Chapter 114 - Gloria
Chapter 114: Gloria
An array of roars sounded from everywhere.
In the distance, a figure could be seen leaping among the trees, followed by several dark figures. Meanwhile, the sound of the Orc got closer and closer. Soran picked Vivian up on his back and prepared to evacuate. Gloria quickly cast a spell, but the monsters seemed to have found them. They could vaguely see several muscular figures jumping off tree poles, and the monsters were going to go around to encircle them. One of the most striking figures was a large black leopard.
Mutant beasts!
Some special beasts had some mutated genes, probably related to the taboo experiments during the Arcane Empire. They had been in large numbers for some time but were captured and killed. Many of them fled to the stars and the outer planes. Some creatures on the material plane also inherited these mutated genes, which activated once they reached a certain grade. The mutant beasts had magic-like abilities, but they were very rare. Most of the beasts were only highly intelligent and had powerful killing abilities.
These mutant beasts were said to be the failed Lycanthropy experiments.
Soran stopped and handed Vivian to Gloria, which was next to him. The black leopard that stopped in front of him was quite difficult to deal with. It was close to the size of a Siberian tiger, and its graceful body had distinct muscle contours, just like a bodybuilding champion in the realm of beasts. It may be even stronger than the brown bear. The power of its claws may be able to tear armor. The leopard’s speed was so fast that Soran did not dare to continue running, because it would expose his back to it.
No creature in the realm was faster than this mutated large leopard in short sprints.
The leopard was among the more dangerous creatures in the wilderness because you could hardly run faster than them. Soran took a deep breath right before his attack, and then his muscles got tense. He jumped a distance of more than ten meters and swung his curved sword down on the top of the leopard’s head. There was no armor on the beast, only its hide, which was not resistant to his attack.
With a gentle leap, the giant leopard shunned his attack agilely and showed a human-like sarcastic smile on its face. The animal was smarter than he had imagined, and it’s monster level might have reached three or higher.
But it was still too careless!
Soran raised his finger swiftly. Then, in just a second, his fingertips fired two Arcane Missiles out. No matter how fast the leopard was, at such close range, there was no escape. In the next moment, a small hole was opened in the leopard’s neck. Two Arcane Missiles pierced its leopard skin, leaving a wound about three centimeters deep. Blood gushed out.
With Soran’s spellcasting score and proximity, the Arcane Missiles did at least 20 damage!
One point in spellcasting score would enhance one point of Arcane Missile power. It was common for high-grade Wizards to use Arcane missile to pierce armor. Since Soran’s spellcasting score was more than ten points, even if the leopard’s Constitution was able to absorb some damage, it would still be lightly wounded.
Immediately, the injured leopard seemed slower, and Soran swung his sword down and slashed it on the back. The wound was nearly five centimeters deep. But, after breaking through the muscles, there was no more strength in his attack, thus he could only pull back his sword.
One’s Constitution would be able to reduce the damage taken!
In general, two points in Constitution would mean a 1-point increase damage reduction. Some creatures were so strong that they could even use their muscles to block weapons.
The Dragon was such a creature.
Without extraordinary weapons to deal with the Dragon species, even if one could break its skin, it would be difficult to cut its tough muscles and reach its internal organs. It was just impossible to kill a Dragon by making it lose blood.
The cold light of claws flashed by.
The strong and tough tail of the leopard swung like a whip. Soran twisted away but was left with three shallow scratches on his arms. The leopard tail whipped at his waist, but he could still take it with his Constitution.
Other monsters nearby were getting closer and closer. Soran could not afford to waste any time. He took out his Dead Wood Staff in an instant and pointed it to the leopard in front of him.
A glow of magic shot out from the staff.
Suddenly, the weeds on the ground grew like tough vines around the leopard. Even if it had the power of large cats, it could not get rid of it for a few seconds.
A few seconds was enough for Soran. He jumped on the back of the leopard and pressed down with his legs, immobilizing the leopard. Then, he clenched his curved sword with both hands and cut down hard. [Heavy Hack], an instant burst of energy, and the curved sword cut off the head of the black panther.
A gush of fresh blood shot out three to five meters and the body of the panther became stiff.
A row of data appeared.
Activated [Heavy Hack]!
Targets head has been chopped!…dealt 125 critical damage!…target is dead!
Extracting soul energy.
You’ve received 2450 Slaughter EXP!
It really was a grade 3 or above panther.
It probably had a monster level of around 12. If it weren’t for my magic attack, it would have been a tougher opponent than the Earth Elementals.
“Careful big brother!”
