บท 16: Let’s Do It!
บรรณาธิการ: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Dark Elf Assassins were shocked at the sight of the icy storm appearing at the door of the MI3 outpost.
"What the hell is that?"
"It's magic!"
"Where is the leader? Where is he!?"
The Dark Elf Assassins couldn't see their leader from where they stood. They couldn't see anything through the spinning shards of ice either; there was no way their leader was in there.
Their leader had probably died.
The obvious conclusion threw the Dark Elf Assassins into a panicked chaos. Some hesitated, others attacked, and some yelled in confusion. It was a mess.
Link brought the MI3 Assassins out of the metal gate and into the fountain square.
Fwoosh! Arrows shot towards them.
"Shoot, shoot! They're inside! Shoot them to death!" a Dark Elf cried.
More arrows came at them, but to no avail. The hailstorm not only blew away their arrows, but also blocked the elves from even seeing their targets. The human Assassins within it were quite safe. All they needed to do was to stay on the alert and cast away any stray arrows that might have made their way in.
The hailstorm continued moving forward. In that moment the Dark Elf Assassins knew that their arrows had been utterly useless.
"Charge! Kill them!"
"The hailstorm is too dangerous. It's full of ice shards. Charge into that?"
"Are you scared? You coward!"
All sorts of arguments broke forth. Without a leader to guide them, the large crowd of Dark Elf Assassins was just like headless geese.
But there were still hot-blooded, reckless fellows among them.
More than ten Dark Elf Assassins charged at the icy whirlwind, masked and leaning forward as they ran. They went in head-on.
But they regretted it the moment they stepped foot into the hailstorm.
The icy winds were sharp, and there were countless dagger-like shards within them. The attacks that rained on them couldn't be fended off with just techniques alone.
The Lesser Hailstorm spanned slightly more than 15 feet with a concentrated radius of less than ten feet. The true zone where it took effect was just a little more than three feet wide. It was in this zone where one would be torn to shreds.
Once they charged in, the Dark Elf Assassins were attacked from all directions.
Some immediately sustained critical injuries and fell to the ground. Others were luckier to have made their way into the center, but even so, they shivered with cold, and they were bruised all over. What waited for them was no welcome ceremony, but the blades of the human Assassins!
The first wave of Assassins was crushed within five seconds.
When the hailstorm moved away, their mutilated corpses were left on the ground, leaving the others speechless.
The remaining Dark Elf Assassins became silent. Their bravery fled. No one else dared to charge at it.
After that, a small group of the Dark Elf Assassins followed the hailstorm from afar, another group of them shot arrows towards it every now and then, while yet another group just stood around, not knowing what to do.
"The leader's over here. He's dead!" a Dark Elf cried out from the first floor of the MI3 outpost.
Link successfully brought Annie and the other human Assassins out of the fountain square. Three minutes later, they found themselves in a small alley.
It was narrow, making it difficult for arrows to ambush them and significantly reducing the amount of danger they faced.
"Continue. Go to the hotel, it has a secret passage!" Annie said suddenly. The secret passage there was privy to only core members. It probably hadn't been found since it was in a such an inconspicuous location. Link immediately turned towards the hotel.
There were Dark Elf Assassins at the bar inside, but after witnessing the damage the hailstorm could do, they bolted when it started moving towards them.
The hotel was small and cramped. Seeing no trace of the Dark Elf Assassins, Link canceled the spell.
Annie waved a hand. "Follow me."
She led the way to the kitchen in the back of the hotel. Several corpses laid on the kitchen floor—the chef and some workers. The entrance to the hotel's cellar stood in a corner of the kitchen.
Annie took a deep breath, opened the cellar door, dragged the chef's corpse over and threw it in. The corpse landed with a thump. It looked as if there weren't any Dark Elf Assassins in there.
"Safe!" Annie gestured before entering the cellar. Link followed closely behind her, and the other human Assassins walked behind him.
Annie explained the situation to Link as they walked deeper into the cellar. "The passage is in the deepest part of the cellar. It's a real maze, with only one correct path which leads to a house about 650 feet away. It should be far enough for us to shake the Dark Elf Assassins off our trail!"
Link nodded. They would probably be safe by that point.
Actually, the game server had already given him a new notification about that.
Rescuing the Legendary Assassin completed.
Game player receives 15 Omni Points.
The next part of the mission has not been activated.
With the 15 Omni Points, Link's total Omni Points had gone back to twenty. This gave him much more leeway.
