City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Chapter 183: Shadows

Rip!
 
“Fucking bastard,” I cursed loudly. The burning arrow grazed through my arm, giving me a sharp pain.
 
It is not the first time this had happened in the past few minutes. I have been grazed by the attacks more than ten times. If not for the Dangersence and Swift, I wouldn’t have been able to dodge these attacks.
 
The condition is becoming worse; more and more of us are getting killed.
 
At least half of us have been killed, and I don’t think even hundreds of them had died. It is not surprising, seeing how disciplined and trained Blackwell’s army is.
 
It had been two decades since I had left the army and had forgotten what a well-trained army could do.
 
This battle reminded me of that.
 
After this, I would think ten times before fighting an army, but before such a question came, I have to deal with a problem I am facing here.
 
With every passing minute, the task of dealing with Ignatius Blackwell seemed to get further and further. More and more of us are getting killed, not just regular bandits, but as leaders.
 
A third of the leaders are already dead, and it has been only an hour since the battle began.
 
If this continued, then I will have to think about retreating. Which I don’t want to do after I had lost so many men.
 
The masked man had provided a good advance and it will be more than enough to rebuild my crew, but I want more. 
 
I want that Bow and that sword, and victory.
 
Another arrow came from Blackwell, and this time, it is targeting Leryn, who quickly raised her sword, but before she could defend herself.
 
Another arrow came from behind and struck it. 
 
The arrow from behind is destroyed, burning into ashes, but it took more than half of the power of Blackwell’s arrow, what remained is easily defendable.
 
Herman. I really envy the bastard for fighting from a safe distance, while I need to fight close, where the slightest mistake and I am dead.
 
“Nrokk,” said the familiar voice. I looked at Leryn, who was looking at me. She said nothing more than my name, but I know what she is trying to say.
 
‘Where is the support we have been promised?’ I am also asking the same question. The masked man had said there will be support, but till now, I didn’t see anything.
 
It should come early as possible. If it was late, then even if they came, it would be too late. 
 
I have already decided that if support didn’t come in ten minutes. I am going to retreat. I want wealth and artifacts, but the thing I want the most is to preserve my life.
 
A few minutes passed and the thing I had waiting for finally happened.
 
“Lord Blackwell, assassins,” shouted the old man suddenly, and immediately, the people around Blackwell become alert.
 
I didn’t see anything for a second before I started to see the shadows coming toward me.
 
‘It is time to go all out,’ I thought and activated my most powerful skills and waited for assassins to attack and create the opportunity for me.
 
I am going to kill Blackwell.
…
 
Slice Puch!
 
I cut the leg of the bandit before piercing his head through the back. Killing the fourteenth bandits of this battle.
 
I avoided the falling body and took healing and stamina potions.
 
I wanted to drink anti-cold potions, too, but I couldn’t. I am already near the limit of the potions I could drink and what limit I have; I have to keep it for the healing potions for the emergency.
 
The battles had been intense, especially in the past few minutes.
 
A lot of bandits have died, nearly half if I were to guess. This means, most of whom have remained, are pretty strong, and killing them is hard.
 
In every fight, I need to push myself further and further. Pushing my skills to their limit to get the power I need to kill my enemies.
 
It had been even five seconds since I drank the potion when I saw a muscled orc coming toward me. It is buffed, one of the most buffed orcs I had seen on the battlefield.
 
Though not as much, Nrokk Shieldhead, the leader of shield bane bandits. Who is built like a tank.
 
He is fighting against Ignatius and the group and is the most powerful bandit fighting here. 
 
He was the enemy of Ulag Karguk. Both fought many times. He had nearly killed Karguk many times, but that bastard was always able to run away, till he was killed by us.
 
“Die!” shouted the beefy grey-orc as he reached me and swung down his ax like a storm.
 
I dodged the attack by retreating, and he followed with another attack, without wasting even a moment.
 
Bringing his ax a mere inch away from his neck.
 
As I had said, only stronger had remained and these bastards are harder to deal with, but I do not have any other choice. 
 
As surrender isn’t an option and so is running away.
 
I need to keep fighting until we defeat the bandits. 
 
Things have started becoming good for me. I have achieved something on this trip, and I need to live to see the plan working, for which I had worked so hard.
 
My career is taking off and so is my business. I want to take them even further and there are many plans in my mind, very ambitious plans.
 
Till I achieve them, I refuse to die.
 
The beefy orc is attacking me relentlessly, using Speed Skill and Offensive Skills together. This one was more dangerous than most bandits; it is powerful and had an enchanted weapon.
 
The ax will only need to touch me, and it will smoothly pass through my skin without any resistance.
 
“You should just accept your fate and die. I promise I will make it swift and painless,” he said while continuing with his attacks.
 
“Not interested,” I replied, and it grinned.
 
“Good. I like the enemies who resist. Their painful screams are so delicious,” he said, licking his lips.
 
