Chapter 1084: Chapter 1083: The Fingers (4)
Chapter 1084: Chapter 1083: The Fingers (4)
As Jahi cleaved another berserker into two pieces, Leone and I turned towards the rest of the enemies in the square and began to weave together some less destructive yet still deadly spells to put down the newcomers who were rushing towards us with their weapons raised.
Thankfully these Fingers that were trying to help turn the tides didn't have access to the same potions that the other Fingers here had, so as they brandished their daggers and short swords Leone and I took this as an opportunity to practice our ability to target moving enemies with precision based spells.
I worked with needles as I practiced both my precision and my knowledge on anatomy as I sent these rogues tumbling to the ground to be stamped on by their comrades, ensuring I had some toys to play with later and also some potential springs of information to help the Death Jackals with finding some other cells of these Fingers out in the Sultanate; if not, I would have myself some fresh meat to carve away at and practice on later...
I had some decent ideas on how to have both fun and learn at the same time, and to do so I would need to have a couple 'willing' canvases to work on later, and if I could take an entire day to slake my thirst for blood and also practice my abilities with my Lust Mana in a controlled environment.
Though if I do that I most certainly will need to make sure Anput, Leone and Jahi were all satisfied and willing to let me have a bit of a leash when I was playing around with my Lust Mana, since I had a feeling that - to start, anyways - I was going to need to make use of a bunch of different seduction techniques that would be toeing the line of adultery back in my world, and here as well.
I imagine I would need to do a LOT of convincing to get them to let me be for a few hours with these prisoners, but it would be well worth it if I could promise them some incredible results from the various experiments I could run on them, since those results would create some rather fun times for everyone involved.
Either way, I sent another barrage of ice needles straight into the crowd of rogues, only to glance at Leone as I said "Please don't kill all of them, Leone. I want a couple of them alive for later, alright?", the Vampire's dancing flames leaping from rogue to rogue as she burnt them alive and left blackened corpses sprawled out on the ground.
"Oh... Alright, I can do that, but you need to make sure they don't get back up then."
Her tone was nonchalant again as she controlled the sphere of flame and sent it soaring straight into the air, casting a hellish glow over the square as she picked out her targets more carefully as I took out another few for myself, peppering their bodies with needles and numbing them with just enough frost to keep them down for the next few minutes.
Being able to put them down and keep them immobile was a benefit of my magic affinity that I was forever grateful for, and it was always something that I was going to be thankful that I chose since it had such a versatility that only more advanced magics could match.
Each needle sunk into their flesh and anchored itself to their bones as they solidified completely inside of their bodies, leaving them with the very agonizing process of trying to yank off a frozen part of themselves and potentially break and remove their bone if they went through with it, and since that was extremely painful and very much against their brain's survival logic that none of them did so, instead reluctantly giving up and trying to find new ways to escape as they writhed around on the ground.
On the other's side, the berserkers were beginning to feel the effects of the poisonous, doubled edged sword they had willingly taken within themselves, their Cores pumping out more and more mana to strengthen them only to start drawing on the reserves that kept them alive, resulting in sloppier motor skills and deep rooted panic as they realized that the addicting thrill of having all their strength unlocked all at once was something that had a very heavy price.
The moment they started making mistakes was the moment they were granted the sweet release of death as the Death Jackals displayed the difference between cheating for power and earning it yourself, their blades singing as they efficiently cut them into pieces and left them scattered across the ground in messy, bloody piles.
Jahi was the one to try and make the most of this dip in performance as she swung her heavy blade over and over again, each swing burying itself into someone's body and allowing her to pull them apart in the most painful ways possible, the Demoness exerting her strength and ridding herself of the mild irritation she had felt from being almost pushed back a few moments ago.
The tides of the battle were similar to the tides of the ocean as they changed rapidly, the advantage the rogues had waning and being consumed by the overwhelming prowess of the trained warriors they faced as their bodies began to fail ever so slowly, but at a noticeable pace.
This square outside of the libraries was swiftly turned into the scene of a massacre as we finished off the rest of the rogues, only a handful being 'lucky' enough to survive as they remained sprawled out on the blood soaked ground in shock and horror as they watched everyone flick their comrade's blood off their blades and begin heading towards the library. Two of the Death Jackals peeled away from the group and moved to finish off the still alive Fingers, only to nod when I said "Don't kill them; they might be grunts but we can try and learn something from them. Secure them and ensure they don't kill themselves.", not questioning me at all and doing as I asked; maybe it just made too much sense to argue, or maybe they were following my orders because the futanari who would have eventually been their leader was deeply in love with me.
Either way they did as I asked and allowed me to regroup with Anput and Jahi as we made our way into the libraries quickly, heading after those three elites that had rushed inside earlier - and one of whom must have been that 'Caliph' that the man from earlier had told me about - to stop them from finding whatever it was that they were looking for.
I did not believe for a single moment that these Fingers were hoping to spread peace and prosperity inside of the Sultanate by terraforming it from a desert to a lush wonderland of abundance, and even if that was a piece of their goal there was no way they were doing it benevolently.
There was something they wanted desperately from this, and the most obvious was power; power over the Sultanate and by proxy, the Sultana as they turned the golden sands into luscious greens capable of sustaining this entire country.
There must be something that they wanted from this, and a way for them to reasonably get what they wanted if they were willing to risk this high profile raid in Bascra, so as we barged into the ancient libraries that held knowledge from various centuries - and perhaps even further back in time - it was of no surprise that we found the three rushing from bookcase to bookcase, throwing the contents to the ground as they searched for something in particular. Hearing us entering the library, they all turned and cursed softly before three separate - and elaborate - Ritual Circles flashed into existence in front of them, the sound of something cracking as they likely made use of a consumable enchanted item filling the air only to be dwarfed by the howling of a windstorm and the crackling of electricity as sharp blades of both elements stabbed at the entrance.
Each bolt of lightning and crescent of wind tore chunks out of the ancient sandstone brick as the rogues forced us into cover immediately, the sheer ferocity of their spells outclassing our own defensive spells by a good amount right off the bat.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Two of the rogues maintained their positions and began to charge up another suite of spells to keep us pinned while the last one continued the search, the three not saying a word for now as they ensured they completed their mission, which made me a tad bit more hesitant than normal to face them as I realized they weren't idiots like the rest of their goons.
These were actual opponents, and for the first time in a long time we were going to have to experience the difficulties of facing serious, well trained and equipped mortals head to head, ones that were evidently rather crafty and had their wits about them as we shielded ourselves from the blasts.
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