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＜ 16. Prisoner and Hero (6) ＞
After Andrea climbed the hill, she reverse summoned Marco and checked the situation. As the soldier who had been scouting said, there were about a dozen soldiers and mercenaries. A stubborn man holding a spear, a mercenary wearing a large helmet with red tassels, and a priest of the god of waves with his chin proudly raised .
It was the first time I had met the one wearing the large helmet, but the other two looked familiar. The faces that I must have seen in the dungeon .
‘ But… there’s no way they’re still alive ?’
Andrea’s face twisted with suspicion. Tricia and Emilia were flustered as well. Emilia carefully whispered in Andrea’s ear .
“ Andrea-sama, those people are definitely the people you saw in the rift, right ?”
“ Yes, that’s right… how the heck is that ?”
Grabel and Julia. The unlucky challengers who were arrogant beyond their means and were instantly decapitated by Bagratu. They were the ones who saw clearly right in front of their eyes that they had become corpses .
‘ Did the black magician who contracted with the devil bring it back to life…? No, that’s impossible …’
The black magician actually destroyed Marco’s troops in the world outside the dungeon, not on the battlefield reproduced in ‘Force War’. It is clear that he is not a challenger .
Besides, Gravel and Julia’s faces were too complex to be considered dead and alive. To the extent that he looks younger than when he met at the crack .
When her thoughts reached that point, something flashed into Andrea’s mind. This situation was a staggering coincidence, but it was not impossible .
“… It seems we ran into those two before entering the dungeon. That wave god priest must have been a warlord, so it was probably around this time that the two met .”
“… crazy. And then you meet us again like this? There is a relationship like a real beggar .”
Trisha sticks out her tongue at the twisted coincidence. Andrea then thought to herself that she was fortunate. I’ve seen enough of how weak and mean those two are in the Rift, so I can fight without any pressure or guilt .
‘ It was like that when I had my deck and equipment in the dungeon, but now it’s not as bad as it was back then, and it won’t be better. Those two don’t matter at all. Actually, the only thing I have to deal with is the helmet head and the warlock .’
In addition, the black magician is preparing a technique to summon the dead, so he is defenseless. It was an optimal situation for a surprise attack .
“ Tricia, keep those two and Nelas soldiers in check. Don’t forget to be prepared to use a card in your spare time to spin an infinite cycle. Priest Emilia, please block the soldiers from approaching Trisha while building a barrier. I will deal with the mercenary wearing the helmet and the warlock for now, then I will call Marco .”
Tricia and Emilia nodded their heads sadly at the same time. Andrea climbed the hill.
I approached Nelas-kun .
It would have been nice to call Marco right away and run with him, but it was only possible after the battle started to draw and use the card in earnest. At least, it was comforting to be able to use Shadow Stealth before battle .
Andrea melts into the shadows and approaches Nelas-kun. He decided to sort out the unpredictable variable first, the mercenary wearing a helmet. If only this person is dealt with, the only person left in Nelas-gun who can deal with Andrea and the others is the black magician .
But as soon as he grabs his back, raises his arms, and tries to stretch his fists with all his strength …
“ Hmm …?”
The mercenary wearing a helmet glanced back in the direction of Andrea and backed away in amazement. Then he hurriedly used the card in his hand. A morning star with spikes protruding from a large iron ball was summoned .
“ A surprise! Get ready to face them all !”
Since the enemy was nowhere to be seen, Nelas’ soldiers only looked around in bewilderment. However, the mercenary wearing a helmet stretched out his hand toward the deck at his waist as if he could clearly see Andrea’s figure .
‘ Damn it, I thought it was a challenger .’
Andrea clenched her teeth with a frustrated feeling. As the name is ‘war of forces’, it is only natural that there are challengers on the Nellas side, but I was distracted by Gravel and thought it was just a mercenary. It seems that this person even has an artifact that can see through stealth .
As long as the opponent is a challenger, the battle won’t be easy. Andrea also looked at her hand urgently .
