"You are confident…lizard."
"Is that the best insult you came up with? You're better off staying silent than."
"Do not treat me as a fool, human."
"…"
For the first time in a long while, it was Zyrus who was left speechless by his enemy. The imp king in his eyes looked the same as before, but there was a total change in its aura. There was no trace of cunningness or even hostility coming off of it.
'Almost as if it was playing a scripted role so far…'
The strange feeling in his heart further intensified after this. What changed all of a sudden? He was observing the fights after finishing his calculations for his subclass. There had to be a trigger that either caused this strangeness or maybe intensified it so that he became aware of it.
'Trigger…Trigger…wait! Could it be?'
Zyrus flinched as his thoughts reached a plausible cause. He stared at the reddish golden ring on his finger with deep concentration to see if there was anything different about it.
[Muileartach's Cursed Ring]
An ancient artifact that was once used as an offering. It has lost most of its power under the tides of time.
One-eyed Doom: On the night of new moon, summon a single eye to paralyze your foes.
Note: This is an absolute ability. The duration will depend on the user's and the targets' level of existence.
Shape of the Firstborn (Inactivated): Transform into an oceanic monster based on your status.
Curse of the Drowned (Inactivated): Use the blood of those slain by you to create an ocean's mirage. Those with weak willpower will be trapped inside the ring for eternity.
##?#-#..',-##?.
Immortal Crone: The sea hag will mark your presence from the moment this ring is equipped. The sea hag will chase you as long as the oceans exist, For only one of you may exist in one era.
The reason he hadn't used this ring was because he was well aware that he wasn't yet ready to take on the immortal hag.
"Cause and Effect…they are but a mere façade in the eyes of time."
A spark lit up in Zyrus's head as he heard the imp king's words. Normally, things would procced like this: Someone got a cursed equipment that could give them great power but it had a risk associated with it > They keep it while thinking they won't use it before somehow resolving the threat > They face a situation where they are forced to use it > They resolve it and BOOM, the side effect or whatever would be triggered right after they let their guard down.
This might seem cliché from a bystander's eyes but there were often reasons for it. The cursed item influencing the world, others coveting the item's power or using it as a medium to harm the wielder, freeing up sealed entities…there were so many examples that Zyrus had read in the books of arcana.
The arcanists' general conclusion towards cursed items was this– Don't touch them, and if you do, start preparing for the curse as your first priority. While Zyrus didn't make the 'Muileartach's Cursed Ring' his first priority, he hadn't neglected it either. It was just that all of his plans were centered in the third ring.
"Why the sudden change in attitude?" Zyrus asked the imp king as even with his intelligence, he felt like he didn't understand the true meaning of the latter's words.