CHAPTER 38: SUMMONER AND HIS ARMY

Hovering far away from the scene was Snow, his arms folded as beautiful butterfly wings protruded from his back, flapping gently. Even midair, he exuded an elegant poise, eyes watching the sandworm close in on Godfrey with a faint curl at the right end of his lips.

Seraphina, whose wings shimmered with many colors and countless eyes like those on a peacock’s tail, watched from a distance. She had been tailing Snow, only to find herself staring in shock at a sandworm, a creature that any one of the elites would likely avoid.

From the size of that thing, she guessed it was probably an adolescent sandworm, which was a 6.3 high-tier beast.

Godfrey was doomed.

Meanwhile, Godfrey watched the sand give way to the creature swimming underneath at a fast pace. He definitely couldn’t outrun a beast like that, it was the same as a man trying to outswim a great white shark in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

Mountain tilted his head, tightening his grip around his Achilles Shield and longsword, his crimson-plated armor glowing faintly as though alive. Beside him, Ballista entered Black-Out, his form sharper and darker, summoning ten more Bow Knights. They came out of swirling golden mists, similar to dungeon gates, a sight that made Snow frown.

’A summon that can open dungeon gates to bring other beings?! And is that a golden gate? Just what is Godfrey summoning out of that wretched soul space of his!’

Mountain’s thick and bulky armor manifested on Godfrey, hiding him within the large golden mass. From within the slit of the helmet, a pair of crimson irises glowed as his gauntleted hand plunged the longsword into the sand.

Mountain lifted his shield, and explosive balls, condensed to the size of ping-pong balls, glowing with greater orange and red intensity, like miniature suns sealed in glass, blasted out. Dozens of them spiraled around themselves as they shot toward the quaking sound, and great explosions rang.

Several areas blew up, sand and dust rising for dozens of meters into the air, followed by the roar of the sandworm.

Lucian’s pupils trembled. ’Since when were Eritrea’s bombs so powerful?’ He could feel the difference from the moment he saw it, the version of explosive balls Mountain created were an upgraded form of Eritrea’s summon’s innate skill!

It was a huge slap that Mountain had taken her innate skill, which she had trained for years, and mastered it in mere minutes.

Seraphina sensed the same thing.

The sandworm burst out of the sand, revealing the thousands of teeth in its round mouth on its eyeless head. It had some burn marks but nothing too major.

However, the moment it appeared, the Bow Knights released their arrows. Clad in sleek golden plates and moving in perfect synchronicity, they fired one after the other without halt. All of them moved as one, fluidly, like they shared a single soul, the true discipline of an ancient force.

One by one, their powerful arrows, each carrying the force of a ballista, slammed into the sandworm. Though they couldn’t pierce its armor-plated body due to the difference in tiers, their combined fire made the massive beast reel.

The Bow Knights were always 2.0 lower than their summoner, which was Ballista. In Black-Out, Ballista had risen to 6.0, so all ten of them were 4.0 elite tiers! With the enhancements of their armor, their arrows could damage a 5.0 with weak defenses. Though their arrows couldn’t pierce through it, the combined force of over ten knights was enough to not only inflict great pain, but tilt the sandworm off course, making it fall to the side.

Ballista, on the other hand, finished charging his Trail Blazer and released it. The bowstring rang loudly as the arrow streaked forth, piercing through the creature’s armor and opening a gaping, bleeding hole.

Mountain immediately sent his explosive balls toward that wound, worsening it, while Ballista charged and shot the next.

Staring at the constant bombardment, Lucian’s eyes widened to the limit. "How is this even possible!"

"This is ridiculous!" Snow spat, unable to hold his fury. Was this even a summoner and his summon? This was a summoner and his army!

Godfrey finally removed his longsword from the sand and began to walk toward the enraged sandworm, which rushed him at a greater pace despite its increasing wounds and the blood splattering everywhere in large quantities.

Clearly this was an adolescent; an adult, despite their greater size, would have been wise enough to flee when in such danger. But this vengeful adolescent wanted nothing more than to swallow Godfrey and his summons, and their remains would forever be buried in the depths of the desert.

Seeing Godfrey in thick crimson armor walk toward the gigantic worm, Seraphina had no choice but to draw close to Snow. "What is he doing? Why would he put himself in danger when his summons are fighting for him, and from a good distance?"

Snow glanced at her from the corner of his left eye. "He’s foolish," he spat.

Godfrey broke into a run, and as he did, lightning crackled through his body. It grew in intensity, so much that the moment he leaped, it was as if the lightning became arms holding him midair.

His longsword shone under the surge. Godfrey knew his mana was almost finished, this final strike took all that was left. Yet at this moment, all he could think of was cleaving through this beast.

And with a downward swing, a great explosion roared. Godfrey slammed into the sand on his knees, his armor vanishing into motes of light as he stared at the sandworm, which no longer had a head.

Pieces of it fell here and there. He chuckled, leaning back as he felt Ballista and Mountain forcefully withdrawn to his soul space.

His mana was completely finished; he was exhausted, sweat trickling down his face like never before.

Lucian blinked several times, wiping his eyes exaggeratedly before chuckling darkly. "He ran out of mana?" Only now did he remember that Godfrey had awakened recently, so he hadn’t gathered enough. Running out of mana was a strange concept; many of them had years to gather so much that it could never run out, always replenishing and accumulating through meditation.

"Your classmate is in danger. He’s out of mana, and that sandworm isn’t dead. It can’t be killed until every segment of its body is destroyed, and that worm has over sixty segments. Won’t you help him?" Seraphina didn’t even finish before Snow coldly replied:

"And why would I do such a foolish thing?"

He watched as the headless beast lifted its body. As it slammed into the earth, crushing where Godfrey knelt, golden lightning erupted throughout its body, from all sixty segments that Ballista and Mountain had targeted, roasting every living cell within the worm’s body.

It vanished along with Godfrey, leaving Snow and Lucian, who were planning to steal the kill, seething.

’I just didn’t see it. Godfrey is a threat, more powerful than I thought. Right now, his only weakness is his lack of mana. If we don’t make use of this time, beating him...’ Snow clenched his teeth, refusing to finish the thought.

Once again, he had been proved wrong. Even Godfrey himself showcased strength beyond normal. His supposed foolish action obliterated the head of a twenty-four-meter-long beast!

On the other hand, Seraphina’s heart pounded as she stared at the havoc the battle caused. "He still killed it," she muttered, her pink eyes dilating in shock.

***

Back at the camp, Godfrey appeared from motes of violet light. The moment he appeared, one of his classmates roared:

"I told you Godfrey will be the first amongst those four to die!" He snickered, turning to the people he made a bet with. "Pay up—!"

The earth shook, dust rising as the mighty body of the sandworm appeared, breaking through the great heap of raptors in Godfrey’s kill space and encroaching into the space of others.

...

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