Chapter 56: Fight's End [2]
Elara barely dodged a massive three-meter-long sword. He darted between the legs of the machine and started running towards the distant trees. After Jin went to Cassian through the summoning a few minutes ago, these machines appeared out of nowhere and began attacking him.
'This is bad…' He thought as he noticed the machines closing in on him. He had broken through to rank S- just a while ago and was still far from the level needed to fight enemies in rank S.
The only reason he managed to do it before was that the machine hadn't been attacking him with the intent to kill, and his sudden breakthrough had likely caught the enemy off guard. Moreover, he had exhausted most of his mana reserves. '
'Should I burden myself with another contract?' He started considering harming himself permanently to survive.
'Where did Jin go, for god's sake… If he were here, things would be easier.' Elara's expression worsened as the machines drew closer.
Before injuring himself for survival, he decided to think of other solutions first, scanning his surroundings. The tall, straight red trees of the west were all around him, with the shortest of them surpassing forty meters in height. The cliff was behind him as well, but he couldn't use it anymore; there were also mountains, but they were too far away.
The ground was very muddy, which significantly slowed him down, but it also affected the war machines. He suddenly took a sharp turn, testing the machine's mobility to analyze them and look for any weaknesses.
The lead war machine's foot turned to face the opposite direction of Elara's, and jet flames erupted from it.
The machine turned and continued moving towards him without slowing down, and the same happened with the other four.
'There are no weaknesses; the dwarves' craftsmanship is truly amazing.' Elara frowned as he observed what was happening.
"There are no weaknesses on the ground, so I'll take them to the sky." He grabbed the thick leaves above him and used them to leap high into the air.
{Strong as Asher}
He used his remaining mana very carefully, fully aware of what would happen if his reserves ran out while these machines were still on his tail. He reached a height of thirty meters quickly, not stopping as he continued using the leaves to climb higher and higher.
When he found himself at a height of 100 meters from the ground, 40 meters above the treetop, he was met by the five machines that had reached the sky before him. Jet flames erupted from their feet, and they remained balanced in the sky in a strange manner.
Now that the area above the giant trees was more illuminated, the weapons of the war machines became clearer and more threatening. A great sword, a club, a scepter, a spear, and an axe. Each made Elara reconsider his plan, but he decided to proceed anyway.
{Smart as Killian}
With Asher's strength and Killian's predictive abilities, Elara's mana reserves finally hit rock bottom, with only a few drops left.
The first attacker was the spear machine, which was easy to avoid with Elara's new stats. He grabbed the spear from the side, using it to climb to the head of the war machine.
He noticed the machine's mouth opening just a moment before, and he frowned as he realized what was about to happen. He dropped from the head immediately and jumped to the side, then clung to the machine's back and stayed there.
Flames erupted from the spear machine's mouth. Had Elara not dodged earlier, he would have been roasted.
The sword machine appeared behind him at that moment and aimed its weapon at him. His lower back was pierced instantly as he didn't have time to dodge.
"F*ck you!" Elara gritted his teeth as he felt an immense amount of pain, his hands losing strength, but he didn't fall, as the sword pinned him to the back of the spear machine.
His plan had failed due to the lack of mana. He was about to use Jin's {Ghost movement} skill, but he lacked the energy for it. But despite his failure, he managed to accomplish half of what he had intended. 'I took one with me, at least.'
He looked at the spear machine while thinking, it had been pierced along with him, and fortunately, the area that was hit was its power source. The mana stored inside the spear machine's body spread into the surrounding air, an immense amount.
Only four war machines remained, and it was unfortunate that he couldn't handle the rest due to the limitations of his skills. Even if he had extra mana, the restrictions and conditions placed on his skills were not simple.
'I feel sleepy…' Blood flowed from his mouth, and he started to close his eyes slowly.
The machine withdrew its sword, letting Elara fall to the ground from a height of 100 meters, ensuring his death. His left leg was severed from his body, rendering him disabled even if he somehow survived.
The last thing he saw was a flurry of feathers falling slowly and peacefully from the sky.
"One warrior above rank A+ has been killed."
The sword machine spoke in an emotionless robotic voice, starting to relay information to the squad leaders.
"Searching for the individual in rank A+ is still ongoing."
Upon receiving the information, the machines began to spread out again around the perimeter, searching for any other targets.
A human voice suddenly echoed from above, immediately attracting the war machines' attention.
"Human reinforcements incoming."
The war machines continued to relay information to the leaders. But something strange happened this time.
"Communication network is being intercepted."
The machines turned their attention to the people above, who wore unique robes, standing on a semi-transparent platform that appeared out of nowhere.
The robe was made of special blue fabric, consisting of many pieces. They wore long coats over their shirts in anticipation of the cold days of the west, with a golden star engraved on their backs.
The squad consisted of nine people, all of them in rank S- except for the one standing in the front, the person who had just given the orders.
The annual StarHold forces had finally arrived. Their mission was to clear the western paths of all hostile creatures.
"What are the dwarves' machines doing here?" The person in the lead spoke, his bluish-black hair falling over his eyes, and his gaze towards the war machines was extremely hostile.
"The victim is still conscious, I will provide medical care immediately." Spoke Kyle, the assassin who was ordered to catch Elara before he hit the ground.
"Good, I need to know what's going on here for god's sake." Replied Alios, the mission leader, with a stern expression.
A unique brown bladed sword appeared in his hand out of nowhere, and he pointed it at the war machines below. "The dwarves' weapons trespassing on western human lands, attacking an inhabitant, and destroying nature. Justify your actions immediately!"
***
At the other battle site, not far from Elara…
Jin looked at Daristan and lowered his head slightly as he spoke, "Where's Killian? He was supposed to come with you."
Daristan fell silent, thinking, and spoke after a short while. "I appreciate your help, but what is your relationship with Kilian?" He had just awakened and still didn't know Killian's relationship with these people.
If their intentions were malicious, things could get very bad, especially noticing Jin's speed just now. Although Killian had tried to tell Daristan about them before, the latter simply ignored him and went to the nearest battle he could feel.
Jin remained silent, looking at Cassian with pleading eyes for help. It seemed that Jinn was under a lot of pressure as usual and wasn't in the mood to explain everything from the beginning.
Cassian stood next to Jin, facing them while still holding his sword. Despite the obvious difference in their strengths, Daristan didn't seem hopeless. Even if his opponent was many times stronger than him, he would never surrender.
"Your silence is enough to reveal things to me." Daristan took a combat stance, his eyes starting to glow with a bright white light.
'I will use everything right away…' He thought as he enveloped his body in a strange kind of white armor.