Chapter 728 (2/2)

The puppets might be enough against normal opponents, but Ophelia was not a normal opponent. Even Shal, who believed himself to be nearing the pinnacle of strength, felt a strange sort of fear when witnessing the raw force of Ophelia’s images.

And that was before she began using Skills again. Now that she had lifted that restriction…

The puppet did not break, but it was smashed against the ground. Shal could sense the fractures in its frame, however. It would not live through another strike.

However, the Propagators were moving. The larger of the two was a rose-colored crystal grasshopper. It flew upwards, baring its wings at Ophelia. Three strange puppets rolled up out of the hole that the Propagator had sprung from. They had no eyes or mouths, but each of the man limbs sticking out from the central torso ended in a wickedly sharp blade.

They bounced off the ground with preternatural quickness and dexterity, rushing toward Ophelia. She simply smiled.

The image above the battlefield changed to an endless sea of mud. Those agile puppets that were rushing toward Ophelia with deadly intent immediately slowed to crawl.

“Shal?”

“Got it,” Shal replied. He appeared between them and lashed out toward the puppets. They reacted more quickly than he expected, but it was nothing compared to the Wraith Viper. Their fragile bodies shattered under his quick blows. Ophelia rushed past, heading toward the rose grasshopper, which began to flee.

“The other is yours.”

Shal nodded and leapt to the left, toward the farm of lilacs. Seeing his approach, the azure crystal bug that was hiding among the flowers exploded upwards. Two screamer type puppets reared up out of the ground and screeched at Shal. But Shal isolated himself with his Predator’s Immunity and cut them in twain as he passed between them.

As his Viper Fang bisected the azure bug, Shal frowned. It was already missing one of its antennae. Interesting. Who would be capable of injuring a Propagator around here…? Perhaps it was Aylwind.

Congratulations! You have reached Level 90! +8 Stats distributed between Endurance, Perception, Strength, Agility, and Focus, +8 Free Stats! +1 Stat to a Physical Stat. +3 Agility. +12 Health, +5 Mana, +18 Stamina.

Congratulations! You have learned the Skill Battlelord’s Presence! Due to your Soulskill, Essence of the Wraith Viper, your Skill has evolved!

Congratulations! You have learned the Skill Isolating Fear (A)!

Waves of forces exploded from the clashes between Ophelia and the grasshopper; it seemed like Ophelia hadn’t been lying about feeling slightly pent up after all of the waiting they had had to go through recently. Well, that was fine.

Although the explosions made it seem like a struggle, Shal knew that Ophelia would be the victor of that fight in the sky. As such, he paused and looked around him at the lilac farm.

His immediate reaction was a guilty wince. The delicate flowers had not fared well in the brief spat. Although Shal had simply ripped apart two puppets, the strikes had razed entire swaths of the plant life. The petals floated gently in the air around him.

Shal closed his eyes. He wondered what Lucretia was doing now…

“Ah?”

In his surprise, Shal focused his killing intent on the speaker. A girl, likely no older than twenty, fell backward as she was smashed with his concentrated intent to kill. The basket and gardening tools she was carrying scattered on the porch.

“...apologies miss. As is plain, Wights are here. Please, return indoors until they are finished.”

But to Shal’s surprise, the girl blinked, stood up, then walked out to survey the wreckage of her fields. “Ah, this is horrible. The fields… jeez, I just had one job, and I’ve already made a mess of it…”

Feeling profoundly uncomfortable, Shal considered the young woman. She was certainly lovely, in a strange vitality of expression that she possessed, but she couldn’t stay here. More than anything else, Shal hated dealing with civilians. “Miss, please-”

“You don’t need to call me miss,” The woman said, waving her hand. “My name is Rumera. Rumera Rune. But you can call me Rumi.”