The city of Ellay could be seen on the horizon from where they stood, some time before midnight of the next day. It seemed similar to the town they last visited, but being closer to a desert many of its structures were made of a mix of sandstone and stone. Large sandstone walls were built all around the city, and several buildings towered over the wall. Sapphire and Winter approached the city casually, not having much to worry about for now.
"Take this, and show it to them when they ask for it." Sapphire ordered as she handed Winter her card.
Winter nodded as she took the adventurer's guild's card. Using Shadow Movement Sapphire followed Winter in her shadow. Reaching the gate Winter waved to a guard standing on the wall and he shouted something at the other soldiers. After a moment the gate opened and two soldiers marched out.
"Your travelling permit?" One of them demanded.
Winter handed the card to him and he examined it for a moment before handing it back, stepping to the side to let her enter. The two guards entered behind Winter and the door closed behind them. Winter walked straight into the city and towards a dark alleyway, away from view.
"Easy as always." Sapphire laughed jumping out of the shadows.
"Do we look that similar?" Winter questioned as she inspected the card, the description written on it being nothing like her.
"Illusions, I can do that to some extent, nothing major though." Sapphire replied as she looked around the alleyway.
"Let's get started then?" Winter inquired with a grin.
"Certainly, but first, we need to find the dungeon. It's on the edge of the city is all I know, so we just need to walk around the entire city, while staying out of site from the guards." Sapphire explained as she peeked out from the alleyway.
"That will be easy." Winter shrugged, walking out of the alleyway.
"Not with your all white clothes," Sapphire pointed out.
"Concealment." Winter whispered with a shrug, almost instantly disappeared into thin air.
"What?" Sapphire exclaimed, flinching in shock.
"It allows me to go invisible, not very sure how it works to be honest." Winter shrugged, though Sapphire didn't see the shrug this time.
"Well, that is perfect then, Stealth." Sapphire said, though nothing happened. "It's pretty much a lesser version of concealment. Due to its effects people are less likely to notice me, a better sneak skill basically, and due to my black outfit they are already less likely to notice me." Sapphire explained, gesturing Winter to follow as she walked out from the alleyway.
"That is indeed very handy." Winter agreed, following behind Sapphire.
Both of them made their way through the city, keeping close enough to the wall to not miss anything, yet far enough to not be spotted. Even though they were in clear view of the guards, they failed to notice the two, due to Sapphire's sneak skill and outfit, and Winter's concealment.
It didn't take them very long to come across the dungeon due to unhindered progress. The dungeon's large entrance displayed a sign at the very top of the entrance, 'SLAVES', written in large letters on it. Located on the western side of the city, the dungeon's gate faced east. While Sapphire could tell what the word meant, thanks to Kurai having taught her, Winter did not have any clue as to what it might mean. Sapphire headed straight for it, being pulled back by Winter just as she did.
"What are you doing?" Sapphire questioned as she staggered backwards.
"Those look like bad news." Winter mumbled, pointing to either side of the entrance.
Sapphire failed to notice the two Knights in golden armor on either side of the door due to her anger, but now she did. They carried a sword on their hip and a shield in their arm as they stood by the entrance, guarding it. Just as Sapphire seemed convinced they were statues due to not moving for a while, one of them turned to the other and spoke something.
"Human (Male), level 93. HP: 11563/11563, MP: 11005/11005, Stamina: 7032/7303, Strength: 6232, Defense: 7101, Speed: 1036, Hunger: 91%. Skill Appraisal Failed. Titles:
Human (Male), level 95. HP: 11612/11612, MP: 10435/10435, Stamina: 7240/7405, Strength: 7147, Defense: 7913, Speed: 601, Hunger: 96%. Skill Appraisal Failed. Titles:
Midnight wolf (Warrior) (female), name: Sapphire, level 3. HP: 3962/3962, MP: 4914/4914, Stamina: 6270/6270, Strength: 2747, Defense: 2513, Speed: 3778, Energy: 100% (2632678/2632678 units).
Winter wolf (Warrior) (female), name: Winter, level 1. HP: 4220/4220, MP: 5246/5246, Stamina: 5620/5620, Strength: 2561, Defense: 2432, Speed: 1674, Hunger: 97%."
"They are on a whole another level," Sapphire gasped, "only thing we surpass them is in speed, the rest of their stats are nearly double ours."
"It will be better to avoid fighting the-" Winter warned, being cut off before she could finish as Sapphire nudged her to the side and walked straight towards them. "Wait, you can't win this fight."
"You underestimate me too much. Sit back for this fight, it's an order." Sapphire glanced at Winter with a commanding glare.
Winter hesitantly stopped and looked towards Sapphire as she turned off her stealth skill and walked towards the Imperial Knights. They noticed her and exchanged glances and shrugs, not knowing what to do. Taking in a deep breath Sapphire tossed her cloak and hat to the side, revealing her ears. Both the Imperial Knights reacted instantly and unsheathed their swords.
