The Vastness of Magical Destiny
Chapter 341: Volume 6: Fortified at Every Step, - 5: Slaughter the Demon (3)

Chapter 341: Volume 6: Fortified at Every Step, Chapter 5: Slaughter the Demon (3)

"Ilot, get up there and finish off those skeletons with the ogre—if we don’t do something now, we’re done for!" The echoing howl from afar intensified the buzzing in Komer’s head, and his face twisted in dismay. The meaning behind it was all too clear, and Komer truly regretted his hasty actions. If more ogres joined the fray, he feared it might spell the end for both of them. Their only option now was to defeat their opponents and flee as quickly as possible.

The magic wand returned to Komer’s hand, leaving no time for preparing another large-scale spell, he rapidly launched a series of nine ordinary fireballs in succession. Despite their simplicity, the head-sized fireballs continuously struck the unprepared ogre, swiftly engulfing it in flames. However, this rudimentary fire magic inflicted limited damage on the ogre, at most causing some harm to its hair and flesh, slowing its attack speed without dealing substantial harm.

At this point, Ilot couldn’t afford to ponder the questions still swirling in his mind. Releasing a deep breath with a low shout, his great sword glinted once more. Using a skeleton with a sword and shield to pin one ogre’s center of gravity, Ilot’s great sword horrendously sliced into the creature’s abdomen. Stricken by the heavy blow, the ogre, in a fit of madness, smacked the sword with its hand. As its arm fell off, Ilot, too, was sent flying several meters with the sword by the ogre’s final, desperate strike, full of all its remaining strength. Yet, the skeleton crossbowmen, patiently waiting for their chance, finally found it. Before another ogre could crush them, they managed to loose a lethal arrow, piercing the badly wounded ogre’s throat, splattering droplets of blood that arced beautifully through the air.

Seeing its three companions fall one by one, the most robust male ogre went into a frenzy. The terrifying gleam in its egg-sized eyes was enough to scare anyone away. Its fetid breath from its mouth and armpits washed over the battlefield. Despite its bulky frame, it moved across the battlefield with such lightness and agility—resembling a monkey swinging through the trees—that it was hard to believe this was a creature weighing over three hundred kilograms. Komer felt increasingly out of options.

As Komer watched helplessly, the ogre withstood a skeleton soldier’s spear thrust and then lunged forward to crush the crossbow skeleton in its embrace. With a series of cracking noises, the crossbowman shattered into fragments of bones scattered on the ground. Another skeleton with a sword and shield was effortlessly disarmed after missing its strike, and the ogre knocked it, along with its shield, a good distance away with a heavy hit. Thankfully, Komer’s solidification technique was effective; although rolling on the ground in a scramble, the skeleton quickly re-engaged in attack, smashing its heavy iron shield onto the ogre’s groin. The intense pain caused the male ogre to curl up in agony, howling as it broke the deceitful skeleton into pieces.

Groggily standing up, Ilot suddenly discovered a new figure had joined him in the fray against the ogre, alongside another skeleton soldier. In contrast with the clumsy movements of the skeleton, this new figure moved so swiftly and nimbly around the ogre, its peculiar stiletto glittering and leaving deep marks on the ogre’s body.

The unfortunate sword and shield skeleton soldier still had to undertake the task of frontal obstruction. Even with the large shield and Komer’s enhancement and solidification, the ogre’s powerful attacks easily broke through the skeleton’s defensive line. After dodging the skeleton’s futile stabs, the ogre’s neck was thrust once again by the spinning figure’s attack, causing azure blood to flow down its back. However, the ogre managed to capture the fearless skeleton soldier by the skull, and with a clap of its palms, reduced the skull to crushed bones that tumbled through its fingers, the body instantly collapsing. The last of Komer’s carefully crafted self-defense tools also met its demise.

The figure with a golden-hued, expressionless face looked more like an assassin wearing a mask. Ilot had never seen such a lifelike mask anywhere on the Continent before. After greeting the figure and receiving no response, Ilot nonetheless resolutely joined the combat. This male ogre had clearly learned from the demise of its mates, protecting its underarms carefully while it fought. As for its throat and lower body, it skillfully avoided the duo’s siege with agile movements and steps.

Komer finally had a moment to catch his breath. This ogre was indeed a formidable opponent. Ordinary fire magic was clearly ineffective in causing significant injury, and physical attacks were but a mere irritation to it, not posing any substantial damage. High-level fire magic could perhaps hurt the creature, but Komer worried that the ogre’s agile body might evade or break through his magical assault, which would be a waste. Summoning a zombie assassin had already drained a considerable amount of his magic power. Considering his current state, Komer estimated he could cast one more high-level spell at best. Failure would leave him powerless. Now was the perfect time to practice his unrefined dark attack magic, so he decided to try the unmastered Dark Devouring Magic—the only move left. All his secrets were already exposed to Ilot, and though Komer didn’t want to reveal so much so soon, there was no longer much concern.

