Both sides pulled and tugged at the staff.
Eric asked, collapsing,
"How many barrier effects are there exactly? Can you just tell me all at once?"
Judy was also frustrated, she said,
"There are over 50 of them. Even if I told you, you wouldn't remember."
Just then, the Skeleton Mage suddenly let go of one hand gripping the staff and began to condense a fireball with a single hand.
Although without the staff, the speed of fireball condensation slowed down.
But this thing was still something Eric and Judy couldn't handle.
"Judy, I'll take the staff, you blast it."
"No, no, it's too close, we'll die too. All my protective items are used up."
That wouldn't work either.
In his urgency, Eric looked at his skill list.
【
Basic Archery (Beginner)
Leatherworking (Beginner)
Altair Swordsmanship (Beginner)
Chop (Beginner)
Gale Slash (Beginner)
】
Gale Slash was useless, but Eric still had the Chop skill.
Even if you forbid elements, can you forbid a direct Chop of magic power?
Thinking of this, Eric again raised his short sword.
He condensed all his magic power onto the sword, aimed at the Skeleton Mage's neck joint, and swung the sword.
Magic power drew a white arc in the air.
The short sword struck heavily on the bone.
At the crucial moment, the Skeleton Mage used its free hand to block the Chop, and its forearm ulna was severed on the spot.
Similarly, its fireball spell was also interrupted.
It worked.
Eric's spirits were greatly boosted.
Judy's eyes also gleamed, and she shouted loudly,
"Eric, Chop its knee joint."
Taking out a magic potion, Eric gulped down a few more mouthfuls.
Without Judy needing to say it, Eric knew what to do.
A full-power strike could only sever one of the two bones in the forearm.
So even if this strike landed on the neck, Eric might not be able to kill the Skeleton Mage.
It would be better to dismantle it bit by bit.
"Alright."
This time, Eric's magic power condensed faster. He feigned a move to trick the defending arm, and then chopped his sword onto the Skeleton Mage's knee.
The Skeleton Mage's lower leg bone was dislodged on the spot, and it fell to its knees.
The lower leg bone was also chopped away.
Eric pursued the advantage, raising his short sword and chopping towards the Skeleton Mage's elbow.
This time, he wanted to dismember this skeleton's arm to help Judy retrieve the staff.
At the critical moment of life and death.
The Skeleton Mage's eye sockets also flared with demonic blue fire. Its head sharply turned towards Eric and Judy, its jaw opened, and a wave shimmering with blue lightning quickly swept towards them.
Judy's pupils contracted sharply:
"Oh no, it's Thunder Wave!"
Eric felt as if his skull had been hit by a heavy hammer.
For a moment, his head rang with a clatter, as if all the pots and pans had been knocked over. The short sword slipped from his hand, and his whole body involuntarily retreated.
Judy was also dizzy and disoriented, letting go of the staff.
But she was, after all, a spellcasting witch, with extremely high resistance to this kind of magic. Although there was a brief magical confusion, she still managed to endure it.
And after casting Thunder Wave, the Skeleton Mage also crawled towards its severed lower leg.
Judy was extremely anxious.
Finally.
At this critical juncture, Judy developed her super intelligence.
She jumped off Eric's back, ran in front of the Skeleton Mage, and in front of the Skeleton Mage, picked up its lower leg.
"Go pick up your bones, you stinky skeleton."
With that, Judy used all her might to throw the leg bone far away.
The Skeleton Mage just watched its leg bone.
It traced a graceful arc in the air.
Disappearing into the ruins.
Eric's mind cleared slightly, and seeing this scene, he was also dumbfounded.
How malicious.
Are you treating the Skeleton Mage like a dog?
When the Skeleton Mage turned its head, Eric for the first time saw obvious emotional changes in a skeleton's eye sockets.
That wide-open jaw, the blue demonic fire bursting from its eyes.
At this moment, the Skeleton Mage finally activated its mage instincts, and the emotions deep within its soul.
It had broken free from the Lich's control over it.
A blue wave, once again, emanated from its mouth.
Eric clutched his head and walked towards Judy.
Judy was struck down by the Skeleton Mage swinging the staff, knocked to the ground with one strike.
When the Thunder Wave ended, the Skeleton Mage lay on the ground, swinging its staff, and a scorching fireball instantly condensed.
Right, for a fifth-tier mage, is it difficult to instantly cast a third-tier fireball spell?
What's so difficult about it?
It's always been like this.
As soon as Eric regained consciousness, he saw the large fireball rushing towards him.
It's over.
This time, it's really over.
Just then, a bone arrow flew past Eric, not only piercing the fireball but also pinning itself into the Skeleton Mage's eye socket.
Eric looked back.
The one who shot the arrow was the Ranger Skeleton, which had been motionless all this time.
Was it an accident, or was it really saving him?
It held his father's longbow, was it his father?
Eric didn't dare to gamble.
However—
Since it saved him with his father's bow, Eric felt that he should thank his father's spirit in heaven.
Thank you, Father, for the rescue.
Eric gulped down two magic potions, threw away the empty vial, picked up the short sword from the ground, went forward, picked up Judy, and quickly left.
He had a premonition.
The current Skeleton Mage and the distant Skeleton Ranger were not something he could afford to provoke; in some sense, they had already broken free from the Lich's control.
They were now stepping into an unknown realm.
Judy curled up in Eric's arms, looking listless.
The second Thunder Wave was far more powerful than the first. At such close range, and having absorbed all the energy, Judy's survival was entirely due to her special witch talent.
Eric ran halfway, then looked back.
He saw that at the original spot, the Skeleton Ranger had completely started wrestling with the Skeleton Mage.
Elemental creatures, stone walls, missiles, and magical tentacles constantly emerged.
And the Skeleton Ranger merely clutched the arrows in its hand. Even so, the two were still fighting back and forth.
Eric's mind was shaken.
These were just fifth-tier skeletons, not even complete fifth-tier powerhouses.
If it were his teacher, how strong would he be?
"Eric, what's wrong?"
Judy clutched Eric's collar, her voice somewhat weak.
Eric came back to his senses, shook his head, and said,
"Nothing. You were very brave just now, Judy."
"Really?"
"Of course, Judy, you've really grown."
"Mm."
Judy tilted her head, rested it on Eric's chest, and slowly closed her eyes.
"Do you need to drink a magic potion?"
"Mm."
Eric placed Judy in a corner, felt for a magic potion on her, and brought it to Judy's lips.
After Judy drank it, she looked a bit more energetic.
"Eric, do you regret coming out on this adventure?"
Eric shook his head.
Although he was scared to death, there was no doubt that the experience of these few hours tonight was more exciting than his two lives combined.
Judy also smiled. She looked at Eric and said,
"I don't regret it either, Eric. I think this experience is a treasure of my life."
Eric stroked Judy's head.
Don't even mention it, no wonder Teacher Atai'er liked to pat heads. Just tell me, who wouldn't be dazed by this smooth feeling?
"Let's go. The future will be even more exciting. We're going to destroy the magic crystal."
"Mm."
Eric turned around.
Judy looked at Eric's wet back, a blush rising on her face, and leaned onto Eric's back, letting Eric support her legs.
"Do you still remember the direction?"
Judy pointed with her finger:
"This way."
This time, only a few skeletons blocked their way, and even if there were, they couldn't last more than one round against Eric's short sword.
Soon, the two arrived in front of the magic crystal.
Judy raised her hands on Eric's back, and a strange black sphere slowly pushed towards the magic crystal.