Pantheon Online

Chapter 85 - Formidable Opponent

Exile explained his thoughts to the others before they split up to support different areas of the battlefield. Burri was put in charge of contacting the other players on their side to let them know what Exile thought was coming so that they could be prepared. 

As they set off in their separate directions, Exile noticed that some of the NPCs would suddenly look at him in awe. 'It's like what happened in Eraldsfen... Is this the effect of Fanatical?' He figured this should be the case and the ones that actually noticed him were the ones who had fully become his followers. 

'This should make things easier if I can talk with them...' Exile nodded as he kept his eyes peeled for any spells that may be aimed at him. However, Parthus and the others seemed content to provide minimal support to their own side. Exile cocked an eyebrow at Parthus as he reached the ram, where Harik Eraldsen was encouraging the troops.

Just as he was about to try speaking with Harik, who had his back to him, Exile felt that something was off. At that moment, a hail of arrows was fired from behind the walls of the city. They were clearly aimed far behind him but one of them suddenly fell from the formation and was now aimed at Harik!

Exile's eyes narrowed as he realised what had happened. He could clearly see Parthus staring at them with malicious intent! 'Minor Miracle!' Exile screamed in his mind as he activated the divine spell. Swiftly choosing Harik as the target and the option to avoid his fate that appeared for a total of 7 DP!

As the arrow fell, Harik suddenly felt the urge to step to the side and shout at one of the men manning the ram! As he did so, he felt a swift breeze as an arrow barely missed his head and implanted itself in the sand near his feet! Harik froze momentarily as he stared at the shaft of the projectile as it waved back and forth from the force.

His eyes scanned over the walls momentarily before he looked behind himself to see the curtain of arrows still high in the sky. However, what caught his attention was the golden human-shaped figure standing close by, holding what appeared to be an axe and shield as its face stared at the arrow near his feet. Although he could not see Exile's true figure and had never seen anything like this before. A single name escaped from his lips in the form of a whisper.

"Exile..." Harik's eyes went wide as he considered the fate he had come close to. 

'Damn! He waited to see who my target was and now he's trying to drain my DP!' Exile cursed silently as he glared at his opponent. With this turn of events, his presence on the battlefield would be considerably shortened. Especially if he had to intercept another Miracle.

'7/17 DP... I'll lose another three to stay here for another hour. So I only have four left to play with...' Exile's eyes narrowed as they met Parthus's glare. He felt as if he had met a formidable opponent on this battlefield, but his main concern was how much DP his opponent could have left. He had to assume that Parthus was almost empty as well, considering how long he had already been here, the attack he had launched, and this latest Miracle.

'Worst case scenario, he's been here less than an hour as well... So that should be three points of DP. Another five for that Orosphere spell and at most six for his Miracle since it cost me seven to counter it...' Exile's frown deepened as he did the math. 'That comes to 14 DP, since his Authority is at 21 that leaves him with seven left... Just like me...'

Exile's mind raced as he tried to guess if Parthus had actually already used a second hour's worth of Avatar. Which would make him less of a threat. But, if he had not and decided to use the possible seven DP left for another Miracle then there was no way he could afford to counter it.

"Exile... Is that... Really you?" Harik whispered as he stared at the golden figure.

"Yes..." Exile hummed as his attention was drawn back to the man before him. "Listen closely... I can't stay here for long... If you want to see your wife and Ania again, this is what you must do..."

Harik's eyes went wide at the mention of his daughter. However, Exile did not allow him to ask questions, as he warned him of what was likely to happen. Harik nodded in understanding. The only difficulty would be in convincing the others to abandon the field of battle. This could lead to them being declared to be cowards and traitors.

Just as they were wrapping up their brief conversation, Exile felt a sudden shift in the atmosphere. His eyes darted to the walls in time to see Parthus' Avatar becoming motes of light. A sinking feeling appeared in Exile's gut as he waited for whatever Parthus had decided to throw at them.

At first, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. Then, he noticed a warm breeze was becoming stronger from the direction of the desert. Exile's head turned slowly to stare out across the sand dunes. Only to see a wall of sand rushing towards them in the distance! 

"Sandstorm!" Exile shouted for anyone that could hear his voice to warn them!

The sound of sudden panic from the Skardian side was drowned out by the cheers coming from within the city...

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