No matter how special Julian's [Aegis Shield] battle art was, in the end, he was only a rank 6 acolyte with limited amount of spirit force. Hence, when his barrier was faced against multiple salvo of long-range spells, there was obviously only one outcome that could happen.
CRANK!!!
A sharp, piercing sound, like that of breaking glass, resounded in the air. The barrier was finally shattered apart. The destruction of the barrier also made Julian flung backwards a dozen steps.
When Julian finally got his feet on the ground again, his feet felt wobbly, he nearly couldn't stand. Glaring straight at Roran and the others, who were making their way slowly, Julian's body suddenly bent over and he threw up blood, startling Emery who was watching him.
However, Julian only laughed when he was done throwing up. Wiping his mouth coated with his own blood, he said, "Damn! The pain surely feels so real."
At the same time, Thrax who was on top of the wall shouted on top of his lungs and attacked the sword-wielding acolyte with a sweeping slash. The acolyte, surprised by the sudden attack, could only place his sword on the trajectory of the spear, while he used his other hand to support the sword brace the impact. As a result, the sword-wielding was pushed several meters away by the sweep.
The acolyte was about to dash in again and continue the fight. But before he could do that, the metal acolyte stopped him in his tracks by shouting from the ground below the metal wall. "Heyy!! You already got two opponents! Share one with me!"
Disbelief was apparent on the sword-wielding acolyte, as he truly didn't believe how shameless his teammate was, "HUH?! Your own stupidity made your own opponent escape!" The sword-wielding acolyte shouted from above.
"It's because of space magic! No one told me there was a space magic user among the regulars!" The metal acolyte rebuked loudly, as if it wasn't his fault his opponent escaped from his grasp.
Thus, with the two of them arguing, the fight suddenly came to a sudden stop, with Thrax and Chumo only staring dumbfoundedly at the squabble.
While Emery rushed to Julian and helped him, a few figures came towards the two of them from left and right. From the right side, it was Okoye and three of her Akamba warriors, while Dopa was by himself, his body heavily wounded.
Excluding Klea, who managed to run away, her whereabouts unknown, eight of them were the last remaining on the ground. And now, they were completely trapped and surrounded by Roran and his men.
Being cornered with no real plan, Emery could only do whatever he could in the current situation. Therefore, he quickly casted [Nature Blessing] on everyone that still remained, especially those who were injured badly like Julian and Dopa. Naturally, he also kept his eye on the opponent's next moves lest they died without knowing what happened.
It appeared the 15 elite acolytes were debating about who should be the one to take the kill. Looking at their relaxed state, they all probably thought that there was no other option for Emery and the others beside dying in their hands.
Meanwhile, Roran and the rest of his 30 acolytes were just standing there without saying anything.
While Emery was trying to think of a solution that could get them out of their current precarious situation, Julian suddenly vomited more blood. It seemed his wounds were heavier than they looked. There was probably something about the battle art skill he used that caused too much burden for his body.
Julian, still panting because of his injury, stood tall, stepped forward and shouted, "Roran! You fool!! You have trade my trust... Our trust!! For a bunch of useless bastards!!"
Roran was unfazed by Julian's words. He then calmly said, "Julian, your effort for the alliance was really commendable and I appreciated that. But in the end, this is a game, a competition. To be more precise, with how the points were prepared, this second game is a war game. What I was doing is exactly what a good commander or tactician will do in any real battle."
Upon hearing that, Julian clapped his hand, "Amazing Roran! Truly amazing! You are a good commander indeed! But let me see if your fighting ability is as good as your strategy. Let me see if you are a fighter or a coward hiding behind your bitches!!"
Julian then raised his sword and shouted, "I challenge you! You! Me! To a duel!"
Everyone, without exception, could see how Julian's body was still trembling, while he said those words. Evidently, he was in no condition to fight.
However, Julian's heroic-like stand and all his words made Roran unable to reject him. Otherwise, even if he managed to enter the elite class after this game, he would definitely be looked down and mocked as a coward by the others.
Taking a deep breath, Roran answered, "I accept!"
Emery was really concerned with Julian's condition. Hence, he quickly stopped him and said, "Julian, let me do the duel."
