Stantir is the largest hilly area in Fahdod, with large forests and bushes. Under the cover of the emerald-colored branches and leaves, the largest tributary of the Nilu River, the Stan River, is quietly flowing along a meandering track, and the sand flattened by the river has become the only road connecting the border area and the capital area. The thousands of small lakes along the way have evolved into the best places for travelers to camp and go sightseeing.
However, this time is obviously not suitable for relaxation. It was raining heavily in the cloudy sky, and the rain caused hazy mist on the soldiers' armors—this not only made their movements dull, but also made searching in the hills much more difficult.
"It is reported that the envoys of the Alliance have entered this area... How could it be raining at this time? But the opponent's actions will also be slowed because of this?" Austin said to the necromancer beside him, in order to be able to After capturing these four people, he deployed more than a thousand direct troops here. Looking at these excellent fighters who have experienced many battles in front of him, Austin couldn't help but feel that even if the opponent was stronger than the devil, he could easily defeat them.
"But waterproofing is not a profound magic, and it requires very little magic power." Thomas looked at his clothes. At this moment, his whole body was covered by a transparent film, and the rain would only flow on the slippery surface. Knock out a vortex of ripples, and then drip down the ground along the edge, "Just like I did for you and those captains, they will definitely use this spell... This rain will probably only reduce the combat effectiveness of our soldiers, come It's really not the time..."
"You mean our sacrifice will be doubled?"
"Although there are only four people on the other side, they are all carefully selected fighters. Besides, our goal is to capture them alive, not to annihilate them. This way, it will definitely become very difficult."
"So, how about using the elite battle?" The other party glanced at the necromancer.
"Using that method can indeed greatly reduce our casualties," Thomas showed a hint of hesitation, "but..."
"It doesn't matter, if you can reduce casualties, let's do that," Austin turned to the messenger on the side, "Let all search teams pay attention, once the target is found, immediately send a signal to let everyone know, as long as possible Tactical delay as much as possible Don't risk your own life, understand?"
"Two sea blue paladins—but they are definitely not inferior to the silver paladins, a high-ranking wizard, and the famous 'son of the forest'," the necromancer sighed, "To be honest, I don't Definitely hold…”
"But it's only a test. I can't let my subordinates die, and our strength can't be wasted on this matter," the other party comforted the mage, "Don't forget, I have the strongest swordsmanship on this continent~ !” A confident light flashed in the man’s eyes.
"This is the spring rain, right? I didn't expect it to come so early." Katoli looked up at the gray sky, her emerald eyes became more agile due to the moist air.
"It should be. The climate and environment in the hilly areas have always aroused the curiosity of researchers, but..." the ranger's voice was a little helpless, "...but I can't come here to study the geography of Fahdod."
"It doesn't matter, you can do the same in the future, pretend to be an ordinary traveler, and then hide here for ten or twenty years as soon as you arrive, so you can study it?" The girl replied in a good mood, completely It's not like the captain who looked serious a few days ago. Katoli said as she stretched out her hand to caress the thin strings of rainwater. Although the waterproofing technique completely isolated herself from nature, she didn't mind.
"Then you must remember to come and see me." Josephine smiled knowingly.
"We don't seem to be out for an outing..." Ren muttered in a low voice.
"It's okay, there are no enemies around, at least not now," the mage interrupted him, "The magic trap I set up on the way here has not been destroyed, and the familiar used to detect it has not encountered any abnormalities. It's normal..." Xiu Yin stretched out his hand again and sensed the fluctuation of magic power, but this time there was a puzzled expression on the mage's face.
"Both the front and the back... lost contact~!" He subconsciously raised his voice.
"Sure enough." Katoli's expression fluctuated, "But there's no other way. If Stantyr, the only way to pass, doesn't encounter any obstacles, then no one will come to make trouble in the future."
"Did you expect to encounter the enemy here?" Ren was a little surprised.
"No, I'm just mentally prepared that I can't escape." The girl smiled and replied, "We must let these guys know that the Alliance paladins are definitely not easy to bully~!"
At this moment, the Stantyr Hills are completely under the control of Austin's direct troops. Except for the 200 people who were responsible for blocking the opponent's retreat, the remaining 800 or so were divided into more than 40 teams, and started a carpet search in the direction of Katoli and his party.
Each search party consisted of two scouts guarding the surroundings, twelve swordsmen who were the main force of the battle-the captain of the team was among them, five archers under protection, and a mage at the core of the formation.
