Spell Battle (Part Two)

Shane's forces arrived at the height of the battle. The puppets led the way as the elves shouted, "Quel'dorei!" and drove in from outside the encirclement. The rangers targeted the densest concentrations with their arrows. Enchanted arrows fell like rain, and explosions thundered. Troll armor could not stop the arrowheads, and their shields were useless. Countless shields shattered, countless sets of armor were pierced, and the puppets left long trails of blood beneath their feet.

Shane tore open the troll formation from the flank and advanced toward Sylvanas with unstoppable force.

The Eye of Truth's scanning range had already covered the battlefield. It projected the troll army into Shane's mind, every point of light strong and powerful. One point at the rear of the battlefield outshone all the rest.

"Total number: 1,140. Nine spellcasters, twelve troll berserkers, the rest are warriors. A high-energy carrier has been detected. Its total energy is three times that of the user. Direct combat is not recommended."

His gaze passed through the battlefield, and Shane spotted a towering troll. He was half again as tall as an ordinary warrior, wearing a mask with glittering ornaments embedded in his tusks. He matched the Malakas from the dragonhawk's memories. The troll straightened and spotted Shane as well. His lips moved slightly, and a green hexing light descended upon the berserkers beneath him.

"Enhancement spell detected. Effects: increased size, increased strength, no pain, tirelessness, reduced rationality."

The twelve troll berserkers grew half again as large, veins bulging beneath their skin. They did not care whether those in their path were allies or enemies, trampling everything as they blocked Shane's advance. At the same time, eight troll spellcasters moved toward Sylvanas.

Shane immediately ordered Firehawk to enhance all the puppets.

"Alright, here come the spells." Hardened Armor, Tempered Weapons, and one ultimate move—Time Acceleration. Not only did the puppet force benefit, but every ranger within the spell's range was enhanced as well. The unit's speed surged, and they launched an unstoppable charge.

The troll berserkers stomped across the ground with thunderous booms and charged back at them.

"Hit them! We are the White Tower Blades!"

"Roar~~~~~"

They were very close now. The rangers controlled the puppets and rammed straight into them without hesitation. Battering rams slammed into enemy chests, yet their shoulders were seized, the two sides evenly matched in strength. But Taigo was an exception. Two berserkers could not hold it back. Just like in its previous battle against the valley trolls, the berserkers could only wrap their arms around Taigo's waist. Its intelligent core remembered the previous combat behavior. One hand smashed a battering ram into a troll's back, while the rear flashlight saw sliced through the back of the troll's head. The single eye on its head flashed and released a beam, zzzzt, slicing through the muscles in the other berserker's arm and allowing it to easily break free from the grapple.

No pain and no fatigue could not undo the destruction of flesh and blood. After one was dealt with, the second soon lost its head as well. Shane directed Taigo to assist the other puppets.

The berserkers could only hold them back for a short while. Looking up, Shane saw that Sylvanas had killed four troll spellcasters, but the ground beneath her had been dyed green. She had to support herself with her twin blades to keep from collapsing.

Shane was very familiar with that green ground spell. His memories stirred, and warning chimes rang as if right beside his ears.

"Area spell detected. Function: corrosion, life drain," the Eye of Truth reported.

"I know. We need to save her now. Can Taigo's anti-magic coating withstand it?"

"Calculations indicate that it can resist corrosion for thirty seconds."

That was enough time. They were very close to Sylvanas, with only clustered warriors blocking the way between them.

"Warning! Warning! A large-scale spell attack is incoming!" The Eye of Truth issued a fierce warning in Shane's mind.

In an instant, five green spheres descended. Green light rose from the ground, covering all the puppets. Shane felt his strength draining away. He cast threefold to erect an Arcane Barrier, while Firehawk also put a shield around itself. The rangers who could not cast spells hurriedly controlled their puppets out of this land of withering decay.

The offensive was interrupted, and the reinforcements stopped several hundred meters from Sylvanas. On the other side of the battlefield, Shane saw the high-ranking troll spellcaster approaching the front lines. The five green lights had been its handiwork.

