Jahi PoV
Sighing, I glanced over my shoulder briefly, catching sight of Leone as she held up her mana staff, flames coiling around the tip before bursting through the air and exploding against the chest of a human, caving it in before burning the rest of them.
The reason for that sigh was rather simple; even as she moved on to the next target, the casual air around the Vampire was made obvious by the contemplative expression she wore, meaning she was currently locked away inside her mind.
Her body was on autopilot as she supported the effort to take over the Armory, all while her thoughts turned towards something else.
Something that I knew, and something I wasn't exactly looking forwards to discussing with both her and Anput.
I promised them I would explain my actions earlier inside the Mage Tower, but honestly I felt it to be more of a nuisance than something I was happy to do, something I was happy to clear the air about.
It felt like an expected obligation I needed to fulfill instead of something I wanted to do, even though I was the one who promised to discuss it with them.
That was a simple reason as well; I didn't believe that there was much to discuss there, nor did I really believe I needed to explain my actions to them.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtIt was also that simple reason that scared me slightly.
That action I took wasn't something small; no, it was something that had consequences, and I was actively avoiding them, even though I could stare at the problem and identify it as a problem.
Shaking my head, I let out a soft growl as I resumed my culling of the chaff before me, my great sword rising and falling as I cleaved through the armored humans with ease.
Metal provided little resistance to my sword as it sliced cleanly through the metal plate, while flesh was pierced and bone shattered under the weight of the swings, leaving the corpses of the humans in pieces, battered and broken.
Of course, as I looked up and glanced towards the remaining humans, which were mainly Praetor's, I smirked.
Those ones wouldn't be so easily cut down.
Though, it's more fair to compare the two as wheat before a scythe compared to a tree before an axe.
Wheat and trees both fall, but one requires more effort and strength.
Which, I have in great quantities.
Tilting my head, I scanned through the remaining soldiers, trying to locate someone with seniority or with a stronger presence to them to better entertain me as I sought out distractions.
Striding over the blood slicked floor and stepping over the dismembered corpses of the humans comrades, I joined the rest of the legionaries as they hefted their shields to meet the charge of the Praetors, observing the incoming humans before bolstering the line.
Raising my palm, I allowed my Light Mana to seep through my skin and form the runes needed for a protection spell, which I blanketed over my troops as we prepared to meet the charge.
Even as I did so, I continued to look around as the humans crashed against the shield wall, their mana enveloped weapons clattering harmlessly against the mana enhanced shields of my troops.
Searching for the commander, I grinned as I saw a man with a hooked nose frowning, his heavy mace held loosely in his one hand, while a small buckler adorned his other wrist.
The mana pulsing clumsily off of him was greater than the rest, and I saw him gesture to the remaining troops as he organized them before sending them to reinforce the small battlefield that surrounded me.
If the rune engraved metal cuirass or pristine uniform were anything to go by, this was one of the veteran Praetor's that had the ability to hold their own against an average legionnaire for a few moments~!
Leaving my Light Mana lingering over the legionnaires, I waded through the battlefield, my eyes locked on the hooked nose man.
Sensing my gaze, his frown deepened as he turned, staring at me with narrowed eyes.
Giving out his last set of orders, the man began to walk towards me, ignoring the words from the Praetors he left behind.
"Well well well~! Are you the one in charge here~? I have to admit, after that last Mage Tower, I had lost any expectations for you humans..."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHis frown continued to deepen, and I smirked as he asked "Elfan's Tower fell? That insane sorcerer must have taken a few of your monsters down with him, right?"
Chuckling, I tapped my sword against my gold tipped horns as I said "Not a single one! For you humans I guess he was strong, but I can't really say he performed that well compared to a true Elf. And trust me, I've seen what true Elves can do... Candle to a wildfire isn't even an apt comparison."
The Praetor's eyes widened at that, before he grit his teeth and lifted his mace, pointing it at me.
"Of course you lie, you damnable Demoness! In the name of our Holy Lord I shall smite you! For Elfan, for Goron, and for humanity!"
The vitriol in his strained voice made me grin, and I rolled out my shoulders as he charged towards me, his legs shrouded in a faded red mana, alongside the head of his mace.
Swinging it down towards my skull, the man grunted as I stepped aside from it, allowing it to shatter the stone tile below us, before he swung it back towards me once more.
Jumping back, I felt the slight heat emanating from his weapon as it whiffed in front of me, just as his buckler managed to redirect my sword slightly.
Tilting the blade, I blocked the mace before pushing hum back and countering with a shallow swing, which nicked his side.
Wincing at the feeling of my blade cutting into his flesh, the man grimaced as a moment later the poison from the blades materials began to seep in.
They would take awhile to work, and if I wished to be put in the situation with the least amount of risk possible, I could simply go on the defensive as the Stygian Silver worked its magic on the man, but...
What fun would that be?
So, when he realized that he had little time left to live, the man growled as his eyes grew crazed, and his mana began to fluctuate randomly as he lost control.
With unadulterated mana flowing through his veins, alongside the adrenaline and other things happening inside his body, the Praetor in front of me was going to be a rather fun challenge...