Turning his head around, Julian went closer to Emery and whispered, "No, Emery. Actually, I am only delaying for time. Looking at our situation, this is the best strategy I can think of. While I am fighting that bastard, you can help the others to recover their condition. Besides, I am sure that coward Roran will not dare to fight if you subtitute me."
Julian then grabbed Emery's shoulder and continued, "If I don't make it… You need to make sure the others can make it. Don't let my sacrifice be in vain."
Julian fell silent for a second, and added, "Well, If you can't save that buffoon Thracian, I understand."
After saying that, Julian proceeded to take his shield that laid on the ground and walked forward. Despite his shaky steps, the conviction in his eyes was clear as day. Meanwhile, Roran also stepped forward.
Roran was armed with the same gear as Julian, a sword and shield combination. Thus, their garb made the duel not look like a magic battle at all. Instead, it looked like a fight between gladiators, that Julian shared before.
When the distance between them was only a few meters, Julian swiftly used his [Immortal Gate] battle art skill and dashed towards Roran. Roran, who saw Julian was coming for him, arranged his shield in front of him.
A loud bam occurred when Julian's sword hit Roran's shield. He then continued by delivering a downwards slash to Roran. Seeing the incoming slash, Roran shifted his shield, while he ducked, causing the shield to block the sword again.
And then, without even using any spells, Roran was able to easily manage everything Julian threw at him. By blocking, parrying, dodging; none of Julian's swings could hit the rank 7 acolyte.
While Emery was focused on their duel, he realized Thrax, who was standing next to him, clenched his fists.
"Roman!! Don't you dare lose! Only I can kick your ugly roman ass!"
Alas, Thrax's 'encouragement' couldn't possibly help the situation. Everyone could see there was no way the heavily wounded Julian would be able to win against Roran. After a dozen seemingly futile clashes, Julian was knocked to the ground and laid there, unmoving.
That was when Roran grew arrogant and made a mistake. Julian took the opportunity when Roran paid no attention to him and stabbed his foot and took a quick punch to his face.
BAMMM!!
Roran threw out a few steps back while screaming, shouting to himself, "Yes, yes, yes! Very good, Julian! That's my mistake!"
Roran finally decided to end this pointless duel. He quickly casted [Blessed - Tier 3 Light spell] on himself. Immediately after, streaks of lights appeared around his body and covered him, causing him to look like a gallant knight. He then charged towards Julian, who still tried to stand up.
Clank!!
Roran's sword was stopped by another sword, but it wasn't Julian's.
Apparently, Emery had blinked next to Julian and blocked Roran's sword with his own sword and was about to counter with his knife, but Roran's shield was faster than he thought, while his other hand held a knife pointing towards Roran, "You have won. Now get back!"
Emery was taught the honor of a chivalrous knight since he was a child and disturbing a duel was against it. He himself didn't realize why he did it. The constant betrayal and not being able to see his friend hurt in front of him apparently had outweighed the precious knight honor taught by his father.
Roran pulled his sword back and retreated. While stepping back, Roran said, "Let the battle begin. Kill them all boys!"
Immediately, the forty five acolytes who surrounded the eight acolytes ferociously charged towards them, the expression on their face clearly showed their desire for points.
Right as they began to move, a loud sound could be heard from the direction where the metal wall was. When they looked over, the metal wall was already obliterated by two monstrous, beast-like figures. There, where the metal wall stood just a moment before, two 4-meters tall giants with two swirly horns on their heads were now standing.
The scene was truly unbelievable that everyone's eyes were staring towards the figures and the hole on the metal wall.
As the scattering dust settled, from behind the two monstrous figures, two girls could be seen walking towards Emery and the others' direction. A pale-looking white haired girl and a bronze beauty. They were Silva and Klea.
"Guys, I brought reinforcement!" Klea said, panting.
Pointing her finger to Klea, Silva said, "Your girlfriend here told me the situation. Foolish Emery. Haven't I told you to not trust these people?" Emery could only smile wryly when he heard those words.
Silva then patted the two figures' back and said, "Igor! Ivar! You can kill everyone here, except those in the middle." Klea nudged Silva and sneakily pointed, "Ooh, yeah. Don't forget the ones at the back are friendly as well."
From the other side, the pyramid building to be exact, a dozen familiar faces came out. They were Anas and the Kaleos' group, with Zana and the three Zaiueo acolytes. The acolytes of class 77 were all here.