My heart raced as the Magistrate's domineering figure slowly strode toward me with measured steps. I gulped, trying to steady my nerves while, at the same time, I frantically searched for a way to overcome these insane odds.
It was clear that I had walked right into their trap, but I couldn't help but wonder why they wanted to get rid of me so badly to warrant such excessive force?
"...I must say," the Magistrate began in a low voice, coming to a sudden stop a short distance away as a wicked grin played on his lips.
"I could've never imagined that a person of your status would turn into such a vile murderer... Truly, butchering Sir Roderick's poor apprentice like that... and now you're even resisting arrest. You’re giving me no other option but to slay you right here and now." he said, raising his sword and pointing its tip at me.
'He didn't even offer me the option to surrender...' I donned a bitter smile upon hearing his outrageous words. I then straightened my posture while I focused on gathering every bit of my remaining essence.
'...Not that I would accept it in the first place. I'm officially done playing games with all those scheming treacherous Noble bastards!'
I still don't know who was behind this plot in the first place, as I've certainly had no shortage of enemies, and it seems they used the Count's prolonged absence to launch their attack.
'Whatever... I'll have time to think about all this later. Right now, I need to make it out of here alive.'
I narrowed my eyes at the Magistrate, who frankly didn't deserve such a noble title as, in the end, he turned out to be nothing more than the Nobles's loyal lapdog.
So I decided not to entertain this farce any longer by rebuking any of those outlandish accusations he threw at me and rather chose to prepare for the inevitable battle that would soon commence.
Seeing the apparent defiance in my eyes, he raised an eyebrow in amusement and then turned to his right, making a subtle, almost imperceivable nod. 'I guess this is it...' I thought somberly.
Without hesitation, I gathered a large amount of my essence before unleashing a deafening shockwave that rippled through the courtyard like a sonic boom in a wide arc targeting the archers stationed above at the courtyard gallery.
The archers had already released a volley of arrows targeting me just a few moments prior, right after they received their orders.
Yet, every one of their arrows instantly shattered into countless splinters, raining down harmlessly around me long before they had a chance to reach my location.
Still, since I had to spread it so wide, the strength of the shockwave was depleted much faster; thus, when it finally reached the archers, it didn't have enough strength to take them out, only to make them stumble a bit.
At least it broke their stance, buying me a few precious moments. However, since I had to divert my attention, I couldn't react in time to the Magistrate, who by now already managed to cover the short distance separating us and his sword was raised, ready to deliver a crushing blow.
Bending my body, I managed to narrowly evade the vicious blade, yet my escape was short-lived as before I had time to react, he was already going for a follow-up strike. I tensed, realizing I couldn't evade this one in time.
However, that didn't mean I couldn't do anything about it. Since I'd already dealt with the annoying archers, I could now focus all my attention on the Magistrate, so a moment before his sword could slice me in half, I quickly released a shockwave aimed directly at him.
But then, to my utter horror, right as the shockwave was about to blow him away, his armor suddenly shined, and I noticed a similar pendant around his neck as Jenny had.
His, however, seemed an even more potent version as it not only stopped the shockwave from harming him but also absorbed most of the force behind it, making him only stumble a little without any visible injury.
I uttered a silent curse as I hurriedly summoned an earth spike before quickly jumping backward, creating some space between us.
The Magistrate appeared slightly shaken by the unexpected strength I seemed to possess, plus my strange ability to instantaneously cast spells confused him. Yet, thanks to his vast battle experiences, he was able to quickly adapt to this unexpected development and didn't allow me any reprieve.
I also noticed that the archers had recovered and were again drawing their bows, aiming straight at me.
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At the same time, the other soldiers were slowly surrounding me, blocking any possible escape routes. 'Curse it all...'
"Hahaha! I carry the protection of the Lord of Light, so your vile sorcery won't affect me! I've hunted countless rogue witches in my days, and there is only one way this will end..." The Magistrate shouted with a wide grin as he shattered the earth spike with his sword.
For some reason, that wicked grin made me fuming with anger, and I wanted nothing more than to wipe it out from his ugly face, yet I forced myself to calm down as I couldn't afford to act recklessly right now.
I quickly summoned more earth spikes to slow down the Magistrate while, at the same time, I levitated a few sizable cobblestones I unearthed just a moment prior from the courtyard's pavement.