If I had any doubts about him having pain skills. They have disappeared. I also found out this bastard is a sadist and probably psychotic, seeing a pleasurable expression appear on his face as he spoke the last sentence.
 
A minute passed and many times, its ax had come very close to cutting me, but I was able to dodge them.
 
I wanted to go to the offensive on him, be he is not giving me a single chance to do it. Keeping me busy with his constant attacks.
 
It seemed like he had a skill related to that and developed his fighting style according to it. I wouldn’t have said those words if not seeing how perfectly he is pressing me.
 
It is frustrating me a lot. Seeing he is not giving me a single chance to launch an attack.
 
If this continued. We will keep fighting till the end of the battles. Which is bad for me, unlike him. 
 
I am lowered level than him and not a pure warrior and thus have lower stamina. I would lose if this turned out to be the battle of attrition, but I didn’t see a choice other than this, unless, of course, I had received the help.
 
Everyone around me is busy, including my guards.
 
Though, unlike me, most of them are fighting in groups. I couldn’t join the groups, despite wanting to.
 
They are trained to fight in such a way. If I join their group, I will break their formation. Which might get them and also me killed.
 
Rip!
 
Another minute passed, and its ax finally touched me.
 
It was the faintest touch, but the ax opened the big wound. Like how the taunt cheese split open with the slightest puncture.
 
It is definitely due to the effect of the skill.
 
Thankfully, it was only the faintest touch, and the injury it had opened on my shoulder was small. 
 
If it had been a normal cut like I had received so many times on this battlefield. I would have a grave injury and a bleeding shoulder; that would have been the end of me.
 
“Hehe,” he grinned, and there seemed to be some sick pleasure in it.
 
I felt all the hair on my body stand up, seeing the grin, and I become more careful.
 
Another attack came, and I moved to dodge it when I was suddenly hit by a sharp pain. Like someone had poked a hot dagger into me through the small wound I received a second ago.
 
Delayed Pain!
 
The name of the skill appeared in my mind and my eyes started to tear up.
 
I wanted to curl up on the ground and scream, but I did none. As that would have killed me and instead, I harnessed than pain and pushed my skill harder to dodge the attack.
 
A surprise couldn’t help but appear on his face seeing that, but I didn’t care about what he was feeling.
 
I care about the attack that coming at me and it didn’t stop, even when he was surprised.
 
I dodged it, and his ax came again. I dodged it, with unclear vision brought by the tears of pain coming from my eyes. 
 
It is really painful, and I wanted to scream, but there is one thing I don’t want to get another injury. I will not be able to bear it.
 
Hun!
 
Another half minute passed when a change occurred as we reached a group of soldiers fighting the bandit.
 
When I dodged the attack of his. Instead of attacking me again, with another attack, he shifted and attacked the soldiers from behind.
 
It surprised me, but I also recognized it as a chance I had been waiting for.
 
I watched and when the attack reached halfway and moved toward him, with the speed I have been holding back.
 
Yes, I have been holding back a little to exploit the moments like this. 
 
I have to do it because everyone here is more powerful than me, and if I used all my strength from the start. They would get used to it and measure my response in that strength, my peak strength.
 
Holding back, I have something to be used at the right time.
 
He noticed me, moving fast toward him.
 
A surprise appeared on his face and I thought he would stop the attack and turn to me, but he didn’t.
 
Instead, he freed his left hand from his ax and takes out the sword from his waist, and moved it toward me with a grin.
 
He is being greedy; he wants to kill both me and the soldier.
 
I reached him, and he moved his sword to decapitate me, and seeing, the skill in which he is using, it seemed like; I am not the only one who had been hiding one’s power.
 
He could use two weapons at the same time, with sufficient mastery.
 
His sword avoided my rapier expertly and soon appeared in front of my head, with only, a few inches of distance between us.
 
Clang!
 
That’s when I ducked, and I did it with such speed that it alarmed him. He moved to stop me; that is when the soldier, he is attacking from behind, turned and his saber, clashed the against the ax.
 
Puch!
 
The orc shook, and it affected his movement. I used it, as I appeared in front of him and pierced my rapier into his chest.
 
I watched his fading eyes as I avoided his sword.
 
The body fell down in front of me and I felt relieved. Not about killing, but about the burning pain; it was too much.
 
It stopped with his death.
 
I took out the healing potion and spread it on a small injury. I took out another potion and took a sip from it. 
 
A moment later, the cold recedes and so are the effects it brought.
 
The snowfall was heavy, and it was cold. I could bear the cold, but not its effect. They were slowing me, and the heat of the battle was not enough to counter those effects.
 
This sip of chill bane potion would.
 
I took even breaths and waited for another bandit; they will appear soon. 
 
Hun!
 
Four seconds later, I saw the bandit coming toward me and waited to welcome him. When suddenly my expression changed when I saw something behind him.
 
I saw over ten shadows moving at blurring speed, moving toward Blackwell and my sister.
 
“Fuck!” I cursed.
 
I knew a bad thing when I see one and these shadows are the worst. They could change the winning battle into a defeat.

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