Volume 2 Chapter 28: A Battle That Is About To Start
[Author's Note: For bonus chapters, the goal every week is:
- 25 Power Stones
- 50 Power Stones]
[Additional Notes: Once again I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. My class schedule has become quite hectic recently and I haven't have enough time to do any editing.]
Volume 2 Chapter 28: A Battle That Is About To Start
Pepper: "Master, I suspect that Daniel is preparing to cast some kind of spell. From my estimation, the magic circle is about half the size of the one created when you cast the blood dome spell. Additionally, he's amassing a significant amount of blood. I strongly advise both you and Eve to hasten your pace before he completes the spell."
Carmilla then exclaimed upon hearing what Pepper said.
Carmilla: "WHY!!! didn't you mention that earlier?"
While conversing with Pepper, Carmilla and Eve navigated through the forest. Upon receiving Pepper's message about Daniel's spellcasting and blood gathering, they hastened their pace, understanding the urgency of the situation.
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The two of them sped up, but running through a forest was not as easy as they thought because running in a straight line is impossible amidst numerous trees. So, they transformed into bats, making their journey much easier, smoother, and faster.
Pepper: "The first piece of good news is that Daniel hasn't moved from his current location for some time now."
Carmilla: "That's not good news we can consider; that's just common sense. You know what? Never mind. Just tell me the other good news you have."
Pepper: "The second one is that Daniel's casting speed is so slow that, based on the speed he was casting at and both of you running, you will be able to arrive near Daniel's location with plenty of time to spare."
Carmilla smiled after hearing what Pepper said.
Carmilla: "Now that's what I'd call good news. Alright, wait for us and be careful."
After a few seconds of flying straight towards Pepper's location, they would arrive at her location any moment now.
Carmilla communicates this to Pepper.
Carmilla: "We're near your location and will arrive in a few seconds. Fly directly above his location now, and we'll use your position as a marker for launching our attacks."
Pepper: "But master, what if Daniel sees me flying above him and gets alerted or moves away?"
Carmilla: "You said it yourself, Daniel hasn't moved in a while now and is currently casting a spell. He wouldn't move even if he saw you because he's already put a lot of effort into casting the spell. He should be about 75% done with it. Don't worry, even if he gets alerted, we'll just have to improvise."
Pepper: "If you say so, master."
Carmilla: "By the way, now that I think of it, you haven't told me what kind of spell he was casting. Since we don't know how many magic skills he has, do you have a guess on what kind of spell he was currently casting?"
Upon Carmilla's inquiry about the type of spell Daniel was casting, her curiosity heightened, especially after conveying her estimate regarding the spell's completion, she hides behind a tree, she refrains from taking a look around.
Pepper transformed into a bat to reduce her size. Leaning to the right, she revealed her miniature bat head while keeping the rest of her body concealed behind the tree. What she witnessed urged her to promptly report to Carmilla.
Pepper: "Master, I took a peek, and I have both good and bad news."
Carmilla: "Again? ..."
When Carmilla was about to say something, Pepper interrupts her by saying.
Pepper: "Master, I suspect that Daniel is currently casting a Blood Dome spell, although not as large as the one you cast earlier."
Carmilla was taken aback upon hearing from Pepper that Daniel was casting a Blood Dome spell.
Carmilla: "Are you certain?"
Pepper: "90% sure, master."
Carmilla: "Alright, change of plans. Don't wait for us. Go directly above his location now. While you're flying, inform us about the good news you're about to share, and immediately notify us when you arrive above Daniel, so we can instantly start our attack."
Carmilla truly didn't want to engage in a fight with Daniel while he was inside a Blood Dome. She knew how challenging it was to break or penetrate it once fully cast, as the caster could easily repair any damage dealt to the Blood Dome by providing enough mana.
However, she was unaware that the other caster of defensive spells did not possess the same abnormal abilities as her, such as having clones to assist in repairing any damage dealt to the spell.
Pepper: "Master, the good news is that Daniel hasn't finished casting the spell; he's only about 80% to 85% done, and the top part is still uncovered. I'm right above Daniel's location, and he hasn't noticed me yet."
Upon learning that Daniel was not close to completing the Blood Dome spell and realizing they had a chance to interrupt his casting, along with Pepper being in position, the two of them directed the arrows to fly above the trees. This tactic would utilize the trees as cover for the arrows, making it difficult for Daniel to easily spot their attacks unless he was specifically looking upward. Additionally, this strategy allowed them to rain the arrows above the unfinished portion of the Blood Dome.
However, this tactic would result in some arrows hitting a few tree branches along the way. Eve estimated that the arrows made from the amplified Blood Dome could easily penetrate the tree branches, but the newly created arrows would only be able to penetrate 2 to 3 tree branches before shattering.
They planned to position the arrows within a meter radius around Daniel, but they were in a hurry. They realized that if they took much longer to set up their attacks, Daniel might have already completed the casting of the Blood Dome spell.
Under the time pressure, they managed to arrange the arrows within a 50-centimeter radius. Both Carmilla and Eve believed that this smaller radius would still suffice for their strategy to be effective.
Daniel's progress on casting the Blood Dome spell had reached about 93% completion by the time they finished spreading the arrows in a 50-centimeter radius. They realized that if they insisted on expanding to a 1-meter radius, Daniel's Blood Dome would be fully formed, complicating the situation further.
The two of them began retracting their control on the arrows around Daniel and his unfinished Blood Dome. They understood that it would be wasteful to use all of their arrows in a single attempt, as not all of them would hit the Blood Dome or enter through the top opening of the spell.