383 Strategic Retreat
My pupils constricted as every hair on my body stood on end. I felt a threat looming over my head.
An attack from above!
I looked up and saw Grace, the rapier in her grasp pulled back and poised to strike, descending on me.
Oh, damn! They really have gotten good at working together.
Unfortunately for them, I have also become much stronger compared to the last time I fought them.
Willing mana into my knees and arms, I pushed Quinn back a single step before hoisting my leg up and ruthlessly thrusting it at him.
Thwack—!!
The forceful front kick landed squarely on Quinn's chest, pushing him back a couple of meters, his feet leaving behind deep grooves on the muddy ground.
Without wasting any movements, I stomped my foot on the ground to gain a proper footing and lifted my spear over my head.
The raging wind swirled around Grace as she fell and pushed her rapier down on me.
Sparks flew as the shaft of my spear clashed against the tip of her slender sword, yet instead of backing away, the wind around Grace grew even more violent as she continued to press me down in place.
I grit my teeth, struggling to keep standing under the crushing pressure. It felt as if a mountain had fallen on me.
Grace also raised her eyebrows in shock. She clearly didn't expect me to still remain standing.
"So you can withstand this?" Grace squinted her gaze at me and quickly molded a hand sign with her free hand.
In the blink of an eye, a javelin made of turbulent wind materialized in her hand.
At the same time, dark obsidian spikes shot up from the shadows on the ground under me, piercing the flesh in my feet and pinning me in place as a sharp grunt of pain escaped my lips.
So one made sure that I couldn't move while the other decided to attack me head-on. I must admit, it was a damn good strategy.
But Grace shouldn't have tried to contest me in close quarters.
A smirk cracked on my lips as the blonde girl whipped her arm forward, intending to hit me with the wind javelin.
But her attack could connect, I conjured tendrils of flames around me and uttered a silent whisper:
"Mana Burst."
A huge fiery explosion erupted on the seashore, making it look as if a second sun had appeared on the ground if not for a huge mushroom billowing up from it.
Quinn raised his arm to cover his eyes from the rising wind and dust until the plumes of smoke disappeared.
When the dust settled, the sand on the ground under my feet was burnt and turned into obsidian brittle shards of glass. On top of it, Grace was kneeling.
Her hair was disheveled and her clothes were a mess of burnt rags, revealing her smooth jaded skin in several spots.
[You eliminated #000536…]
Grace's smart bracelet was shattered and her rapier lay broken beside her on the ground.
The shadow spikes piercing my legs were also obliterated and the wounds of my legs were enshrouded by silver flames, healing them.
"Nice try, Grace–" I said with a smile.
But before I could continue speaking, Quinn lunged at me from the side.
Simultaneously, several creatures rose from the shadows all around us and rushed at me with a burst of speed.
This bastard! He was already using necromancy, huh?!
Fine, so be it!
Mana swirled around the length of my spear, churning uncontrollably and turning crimson.
I moved forward and met the assault of the Perfect Necromancer head-on, raining a flurry of spear thrusts and slashes at him.
Quinn held one of his daggers in reverse grip that he used to block my attacks while using the other one to execute his own counterstrikes.
Steel bit into steel and the clangor of blade clashing against blade filled the world in a violent cacophony.
Quinn's shadow slaves also joined the fray, assisting their master by pouncing at me whenever I was about to push him back.
Quinn's technique was refined and honed by his battle experience. His movements were sharp while his attacks were silent like that of an assassin.
I couldn't see it the last two times I fought him since I wasn't very experienced in battle myself, but now I could see…
Despite Quinn's swift and nimble offense, he was like a barbarian. His battle style revolved around dominating his enemy through sheer strength.
He was the complete opposite of Nero in that regard.
There were more than a few flaws to his technique that I could see – vulnerabilities that I could exploit.
The first one was rather simple. Since he relied on overpowering his opponents, I just had to do the same with him.
That's how I defeated him the last two times.
Well, that and I also relied on traps.
It made sense, though. Quinn preferred to end his enemies with one clear strike. Even when he had to fight, he usually sent in his trusted shadow slaves.
He was not as good as Nero or Anastasia in head-on fights. But that didn't mean he wasn't a force to be reckoned with.
Even in head-on battles, he could hold his own against strong opponents.
How? By using his legion of shadow minions, that's how.
Even though I could see openings in his attack patterns, I couldn't do anything about it since his shadow creatures were covering for him.
More than that, there were all kinds of shadow creatures – a huge black wolf, a dark knight, a shadow mantis, and many more.
Their attacks were frantic and didn't have any pattern to them. I couldn't read the situation at all.
Slowly but surely, Quinn's dagger started breaking past my defenses. I gradually started accumulating wounds all over my body.
Come on, come on! Just one mistake! All I needed was for him to make a single mistake!
And soon he did.
I thrust my spear forward. Quinn used his dagger to squat away my spear and stepped in, thrusting another dagger at my smart bracelet.
This was it! I could grab his hand instead and use Mana Burst one more time to get an easy win!
…But something was off.
Quinn wouldn't make a mistake like this, especially after this was exactly how I defeated Grace.
No, something was off.
I darted around my eyes and suddenly my gaze stopped on Grace. She was still on her knees, watching our battle.
…There was a victorious smirk on her face. It was the face of someone who had already won.
Suddenly, I noticed that there were no shadow creatures blocking my left side. It was almost as if they were leaving my left open for…
For a projectile!
It was a sniper! They were giving clear vision to a sniper! I was about to be sniped!
"Tsk!"
Clicking my tongue, I jumped a single step back and muttered, "Phoenix Embrace!"
Right at that moment, I heard a loud bang from somewhere inside the forest, and a golden beam of light shot at me, leaving behind a faint glowing trail.
The golden armor materialized over my body in a shroud of flames just in time to protect me from a golden bullet that hit my left calf.
Thann—!!
Unable to pierce my armor, the golden bullet ricocheted off as the flames around me dispersed.
Both Quinn and Grace couldn't help but widen their eyes.
"How- How did he know?!" Grace yelled.
"I… Huh?!" Quinn was unable to put together a comprehensive response.
Meanwhile, a smirk bloomed on my face as sparks of electricity lit up and started dancing around me.
I had activated my lightning aura.
Since nothing was blocking my left side, this was my best chance to retreat. After all, near-invincible protection or not, it's never a wise option to fight After all, near-invincible protection or not, it's never a wise option to fight under the eye of a sniper.
Quinn was quick to understand my plan. But before he could command his shadow slaves to block my left, a flash of bright light flashed in the air, blinding everyone present.
When the light died down, I had vanished from my spot. No, I didn't run. It was a strategic retreat.