They had reached the deepest part of the cellar. Annie fumbled around the wall behind a huge wine casket. Finally, she opened a very cleverly hidden secret door. Climbing into it, she told Link, "Mr. Link, you've done us all a great favor. We'll take it from here and make sure you reach your destination safely."
Ardivan piped up, "You saved my life. I will be your strongest shield!"
The other human Assassins nodded in agreement.
From this short journey, they had realized the importance of having a Magician—with magic, they had broken through a siege of Dark Elf Assassins more than ten times their number!
It was nothing short of a miracle. No one would believe it even if they told them.
As long as they had Link, they would be able to achieve so many things that had originally seemed impossible. How could they put such a precious, important member of their team in danger?
Link relaxed a little, knowing that he could rest.
He had been tensed this entire time. Using magic in combat was also especially taxing on the mind. Not a single thing could go wrong. He really was tired.
Luckily, their passage through the tunnel was uneventful. Five minutes later, they walked out of the passage and into a normal-looking house.
A young couple, who were external members of the MI3, greeted them. They didn't seem surprised to see Annie and her team. Noticing that all of them were hurt, the husband brought out some clean bandages and medicine while his wife cleaned and wrapped the Assassins' wounds. She seemed quite good at it and had probably received professional training.
It was a pity that they didn't have any Magic Potions. Otherwise, Link might have been able to replenish his Mana more quickly.
When she opened Ardivan's bandages, which had been wrapped hastily, the woman cried out, "The wound has healed so quickly!"
At this, Ardivan gave Link a grateful nod.
Annie was surprised. She hadn't thought that Link's healing magic would be so effective. She turned to look at him.
Link was slumped against the wall. His eyes were heavy and his arms were crossed before his chest. His wand had been stuck in his belt rather simply. Weariness was etched all over his young face.
Annie knew that spellcasting was a very taxing thing to do. This was why Magicians placed a lot of emphasis on rest—and it was already close to one o'clock in the morning. Within just one night, the young Magician had destroyed the Portal Tower, escaped the Dark Elf Assassins within the Magic Academy, and then had come to their aid, all with little to no rest.
He must be exhausted.
For some reason, Annie's heart softened at the sight of him like that. She wanted to hug him close and let him rest.
This was a completely foreign sensation to her. Blinking rapidly to bring her back to reality, Annie herself was shocked at the thought. What is wrong with me? Why would I think something like that?
Touching her face discreetly, she could feel the heat on her cheeks.
Ardivan looked at her curiously. "Commander, are you hurt? Why is your face so red?"
"I'm fine." Annie panicked a little, as if her thoughts had been found out. She pulled a straight face. "We don't have much time. Rest properly!"
"Yes." Ardivan didn't dare to disobey her instructions.
The small team rested for a full ten minutes in the house. Their wounds were taken care of and with enough healing tonics, they were energetic and almost as good as new.
"Commander, should we get going?" Ardivan asked softly. According to their plan, their next destination would be the city guards' barracks.
Annie looked at Link, hesitating. She wanted to let him rest a little more.
But Link had already opened his eyes. "Let's go!" he said.
"But you…" Annie said in spite of herself, worry brimming her eyes.
"I'm perfectly fine. My Mana has recovered somewhat since I've rested. It'll be enough to handle some things. We should go!" Link urged.
He only had 15 Mana Points, but he had 20 Omni Points in total. He'd be able to handle anything, even if that Holmes came after him!
As he stood up, a new notification flashed.
Mission triggered: Escort!
Mission Details: Escort the Human Assassin Leader, Annie Abel, to the city guards' Camp of Gladstone City.
Mission Reward: 30 Omni Points.
30 Omni Points; that was a very high mission reward.
As Link completed these missions, the objective of the game server became clear. It didn't want Link to just escape from Gladstone City like in the game, it wanted him to stop the massacre and save the city!
Should he accept it? Link hesitated. If he did, he would be putting his life on the line.
His mind flashed back to the images of the young and beautiful magic teacher Vera struggling to live, Ardivan, covered in blood, fighting the Dark Elf Assassins, Mary, heavily wounded and hiding in the alley, first asking whether the news had been sent out…
The Assassins of the MI3 were doing their best to save Gladstone City, not caring for their own safety. Link suddenly felt that fighting for this didn't seem all that bad.
This time, I'll give it my all! He told himself softly.
To get stronger, and to save the city, those were his goals.
Straightening up, he clutched the New Moon Wand tightly. The past series of battles had affirmed his conviction.
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