《Netheril’s Glory 》Chapter 51: The final card.
Advertisement
It had been several days since Punk's group embarked on this escape journey, and in these few days, there had been dozens of battles, large and small. Even Punk, facing such a frequent battle, started to feel physical and mental exhaustion, not to mention those warriors with lower levels. And princess Nesa, who previously often spoke encouraging words to the soldiers, was not in the mood to talk anymore.
These guards' hotbloodedness at the beginning now has faded away, and because they were constantly shrouded in the shadow of death, their hearts began to fill with confusion, numbness, and anxiety. And a depressing atmosphere shrouded this small group.
With the increasing number of battles, the Princess's guards' already small group had also begun to lose their numbers. And this kind of reduction in number led to a continuous weakening of this group's combat strength, making it more challenging to face the chasing forces.
This hopeless circle started to gradually devour all hopes of this group. What was even more frustrating was that no one could see the light at the end of this vicious tunnel.
As the border of the Kingdom of Dylan got closer and closer, the enemy's pursuit had also become more frantic and intense.
So now, the severely weakened escaping group could no longer face the pursuing teams as effectively or as quickly as they did in the beginning. And It seemed like the possibility of successfully escaping Prince William's claw was shrinking every step they took. The only thing that still continued to give this group a little hope was the "invincible" status of McNeesey in the soldiers' hearts.
McNeesey did show some gesture of solicitude and condolences from time to time to appease the young wounded soldiers whose wounds could not be healed due to the excessively humid environment and also expressed his grief for the dead soldiers after the battle, and he also tried to encourage everyone to shorten their resting time.
But, he was a mage, after all, not a presidential candidate who was proficient in incitement and speech. His empty encouragement soon lost most of its effect for most of the soldiers there, except for the young Princess who always believed in McNeesey.
Advertisement
Punk carefully observed McNeesey when he appeared for his quick speech. Punk keenly discovered that the green leaves on McNeesey's fractured wound were no longer twisting and growing like before. The vitality which had been continuously transmitted into McNeesey's body had also recently begun to become thinner.
And previously, in several critical battles, even when this team suffered heavy casualties, McNeesey did not come to kill those trainee-level team leaders who were extremely vulnerable in front of an official mage.
Although It could also be said retention of hands to hide their real strength, that would be understandable once or twice, but if one still chose to "hide strength" when facing a major loss of strength, then it was not wisdom but outright stupidity.
Of course, there was no doubt that McNeesey was not a stupid person, so the reason for his inaction could only be that he didn't have the ability to take action.
Facing such a dangerous situation that could be said a life-or-death crisis, Punk did not feel any fear or worry, as worrying would only make oneself more confused, and fear would be a meaningless behavior that only consumes energy.
Useless emotions, such as these, had been entirely discarded by Punk's soul as early as he was still inside the void.
What's more, Punk still had a faint hunch in his heart that McNeesey should still have a trump card that could not be underestimated, or at least he still had the final means of dying together with his enemy.
------------
"Burning clouds! I didn't expect to see it in this world."
Punk looked at the burning clouds in the sky, the flame-like clouds rolled and stretched in the brilliance of Mira, and the entire sky was illuminated into a bright red!
The current Princess Guards couldn't be called a retreating army. It was more like a retreating squad, as apart from the Princess and McNeesey, the only survivors were Punk and two other warriors. Like that of the old mage, combatants with low battle strength became cold corpses as early as the fifth or the sixth battles.
Advertisement
Of course, the enemy would never sympathize with their helplessness; instead, they would only rush forward more excitedly to give the exhausted group the final blow.
As Mira's brilliance slowly descended below the horizon, another group of pursuers appeared in the dim dusk.
In fact, after more than a week of such high-intensity battles, Punk's level had increased by two levels. And now he was a ninth-level trainee mage. The relationship of soul level and combat power was very interconnected, or at least that was the case until the official level, as higher soul level meant faster mana recovery and quicker casting, and this upgrade benefited Punk even more as a semi-ancient elve.
But even with his new upgraded soul level, Punk felt exhausted, as the previous few battles were as close and dangerous as being on the edge of a cliff, and they almost got caught up by the enemy's main force.
Now, the two remaining warriors were also scarred. One could say that except for the meticulously protected Princess, everyone was almost at their limit. Although no one said anything on the surface, everyone knew that they might not survive the next battle.
"Damn! Damn! Just a little farther, just a little bit before I reach the territory of Dylan Kingdom."
A warrior was leaning on a sword that was half-broken while gasping. He stood up regardless of his cracking bones and bleeding wounds and shouted hoarsely in the direction in which Mira set, while his hair with clotted blood flew under the weakly lingering battle qi. His golden armor draped in the setting sun made him look like an injured lion, ferocious but trapped.
Even Princess Nesa, who had always maintained optimism, inevitably showed desperation in her eyes at this moment:
"Everyone, are we really going to fail? Are all those soldiers really sacrificed for nothing?"
Tears blurred Princess's vision. At this moment, she was not the "Her Royal Highness" whom everyone looked up to, but just a helpless young girl named Nesa!
Even in such a desperate situation, Punk did not feel worried. With only such a short distance from the border, even if McNeesey had no trump cards, he would be able to make a forced escape with his own trump card, that was unless Lunka himself was stopping his way. But Punk didn't dare to underestimate the potential of an old and experienced official mage such as McNeesey.
