Chapter 845: Fierce battle
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
After those 3 arrows left Melody's bow, they oddly descended and sped away close to the ground like electric sparks. They were almost too much for the eyes to take in!
The sight caused the red glint behind Dwar's faceguard to glimmer. He reached behind with his rusty gauntlet and grabbed the hilt of the greatsword on his back.
The series of action in brandishing his sword gave off a clear, steady, powerful and reliable feel. It was as if a sword instructor was giving a demonstration to his students.
The moment his greatsword was unsheathed, it hacked away 2 out of the 3 arrows shot by Melody!
The speed of his sword was enough to distort one's senses.
A terrifying black flame enveloped the greatsword. As soon as Melody's arrows come into contact with the black flame, they melted with a hiss like they were made of snow. However, after chopping down 2 arrows, the downward trajectory of the slashing greatsword was stopped by Sheyan's '+7 West'!
There were no sharp clangs that one would expect when metallic weapons collide. There were no shrill screaming noises either. It was a silent collision with a few dim sparks.
When Sheyan decided to block the Nazgûl's greatsword, he was already prepared to be blown away and receive a heavy damage. However, even though the force transmitted through his hands felt really heavy, it wasn't something he couldn't withstand! He was only forced back a few steps from the block. Right as he was feeling stunned, he discovered that the black flame had travelled through his blade all the way to his hands, before burning once and extinguishing itself.
The penetrating pain made Sheyan groan. Both his palms were burned scarlet-red. But thanks to his parrying, Melody's "surviving" arrow was able to lodge itself deep inside the body of the Nightmare mount.
After the arrow drew a spurt of black-coloured blood, the red shine on its tip seeped into the Nightmare and touched the green glow of natural power inside the Nightmare's body!
The scene made one think of a lit cigarette being thrown into a barrel full of oil....
The Nightmare mount was momentarily stunned. The next moment, it suddenly cracked and exploded into dozens of fleshy chunks! Thick black liquid splashed everywhere, carrying a foul stench with it.
Reef arrived at this moment to unleash his usual 'Shattering Cardiac Roar'. He next tried his luck with the 'Trampling Hooves' ability on his shoes. It actually succeeded! He dropped the Nazgûl to the ground and proceeded to step on him ferociously.
"This Nazgûl has really experienced a severe drop in strength," said a baffled Sheyan in the party channel.
Franklin seemed to have given some thought to this matter. After shooting out an evocated ray at the Nazgûl, he said.
"Actually, the strength stats of the Nazgûl have never been outstanding. Their specialty lied in causing fear. They possess a large amount of black magic and the ability to control undead creatures, in addition to their aura of terror. This Nazgûl is even heavily injured. It's understandable for him not to possess overwhelming strength."
Sheyan naturally wanted to literally kick the Nazgûl while he's down. He immediately rained down a flurry of slashes. The remaining caravan members also rushed over to unleash attacks of their own.
The 3 green glows in the Nazgûl's body were still shining brightly after being stimulated by Melody. Those should be the places where the Nazgûl previously sustained the worst injuries. Just to be safe, Sheyan focused his attacks on the right leg. His plan was simple; cripple the Nazgûl, then with the godly sniping skills of Melody, at the very least they can kite him to death!
Suddenly, the Nazgûl opened his huge, black, mouth wide and emitted a piercing scream.
As the scream reached Sheyan's ears, an image of a fully wrinkled Sheyan waiting for his death appeared in front of his eyes. He felt like someone on the brink of death, ready to depart from the world any moment. That feeling of helplessness made him cry out in hysteria. He ran away holding his head, as if that was the only way he can escape the terrible fate.
However, after taking 5-6 steps, a warmth permeated through his head as if he was basking in a strong afternoon sunlight. He was instantly jolted awake. Only now did Sheyan notice the battle notifications:
[You have been affected by the Nazgûl's 'Cry of Terror'. You will fall into a state of extreme fear. The effect will last for 15 seconds (1 minute for common people) or until you suffer 2 attacks.]
[The fear you emitted was absorbed by Dwar. His HP will be recovered by a certain amount.]
