Felix refused to admit defeat but there was nothing he could do! Scarlet was behind him but her skill was not greater than his own! She wouldn't be able to react quickly enough to save him. Although his thoughts raced trying to find a solution, his body would not allow him to put any of them into practice.
He felt helpless as he came to the conclusion that nothing would stop Ed's momentum.
The sharp blade flew past Felix's neck leaving a red streak of blood. At what could only be described as the last second, a burst of wind had deviated Ed's jab.
But Ed didn't care, Felix who had just been saved barely had time to process what happened and recollect himself before Ed lunged at him with his free hand. Although the skeleton body didn't possess the instinct skill, Ed was still able to improvise in the middle of battle due to his experiences.
He gripped Felix's neck and exerted his strength trying to crush it. Felix had reinforced it with mana however making it a tough task. He only managed to asphyxiate him.
Therefore, Felix was instead slammed against the ground in one fluid motion. He nearly spat out blood from the force. The main inhibitor for this action was Ed's bony palm which still tightly grasped his neck suffocating him.
An earthen stake then tried to pierce through Felix's back. The armor and the stake of earth collided and just as Ed felt he would pierce through it, a ball of fire flew towards him accompanied by a jab.
He had no choice but to back off.
'Lucky' Ed could only inwardly complain. He himself had been lucky more than once or twice in battle. He couldn't complain when someone else barely made it out alive through it as well.
The fireball and jab came from Scarlet. Unlike most people who would incorporate magic into their swordsmanship, Scarlet knew how to cast and sword fight. The downside to this trade is that one wouldn't be able to focus exclusively on their swordsmanship or magic.
As for the wind from earlier, he couldn't afford to check. Since everything had occurred in a single motion, it was difficult to discern without getting distracted.
Fortunately, this short breather allowed Ed to assess the battlefield and realize some of his anti-skeletons had already fallen.
'They are weak to fire huh' The fusion with a metal turned them into some sort of bone metal alloy. Felix's swordsmanship would make cutting through them as easy as cutting through butter.
Getting hit by things like fireballs would weaken their constitution. Overall, the ones that weren't wearing armor were screwed against those capable of handling fire.
'Brutus, take on that magician. Iron, take over for Brutus' Ed transmitted doing a quick target switch. Initially, he only told them to engage in battle. That meant that every single skeleton picked a random foe.
There was no logic to their choice of a foe. This creates pointless losses as was already exhibited.
'This is where a commander can make a real difference' If he hadn't so eagerly joined the battle he would fulfill that role. Still, he made the right choice.
If he weren't fighting Felix and Scarlet then the skeletons would fall far faster and he would end up fighting most of the adventurers all at once. Plus, the losses of unnamed skeletons wasn't a loss worth considering.
"Felix, Scarlet, through here!" Mort, who usually quarreled with Felix, blasted open the back of the earthen dome with an explosion of wind. While Ed was distracted, He had created a path of retreat for both of them.
Felix endured the pain of his broken foot and stood up ready to escape his predicament. The opening had however alerted Ed who had taken that quick couple of seconds to check his minions' battles.
'Where are you going?' Ed told Felix hoping to make the fledgling adventure panic further. He cast the earth shot spell which was then blocked by a wall of earth.
As more of the anti-skeletons fell, the more leisure the B-class had to occasionally help out.
'That so…' Ed decided that even if it was a waste of mana, it was mana well spent!
Spikes of earth shot from below a couple of the preoccupied C-class adventurers. As he had summoned multiple things at a time, Ed couldn't turn them all spiky. Regardless, the anti-skeletons knew better than to not hack away at their opponent.
"Ah!" "Urgh" "F*ck! Argh!" Similar cries rang out after being pinned to the ground by the earthen stakes or as the anti-skeletons sunk their blades into their flesh.
"Damn it!" Buster noticed what happened inevitably becoming distracted. This brief moment was enough for Brutus to evade him and run past. Before he could chase after him, Iron assaulted him.
"These pile of bones!" He bashed Iron aside with his shield but this was unexpectedly a bad move.
"Uurrgh…" As a paladin, his armor was quite decked out. Still, Ed had already decided to go all out mana wise.
