336 Chapter 336: Blizzard (1/2)
The entire group stood on the ledge and watched as the horde of monsters continued to stampede forward. There were literally hundreds of them – Horned Boariceratops. No, seriously, that was their names. They had a horn at their snout, and another larger one jutting from their forehead. Getting impaled by those rank D monsters would hurt tremendously…assuming you survived getting stabbed and pierced by those massive and deadly horns.
”Phew, that was close.” Theodore wiped the sweat off his forehead.
”Good thing you spotted this cliff, Captain.” Craig glanced and nodded at Harrison, who in turn smiled in my direction.
”If it weren't for Richard's flying Constellation spirits, it would have been difficult for us to scale the steep cliff wall.”
”That's true,” Pearl admitted with a laugh. ”I was never good at rock climbing.”
”It's also a good idea to just avoid such a huge herd of monsters,” Sheila added as she glanced down at the unceasing tide of Horned Boariceratops. ”Trying to fight all of them would be suicide.”
”However, if we continue experiencing interruptions like this, wouldn't we be delayed further?” Lily asked nervously. ”At this rate, we won't make it in time.”
”And we can't just cut straight through the Den of Dragons either,” Yue Chu grumbled, glaring at the valley further below. ”Not unless we don't mind becoming food for the dragons. Maybe we can beat one or even two of them, but a whole den of them? Not happening, even if Richard nukes the whole valley.”
”That will just attract unwanted attention to us,” Bu Fan warned darkly. ”Even if we nuke the dragons, there are bound to be other high-ranking and powerful monsters around, and they won't just sit still and watch us nuke the place to oblivion.”
”That's right.” Theodore noded grimly in agreement. ”No point risking it. It's too dangerous.”
”Speaking of dangerous,” Cody began and pointed into the distance. ”Everyone, watch out!”
”!!!”
Everyone stared in the direction in which Cody was pointing. A howling blizzard was rapidly encroaching upon our position, blowing a ton of huge hailstones into the cliff. It was so powerful and violent that it actually lifted the few unfortunate Horned Boariceratops that were lagging behind and lifted them high up into the air, battering them with immense hail the size of small cars.
”It's a blizzard!” Harrison exclaimed, his voice filled with cold dread. ”No wonder the Horned Boariceratops were running away!”
”It's coming in our direction!” Lily cried out. A little unnecessary, I might add, but given the dire circumstances, I couldn't blame her or Harrison for stating the obvious.
”Is Blizzard coming to announce a new Starcraft game?” I asked. Everyone turned to stare at me.
”…huh?” Yue Chu gaped dumbly.
”Starcraft?” Lily repeated incredulously.
”What the fuck are you talking about?!” Craig demanded, annoyed.
”Never mind,” I muttered. ”I was just trying to lighten the mood.”
”This isn't the time to be making jokes!” Sheila snapped. I shrugged.
”Should we start screaming and running then?”
”Where can we run?” Theodore asked, looking left and right. The cliff we were on was pretty narrow, and at the rate the blizzard was heading toward us as well as the immense speed at which it was approaching, there was nowhere to escape to. There was also no shelter under which we could seek cover from the storm.
”Pearl! Defensive enchantment!” Harrison ordered without hesitation, turning to our blue-haired healer. She nodded and closed her eyes for a moment, still looking a little pale. Taking a deep breath, she then raised both hands and murmured an incantation.
”Guardian Sphere!”
At her words, a spherical barrier formed over us, a blue-tinted transparent screen that solidified into a protective bubble. And not a moment too soon. The second Pearl finished casting her defensive spell, the howling blizzard slammed violently against her Guardian Sphere. Vehicle-sized chunks of hail relentlessly banged against the seemingly fragile screen, almost causing it to warp inward from the immense impacts.
”Ugh…!”
Perspiration running down her pale face, Pearl struggled to maintain her Guardian Sphere. A few huge hailstones were getting through, smashing their way through her thinning barrier and crashing down upon us.
”Damn it! I'm sorry, everyone!” Pearl almost looked as if she was about to cry. ”I won't be able to block all of the hailstones!”
”Don't worry. You've bought me more than enough time.”
Holding up my hand, I summoned Black Tortoise. The Celestial Guardian balanced precariously upon the narrow cliff, which was just wide enough to accommodate his massive bulk. Even so, he dug his feet in and slowly conjured a water sphere that reinforced Pearl's Guardian Sphere. The watery barrier managed to deflect the crushing hailstones.
”You really have some kind of Soul Beast for almost every situation, don't you?” Pearl smiled gratefully at me before she sank to her knees, exhausted. Harrison hurried to help her up, but she waved him away. ”Can you hold the fort while I recover? I will definitely construct a stronger Guardian Sphere if you give me more time to cast a more powerful version of the spell.”
”There's no need for that. Thanks to Richard, I have the time to start constructing a Holy Barrier that should theoretically be powerful enough to protect us from the blizzard.” Harrison turned toward me. ”Your summoning magic is more flexible, so once I finish casting the spell, dismiss your Soul Beast and allow me to take over. I need you to conserve your mana in case something happens.” He jerked his head in the direction of the disappearing horde of Horned Boariceratops. ”We might need your Soul Beasts if another pack of monsters show up. They'll be more useful than my holy spells in combat.”
”Roger that.” I couldn't fault Harrison's logic. He had a valid point. Not that Harrison was bad in combat – on the contrary, he was far more competent than most in fighting – but he was correct in that my Constellation spirits would deal far more damage to monsters and potential enemies than his holy magic. Which, honestly, specialized in defenses and buffs. It was those buffs that turned Harrison into a formidable fighter when he cast them on himself, but certainly they would be far more effective when he cast them on my Constellation spirits.
It was a matter of delegation, I guess.
”I'll leave it to you then,” I told him while I made my way toward Black Tortoise. Outside the Water Sphere, the giant hailstones continued bombarding, but they failed to penetrate my barrier. Hah! My Black Tortoise's defensive spells were invincible!