Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer-Chapter 308: Siege (3)

"Fall back!" one leader shouted, trying to regroup the surviving players. But confusion and fear had taken hold.

The once united force was now a scattered mess of individuals, each trying to survive the one-sided massacre. freёwebnoѵel.com

Adrian moved through the mess like a phantom. Each swing of his blade was another life claimed. Another scream added a new twist to the symphony of death.

"Run! Save yourselves!" a wounded player cried out, clutching a poisoned wound as he stumbled away from the battlefield.

But escape seemed impossible. The ground was a minefield of spikes and the trees were deadly traps. The easy fight they thought they had had turned into a nightmare for them.

In the end, only a handful of players managed to retreat, their numbers drastically reduced. They limped away from the battlefield.

***

Under the cover of night, a small group of elite players moved silently towards the castle. Despite their confidence in winning through a direct attack, they were cautious and came up with an alternative strategy.

The group comprised three players, Lila, their leader and an assassin by profession, Thorne, an elf ranger and Kai, the explosive mage. They had one mission: to breach the castle and capture it from within.

"We’re close," Lila whispered. "Remember, stay quiet and follow my lead."

They had timed their approach to coincide with the main force’s assault, expecting the chaos to create an opportunity for them to slip in unnoticed. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

As they neared the castle walls, Thorne frowned. "Why hasn’t anyone breached the main gate yet?"

It was strange because the two hundred players all belonged to Olympus and were nothing to scoff at. They couldn’t even think of anything that would have stopped an army like that. But something must have stopped them.

"I don’t know," Lila replied, her eyes narrowing. "But we can’t wait for them. We stick to the plan."

They reached a small, hidden entrance at the base of the castle wall, a secret door known only to a few. Lila quickly picked up the lock, and the door swung open with a faint creak.

"Inside, quick," she whispered, ushering her team through. They slipped into the darkness of the castle, moving through narrow, dimly lit corridors.

As they crept deeper into the castle, the sounds of battle outside grew fainter. Thinking both of the targets were outside fighting, the group began looking for the enemy flag. As long as they got their hands on the flag, they would win, regardless of the outcome of the raging battle outside.

"Something doesn’t feel right," Kai muttered, his eyes darting around nervously. "It feels too easy."

"Stop jinxing everything and stay focused," Lila snapped. "We’re almost there."

Thorne also nodded. There were only two enemies in the opposite group. Of course, the mission would feel easy. The human was unnecessarily weary of everything.

But as they moved towards the centre of the hall, a shadowy figure stepped into their path. It was Han, with a massive shield and a war hammer, blocking their way.

"So the boy was right," he mumbled. "They tried to sneak their way in."

"Damn it," Lila hissed, drawing her daggers. "Get ready!"

Han grinned, his massive frame seeming to fill the entire hall. He swung his war hammer in a slow arc. After a long time, he was having fun at a trial.

Thorne immediately drew his bow, an arrow already nocked. "We don’t have time for this. Kai hit him with everything you’ve got!"

Kai nodded, his hands beginning to glow with arcane energy. He chanted a quick incantation and unleashed a bolt of lightning towards Han. The crackling energy struck Han’s shield, but he barely flinched.

"You’ll have to do better than that," Han taunted, his war hammer swinging down towards Lila.

She dodged to the side and struck at his flank with her daggers, but her blades bounced off his armour, not even scratching the surface.

"His armour’s too thick!" Lila shouted.

"I could say the same for you," Han laughed. "How about we grab a coffee after this?"

"You!" Lila gritted her teeth.

Thorne loosed an arrow aimed at Han’s helmet, but Han raised his shield just in time, and the arrow bounced against the shield and hit the wall behind him.

"You’re persistent, I’ll give you that," Han said, swinging his hammer at Thorne.

The ranger barely dodged, rolling to the side and quickly getting to his feet.

Kai chanted another spell, this time summoning a ball of fire. He hurled it at Han, who braced himself behind his shield. The fireball exploded, the flames licking around the edges of the shield, but Han remained unharmed.

"Damn it, nothing seems to work on him!" Kai cursed loudly. "We need to get rid of that stupid shield."

"Enough games," Han growled, charging forward. "Time to end this."

He used his massive form like a cannonball and barrelled into Lila, knocking her off her feet. She rolled and sprang back up, only to get hit again, and this time got flung back into Kai’s arms.

"We can’t overpower him," Lila panted. "We need to outsmart him."

Thorne nodded, thinking of a plan. "Kai, can you create a diversion?"

Kai nodded, his hands glowing once more. He muttered an incantation and a blinding flash of light filled the hall. Han instinctively raised his shield to cover his eyes.

"Now!" Lila shouted, darting to the side.

She and Thorne moved in opposite directions, circling Han.

Han blinked, trying to clear his vision. "You think a little light will stop me?"

Thorne used the distraction to aim another arrow, this time targeting Han’s unprotected knee. The arrow struck true, and Han roared in pain, dropping to one knee.

"Got you!" Thorne shouted.

Lila saw her chance. She lunged forward, her daggers aimed at Han’s neck. But Han was quick, his hand shooting out to grab her wrist. With a powerful yank, he threw her across the hall. She hit the ground hard, gasping for breath.

"No, I got you!" Han roared before slamming his shield into Lila’s head, eliminating her.