Bang!
Nedra’s sharp claws dug a deep hole as they stabbed into the ground, having been deflected by Grokus’ large, wide sword. Even though she had missed that strike, she was still primed for another attack, clearly seen as her other legs on the side shot out in a stabbing motion.
Grokus grunted and easily waved his arm, conjuring a shield of dark green mana that blocked the advance of Nedra’s needle like legs. The wall of mana twisted around Nedra’s legs under the command of Grokus, holding her in place while his burly arm slammed down the blade of his large sword on her back.
Crack!
Her carapace cracked and splintered, pieces of it falling down to the ground. She braced herself and ignored the pain, continuing her assault on Grokus. Even though she did not seem to be making any progress, she knew that Leon was making a lot of progress while she stalled.
She was not the only one who felt it. Grokus frowned again when he began to feel the chains holding down Leon and the others splaying, getting unraveled as quickly as water running through a basket.
Confused and bewildered, Grokus tried to make his way to Leon, but Nedra did all she could to hold him at bay. Both physical and mental attacks rained on him unendingly. While his physical defenses were as tough as could be for someone in C rank, his mental defenses were not as good. Even then, that did not mean they were weak in any way. The most Nedra’s attacks could do was to cause him mental pain and distract him slightly, making him waver in the slightest ways to prevent him from dealing too much damage to her. All of this made her last even longer against Grokus, which in turn irritated and angered him.
“Get. Out. Of. My. WAY!!!” Grokus growled angrily, putting all of his strength into the next strike that sent Nedra careening off into the wall, and out of the way. His eyes sparkled as this happened. Leon was wide open!
Just as he took a step forward, an immense force settled on his shoulders, forcing him to a stop.
Crack!
The ground beneath him cracked and broke as his feet dug into it under the immense weight. Trying his best to look up, he saw Leon’s eyes glowing with a bright purple light as the output of mana swirling around him quickly increased.
“No…” He grunted as he strained against the dome of gravity mana encasing his body. He watched his intricate trap chain spell unravel and fall apart right before him, freeing Leon from his trap. The other people in Leon’s group slumped to the ground, already mostly drained of their mana. They had been drained so quickly that their bodies had given out on them, as it was abnormal to lose mana so quickly.
Leon felt the chains holding him down shatter and crumble away as the spell was finally destroyed by him. In a split second, he used his own mana to grab onto the dissipating mana that made up the trap spell. He was not yet sure of what to do with it, as it had been a split second decision not to let it go to waste, but thinking of what to do with it would come next. He had something more pressing to handle right now.
He could feel the resistance of the Orc Shaman as he pushed back against Leon’s gravity spell. Insight on how to subtly manipulate gravity poured into Leon’s mind the longer he kept the skill active. But his mana levels also dropped quickly the longer he kept at it.
So, he let the spell fall aside, recalling the lingering mana and letting Grokus stand up. The moment the Orc Shaman got to his feet, the earth moved beneath him, with sharp spikes jutting out and stabbing through his feet.
“Ugh.” Grokus grunted in pain, not surprised that Leon would do something like that. “You have surprised me, undead. I do not like surprises. Especially when they are not in my favor.” As he spoke, the earthen spikes crumbled, revealing the holes in his feet that bled green blood. It only took a few seconds for them to heal with the absence of the spikes.
Thanks to his special Sigil, the Buffalo Sigil, not only was his overall HP quite high, but his regenerative abilities had also been boosted to a whole other level!
“…” Leon remained silent as he thought of the various ways he could quickly deal with Grokus. From how he had manhandled Nedra earlier, he was easily able to tell that Grokus was no slouch. Even Nedra, who was also at the peak of C rank, could barely injure him. It was not a good sign.
He summoned Nero and Kaladin. They had been forced back in after Leon got trapped, as they mainly relied on his mana to maintain their physical forms, not theirs. Like before, he kept James on reserve. He had not seen a good opportunity to use him when Nedra was fighting Grokus before, so the assassin had yet to make an appearance.
“These summons again. Your millipede was good, but not good enough. How well do you think these ones will fare against me?” Grokus mocked. He thought that Leon was a typical Necromancer who preferred to command his summons from afar. The cavern was far too small to effectively utilize such a tactic, so he thought that he had the upper hand.
“They will do.” Leon simply said as he summoned Nedra by his side. Her injuries were now healed after resting and siphoning some of Leon’s mana for herself.
Just as he spoke, he finally let go of the mana he had snatched from Grokus after breaking his spell. The mana sunk into the ground, disappearing, only to reappear in the different locations where Grokus’ slaves had placed themselves before Leon’s group had arrived, to support Grokus’ totems.