Chapter 20: Trump Cards
1654 Words
“How is she still in one piece!?”
When the greenish smokes subsided, Merek shouted in disbelief when after that explosion he directly plunged into the Ice Witch’s mouth, it did not only survive, it also seems unharmed.
“Allow me to do that analysis,” Lugiel offered. After two breaths, he started, “She’s also without a heat signature. That means she’s a golem, binder type. Body is ice and snow. So regeneration is a trick until her Mana reserve is exhausted.”
“You have got to be kidding me!”
Though Mana is independent to meridian quality and Combat Arts mastery, to a cultivator, their respective progresses are somehow simultaneous. They grow their Mana while improving the other two. On the other hand, depending on the injection of their creator, binder-type golems, despite their actual tier, could have an immense reserve of Mana which technically makes them immortal for an undetermined period due to their regenerative property.
“That should have shaved a lot, right?” Athena said dubiously.
This was not in the intel but then again, no team had actually made a direct confrontation with the Ice Witch. Even the teams that made it here had only faced the Ice Golems while the Ice Witch torments them from that distance. After that, they used their bail-out tablets and made their escape.
Athena then asked Lugiel, “Do you have more of those?”
“That was a greenfire,” he said. “Something like that does not come easy.”
That’s a No.
“But you might be right about something,” he said next.
“What?”
“That shaved a lot.”
It is only now that Merek noticed that despite recovering, the Ice Witch is yet to make her move yet. On top of that, there are barely any Ice Golem left.
Seemingly, the entire thing might reduce into a battle of Mana. Which side might run out first, her or them?
“Incoming!”
Lugiel warned and the next instance, the Ice Witch sent several ice spikes to their direction.
*Swang! Swang! Swang!*
Athena took it to herself to parry while at the same time, he and Lugiel counterattacked with their respective explosives. However, a couple of the remaining Ice Golems jumped in front of their attacks, sacrificing themselves to protect the Ice Witch.
*Boom!
Merek’s attempt didn’t stop there though. Releasing two arrows at once, each were released to curve halfway through and strike the target from both sides. Unfortunately, the Ice Witch erected two ice walls, blocking those attacks as well.
‘How annoying!’
Having both attacks blocked, Merek quickly thought to adjust his approach after glancing quickly to his cousins. After then, he activated the ring on his middle finger as he load a silver arrow.
These two are a set, a Magic Equipment called the Sage Ring and the Sage Arrows. The Sage Ring absorbs the Mana of the user and then load and concentrates it within the Sage Arrow, creating a devastating attack.
*BANG!
Releasing the Sage Arrow, it ignored all their defensive measures and put a huge hole against the Ice Witch’s chest.
*WAAAA!!
It had stung well and the inflicted damage was also regenerating much slower.
On the downside, nearly all of his remaining Mana was burned just like that.
Merek gritted his teeth as pain and weakness dawn to him, “Damn!”
He then coughed a mouthful of blood.
◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇
Quick to react, Athena did not miss the opportunity Merek created and she too, executed one of her own trump card.
Leaping up high, she delivered a powerful s***h and an immense amount of Mana instantly gushes out from her pores towards her right sword, manifesting a diagram of a full moon that presses down to the Ice Witch.
In response, a terrifying amount of cold Mana were released by the Ice Witch, encasing the surrounding before thousands of ice bullets spreads out as if splitting the atmosphere.
It was quite overwhelming.
“Lunar World Splitter!”
Athena exclaimed at the same that the ice bullets rushes upward, instantly stabbing into the diagram of a full moon. The moon then exuded an immense amount of glare and flashed into the ice bullets which were obliterated by the moon’s enormous brightness.
Except that, there’s neither a moon nor moonlight, it is simply the manifestation of her House Griffin’s heavenly-tier sword technique, Clash of Sun and Moon, with the Lunar World Splitter being the first form of the technique.
The ice bullets were obliterated by tens and dozens but more were manifesting by succession, taking their place. Then…
*WAAAAAAA!!!!!
