There were still twenty-five chimeras remaining .
Even though they had defeated a fair amount of them, it had taken a large toll on Desir’s mana to do that much .
If Desir was a Third-Circle magician, then he would have already consumed all of his mana and found himself in a critical situation . That was just how intense this fight was .
*Vruuummmm*
Desir started to invoke a spell again .
A powerful spear of thunder struck down and turned several chimeras in front of him into piles of ashes .
Even though each of his spells killed several chimeras simultaneously, Desir’s spells seemed weaker than before . Despite their dire situation, Desir had no other choice .
The chimeras had completely closed the gap between them and the two humans . Desir’s spell choice was extremely limited; taking even a second longer to calculate could be the difference between life and death . If he was able to cast a wide area of effect spell, he would be able to end the fight, but he would kill himself and Pram in the process . As a result, his only option was to carry out an inefficient battle, hoping it would be enough .
To magicians, this was an absurdly disadvantageous battlefield .
“Agh!”
While Desir was lost in his thoughts, Pram’s scream could be heard behind him .
Pram stepped back with a shoulder freshly sliced open by a chimera’s horn . He was not severely injured, but the Clothes Line now sounded an alarm .
[-Warning . Less than 20% of Clothes Line mana remaining . Defensive function is declining rapidly . ]
Pram straightened himself . As much as he wanted to counterattack immediately, he was not able to do so .
*C-Claaang*
He was not fighting just one enemy . Since he couldn’t know where the dozens of chimera were targeting, he wasn’t able to penetrate their formation easily .
Due to the consecutive battles, extreme fatigue had accumulated .
Pram exhaled heavily .
“Haa… Haa… ”
A chimera’s attack seemed to have grazed his head at some point, as blood oozed down his face, hindering his vision .
His arms did not move as he wanted them to and he braced himself as his knees buckled .
It wasn’t just the Clothes Line reaching the limit of durability; his strength was declining too .
‘Aura as well… Similar situation here . ’
The sparkle surrounding the sword was evidently dimmer than before .
It was slowly coming to an end because in order to face the powerful chimeras, he had to maintain a constant use of aura .
He went well over the aura consumption limit that an ordinary Rook Class swordsman could handle . Even Pram, who possessed far more aura than any other Rook Class swordsmen, obtained through intensive training, could clearly feel his limit .
He was only able to endure this long due to his precise control over his aura output . That alone was praiseworthy .
It would not be strange if Pram fainted right now .
“Pram, are you all right?”
Desir, even while arranging spells relentlessly, checked Pram’s condition frequently .
“Don’t mind me!”
Every time he was asked, Pram swung around his sword, shouting with a forced, cheerful voice .
He could feel fatigue draining every limb in his body, threatening to take even his consciousness, but he battled against it with all his might .
His rapier never stopped moving . No, he could not afford to stop .
‘If I faint here, Desir will have to manage my share of the fight . ’
Pram straightened his weak legs . Legs that were on the verge of collapsing .
He read the trajectory of the incoming attacks that were arriving like a flood without losing focus .
He gathered his remaining aura and swung his rapier around like a madman .
More and more injuries accumulated .
Before anyone realized, his Clothes Line had lost all functionality and were no longer able to fulfil their role as Pram’s final defense . From now on, Pram remained just one blow away from a fatal injury .
Still, he continued to battle . It wasn’t a fear of death . It wasn’t because he had never fought with his life on the line; he had done so numerous times while battling alongside Desir .
But this battle was different . Pram realized he was the only one who could protect Desir, and that was what let him exert himself far beyond his limit .
Block it, then cut .
Pram’s spirit endured through his pure determination to protect Desir .
*C-C-Clang*
Pram, who held onto a clear reason not to faint, did not collapse .
He had long reached his limit, but rather than falter, his rapier’s trajectory became more fierce instead .
“Kraaaarghh!”
The chimeras, instinctively feeling some kind of danger welling up from Pram, stormed towards him .
As Pram watched the chimeras running towards him, he inhaled calmly . At the same time, aura welled up in his rapier and started to emit a bright glow once again .
He then took a step forward and struck out .
This time, his stab was different to the previous ones .
Condensed aura on his sword burst out and an aura filled with powerful force flooded towards the chimera .
The light extended out in all directions throughout the dark forest .
This was the stage reached by Pram in Desir’s past life . He had honed the technique known as stabbing to an impossible perfection .
Aura Drive .
*P-P-Pop!*
Five chimeras were swept by the aura’s ferocity and torn asunder without any chance to shriek .
“Huff… Huff… !”
Pram was astonished . He felt like a third party, watching the spectacle unfolding before him, even though it was of his own doing .
‘This is the… ’
He had reached the Bishop Class . He was able to release aura and not just wrap it around his body and sword .
Even while experiencing a once-in-lifetime emotion that warranted celebration, Pram did not lose himself in the moment . He checked his surroundings to ensure there was no imminent threat to Desir or himself .
Fifteen chimeras remained . It was still not the time to lower his guard .
Pram had taken in the situation and began to dash towards the next chimera, but the strength in his legs completely gave out .
“Hargh!”
Pram fell down with a short groan .
He had already long reached his limit, but still managed to pull out an attack that killed five chimeras in the one blow .
He no longer had the strength left to even lift a finger .
“Kreeughh!”
