Chapter 213: Three vs One

    Of course, nothing could ever go as planned. Gerald was already standing, no worse for wear. There was something to be said about having 1500 point in Vitality. He may not be strong in a fight, but he could definitely take a beating. Other than the light damage to his armor, his wounds werent even bleeding anymore.

    Plus, Averys dagger wasnt enough to cause any real harm to Cliff, either. The heir to House Aarden must have invested a good amount into Vitality or Endurance to go with the natural defensive abilities given to him along with the earth element.

    Avery rushed in, both daggers drawn. He would get a few good hits in on Gerald before the others could make a move. The former advisor was slow and clumsy in a fight. At least it seemed that way to someone with speed like Avery.

    Avery strafed around the mans tower shield, stabbing and piercing every visible joint in the mans armor. Within seconds, Gerald was more of a pin cushion than a person. He was almost a fountain of blood. Even with his visible healing, Avery was able to cut enough that his shiny golden armor had turned bloody.Vissit  for updates

    Gerald slammed his shield into the ground, causing Avery to leap back to avoid the impact. Avery wished he knew if he was even making a dent in the others HP. But it didnt matter. The more he harassed the group, the longer it would take, and the sooner his reinforcements would arrive.

    Avery wasnt sure who all was coming, but if Alanah showed up herself, the fight would be settled in a matter of seconds. Everyone except for maybe the Shadow Witch would fall to her command. Even so, he felt it was underneath Alanah to personally get involved in something like this. Therefore, he would jump on any opportunity he found to strike.

    He only had one order - to keep Gerald alive. That meant that the other two enemies were fair game, which is why when the vines grew up around Gerald and stone pellets shot toward Avery, he used Burst Step as soon as his foot hit the ground, and appeared next to the plant user.

    Avery stabbed right at the back of the plant users neck. Somehow, the person managed to shift their body just enough to avoid critical damage. Averys dagger still managed to dig deep into the persons shoulder, and he wasnt finished yet. He jerked his arm, dragging the blade across the plant users back, cutting them from shoulder to shoulder.

    However, just as Avery went for another stab, he saw the persons aura begin to condense. Getting a bad feeling, Avery kicked the ground and shot backward just as the persons aura exploded, sending a mass of spores covering the area.

    With the explosion, Avery finally got a good look at the persons face. To his surprise, it was a half elf man with short green hair and a pointed nose. Avery didnt recognize him at all, but the situation kept getting more and more strange.

    Out of the few noble houses in the Kingdom that were made up of half elves, none seemed to have a member like the person in front of him. Sure, being an elf, or even half elf, seemed to make it easier to have an affinity for plants, but Avery was well versed in the hierarchy of the Kingdom, and still couldnt place the face or the power.

    The dagger was initially slowed by whatever flexible armor the man wore underneath his plate armor, then it had to get through the mans Endurance, which wasnt near as good as his Vitality, but, being a tank, it would have been stupid if the man hadnt put at least some points into the stat. There was also a good chance that Gerald had stumbled across some Void Beast meals in the years that Alanah had been active in Cydaria.

    The dagger bit deep and Avery twisted it as he pulled it out-he wanted to cause as much damage as possible before he had the avoid the incoming Cliff.

    At this point, Avery knew Gerald was becoming tired of being picked on by Avery. The man was the biggest sitting duck among all his enemies, and also the only person he couldnt let escape. So, if an opportunity came up to take out or seriously damage one of the others, Avery would take it, but if not, he needed only harass Gerald until backup came along.

    Averys foot hit the ground, and he used Burst Step to get away once again, wincing at the cost of the skill. It was a fascinating skill, but the drain on his Stamina with each usage was severe. Avery popped the cork on another Stamina Potion and gulped it down. Avery frowned at the waste of gold.

    Stamina Potions, especially the ones good enough to restore the amount of Stamina he used, were very expensive. With almost forty thousand Stamina, a normal Stamina Potion wouldnt even be a drop in a bucket for Avery. No, unless the potions were at least Major or Greater Potions, they wouldnt be worth Avery using.

    Avery sighed as the trio finally grouped up close together. It took them long enough to do so. He guessed there would be no more easy shots. So, he put his daggers back on his hips and drew his bow once more. He would move around them while peppering them with arrows and avoiding the vines. That way, he wouldnt need to use Burst Step often, and could save on Stamina. He only needed to hold on for about six more minutes.

    But Gerald wasnt having any of that. Vanessa! Stop fucking around and help!

    The Shadow Witch scoffed, but acted. The next thing Avery knew, Edward was sent shooting to the ground, creating a small crater in the earth.

    Fine. The Shadow Witch spoke.

    Immediately, the sky turned dark and a shadow dome fell over the battlefield, encompassing all six people within it. Avery felt his moves turn even more sluggish. Not only was the shadow another debuff, but it stacked with the spore cloud released by the half elf.

    Dammit. Things are about to get rough.