"Obviously, mages are the key to the search operation." After observing for a while, Josephine, who was hiding in the bushes, put forward her own opinion, "Even if the captain is in command, the combat ability of that kind of troops will not be improved. How much, but we must not allow the mage to have time to contact other teams, otherwise we will be surrounded."
"But there is a defensive barrier around that guy, and it is strong enough to withstand the penetration of the magic-breaking arrow." Xiu Yin shook his head, "There is also a layer of magical defensive barrier... He must have an amulet on him, otherwise he would have The power of a super mage simply cannot achieve this level... "
"That kind of enchantment should not be able to withstand my short sword 'Liu Li'." Katoli stepped in, "Xu Yin, use the wide-area silence technique, and then I can get rid of that mage."
"But if their method of communication is by means of silent spellcasting..."
"There's nothing you can do about it. If you don't act now, you will be discovered in a few minutes. We must seize the opportunity. Let's act, and act when I give the signal." The girl replied. The emerald eyes reflected the cold light of the blade, the body wrapped in the chain mail was tense, and the outline caressed by the water seemed soft and resilient.
If she senses the most suitable opportunity to strike the sword, she will definitely snipe to that moment precisely, and there will be no slightest hesitation... Katoli's serious expression is really something I will never tire of watching. At this shoulder-to-shoulder distance, Ren couldn't help but hold his breath and concentrate, and let his gaze stay on her back for a long time.
The rain curtain greatly restricted the soldiers' field of vision, and the search team's movement speed was therefore much slower than usual. However, their state has not been greatly disturbed. The scouts are still cautiously scurrying back and forth between the two wings of the formation. Feather hit the strings. Soon, the three people at the front spotted their target—a Luvis paladin in full body armor appeared in front of them.
"If I'm not mistaken, you people are looking for me." Ren's mouth showed a sarcastic smile, "Last time I was hiding in Taklama, but now I'm so blatant?"
The Fahdod was stunned for more than a second, and then the captain and the mage yelled at the same time: "Grab him~!"
The soldiers immediately rushed to the enemy in front of them, and the mage planned to get the support of other teams-in Austin's direct troops, there would be absolutely no phenomenon of disobedience due to greed for merit. However, before the incantation of telepathic connection was completed, his chanting was interrupted—the surrounding sounds seemed to be absorbed, and suddenly disappeared without a sound. In the next instant, a dazzling light roared and spewed out from the side of the paladin.
The incandescent lightning was like a cruel poisonous snake, biting wantonly on the flesh and blood of the swordsmen. Relying on the good transmission of rainwater, in the blink of an eye, the five well-trained soldiers turned into five corpses with distorted expressions and charred bodies. At the same time, the two scouts on the periphery had been pierced through their chests by cold arrows, and two of the five archers fell down, and another arrow shot directly at the mage, and stopped at a distance from his forehead under the blocking of the defensive barrier. ten centimeters.
"Stop attacking, start defending immediately, and protect the mage~!" The team leader responded in time, commanding the subordinates around him with skillful sign language—they knew very well that the companions under attack were all gone, and if there was any hesitation, just lead to worse outcomes. The remaining eleven members immediately gave up the attack on the paladin, and instead shrank into a tight formation, surrounded the mage in the middle, and quickly moved to a place outside the range of the silence spell. The archers blindly drew their bows and arrows in the direction of the paladins and mages, regardless of whether they hit the target or not.
A minute later, the sound of rain hitting the armor rang again in their ears. The lost sense of hearing returned again, and the mage could not help but breathe a sigh of relief, and then continued to chant the spell.
But this time, he still failed to complete the magic, and he will never be able to complete it in the future.
After Josephine and Ren pushed them into Katoli's attack range, the girl jumped from the tree she was living in without hesitation. Like a light swallow, she passed through the heavy rain curtains, passed over the heads of the stunned soldiers, and landed steadily on the mage's thin shoulders.
The mage's body swayed due to the impact of inertia, but Katoli kept her balance like a cat, and the dagger in her hand plunged down. At first, the blade froze in the air for a moment, and then, with the crisp sound of glass shattering, Liuli's sharp edge bit into the back of the opponent's neck and pierced out from the chest. Before the dying mage fell down, the girl pulled out her weapon, and jumped out of the soldiers' encirclement with a neat flip before a fountain of blood sprayed out, and landed on the grass a few meters away superior.