…the Ice Witch screamed again, louder and more ear-piercing this time. It resounded like a huge explosion and its soundwaves blended with the cold Mana she released prior.
In an instance, it sketched the outline of what looked like a giant snowflake which released a cold and horrifying light that contended against her moon.
*Boom!* Layers upon layers of shockwaves swept in all directions when the snowflake clashed maliciously against her moon.
“Ugh!” Both of them received a serious recoil which on Athena’s side, had sent her crashing to the ground.
When the remaining Ice Golems witnessed her getting repulsed right after Merek had also coughed blood, they took this as their side falling out and immediately, they charged at top speed.
Athena pushed herself to return immediately back to her feet. They’re close now. The attacks the Ice Witch suffered from her and Merek had placed her at the brink of destruction. Unfortunately, they might not have enough strength left to continue against them until then.
Mana Control is the most difficult to manage in Combat Style mastery and usage of Magic Equipment especially in high-tier kinds. Rookie practitioners tend to exhaust more Mana than intended and hence, they are refrained from utilizing them in actual combat not unless absolutely necessary.
They know the risk and thought they managed it well but unfortunately, they still have much to learn.
Their final hope now is if Lugiel still have a trick left. She’s uncertain about Merek but she went this far because of Lugiel’s composure.
The extent of his actual strength in combat remains vague but from the fiasco during the Battle of Seeds until their journey here, not to mention that he’s a shrewd businessman, it’s obvious that he is the type that only enters a trouble he can survive.
Finally, to Athena’s relief, he finally made his move.
Pulling out two vials from his storage device, he threw them to her and Merek where they broke against their clothes. Then, once it was absorbed from her clothes to her skin, she suddenly felt her Mana reserve and her strength returning.
This shocked Athena. Potions that restore Mana are rarer and more expensive than meridian-refining elixirs. Her House gave her one and obviously, Merek too, but they are reserving them as final resorts. In fact, it’s about to be their next move if things were reduced to that but Lugiel provided something similar.
“Introducing our newest product,” he declared. “Heaven’s Relief. It’ll be available for sale in six months. Now, let’s finish this and go home.”
With their strength recovering, they did just that.
“Of course!” Athena responded with renewed vigour, tightly gripping her swords.
On the other side, with her situation reduced to her last stand, the Ice Witch starts to behave more violently. Her eyes turned red and small veins bulged against her skin and her whole body bloated up.
Then all the remaining Ice Golems including those that are charging towards them were absorbed to her body.
Quickly, huge horns appeared on both sides of her forehead and her hands turned into elongated claws.
Last stand. It’s the pseudo-self-destruct button of guarding golems in case the circumstances will allow them. In this state, the golem will expend all of their remaining Mana to acquire greater power. All for the purpose of destroying everything, the intruders, including whatever it is they are guarding.
Athena then took a deep breath and digging once again into her Soul Realm, her Mana responded to her swordsmanship, creating the image of a full moon.
*Bang!
Her swords and the Ice Witch’s claws collided. When she charged at full speed forward, she intercepted her with her full power, stopping her in her track. Then, she created an opening by slashing her swords upward, sending her claws and arms upward as well.
Behind her, Merek is done charging his arrow.
“Sage Strafe!”
*Swooong!
His fingers released the arrow and it pierced through the Ice Witch’s chest, and from the hole it inflicted, cracks appeared and spread.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t over yet.
At the same time, red liquids identical to blood, which are packed with condensed Mana, began to pour out of the Ice Witch’s cavities and pores while her body bloated extensively like a puffer fish.
‘The actual self-destruct!’ Is what immediately registered Athena’s mind, and half-expecting it, she once again took the stance for the Lunar World Splitter.
Destroy her before she could explode.
“Lunar World Splitter!”
*Swish!
But then, as her attack connects just as the Ice Witch was about to explode, she saw something transparent, a bottle, volleyed towards the point of impact and when the first explosion ignited…
*Booom!
…a powerful suction began to absorb them.
*SWOOOOSH!!!
- Writer
