Chapter 212: Interrupted Spell
Roy was watching in awe. Witchers had always been sworn enemies of monsters, but now they were going to work with vodyanoi and drowners to fight the knights. Roy did not have much time to think about the gravity of the matter, for the battle had begun.
Adda held the colorful scale up and mumbled incantations under her breath, raining down a multicolored beam of light on the charging vodyanoi. Under the spell’s influence, the vodyanoi turned bigger, and so did their muscles. Most of them were smaller than the knights at first, but now they were bigger than them.
The knights countered by raining down a volley of arrows on the vodyanoi, but it was to little effect. The most the arrows did was penetrate a layer of the scales, but most of them slid off the monsters’ slimy skin. The rain of arrows did not stop the vodyanoi’s attack. They came bearing deadly weapons, slamming straight into the formation like a spear charging into a group of soldiers.
One of the vodyanoy got most of the knights’ attention. It was even bigger than Rudolf, and it looked like a bear that just came straight out of its cave. While its brethren were holding harpoons and bats, this vodyanoi was holding a small black alder. It spun through the battlefield with this tree in hand, and Roy could hear the wind roar as three knights and their weapons were sent flying away.
The vodyanoi held the tree up and slammed it to the ground. A gust of wind rippled through the battlefield, and one of the knights was caught by it. His chest caved, and he bled from his face. The man died on the spot.
The vodyanoi’s gills bulged, and it let out an eerie laugh as it swung its tree even more. Most of the knights focused on that big monster. They circled and stabbed it from behind, much like a group of hyenas attacking a lion.
The mutated vodyanoy had greater size and strength, but it traded its flexibility for that. It could not turn around fast enough, and the knights outnumbered it. Eventually, a few groups of knights surrounded it and took it down.
The vodyanoi had to fight the knights one to two. They were outnumbered and outclassed. All of them might be armed, but they were so full of openings. It was as if they were fighting bare handed. In most cases, the knights would have defeated them with ease, but this time, they came prepared. They were covered in a beautiful light. With Adda’s spells supporting them, pain and blood did not faze them. On top of that, all the minor wounds were healed in an instant.
The knights were weaker than the vodyanoi, and they were in leather armor instead of their usual chainmail. One wound was all it took to defeat them, and thanks to that, the battle was in a stalemate despite the knights’ superior numbers and discipline. Explosions of light happened sparsely. The knights would toss alchemical bombs at the drowners, stopping them with acid and fire.
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A stalemate was disastrous for the knights. It meant the monsters around the lake could reinforce their brethren in time and kill them. Rudolf eventually made the decision to lead a group of his knights away from the vodyanoi and charge at Adda instead.
Adda’s face fell. She ordered her knights to stop them, but a few of Rudolf’s men managed to break through the line. Roy then stepped in to stop them instead, while Letho stood beside Adda. His arms were crossed, and he did not show any signs of interfering.
The attacking knights were veteran fighters. There were three of them, and they worked together seamlessly. They did not go around the witcher, since that would mean showing their backs to him. The mysterious witcher standing in their way smelled like danger. They chose to attack him instead. Two of them took the left flank, while the other charged straight at the center.
The stench of blood in the air was almost palpable, and it fired the witcher up. He made a sign in the air, and a yellow light surrounded him. Roy charged straight at his attackers. He sidestepped the one in the center, who was about to swing his sword down on the young witcher’s head. The young witcher held the blade with his right thumb and swung his sword with both his hands, drawing a circle over his head.
Gwyhyr smacked the knight’s sword away halfway through the circle, and it carried on with its momentum. When Roy finished the circle, the blade had made a round trip, and he held it parallel to his head. The young witcher held his sword in the ox stance, pointing at the knight’s vitals. Before the knight could react, he thrusted his blade and struck at the knight’s throat.
Blood splattered on the ground. The knight felt a stab of pain coming from his neck. He wanted to block it with his sword, but he was too late. Gwyhyr had pierced through his eyeball. One knight was taken down just like that, and the other knights slowed down. They started circling him and searched for an opening.
One of the remaining knights raised his sword overhead and leaped ahead, swinging his sword down at Roy’s head. That was just a feint. He wanted to get Roy’s attention and back off while his companion crouched down and darted ahead, thrusting his blade at Roy’s shins in an attempt to stop him from moving.
Roy did not fall for that. He managed to pull his leg back in time and took half a step back. The young witcher dodged the attack and plunged the hilt of his sword down. He smacked the ambusher’s head, and he fell to the ground unconscious. The other knight tried to attack him again, but he raised Gwyhyr to the left and blocked it. The blades spun in the air, and sparks flew between them.
Both fighters wanted to turn their blade and thrust it into their enemy’s throat, but the witcher proved to be faster and stronger. He canceled the knight’s momentum and blocked the blade with Gwyhyr’s crossguard as he buried the tip of his sword in the knight’s throat.
The knight held his neck and let his weapon fall. Roy flicked the blood off his sword, but before he could even catch his breath, a pair of knights charged at him from the right. His face fell, and he crouched down like a big cat prowling for its prey. The witcher leaped into the space between the knight and thrusted his blade sideways. He was in a lower position, and the blade pierced through the knight’s belly.