[The Twilight Elf's blessing has been triggered. You escaped from the state of fear.]
"Holy sh*t!" Sheyan had a bad feeling and instantly turned back.
The scene he saw was of the Nazgûl standing tall while the caravan members ran around him with their faces distorted in fear. All the caravan members continuously released a black trail of mist that floated out of their body into the Nazgûl's mouth.
In such a short amount of time, the glows of natural power in the Nazgûl's body had been suppressed by 1/5!
Sheyan's eyes flashed with determination. He gritted his teeth and ran to a caravan member, then killed the caravan member with a slash of his blade!
"We have no other choice. The fear provided by these people would become quality nourishment for the Nazgûl. Kill everyone except for Goots. Melody, focus on attacking the Nazgûl, don't lift your hands against the humans!"
Sheyan didn't want Melody's help in eliminating the caravan workers because he didn't want her to directly face such cruel realities. Franklin was situated pretty far away so he wasn't inflicted with the 'Cry of Terror', while Reef also had the Twilight Elf's blessing. Together with Reef, Sheyan killed off the caravan members running around in fear one by one. It didn't take them long to eliminate the defenseless humans.
Dwar didn't expect them to take such extreme measures. He lifted his greatsword with a grunt to launch his attack, but Melody's deadly arrows forced him to defend himself.
The arrows contained the dual aura of the power of nature and sunlight that he hated the most. His Nightmare mount had already demonstrated the consequence of being hit by one. Dwar didn't want to personally taste the might of an arrow if he could help it.
When Sheyan finished "clearing away" the caravan members, Melody was already so tired she could barely lift her longbow. She was only a newly awakened Twilight Elf, and she also needed to maintain the 2 protective spells that Vilya bound on her body: 'Eternal Field' and 'Instantaneous Teleportation'. She had already pushed herself to her limit.
Goots was noticeably stronger than his subordinates. He didn't say anything after escaping his state of fear. He understood that if his subordinates weren't killed, then they will all die here today! He no longer dared to engage in melee attacks against the Nazgûl and instead chose to attack with his own longbow from afar. However, the damage that normal arrows could do to a Nazgûl was expectedly meagre.
When Melody stopped to catch her breath, the Nazgûl's eyes flashed. He took the opportunity to chant an incantation.
"Spread, Fog of Death."
"I shall return your souls to you. I shall grant you immense power. I shall give you a chance for revenge."
"Rise! Rise! You souls who died an unjust death. Use your weapons, your nails, your teeth to cause the enemies injuries they will never forget!"
Dwar plunged his greatsword deep into the ground before forcefully pulling it back out. Puffs of grey fog billowed out from the ground and rapidly enveloped the area. The fog seeped into the noses and mouths of the fresh corpses. The next moment, the corpses climbed up from the ground amidst moaning noises from their throats. They charged towards Sheyan's group with extreme hatred!
Looking at the claws and teeth of these zombies, Sheyan was almost certain that they are at least a few times stronger than the zombies created by T-viruses. He braced himself for battle, when the Nazgûl once again chanted.
"The power of darkness has congregated around the blood and the souls."
"The song of the banshee echoes through the night."
"....."
"....."
Franklin stretched out his palm towards the powerful Nazgûl. A distortion was immediately created within the atmosphere. Franklin casted an evocation type magic called 'Hand of Suffocation' to try and stop Dwar's chanting.
Unfortunately, he did not succeed. Dwar continued chanting while pointing his greatsword towards Franklin. The latter released a groan and staggered back. Blood flowed down his nose; it was the backlash from his failed casting.
Sheyan didn't know what Dwar was trying to cast, but he did know that if he let Dwar finish his chant, the Nazgûl would hold absolute advantage over them for the remainder of the fight. To fall into the enemy's rhythm would only lead to defeat!
Therefore, he decisively yelled.
"Reef, it's time to use that move! Melody, support him!"
Reef inhaled deeply and ran in front of Sheyan. Zombies were closing in all around them. Reef lifted his shield and held it high.
In that instant, the bright light of the sun radiated through the night!