Chapter 268: Bloody Mess (2/2)
“What the hell are they doing? They shouldn’t react to any of that.” He grumbled, turning around and pointing to the back, “We’re leaving. Back to the shaft, wait them out.”
Ilea wasn’t about to leave without at least testing herself against them. If their level was around two eighty she’d at least try. “Ranged variants? Can they see without eyes? Level range?” She asked briefly, ash forming around her as the three others quickly ran towards the hall they had come from. Ilea blinked next to the running form of Austin.
“Gods lady. Usually no ranged, barely, they can smell well but mostly rely on sight, range between two fifty and fuck knows. I suggest you come with us.” He said and jumped up, bow on his back as he jumped from one side of the shaft to the other. Ilea watched in amazement as Baron bent his knees before jumping off, his heavy arms smashing into both walls before he dragged himself upwards.
Fucker is strong, or his suit is. She glanced at Seath who looked at her, frantic eyes darting to the hallway before jumping up into the exit with the most graceful movement out of the three. Blinking back towards the corpse, Ilea moved it a little with her ash, checking for possible weaknesses. The tips of its bone blades were poisoned, her resistance informed her about as much. It looked strong, fast and certainly dangerous but somehow Ilea didn’t feel very intimidated. Let’s see how you fare.
The noises from ahead definitely came from more of the creatures but after waiting for a minute, they seemed to have passed. Are you kidding me? Ilea thought and blinked towards them, her Hunter’s Sight immediately picking up the droplets of blood that marked their way. More corridors opened up as she followed, the noises growing again before a blink brought them into her Sphere. Six of them, running as if whips lashed behind them. Their movements were certainly not refined, feral almost. Ilea blinked next to the one closest to her. Identifying all of the creatures, none had a triple mark, some even identifiable. A fist sending destructive mana and physical force into the creature smashed it into the opposite wall, an explosion of ash dimming out the light coming from the magical lamps above. She would have to move away the ash around her whenever she blinked but if it blinded them somewhat, Ilea would still be at an advantage.
The monsters screeched, at least smart enough to quickly notice the intruder among them. Ilea blinked to the opposite side of the group, ignoring the one she had already damaged. Ashen limbs and a fist smashed into the Pure Blooded. It whirled around faster than she had expected, grazing at her Veil as she stepped back. Panicked. She thought, appearing again on the other side, continuously adding ash to the cloud blinding their vision. A quick grab and twirl sent one of the creatures crashing into the wall, its weight quite high but manageable for Ilea’s enhanced body. A series of screeches as the beasts slashed at an invisible foe, Ilea simply blinking to the wall, ignoring their attacks.
Observing the two she had struck, she found them back on their legs, not looking particularly damaged. Appearing next to one of them, she kicked instead at one of its legs, her ashen limbs attacking the other. Both attacks got through, the joint giving out against the brutal force. One downed. Grinning at the result, Ilea decided it was the easiest way to deal with them. The next five minutes were spent on braking legs, the creatures entirely overwhelmed by the ash around them, whatever hearing they had drowned by the cries of their brethren. Ilea didn’t even blink anymore, simply letting her ashen limbs cut into the downed monsters, delivering wave upon wave of her destructive mana.
Being in contact with the ash around her allowed her additionally to pump reversed recovery into her enemies. If only I could use the third tier here, one quick flesh explosion. She grinned when the first one of them fell to her assault, her magic entirely castrating whatever danger they posed.
‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Pure Blooded – lvl 269]’
…
‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Pure Blooded – lvl 311] – For defeating an enemy fifty levels or more above your own, bonus experience is granted’
The last one had been the only one above three hundred. Ilea knew exactly which one it had been too. It took her considerably longer to finish it but in the end it died all the same, its senses overwhelmed just like the others. It hadn’t been enough to level up but if she could hunt these creatures for a while, she’d be golden. Damage output that can’t reach me, fucking blinded by ash and a trillion times faster to kill than Rose Knights. The thought was interrupted when a sloshing sound came from behind her.