The knight yelped in pain as his innards fell onto the ground. He then swiftly turned his blade to the right and stopped the other knight’s attack. Roy slid Gwyhyr up and sliced off the knight’s arm cleanly. The knight screamed in agony, but it was cut short as Roy plunged Gwyhyr into his throat. He held his throat and fell back down. The knight died before he hit the ground, and his eyes were wide open.
‘Knight of the Order of the White Rose killed. EXP +20*4. Level 6 Witcher (1200/3500)’
Roy had a deadpan look on his face. It was supposed to be a fierce and satisfying kill, but he felt grim. He did not glean a mote of satisfaction from taking the lives of the knights.
The fight on the other side was coming to an end as well. Burly men and a dozen knights stood atop a hill of corpses, swinging their swords with both hands. They were drenched in blood and looked exhausted. At the same time, only five out of Adda’s ten knights were left. They were huffing and puffing, kneeling on the ground on one knee. The knights were swaying, apparently left with no fight in them.
Letho had not moved a muscle yet.
“Snap out of it, Your Highness!” Rudolf’s eyes were crimson with rage. He pointed his sword at Adda and questioned, “This is the goddess you serve? You would order the knights to kill their own comrades for her? She’s no god! She’s a demon!”
“You’re still blaspheming the goddess even now, Rudolf?” Adda smiled gently. “You still don’t understand, do you?” She looked around, and a drowner leapt onto a knight, pinning him down. The monster devoured the knight, sending strips of flesh flying through the air. The army of drowners banded and formed a wave of destruction, gobbling half the knights up.
Rudolf looked around at the monsters, and then he did something bizarre. The man took his dimeritium necklace down and held it in his hand.
“What is he doing?” Roy was confused, but he had no time to think about that. His pendant was starting to vibrate crazily, and it was tightening its grip around Roy’s neck. “I’ve never seen this much magical energy before! And it’s congregating on this island!” Roy’s heart skipped a beat, and he realized what was going on. “The sorcerer never showed up! Was he preparing for this?”
The sky above became overcast, and it blotted out the light of the sun. Darkness engulfed the land, and dark clouds appeared overhead. It expanded quickly and covered the whole island in a moment. Thunder roared in the distance, and lightning coursed through the clouds like silver snakes.
Everyone and everything on the island was struck by fear, and they stopped moving, as if they were petrified. The knights who were severely wounded stopped struggling and howling. Instead, they slowly took their necklaces off.
The witchers cast Quen to protect themselves, while Adda backed off and stayed close to them.
A grand incantation boomed across the island, as if someone was passing judgment down to them. “Blestcaerme… hendwimmer… marweasnadh… gwenAlzurray…”
“Blessed fate… ancient sorcery… death’s sigh… white Alzur’s Thunder… Alzur’s Thunder?” Wait, is that the legendary spell? The forbidden one? The one that can destroy half a city in one go? Is he mad? The princess is still on the island!
Roy widened his eyes and looked around. For a moment, he suddenly saw a translucent figure appearing out of nowhere beside a charred stake dozens of feet away. He had a hook nose and wore a bandana and stud. The man was making weird hand signs, and the mana around him billowed his robe, turning it into a flag.
He only appeared for a moment before disappearing again. Found you, Azar Javed! You scoundrel! So that’s where you’re hiding. I’m not going to let you cast this spell! Roy crouched down and grasped at the air. A moment later, a silver flash arced across the air.
Azar’s shield was activated, and the bolt bounced off it. The sorcerer was not hurt, but he was exposed. Even so, he kept looking at the thunderous sky above him as he kept chanting the incantation.
Roy sent another bolt flying at his shield, but it did not budge. However, Azar felt a strong sense of unease, then he noticed the space before him contort, and ripples spread across the air. A slender young man appeared before his very eyes, as if out of thin air. He had black hair, golden eyes, and a quiver of belts hung behind him. It was none other than the young witcher.
How did he do that? Azar asked himself. The sorcerer was still chanting the incantation. The spell was at its most critical moment. Two seconds later, the lightning of justice would rain down on the island of evil. But it doesn’t matter. The shield can hold out that long.
Or so he thought.
Roy cast Fear, and countless bloody tentacles wrapped themselves around the sorcerer. Roy’s attack ignored all shields, physical or magical. It broke through his protection and struck the depths of his mind, arousing a wave of terror in his heart.
Roy’s sword smashed the shield into pieces. The sorcerer felt a wave of pain sweeping through his body, and his incantation came to a halt. The dark clouds overhead parted in two, and a ray of sunshine shone through them.
A look of terror carved itself onto the face of Vizima’s royal consultant. His spell was broken, and it was no ordinary spell. It was the forbidden spell of Alzur, a great legacy in the world of sorcery. The more powerful the spell was, the worse the backfire would be.
Azar’s mana started rampaging in his body, and a colorful beam of light tore through his flesh, blood vessels, and bones. It crawled out of his body, turning him into a man covered in light. The mana within him turned into an explosive, and it was on the verge of blowing him up into smithereens.
However, someone killed him off before the mana explosion happened. A crimson blade arced through the air, and Axar felt a stab of pain shooting up his neck. The good news was that his fear had disappeared. The bad news was that his life went with it as well. His head flew up high into the air, his eyes still wide with disbelief.
The mana erupted through the hole on his neck like magma pouring forth from a volcano. It flew high up into the air and billowed in it.
‘Azar Javed killed. EXP +200 Level 6 Witcher (1400/3500).’
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