With the help of his mages, he would surely clinch victory. It was only a matter of time.
'You don't seem intent on giving up' Ed transmitted to Bayard as he quickly tried to pull back his sword. He was hoping to distract him enough so he wouldn't defend himself.
Bayard did something unthinkable however as he completely ignored Ed's taunt. He instead grabbed at the dragon blade that was sliding out of his shoulder. He held it before it could leave entirely but the sharp weapon easily cut through the armor causing profuse bleeding.
Still, he had slowed down Ed's retreat just enough for another retaliation.
[You've been dealt damage. -23 hp]
Ed was headbutted by Bayard. The latter had likely also suffered some damage but it became beyond obvious that he no longer held any concern for his own safety.
A new volley of attacks then instantly shot out. The skeletons did not miss a single second when providing Ed with backup. But Bayard still didn't even bother to glance back, he couldn't afford to do so.
The earth didn't do as much as jerk slightly, it stayed unmoving. Bayard didn't intend to block it! He went in for a bear hug against Ed after bumping heads!
'No you don't!' Ed wasn't shaken by the headbutt so his head was clear. Originally he would've have taken the opportunity to retreat but… why was it that the human was the one fighting as if he was undying? That was something for him to do!
As Bayard had let go of his blade, not that it really mattered since he could have wiggled it out, Ed thrust the sword sharply towards Bayard's heart. The angle was extremely odd and realistically rather impossible were it not for the fact that he was undead.
With a swoosh, the sword inserted itself miraculously into Bayard's chest. It missed any critical parts and Ed was successfully hugged. Ed wasn't keen on it however so he commanded the earth to discretely stab Bayard!
As the move was sudden and Bayard had long since stopped controlling the entire ground, Ed felt it just might have a chance of landing.
"Urgh…!" Bayard coughed out another mouthful. He had pivoted right in time to dodge the earthen stake and control the earth to not let it move a single inch further.
This all happened in a matter of seconds yet Ed was still able to think rapidly. He stored away his sword. Bayard naturally noticed the anomaly but the multiple manipulated elements were just about to land!
He wouldn't be able to stop the skeleton and whatever it might be concocting! Thus he promptly decided to use the skeleton as a shield but in reality, that was a mistake.
Two crystals.
Ed had grabbed two crystals and using his enhanced agility rapidly tossed them behind him towards the volley of fire, water, and wind. He wanted an explosion, the bigger the better!
'I'm counting on you minor explosion resistance!' Ed screamed inwardly. He was confident that a single explosion would not be able to take more than 300 health points but… wasn't that too close to what he might have left? With minor explosion resistance, this worry was mitigated. It definitely wouldn't kill Ed ... he hoped.
The skeletons panicked when they saw Bayard put Ed in the line of fire but there was nothing they could do. The volley had hit their champion and lord.
A thundering boom resounded. The two crystals, masses of solid mana, were blown up by the condensed volley of elements. The mana explosion it created caused the crypt to tremble furiously.
[You've taken the brunt of an explosion! -273 hp]
[Minor explosion resistance has leveled up]
[Minor explosion resistance has leveled up]
[Minor explosion resistance has leveled up]
[Fracture. -37]
Ed was completely disoriented. His body was blown back by the explosion and was at some point let go of by Bayard.
He even went as far as losing the feeling of various limbs. The chances he was still intact were slim, to say the least. His vision was still blanketed a blinding white. It wasn't until several seconds later that Ed recovered it.
At that moment he also recovered his pain.
'F*ck… but I did it' Ed quickly tried to distract himself from the pain and the fact that two of his limbs and a many of his ribs seemed to be missing. His body certainly felt lighter.
He shifted his gaze towards the sight before him, it was a rather astonishing explosion. The corridor was charred black. The floor, the walls, the ceiling. Everything was charred black.
That included Bayard's body. It was a bloody black lump of molten armor and burnt flesh. There were no signs of life whatsoever on the black mound. Not a twitch, not a painful groan. It was a swift death. At most, he might have suffered excruciating pain for seconds before everything faded to black,
Ed then glanced towards his skeleton mages from where he laid and saw that some had been melted. They likely ran to try and save him but the result was less than commendable.
