Enemies were coming towards us from all sides and our squad took a defensive formation to block them.
«Stop them>
It was like playing a tower defense game. However, there was a big difference between those games and reality. Normally, in a tower defense game, the enemies that came at you only had melee skills.
¡Shooot!
Arrows rained down on us.
«Revival Ascend!»
¡How!
Unfortunately for us, we had to deal with black magic and various essence abilities consisting of lightning, ice, fire, and all kinds of attributes. Normally, long-range attacks like this would be blocked by mages, but our mages were using all the mana they had left to complete the Multi Teleport. In the end, we could only do one thing. To prevent these ranged attacks from hitting the fragile glass bodies behind us, we had to withstand the onslaught.
[You have been hit by Permeating Cold. The damage of the next Cold-type attack you receive will be doubled, and Cold Resistance temporarily decreases in proportion to the amount of damage taken].
We take Lightning damage that exceeded our Mana Resistance and Lightning Resistance thresholds.
[Piercing Light has hit you].
[You are now under the Paralysis (Intermediate) effect].
Weaknesses accumulated quickly. However, despite everything, I used my giantized body as a shield, serving as a wall to protect our rear.
Squeeze.
Just in case, I clenched my jaw and bit my tongue.
¡Kwa claim!
Then I used my body to block the attacks coming at us head-on. It wasn't just me, since the entire vanguard was doing the same.
[Benjamin Orman has released Moonlight of Purification. The Paralysis effect has been removed from all characters within range].
[Niaro Campbell has released Blessing of the Light. Increased the effectiveness of character healing effects within range].
Although the support of the priests continued to arrive, it was not enough. They had simply acquired the right to use a shred of divine power in exchange for their faith. Reviving the dead remained the domain of the gods.
«¡Power…!»
When we died, we didn't die screaming.
«All back!» shouted Might Million, the Team Two warrior to my left.
Stab!
A black thorn flying towards us pierced his shield and pierced his heart.
«¡No!»
It was a perfectly clean death, with no countdown required. As if to make his destiny clear to all the spectators, the divine light that covered his body dispersed.
¡Shaaaaaaaaa!
Skills and abilities did not work with the dead.
«P-Could...!» An archer from the same team as the dead warrior ran forward and tried to tear the black thorn from his body. It was reckless and stupid. It was impossible for him to come out so easily, and even if he did, he would not come back to life.
...A friend of yours? I don't know, but that's not important.
«Emily, volveré.»
"...¿Which?"
I gave Amelia a warning and moved slightly out of the formation to grab the goalkeeper by the neck. «Don't be stupid and stay behind». I then threw the archer towards Akurava in the rear.
Desplome!
A furious scream sounded behind me. «...W-What are you... Might is...!»
«Might died. To save you».
Might Million clearly saw the black thorn flying. He could have avoided it. With his battle instincts, he definitely could have done it. But he preferred to block her and protect his comrades because that was his role. Of course, he probably didn't know things were going to turn out the way they did, either. I might have thought I could take just one hit. With how chaotic the battle was, he was sure that it would have been difficult for him to recognize Black Thorn and realize that it was an ability that was at the top level of rank two essences.
...Or maybe he knew and blocked her anyway.
In any case, the truth of what Might thought had been lost to us, probably forever.
«So stay back. I'll take over this place from here. Emily! Join Team Two!»
Since Team Two's only warrior was dead, I filled the void. I was practically in charge of a space that should have been occupied by two teams, but I was more relieved by that than frustrated.
I rejoice to be tan big.
I considered using Transcendence to enlarge my body even more, but I stopped. I couldn't sit here and be a punching bag forever, could I?
[You have launched Risk Liability. Any damage received and reflected by Probabilistic Retaliation will be doubled].
After trying it out a bit, I came to the conclusion that it could survive double damage.
[By the authority of the transcendental body, the potential inherent in the ability is now unlocked. In exchange for the temporary deactivation of the Immunity to Probabilistic Retaliation Damage effect, the activation probabilities have been set at 100%].
As soon as I activated Transcendence, the skeletons rose behind me, making shrill sounds. «Gahhhcha!» They returned the various attacks I received on their launchers.
«W-What the hell?! »
«Gachabone! It is the essence of Gachabone!»
«That? But that ability shouldn't be so powerful!».
Confusion ensued as the attacks launched by his troops were countered.
Maybe I should have activated this sooner.
