The person with the bow lowered it ever so slightly so their face was clearly visible as they said, “Don’t play dumb, you killed the lord’s son and my friend in the Sylvar Woodlands!”
The angry man was familiar when William took a second look, the memory clicking in his mind. The man was the guard that William let escape from before. It seemed like the guy was ready to fire another arrow but wanted to say more still. He didn’t get the chance as a bearded guy with a Greatsword spoke next.
“We were in this region hunting the bandits that had been plaguing the poor locals for a while now thanks to the wisdom and generosity of our lord,” The bearded guy said, seeming to elevate his head slightly higher as if in superiority to William and his party.
“Fantastic. A sycophant. One with a big fucking sword too.” William thought, not getting a moment to think on it more as the man continued, “It seems rather fortuitous that we find some. Daran here has been eager to find the bandits that killed the lord’s son. We can tick two things off of our list it seems. Thank you for that.”
“We A-” Stacey tried to say but stopped as William raised his hand up, a sign not to reveal anything to them.
She seemed lost at the reason, the expression clear as day, but she nodded. Stacey trusted in him and it showed then and there. William took a step forward, shield extended partially. It was enough to cover a wider range from Daran’s bow shots, but not so great that it obscured William’s periphery or overall vision.
The four men in yellow shifted their positioning slightly, seeming to shift into a more serious demeanor. He wanted to throw them off guard slightly though, making for an easier dispatch. He had used [Identify] on the group, and the results were within his expectations:
{Ascension_Protocol}
Daran – Guard – Level 14
Human – Guard Captain – Level 18
Human – Guard – Level 13
Human – Guard – Level 15
{End}
William noticed that the guard he knew the name of showed on the [Identify] results. That answered some of the questions he had about how the system picked the information to provide. He had also wondered about why they didn’t have the human level and main fighting class level visible. It appeared for some, but not others. He hoped to learn more at Everglade. He could just spare one of these guys and torture the info out of the guy but that would take too long. He could also accidentally spare someone willing to die rather than spill the beans. The best part of the whole situation was that they were within thirty meters of William so he could do the classic [Flash Stride] surprise attack.
Unfortunately for William, they seemed to anticipate that as Daran drew an arrow back on his bow as he said, “That teleport trick won’t work you bastard, if you try it, it’ll end painfully for you, so please try it.”
William was already tired of these guys and that Daran in particular. He had hoped that the guy would be a deterrent or a sign of warning not to fuck with William in the future. He wouldn’t leave survivors this time though.
“John, remember that time with the blue guys, and you did the thing on them? Do that again, but slightly further back,” William said, glancing at his friend.
John seemed to understand what William had in mind though after a slight nod.
“I’ll go on your cue,” John replied, eyeing the enemies who had all levelled their swords at William.
William took a couple more steps forward, slapping the loosed arrow from Daran away with his shield.
William put on his best expression of boredom and disinterest as he said, “So…you gonna attack? Do you even know who you face?”
Beard guy was the one who replied, “tighten formation men.”
They did just that, making it nicer for William. He wanted them good and bunched up.
Beard guy continued, “I don’t know you, but some forgettable bandit is of no consequence to learn the identity of.”
“That’s disappointing, both a coward for hiding in a clump with your buddies there and an ignorant asshole.”
“You think your childish goading will work? You obviously want us to split up and become easy pickings. I’m guessing your two Mage accomplices would love to target us with their various magical bolt spells.”
William inwardly smiled at the man’s words. William wanted them as they were, but he didn’t need them to know that. Thinking otherwise would only help them make a rod for their own back. They also seemed to think that John and Stacey only know the basic starter spells. Little did the guys know about John’s [Fire-Wall].
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
William smiled at the bearded man and said, “You definitely shouldn’t become a poker player.”
The man’s brows furrowed at that as he replied, “Why would I want to play that bloodsport? I’m a swordsman not a spearman.”
“Wait, what?” William was now confused. It seemed that poker wasn’t the same game as on Earth. William didn’t know why, but that kind of pissed him off.
“John!” William shouted, his hand firmly gripping his sword ready for his Alpha Strike.
William used [Flash Stride] as a [Fire-Wall] appeared tall and roiling behind the enemy, appearing in front of the group who had shifted their attention to the maelstrom behind them, not prepared for William to appear before right in front of them, executing his Alpha Strike.
Only the bearded guy managed to dive out of the way, scrambling for a footing as William’s attack eviscerated the heads and shoulders of Daran and the two other guards. William found the image of the scurrying bearded guy oddly amusing. Greatswords were obviously a bit difficult to wield swiftly and not suited to people who dodge or move quickly. The guy managed to take a fighting stance before William could go for the kill. William begrudgingly admitted that it was impressive, but pressed the attack nonetheless. William had to abruptly stop however, as ethereal chains sprouted from the ground, latching onto William’s shield arm as he was mid pivot.