As the incantation grew stronger, tendrils of dark mist began swirling between his outstretched fingers. His pale fingertips were soaked in darkness, a chilling presence permeating the air, which even the battling Ilot and the ogre felt despite being embroiled in fierce combat, though they had no time to pay it heed.

With the cover of this assassin with a stiff face and dull eyes, Ilot felt the pressure on him lessen considerably. The fearless assassin almost singlehandedly took on the ogre’s frontal attacks. To Ilot’s amazement, it seemed that his helper possessed a near-top-level defensive ability of Fighting Qi. Against the ogre’s countless attacks, whether tearing or slamming with its massive palms, he always managed to come out unscathed, with only a few stumbles or torn clothes as the result of the ogre’s efforts. Ilot didn’t understand whether his helper had cultivated the legendary immortal body or was wearing some kind of armor impervious even to the ogre’s super-strong physical attacks; he had never heard of any armor that could withstand such forceful impacts before.

Komer’s magic preparation was finally complete, which took him several minutes. On a real Battlefield, this would have been unimaginable, as a few minutes could mean countless deaths. However, Komer believed this was only due to his insufficient Magic power and lack of mastery over the magic. Given time, he believed he could cast the fearsome "Demon-devouring soul" technique quickly enough to make any Dark Magician take notice.

As the Demon-devouring soul technique was completed, the air around it chilled dramatically. This kind of high-level Dark Magic not only required a powerful Dark Magic Force as support but also a high level of Spiritual Power to control it, which was the trickiest part. Although Komer had acquired Kennifer III’s potent Magic power through the Dark Magic Crystal, he was unable to reach Kennifer III’s level of spiritual control in a short time. Therefore, using such high-level Dark Magic carried significant risks.

A spiral of black smoke began to surround the ogre, which charged and leaped in all directions. Ilot could clearly see tiny sparks jumping within the black smoke. Clusters of sparks quickly merged, and a series of subtle explosion sounds were set off, not loud but as thunderstruck. The black smoke enveloped the ogre’s head layer by layer, and with a piercing scream, the ogre’s body shook violently. It even rolled into the air as if trying to escape something, which made Ilot quickly step back to avoid any fatal attack that might be coming.

During this assault, along with the help of the stoic assassin, who bore the brunt of the pressure, Ilot still sustained two hits in the fight against the ogre. One blow struck his shoulder, and despite the solidified armor, Ilot could feel the muscle tearing in pain. Fortunately, it was just a glancing blow from the ogre’s elbow. The other almost cost Komer his life; his waist was torn by the ogre’s fingertips, the armor shattered under the ogre’s indomitable claws. Luckily, it only tore through his armor without reaching his flesh. Otherwise, Ilot had no idea if the medicine Komer had administered earlier could have resisted the toxicity of the ogre’s piercing fingers.

But it seemed the ordeal was coming to an end. Black smoke mixed with scaly lightning continued to surround and burst around the ogre’s head. Each burst of lightning provoked a heart-wrenching howl from the ogre. When the valiant assassin was sent flying over ten meters away by the enraged ogre, only to stagger up and prepare to continue fighting, Komer’s Demon-devouring soul technique finally reached its zenith. At that moment, Komer’s entire body trembled, wave after wave, and his fingers were completely shrouded in black fog. A faint green vapor traced pattern-like marks on Komer’s pale face.

By then, Komer found himself trapped in a situation where he could not stop—the point of no return. He never imagined that his supposedly all-devouring Demon-devouring soul would encounter such a tough opponent. The ogre’s spiritual resistance was extraordinarily powerful. Despite having dwindled its physical and Magic power, it continuously stimulated its Magic Core to evoke its inherent spiritual resistance to ward off Komer’s dark devouring force from the deepest Abyss of the Dark World. This forced Komer to repeatedly cast reinforcing augmentation spells to strengthen the Mana of the Demon-devouring soul technique. This, in turn, caused Komer to face the backlash of Dark Magic due to excessive depletion of his Magic power.

The power of the Crystal stone in his bosom could no longer provide much help for Komer. After absorbing most of the Crystal’s energy, the ensuing surge in Magic power also depleted the Crystal of its role as Komer’s final protective barrier. Now, Komer could only rely on his strong will and indomitable spirit to counter the continuous backlash of the Dark Magic power. Like a warrior in an arena, he could only secure his continued existence by killing his adversary.

Likened to falling into an endless Abyss, when Komer thought his spirit was about to collapse, he heard Ilot’s joyful cry from up ahead, "Kill!"