Chapter 114: Gloria
December 11, 2014
Author: Floating Tower (诸生浮屠)
The howling sounds echoed back and forth.
In the distance, a figure could be seen leaping between the trees, with several dark figures following closely behind, and the furious roars of orcs were getting closer. Soren picked up Vivian and prepared to retreat, while Gloria quickly cast a spell. However, it seemed that the monsters surrounding them had noticed their presence, and several agile figures could be seen jumping down from the trees, evidently intending to cut them off. Among them, one figure stood out—it was a large black panther.
Mutated Beast!
Some special beasts possess certain mutated genes, possibly related to the forbidden experiments during the Arcane Empire era, and they had appeared in large numbers for a while but were extensively hunted afterward. Many that remained fled to the Astral Realm and outer planes. Certain beasts in the material plane inherited these mutated genes, and when their biological level advances to a certain stage, gene mutations can occur. These beasts have quasi-spell abilities, but they are extremely rare; most simply possess higher intelligence and formidable hunting capabilities.
It is said that these beasts are the failures of the beastman experiments.
Soren paused, handing Vivian to Gloria beside him. The black panther blocking their path was quite troublesome; its size was comparable to that of a northeast tiger, with a graceful body showcasing defined muscle contours, resembling a champion bodybuilder among beasts. This indicated the opponent’s strength, which might even surpass that of a brown bear, and its claw attacks could potentially shred armor. The panther’s sprinting speed was terrifying; Soren did not dare to continue fleeing, as that would expose his back to it.
A short-distance sprint. Almost no creature could outpace this mutated large panther!
Werewolves and panthers—within the wilderness, the danger posed by a panther is greater than that of a tiger, because it is nearly impossible to outrun it on land. To deal with such a creature, attempting to flee would only lead to being tackled in an instant, followed by a merciless bite to the throat. As Soren sprinted, he took a deep breath, then tensed all his muscles, leaping a distance of about ten meters and swinging his curved blade down towards the panther’s head. The beast bore no protection. Its beast skin could not withstand his attack.
A light jump.
The large black panther agilely avoided his strike, a humanoid smirk appearing on its face. The creature’s intelligence was higher than expected; its biological level might have reached tier three or above.
But it was still too careless!
As Soren missed with his slash, he instantly raised his finger. In just a second, two arcane missiles shot from his fingertips. At such a close range, the black panther could not possibly evade, and in the next moment, a small hole was opened in its neck. The two arcane missiles penetrated its panther skin, leaving a wound about three centimeters deep, and bl**d immediately gushed out in large splatters.
With Soren’s spell power, such a close-range hit from two arcane missiles would cause at least twenty points of damage!
One point of spell power enhances the power of one arcane missile, and high-level wizards using arcane missiles to pierce armor is no idle boast; Soren’s spell power is also around ten points. Even after deducting the toughness saving throw from his Constitution, it was enough to inflict light wounds on the target. Suddenly injured, the panther was clearly taken aback, and Soren swiftly slashed again, striking its back with bl**d splattering in all directions. This slash produced a wound nearly five centimeters deep, but after breaking through the muscle layer, he found his strength waning and had to withdraw quickly.
Constitution’s toughness reduces damage!
Roughly two points of Constitution equals one point of damage reduction, and certain life-force-strong creatures can even use their muscle layers to clench weapons.
Dragons are the most notable examples.
Without extraordinary weapons to deal with lesser dragon species, breaking through their dragon skin cannot overcome their resilient muscle, and thus it is difficult to harm their vital organs. Relying solely on bleeding damage to defeat dragons is exceptionally challenging.
The claws swiped through the air with a chilling sound.
The thick, resilient panther’s tail lashed out like a whip, creating a rushing wind. Soren twisted to avoid it, leaving three shallow scratches on his arm, while his waist suffered a hit from the panther’s tail. However, with his tough physique, he could still withstand it. Other monsters nearby were closing in, and Soren couldn’t afford to waste any time. In an instant, he drew his withered wooden staff and pointed it at the black panther in front of him.
A spell light appeared.
The weeds on the ground suddenly grew crazily, entangling the panther before it could use its large feline strength to escape. This brief moment was enough for Soren; he leaped onto the panther’s back, using his strength to pin it down, and then gripped his curved blade tightly to strike down. The power of [Sword Intent – Heavy Slash] erupted in an instant, and the curved blade cleanly severed the black panther’s head.
bl**d spurted three to five meters away, and the panther’s headless body stiffened momentarily before crashing to the ground.
A row of data appeared:
“Activated [Sword Intent – Heavy Slash]!”
“Triggered decapitation attack! …Caused 125 points of decapitation damage to the target! …Target is dead! …”
“Extracting soul energy.”
“You gained 2450 points of killing experience!”
……
As expected, it was a panther above tier three.
Its biological level was estimated to be around level 12; defeating it was more challenging than dealing with earth elementals without a surprise spell.