Mana Boost, Curse of the Necronomicon, Shadow Imprint, Shadow Strike. It would have been much easier if Marco had been summoned right away, but things didn’t work out the way we wanted .
‘ Using the special effect of the gauntlet with shadow imprinting should be saved in case you face a warlock. For now, I only use Shadow Strike .’
Let’s use the card, black flames soaring along the grip of hell. Only then did the soldiers, realizing that someone was there, took up their weapons in fright. Gravel and Julia also prepared belatedly and prepared to face the enemy who appeared out of nowhere .
Wedge – Liquid !
poop !
But at that moment, an arrow crossed right in front of Julia’s nose. Although it failed to hit the target, it showed such power that the ground dented and cracked. Julia realized that she had saved her life by a single piece of paper .
“ Hick, hee hee .”
Julia loses strength in her legs and collapses. Gravel hurriedly approached Julia and grabbed her hand .
“ Are you hurt anywhere? Can you stand up ?”
“ Yes, yes. But, if an arrow comes flying again… No, it comes flying… No, you have to dodge it .”
Julia panics and speaks gibberish without knowing what she is talking about. When there was no sign of getting up, Gravel put the spear down and lifted Julia up in the arms of the princess .
“ Don’t worry anymore. Because I will protect you .”
“ That, Mr. Gravel .”
Julia looked up at Gravel with a confused yet thrilled face. Gravel was intoxicated with himself and smiled proudly at the thought that he had shown a great figure .
Wedge – Liquid !
Puck !
“ Kuk, kuh !”
… Although the smile did not last long because it was pierced by an arrow .
Gravel, whose stomach was shaped like a donut, collapsed, vomiting blood. Surprised, Julia tried to use the power of healing with the power of the wave god, but was hit in the head by Tricia’s arrows that flew one after another. Gravel and Julia met a dog death amicably, just like the rift .
When the priests and mercenaries died from a few arrows, Nelas’s soldiers fled in confusion. Andrea, who witnessed the scene while fighting the mercenary wearing a helmet, said quietly .
“… It must have been hard to work with these guys .”
“… Don’t talk nonsense and attack .”
As expected, Grabel and Julia were easily dealt with, but the mercenary wearing a helmet was not easy .
I thought the weapon would be huge and slow to move, but the mercenary wielded the Morning Star like a stick and skilfully restrained Andrea from approaching the attack range. On top of that, after being knocked off by counterattacks a few times, he even wielded it irregularly so that he could not do it easily .
‘You’re a seasoned challenger. I don’t think it’s going to be an easy match .’
Andrea wondered if she should somehow bypass this guy and attack the warlock first. However, the mercenary suddenly changes his posture and rushes forward. A ferocious steel ball rushed towards Andrea .
Whoo – Whoops !
poop !
I managed to counterattack the enemy while avoiding the attack with ghosting. The mercenary hesitated and stepped back with his head bent to the side. He gave it a shot, but thanks to the helmet’s defense, the damage was negligible. Andrea also allowed the attack, so I couldn’t be vigilant .
‘ If the difference in skills is so small, it could be the difference between winning and losing depending on the cards you have .’
Since both sides exchanged attacks and defenses without rest, it was a situation where they could not see the draw even after the turn had passed. The reason why they pushed each other like that was that they couldn’t tell what cards the other person had, so they shouldn’t be allowed to draw .
The two felt it. This stalemate will be broken, probably after playing cards with each other. And that moment came unexpectedly .
Quaguagua –
Just as the mercenary is about to attack again, a barrier rises to the ground and blocks the two. Andrea immediately understood what was going on .
‘ You bought time for the priest to draw a card .’
Andrea drew a card from the deck without delay. The mercenary also belatedly grasped the situation and reached for the deck .
The cards Andrea draws are Leap, Defensive Strike, Defense, and Unknown .
‘[ Unique] ??? (? Cost): ??? (This card is revealed the first time it is used in battle .)’