I guess the best defense is a good attack. He had activated Risk Responsibility fully prepared to receive a more painful beating, but instead the number of attacks decreased. Luckily, that made it even easier for me to plug the hole in our formation on my own.
Okay, now we just have to complete the teleportation...
«Get out of the way, scum!» Just then, a man and his squad made their way through the enemy soldiers who could not approach us. It was as unpleasant a sight as ever.
«Lazy gift!»
«The Dragon Hunter...!»
He was here.
¡Kwa claim!
The explosions, the urgent screams of my comrades, the screams and the blood splatters - all those noises disappeared when there was silence on the battlefield. Or, well, my surroundings were still noisy, but at least it seemed that way to me. The same thing probably happened to that guy. We stayed at a distance, staring at each other without saying a word.
Did he recognize me?
Just when I came up with that idea, he spoke. «I already told you then. Not even death can save you».
So he did recognize me.
I figured I had somehow managed to recover his memories. It seemed like he had also discovered my Gachabone essence, because he didn't seem fazed by the fact that he was shorter now.
Great, shall we greet each other after so long?
«It is a very expensive sword». I looked at the sword he had tied around his waist. «Are you coming to give it to me too?».
The reaction was immediate. «You...!» His fingertips trembled with rage.
But, uh-oh, don't get too angry just yet. I'm about to give you a lot of things to get mad about.
«How long until the spell is completed?»
«One minute!»
Our team communication spell was no longer active, so everyone could hear that announcement.
«Have you heard that...»
«One minute is enough.» At that moment, he got up from the ground and ran towards me.
[Regal Vagos has launched High Range Acceleration.]
[Regal Vagos has released Later Image.]
His skill combo temporarily increased his Agility, but it was different from the last time we met in the Labyrinth of Larcaz.
It's much faster.
It was what you would expect from a man with his statistics, especially when Larcaz did not redistribute them.
But there was no problem.
¡Bang!
He wasn't old Bjorn anymore, either.
Sword and shield collided and his eyes narrowed. It was obvious what he was thinking.
«What, you thought you could fill me with holes like last time? Why are we no longer in the labyrinth?».
He did not answer and instead brandished his sword once more.
[Regal Vagos has released Divine Blade].
A white light flashed on the surface of the sword. But that was also old news.
¡Boom!
Now I can easily take an aura, do you think that changes anything?
«How are you still the same?» Not that I was complaining, of course. I had been racking my brain trying to figure out how to measure how much stronger he had become in those two years.
«¡You...!»
Blocking several blows from his sword, I pushed my shield to scare him away like a fly. My strength was superior to his, overwhelmingly superior.
«...Ugh!» It seemed like the force behind my push was unexpected, as the Dragon Slayer staggered back in confusion.
Just then, someone behind me shouted: «Ten seconds left!». That meant that the spell would be completed soon.
«I've seen everything I needed to see, so get lost. Now you are weaker than me».
It must have been a big shock to hear that coming from me because he didn't respond at all. For a moment, I wondered if he had gone crazy, but that didn't seem to be the case. I hit it with my hammer, just to see if it worked, and he quickly dodged it.
¡Pum!
Looking at the hammer stuck in the ground, I bit my lip. If it weren't for the increasing number of enemies besieging us, I could have ended this unfortunate relationship here and now.
«Schuitz! Come quickly!»
Amelia's voice rang behind me and the magic circle on the ground began to glow. The teleportation spell had been completed without me realizing it. The warriors on the front lines, including me, ran towards the center.
«Do you think I'll let you go?!»
Do you think someone like you can stop me? I'm the disappointed one here.
«¡Bastard!»
«Vagos! If you stay there, you could be absorbed by the Multi Teleport spell!»
The guy who was about to pounce on me stopped on the advice of his footman. If he had gotten a little closer, he could have taken me away on the teleport and we would have pounced on him.
¡Shaaaaaa!
As soon as I stepped on it, the magic circle became even brighter.
«Until next time. Take good care of your head until then».
Ready,a multicolored light flickered.
***
¡Flash!
The light that filled my eyes disappeared, and my vision returned. The first thing I saw were huge trees that had been drained of all life. It was a similar environment to a while ago. It was natural. It was impossible to skip an entire area with a single Multi Teleport.
«...There is no one here.»
We were in the western region of the Dead Forest, one of the central areas of the Dark Continent, but there were no signs of life around. It was probably because all the troops in the area had gathered at the same point to catch us.
