CHAPTER 159: The Angel Advances
“NOOOO!” Alissa screamed as she flew towards the Scyrric about to attack Fido, using [Angel’s Advance].
Before the invader's sword could plunge into the three-headed dog, the warrior Scyrric was body checked from the side. The force that Alissa used lifted the Scyrric, body armor and all, off the ground and flung him back into the shield bearers who had been watching from several paces back. If not for their vitality and strength, they would also have been knocked down by the thrown warrior.
Two more Scyrric who were surrounding Fido rounded on Alissa and drew their weapons. A scout type lunged at her with a long dagger. Alissa used [Quick Step] and, to the surprise of the faster invader, dodged out of his way like a matador in a bull fight. As his momentum took him through where her body had been a moment before, she grabbed his face and shot a [Death Bolt] with the hand holding it.
The Scyrric stumbled backwards, coughing and missing teeth, but he wasn’t given time to correct his stance. Alissa drops and swept with her legs, dropping the opponent onto his tail. Then she once more used [Blessings of Wrath] and [Intelligence to Strength] as her fist came down on his throat.
The scout lizard man wheezed for air, trying to breathe through his crushed windpipe.
The other Scyrrics’ training was enough to allow them to recover from their surprise at a single native attacking them, and to realize that she was a higher Tier than them. As the shield men from the main unit stepped forward, trying to deliver a healer to the dying scout, the two who had been at Fido arrived.
Alissa also hadn’t wasted time. She spun on the warrior and fired a [Water Bolt] at his legs. They were knocked backwards, causing him to fall face down. A cast of [Quick Step] allowed her to get to him before he could push himself up.
She was forced to dodge the swing of the blade from the scout. He had stayed behind the warrior, even if he could have arrived at her first. Now that the warrior was down, the scout engaged her. The strikes were calculated, forcing her away from the two downed Scyrric. If she didn’t get back to them then they would be on their feet and back to attacking shortly.
“[Sins of the Vengeful],” announced Alissa as she dodged. She could feel her skill place a mark on the scout in front of her, increasing the damage she would do against him if she could make contact.
[Mana Darts] were fired at intervals, trying to get the scout to move out of the path back to the downed Scyrric, but he was too quick. He would dodge or duck the Darts, then lash back at her with a large knife or his tail. He was doing a good job keeping her from moving forward.
Looking over at Fido after she heard him whimper, she barely dodged a slash. A realization that her opponent wasn’t trying to kill her directly raised her gall. He was just trying to allow his people to reset.
Alissa would have none of that.
“[Mana Dart],” she announced, holding up her left hand to cast it. As the scout dodged to her right, she cast a [Water Ball] with that hand. Once more the lizard avoided being struck, but he had arrested his movement to pull up after switching directions quickly.
Alissa’s mouth opened and a [Death Bolt] flew from it right into the face of the invader, knocking him backwards. Looking past her immediate opponent to where the warrior that she knocked down was picking up the scout with the crushed throat, she used [Angel’s Advance].
Like a linebacker in a blitz, her skill shot her forward. Since her target was the warrior, she was able to blast through the Scyrric who had been delaying her and fly right to the pair that were trying to get to a healer.
Her hand seemed dainty compared to the thick scaled hides of the warrior, yet through her skills she had the strength and protection to punch through the sharp teeth of the Scyrric, deep into his mouth. Then a [Death Bolt] was cast by that hand. The power of it was enough to explode within his head, blowing his eyes and tympanic membranes out, causing more gore.
Scyrric “Shocktroop [27]” slain. 3,513 XP gained.
She grimaced at the muck, but the grossness wasn’t enough to pause her wrath as she grabbed the Scyrric from the shoulders of the falling warrior. She opened up his mouth and fed him a [Death Bolt] as well.
Scyrric “Rounder [29]” slain. 3,818 XP gained.
Spinning, she dropped low just in time to trip the scout she had flown through.
“Where do you think you are going?” she asked with a fury. Once he was again falling, she grabbed his face and slammed him onto the ground. “I need your life energy.”
Before he could struggle or fight his way up, she stomped on his arms with a loud crack, followed by his tail. She wasn’t stupid enough to ignore the tail. His weapon fell from his hand.
Then she ran over to Fido while casting [Take Life] on the Scyrric she carried. He hissed as his life was pulled from him into Alissa. She could feel the energy of it. Without a pause, she placed her other hand onto Fido’s right head and used [Give Life].