"Halt!" One of them ordered, but Sapphire continued walking towards them.
The one to the left walked towards her and waved to the other to leave it to him. Sapphire howled loudly as the Imperial Knight approached her, causing him to stop in his tracks.
"Skill info: Greater Howl: Greatly boosts the offensive capabilities (Attack and Speed) of the user. Level 1 boosts by 10% and 5% is added for every additional level. Also applies the
Draconic Power and Deterrence activated, Energy Concentration: 1% overall. Conditions satisfied: Activated
Midnight wolf (Warrior) (female), name: Sapphire, level 3. HP: 7924/7924, MP: 13268/13268, Stamina: 16929/16929, Strength: 15624, Defense: 12134, Speed: 10956, Energy: 99% (7037149/ 7108231 units)."
The Imperial Knight's expression quickly turned to one of horror with another glance at Sapphire's stats as a dark blue aura enveloped her. The other Imperial Knight also looked to Sapphire with a similar expression and struck a bell close to him in desperation.
"Human (Male), level 93. HP: 6941/6941, MP: 6603/6603, Stamina: 4382/4382, Strength: 3739, Defense: 4261, Speed: 622, Hunger: 91%. Skill Appraisal Failed. Titles:
Human (Male), level 95. HP: 6967/6967, MP: 6261/6261, Stamina: 4443/4443, Strength: 4288, Defense: 4748, Speed: 361, Hunger: 96%. Skill Appraisal Failed. Titles:
"Shadow Magic: Shadow Field." Sapphire chanted raising both her hands into the air. Shadows gathered into her hands as she raised them up. Bringing both her hands down in front of her she unleashed the shadows into a wave-like attack, washing up everything in front of her.
"Divine Protection!" Both the Imperial Knights shouted in unison.
A large light green barrier formed in front of them. The shadows collided with the barrier and cracked it, but failed to break it. Just as the Imperial Knights breathed a sigh of relief the barrier shattered. Sapphire, after punching the barrier with her left hand swung her right arm in a horizontal arc and unleashed a Shadow Slash, without the use of her katana.
The slash knocked both the knights backwards, breaking their chest armor and inflicting a deep wound. It would have cut them in half if Sapphire used her katana. They groaned in pain as many other knights started arriving and surrounded Sapphire. The knights pointed their swords and spears at her as they shouted orders at each other.
"Surrender!" One of them ordered.
"You all underestimate me too much to even come here," Sapphire snarled, "allow me to give you a better estimate."
They all fired multiple Light, Water, Fire and Wind spells at her just as she said that. Sapphire simply stood there and took all the hits, not expecting them to amount to much. Her HP was slowly being worn off, but it regenerated just as quickly. Those who possessed appraisal were already noticing it, their expressions turning to one of horror as they did.
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Sapphire slammed her fist into the ground beneath her with an Energy Attack, the shockwave created by it deflecting the closest barrage of spells. All the humans instantly stopped and looked at her in terror as she stood there seemingly unharmed.
"The Imperial Knights will be here soon! Hold your ground!" Their leader ordered.
"Shadow Magic: Shadow Release." Sapphire mumbled as she raised both her hands into the air and an orb of darkness formed in between both her hands. Lowering hands Sapphire dropped the orb onto the ground. The moment the orb hit the ground it exploded in a flood of shadowy darkness.
The soldiers screamed in horror as they struggled, the shadows wrapping around their legs and restricting their movement. Unsheathing her katana Sapphire spun on her feet and performed a circular Shadow Slash. It effortlessly sliced through everyone in the vicinity, even damaging the entrance and nearby buildings with its remaining power.
"Threat Alert: Danger from above. Threat Info: Imperial Knight."
Raising her head to the sky and opening her mouth Sapphire fired a Shadow Pulse right at the Imperial Knight, not very powerful due to the deficiency of time. He used the same barrier skill which the others had used just a while ago, but was blown away regardless. He landed in a heap not far from Sapphire, groaning in pain, having surprisingly survived her attack and the fall.
Sapphire raised her katana to finish him but was interrupted by a Holy Light Slash from her side. She dispersed it with a Shadow Slash. Just as she tried to appraise her attacker, perception alerted her of a threat from behind. Sapphire lowered her body to dodge the sword strike aimed at her chest. She uppercut the Imperial Knight who tried to attack her with a Shadow Attack and sent him flying, blinding him at the same time.
How many are there? Sapphire questioned Appraisal.
"Enemy info: 26 Imperial Knights (2 Injured), 54 Dark Knights, 80 Silver Knights."
"Bring it on, weaklings!" Sapphire taunted, a joyful smile on her face.
