Chapter 698 (Patreon)

The close nature of all the battles favored the Republic’s side, while the remaining champions from the beastkin and the new additions from Highmountain did have them beat in terms of power it was obvious they didn’t trust each other all that much. Highmountain might have been willing to help the beastkin but they were doing that for their own ends and they knew the beastkin wouldn’t mind killing them if the opportunity was there.

The entire battlefield around them had already been reduced to a flat barren wasteland filled with craters from the previous fighting, all previous signs of the sparse forest that had been there before were gone. The open field gave Aranor an advantage, with nothing for the enemy to hide behind; he had no issues setting up what was likely going to be his last big spell of this fight. 

‘What spell is he casting?’ That was the question on everyone’s mind. Aranor’s ability to overcharge his spells made him incredibly flexible in such situations, the battle had only been going on for a little over a minute but already his spell was flowing with a lot of Mana and unlike other mages he could unleash his at any time with however much power he had time to gather in case he was in danger.

The uncertainty from Aranor’s spell stopped both Highmountain and the beastkin from overcommiting, this wasn’t that big a deal for Highmountain but the extra pressure on the already injured beastkin champions meant that they were running going to soon be out of Mana and Stamina. 

Two minutes was how long it took for the deadlock to break, two champions from the Republic’s side finally slipped up, the pressure from the overwhelming numbers and the length of the fight they had been in got to them and they made a mistake, one that cost one of them their life and the other two limbs.

Two minutes of chanting however was also enough time for Aranor to put all of his recharged Mana as well as most of what he’d had left before into one massive spell.

“Chains of ice.” The words triggering the activation of the spell were barely a whisper yet the wave of ice that spread across the barren wasteland was all the announcement he would need. 

Unlike ice lance his chains of ice wasted no power in actually injuring their targets, more than that they weren’t all that solid either making a few champions able to shatter them before they even properly gripped them. What they made up for was speed and numbers. 

The prince didn’t waste the chance he was given. Chains had sprung from the wave of ice, one trying to wrap around every limb of every enemy champion as well as one for their chest and neck. Chains of ice was a basic spell and even with Aranor upcasting by focusing it on so many targets it made the spell more an inconvenience and annoyance. But for that brief moment they were vulnerable. 

The prince slashed his way through three beastkin champions before he was intercepted by the high general who managed to shatter the chains heading for him before they’d had a chance to wrap around him. The prince wasn’t sure if he’d killed all three of them but he was sure his attacks had been lethal enough that they would soon be dead if didn’t receive care quickly from high level healers. 

“RRRRRAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH” a powerful roar coming from the distance was the only update the group had gotten on Ajax’s situation but there was nothing they could do about it. Aranor’s spell had given them the chance to bite back for a moment yet they all knew that moment was gone. 

“Retreat.” That was the only thing the champions could do as they following Aranor’s spell they might have killed another three champions but they also lost another one themselves. From the initial seven there were now only five, one of whom had lost both arms.

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While the champions were fighting in the center of the wartorn battlefield Aurexion had finally managed to stand once more, his mind was still a little foggy from the blow but he could feel through the bond that Ajax needed his help and he wasn’t about to let his bond down. 

Flying wasn’t an option for him right now, while he had confidence in keeping himself afloat doing so would leave him vulnerable so instead he made his way on the ground in the direction he felt Ajax was in. 

For his part Ajax had spent the last few minutes trying to regenerate as much of his Mana and Stamina as he could as the vine spell wrapped around him more and more, he knew he had no chance of breaking free any time soon, even if he used [Absolute Body Enhancement] it would still take him a little while to break free now that the vines had gotten so numerous. 

“You’re going to die.” Ajax said as he looked at the beastkin mage. 

Ajax’s final attack had pinned the beastkin to the tree but rather than try and free himself he had instead focused on ensuring Ajax couldn’t attempt to finish off the king. The lion beastkin had lost consciousness and was still impaled on a spear slowly bleeding out.

“But my king will live.” A bloody smile with pronounced canines blossomed on the champions face as he looked through his status page, eyes locked on something he had spent centuries trying to gain, a funny twist of fate that his Legendary Skill would only come now as he was on his deathbed. “And I will take you with me.” 

The vine’s grip had suddenly strengthened, a connection seeming to form between the plants and the body of the mage, in real time Ajax could see the mage’s cheek sink in and the bleeding from his impaled shoulder slow, he looked drained in a way Ajax had only read about. Suddenly Ajax could feel the enchantments on his armor were about to give in, they wouldn’t be able to hold against the vine’s crushing grip for long. [Mana Syphon] weakening and drawing power from the spell would only prolong their duration by a little since clearly the mage had plenty of Mana to feed the spell.

That’s when four presences drew his attention as they were closing in. One of them brought him hope as he could clearly recognise Aurexion who was approaching him faster and faster but the other three he didn’t recognise, this likely meant they were enemies.

Unlike the main battlefield remnants of the forest that had been here could still be seen, the presence of such a powerful plant mage one of the main reasons for that. This meant the champions had managed to get within one hundred feet before Ajax could actually see them with more than just his senses.

“Save the king.” The shout was horse, a scratchy voice that Ajax had issues matching with the previous words of the mage, broke the silence. 

The words as well as the battlefield had left the three champions stunned for a moment. A moment Ajax took to carefully look at the newcomers, the two beastkin didn’t worry him all that much as they were clearly injured and on the weaker side but the dwarf in golden armor looked fresh and much stronger. 

“I don’t care about yer king, the boy must die.” The dwarf pulled a large warhammer, his eyes fixed on Ajax’s trapped form. “Cna you move your vines to give me a clear hit I don’t want my attack to undo his bindings.” 

Despite the dire looking situation he was in Ajax’s ability to singlehandedly fight four champions and seemingly come out the winner made everyone cautious despite him being wrapped in vines.

There wasn’t a chance for the mage to answer however, while one of the beastkin champions was rushing to the king’s side to help him the other two were suddenly faced with a large dragon that placed himself between them and Ajax.

“I’ll be fine, focus on them.” Ajax could sense the slow foggy mindset of Aurexion through the bond so he quickly made things simple for Aurexion.

Ajax’s words marked the start of the battle as while Aurexion’s mind was still a little foggy from the hit to his brain his muscle memory was fine and he brought his tail around in an arc. Unlike the dungeon the trees here were not Mana infused, they barely slowed the momentum of the tail swipe as both champions barely managed to get out of the way. 

Ajax could do nothing but grit his teeth as he saw the final beastkin champion smartly break his spear’s shaft, keeping the point in the king to slow the bleeding as much as possible as he took the lionkin and ran away. The one thing he did notice however was that in his hurry the champion hadn’t taken the king’s hammer with him. His one attempt at firing a spell at them was quickly met with a swarming of vines that made the launch of any attack an impossibility.