“Oh, fuck!” William cursed, his momentum halted by the chains. He managed to duck a horizontal slash that had been aimed for his neck, feeling the breeze as the blade passed over his head. William was in panic mode. All the guy had to do was chop diagonally and William was dead. He scanned the surroundings quickly, hoping to find an out to the situation. William exhaled in some minor relief as he saw Stacey and John cast a [Fire-Bolt] at the bearded guy. That same guy, however, blocked one with the flat of his blade and shifted his shoulder out of the second bolt’s path. William could die at any minute, his [Vortex Slash] and [Flash Stride] both on cool-down. He also doubted a [Vortex Thrust] would work as the man was able to dodge the significantly faster [Fire-Bolt] that Mages could use.
A dumb idea formed, but it was an idea nonetheless, and beggars couldn’t be choosers. William grit his teeth as beard guy looked back at William having avoided harm from [Fire-Bolt], taking his sword in a firm grip and slicing his own shield arm off above the chain lines on his arm. His vision flashed white and red briefly before a burning pain took the crimson end of what remained of his arm. As long as he and Jane both lived, it could be healed. William took the opportunity to leap backwards, putting some space between beard guy and himself. The man as expected, charged William.
William quickly tried to sheath his sword, but struggled with only one hand. With time running low, he dropped the sword and quickly used a [Mana Investment] [Dagger Toss] to hurl a Mythril dagger at beard guy’s knee. It struck true, prompting a yelp, followed closely by a grunt of pain as the man stumbled, dropping to one knee. William followed up with a simple dagger throw with another Mythril dagger. He had been practicing regular knife throwing for a few hours each day between the battle and their departure. The dagger, unfortunately was slower in flight, allowing for bearded guy to deflect it with the flat of his blade.
William considered charging there and then, but he had a feeling that the man had a plan for such an assault. Bearded guy didn’t try an attack either, simply blocking the odd [Fire-Bolt]. This was annoying, William had to admit, but it wasn’t all that bad. His arm was still bleeding and his HP inched down every second, but he had a couple minutes before it got truly dangerous. The stalemate was overall beneficial, allowing for William to plan his foe’s end. He had a hunch that teleporting behind the guy would end with him trapped in chains to then die. Another [Dagger Toss] was possible, but William had a feeling that the guy would succeed in blocking the attempt, even if boosted by [Mana Investment]. He couldn’t really coordinate with his party. He could see the basic resource pools of his party members thanks to his [Party Interface] passive skill, and noticed that only Jane had a good amount of MP left. He wished the skill allowed for telepathic communication between party members, but it wasn’t to be. He locked eyes with Jane who looked panicked at William’s condition, seeming eager to run over. William gave a slight shake of his head, wanting her to stay as far away from Bearded guy as possible. She seemed to begrudgingly comply.
William knew he had to hurry and finish the fight, but he was finding that a good option was difficult. William took a couple more moments until he managed to form...something. He had to take a gamble on the limitations and radius of the nasty chain skill. He did feel that chains for a guard captain’s skill was at least thematic on a side note. William didn’t hesitate as second guessing was a fools gambit at that point. He summoned Absolution and charged a diagonally angled [Vortex Slash] with [Mana Investment] and sent it hurling at his foe. The attack didn’t do full damage but that wasn’t the purpose. With how powerful the combo was, a glancing blow would be horrific on its own, but the goal was not to kill but to force movement. In William’s case, he sent it towards the right side of his foe, forcing a dodge from his foe to the left; right into his trap. William had activated [Flash Stride] as the attack connected, appearing straight into the spot adjacent to where Bearded guy dodged and he had a [Vortex Thrust] already in motion for the guy’s torso. The attack tore a small hole through the guy from side to side. Blood spurted from between the chain mail, the armor taking no damage thanks to the seventy five percent chance of ignoring arms and armor triggering from Absolution’s passive ability. The same volume of blood flowed from the man’s nose and mouth as his eyes rolled back and he started to spasm ever so slightly before crumpling into a bloody heap.
William fell back to the ground in relief as his party rushed over. Jane was on the healing straight away, sparing no look at the dead foe less than five feet away, her focus on William’s severed arm. He felt the warmth of the healing as Stacey wrapped her arms around him. He also noticed John nearby, looking at the bodies in thought. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes until Jane let out a long sigh.
William lifted his head, looking over at Jane and seeing that his arm was almost fully healed back, but this time it took a good while. William looked at Jane with a questioning look.
Jane rolled her eyes and explained.
“I had a prompt saying that healing dismemberments on the same target within the span of one year will slow the process down exponentially with each try.”
Not what William wanted to hear. It meant he couldn’t be a jackass and use the strategy again without consequence. It still healed up after a few more long moments. Once he was healed, William smiled and rubbed his hands together, drawing faces of confusion out on Jane and Stacey's faces and an eye roll from John who had come to learn what it meant.
It was time to collect that sweet sweet loot.