Eric carried Judy on his back, carefully approaching the crystal.
He didn't understand.
Why did Judy like being carried by him so much?
And—
“Do we have to be this slow?”
“Keep your voice down. What if that Ranger Skeleton goes berserk?”
Judy squeezed Eric’s waist with her legs and said,
“It should be the guardian of this crystal. Its willpower is just too strong, and too many lingering obsessions remain, causing it to constantly repeat its actions from when it was alive.”
“Once we make too much noise and awaken its instincts, we’ll die instantly.”
Eric sighed:
“Got it, got it.”
Just then, a gray ripple spread out.
The ripple swept past Eric and Judy, then drifted far away.
“What was that?”
“Crack.”
The sound of something breaking reached Eric’s ears.
Eric looked back to see the bracelet on Judy’s wrist cracking little by little.
“Judy, your bracelet is broken.”
Judy was stunned. She raised her wrist, only to see the bracelet had turned to dust, completely dissipating into the air.
Judy’s pupils constricted slightly.
This wasn’t over yet.
Along with the sound of the crystal shattering, Judy’s ring, earrings, second and third necklaces, and the gems on her small shoulder bag all shattered.
“What just passed by was the aftershock of a Legendary spell.”
Judy felt a lingering fear and squeezed Eric’s shoulder.
Eric looked at the signet ring on his hand, which Judy had given him; it was now reduced to powder.
“We need to leave quickly. This isn’t where we should be.”
Eric strongly suspected that if he hadn’t been carrying Judy, he would have been eliminated by that spell just now.
It was terrifying.
It was horrifying.
On a battlefield of this caliber, even an unknown spell aftershock drifting from afar nearly cost him his life.
Eric made up his mind.
Until they were safe, he would continue carrying Judy like this.
This little rich lady could save his life.
“How about we take a detour instead? Maybe a detour would be faster.”
Eric asked Judy again.
Judy didn’t respond. An eerie black sphere had already materialized above Eric’s head.
They hadn’t even seen the crystal yet.
Eric quickly looked around.
A Skeleton Mage stood on a collapsed rooftop, holding a hook-shaped staff, on which a massive fireball was coalescing.
The fireball blasted out fiercely, and the light sphere above Eric’s head was also pushed away.
“Boom.”
The two collided, creating a violent explosion aftershock.
Judy’s hand returned to Eric’s shoulder. Her hand trembled slightly, and her voice carried a trace of fearful tremor:
“Eric, we’re surrounded.”
Eric knew it without Judy telling him.
To the left was a fifth-tier Ranger, to the right a fifth-tier Mage, and from front and back came the sounds of numerous skeletons clashing.
Besieged on all sides.
Now, they needed to find a way to break through.
The situation was dire, but not without a solution.
Rangers were too strong in one-on-one combat, and Skeleton Soldiers would need to deal with Mage interference. Instead of that, it would be better to directly confront the Skeleton Mage.
Eric looked at the Skeleton Mage and said to Judy:
“Judy, don’t wet your pants.”
“You… what are you saying?! At a time like this, you still…”
“I mean, don’t wet me.”
With that, Eric charged towards the Skeleton Mage.
“Judy, no time! Blast it with missiles.”
Judy, on Eric’s back, widened her eyes, watching as the Skeleton Mage opposite them conjured a massive fireball.
“Quick, Judy! If you don’t act now, you won’t even get a chance to wet your pants.”
“You… you’re the one who wets your pants, ah ah ah ah ah ah—”
A black light sphere rapidly materialized, pushing out even before the Skeleton Mage’s fireball was unleashed.
“Hey, isn’t that pretty good?”
Eric felt he had made the right choice.
But then, he felt a wet sensation on his back.
No, you’re serious, aren’t you?
“Judy, you…”
“Ah ah ah ah, you don’t want to say anything.”
Judy shouted while conjuring another large black sphere.
Eric swallowed, deciding not to provoke this girl any further.
Spell-based combat was usually quite boring.
After all, who would win simply depended on who could conjure a bigger and more powerful sphere.
Generally, it was whoever could last longer.
That side would win.
Clearly, even if Judy had enough magic potions and her spheres were powerful enough, the qualitative difference between a third-ring and a fifth-ring spell was something she couldn’t overcome.
Therefore, the key to success still lay with Eric.
“Judy, hold on tight.”
Judy also understood what Eric was going to do. She wrapped herself around Eric’s back like an octopus, clinging tightly.
Eric freed his hands, drawing a short sword with one hand and a dagger with the other.
In the blink of an eye, Eric had already rushed in front of the Skeleton Mage.
The Skeleton Mage waved its staff, and two Skeleton Soldiers instantly blocked Eric and the Skeleton Mage.
“Mere cannon fodder.”
Magic gathered into the refined iron short sword, elementalizing and transforming the magic.
Eric swung his short sword, unleashing a slash.
“Gale Slash.”
A white blade slashed out, not only cutting both skeletons in half at the waist, but the flying blade also interrupted the Skeleton Mage’s spellcasting.
With one strike.
Eric’s speed didn’t diminish. He raised the dagger in his other hand and thrust it forward fiercely.
Vigorous Death-Thorn.
The dagger of magic and the Goddess of Death.
Eric gulped down two magic potions. He hadn’t injected magic beforehand because he didn’t know how much magic it would take to kill a fifth-tier Skeleton Mage.
But he knew that as long as the dagger struck, the Skeleton Mage would die.
Looking at the Skeleton Mage, now within arm’s reach, and recalling his series of actions just now.
Eric was certain.
If it weren’t for the round-faced little witch on his back, his series of actions just now—
Would have been incredibly cool.
But it didn’t matter.
As long as he was alive, there would always be opportunities to show off.
“Clang.”
The dagger finally pierced the Skeleton Mage’s body.
Eric held the dagger with both hands, pressing it against the Skeleton Mage’s ribs.
He looked up, filled with triumph.
What if he was besieged on all sides? How could they stand against his overwhelming might?
If it weren't for back then...
Wait!
Why didn't he feel any magic being drawn away?
Eric looked at the Skeleton Mage, only to see its staff already raised, a fireball coalescing.
No, big brother, what’s going on with you?
Eric was dumbfounded.
No, why aren't you dead?
Also, can that fireball be a little smaller? I’m scared.
Eric almost burst into tears.
“Why, why did it have no effect?”
“It’s a barrier. The barrier prohibits instant death effects.”
Judy shouted from Eric’s back.
“Why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“I didn’t know you were going to use a dagger.”
Eric was numb.
Why was it that every time he tried to show off, there were all sorts of blunders?
Seeing the fireball about to fully materialize, Eric, in a moment of desperation, grabbed the staff.
“Judy, grab the staff!”
Judy locked her legs around Eric’s waist, straightened her body, and directly snatched the staff.
Eric felt as if something useful was pressing against his head.
The Fireball spell was indeed interrupted.
The Skeleton Mage was also bewildered.
No, you guys snatching a Mage’s staff, how unethical is that?
Seeing Judy grasp the staff, Eric again raised his refined iron short sword.
So what if instant death effects were prohibited?
He still had Gale Slash.
Magic coalescing into elemental form was done in one smooth motion.
“Gale Slash.”
The white blade sliced through, directly striking the Skeleton Mage’s waist.
The Skeleton Mage—
Just lost a few bone fragments.
“The barrier also has elemental weakening. Your Gale Slash is too weak,” Judy reminded him again.
Eric was numb.