Acri crawled down from around his neck and straightened into his rigid spear form RandidlyÆs grip tightened on his shaft So far Randidly had only needed to rely on his new combined Skillset of the Ashen Phantom He hadn’t really even had the chance to showcase the new armor that Sam had made for him
But this group was on average about six Levels higher than the prior group And as everyone was past the Level 50 marker each Level was a struggle This then was finally the Squads of Donnyton that fought valiantly in the trenches Not those that shined but those that were dependable
This was the last bulwark of DonnytonÆs image Randidly could sense It floated above the entire arena clear in the tense silence that had seized the crowd
Donnyton had suffered losses in the past Grievous losses that left deep wounds The attack by the Nemesai only a few days ago was just another example of a setback that took the town by surprise
Yet there was a group that always threw themselves in the way of threats They were the true bulwark that created peace of mind for the average individual living in this world When you grew to the size of Donnyton you couldnÆt avoid taking punches
What really mattered was how Donnyton responded to the cheap shot These Squads had been that response for the past year
I donÆt mean to say you all must be warriors I am not the Spearman Killing is not the only path forward Randidly thought sadly as he looked out at the intent crowd How many people were here Ten thousand Twenty thousand And it seemed like even more were lining the space above the quarry as he considered the wide sea of people More and more people were finishing their dayÆs labor and hurrying over to see this historic day
But this isnÆt enough Threats from the Ogre World the Frogpeople the other Zones looking for weaknesses our enemies are mounting You need to wake up YouÆve forgotten that we will die if you donÆt keep moving forward
Maybe that was the reason that Randidly had decided to challenge Donnyton Because although he had this deep fear that even Donnyton wasnÆt strong enough he wanted to be proven wrong He would have liked nothing better than to come out here and be struck down by the Squads of Donnyton
Yet that hadnÆt happened yet
IÆm ready whenever you are Randidly said quietly
The overseer in charge of this batch of squads was a broad shouldered woman holding a greataxe She nodded respectfully at RandidlyÆs words and then barked out a series of orders Her voice seemed to cut through the whole arena immediately banish all talk from the stands
Everyone was intent on the action in the arena
First Position The woman bellowed
Instantly the eight groupings fractured into dozens of smaller groups moving apart into a specific formation The varying groups rotated around him a series of rings Skills rapidly began to rain toward Randidly as the long range attackers sought to keep him on the back foot with sheer numbers
As ash spiraled slowly around Randidly he watched the shifting formation in front of him with interest Honestly Randidly never had much experience with commanding troops Even during the genesis of Donnyton Randidly simply led by killing more monsters than anyone else He never had any real grasp of strategy or tactics So it was intriguing to see the different methods that they used to deal with him
Although Randidly might not have any experience leading Randidly had plenty of experience fighting against varying numbers of opponents Instantly his emerald gaze scanned the surroundings and arrived at a single conclusion insufficient
You correctly saw that my ash blades can only remain active within a certain radius of me so you split into almost forty smaller teams so it will take me longer to eliminate them Randidly thought with disappointment as the ash around him cut the oncoming Skills out of the air Ideally this time would allow you to tire me out
A fine strategy but will it really be me that tires out first Randidly barred his teeth at the opposing commander who measured him with a steady gaze The entire while she moved professionally with her small grouping protecting a relatively powerful mage who through slashes of darkness toward Randidly
A wind came then pulling small flakes of dried blood left by the wounded and gathering them into the air Slowly a darkness came across the arena once more It seemed their commander understood what was happening at least because she gave an order to increase the frequency of attacks
Globs of poison swords of darkness lances of light waves of frost bolts of fire huge masses of arcane energy empowered arrows and javelins bullets empowered with Mana Projectiles came toward Randidly like drops of water in a rainstorm The churning ash around him began to roil and seeth more and more forming as Randidly fed the Skill a thread of Mana Very soon it seemed Randidly was standing in the eye of a whirlwind of ash
As the projectiles increased so did the blades Randidly used in his defense He didnÆt move standing very still and looking out toward the arena All the while that strange wind continued to blow gathering the dried blood from those that came before
Slowly that dried blood spun upward and joined some of the dissipated ash from the blades Randidly used in his own defense More and more accumulated forming into a tightly packed ball of ash spilled blood and resentment
From that the Ashen Phantom was born
This time when the Ashen Phantom roared and exploded outward into its form the entire arena could hear the raw noise of it This time RandidlyÆs image was much more concrete As its hideous screams rocked the arena the rain of projectileÆs faltered
This time when it released a breath it spat out enough bloodlust that Randidly could tell the weaker spectators werenÆt able to breathe
Ash exploded outward in a wave Once more the iron grey skeleton condensed while a haze of ash kept its body indistinct Once more it did not possess a lower jaw and its upper teeth stabbed downward out of its maw Its dagger like fingers flashed tasting the edge of its ash cloud
This time however it was clear that the coloration of the skeleton shifted from the core toward its hands The change was gradual but the while the rib cage was grey the phantomÆs fingers were almost entirely maroon
This was an image thoroughly stained with blood
Rumbling clouds rolled overhead as the phantom bellowed again Those constant waves of ash soon filled the entirety of the arena Randidly grinned
All at once one thousand blades of ash condensed covering the entire combat space The leader of the Squad paled as she looked up at the darkly gleaming blades
Now do you get it With an image this is possible This will be much weaker than a Skill but
Without any warning the blades began screaming down toward the Squad members
this isnÆt something you can beat just by being dependable
Chapter 922
Ace sat transfixed staring up at the conjured monster that floated above the arena Its roars had enough force to shake him down to his bones He felt incredibly insignificant sitting before this wild beast that darkened the sky
And then it summoned almost a hundred blades of ash to scythe down toward the Squads that had dared stand before it
AceÆs heart was pounding It felt like the darkness in his heart had seen a kindred spirit for the first time since it had taken root there No it was even more monumental than that
His darkness looked out at this terrible spirit that Randidly could conjure and realized that it too could be physically present upon this Earth It was not relegated to a constant spiritual role With the proper preparation the image of AceÆs darkness could condense into something tangible and gain the ability to attack
The arena was covered in screams as the groups struggled to withstand the blades of ash Ace narrowed his eyes
Those nearby to Randidly were absolutely ripped to shreds their armor and Skills forcibly broken by the power of his strikes Yet Ace didnÆt miss that the nearby ash blades struck first It was only after the more distant groups witnessed those close to Randidly being decimated that their own guillotines began to descend