311 Chapter 311: Trojan Nightmare (1/2)
The nightmarish horses stampeded about the place, pursuing the other civilians. Mercenaries shouted as they closed ranks and formed defensive lines, firing haplessly into the incoming beasts. Fortunately, assistance arrived in the form of the Pendragon Academy Knights, who burst into the foray with their weapons and magic. Lances pierced horses, blades cut stallions, and axes cleaved steeds. The smaller horses neighed in agony and seared the area with flames, but their fire spells were clearly less powerful than that of their primogenitor.
Even as flames washed over the Pendragon Academy Knights, the students' gleaming armor held strong against the aggressive spells. The defensive runes glowed as the knights infused their armor with mana, and dissipated the flames.
By the way, the defensive runes weren't exactly spells, nor were they accelerants. They were more of boosters that served to enhance the knights' innate defensive spells and buff their endurance. They weren't auto-cast or passive spells that were perpetually in place. Just think of them as a different kind of Divine Device or Spirit Engraved Gear, so all they did was strengthen spells that their wearers cast, not automatically cast spells for them. Runes on their own did absolutely nothing until the user fed them mana or use them as a medium to cast their spells. And while they strengthened the spells, they did not speed up the casting time.
”Why are you explaining that?” Dong Fang Yue Chu asked irritably. I shrugged and gestured to several of the civilians, among whom the existences from beyond the fourth wall had taken possession of.
”Because they would definitely ask me those questions and complain about how I'm so stupid for not making use of these runes to speed up the casting time for my summomning spells…even though such a convenient thing doesn't exist.”
”Furthermore, it's not as if anyone can just get spirit engraved gear,” Harrison Reed added as he glanced at the mercenaries. ”The Hell's Hounds, even though they are among the top mercenary groups and most famous, and arguably the most well equipped, don't have Spirit Engraved Gear for each of their soldiers. Pendragon Academy is a school for the elites and super-rich. All the studetns who enroll there usually come from wealthy families. Thus they can afford to arm each and every student with the very best spirit-engraved armor and weapons.”
Spirit Engraving was a very luxurious industry that commanded much more money than comestic healing magic/surgery (which was why I couldn't afford to have my eyes fixed, because they charge people with exorbitant sums of money just to heal myopia, plastic surgery, slimming stuff, and other ”comestic” things). Anyone who chose to become a Spirit Engraver would most certainly become set for life.
”Then why don't you become a Spirit Engraver and become rich?” one of the reader-civilians sneered. ”Stupid MC.”
”Do you think it's so easy to become a Spirit Engraver?” Harrison scoffed at the naïve reader, who could only think of ways to game the system without considering reality or the practicality of the situation. ”If it's so simple, everyone will become a Spirit Engraver.”
”But he's the main character!”
”So what?” I pointed above impatiently. ”In case you haven't noticed, the title of the story is Summoner, not Spirit Engraver. Obviously I'm going to focus on learning summoning magic instead of Spirit Engraving or healing or whatever!”
”But…but, look at The Great Conqueror! Even though Ya Se is supposed to be a great conqueror, he is also a Spirit Engraving prodigy!”
”Do I look like I'm some prodigy to you?” I snarled. ”I'm just a perfectly normal, average, mediocre guy with no talent whatsoever! I had to work hard to reach my current status and position! I don't have any stupid cheats or any random master conveniently popping out from nowhere to teach me ultimate magic or something! Even my dad only taught me martial arts and not a whole lot of magic! And I still sucked at learning martial arts despite my dad's best efforts, which is much more realistic than all those usual xianxia protagonists mastering whatever their masters teach them so easily as if they were sponges absorbing water! How convenient that they just happen to either have the best teachers in the world or they just happen to be geniuses who can master everything perfectly when being taught! If only everyone was that talented, eh?”
”Shut up! We only want to read about overpowered main characters! Weak and pathetic MCs like you can just fuck off and die!”
Yue Chu went over and smashed his fist into the rambling guy's face so hard that teeth actually flew out of his bleeding mouth. Shaking his hand, he turned back to me.
”Ignore those idiots and focus on the current battle. Seems like that big guy is about to breach your defenses.”
”Black Tortoise!” I shouted, returning my attention back to the present. Even though Harrison and I were infusing the water barrier with mana, the original Trojan horse was smashing through the fluid screen and somehow causing cracks (I have no idea how, let's just say it made for easier visual representation for manhua and anime viewers) in it. We wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.
Which was why I was sending my Celestial Guardian up to contest the breach.
At that moment, the Trojan horse kicked a gigantic hole open in the water sphere and vaporized the rest with its hellish flames. With a nightmarish neigh, it strode right in, triumphantly rearing up to torment the civilians.
”Harrison, Yue Chu, take all of them and run! My Constellation spirits and I will hold that giant horse off!” I yelled. Black Tortoise was already responding to my will, lumbering forward to contest the Trojan horse.
The titanic Trojan horse snorted, as if to say that my Black Tortoise wouldn't pose a threat to it at all, and kicked at him. My Celestial Guardian quickly withdrew into his shell and withstood the double kick that the nightmarish creature delivered, and his sturdy defense meant he didn't take any damage. He popped his head back out and unleashed a hydro pump attack (okay, I really need a more original name for this water spell) that crashed into the gargantuan creature and washed it away. The titanic Trojan horse screeched in rage and pain, but the fiery mane only served to ignite more forcefully, vaporizing water into boiling steam.
Charging through the highly pressurized torrent of water, the Trojan horse kicked out at Black Tortoise again, who quickly withdrew into his shell. Snarling, the titanic Trohan horse stomped on the durable shell, but failed to make even a dent. Spinning around, Black Tortoise tackled the Trojan horse and sent it crashing onto the ground.
Scrambling back to its feet, the Trojan horse then unleashed a huge stream of hellish flames that whirled about in a fiery tornado.
”Is that damned thing using a fire spin attack?” I moaned. We were really intruding into Pocket Monster territory here. Pretty soon Tyrant would reveal a ball to recall his fainted Rapidash…I mean Trojan horse into it.
Black Tortoise's shell, while impervious to physical attacks, was not as resistant against magical or elemental attacks. His shell, formerly black, began to glow red-hot.
”This ain't good.”
Fortunately, I had not been idle this entire time. While Black Tortoise had been occupying the Trojan horse's attention, I had been investing all my time and energy into summoning yet another Celestial Guardian.
”Golden Kirin!”
A massive dragon-like horse materialized in the center of the crumbling building, his golden scales gleaming in the dim light and almost illuminating the area. Antlers crowned his draconic head, along with whiskers and a single horn that protruded from his forehead. Hooves clattered against the ground, the heavily muscled legs also similarly protected by armored scales. He issued a bellow of challenge at the stunned Trojan horse.
”What the hell? When did you get a new summon?!” Yue Chu demanded, still at the back directing the civilians through an alternate avenue of escape.