Suddenly there was a cry of surprise from Vivian, who was behind Soran. At that moment, Gloria swiftly cast two spells at high speed. First, she cast a buff on herself and Vivian, then she raised her hand and pointed it forward to shoot out a blood-red ray.
“Finger of Death!”
Somewhere close by, an arrow was shot out, but Soran didn’t think much about it. He swiftly activated the Elemental Stone he had, and a yellowish trail of soil on the ground spread to his whole body. As soon as the spell Skin Stone was on him, a sharp arrow flew in and hit him directly in the chest. The power of the arrow made him step backward.
In the woods ahead, a tall, burly Orc held a bow and was looking at Soran with killing intent.
However, after what had happened the Orc became shocked!
The arrow shot him in the chest, but it just got stuck between his ribs. The arrow should have gone through him, but the spell Stone Skin had offset a damage of more than 20. Also, because he had an extraordinary 20 Constitution and damage reduction, even though the arrow shot him in the chest, the damage was far lower than expected. Soran gritted his teeth and pulled out the arrow. Because his leather armor was pierced, the opponent must be using a strong bow of high quality.
A dark red ray hit the tall, burly Orc. At the next moment, its whole body stiffened for a moment, and then fell flat on the floor!
Level 7 spell [Finger of Death]!
The Finger of Death used by the high-grade Northern Witch was no joke. It was not easy for any profession below the fourth grade to pass the instant death trail.
If the person did not pass the trial, they would die instantly!
Soran pulled out the arrow but could not care about the wound. He swung his sword to block the attack of another half-blooded Orc beside him. The heavy battle ax that the Orc swung down with fierce force made his whole body sink. From another direction, a Gnoll-like half-blooded creature threw out a hatchet. He was about to hit Soran in the back.
Tang!
The hatchet seemed to have hit a sturdy marble, and Soran’s leather armor only had a little dent; he was hardly harmed. His opponent wasn’t that strong, and it must have had no special training in throwing weapons since the attack damage of the hatchet did not exceed 20. The attack simply failed to break Soran’s Stone Skin protection.
The existence of the Northern Witch attracted the attention of the hunters. At least half of the hunters bypassed Soran and rushed to Gloria and Vivian behind him. Since Wizards were the most terrible beings, the enemy tried to kill them before they had the chance to cast their spells. A monster with a ferocious face, which Soran could not recognize, roared and began to grow bigger. It then took a deep breath and started to sprint on the ground with all its limbs. The speed was almost unbelievable!
A berserk half-blood beast!
In the face of such a dangerous situation, Gloria wasn’t fazed. She had time to pull Vivian behind her. Then, she swiftly pulled out her staff and a fireball the size of a basin shot out from her staff. The sprinting monster had no time to stop. It was rushing in at high speeds. It also just so happen to enter the core area of fireballs explosion.
In an instant, its body was a mess of flesh, and its chest had been blown to smithereens.
“Watch carefully Vivian!”
Gloria had an awe-inspiring aura, and it was completely different from what Soran knew. Gloria then asked Vivian in a cool voice, “Do you remember the velocity calculations I taught you? Target position and magic prediction are very important skills. Many enemies are very fast. Magic does not necessarily have to be aimed at the target to be effective!”
A gust of roaring wind blew.
Two axes and a long knife were thrown at their positions. Gloria did not care at all. She slammed her staff into the ground and then proceeded to cast a spell with both hands at high speed. At the same time, she said, “Magic protection is the essence of the caster. You should always be under the cover of a field of energy’s protection in battle.”
Pang! Pang! Bang!
The weapons thrown out seemed to have hit the air, making a dull noise when it hit the field of energy. Gloria’s expression did not change at all, as if she did not care about the enemies that were coming.
Concentration was the most important basic skill of the caster in a battle. The caster should not be distracted by the enemy and interrupt his or her spellcasting. Concentration would also make them more sensitive to the changes around them.
“Black Tentacles!”
Six energy tentacles burst out of the earth and attacked the enemies. Half of the enemies rushing in nearby were stuck in an instant. Then they were rolled up and hung upside down by the energy tentacles. The Black Tentacles of the high-grade Witch were completely different from those of Soran’s. The energy tentacles wrapped and strangled two enemies swiftly. Then all the people close to them were entangled and dragged into the air.
Gloria then slowly pulled up her staff and said, “Vivian. Keep in mind that to us Wizards, control is more important than Damage.”
There was a strange silence on the battlefield.
Everyone, including Soran, witnessed the real power of a high-grade Northern Witch at that moment!
That was the strength of high-grade spellcasters!