Buster looked down and saw the earth diagonally piercing his chest. He inevitably knew what came after.
"Gah-!" Blood blasted out of his mouth almost as if it were a spell. His organs were punctured by smaller spikes the size of nails from the inside. Buster was now nothing but a fountain that slowly seeped out blood. Some of the adventurers were scared stiff. They were the kind that didn't live long.
"Focus!" Mort yelled causing them to jump back in fright. The earth missed.
'If you stand out like that I can't help but want to target you next' Ed knew that psychological warfare was a very effective method. He might as well curb the enthusiasm of anybody that wanted to play a leader.
Mort who was on the receiving end was scared by the message but it didn't stop him from attacking.
"Die!" Mort screamed as he launched a sharp blade of wind towards Ed.
Ed really wanted to chuckle at the sight of it. It was a bit too impulsive, wasn't it? He was really starting to regret being so cautious. Even if he exhausted his mana who here could threaten him?
It wasn't arrogance it was just an objective look at the situation. His body alone could withstand their strikes so even without mana he could escape. But why would he? He couldn't die anyway.
Perhaps it was to demonstrate this point, Ed didn't dodge.
[You've been dealt damage -3 hp]
Ed's white armor received a large gash but as soon as the wind touched his pristine white bones it dissipated. The armor was really going overboard after seeing such a pitiful display.
'You can't even deal me any damage' He didn't bother to mention the fact that he took that stroke on purpose.
'Wait… Why do I suddenly feel like the bad guy?' Was this a form of bullying? Or was his plan to break down their minds too perverse.
"Mons-Monster..." A C-class adventurer muttered loudly in fear.
Mort's expression collapsed. His face was filled with fear and disbelief. Were Seven B-class adventurers not enough?
As soon as the trap was triggered he knew things had gone south. The skeletons should have only been cannon fodder with which even the C-class adventurers could easily deal.
When it turned out otherwise he convinced himself that once they defeated the tanky cannon fodder they would be able to get the target and its drop but… that thing was even more perverse than expected!
With a glance, the armor had taken more damage than itself! What kind of sh*t was that?!? Why even wear armor when it seems so brittle in comparison!?!
"Es-Escape… Escape!" Mort ordered suddenly. They had to at least report what happened in there! They couldn't just all die without a word!
No, in reality, this was merely what Mort convinced himself. Why would he yell escape instead of retreat then? A slip of the tongue? He wanted out!
Subconsciously, he started to run. He started to run towards the only exit.
"Gah!" A rusty blade ripped his robe and lacerated his back. But this action only made him more sure of his decision.
"He-hey! Mort! Stop!" Felix who was barely defending himself against two skeletons shouted. The turn of events had brought back his lucidity and reined in his trauma. Even he could tell that the exit was a trap.
Otherwise, why would Ed not collapse that exit too? He only blocked their path of retreat.
The result would be self-evident.
'I can't let it go to waste' Ed thought as he ordered a couple of anti-skeletons to stop. They were going to chase after him but Ed didn't allow them to.
He wanted them to instead give more pressure to the leftover adventurers, A simple count would reveal at least 20 still struggling against 30 or so skeletons.
The sounds of battle slowly faded for the running Mort. He made it into the long hallway, he could live! He was reassured as he could hear nothing but the sound of his own footsteps.
No that shouldn't be right…
Mort finally noticed that the ground beneath his feet was glowing. An array! And it ran far across the long hallway!
His breath stifled as the glowing green formations rotated rapidly. It was a natural result. Ed had really racked his brain for this particular formation. There was a reason why it was so large.
Ed made the array remove all air in a specific area. But that required precise control over the wind to ensure none of it returned to fill in the gaps. This was something that would probably only be possible once a person reached the next level of their wind affinity.
The only other method was Ed's completely conspicuous and ridiculously large 'trap.' If the crypt wasn't so dark coupled with Mort's mental state, it wouldn't have worked. Even a moron could see this thing.
Unfortunately for the adventurers though, even if they saw it, it was the only open escape route.
Mort collapsed helplessly onto the ground and with his darkening vision, he caught a glimpse of a large group of regular white skeletons. From the beginning, they didn't stand a chance! From the very beginning!