Seeing this as an opportunity, the chimeras started to leap towards the now helpless swordsman lying down on the ground .
[Parie Arund]
Desir’s spell swept away the pouncing chimeras in a single strike .
Desir seized this opportunity to relocate himself next to Pram .
“Don’t leave my side . ”
He wrapped his arm around Pram’s waist and helped him stand up .
“I’m sorry, Desir . I couldn’t endure it after all… ”
“That’s all right, Pram . ”
Desir arranged a spell while holding Pram up .
“You’ve done your part well . ”
[Fire Storm]
Intense flames washed over many chimeras .
“B-But… ”
In Pram’s eyes, Desir’s spell power has noticeably dropped in comparison to the beginning . Desir’s mana must also be on the brink of running out .
“It’s all right . We can rest now . ”
A chimera with the head of a snake sprung out, piercing through the flames .
However, it could not reach Desir .
*Pop*
Something flew in from somewhere and the chimera’s entire upper body disappeared in a fountain of gore .
A wind spell flew in at warp speed . The aftermath of that spell, which hinted at the power behind the spell, blew in and washed over Desir and Pram .
It was not a spell that Desir had invoked .
[Ice Empress]
The moment Pram felt the chilly air that smothered all life, he knew . He knew that the other Starling Party members had arrived .
When Adjest, Romantica, and Ronde joined them, the chimeras were handled easily .
[Kyprosa’s Grief]
A current of air, sharp as a blade, sliced through numerous chimera .
The wind bullet penetrated the chimera accurately even in the dark forest . There was no chimera that could block against Romantica’s attacks: the attacks of a magician who had reached the Fourth-Circle . Her wind magic had skyrocketed and was now a force to be reckoned with .
The chimeras were picked off one by one by the attacks flying in from the hidden enemy .
[Frozen Palace]
Adjest invoked Frozen Palace to contain the chimera so that they could not approach Desir and Pram . She then stepped forward and cut down the chimera one by one .
After Adjest widened the distance between the chimera and the party members, Ronde was able to arrange artillery style spells freely .
Their military strength as a group was overwhelming and dominating .
Desir alone handled more than half of the battle before they arrived . The result was evident .
When the battle ended, Desir stopped the spell that he had been arranging and retrieved Runel . At the same time, he flopped down next to Pram .
“Are you all right, brother?”
Ronde hastily approached him and took out medical supplies from his Clothes Line’s dimensional pocket .
Desir nodded and pointed at Pram .
“I just have a few scratches . Treat Pram first . ”
“I’ll take care of Pram . ”
Romantica approached and examined Pram’s injuries .
Pram, who continued to fight from the front line, even after his Clothes Line broke, was full of injuries . There were clear traces of blood from his shoulder and head .
Romantica disinfected his injuries, applied medicine, and dressed his wounds .
“None of his injuries were fatal . Luckily, there wasn’t any poison either, so there shouldn’t be any problems . ”
“What a relief… ”
Desir sighed with relief and looked at Pram .
“Pram . ”
Seeing Desir’s glance, Pram couldn’t help but be nervous .
“Hiding your own condition to the party leader could worsen a situation . This time, things went well, but it could’ve been very serious . ”
“S-Sorry, Desir . ”
“You need to be honest next time . ”
Receiving a reprimand from Desir, Pram hung his head low like a puppy that had been scolded .
At that moment, Desir stroked his head .
Pram looked up at Desir with a puzzled expression .
“However, because you reached the Bishop Class in that situation, we were able to endure long enough for the others to arrive . You did very well, Pram . ”
“Hehehehe . ”
Pram’s downcast face brightened in an instant .
“Did you say Pram reached the Bishop Class?”
As the atmosphere loosened, Ronde cut in and asked with a voice dripping in envy .
“If you reached the Bishop Class, that means you’re one of the few hundred people who are extremely talented! That’s incredible!”
A Bishop Class swordsman was at a level where he or she could lay claim to the head position in almost every knightly order .
“You’ve earned it, Pram . ”
Adjest put away her sword and strode over towards the party .
Finally gathered together, they started to share information on the current situation .
The fact that the chimera had been living here for the last few years .
Desir’s speculation that the chimeras were protecting something important here .
And the possibility that this was connected to the Outsiders, specifically Skull Mask .
The party members agreed in silence, as if anticipating the same conclusion .
Only Ronde, who had never faced the Outsiders before, turned deadly pale .
“The mastermind of the Outsiders? Is-Isn’t that extremely dangerous, brother?”
Desir nodded .
“That’s right . If the Outsiders are connected to this, it wouldn’t be a matter that we could solve on our own . ”
Skull Mask, a mysterious figure behind the collapse of the Holy Kingdom of Artemis as well as the mastermind that manipulated the Magical Kingdom from the shadows under the guise of the Prophet . If it was a scheme that he devised several years ago, it was definitely something that should concern the Starling Party and the Hebrion Empire .
“We just have to do what we can right now . First of all, we need to find out what the chimeras were guarding . ”
“We just need to trace where they came from, right?”
Romantica understood her role well . She arranged a detection spell right away .
She quickly found where the chimeras had been nesting .
They would be able to discover what the chimera were protecting once they arrived there .
Chapter brought to you by The Patrons .
???: …
ED: Purplemen101
TLC: N/A
QC: Dr Lock
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