Sure enough, sensing the enemy encircling this squad from all directions and watching the red-eyed little Princess about to be smashed by a fireball, McNeesey shielded her in a dilapidated manner with his half-body. Then, like a hungry wolf who was robbed of the last piece of meat, he let out a bloody roar that even creeped out Punk.
Even when seriously injured, Mage McNeesey was polite and never even spoke loudly, but at this moment, his eyes became blood-red in anger. The blood vessels in his hand started to pop out like green tendons. Previously, he was even struggling to move, but now his body started to dazzle with green lights, and from his arms, he summoned countless emerald green vines with thick roots, which instantly created thick woodland about the size of five football fields. All the vines elevated McNeesey mid-air and then covered him entirely and became a 20 meters tall Giant made with countless vines. The vine giant was enveloped in a magnificent green glow. A substantial emerald energy flame was burning in the eyes of the Vine giant, and the surging green energy slowly solidified in every gap of the vine giant!
Finally, the vine giant, resembling McNessey himself, opened its mouth toward the enemies and let out a terrifying roar that even shattered the burning clouds in the sky!
" All! Of! You! Die————!"
Advertisement
The Wandering Dungeon
Content warnings are just for creative freedom. Message: Do you wish to become a dungeon core, Alex Mitchell? Yes, or No? Yes! After discovering what happens to dungeon cores on Anoris, Alex decides its time to pack up shop and hit the road. It’s a big old world out there for a dungeon core and moving is the best way to stay ahead of the subjugators. Contains no harems, and other content warnings will be used minimally. Release: As I finish chapters. posted to Patreon first.
8 182Of Righteous Evil
To wield the magical Arts. The power to manipulate nature itself. Follow Silas on his journey as he learns what it means to be a Mage. With war brewing on the horizon, Silas' plan to become a hero clashes with the harsh reality of conflict. Torn between contradicting emotions, he will have to reconsider his perceptions of both good and evil. Does the end truly never justify the means? Note from author (13.09.20): Sentences have been shortened, less commata used. Paragraphs have been split up. Meant to be "realistic" fantasy, with no overpowered protagonist or evil sorcerer trying to destroy the world. The focus lies on the characters, their progressions and their inner conflicts, coupled with an intricate magic system. Constructive criticism is highly appreciated! HIATUS Updates: 12.12.20 Chapter 1 & 2 are written together. The backstory of the parents will be integrated into one of the later chapters. 20.12.20 Prologue has been rewritten, fight added. Will now continue writing the chapters until the first arch is finished. 19.01.21 Chapter 15 is written. Will hopefully be able to write more from now on, university has been kinda rough these days. 08.04.21 Chapter 16 & 17 has been written. Beginning will be rewritten (again) to start with chapter 3. Chapter 1 & 2 will be shown through reocurring dreams / nightmares. 10.08.21 Rewriting of the first arc is complete and has been proofread twice. Plot of rest of book one is 80% complete. Will publish chapters once first book is finished and proofread. 06.12.21 Second arc is finished (chapter 24/31-33). First draft will likely be finished around February, after which I will edit a few suggestions of my beta readers and publish it on RR. Release schedule: Once a week on Sunday, chapters are around 3000 words long. (HIATUS, see last chapter for more info) Cover art by Riverman09
8 71Battle Maidens
A vacant throne. Seven contenders and a princess with a mysterious necklace. Shahzadi Rouya's days as a princess come to a bloody end. When rebels storm the castle and murder the emperor, Rouya vows to reclaim the throne but is forced to flee with an army on her heels and a necklace in her pocket. The rebels won't stop chasing her until they've pried the relic off her dead body and unleashed the ancient spirit trapped within. Evelyn has served many masters throughout the centuries and seen them all inevitably fall. As a Battle Maiden, she's a warrior spirit bound to the summoner in possession of her relic and capable of defeating entire armies. Evelyn isn't alone, for each of the seven relics contains within it a Battle Maiden of equal strength sworn to another master. Seven combatants, each bearing one of the relics, lays claim to the throne but only the summoner who unites all the pieces will become the next emperor and rule supreme
8 227A Robbery Of Goats
Paradise, the forever happily ever after, the reward for a life well lived, the AFTERLIFE. Brought to you by programmers, ruined by businessmen and lawyers.
8 71Failed Hero
He couldn't help anyone in the end. He had tried, oh how he had tried, but in the end nothing came of it. So he had decded to end it, to join the numerous namelless cadavers scraped up and tossed in a morgue. But for this nameless victem, death was not the end. First Story, constructive criticism would be appreciated
8 91Hiraeth | Regulus Black
The Avery family were one of the few truly pureblood wizarding families left in society. They took pride in a long line of thoroughly talented witches and wizards who all bore the proud status as not only pureblood, but also Slytherins. Lucas Avery was perhaps the most prominent Avery. The boy who befriended Tom Riddle and was part of the Slug Club during his time at Hogwarts. One of the first Death Eaters, he showed tremendous loyalty towards his friend and master Lord Voldemort during his first rise to power. Not only was Lucas active in his duties, he also raised two children to carry his respect into the next generation. One of his children did this with great dignity and honour... Whilst the other did not. Esmeralda (Esme) Avery never truly fit in anywhere. No matter how hard she tried. This case of isolation is perhaps what led Esme to rebel so fearlessly against what was expected against her. Then, in her sixth year at Hogwarts, she did something extraordinary. Not only was this one last desperate escape from the traumatic woes facing her at home, it also cemented her future. One fateful evening would lead Esme not only on a path of discovery but also fear and heartache. Are there any other kind of stories during Voldemort's first rise to power?
8 124