Julian, Thrax, Okoye and the other 12 acolytes in the first group watched the elite acolytes casually walk out from the forest. From how their bodies tense up, it was clear they were on high alert.
From the group, a guy with flowing, wavy bluish hair stepped forward and stopped before Julian's group and gave them a deep bow. Upon standing back up, he gave a wide smile, positioned his hands in a spread eagle position and said.
"Ah, your teamwork is really impeccable! I applaud you all for the achievement. Who is the leader?"
As if answering the question, Julian took a step forward, his expression fierce. He gripped his sword and shield tight, ready to fight should the need arise.
"Whoa, you look so dashing, dear acolyte… Please, do give me the pleasure of hearing your name."
Seeing the blue-haired man's behavior sent a chill down the first group acolytes' spine. Meanwhile, unlike the other acolytes, Thrax just gave Julian a weird, judgmental look.
"My name is Julian." Julian answered with detachment, obviously trying to distance himself from the man, but not wanting to show weakness by stepping back.
"Yes, yes… Julian." The blue haired man muttered the name several times, letting it roll on his tongue. "That's a good name, I am Micah. You have all done your legwork. You succeeded to force us, the elites to group, to act. For that, I extend my congratulations to you all. However, now, the time has come for you all to stand down."
Julian narrowed his eyes. "Do you realize we have more people and weapons, while you have nothing, right?" Julian raised his hand. As they discussed before, the hand was a signal for everyone to come out of their assigned areas.
Emery, Chumo, Klea, and everyone else who was in hiding moved into the battlefield, tipping the score at 32 regular acolytes versus only ten elite acolytes.
Julian and the other realized, the moment they caught wind of the elites grouping up, they needed a different tactic. The plan was simply to quickly gather up, hold and surround the elite group. Meanwhile, one acolyte would go straight to the other entrance to call up for backup.
Being surrounded didn't concern the elite group in the least. Micah calmly said "Julian, Julian… What a fool. Do you think these numbers and those weapons you carry scare us? The fact you still need a weapon is proof you are not worthy to be part of the elite group."
Micah waved his hand, the air instantly felt colder. Blue light shone from his palm and extended before turning into a sharp blade made of solid ice.
"With a powerful enough spell, even a blade made of the most brittle ice is more dependable than those poor excuses of weapons you all hold."
Micah raised the ice blade up high, letting it catch the waning rays of the sun above. The blade distorted the white light and shone in seven colors, while Micah admired it as if it was the most beautiful thing ever made in the world.
"Micah, you talk too much!" Julian snapped.
Hearing Julian's shout made Micah stop admiring his blade and narrow his eyes at Julian. From the anger he radiated, one would be forgiven to think Julian had touched a sore spot. Micah hissed, swung his blade as a display of threat, and looked at the brown skinned acolyte standing next to him. The brown-skinned acolyte's body instantly hardened and he turned into some kind of stone golem.
Everyone there could sense it was not a mere [Stone Skin] spell, it was [Stone Body – Tier 4 Earth Element], Though similar in looks to [Stone Skin], the spell was capable of multiplying the user's strength and defense.
The hulking golem charged directly towards Julian and the other 20 acolytes gathered in the middle. The acolytes around quickly scattered and cast various spells in an attempt to stop the golem, from [Fireballs] to [Lightning Bolts] and even [Ice Bullets]. However, the barrage of spells could only delay the stone golem for a second. The golem put both his hand crossed in front of his face to block all the incoming spells, while still changing towards the group.
Most of the regular acolytes around Julian were rank 6 acolytes, and if what happened before was an indication, the rank 3 spells they could use would not be enough to stop the golem. Klea raised her hand and concentrated, ready to cast a tier 4 spell, when Julian suddenly said.
"Hey, barbarian! Are you even still alive? If you are, show him what a Thracian can do best!"
The situation was serious, but Thrax took the bait nonetheless and activated his battle art [Immortal Gate – Stage 4]. Power flowed into his body, followed with a notification in his mind.
[Battle power has been increased by 16]
This was the progress he achieved after defeating the Level 7 wooden puppet, and being able to activate the stage 4 Immortal Gate. Thanks to those two, he was able to reach a whooping 52 points of battle power.
Not wanting to waste the time of his buff, Thrax quickly used the battle art [Spear Throw]. The spear flew quickly through the air, hit the stone golem acolyte, and stabbed deep through his skin and into his flesh. Thrax dashed forward and gave the golem a punch on the stomach, causing a booming noise all around them. When Thrax tried to pull his spear out, the stone golem was able to grab his arm. The battle turned into a battle of strength. The two were stuck in a tug-o-war trying to pull each other.
"That's more like it, Thrax!" Emery, Julian and the other acolytes cheered. Everyone was amazed that Thrax, a regular acolyte, was be able to contest the strength of an elite acolyte using [Stone Body].
Micah twisted his face, annoyed the regular acolytes were not down for the count yet. Julian, sensing the morale of his team was high, quickly gave the signal for the acolytes to cast their long-ranged spells towards the group of elite acolytes. Seeing the group were still gathered up together, he figured it was a good chance to attack.
BAMMM!!! KZZZAAMMM!! BAMMM!!
Dozens of spells hit the elite acolytes at the same time. Be it fire, lightning, wind or other elements, they all combined to create a chaotic yet powerful attack.
Julian knew all the elites would have good defensive spells enough to protect themselves and his attempt would be futile at best. However, what he could do at the moment was buy time until Roran's reinforcements arrived. The group kept on bombarding the elites with ranged attack. Emery used his [Enfeeble Blades], Chumo used his [Spirit Missile] and Klea used her [Thunderbolt]. The chaotic attacks sent dust and whirling wind that reduced their visibility.
After several minutes, Julian realized the elites had not unleash any counter attacks yet. Right as he started to worry, the acolyte sent to call for backup returned to them.
"Bad news! A dozen elite acolytes are also attacking the other entrance. There is no way to send backup at the moment. We all are on our own."
Julian sighed when he heard the news and gave a signal for everyone to stop their barrage of spells. Meanwhile, Thrax and the golem also took a few step back after being unable to out strength the other.
The dust slowly dissipated, letting the acolytes see that a dome of thick crystal-like ice covered the entire elite acolyte group and protected them. Moments after the barrage stopped, the crystal broke and disappeared and Micah gave them a creepy smile before pointing at them. "Attack, everyone! Kill them all!"