I focused intently, trying my best to ignore all those soldiers closing in on me, charging with their swords raised as I took aim. Taking a deep breath, I released my essence, propelling the heavy projectiles forward.
Yet I didn't aim at the annoying archers as there were too many of them to take care of at once. Instead, I aimed at the aged wooden beams supporting the upper gallery.
The next moment, the five massive beams exploded, sending wooden splinters flying everywhere.
The gallery trembled. However, it still seemed to somehow hold out for a short moment despite losing its support. But then, the unforgiving physic started working, and the gallery, still full of anxious-looking archers, groaned in protest.
Every soldier in the courtyard momentarily froze, utter terror, reflecting in their wide eyes as the captain of the archers screamed desperately, "Retreat!"
Then, as the soldiers broke out of their stupor and started frantically running, the added dynamic force of the dozens of stomping feet was the last straw.
One final tremor ran through the whole gallery before it at last broke, and the entire structure came crashing down right on top of the poor, unsuspecting soldiers below.
The little courtyard underwent a rapid change as it instantly transformed into a scene of pure chaos.
Countless screams of the injured soldiers echoed as most of the archers broke their limbs when they fell.
Yet they could be counted as the lucky ones as those poor infantrymen who found themselves on the receiving end of the falling mountain of debris were instantly mangled and buried under countless tons of rubble.
The Magistrate watched it all unfold with an open mouth, and for the first time, his wide grin was replaced with shock.
But then his eyes gleamed with rage and he instantly smashed the closest earth spike blocking his way. Then, without wasting a breath, he ran straight at me with murder in his eyes.
'He looks really furious now...' I gulped nervously as, despite all my powers, such an unnerving sight was still not something I would get used to anytime soon.
Still, as I was watching the scenes of destruction all around a sudden idea came to my mind. I turned toward the mighty warrior and donned a cold smile.
"I wonder if that pendant of yours will also allow you to breathe..." I addressed the Magistrate as he smashed the final earth spike and was only a mere moment from being able to strike me with his vicious-looking sword.
He looked at me with a slight confusion but didn't stop his mad dash toward me. However, a few moments later a large hole opened beneath his feet shortly before he could make the last few remaining steps.
He blinked a few times, not quite understanding what just happened, but then he looked down and widened his eyes in horror as he realized there was nothing beneath him, only a deep, empty void.
Yet he still didn't succumb to panic as he was quickly disappearing inside; instead, stabbing his sword into the loose soil, the Magistrate tried to slow down his fall, and to my great surprise, he succeeded, coming to an abrupt stop right as his head disappeared beneath the courtyard's floor.
But before he could find a stable hold and begin to pull himself up, I released the spell and collapsed to the ground, totally drained.
The countless tons of compressed earth held in place with nothing but my willpower were suddenly freed and immediately rushed to fill the large cavity.
"Noooo!" The Magistrate shouted desperately while his arms were frantically waving around, trying to grab onto something, yet he could do nothing.
His pendant shined once again, saving him from the earth's relentless pressure, yet it could do nothing to prevent him from being buried alive.
I panted with exhaustion as I kneeled on the cold, hard ground, realizing my reserves of essence were all but gone. 'Maintaining such a large-scale spell for too long is still too challenging for me...' I thought bitterly as I looked around the dismal battlefield.
The remaining soldiers who were still standing looked at me with dread in their eyes as they started slowly backing out.
'Not that I would allow them to run away in the first place...' I knew that I couldn't let them escape and bring reinforcements. Thus, I focused intently, summoning the last remnants of my essence from deep within my core.
Taking a deep breath, I unleashed a powerful shockwave that shattered the windows in a wide area, making large cracks appear in the Barracks building and sending the rest of the soldiers flying backward onto the big pile of rubble at the edge of the courtyard.
With a cold determination, I then picked up some pebbles and finished them off one by one. Although I had nothing against the ordinary soldiers who were most likely only following orders, I needed to make sure that there were no witnesses left to tell the tale of what had transpired here.
'I'm already so deep in trouble that a few more dead guards won't make a difference...' I smiled bitterly as I was all but done with the grim task. Sitting on a large boulder at the edge of the courtyard, I looked once more at the utter devastation in front of me.
The only people left alive were me, the Magistrate who was buried underneath the courtyard, and those two poor guards I knocked out when I first came here who, by some miracle, somehow managed to survive the onslaught and were still out cold in front of the remnants of the collapsed dungeon entrance.