"There are still half of the people." Katoli flicked off the blood on the dagger, and her crisp and beautiful voice was as cold as ice in the ears of the Fahdods.
"It can be resolved immediately." Ren walked over from the other side, and he raised the long sword in his hand as he said.
In order to use his magic power in the most appropriate place, Xiu Yin has been hiding in the bushes and did not join the ensuing battle, but even so, the other three seemed very relaxed. The mage on their own side has been killed, and it is impossible for backup to arrive in a short time. Thinking of this, the remaining Fahdods showed a look of despair in their eyes-this directly turned their attack into a deathbed. struggle. The strong attack of the two paladins and the superb archery skills of the ranger brought the battle to an end within a few minutes, and the victor's figure quickly merged into the dense jungle, leaving only the mournful breath of death lingering on the battlefield.
"At this speed, we will be able to get out of the hills soon." After confirming the location, Ranger concluded.
So far, they have solved a total of three search parties. A team of four would definitely be dragged down if it were to fight an entire army, but this was not a battle without purpose and direction. There are several roads in Stantyr, and there are no checkpoints that are waiting for work. Coupled with the rugged paths, the area for them to choose to break out is very wide, but the opponent has to search every inch of land in the hills.
According to Katoli's tactics, as long as she could know the location of the search team in advance by relying on spells, she could avoid those unnecessary battles, and only deal with the enemies blocking the path she chose. According to Josephine's estimation, after two more encounters, they will be able to break through the encirclement of the Fahdods.
Another team came into their field of vision, but this time, Katoli keenly sensed a strange aura—the man walking at the head of the team was completely different from the enemies he had encountered before, the opponent's movements were natural and smooth, But there is no flaw. The eyes under the sword eyebrows shone with incomprehensible light like a beast, and the tall figure easily propped up the black cloak, while the long sword in his hand possessed the unique sharpness and edge of a magic weapon.
A strong enemy, maybe... the head of the operation. The girl who intuitively realized this, couldn't help clenching the dagger in her hand.
"That person will be the most difficult opponent." Ranger said in her ear, "But if we retreat, we will only be surrounded again, and we will not be able to escape..."
"Then defeat him." Katoli replied, and gestured to the mage who kept a certain distance, "Get ready to act."
Xiu Yin began to concentrate, and softly chanted the incantation to activate the silence technique. However, after only a few seconds, he found a change under his feet. The mage lowered his head reflexively, and the terrifying scene was immediately reflected In the pupils—a bloody skeleton was coming out of the mud. The left hand of the skeleton tightly grasped Xiu Yin's ankle, and the rusty sword in the right hand slashed towards the mage's body.
It was the first time in his life that he had close face-to-face contact with a monster, and the high-level mage's mind was wiped out in an instant, leaving only one thought burning in his head—I will be killed~! After being stunned for a second, Xiu Yin screamed desperately.
"Help~! Help~!"
"Xiu Yin?" The three people in front turned their heads at the same time.
The mage subconsciously used his staff to block in front of him. Fortunately, the blunt edge of the rusty sword could not cut off the wooden staff. The skeleton soldier paused for a moment, then raised his sword and slashed wildly again, but at this time Katoli had arrived at Xiuyin's side in time, and the lightning shield's blow elicited a flash of lightning, and the opponent immediately turned into a pile of broken pieces bone.
"Are you OK?"
"No, it's okay..." Xiu Yin took a long time to recover, "I was scared to death..."
"As a mage, you can't lose your composure, but it's no wonder, is this the first time you have encountered this situation?" Katoli sighed, "Hurry up and get ready to fight, because we have already been discovered. "
"I'm sorry." Thinking of his embarrassment just now, Xiu Yin's face flushed red.
"It doesn't matter, anyway, even if it is a head-on battle, we will definitely win~!" The girl said relaxedly, "But this time the opponent is a bit tricky, so don't worry, just cast spells with all your strength."
"En." The mage clenched the staff in his hand.
The Fahdods, who were startled by the cry, quickly approached, and soon came into contact with the four of them face to face. The position where Katoli and Ren were standing was only less than five meters away from the man in black at the moment, and the paladin could even clearly see the pattern on the other's collar.
"I didn't expect to meet you so soon. I didn't expect paladins to know about sneaky actions. But unfortunately, my scouts are better at concealment than you." Thomas, who was behind, waved the staff in his hand. Immediately, four or five skeleton soldiers serving as scouts emerged from the surrounding land, quickly surrounded him, and put on a defensive posture.