«Priests, treated to the inherited, quickly. We will go en cuanto terminéis».
We may have overcome an obstacle, but there was no time to waste. After regrouping, we immediately began the march, this time towards the north, not towards the south, where our troops were.
Forcing my exhausted body to move, I stopped avoiding the inevitable and decided to end this once and for all. «...Low?»
«Three deaths.»
So, in that short period of time, two more people were reached besides the guy next to me. «Who are the deceased?»
Kaislan reported the casualties we had suffered in a somber tone. «Mighty Million, Fiona Amos and Niaro Campbell». A warrior from Team Two, a priest from Team Four, and even the wizard from Team Three.
«A magician was beaten...?»
«It seems that he was hit by a stroke of luck right at the end, after the Dragon Hunter and his men arrived. The magic circle was almost complete at that time, so there were no problems performing the spell».
Damn that useless Dragon Slayer.
Squeeze.
Our squad, which had started with thirty people, had been reduced to twenty-five in a short time. Among them, Team Three had suffered the most damage. Following the traitor Pyke Neldine, his wizard had also fallen in battle, reducing their number to four.
«Team Two runs the same risk. Million was his only warrior».
Akurava's firepower team had also taken a hit. Since they had a summoner, they could possibly use the three Trolls on the front line, but that summoner of theirs was more of a nuker than anything else.
«We will have to change the training».
«It seems so. No one will argue with it in a situation like this».
Until now, each team moved and operated independently. We considered this to be more efficient unless there were special circumstances like our attack on the Eye of Heaven or the battle just now. But that wouldn't work anymore. Instead of a multi-team alliance, we needed to become a single squad in the true sense of the word.
«With your permission, I will divide everyone into roles and create a new formation», Kaislan said.
«It seems good to me. Our team members will understand too. I will leave the training to you, so discuss it with the other leaders and decide among yourselves.»
«Okay, I will».
Although the first impression he made was not very good, Kaislan was a very helpful and skilled guy. It wasn't long from when I gave him the order until he organized the teams into a unit. Classes with fewer physical abilities gathered in the center, and those with greater agility, such as archers, swordsmen, and rogues, were placed around them. During battle, his role would be to serve as an escort. As we moved, they would carry those who lacked stamina or were slow walking.
«Ugh, I'm already tired...»
«Sorry.»
«Nothing happens. There is no remedy. Just treat my wounds if I get hurt later, okay?»
Surprisingly, those who were being treated like human stretchers were not too bothered by it. They also knew that we had to group together like this to survive.
«Sir... take care. If you need help, shout».
«You too be careful. Don't do anything dangerous».
Anyway, that's how our team ended up divided. I was a warrior in the tank position. Naturally, he had to be at the front.
As we resumed our journey in our new formation, Ravien spoke behind me. «Everyone is very close», he observed.
I had something to tell him too. «Thank you».
«...Thank you?»
«For maintaining the position when the Dragon Slayer appeared».
Ravien was strong. Although it could depend on the situation, overall, it was safe to say that she was one level above Amelia and Erwen. If this woman had decided to do something unexpected, there could have been injuries or even deaths on our team as well.
«...I'm not stupid enough not to distinguish between business and personal matters».
«That's a relief.» There was nothing more to say after that, so the conversation ended there.
«We'll rest here for a while!» Before our resistance reached its breaking point, we took a much-needed break.
«Ahh! Finally!» As soon as the march stopped, each member of our squad dropped to the ground, exhausted, and lay down.
But one man was different. «Um...» The man approached me carefully, deep bags under his eyes.
«Sven Parav.» In other words, Goblin. This guy was interesting, too. He didn't seem very powerful in battle, but surprisingly, he was never injured. «What's going on? Why aren't you resting?»
In response to my question, he responded with a somewhat nervous tone: «U-Um, well, actually...»
«If you have something to say, say it quickly. I need to rest too».
He grimaced at the obvious annoyance in my voice. «Um... Can't we continue?»
«Don't you want to rest?» At first I thought I was just being an annoying piece of shit, but I changed my mind. I probably wouldn't say something like that without some kind of justification. «Is there a reason you ask?»
«No, but...»
«But?»
«I feel uncomfortable for some reason... Since you told us to rest, I've been having trouble breathing. I feel like someone is pricking my heart with a needle».
...What the hell is wrong with this bastard?
I was going crazy.