Like a circuit, the energy traveled through her from the squirming Scyrric into the Carthraga. The middle head looked up at her sadly, but its whining sounded stronger as the energy healed him.
Alissa saw the other Scyrric, stunned at her prowess against the three she had fought, edging towards her. She also noticed several red flashes as spells were being cast in her direction, but she didn’t want to stop until Fido was better. There were just too many enemies approaching to fight them off. The plan for the moment was to stabilize Fido, survive the first set of attacks, and then run while carrying him.
Without letting go of either Fido or the Scyrric, she positioned herself between the dog and the enemies. Hunching over with her back to them, hoping her cloak, robe, and the leather layer underneath would be enough to stop the spells, Alissa waited for the spells to come.
Squeezing her eyes closed to protect them, vital energy still flowing through her to drain and heal, she heard the air disturbed and felt heat and light coming at her.
PING!
Opening her eyes, Alissa turned back and saw a shield blocking the incoming spells. The shield was held by a handsome blond man in his thirties. He smiled down at her, flashing his teeth.
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“Are you ok, Angel?” he asked.
Alissa tried to hold it in but burst out laughing.
“Is that a pickup line in a battle?” she asked as she couldn’t keep the mirth in. The man looked a little dismayed.
“Of course not! Who would be dumb enough to flirt with one of the General’s Wives?” he asked with an off put expression. “Wasn’t your title ‘Avenging Angel’?”
She continued to giggle, her tension broken. “Of course. Sorry.” Then with a genuine expression she said, “thanks for the help.”
He nodded. “We saw you practically kill that cyclops by yourself. It just took us longer to get down without those black angel wings of yours.”
At the explanation, Alissa looked around and noticed that dozens of humans were around them and the numbers were increasing. People were climbing or jumping down from where the wall had crumbled. The group of Scyrric had stopped advancing and the humans were getting into their own positions, though only the physical fighters and a few healers, since the casters and ranged attackers were still fighting the blue Kukiolis.
Fido barked, two heads looking up at her as the third head was nuzzling into her hand. It seemed he had received enough healing. She stopped draining and giving energy and placed both her hands on the two heads that she hadn’t been touching. A vigorous head rub followed on them, as the heads squealed in appreciation.
“What good boys! You are all so good! Protecting Emily and fighting,” praised Alissa as she petted them. “Are you ready for some more?”
In response, Fido stood up, and with a cruel look in his eyes, one jaw bit the Scyrric’s neck, and another set of teeth grabbed the collarbone. Then the heads both pulled in a different direction.
Scyrric “Ankle Cutter [26]” slain. 2,493 shared XP gained.
Fido shook the separated head a few times before letting it drop.
“Lady Alissa, if you would,” said the blond man with a gentlemanly bow and gesture towards the prepared Scyrric.
Two heads barked furiously as the third howled while Fido turned towards the Scyrric. Alissa patted him on the back and nodded.
“[Angel’s Advance]!” she called, once more flying forwards into the line of Scyrric. The shield man that she struck didn’t fall but he was forced back a few feet from the collision. The Scyrric behind him kept him on his feet and pushed him forward. None were expecting what Alissa did next.
“[Make Space]!” she called as a pressure wave radiated from her body and threw all the nearby Scyrric off balance.
Before they had time to steady themselves, the rest of the charging humans arrived, and the battle began.
***
Lucas was able to [Evade] a swing at his midsection, turning his body to the side will standing up straight. As soon as the blade passed, he dropped into a lunge and thrust his sword while using [Reduce Obstacles]. His sword pierced the warrior Scyrric, sliding underneath its chest armor into its abdomen. Lucas swung the sword sideways from there, cutting through from the inside to the outside.
Scyrric “Blade Handler [29]” slain. 3,102 XP gained.
There was no time to pay attention to the falling corpse as Lucas dropped into a roll to his side. While still in the movement, he swung his sword and cut through one leg of the next Scyrric that was trying to reach him before coming to his feet.
The Scyrric fell but wasn’t given the time to hit the ground as a blue tinged spearhead, crackling with lightning, went in the invader’s armpit and through its body.
Scyrric “Prey Stalker [27]” slain. 1,923 shared XP gained.
“[On Your Knees],” said Tom, boosting the power of his manipulation skill with [The More You Believe]. He followed it up with [Long Reach] and [Quick Strike]. The extended blade that came from his sword decapitated three warriors who had fallen to a kneel before coming to a stop due to the neck protector of a “Steady Bulwark [32].”