It was obtained as a reward for killing Vine Maw, but it was a card that had been put aside because the moment to use it did not come. Andrea’s head started spinning rapidly .
‘ Damn it, you can’t turn things around with leaps and defensive strikes. I don’t know what kind of card this is… but I have no choice but to use it now .’
There was no choice, but anyway, it was a unique grade card touched by Khalisis. Considering the precedent of ‘Shadow Imprint’, it seemed that they would not have given a useless card. Andrea quickly played the card by pressing on the surface .
Kurrureuk –
After a while, a black sphere appeared in front of my eyes. At first glance, it has a strange texture that looks like flowing water or sticky mud. The sap from the inside covered the outside and gradually swelled up .
Kurruk – Kurrruk –
While Andrea was blinded by the first sphere, two more spheres appeared at the same time. A sphere that quickly swells and grows to the same size as the first. As I waved my finger, spheres followed the movement and floated through the air .
A look that is not unfamiliar. Andrea immediately recognized the card she had just played .
Kwa-ang !
Then, the sound of kicking on the floor was heard. When I looked up, the mercenary jumped over the barrier and rushed towards Andrea. A red aura was raging around the Morning Star. It was probably using a buff-type card .
“ Die !”
At the mercenary shouting confidently, Andrea stretched out her finger as if possessed. Then three spheres flew like a darting towards the mercenary .
Kwaaang !
Kwaaang !
Kwaaang !
The moment the sphere touched the mercenary, everything was torn to shreds. Deafening explosions, swaying earth, spreading black smoke. The air compressed by the tyranny created a strong wind, and Andrea had no choice but to slightly squint her eyes .
When the explosion was over, we looked at the place where the mercenary had been, and there were only ashes and traces of the explosion that had sunk into a hollow. In a bewildered mood, Andrea reviewed the information about the card she had just used .
‘[ Unique] Shadow Bombardment + (X Cost): Summons and bombards X spheres with the power of divinity, extinction, and shadow compressed .’
A card that summons and explodes a different number of orbs depending on the amount of mana used. It was one of the divine cards that only appeared when receiving the blessing of the Shadow God .
However, from Andrea’s memory, it wasn’t a card of such ignorant power. On the contrary, it was a weak card that was said to be backward compatible with fireballs, but now it was as powerful as dynamite. Moreover, considering that he didn’t use the shadow imprint and only used three orbs …
‘… A group of cards with tremendous potential .’
Andrea is thinking about how to use this card well in the future. But I quickly got rid of thoughts about him. It’s not too late to think about that after finishing this battle .
The black magician sitting cross-legged on top of the magic circle looked like an ordinary middle-aged man. At first glance, you might misunderstand that it is just a civilian meditating with eyes closed. However, the vicious Magi that swayed around him was clearly revealing that he was the one who made a pact with the devil .
The aftermath of the explosion cut a circle around the warlock. It seemed to have put an invisible barrier on it. Andrea tried to swing her fist with all her might several times, but there was not even a small scratch on the barrier .
‘ At this level, Trisha would have to run an infinite cycle to blow it away …’
But then, the black magician suddenly opened his eyes. At the same time, I thought I could hear scraping sounds from all directions, and the hands of the rotting corpses soared up. The outfits of those who came up to the ground were diverse, regardless of whether they were Helios or Nelas .
Andrea was not at all embarrassed. On the contrary, it made me happy. Humane tactics were always welcome. Because Andrea had the most perfect counter card to counter humankind tactics .
There were not many cards left anyway, so I was able to draw ‘Indomitable Will’ within 2 turns. Andrea’s hand reaching towards the deck .
“… Huh ?”
However, seeing the ensuing scene, Andrea stiffened and had no choice but to stop. Something indescribably bizarre was happening right in front of his eyes .
‘ No, you didn’t tell me that, Mr. Marco …’
＜ 16. Prisoners and Heroes (6) ＞ End