The First Legendary Beast Master

Chapter 1000: Healer Goes First

The Epic Guard flickered out of existence, using the Haint Claw's movement skill, and then reappeared to stab the Cleric in the back before being forced to retreat again before the mages could blast it out of existence.

But the task was complete.

The spell had been interrupted, and the Cleric was bleeding heavily and wheezing with a punctured lung. He would have to take care of himself first, and speaking the words to a spell would not be easy.

"You cowardly bastard!"

The Paladin shouted in frustration as he charged for a [Shield Slam], which Karl met with [Bulwark], sending a wave of dissipated energy to both sides as two monumental forces met.

The illusionary Dwarves were falling fast, lacking skills, while Tian lacked the mana to constantly refresh so many barriers.

Karl never heard the chanting as a pair of mages completed a ritual spell, [Dread Blast]. But he felt [Eternal Lightning] shatter, then [Ghostfire Body], before his left leg was coated in a black energy that caused pain to shoot through his body.

[Nullify] dissipated the effect, but the ritual was successful.

His barriers were down.

The Paladin managed to keep Karl's blade busy while the Rogue found a chance to strike at his back, poisoning him again. But this time, the Rogue darted away before Karl's blade could reach him, and Karl was forced to retreat a few steps to keep the pair in front of him.

All of the summoned creatures were now busy with the Warriors and the mages, who were fighting desperately to keep the Epic Guard away from their healer, who glowed with golden Holy Magic as he tried to keep the group alive.

Then, the formation collapsed as one of the warriors was defeated, and the Lamia pair was suddenly together in the tight formation around the mages, gleefully hacking away.

The Rogue peeled off the battle with Karl, leaving him to duel the Paladin while the agility specialized teammate rescued their physically weakest members.

Then, tragedy struck the adventurers.

With the lines in disarray, the Epic Guard made it through the defence again, and the Cleric's head rolled free of his body.

It was only a matter of time now.

Karl was certain of it.

The distraction cost Karl dearly, and the Paladin's blade found home, deep in his side.

But a [Void Blast] infused fist shattered the Paladin's shield, and the fighter was flung to the ground as the black mist of [Void Body] healed Karl's wounds.

Weariness crept into his body until he brought [Eternal Lightning] back up. But even with the extra stamina regeneration, he couldn't do this forever.

He had burned through two thirds of his mana already, and half the attackers were still alive.

The fact that they were down their healer would help, but Karl couldn't be sure how much of their mana remained.

[Rend] saved some mana, and forced the warriors into defensive positions as the Rogue finished off the Lamia pair. But the warriors couldn't hold for long as Karl battered them with his most mana efficient attack skill.

A spell hit Karl without warning, and the mage collapsed in exhaustion. However, the others smiled as if it were all worth it.

{Negative Effect Applied} Skill Lock (15s remaining)

It didn't sound long, but with only [Eternal Lightning] active and no ability to refresh it or parry with skills, fifteen seconds might as well be eternity.

The warriors charged Karl, leaving only the Rogue and the Paladin to work with the last surviving mage against the two bear Golems.

Three on one, with the warriors still able to use their skills, Karl was able to do nothing but parry and hope that [Eternal Lightning] held out long enough that the Blade of Champions wasn't damaged during the battle.

Fortunately, he was not truly alone.

The bear Golems had thick stony fur, courtesy of Tian, who was also using [Earth Manipulation] to attack the final mage.

The mage screamed in agony as he was impaled by a stone spear, and Karl's fist ended a distracted warrior.

"How is he still using skills?" The Paladin shouted, well aware of the timer on [Skill Lock].

"He's not. I think it's the damned Golems." One of the warriors fighting Karl shouted back.

They were certain of it. He hadn't used so much as a flicker of power in the last five seconds. But still, something had been using Earth Magic to kill their mage. It couldn't be anyone but the Golems.

Karl's other summoned assistants could use skills, so it made sense that the bears could as well, even if they looked like regular Golems. It had to be an ability that his Class granted.

The Paladin nodded decisively, and then took an item from his inventory.

It was a simple ivory horn, but the Paladin sighed as he raised it to his mouth.

A moaning wail came from the horn, and Karl prepared to be hit with something nasty.

But the expected strike never came.

Instead, the whole group began to fade from sight, while with the vaguely familiar feeling of the [Recall] spell permeated the area.

They had taken their fallen and run away.

Bastards.

[Do either of you have a timer? Did we hold them here for long enough to get a confirmed kill?] Karl asked.

Tian just shrugged. He'd never seen a clock before in his life. He understood the concept of time, but he had no idea how it was measured.

Likewise, Butterfly did not have a clock, but she had a better grasp of how time was measured. So, she summoned an illusionary Dwarf to speak on her behalf.

"Approximately seven minutes from the first death." It explained, then vanished.

Not long enough.

But Karl had bigger concerns, now that he had realized he was being targeted. What if a similar group had come after the others? He couldn't contact the rest of the group, so he couldn't even warn them that they might be in danger.

At least not until he [Nullified] the barrier, and all the links came flooding back.

[Test, test. Anyone home?]

[We finished our group, and we're heading to the fourth point. How is your fight going?]

Remi's mental messages made Karl chuckle, but he decided to send her a warning before getting side tracked by banter.

[I finished my fight, and then I was ambushed by mercenaries sent by Bomgon. Keep an eye out for the others, they might be targets as well.]