Another one of the creatures came into view, Ilea’s ash floating back up right after she identified it.
[Blood Carrier – lvl ??]
“Came for them?” She asked, taking in the creature through her sphere. It was bigger than the others, its mass at least five to six times as much. Instead of sharpened bones acting as arms, this one had thick tree trunk like limbs, ending in big chunks of bone. A massive amount of mana suddenly formed around it, Ilea moving the ash a little, preparing to blink. The move was definitely smart as the creature’s speed increased, propelling it forward and making her teleport.
Appearing behind where the creature hat been, Ilea watched it come to a stop and turn around. I have a feeling that getting hit by that wouldn’t…, Her thought interrupted, she blinked again. The thing was slow to start but definitely one of the quickest beings she had ever encountered. With all that mass…, The concept was ridiculous but she was seeing it with her own eyes, or her sphere at least. Quickly thinking how to damage the thing, Ilea appeared behind it before it had turned towards her again, the woman smashing the sharp ends of her ashen limbs into its massive back.
The cuts were shallow but enough to keep her there as she punched it with all her related buffs and offensive spells. A dull crack resounded, Ilea having focused on the spine that jutted out. She doubted the tree trunk like legs would snap quite as easily as those of the weaker variants. A surge of mana and the thing proved her method of attack questionable, instead moving backwards before it smacked into her. Being connected with her limbs prevented her from blinking, the impact pushing out the air in her lungs.
Her bones held, groaning as the force went through her body. The impact sent her flying towards the wall but Ilea still found herself unable to blink, problem being the monster still moving as quickly as she was flying, faster even. Ash spread behind her as she braced for the impact. This time her bones gave, shattering and squashing her whole chest and stomach. The wall behind her was crushed, her form stuck within, armor bent inward. It had taken a part of the force but the hit had been direct, the wall too close for her to do anything about it.
The beast moved away a single meter, mana surging again when Ilea blinked as far away as she could. Storing her broken armor, she sacrificed a thousand points of mana for her third tier recovery. A yelp left her as her bones moved back into the right position, her organs reformed from the mush that was left, the muscles around her lungs healing before air reached them again. Spitting on the ground, she added to the sea of blood that was forming in the small hallway, a fresh set of armor appearing on her.
Now it’s personal. Sending away all the ash around them, she waited for the beast to move. The mana buildup was noticeable, even without a perception skill. Blinking was the only move she had that was quick enough to avoid it but this time Ilea waited for the last possible moment, blinking just far enough to hit it once. She messed up the first two tries, too far away to reach it with her fists. The third try however, her fist landed with grueling force, the spine further damaged while ashen limbs delivered their payload, further cutting into the already mangled back.
Blinking right after to avoid another hydraulic press experience, she made some distance between the two. The beast wasn’t stupid and quickly caught on, starting to delay the charges as well as charging closer or farther away. In the end though, Ilea blinked with reaction and it didn’t catch her off guard, its charge up for the attack too slow and noticeable for her to be fooled with any variation. A single mess up could cost her another thousand or more mana or even her life if she was unlucky but now that she knew what the beast could do, it had become prey.
It took the better part of twenty minutes to finally crack its spine, her attacks landing few and far between because of its changing behavior towards the second part of their fight. After that, the thing got slower, weaker, almost sluggish. It was a wonder the monster still stood and moved at all but Ilea could say the same about herself after being squashed against the wall like a bloody fly.
‘ding’ ‘You have defeated [Blood Carrier – lvl 382] – For defeating an enemy one hundred and twenty levels or more above your own, bonus experience is granted’
‘ding’ ‘Azarinth First Hunter has reached lvl 261 – Five stat points awarded’
‘ding’ ‘Inheritor of Eternal Ash has reached lvl 254 – Five stat points awarded’
She sank to her knees, panting hard as her helmet came off. Laughing reverberated through the hallway, interrupted when the woman spit another mouthful of blood onto the ground. Ten stat points were immediately put into Wisdom as her meditation picked up.