“Brother, be careful!”
Suddenly, Vivian’s startled voice came from behind Soren, and Gloria swiftly cast a spell. First, she enhanced herself with a spell, then pointed forward, shooting out a bl**d-red beam.
——”Finger of d*ath!”
The subdued sound of a bowstring vibrating reached Soren’s ears. Without a second thought, he activated the elemental crystal on him. A brown-yellow trace spread over his body. Almost as soon as the stone skin spell took effect, an arrow flew directly at his chest, the force of which knocked him back a step.
Nearby the bushes, a tall, burly half-bl**d orc wielded a strong bow, locking its fierce gaze onto Soren.
But in the next moment, its expression turned to shock!
Because Soren did not fall; the arrow struck his chest but only lodged between his ribs. The arrow, which should have pierced him, was mitigated by the stone skin spell, absorbing about twenty points of damage, complemented by his own twenty points of extraordinary Constitution toughness save. Although it struck his chest, the resulting damage was nowhere near what he anticipated. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out the arrow; his leather armor had been penetrated, and the opponent had used a finely crafted strong bow.
The dark red beam struck the tall and burly half-bl**d orc the next moment. It froze for a moment before collapsing straight to the ground!
Seventh-ring spell [Finger of d*ath]!
The finger of d*ath, cast by a high-level Northern Witch, was no laughing matter; it’s exceedingly difficult for any professional below tier four to pass the d*ath save check.
Failing to pass the d*ath save check results in instant d*ath!
After pulling out the arrow, Soren paid no attention to his wound and quickly swung his blade to block the attack from another half-bl**d orc beside him. The heavy war axe carried fierce force, causing him to stagger, while a half-werewolf-like hybrid creature hurled a throwing axe that struck Soren’s back the next moment.
Clang!
The throwing axe nearly sounded like it struck solid marble; Soren’s leather armor merely dented slightly. He sustained almost no harm. The opponent’s strength was not very high, and it appeared they had not trained in throwing weapons specifically. The throwing axe’s attack strength did not exceed twenty points and failed to breach Soren’s stone skin spell protective energy.
The presence of the Northern Witch drew the majority of the hunters’ attention; more than half of them bypassed Soren, charging toward Gloria and Vivian behind him. Wizards are the most dangerous beings; they must not be allowed to cast spells freely. A horrific beast that Soren couldn’t recognize roared, its size drastically increasing, then taking a deep breath, it sprinted on all fours towards the ground, moving at an almost unbelievable speed.
Frenzied half-bl**d beast!
In such a dangerous situation, Gloria remained unfazed; she even had time to pull Vivian behind her before suddenly drawing her staff and pointing it. A fireball the size of a basin flew out, not aiming at the nearby enemy but directly exploding in the open space ahead. Time rewound by one second. The rampaging monster had no time to stop, propelled by sheer inertia, and as it charged forth, it happened to enter the explosion core area of the fireball spell.
The next moment, it was left with its flesh and bl**d mangled, its chest blown apart to reveal white bones. Its fur was ignited.
“Vivian, pay attention!”
Gloria exuded an icy aura, completely different from the Gloria Soren knew. In a cold voice, she stated, “Do you remember the movement calculations I taught you? Positioning and spell prediction are vital techniques; many enemies move extremely fast, and it’s not always necessary to target the enemy directly for spells to be effective!”
The whistling sound of wind filled the air.
Two throwing axes and a long kn*fe were hurled toward their position, but Gloria didn’t care. With a thud, she planted her staff into the ground, then swiftly proceeded with her spell casting gestures while saying, “The spell protective field is fundamental for spellcasters; in battle, you must ensure you are always enveloped by the energy protective field.”
Bang, bang, bang.
The thrown weapons seemed to strike an invisible barrier, making a dull thud as they hit the energy protective field. Gloria’s expression showed no sign of change, as if she hadn’t noticed the enemies charging at them. Concentration is the most crucial foundational skill for spellcasters in combat; they must not be distracted to avoid having their spellcasting interrupted, and mastering the skill of concentration makes them more sensitive to changes around them.
——“Shadow Black Tendrils!”
Six energy tendrils burst from the ground and shot forth instantly. Half of the nearby charging enemies froze in place, then were ensnared and lifted into the air by the energy tendrils. The shadow black tendrils cast by a high-level witch were worlds apart from the ones Soren used. The energy tendrils wrapped around and suffocated two enemies, then dragged back all nearby people, hanging them in the air.
Only then did Gloria slowly raise her staff, solemnly declaring, “Vivian. Always remember one thing, for wizards, controlling is more crucial than dealing damage!”
An eerie silence fell over the battlefield.
At that moment, everyone, including Soren, finally witnessed the true power of a high-level Northern Witch!
This is the flavor of a high-level spellcaster!
…………(To be continued ~^~)
