ocean-life 224: The battle has begun
224: The battle has begun
Life has a way of screwing you. That was a lesson I had learned a long time ago.“You sure are talented, young man.”
He said as he walked towards me, his sword brandished and enveloped in a golden hue.
[Warning]
[Warning]
[All systems critical]
[User’s body at risk of shutting down]
[Deploying emergency measures]
[Conserving life force]
“But no matter how talented you are…” He said, building anticipation as he stood over me, his sword stabbed into the solid ground right next to my head, “Before boundless power, nothing ever stands.”
Fuck.
I hate it when things go beyond my expectations. Just like this guy.
You must be wondering how I came to be almost dying. Well, let’s go back a few hours to draw a flowchart leading to this event.
~~
“Haa…”
I took a breath as the camp was set. It sure was nerve-wracking. I knew we were supposed to arrive a few hours after midnight, so the camps would be set and a few hours of sleep would be granted to everyone.
But if history was any indication, those who set up a trap act in the middle of the night, in pitch black darkness, to make sure no one ever survives.
It had been a little over eight hours since I had poisoned Carlson and the king. It was expected to take effect in ten hours, so I was quite worried it would happen before their attack.
But thankfully…
“Kugh!”
Slice…
“Keugh!!”
Sounds of swords slicing and people dying fell into my ears. There were assassins on the move, some really good ones, because even with my senses, the sounds were almost inaudible.
Almost.
Fwip.
The curtain to our tent rustled where a few other servants and I slept. One by one, all were killed by the three intruders who had come in.
Me being no different.
~~
Three figures draped in dark outfits entered the tent, looking around and spotting their targets. All asleep.
They were simple servants, and it wasn’t necessary to kill them all, but their orders had been given.
They only had to kill one, but just based on his description, finding him among the thousands of servants was not easy.
So, the orders had been changed.
Kill them all.
Two of the figures went to kill each of their targets, and the one in the middle made his way to the target lying in the middle, deep asleep.
Slice…
Slice…
He heard his companions using their daggers to kill the two servants who couldn’t even make a sound, as their hearts were stabbed with aura-infused daggers to pierce through without any resistance.
The last one, the leader of the trio, also raised his dagger and brought it down to kill the one he had chosen, but…
Grab…
His wrist was caught before his dagger could reach his victim’s chest.
And then he saw it.
A smile so terrifying it made his last moments…
Unique.
Was it the devilish smile that had killed him, or was it the other hand of his victim ripping through his chest and crushing his heart that killed him?
He never knew.
All he knew was that he died without making a sound.
“What the…?”
One of the assassins immediately noticed and muttered, garnering the attention of the other one.
But before they could do anything, the servant who should have been harmless jumped in the air, his feet as silent as theirs, maybe even more, and arrived before them before they could even react.
Clang!
One of them managed to collect himself and managed to protect himself with his dagger, but the other one wasn’t so lucky and had his throat pierced all the way through with the other dagger in the servant’s hand.
The servant immediately pulled the dagger out of the assassin’s throat as he bled to death in agonizing pain and spun vertically in the air, assaulting the other one with his twin daggers with speed and precision that even the assassin couldn’t follow.
He did his best to defend himself with his dagger, but the twin daggers were moving too fast.
He saw one coming for his heart and one ready behind the servant’s back, ready to deliver the final strike, which meant the one coming for his heart was a fake.
Utilizing all of his aura, he deflected the dagger coming for his heart and immediately conjured a blade made of crude dark aura in his other hand to block the real strike.
But…
“You know nothing about me, do you?”
Kugh!!
The assassin’s movements halted, a searing pain in his chest as he glanced down.
A hole in his chest almost the size of two fists, round and perfect, showing the charred organs that were burned by the burning heat, his blood vessels that were closed by the heated flames, and his heart that was no longer there, or maybe just a chunk of it.
And the hand he had done so much to stop because he thought it was a feint. There was no dagger in that hand, just the remnants of the flames that had blasted a hole in his chest.
And finally, the same smile on the servant’s face that his companion had seen.
All in the span of a few seconds, maybe even less. The final moments slowed down everything for him, and he could see perfectly how he died.
Alas, he couldn’t do anything about it.
~~
Thud.
Well, that was gory.
Anyway, three of them went down in less than sixty seconds. All while making sure no sound was made.
Am I awesome or what?
Yeah, right. If it were me at full power, just a wave of my hand would be all I’d need.
Haa…
Fuck this.
Clang!
Clang!
So it’s begun, huh?
Swords clanged in the distance, ringing through the calm night as soldiers yelled "attack," and a battle soon erupted among everyone, some shouts of spells mixed in as the night sky was alight with golden flames and freezing pillars.
Should I get going too?
“Equip shadow armor.”
[Equipping the set shadow armor]
[Full set has been worn]
[Shadow armor]
[Tier: A]
[Description: An armor created from the user’s imaginary construction, birthed into reality with monster remains of various, compatible kinds.
The armor allows the user moderate command over shadows, allowing the user to use a certain set of skills without mana or at a very low cost]
[Effect: The user becomes one with the shadows to a certain extent]
[Set effect #1:
All physical stats +50
Intelligence +100]
[Set effect #2:
Skill: Shadow jump has been granted
Skill: Shadow bind has been granted]
[Set effect #3:
Stealth effect +50%
Perceptive deception +50%]
[Shadow Jump:
Allows the user to walk through shadows by completely assimilating into them, completely hiding the user’s presence
The user can only travel up to 10 meters.
The user must exit the shadows in ten seconds, or the user will be expelled]
[No mana required]
[Cooldown: None]
[Shadow bind:
Bind a certain target in the shadows. Depending on the target’s resistance to the shadow element, the duration of the skill is lessened]
[Does not work on those with light properties]
[Cost: 100 MP, can increase depending on the target’s resistance]
[Cooldown: None]
It was armor created through the skill [Creation], so it wasn’t as perfect as one made with the usual blacksmithing. There were some holes in the armor to make sure nothing about this sounded overpowered, especially the restrictions on the skills.
Still, it was a relief that there was no day or night restriction.
You see, shadows are strongest when there is light, and shadows cast by the sun are stronger than the shadows cast by the moon, fire, or something else like that.
In those cases, the effects of shadows lessen, but since there is no mention of that here, the effect should remain the same in the night shadows as well.
All in all, given the short time window, it was a good armor.
Next…
[Twin Daggers of extinction(Imitated)]
[Tier: S]
[Description: The dagger of the assassin king that he used when he was just starting his journey
Named lightning, it could be manipulated at will using the wielder’s internal energy
Since it is created using the user’s analysis, affected by the low level of the user’s skill and the materials used, the rank is lower, giving it the ‘imitated’ status]
[Effect:
Shadow attack +100%
Attack speed +50%
Stealth effect +30%]
[Both daggers must be held to activate the effects]
[Skill ‘Dark lightning’ is created]
[Dark Lightning:
Designated to a target, the daggers move on their own after consuming the wielder’s internal energy, turning into a flash of dark lightning that ignores most of the target’s defense]
[Cost: 1000 MP]
[Additional MP is consumed depending on the target’s resistance level]
Imitation, huh?
They’re nowhere near the real thing. Which also meant awakening them was impossible.
It would have been awesome if I could. They would have moved on their own without needing internal energy.
Anyway, time to go and fight.