'Help me up' Ed transmitted to his skeletons with a slight wince. Some had been shell shocked by the sight but were snapped out of their short stupor by Ed's transmission.
They looked towards Ed. His pristine white bones were no longer there. His color was comparable to their own and his sturdy body was in pieces to put it nicely. The mages hurried over and got him to his feet. Drench had been the first one to help hoist him up on one leg.
'Thank you, you've all done well' Ed told them. He really felt they were quite useless but most of the fault for that lay on him. He was too afraid to have them die so he ended up sacrificing his body instead.
'Sigh… what am I even building them up for if not to use them?' If he died before killing Bayard the skeletons would be sacrificed anyway. He would not repeat this ordeal a second time. Although he could revive it didn't mean he should.
'Status…' Seeing his status wasn't for the faint of heart!
[Name: Edw#&!]
Type: Skeleton
Health: 95/900
Mana: 208
Strength: 7
Agility: 3
Constitution: 8
Dexterity: 5
~Skills:~
[Adept Throwing lvl. 5] -Show info-
[Swordsmanship lvl. -1] -Show info-
[Hoarding lvl. 7] -Show info-
[Mental Fortitude lvl. 6] -Show info-
[Transmission Lvl. 4] -Show info-
[Minor Explosion Resistance lvl. 3] -Show info-
[Assessment lvl. 2] -Show info-
[Assimilation lvl. 5] -Show info-
[Thought Manifestation lvl. 1] -Show info-
[Language lvl. 1] -Show info-
[Mana Manipulation lvl. 6] -Show info-
[???] -Show info-
[Eloquence lvl. 3] -Show info-
[Sixth Sense lvl. 0] -Show info-
[Crystallize lvl. 8] -Show info-
95 health! He was undoubtedly quite close to death!
'Luckily, I didn't die' Ed felt that his minor explosion resistance had indeed pulled through for him.
He thanked the skill inwardly and properly assessed his body.
'My robe…' It seemed that he couldn't have nice things.
His robe had been turned into nothing but weird cloth residue stuck onto his body and his body itself had seen better days. Through the black soot, one could spot various large or deep cracks on his ribs, arm, leg, and perhaps also his skull.
Ed returned his gaze to the black heap of flesh. He was a bit doubtful about whether he would be able to get any blood from it under his current condition.
'I'll have to instruct one of the skeletons…' Ed concluded that thought a bit unsure what to do now. If the dungeon didn't reward him he would certainly be in trouble.
[The system has observed your actions up until this point, selecting a suitable reward...]
Luckily, perhaps noticing his plight, the dungeon and system had answered. He would indeed be given a reward.
'I preferred when you offered them to me like that I don't have to keep guessing…' Ed hopefully informed the dungeon as he awaited its verdict.
[Restoring condition]
[<Minor Explosion Resistance> has advanced to <Explosion Resistance lvl. 0>]
Ed was rather surprised by the system's decision. ...As if!
'Why not upgrade something more useful' Ed grumbled inwardly. It had been a long time since the system gave him anything useful. It might be because he no longer needed any incentives to attack the intruders meaning that it was merely a formality at this point.
'Wait… you weren't hoping I forgot were you?' Ed asked it before promptly shaking his head. Whenever he returned to the crypt he somehow ended up doing things that felt like he was talking to himself. He was starting to miss the orcs…
He needed a more human-like company. Their dead skeletons alone wouldn't do.
Ed's thoughts had drifted but his restoration still happened. The skeletons around him were somewhat surprised as they saw Ed's bones growing and multiplying to restore himself. The burnt bone surface also fell off as if it were dead skin.
Ed felt these changes and eventually had a complete body.
'Time to gather the loot…' Ed thought grimly while looking at Bayard's corpse. It didn't seem like he could get anything from him.
'You were certainly a tough individual' Ed addressed Bayard's corpse after realizing that he wouldn't get any loot from him.
'I will remember you then' He would remember him just as he had Samuel. They both managed to manipulate the elements purely on talent. It was something that he who had a system had yet to do.
Though Bayard didn't accomplish what he claimed he would, Ed would most definitely remember him.. He would certainly make sure to gain inspiration from his rock steady personality.