That guy is a necromancer... Katoli thought, but the eyes of the mage on the side were obviously saying "just leave that guy to me", so the girl didn't care much. The only thing I have to face is the swordsman in front of me. The outcome of the duel will determine the outcome of the entire battle, so... I must win.
The next moment, the lightning shot from Xiuyin's fingertips broke the deadlock between the two opposing sides first. The soldiers standing still in the heavy rain turned into blurred shadows at the same moment, stepping out the dance steps of death accompanied by the cold light of the blades.
Compared with the previous enemies, the sword skills of these Fahdoud fighters are much more exquisite. Ren speculates that at least half of them are high-level knights, because his full attack has not received much effect. So far, his Only two opponents who showed their flaws were solved, but because of this, they fell into a tug-of-war against five people at the same time.
As soon as Xiu Yin came up, he summoned the long-preserved earth elemental warrior—in front of the devil, it was no different from a lump of mud, but now it did provide a lot of help to the mage. Under the protection of the earth elemental warrior and the barrier, the young high-level mage can cast various spells without interference, and lightning and fireballs are constantly lasing from his fingers—in order to restrain the undead who also wantonly cast spells Master, Xiu Yin no longer cares about saving mana.
Josephine's situation is equally bad. He has to fight against the five archers on the opposite side - each of them is covered with a defensive enchantment, and at the same time support Rennes in the front. Not only that, if an enemy intends to go around and attack the mage , Rangers who don't believe in summoning creatures have to turn around to defend.
Other nearby search teams may come here at any time, but in front of the mysterious necromancer and several outstanding fighters who are one in a hundred, the three of them could not find a breakthrough to victory. The reason is that the leader of the four-man squad did not provide any help in this battle.
Catori is in a one-on-one duel with Austin.
The expression of the man in black is very serious. He didn't have any idea of underestimating the enemy because of the gender and age of the opponent. Every attack of Austin contains all his skills, vertical cut, slash, thrust, sweep, all directions They were all sealed by him. That sharp narrow-edged sword was like a nimble silver snake, flying in the air, bouncing off the falling raindrops, and biting towards Katori's vitals.
Austin hoped to end the battle before his subordinates suffered casualties, otherwise, the purpose of implementing elite warfare would be meaningless, but he soon discovered that everything was not as easy as imagined. Katoli blocked all the attacks, and seemed to be able to handle them with ease.
The paladin holding a small buckler has a defensive advantage. Compared with the all-round attack of the long sword, the shield's block is much faster-no matter how fast Austin is, it is not fast enough to make her unable to react. And the impact brought by the slender blade is not at the same level as the death knight's epee—and most of it was absorbed by the magic shield, and it was not transmitted to the girl's arm at all. . If she insists on defensive tactics like this, Katoli believes that the opponent's physical strength will be exhausted sooner or later, but she can't do that now, because apart from the man in black in front of her, the paladin is also facing the pressure of another "enemy" -time.
The only way is to fight quickly. Maybe the other party thought of this and continued to attack, but Katoli couldn't care less. When Austin tried to open the situation with a quick stab again, the girl no longer continued to defend, but stepped in against the stern sword wind.
What is this kind of attack compared to the battle on the head of Bezhidin City? Compared with the destructive power of the abyss lord, what is this kind of sword style? If I can't even break through to this level, how can I complete the task of saving the alliance, how can I trust my sword when facing the Dark Eagle~!
Just step into his dead end~!
The edge of the narrow-edged sword was already in front of her eyes, but Katoli didn't blink her eyes. On the contrary, her emerald eyes accurately judged the distance and trajectory of the sword. In the next moment, Austin's proud weapon "New Moon" passed through the girl's hair, and the round shield in her hand accurately hit the chest of the man in black. Dazzling lightning burst out from the lightning binding, and the powerful magic power enveloped the opponent in an instant, but unfortunately, the blow did not cause much damage—the black armor had strong magic resistance.
Austin only felt a tightness in his chest. He was sure that his ribs had been broken several times. The only way to reverse the situation was to re-open the distance, but the paladin in front of him obviously wouldn't let him. Katoli completely gave up the idea of using weapons to win, and turned to face-to-face combat against the man in black—if a short sword and a small shield can cut into the blind corner of the heavy sword, then what can cut into the dead corner of the narrow-edged sword is fighting surgery.
