"Huff, huff..." The eight Ogres made strange noises as they moved. At a thrust of the spiked club held by the tallest and strongest Ogre, they suddenly broke into a run and charged straight toward the group.
But before the Ogres could approach, Magic Spells rang out from the students and teachers. Streams of Bone Arrows shot through the air toward the Ogres, while the few whose abilities surpassed those of Magic Apprentices chanted the more powerful Bone Spear incantation.
Bone Spear and Bone Arrow were both Necromancy spells, but the former required at least a Junior Mage to master and was somewhat more powerful than Bone Arrow. Bone Arrows and Bone Spears flew through the air together, shooting straight toward the eight Ogres.
As the eight Ogres ran, they knew to dodge the Bone Arrows and Bone Spears. But Ogres were not a race known for speed, and each of them was struck by the attacks.
However, the Ogres' bodies were extremely tough. The Bone Arrows that struck them merely made them cry out repeatedly in pain and slowed their charge a little; they could not penetrate their flesh. Only the Bone Spears left bloody holes in their bodies when they struck, drawing some green blood.
The eight Ogres were wounded one after another as they ran, but not one of them completely lost the ability to attack. They swiftly charged into the outer defensive ring and began attacking their way inward.
Han Shuo remained at ease inside the circular defensive formation, his face calm. He watched the rapidly approaching Ogres with a cool gaze, slowly gauging their fighting strength.
"Have the dark creatures attack!" Once the Ogres drew near, Fanny's lovely face turned solemn, and she suddenly shouted the order.
As soon as Fanny spoke, everyone began directing the dark creatures on the perimeter to attack the Ogres. The summoned Ghouls, Skeleton Warriors, zombies, and Abomination Warriors all held their positions firmly, immediately attacking whenever an Ogre approached.
But the Ogres were tall and powerfully built, and their flesh offered extremely strong protection. Aside from the iron clubs of the two Abomination Warriors, which did real damage to the Ogres, the attacks of the other dark creatures had very little effect.
The Ghouls and Skeleton Warriors in particular often met immediate destruction beneath the fierce blows of the Ogres' spiked clubs: the skeletons fell apart, while the Ghouls died in mangled heaps of flesh and blood. The Zombie Warriors had fairly tough flesh and could withstand a few blows from the clubs, but after several more strikes, they too staggered about, unable to attack.
"These damned Ogres really are troublesome!" Gene watched the dark creatures on the perimeter fall one after another. Although the Ogres were bleeding nonstop from the magical attacks, they remained standing, and he could not help growing anxious.
"We have to hold them off! Don't let them get through, or we'll have no way out but death if we face them at close range!" Fanny called out, her lovely face also showing some worry.
As she chanted her Magic Spell, streams of Bone Spears appeared out of thin air and repeatedly stabbed at a single Ogre. Finally, one Bone Spear pierced its eye socket and went straight through its skull. The Ogre swayed a few times where it stood, then collapsed helplessly.
After Fanny killed one Ogre, the remaining seven seemed to go berserk all at once. Two Ogres carrying spears seemed to take inspiration from this. With strange huffing cries, they suddenly hurled their spears. The spears traced arcs through the air with shrill whooshes and drove into the two Abomination Warriors.
The two Abomination Warriors were the staunchest meat shields in the outer defensive ring. Now that their bodies had been impaled, although they did not immediately lose the ability to move, their movements became even more sluggish. Once two Ogres engaged them, they could no longer be of much use.
By then, only the two Abomination Warriors and six Zombie Warriors remained in the outer defensive ring. The Zombie Warriors were inferior to the Abomination Warriors in every respect. Once the Abomination Warriors were impaled by the spears, the pressure on them increased sharply, and before long, two Zombie Warriors fell.
"What do we do? What do we do? Are these damned Ogres going to eat us?"
"Heavens, why is their flesh so tough? Bone Arrows don't do anything when they hit them!"
"We're done for! We're all done for! If only we'd gone back yesterday! Sob..."
Defeated complaints, panicked cries, and quiet sobs suddenly burst from the students' mouths. For a time, even their Magic Spells were disrupted again.
