Selene- who would be out of fighting condition for a few minutes- was now clinging to his back as her arms were crossed in front of his neck since she’d regained enough strength to no longer be hauled over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
The Heralds ran in tight formation behind him. He could hear their ragged and strained breaths due to the fear of the alliance’s overwhelming numbers who would soon be on their tails if they weren’t already.
And then… they saw it- a sight that made even Cedric’s blood run cold. On top of a massive heap of butchered bodies, five archers stood tall. They watched Cedric and his group from behind their masks, and their bows were already nocked with arrows aimed straight at them. And there, at the base of the corpse pile a figure clad in dark, menacing armor raised a gauntleted hand high in the air.
He recognized them. Ambition and her traitorous team of rangers.
Ambition brought her hand down like a guillotine. “Release!” she commanded with her voice carrying a great amount of authority.
In perfect unison, the archers released their arrows.
“Damn it!” Cedric cursed with a strained voice as he planted his feet and gripped his sword with both hands. Thanks to Selene being on his back he could use both hands. He poured every ounce of his focus and energy into his blade. With a furious roar, he unleashed a wide, sweeping slash. “[Wave Breaker]!”
The edge of his sword glowed with a blue light as the spell activated. The arc of energy expanded in front of him in the form of a shockwave, destroying the arrows mid-flight. However, he wasn’t done just yet. Cedric’s master had taught him that being on the defensive would only lead to one outcome. Thus, he aimed the shockwave purposely toward the five archers, not only to deflect their volley but also in order to give the favor back.
Ambition wasn’t only a decoration, though. She jumped high into the air and simply neutralized the attack with two outstretched hands as if grappling with the ominous force for a second before it dissipated into nothingness, and then she landed gracefully on the ground.
“Fuckers…!” Cedric hissed between clenched teeth.
His frustration deepened to a never-before-seen degree when his eyes locked onto the figures beyond the archers.
There they were, a group of familiar existences kneeling and rifling through the blood-soaked remains, looting gear and valuable equipment from the dead.
Cedric’s vision blurred red with fury as a throbbing vein bulged on his forehead. His knuckles whitened around the hilt of his sword with his breath coming in ragged gasps as realization dawned. They hadn’t just betrayed him- they were using his prearranged alliance’s battle, their desperate fight for survival, as a distraction to pick the battlefield clean.
This shameless behavior was something he never expected to see in his entire life.
“Devil!!!” Cedric roared with of voice that sang tales of the extreme rage and betrayal he felt. “How dare you?!”
“Shut up, you dumbass! Run in the opposite direction! We can’t fight them now!” Selene shrieked from the top of her lungs. She was baffled at how emotionally driven her chauffeur was. They were on the cusp of success and he was ready to throw it away for his pride and honor or something similarly useless like that.
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However, she was a bit too late. When Ambition gave the order to release the volley Devil was already aware of their presence. By now he had gathered his allies around and was collecting their loot into his storage ring.
“Ambition, the round isn’t over yet and my eyes spy two Phenoms…” He murmured with a hungry, ominous tone. It was the voice of a cruel predator.
“It’s time to hunt, right?” The tanker asked in a similarly merciless tone.
Ambition walked to her allies and stood at the front, flanked by three others of Devil’s team. The katana wielder who rivaled Cedric in techniques from what he saw, the clawed assassin who was any backline’s nightmare, and the axe-wielding madwoman.
“Run, run, run!” Selene screamed while hitting the back of his skull with both hands in quick succession. He didn’t feel much due to her extremely pathetic Strength stat, but it still pained his heart a bit. His fiance was a cruel one. “I need more time to regenerate my mana! Turn around and bolt at your top speed already!!!”
Then the second volley of arrows came from the five archers, followed by the onslaught of spells from Devil and a heavily mana-charged [Arcane Arrow] from the mana archer in Devil’s own team. At the same time, the frontline began rushing at them greedily under the cover of their allies’ projectiles.
“Do something, you shitty background characters!” This time his beloved wife-to-be was shrieking at their 10 dumbfounded Heralds. They were still reeling back from the shock of her extreme betrayal of their alliance, so they weren’t completely able to put their heads to the present situation. After all, unlike the evil witch and her dumb knight, not everyone is capable of simply ignoring the sight of hundreds of humans burning alive, and all thanks to their own leaders’ actions at that.
They were so out of it that a few projectiles landed squarely on their bodies.
“Is everyone deaf?! Run!” Her command this time was ignored by even her fiance who instead cast a self-buffing spell on himself. “Are you planning to fight with me on your back? Just leave already! We’ve basically already won!”
“I’m not going to turn my back this time.” For the first time in her life, Selene lost control over her guard dog. Cedric’s mental strength was destroyed by events of the past few minutes. Now, all he wanted to do was fight to his heart’s content, no matter the circumstances or consequences.
“Leave the tank to me. I have unfinished business with her. The rest of you, engage the other three while protecting yourselves from spells and arrows.” His calm and determined command somehow awoken the subordinates who were still to be counted amongst the members of the living.
Selene couldn’t understand why they ignored her shouted orders while accepting Cedric’s calmly stated one so easily. She was about to cry due to overwhelming stress and sheer hopelessness.
However, just before her dumb knight’s suicidal duel could begin, a mighty voice boomed across the entire cavern. “The first round of the Phenom Trials have been concluded. Immediately cease any hostilities or you will be eliminated.”