The clone tried attacking Belen but both she and Kurata were quick to back away from their foe. Meanwhile, Kamis and Tian charged headfirst into the enemy as Ali attacked with a handful of air slashes. Their attacks yielded nothing and the three of them were sent flying once again. Even with the concentrated attack of Belen and Kurata, the clone appeared unfazed. A few minutes later, the four of them were lying on the ground at the mercy of the clone. Ali, with his MP completely depleted, could do nothing. He had thrown everything at the clone but nothing mattered. They probably had a better chance digging through a mountain with a single tree branch.

Is this the end of our road?

The clone walked over to Ali and was ready to deliver the finishing blow. Ali closed his eyes as he waited for the blow. When the attack never materialized, he opened his eyes to see the clone had disappeared. He checked with the others but they could only confirm the clone had vanished. No one knew how or why it vanished. Even with the clone gone, they had another issue. All of them were heavily wounded, making them vulnerable until they recovered enough HP.

Tian, cover for us for now!

As soon as he recovered enough MP, Ali summoned his air serpent to assist them. At the very least, Tian could alert them of incoming foes. In addition, the air serpent was likely his most MP efficient ability given that the cost was low compared to what he got in return. Several minutes later, the four of them resumed their journey to the base. No other foe appeared, giving Ali the impression that the enemy was confident the clone could have dealt with everything.

What happened to the clone? Maybe we’ll find out once we reach the base.

Upon arriving, the four of them were rushed inside. Belen asked for the reason for the urgency and was told that the four of them were being evacuated from Vliland.

“The situation in Vliland had deteriorated faster than we expected,” said the guard. “The ash corpses have overwhelmed the city’s garrison and now control nearly all of the inner city. It’s possible that they might have already eliminated what’s left of the defenders.”

“They have grown that powerful?” asked Kurata who couldn’t hide the disbelief in his voice.

During the conversation, the group learned that the ash corpses launched a surprise attack within the inner walls. The more they slaughtered, the more ash corpses joined their rank and their numbers ballooned out of control. The garrison was mostly focused on the siege so they were spread too thin to deal with the ash corpses. According to some intel, the ash corpses were coordinated in their attacks, indicating that there was at least one mastermind behind their deployment. It was obvious that, once the ash corpses controlled all of the inner city, their focus would turn to the outer city. By then, their quantity and quality would surpass that of all of the remaining factions in the city. In the end, the ash corpses were the true victors in the conflict.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Tian, go outside and cast your rain dance.

Why now?

Ali explained that, while the numbers of the ash corpses were large, there were still many weak ash corpses. If they could kill the weaklings, then they could at least level up the rain dance ability without needing to be in the thick of the battle.

Better that we take what we can before our departure. After this battle, Vliland might no longer exist anymore.

The air serpent then sneaked out to cast a rain dance. Even at this point, Ali hadn’t revealed the ability to anyone else within the Dark Cult. He recalled from his books that weather control abilities were not only rare but also highly sought after. If he became a target, then, with his current strength, he couldn’t possibly protect himself. Until he became stronger, he had to keep his abilities a secret. Since the ability was casted by his air serpent, he could easily create alibis to remove suspicion from himself. As of this moment, no one was any wiser about his connection with the rain dance. Rumors were circulating about a powerful spellcaster but there was so much exaggeration that no one was any closer to knowing the individual's identity.

Looks like the rain dance is already doing its job.

The teenager waited several minutes until the XP for rain dance stopped increasing. From what he observed, those that could last several minutes would only be severely weakened and couldn’t be killed by rain dance alone. Still, he was quite content with the large haul of XP as he highly doubted that he could get the same amount anywhere else. With the rain dance having achieved its objective, he checked his prompt, ready to see the big haul of XP from the ideal situation for rain dance.

<

[

Ability: Rain Dance

Level: 11 ( 272 / 306 XP to Level Up)

Level Up Requirements: Boost water element abilities of same or higher levels.

Additional Level Up Method: Kill foes of equal or higher level

Type: Support (Buff)

Description:

With the caster at the center, a small drizzle, lasting for 3 hours, begins in an area with a radius of 2.5 km. Those using water elements and are allies of the user get an immediate boost while under the drizzle.

Cost: None

Cooldown: 23.5 hours

Buff: +22% Attack, +22% Defense, +22% Movement Speed, -14% MP cost for abilities at or below the level of rain dance.

]

Rain Dance has reached level 5 and is eligible for an ability boost.

Rain Dance has reached level 10 and is eligible for an ability boost

Two ability boosts awaiting to be selected.

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Isn’t rain dance your ability? Why am I picking the ability boosts?

Hard to pick ability boosts when I cannot access the prompt. I trust your judgment anyways. I'm certain you'll pick the best boosts to make rain dance even stronger!