"Teacher Gene, let's use Corpse Explosion together! Hurry!" Seeing how dispirited everyone was, Fanny's delicate face darkened, and she suddenly cried out.
"O extinguished soul, take my will as your command. Offer your body to me and burst with fury-Corpse Explosion!" Fanny and Gene chanted simultaneously. Once the incantation was complete, Fanny pointed at the Ogre she had killed earlier with a Bone Spear, while Gene pointed at a fallen Zombie Warrior.
Two violent explosions suddenly erupted from within the Ogre and the Zombie Warrior. Four nearby Ogres, already covered in wounds, were caught in the blasts along with two Zombie Warriors holding them off, and were sent flying backward.
With several thuds, the four Ogres and the two Zombie Warriors blasted into the air landed motionless. They were clearly finished.
Han Shuo's eyes shone as he stared intently at Fanny, deeply shocked by the power of Corpse Explosion. He had seen it perfectly clearly: after Fanny chanted the Corpse Explosion incantation, the exploding Ogre's body suddenly lit up, then unleashed a terrifying blast. Of the four Ogres blown to death, three could be counted as having died to Fanny's Corpse Explosion.
Han Shuo had only heard a little about Corpse Explosion. He knew that only High Mages could cast it, and that its power varied according to the caster's magical power and the strength of the corpse being detonated. Though they had cast the same spell, Fanny's Corpse Explosion had clearly been far more powerful than Gene's. This might have had something to do with Fanny's magical power and the Ogre used as the medium.
However, Corpse Explosion seemed to consume a great deal of mental energy. After casting it, both Fanny and Gene were pale and panting heavily.
Of the eight Ogres, Fanny had now killed one with a Bone Spear, and another four had been blown to death by the two Corpse Explosions. Although both Abomination Warriors had been struck by the Ogres' spears, they still held their ground, keeping two Ogres firmly occupied.
Only the tallest and strongest Ogre had yet to suffer any serious injury. Now it charged toward them like a mad beast, spiked club in hand. Amid its strange huffing cries, it even spat out a few simple words in the Common Tongue: "I... I will... kill you!"
"We just used Corpse Explosion, and our mental energy is almost exhausted! We can't cast any other high-level spells for now! Everyone, run!" Panic crossed Gene's face, and he suddenly shouted.
Fanny glanced at everyone and urged anxiously, "Everyone, get out of here! Don't let this Ogre catch you!"
Fanny and Gene's words only made everyone panic more. Ignoring the supplies beside them, they all frantically tried to flee the Ogre striding toward them with its spiked club raised, huffing all the while.
Although the Ogre was not particularly fast, it was still somewhat faster than they were. Worse, in their panic, the students tripped over the scattered bones of Skeleton Warriors as they ran, making them even slower than the towering Ogre.
Concerned for her students, Fanny kept urging them to hurry away, only to fall behind herself. The towering Ogre had just seen Fanny use Corpse Explosion to blast three Ogres to death. Seeing her fall behind, it did not give the matter another thought. Huffing, it caught up with Fanny, raised its spiked club high, and swung it fiercely down at her.
"Teacher Fanny, watch out!"
"Careful, Fanny! Behind you!"
"..."
Amid the confusion, Lisa, Gene, and the others saw the Ogre's spiked club already swinging toward Fanny from behind, and they could not help crying out in terror.
Hearing their warnings, Fanny turned around and saw the spiked club smashing straight down toward her. Its sharp spikes gleamed with a cold light, and its whooshing sound revealed just how powerful the blow was.
Her pretty face turned deathly pale, and her shapely legs suddenly lost their strength. As she watched the spiked club grow larger and larger in her eyes, a bleak helplessness suddenly welled up within her.
With a clang, sparks flew everywhere.
Fanny's beautiful eyes widened as she stared ahead in bewilderment. At some point, two spiked clubs had appeared before her eyes. They had collided, and the sharp spikes at the point of impact had already been crushed flat. Metallic sparks still sputtered from them with a sizzling sound.
Following the club that had blocked the Ogre's strike, Fanny suddenly saw Han Shuo to her left, gripping an enormous spiked club utterly out of proportion to his body with both hands. Veins bulged on his forehead and arms, his expression was somewhat savage and fierce, and he glared fixedly at the Ogre.
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