A beautiful side kick went straight to the head of the man in black. The girl's long legs looked slender, but in terms of power, it was probably no less powerful than a hammer. Austin didn't want to block hard, he planned to use the power of this blow to open the distance between the two sides-he did it, but the whole person flew out obliquely.
I won~! Katoli immediately chased after standing still, ready to deal a fatal blow to the opponent who lost her balance. But before that, Austin, who was about to land, raised his long sword with one hand and pointed forward sharply.
Katoli immediately felt a strong pressure coming towards her, she couldn't dodge it, she could only block the small shield in front of her chest. The power of that blow reminded her of the death knight's horizontal slash, and the sturdy magic shield immediately let out a piercing scream, the girl felt that her left arm was in severe pain as if it was broken, and the light figure also He was knocked off the ground in an instant.
Originally intending to capture the target smoothly, Austin adopted the plan of cold weapon confrontation, but now he understands that if he does not aim to kill the opponent, it will only lead to his own failure. So this time, at the moment when the confrontation distance was opened, Austin unleashed that power without hesitation.
The strongest sword technique known as Sword Fighting Qi.
Katoli landed five meters away, and her excellent reflexes prevented her from falling when she landed, but even so, the girl still felt cold sweat streaming down her back. By the time she stabilized her heels, the man in black had returned to normal.
"The good show is just beginning now. It's time for your life and death." Austin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and swung his sword again. This time, the target was not the paladin in front of him, but Xiu Yin who was far away on the other side of the battlefield.
The curtain woven by countless rain threads was torn apart by this broad and sharp air blade, and the scattered large drops of water bounced to the sides one after another, just like blooming fireworks. This time it's a transparent tint. Such a conspicuous blow was immediately captured by the mage's eyes, and he quickly took countermeasures.
Wind blade technique... Is that man in black a magic swordsman? Xiu Yin sang a mantra softly, and set up a second magic barrier beside him. The young mage didn't realize that he had made a fatal mistake in his judgment—until the extremely powerful sword fighting spirit shattered the physical barrier and cut his upper body open. The shocking wound stretched from his left shoulder to his waist. Blood spurted out from the neat incision, and a curtain made of blood was drawn in the rain. Before Xiu Yin could cry out, he had fallen to the ground. on the ground.
The fierce battle was stopped by the sudden sound of broken strings, not only Katoli, Ren and Josephine, even the Fahdods also stopped moving.
"Shu Yin~!" Katoli turned her head recklessly.
"This kind of power is the most powerful sword technique in the mainland - Sword Fighting Qi~! It can carry out long-range attacks, and it takes almost no time to prepare. Compared with the power of Sword Fighting Qi, the wind blade technique of magic warriors is simply itching. I don't know Is that high-level mage’s life high enough to survive my blow.” The situation regained control, and Austin had a smug smile on his face, but his eyes remained cautious, “I think What about the power of this Juggernaut, Katoli Orlande, 'Glory of Alazea'?"
"You guy..." The girl turned around, staring at Austin with anger.
"Do you still want to continue fighting? I am happy to accompany you, but I don't know if that mage can last until the end of the battle." Austin ignored the anger projected by the other party, "I also want to warn you, this time I will not do it again. I made the same mistake, and I will never let you get close." He said, raising his long sword again and pointed forward.
Katoli immediately jumped away as if she had been electrocuted, and there was a bottomless round hole where she was just standing. The mud was soft and damp, but the edge of the hole was as smooth as marble.
"Put down your weapons, envoys from the Luvis Alliance~!" Under the rain, the man in black's voice appeared extraordinarily majestic and loud, "I, Austin Stewart, the chief knight of Fahdoud hereby promise, absolutely not They will abuse captives~!"
Xiu Yin had lost consciousness, and the out-of-control earth element turned into a statue, and the waterproof barrier quickly faded from the three of them. The cold rain poured into the clothes of the three of them, like poisonous snakes wrapped around their bodies, bringing a suffocating feeling. Katoli, who had become a drowned chicken, Ren and Josephine looked at each other, and finally, the leader of the team finally made a statement.
The girl threw the short sword in her hand to the ground, and her short damp hair covered her expression, but Austin could feel the trembling in that crisp voice: "We surrender, please allow me to rescue my companion, please..."
The rain became heavier and heavier, and finally turned into a downpour. The ruthless water flow washed away all the blood on the ground.
But this does not mean that the battle of the four is over, on the contrary, the difficulty has just begun.