They re-formed their ranks. The puppets led the way, with more than two hundred rangers following behind. Shane intended to lead them around the hex-contaminated area from the side.

The brief pause also gave the trolls time to regroup. More and more warriors blocked Shane's route. They were no longer in disarray, having formed a fairly solid dense defense.

But Shane's troops were all "cavalry." The landstriders and puppets were faster than trolls, especially since the trolls still needed time to form up. The troll army was clearly far more disciplined than an ordinary troll tribe. Seeing Shane circle around from the side, they neither rashly attacked nor shifted position.

Once they bypassed the spell zone and the troll defenses, they would soon be able to rescue Sylvanas. Then the high-ranking troll spellcaster moved again, creating another zone of decay to block their route. Shane had no choice but to change direction and keep circling. The puppets stood seven or eight meters tall, allowing them to see the entire battlefield from atop them, as well as a large group of trolls approaching from another direction.

"They want to compress my maneuvering space." He led the unit back the other way. They had to suppress that spellcaster, or the path would remain blocked. The unit curved around at a distance of one hundred meters from the high-ranking troll spellcaster, not rashly charging in.

"Eye of Truth, assist with targeting. Target: high-ranking troll spellcaster."

"Understood. Calculating distance, correcting trajectory."

Riding atop a puppet gave Shane a mobility advantage. He gathered all his magic power, and the hair hanging to his shoulders ignited once more. Blue-white Arcane Blaze rose a meter above his head. Metamagic technique: fortyfold-cast Frostfire Arcane Barrage. Red, white, and blue spheres filled the sky before immediately plunging down, all attacks focused on a single point.

The high-ranking troll moved only a few steps before being struck by one orb. The ones that followed seemed to track it, hitting continuously without pause.

"Defend, defend, defend..." Green protective light appeared once more. It was clearly not an easy opponent; the first wave of attacks was completely blocked. But Shane would not stop. A second fortyfold-cast barrage continued the assault.

"User, the high-ranking troll spellcaster's defenses are weakening. The defense is estimated to break during the fourth wave."

The protective green light's neutralizing power was not limitless. The opponent had more mana than he did, but Shane could compete with it in explosive output. That was precisely the purpose of the Metamagic technique: Multicast.

The third barrage had already filled the sky. "Fire." The barrage crashed down.

Whoosh~~~ At the same time, a shadow orb shot out from the troll formation. Its trajectory was excellent, aimed precisely at the direction Taigo's inertia would carry it. There was no time to turn aside.

Sizzle! Like boiling oil meeting water, Taigo's chest armor was struck. The anti-magic coating absorbed only part of the magical power. Its chest melted, armor turning into green liquid that dripped onto the ground and exposed the two cores within.

"Fatal spell attack received. Function: corrosion, annihilation."

Lucky. Shane cried out inwardly. The chest was a key defensive area. If another part had been hit, its skeleton might have been corroded, costing them their mobility advantage.

The third wave traded blows with the troll spellcaster, and Shane blasted off one of its tusks.

"How is its shield?"

"Because the third attack received no mana replenishment, its defense has already been broken. User, immediately begin the fourth attack."

Yet as Shane launched his attack, the high-ranking troll spellcaster retreated toward the rear of the battlefield. A large mass of warriors surrounded it, and the trolls were slowly pulling back.

"Look over there!" Almost all the rangers cried out.

Sylvanas had actually been captured. Four troll spellcasters had trapped her inside a transparent green bubble, and she looked extremely weak. The high-ranking spellcaster made a throat-slitting gesture and burst into laughter.

"What do we do?"

Feeling countless eyes upon him, Shane thought for a moment. The trolls were threatening him. Why had they captured her alive? For a living sacrifice? The blood of an outsider, the life of an ancient enemy, noble status—what "god" were they trying to please? But there was an opportunity.

"Halduron, find the best rangers and keep on their tail. We'll follow behind."