Dark Warlock in the Apocalypse

Chapter 73 The Clash Above and Below

"What... what are you going to do?" The opposing leader asked, his expression filled with wariness.

The confidence that had filled him earlier seemed to have vanished completely. Justin shrugged and repeated his question.

"Do we really need to fight here? How about we just go our separate ways and continue on to explore the dungeon?"

"What if I say no?" The leader growled, as if ready to attack at any moment.

Justin straightened his face, his voice turning cold. "Then let's fight, you bastard. You think I'm backing off because I'm scared? Do you want me to kill you like I did those others?"

"Damn it…" The opponent clenched his teeth in anger, but he couldn't bring himself to attack. Perhaps it was because of the level difference, or maybe because he had just witnessed Justin taking action without hesitation. The ability to attack mercilessly was an important factor in a battle, and it always put pressure on the receiving side.

After hesitating for a moment, the leader spat on the ground and said, "Fine, I'll let it go since I just got a new territory. Consider yourself lucky."

"...No, that won't work." Justin paused as he was about to turn away.

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Where did they think they were going to put their spoon in?

"Now that Aaron's dead, that territory belongs to me. Stay away from it."

"What? Are you kidding me right now!?" The leader yelled.

"No joke. Do you really think you can hold onto that territory? My territory is right next to it."

Hearing that their territories were connected even before the dungeon exploration quest, the leader's face hardened. It seemed their territory was also close to another one. If that was the case, they would be well aware of how close the territories were.

Justin decided to dig into that point. "If you want it so badly, go ahead and take it. But in that case, I'll be coming for you, so prepare to defend yourself. You'll need to bring every last one of your people."

"...!"

The leader gritted his teeth and glared at Justin. He wanted the territory but probably didn't have enough forces to defend it. With everyone being at a similar level right now, there weren't enough resources to go around.

Moreover, if they moved their pioneers elsewhere, it would only make their home base vulnerable. No matter how much they stretched their forces, they wouldn't be able to beat Justin. After a long hesitation, the leader clenched his fist and shouted.

"Screw it, take them down!"

"W-what?" one of his subordinates stammered.

"I said take them down! What are you waiting for!? Attack!"

At the sudden command to attack, Justin frowned, and the other side also seemed taken aback. So, they were willing to shed blood here just to take the territory.

"Damn bastard. You could have ended this quietly, but you insist on causing trouble."

"Shut up!" the leader barked, as if in response to Justin's words.

Justin extended his hand, speaking the incantation for his strongest spell.

"Cursed Lightning."

Crackle!

A violet lightning bolt shot from Justin's hand, heading toward the enemies. It wasn't particularly powerful, but it was a spell that would send anyone hit by it into a groggy state. Moreover, the spell targeted fifteen enemies at once. If it worked well, he could incapacitate them all in a single strike.

After that, it would be a one-sided massacre.

However, contrary to Justin's expectations, the enemy leader stepped forward.

"Hup!"

Crash!

"...!?"

Justin flinched as the lightning scattered with a loud noise. The enemy had blocked his spell with a large shield. If it were any ordinary shield, it would have been fried, but the strange silver shield seemed to disperse the magic entirely. Even when Justin aimed elsewhere, the shield absorbed everything, which suggested it had some kind of homing function.

"A dungeon reward?" Justin thought, realizing that part of Aaron's story had been true.

Seeing that Cursed Lightning was useless, Justin immediately launched his next attack.

"Black Missile!"

Bang!

"...!"

The Black Missile was also deflected effortlessly, and Justin was taken aback. A spell with impact force was repelled that easily?

The enemy leader, seemingly pleased with himself, let out a cackle.

"You idiot! You're done for now! Miller, go!"

Whoosh!

At the leader's command, a white figure suddenly appeared from behind. Seeing something soar into the sky, Nathan shouted in surprise.

"A Pegasus?!"

The translucent figure was a winged horse that resembled a Pegasus. It was obvious at a glance that it wasn't a living creature but a summoned entity.

"You can't learn a summoning spell like that yet. Did he get it as a dungeon reward?" Justin wondered, narrowing his eyes.

The Pegasus, carrying a mage, flew into the sky. Seeing it ascend, Justin's gaze followed it, and the mage on top shouted.

"Energy Bolt!"

"Block it!"

Boom!

"Phew!"

Ethan barely managed to react in time, deflecting the spell with his shield. Fortunately, the power of the spell was weak enough that a regular shield could block it. The problem was that they had lost air superiority. If the mage kept casting spells from above during the battle, it would pose a significant threat.

Moreover, being in the air made it difficult for them to aim accurately. Unlike those on the ground, who could only dodge left or right, those in the air could dodge in any direction.

"Nathan , can you shoot him down?" Justin asked.

"It's difficult to hit something flying! It's too fast!" Nathan replied.

"Thought so. What an annoying item." Justin clicked his tongue, glaring up at the sky.

The mage, perhaps to maximize the efficiency of his attacks, cautiously circled the area. He seemed worried about running out of spell uses if he fired recklessly.

"Hey, what's with that expression? Where's all that confidence you had earlier?" the enemy leader taunted, sneering as he approached. He made sure to keep the silver shield in front of him at all times.

"Energy Bolt!"

Boom!

"Ugh! Damn it!" Ethan shouted, deflecting the spell with his shield once again. His arm shook from the impact of the spell.

Seeing Ethan struggle, the enemy leader's confidence grew, and he shouted arrogantly.

"What? You're going to kill me like you did them? You can't kill anyone, you bastard. Today's the day you die!"

That bastard.

Seeing the leader act like he had already won made a vein bulge on Justin's forehead. His companions also seemed tense, as if they thought the situation had turned against them.

"Boss, what should we do now?" Derek asked.

"What do you mean, what should we do? We're taking them all down," Justin replied calmly.

"But that flying bastard…"

"Double Amplification - Cursed Lightning."

Instead of answering Derek's question, Justin used double amplification. Then he aimed at the mage flying around in the sky.

"Cursed Lightning."

Crackle!

"Gah…!"

The violet lightning shot out, much stronger than before, flying straight toward the Pegasus. The mage on top panicked at the sudden attack, but there was no way he could avoid it. Cursed Lightning was already a fast and wide-ranging spell, and with the double amplification, its speed and range were incomparable to before.

Crash!

"Aaaaagh!"

"M-Miller!"

A shriek of agony and a cry of shock erupted from opposite sides.