Jumping over a Holy Light Slash she unsheathed her older katana too and performed four Shadow Slashes in quick succession with both her katana before landing back on the ground. The slashes sliced through several knights, damaging many more. Landing back she dispersed two Holy Light fields with her Shadow Field. Just as she did an Imperial Knight Quickstepped behind her, prepared to decapitate her, but she sliced his leg off before he could, kicking his head off with an Energy Attack just as his body fell to the ground. Right after that she charged a Shadow Pulse, turning her to the side slowly as she unleashed it to cover a larger area.
"Holy Light Seal!" Five of the Imperial Knights chanted in unison.
A cage of bright green light appeared around Sapphire, trapping her inside of it. Snarling at the Imperial Knights she took a quick look at her surroundings and aimed a Shadow Spear at each knight which casted the cage, magic circles appearing aimed at them as she did.
Shadow Magic: Shadow Blast. Sapphire whispered in her mind as a large magic circle formed over the cage, an orb of shadows appearing from the magic circle and colliding with the light cage. The cage shattered instantly and the orb scattered into a rain of small Shadow particles just as the five spears were shot. The spears pierced through their targets before piercing through multiple Dark and Silver Knights behind them. The rain also took out many other Knights in seconds, piercing through their bodies like small arrows.
A strong gust of wind knocked Sapphire into the wall that surrounded the city, indenting it as she slammed into it. She fell to the ground along with much of the sandstone of the wall's side collapsing over her. Blasting away the rubble and getting back to her feet she glared at the attacker.
"Human (Male), level 132. HP: 18378/18378, MP: 21820/21820, Stamina: 15970/17205, Strength: 16152, Defense: 18525, Speed: 2278, Hunger: 98%. Skill Appraisal Failed. Titles:
Sapphire hissed at the Imperial Commander in rage as she sheathed her older katana, gripping the other with both hands now. He scoffed at her and signaled the other knights to attack, all of them charging at her at once. Sapphire deflected the sword of the knight that stabbed at her and sliced his chest before stabbing another knight through his abdomen. Three Silver Knights stabbed at her with Wind Imbuement but she dodged it by jumping into the air. Spinning mid-air and turning her body upside down she decapitated all three of the knights and landed back on her feet.
Taking in a deep breath she swung her katana in multiple arcs around her, unleashing Shadow Slashes unevenly in every direction, two in the shape of a cross aimed at the Commander. The Commander blocked both the slashes with a barrier but most of the other knights failed to react in time. Her Shadow Slashes killed a total of sixteen knights, gravely injuring another six, not as many as she planned due to her poorly performed slashes.
Using Shadow Movement she teleported right in front of the commander, an expression of shock creeping onto his previously expressionless face for a brief second as she did. She swung her katana in an upwards arc towards the Commander. He lowered his sword to block the attack, having regained his composure and focus. Just as their swords were about to collide Sapphire teleported to right beside the Commander's head, mid-air, and kicked at it with an Energy Attack. The commander blocked it with his other hand, being pushed away regardless.
As Sapphire landed on the ground a Dark Knight stabbed at her. Sidestepping the attack she decapitated him and slashed the leg of an approaching Silver Knight before stabbing him through his heart as he fell towards the ground. She was forced to jump high into the air as five Light Fields left her no other way to dodge them. As the Light Fields were dispersed from colliding with each other she axe-kicked the ground with an Energy Attack, cracking it and pushing the nearby knights a few steps away.
Opening her mouth she blasted a Shadow Pulse at a cluster of knights before performing a Shadow Slash to each of her two sides as she again unsheathed her older katana. She dodged a Holy Light Beam by slightly tilting her head to the side, having been shot at her by the commander. It collided with the sandstone wall and destroyed part of its top, nowhere near enough to collapse it completely however.
The Commander grunted in frustration as Sapphire smiled evilly at him. A Silver Knight sliced at her neck to decapitate her while she was distracted, but his sword was blocked as it collided with Sapphire's forearm. Pushing the knight away she decapitated him with a Shadow Slash as she stepped forward.
"Come forth, Infernus." The Commander ordered as he raised his hand into the air.
Sapphire waited for a moment, looking around in anticipation but nothing happened. With a swing of her arm she summoned four magic circles around her that shot Shadow Spears at the knights, keeping them off her as she waited for the commander to do something.
"Threat Alert: Behind and above. Threat Info: Greater Fire Dragon Breath attack."
Turning around Sapphire unleashed a Shadow Pulse to block the attack, directing four Shadow Spears towards it too. The breath attack still tore through it all, though it was weak enough for Sapphire to absorb it with Energy Absorption now. Sapphire absorbed the attack by holding her hand out, red lines appearing into her arm and sleeve as she did. After absorbing it she opened her jaws, the red lines traveling up her arm and through her neck into her mouth along with several black and blue lines. She unleashed the attack, a mix of Shadow Pulse and the Breath Attack she absorbed, at the dragon, which was far too slow to dodge it. The dragon fell to the ground as the attack hit it's wing, crushing a Silver Knight that wasn't able to move out of the way in time.
