Volume 3 Chapter 89 Surprise Attack Strategy (Rejected) I
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Glancing to the left at the sound of ‘glasses,’ a statue of a warrior with a spear at the edge of the cobblestone path was shaking off dust and moving.
Another statue next to it was also starting to move.
From beyond the fog, several more human shadows could be seen stirring.
”────”
Dodging a spear thrust out from the side with a nimble dance.
Another spearman attacked from behind.
Kian twisted his body to avoid the strike and grabbed the spearhead.
He thrust his elbow into the chest of the wielder, but it felt hard and unyielding, like hitting stone.
Up close, the red eyes of the stone soldier flickered.
”────”
Two more statues were shooting arrows from the fog, but the Windsong Blade neutralized them.
Kian shattered the first spearman’s thrust attack with a ‘Silver Ice’-coated fist, then grabbed the statue’s face and activated the vampire magic ‘Absorb.’
*Throb, throb* He devours the ghost lurking inside the statue──.
Magic power surged through his body, and a guttural growl rose unbidden.
He did the same to the other spear-wielding statue, devouring its ghost and rendering it powerless.
(‘Silver Ice’ armor, show me your power)
Kian, having smashed the two statues, let a dark magic power surge from his entire body.
He felt in top form, perhaps due to having consumed Maribel’s curse.
In the thick fog like spilled milk, orange, gigantic rune letters floated around Kian’s silver armor.
Kian bared his canines, his heavy footsteps thudding as he marched straight ahead on the cobblestones.
He already knew the strength of the stone soldiers.
Spears attacked from left and right, but he felt sure the ‘Silver Ice’ could withstand them, so he didn’t even bother to dodge.
He knew the ghosts were in the heart of the statues, so he just smashed and kicked them apart with brute force.
It felt as if he had become an invincible being.
Breaking the supposedly sturdy stone creatures like garbage, he couldn’t help but immerse himself in a pleasure so intense it was almost orgasmic.
(Amazing. So this is ‘Silver Ice.’ The vampire’s battle gear!)
’Don’t become numb to death. It’s fine against weaklings, but you’ve got to dodge properly against strong enemies.’
(I understand.)
At the edge of the cobblestones──Kian senses an enemy spellcaster rushing into a cave carved into the sheer cliff.
Clutching a ball of magic power between his hands, Kian unleashed the signature freezing wind of the ‘Silver Ice’ armor all around him.
A blast of ultra-cold gale burst out from Kian, shattering the attacking stone statues completely, freezing their joints and leaving them helpless.
The Windsong Blade, still sheathed on his back, let out a piercing, excited screech.
”Heh… heh heh heh. Perfect…”
(Armor. The right armor can make you the strongest. Me, and the army I’ll build someday!)
His thoughts settled on a single truth.
Kian leapt over the frozen stone stairs with one step and pushed his speed toward the cliff towering ahead.
A cave entrance appeared in the fog ahead.
That’s where the enemy is.
Kill them and things should settle, for now.
(Something burns… I smell smoke inside the cave…?)
Narrowing his eyes, Kian stepped without hesitation into the cave’s 3-meter-high entrance.
Inside, it looked like an underground church──more like a giant library.
The ceiling soared dozens of meters above.
The room was a hemisphere with a radius just over a hundred meters.
Like the cave where 9 soldiers died, it reminded him of a bread oven.
The first floor held metal distillation tools and research desks, while winding corridors on the second and third floors were lined with shelves full of books.
It was a large research facility, oddly out of place in such a remote mountain.
Red flames flickered among the bookshelves above the second floor.
Priceless treasures of knowledge were turning to ash right before his eyes.
”────”
Kian had left his iron sword behind on the way here.
He silently drew the Windsong Blade from his back and took a fighting stance.
A ghostly, choking cry echoed hollowly through the cave as wind slipped through the holes in the magic sword.
”I’m here.”
”……”
The lab blazed, crackling and popping, as a calm, monotonous voice rained down from above.
He glanced up.
The third floor.
A tall man, dressed in sleek black attire, looked down at Kian.
This man was not human.
His facial flesh was thin, shriveled like a mummy.
His eye sockets were deep-set, glowing with a red phosphorescence.
A lich.
The lich struck the stone head of a war mace, tipped with a white magic stone, sharply against the corridor floor.
His low baritone echoed again.
”Who are you? Why have you entered this forest? Why are you pursuing me?”
”I’m a friend of the soldier you killed. I came here for revenge.”
I unconsciously told a pointless lie.
But who could blame me for lying to an enemy?
The lich twisted his features, leaving a trail of particles of light as he vanished.
”Don’t lie.”
The next voice echoed from directly in front, beyond the entrance.
There was a bridge connecting the library’s left and right sides on the second floor.
The man leaned on the bridge’s railing, looking down at Kian.
(Short-range teleportation. Ms. Aliona used this before.)
’Kian, this magician is a brawler. Be careful.’
(I know, so please be quiet for a moment.)
”Your lies won’t work on me. I can tell immediately when you’re lying.”
”You killed the soldier, didn’t you? You killed him and ate his insides. Dangerous beasts must be exterminated.”
”Hmph. I see, an adventurer.”
”I want back the members of ‘Gray Bear’s Group’.”
”Do as you wish. I was already planning to abandon this base the moment they spotted me. There’s nothing I need to hide──”
The lich’s magic power began to leak from his back.
It was an overwhelming magic power.
Far beyond that of an ordinary magician.
Flames ignited in the man’s hand, and he hurled it towards Kian’s head.
A sound of burning erupted as the flames spread across the upper shelves.
”──There’s nothing left now.”
”Where have you put ‘Lion’s Companion’?”
”……”
”If you hand them over quietly, I might let you go.”
When Kian called out, the lich rose silently from the railing.
”Back down? Hehehe…”
A low chuckle echoed.
He moved slowly to the side of the bridge, the war mace clanking against his armor.
”Warrior whose name I do not know. I have no intention of letting you leave alive. I will kill you and every one of your Azraelian comrades.”
”――――.”
The lich’s black armor was enveloped in particles of light and vanished.
Another short-range teleportation.
Kian instinctively rolled forward.
A moment later, a mixture of flames and rock collapsed at the cave entrance, completely blocking his escape.
”Tch…”
”Curiosity killed the cat.”
He turned to look behind him.
The lich charged at Kian, mace ready.
”You picked the wrong day to cross paths with me.”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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