A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

Chapter 197: The Slave Caravan (3)

…

Andor and Louis rode in behind Henry.

Andor tried to get behind the water shield as Henry had managed to do but his horse was far too slow to completely bypass Kayla's senses so the shield stretched to cover even more ground. Of course, the Mage didn't just play defense.

Andor kept riding around looking for an opening and because he was very likely to find one if he was allowed to continue searching, Kayla began to fire jets of water at him. He dodged a bunch but again, the speed of his horse was his downfall. Literally.

*Bang!*

It took only one jet of water striking against the horse's front hooves for it to fall to the ground so hard that it was sure to have sprained a good deal of its bones. Andor jumped off the horse just in time to avoid getting crushed underneath its weight.

"Ngh!" Grunting as his body hit the ground, Andor realized quickly that he was behind the water shield. He had succeeded at his goal. Alas, eleven fighters awaited. They were the Mercenaries who had been manning the carriages and they had gotten down now. Armed with their weapons, they glared at the lone enemy they had to deal with.

Andor pressed his lips tightly together behind his mask but hefted his Spear and took on an attacking stance. His stance might as well have been a challenge because the Fighters yelled out battle cries and charged.

Somehow, Andor managed a sigh of relief; All the Fighters charged and none stayed behind to notch arrows and attack from range. To a former gladiator who was quite happy to slum it out and tough things out in a bloody battle, Andor saw this as a good thing. Of course, the daunting numbers and unfavorable odds swept that relief away in a second.

He let his Mana surge and channeled it into his Spear to be suffered by the first enemy to get close.

And then he heard a familiar sound coming from within a familiar distance. He had heard it enough times in similar situations within the Dungeon for it to fill him with a sense of relief and confidence.

*KRAKA- BANG!*

The lightning streaks fired in a forward trajectory from about two feet to Andor's side. The streaks struck into Mana surges unleashed for defense, breaking through to either send the victim flying or leave them shuddering due to electrocution but otherwise still on their feet.

"Took you long enough," Andor said.

"You're lucky," Louis answered, "I almost didn't make it."

You see, Andor had somewhat distracted the Mage and yet, when Louis got close, a formation extended from her water shield to slam into his horse and keep him away.

The horse let out a whinny of distress but it avoided the formation or so Louis thought. It wasn't until he saw that a tendril formed out of water was wrapped around his horse's front limbs did he realize they had been herded and now were trapped.

With a hard yank, the Mage pulled the horse off its hooves and when it hit the ground violently, Louis only managed to roll to safety. At this point, Andor was already behind the Mage's shield and since she no longer paid him any mind since he was now facing the mob of mercenaries, she was able to direct the whole of her attention on Louis.

"…Arekyon!"

Louis yelled to complete a spell cast. A spell circle appeared in front of his outstretched hand and with the crackle of lightning, a wide circular shield appeared.

The jets of water the Mage fired at Louis struck his shield with such force that he was getting moved. His attempts to remain rooted to the spot were causing him to create marks against the ground.

'She's not going to let up,' Louis realized.

He could that the Mage's intelligence surpassed his. She didn't even look as though she was stressing herself to keep him in check. She was certainly still capable of the forceful water blast from earlier as well.

It was clear that Kayla was aware of her superior intelligence as well. Or at the very least, she was interested in coaxing Louis to let it all out. Just to see what he was truly capable of. It was reckless but overconfident people are seldom cautious.

'It's all about timing,' Louis thought as he gritted his teeth while resisting the relentless forceful barrages that tried to send him away.

His shield was reaching its limit when he completed his spell cast and shot it in a violent burst towards the very spot on the Water shoot from which Kayla was firing her jets of water.

*Crackle!*

The reason Louis took his time with the cast went beyond timing. The streaks of the lightning created by this spell always went haphazardly in every direction. Separating them was easier than converging them and Louis needed it all to strike on a single spot just to ensure success.

The converged streaks struck the Water shield their converged and slightly compressed energies turned violent and exploded in a burst that caused that part of the Water shield to shatter.

With the shield destroyed and the only barrier keeping him from moving forward, gone, Louis ran. As he ran, he recast his Lightning shield so it was at its peak durability in preparation to defend against more water jets. But they didn't come because Kayla's attention had been grabbed by the battle between Henry and the Fighter named Orson. Her intervention was needed. But more on that later.

"Cover me!" Andor said as he and Louis now stood opposite the mob of Mercenary Fighters who were already recovering from the Lightning assault they just suffered from Louis.

Andor charged and stabbed his spear at a Fighter at the forefront of the charging mob. The fighter had suffered directly from Louis' lightning but, having managed to stand his ground, he gritted his teeth against the electrocution and managed to keep his hands from shaking as he raised his sword and swung.

Andor parried the strike with his shield and stabbed his spear through the Fighter's midsection before he discharged the Mana surge he had primed the weapon with.

*Bang!*

The resulting blast created a hole in the Fighter's midsection and splattered Andor with the entrails. Before the body could flop to the ground, another Fighter had leaped close in a violent attack that was interrupted by a lightning streak.

*Crackle— Bang!*

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The Fighter had his Mana surging and it created a protective field that staved off the worst of the blast but even then, he was still sent flying.

Andor let the body of his victim hit the ground and just as he pulled his Spear back, he was already swinging to intercept the saber of an enemy's attack but said enemy proved far more battle-competent as he twisted around, and swung a second saber at Andor's neck.

Andor leaped back to avoid the attack but he had barely gotten settled that the saber blades were back and cutting at him.

*Clang* *Clang*

Swinging his Spear's shaft, Andor managed to parry the weapons only for his eyes to widen when a blade cut through his side and drew blood despite him successfully knocking the blades aside.

"Ahh!" Andor yelled out and he could have sworn his enemy had grown a third arm that was armed with a third weapon but that wasn't the case. It was still two sabers and he had managed to parry them both. Alas, the enemy was so fast and so skillful that he was able to re-attack before Andor's brain could truly take note and attempt to follow the movements.

With the flashes of steel, the sabers were back again and Andor had to raise his shield.

*Clang!*

"Ah!"

At the same time, the sound of the magical steels of saber and shield connecting rang out, Andor yelled out in pain as the second weapon stabbed through his thigh; A part of his body his shield was unable to block from enemy attack.

Slightly hobbled by the pain that he was trying to numb with Mana circulation, Andor retreated many steps. The Fighter followed and Andor made a wide swing with his Spear. He missed. The enemy was so agile that his dodge blurred him from Andor's sight.

Andor let his Mana surge. The fighter let his Mana surge as well so whatever protection that would have provided was rendered void due to the Fighter's surge being the better one by sheer Mana capacity. But Andor hadn't surged his Mana for defense.

The Fighter did not notice Andor's Spearhead light up in reaction to the Mana surge it was siphoning from its wielder. As usual, the Fighter stabbed with both its sabers. Andor was only going to be able to parry one and the other was sure to be a deadly stab.

Fortunately, Andor only needed one parry.

*Clang!*

*BANG!*

The discharge from Andor's Spearhead was so violent and unexpected that it wrenched a saber from the Fighter's grip and eliminated his balance.

As the Fighter flailed and tried to put down his raised leg to regain some stability, Andor stepped closer and stabbed his spear through his jaw and didn't stop thrusting until he had stabbed through the enemy's brain.

The Fighter's second saber hit the ground soon after as his lifeless hand could not keep a hold of it.