Chapter 164: Surrounded! (2)
Chapter 164: Surrounded! (2)
"Come on, stop wasting time. We should go and find our next prey."
"Yeah, yeah. The boss already lost, anyway."
"Tsk, boring~!"
"You bastards...!"
As Aster expected, there's not a hint of camaraderie between them. They looked more like a ragtag team gathered together on a whim for only one purpose. However, they're still a threat to Aster, whose level was lower than theirs.
"Gonzalez! Go grab that kid! And you, Mage! Prepare to teleport us back to camp."
"Ugh, finally..." The female mage groaned, as if unable to stand delaying any longer. "I haven't been able to take care of my skin for 18 hours. If I get pimples or wrinkles, I'll definitely make you pay, Joph."
"Shut it, bitch! Just do as you're told!" The young man, Joph, roared back in anger.
Although he was the acting leader of their small team, he was the least trusted and respected among their team. The thief Gonzales earned more respect than him for being actively contributing to the team, and being a powerful fighter. If not for Joph being the son of the "Big Boss," then it would be Gonzales who would become their team's leader instead.
"Alright, alright, I just have to do it, right? You little brat." The thief sighed, walking toward Aster's position. "Ugh, what a big, pampered crybaby," he added in a low whisper.
Completely lowering his guard, he approached Aster and grabbed his hair, pulling him up. "Huh?" But then he saw a little furball hidden below him. "What the...?"
*CRACKLE!* *BOOOM!*
And without a warning, a powerful lightning bolt struck him, frying his nerves and brain in a moment. His internal organs, particularly his lungs, expanded from the sudden heat that came from getting electrocuted, causing the thief to spout smoke from his mouth.
He fell forward, limp, and completely immobile. With just a glance, it was obvious that he was dead.
"... Gonzales?"
The others couldn't believe what happened and were flabbergasted for a moment. However, that slight pause was fatal.
*BOOM!* *BOOM!* *BOOM!*
Multiple lightning bolts fell, striking the mage, the bowman with the crossbow, and another mage.
"Shit...! We're under attack! Take cover!" At that moment, when four of them died without any warning, the others began to move.
The young boss, Joph, commanded them to hide and watch the surroundings.
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"It's probably that kid's party! Fucking hell, Gonzales, you useless fucker!" One of the survivors cursed, blaming the first casualty for the pinch they were placed in.
What shocked them further was the "method" of how their members died. A powerful lightning bolt. It wasn't easy for them to remember mages who had such a powerful attack and such a rare element. As such, their suspect quickly rose.
"It's that bitch, Octavia! Be careful!"
Of course, their guess was far from the truth.
In the first place, the "Thunderbird" Octavia should be on the upper floors, above the 100th floor, so it would be impossible for her to come down to the 30th floor. However, panic made them lose their calm, unable to think straight.
*CRACKLE!* *BOOM!*
And the lightning bolts didn't stop, even though they were already hidden. Five died in the second wave since they were clumped together, almost wiping out the entire group at once.
"G-Group up! Team 2 and 3, look around the forest and find where the bitch is hiding!!!"
As he gave his commands, he also began to slip away. 'I can't die in this place! You should do your best and delay that bitch, motherfuckers!'
He ran fast, heading past Gonzales' corpse, and running toward the forest.
*SLASH!*
"... Huh?"
But then, he suddenly began to fall to the ground, face-first.
*BAM!*
His face slammed against the rocky ground, waking him from his stupor. At the same time, pain started to rush from his broken nose, and from his legsāor rather, his missing legs.
"M-My legs...!" He cried, tears coming out of his eyes. "My fucking legs!!!"
*SLASH!*
But his suffering didn't last long. Another strike came fast and true, separating his empty head from his neck. At the last moment, he saw the eyes of the one they supposedly shot with poison, staring at him with a strong glare.
'No way...'
And that was the last thing he saw.
"(Good job, Argus. Now, we'll just wait for their backup to arrive...)"
From Joph's earlier shout, Aster knew that the ones he couldn't see were in the forest, just as he guessed. Only two guys remained in the open, so Aster didn't force the husky to release more attacks.
They pretended to still be asleep, pulling the two corpses closer as cover, while waiting for the rest of the kidnappers to arrive. At the same time, he pulled his card and added the newly gained stats to his WIS. He reached level 38 in just a few seconds, after all!
Killing people around level 60 gave him a flood of experience, boosting his level in one go!
'If the EXP shared from Argus' kills weren't half but full, I might've reached level 40 already!'
Still, his current level was more than enough to give him the confidence to handle his enemies. With the 50% extra stat from Boost, his strength was practically around level 57, just a few levels below the enemy's average!
*BANG!*
But then, someone fired a shot, almost hitting Aster's face. The bullet missed him by an inch and lodged on the back of the thief he was using as a shield.
'Shit, were we discovered?!' He thought but still tried to keep himself still.
He waited for a few seconds, but no second shot came. It was just a shot made to see if he was awake or not! Since the one who shot didn't see any movements, he ruled out Aster pretending to be asleep and attacking and started searching for the non-existent "enemy" who was sniping them within the forest.
Aster sighed in relief, before carefully aiming his sword toward the last two exposed enemies, and gathering Mana. As the Elemental Sword Slash was upgraded from Mana Slash, that means it should still be able to "launch" the slash.
He still hadn't tried it yet, but he believed it should be possible!
"(Elemental Sword Slash!)"
In a low voice, he chanted the skill, sending a freezing wave slash forward. The two, who were hidden from the forest, but in plain sight for Aster, were hit around their legs, cutting and freezing it off.
"ARGH!"
"My leg! MY LEEEEEG!"
Both of them fell, clutching the frozen stumps of their wounds. One of them looked like he lost his mind, trying to attach the cut-off leg once again, but failing miserably.
"H-HELP! I, I don't want to die...!"
And as Aster predicted, they began to call for help.
Soon, a few figures appeared from the forest. From the number of footsteps, he could tell that it was everyone.
"Now!"
And finally, the last attack fell. A powerful blast of red lightning struck and caught most of those who tried to approach. Staying close to each other backfired, almost wiping them out!