"Greater Fire Dragon (male), name: Infernus, level 68, HP: 36200/41375, MP: 48920/52000, Stamina: 42145/48000, Strength: 17356, Defense: 19310, Speed: 3628(Aerial) & 1086(Terrestrial), Hunger: 96%. Skill Appraisal Failed. Title:
"You will have to do better than that." The Commander taunted as he gestured towards the dragon. "Infernus and I have slain many wolves like you, stronger than you, killing you won't be much harder. You might be strong, but you still do not compare to an alpha, and we have slain several of those. But don't worry, we will allow you to meet your fellow wolves before killing you, and also let you watch everything that we do with them. It would be a worthwhile recompensation for all the damage you have caused."
"Proficiency Threshold Reached, acquired the skill:
Midnight wolf (Warrior) (female), name: Sapphire, level 3. HP: 3962/7924, MP: 7930/13268, Stamina: 13456/16929, Strength: 31248, Defense: 6067, Speed: 16434, Energy: 98% (7000008/ 7108231 units).
Skill info: Rage: A passive skill activated when the user's rage reaches a certain point. Sacrifices half the HP and Defense for 2 times the strength and 1.5 times the speed. Effects of Rage are calculated after other passives, and hence it boosts the strength and speed gain from them as well. Increases Strength by an extra 10% and Speed by an extra 5% for every level."
"Attack her." The Commander ordered as he raised his sword into the air, noticing the spike in her stats. "Heaven's judgement!"
Many of the other Imperial and Dark Knights also charged the same attack while many others charged other Holy Light Magic. The dragon also charged its Greater Fire Breath Attack, unleashing it at the same time as all the others. All the attacks hit Sapphire at the same time, causing a large explosion. The shockwave from it pushed many of the closer knights away and damaged the nearby buildings. Winter gasped on seeing the attacks land directly on Sapphire, fear seizing her heart.
"Is that all you got?" Sapphire panted, still standing at the same location.
The triumphant expression vanished from the faces of all the Knights, and Winter breathed a sigh of relief on hearing her voice. As the smoke settled Sapphire came into view, an arm missing and the rest of her body bleeding and damaged.
"Shadow Magic: Shadow Restoration." Sapphire chanted, loud enough for everyone to hear.
Shadows crept onto her wounds and covered them, forming a shadow hand where her hand was supposed to be and covering all her wounds till they regenerated. Sapphire smashed her shadow arm into the ground, a flood of shadowy darkness erupting from that point. Many of the Knights used Holy Magic to keep the darkness at bay, but those who failed to do so were slowly absorbed by it as they screamed in pain and horror. The commander quickstepped to his dragon and protected it from harm. At once the darkness receded back into Sapphire's arm, her hand growing back in an instant along with all her other injuries healing.
"Flame Magic: Hellfire." Sapphire called out as she raised her hand into the air.
Many large magic circles appeared all around Sapphire, unleashing a barrage of fireballs everywhere, the only spot left unscathed being where Winter hid. Many knights died and many more were injured, having been blasted away and burned by the attacks, some of the weaker ones attempting to turn and run away now.
"Shadow Magic: Shadow Blast." Sapphire coughed, some blood dripping out of her mouth.
Five magic circles appeared above Sapphire, shooting Shadow Blasts into the air. They exploded high into the air and rained Shadow Bullets onto the numerous knights, the ones which attempted to run taking the brunt of the attack.
"Die." Sapphire whispered as she appeared right in front of the Commander. Destruction Attack. She drove a knife hand strike through his abdomen. Quickly pulling her hand out she teleported below the dragon's head as it attempted to reach its master, decapitating it with an upwards Shadow Slash just as she did.
"Infernus!" The Commander shouted in rage, blood streaming from the corners of his mouth.. "You will pay for this!"
Sapphire stood right in front of the Commander as he struggled to move, his armor slowly disintegrating and the hole in his abdomen slowly growing larger. He glared at her as he fell to the ground beside his dragon's head, dying as he bled out.
How many are left?
"Enemy info: 1 Imperial Knight (Injured), 3 Dark Knights (2 Injured), 8 Silver Knights (1 Injured)."
"Shadow Magic: Devouring Shadows." Sapphire whispered as a flood of shadows was unleashed from where she stood, coughing a small amount of blood right after she did. The flood slowly absorbed everything in the area, even the corpses, receding back into her as she walked towards the entrance. She breathed heavily as she stood in front of it, seemingly on the verge of collapsing. She wiped off the blood and composed herself, not wishing for Winter to see her condition.