Lucas was already wading into the group of Scyrric, still trying to regain their feet. His goal wasn’t to kill them all, just to throw them off kilter as those behind him could get the killing blows. While his movements weren’t as graceful as a dancer or trained master swordsmen, the skills his class was built around improved his movements and techniques to near mastery. Moving through the enemy army, Lucas stabbed, swung, and dodged, all with the intention of throwing off their expectations. Being so close to the Scyrric reduced the chance of ranged attacks being used against him.
While Lucas was the point of the attack, getting inside the groups, Tom was using his abilities to affect their control and positioning. As his group had gotten stronger, Lucas hadn’t noticed significant physical changes outside of the stronger skills he had chosen. However, now that they were fighting a large army, Lucas could feel the difference. With weapons made from the Scyrric weapons they had taken from the armory, there was less dulling and nicks to his blades, allowing the Tier 3 humans to exert their full force. Lucas could tell that his strength and speed outclassed the horde of invaders they were fighting.
Once more Adam had been right. A single fighter or small group of fighters could make more of a difference than pre-[System]. And Lucas wasn’t alone here.
Lucas stepped back as a spiked club with a curved pole tried to catch him. Randall’s spear came from Lucas’s side and caught the bulky attacking warrior in the throat, stabbing through its neck and spine, electricity causing spasms as the body fell.
Scyrric “Catch All [34]” slain. 2,014 shared XP gained.
They continued like this for a while. Lucas avoiding all physical attacks with Randall attacking from behind him. Tom continued to mass crowd control, none of their enemies having the strength or willpower to resist, except for their supports and healers. However, resisting the control skills just left them standing out as obvious targets, resulting in their deaths.
Joseph and the Reapers were following in the back, massacring any Scyrric that had no protection. A few defenders had followed them down, knowing that the strength of the Reapers was worth protecting. Akuji gleefully swung her anime-esque scythe from behind the defenders, staying safe while dealing damage. Javier and Francis were more willing to get in close, punching or smacking with a club.
Lucas couldn’t control the battle, just his part in it, so he tried to identify where the most damage would be done and strike there. This wouldn’t have been possible to survive if he wasn’t at a higher level than his opponents.
For their part, the Scyrric army didn’t panic or lash out emotionally. They held their lines, communicated between their own soldiers, and fought with everything they had. Lucas might be handling them now, but if this was a long battle then he would eventually be overcome by their numbers. However, for now their small group was coming out mostly unscathed.
Pulling back, Lucas was grazed by a fireball on his chest armor, from the back of his under arm. The spell reached a defender who seemed aware it was coming and blocked it with his shield, dispersing the fire. In a smooth movement, Lucas pulled a knife the size of a finger from his bandolier with his off hand, throwing it behind him to the left. The knife struck the caster in the snout, followed by Tom’s [Long Reach] empowered sword.
That marked a change in the battle as the Scyrric were trying to angle spells against them, their defenders trying to prevent the damage from reaching any others of their race. Lucas was forced to dodge more often. He took hits but was able to brush most of them off due to his vitality and the armor that protected him.
The fight went on like this for another ten minutes before Lucas decided it was about time to return to the wall. Through the throngs of enemies, he noticed that the Kukiolis were almost all killed, with only three still alive. Four sections of the wall had crumbled, two with too much debris for an army to climb over and two more with paths that could be fought through. Lucas would need to get back to reinforce those gaps.
As Lucas once more swerved sideways to dodge an attack, a hissing shriek sounded out. Lucas wanted to cover his ears but there was no way to as he cut down the attacker immediately in front of him and then stabbed towards another one.
The shriek lasted much longer than Lucas appreciated. The Scyrric soldiers seemed to know the meaning of it though as attacks stopped coming. They all began backing away from the humans, moving to give them space. Then a pathway opened as a slightly larger Scyrric came through.
He was covered in armor up to his neck. Even his tail had jointed metal on it that didn’t seem to prevent his movement. His feet and hands had jointed metal coverings, though his talons poked through them.
There were gaps in the armor on his neck since, unlike the heavier armored defenders, he didn’t wear a neck guard. He did wear a helmet though. It covered the top and back of his head, with a piece running along his snout while two wings of metal protected his cheeks. The eyes and mouth were uncovered, allowing Lucas to see the red of both his pupil and tongue while the Scyrric could still use his teeth as a weapon. Rage painted his eyes and expression, a fury that Lucas was quite familiar with.
“Back away!” ordered the level 74 Metallic Berserker to the troops. “Reform and then enter their wall. I will take care of these vermin!”