NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

Chapter 158 - Heading Towards Alice's Castle

"Incoming!" Okami shouted, which signalled us to defend ourselves from the attack.

A thousand shards of projectiles came raining in our direction, with different elementals mixed with the assault. Each magic attack resembled an intense tier of arcane congested inside those spells. It made it difficult for us to defend ourselves. If I had to guess it right, those missiles were stronger than the bullets from the soldiers.

Match and Ryoshi fired their greatest spell, hoping they could burst the blitz open before it could even hit us. Match also created a dome of fire that could protect everyone from the raining magical elements from above.

Ryoshi and I had no massive spells that we could conjure to defend our teammates. All we could do was to activate our forms and prepare ourselves for the inevitable. And since our upgraded forms upgraded our senses, we planned on deflecting the mana spells before they could touch us.

And then I recalled…..

This occurrence was the perfect time for me to showcase the weapon combination I got from my system. Since it allowed me to fire something from afar, I activated it and used my bow. It was my initial weapon, for now, considering that it was the only weapon that could deal more damage than the pistol and dagger combined.

The best part was not even that. My bow allowed me to fire a succession of multi shot arrows at the target. Those darts would also follow the target, which the system named "homing missiles".

I had never tested that skill out. But that ability could protect us from this series of attacks from the puppets. As long as I could pinpoint those puppets on my map, my arrows would come in handy. But for now, all we needed to do was to survive this chaotic, one-sided attack.

After preparing ourselves from the matter, the magic projectiles came crashing in our direction. But thanks to Match's fire skills and Ryoshi's exploding bolts. As soon as their attacks clashed against the arcane, a fog of smoke covered the atmosphere. Match used that gas to amplify her blaze, blasting her magic upward. Her flamethrower did wonders, destroying most of the spells instantly.

However, when the fog wore out, the falling abilities continued falling from the sky. We needed more firepower if we wanted to take down that set of spells.

And that part was when I came out from the scene, together with Wolf by my side. Despite my bow clipped in my hands, I was also a melee user, specialised in using my dagger. My dagger could slice through some spells weaker than my arcane, which made life easier.

However, we could not gauge the strength of these spells, even if they were in front of us. Match could, but did not have the luxury to study each spell closing in our direction. Instead of analysing the incoming spells, Match used her spells to protect our ground.

Okami was faster than me. So he launched himself earlier, before me, leaving my figure behind. But I did not mind that, since we were facing a dire situation. If we failed to defend our ground right now, we would die before seeing the sunrise tomorrow.

"You take my left, I'll take the right," Okami said, leading me towards the fight.

He did not have any leadership skills, since Okami had no experience having a party. Most of the players would be in a group, fighting against monsters that the kingdom would request. The only party he had was our team right now fighting against Alice.

However, even though we fought alongside each other, Okami and I cannot be comrades in battle. I only protect him since he would protect Match. But if Ryoshi, Okami's friend, got in a pinch, I would never shield him with my body.

And if I did, I wanted to kill Ryoshi with my own hands.

"Roger that!"

Although we were fighting together, Okami and I had separated battlefields. We cleaned up the stage with our own expertise, without having to work with each other.

Okami raced through the right side and sliced the magic projectiles into smithereens using his claws. He used his force, jumping one spell after the other, destroying whatever arcane got stationed in front. And when Okami lost his momentum, he would just jump mid-air, using his first form.

Okami looked like flying in the air, having no wings attached to his back. Although the wind magic that Match placed also helped our flight. But even without that spell, Okami could have done that.

He was that overpowered.

I also went to my area and shot those particles before they could even reach me. I pulled the strings and discharged multiple arrows at once at my targets, aiming at each one of them. After releasing the darts, those arrows crashed against those missiles and exploded instantly. A display of flickering light flashed above us, which came from my attack.

But I did not finish my part with that. I changed my weapon when the set of spells came in front of my face and sliced them into pieces.

It was just like Okami did at those incoming spells. I continued slashing the elemental spells and disabled its arcane core. Since I did not have the raw power of Okami, I efficiently eliminated the magic by destroying their insides.

The lightning speed also helped me travel in one arcane after the other. But because of my blade and level, I could not pop the mana as Wolf did with the spells.

But when my eyes got too focused on my fore, a fireball snuck its way at my flank. It tried hitting me without my knowledge, since those spells came from the fore. However, before the spell could even hit me, an arrow rammed against the ignition, causing it to explode before my eyes.

That fireworks display was better than getting hit by that pesky spell that could injure my arms. And when I glanced at the ground, Ryoshi gave me a wink while waving his arms.

"You're welcome!" he shouted, while resuming strafing against the bombarding magic spells.

Instead of thanking Ryoshi, I spit in his direction, hoping that my saliva would hit him. Unfortunately, because of the distance, my saliva never hit Ryoshi. Despite doing all of those, that ranger did not notice my effort as he continued releasing those bolts.

Within a few seconds, our body became sluggish, which caused us difficulty in fighting against these spells. It had not been thirty minutes, but the fight kept squeezing us for more arcane and energy. And if this continued further, the mages supporting us from behind would fall first before us in the front lines.

Even from a distance, my eyes caught sight of Match profusely sweating in the distance. Since she kept firing those arcane, it won't take some time before Match would fall on the ground.

I did not care about Ryoshi. He could just slam his head against that boulder.

After a moment, Okami called my attention. He suggested that the two of us should go back to the ground and give support to our team. Since we had been far forward from the ambush, all of us should make a run for it.

"We did not have to destroy all those spells. We just need to make sure they won't hit our ass!" shouted Okami.

I heeded his advice and returned to the ground, together with the rest of my teammates. After landing on the soil, Okami ordered everyone to run inside the citadel.

"Let's go inside Alice's house! She can't destroy her castle once we're all there!" cried Okami, as he led the way.

"What about the puppets that give a lot of experience points?" Match asked, with her magic circle still firing at the incoming attack.

"Screw that! What matters most is our lives! We can level up next time! But if we die right now, we cannot revive again soon," Okami replied, while motioning with his hands. "Those who could attack from afar defend our place. We need your spells to destroy those spells before reaching onto us."

"Match, I want you beside me. You'll be my light and shield. Ryoshi, I want you to protect the rear. Don't let any spell hit us. Even the slightest touch of that magic could harm our skin. It's nearly the ones the elite mage uses."

"Got it, Okami," answered Ryoshi.

Match nodded and replied, "Okay! I understand!"

She rushed towards Okami's side and did her job just like he asked for. Ryoshi stayed behind and continued firing at the raining elements at our rear.

And when the spells came in the middle, I rushed upwards and destroyed the magic spell. I used my knife and deactivated the spell without blasting it into pieces.

"That's your job, Red," Okami said, and curved out a smirk.

Okami somewhat knew the terrain, since he came face to face with Alice. He did not tell us about the exact details of their fight, but that tale alone explained much of him.