BXBX NOVEL Chapter 272 271: Dire Straits
This was what I was afraid was going to happen, but there was no use crying over spilled milk; instead, I needed to think of a way to clean up the mess we found ourselves in.
My Healing Magics were rather advances, but I had been using way more mana then ever before, and the drain was apparent.
My technique and skills were high level, to the point that I could fully heal some serious wounds and stymie the worst kinds, but not when my mana is so limited.
Leone, on the other hand, had such a large reserve of mana that it was honestly not even fair; her core held a lakes worth of mana compared to the little pond that I had, and I was apparently amongst the more blessed individuals in terms of mana capacity.
Besides her likely still having a good amount of mana remaining, she also knew the basics of Healing Magic, having studied it a little after the run in with Lord Pele, wanting to guarantee that our group would always have a healer available to keep us in one piece.
That was why I had sent Leone over to Adelina; at least, that\'s the reason that I would give when asked.
The real reason was simple; the Envoys likely had orders to keep the Princess alive and well, but all it took was a single slip on anyones parts for her to die.
I wasn\'t willing to take that chance, not when I knew that one of us needed to reach Adelina, to get her stabilized and protected from harm.
Someone needed to keep the Envoy\'s occupied, and Leone wouldn\'t be able to do that.
Not when they had orders to capture me, or kill me.
Jillian made it quite clear that those were the two options available to her regarding me, and I had no doubt that the Elven Heir would rather capture me to deal a blow to Jahi, before killing her as well.
In the end, I was the main target today, and as such, I needed to have Leone go and save Adelina, so that we could stabilize both the Commander\'s health and the future Knight of Cinder Nirinia\'s mental state.
Those were our primary priorities, and as such I had to become the distraction.
Sending Leone away on her own was a tough choice, but one that had to happen; a choice I made in a split second, and a choice I doubt I would come to regret.
Using a wind spell, I aided her magical jump and watched as she glided away, before shooting an icicle at the older Envoy, distracting him and getting the attention of the younger one.
With my Protective Fang in my right hand and First Fang in my left, I prepared to face the two Elves, only to have to deal with the normal soldiers around us first.
Seeing the large amount of Legionnaires and Westerners that were aiming for me, I grit my teeth as I consolidated the ice around my body before amping up my agility with a wind enchantment, readying my blades and staring at the charging soldiers.
Pivoting slightly away from a swing, I cut through the mans arm like butter, the broad dagger slicing cleanly through his bone and severing his forearm from his body, resulting in a shrill scream as he stumbled away, staring at the bloody stump.
Ducking under the next stab, I lanced the thinner blade into the woman\'s heart, twisting it before pulling it back.
Kicking her in the chest, I sent two soldiers rolling away as their comrades corpse slammed into them.
My attention was running on overdrive, and I swayed to the side as an axe sliced through the space I previously occupied, a gruff Dwarf glaring at me.
Flicking my wrist out, I dragged the tip of the broad dagger over his face, cutting out an eye and letting blood seep into the other, blinding him.
Like with the woman, I kicked him away to free up space for myself, only to find my real opponents leaping forwards.
The young Elf, Quintus, had his two daggers snaking towards my throat, while the older one had his daggers aimed at my knee and elbow, trying to cripple me.
Gritting my teeth, I ducked and spun, avoiding the strikes from Quintus as I focused on the real threat; the old Elf.
Stabbing the First Fang out, I clicked my tongue as the old Elf dodged away, before I activated the enchantment and swiped towards him, catching him off guard for a moment as the ice blade nicked his arm.
Frost began to spread on his arm, but he ignored the numbing feeling as he slipped behind a group of soldiers.
Hearing the other Elf behind me, I spun back around and sent a slash towards him as well, forcing him back before I began to whittle down the chaff around us.
More and more soldiers fell to the ground, their limbs or heads rolling to the earth as my daggers or mana blades got to work, showering the area around us in blood.
However, I had no opportunity to enjoy this crimson shower, as each moment was packed to the brim with action, my attention fully devoted to the battle that raged around me.
The battle that raged for me.
My daggers moved faster then the wind, and soldiers died each time they drew closer, but they weren\'t the only ones to take hits.
Their strikes may be weak, and the materials that made their swords cheap, but each blow against me made its mark.
Chips and gouges appeared on my ice armor, and I could feel bruises appearing on my skin, even grimacing as a crack appeared on one of my ribs.
As the battle continued on, and a mountain of corpses appeared around me, I grew increasingly anxious as I noticed that the two Elves weren\'t attacking as often as before.
My eyes scanned over the sea of bodies around me, and I frowned as I saw Quintus slinking behind the crowd, his daggers gleaming as he crept closer.
The older Elf was also at the edge, his eyes narrowed as he observed me.
That anxious feeling grew, even as Quintus launched himself forwards, his daggers sinking into my impromptu shield; an Orcs head.
Feeling that the battle was getting too... suffocating, I growled in annoyance as I began to attempt to weave a spell, the runes flickering in and out of existence as I divided my attention between them and the fight.
Seeing the pale blue runes appearing around me as I stabbed another human, the two Elves cursed as they rushed forwards, wishing to halt my spell.
Pushing a large Cowkin into Quintus, I ducked beneath the swing of a hammer and slipped behind the buff female human, surprising her as I grabbed ahold of her armor and pulled her backwards.
My fingers moved at insane speeds as I raced to get the spell done, while the old Elf pursed his lips as he stared at the woman in front of me.
Raising his daggers, he lunged forwards and stabbed her, wanting to pierce through her and reach me, only to stumble back as I pushed her forwards instead, causing her to slump onto him as she died.
Finishing the last rune, I gulped as I activated the domain spell, praying that this would work.
Snow began to fall from the previously humid sky, and a breeze picked up.
Feeling the temperature slowly drop around me, the soldiers stiffened as they stared fearfully at me, before some began to lower their weapons and back away, trying to escape.
Others surged forwards with a renewed vigor, hoping to kill me before this domain took effect, granting me more benefits as it robbed them of mobility and sight.
However, the spell surged forwards just a quickly, the gale picking up speed rapidly and whipping the soldiers faces with a deep chill, while the flurried fattened up into real flakes.
Quintus\' hands shone green, and he tried to counter the domain\'s wind with his own, only to have to stop as I sent a barrage of crescent blades at him.
The old Elf cursed at the domains influence, his forest green eyes narrowed as he glared at me.
"You really were hiding your strength, weren\'t you?"
His voice was both accusing and tired, and I remained silent as I let my domain grow further, frost forming on both the ground and the corpses.
With an influx of ice to work with, I had, hopefully, gained an advantage in this fight, but only time would tell.
"It\'s a shame, really. You were given a choice, and you chose wrongly. Such a pity... you were truly talented, Katherine Zara. That\'s why Lady Jillian desires you so. Quintus!"
Shouting his companions name, the old Elf sighed as he said "It\'s time. Let\'s get this over with..."
Readying my daggers, I stared at the two Elves as I prepared for their attacks, well aware that I was still in a dire strait.