Chapter 042 – Kill!
...
"Prompt: You have encountered Warlock Edson (LV15) and 33 Gnolls!"
...
Almost at the moment they faced each other.
Matthew shouted loudly:
"Ella!"
Miss Owl, who was originally performing an enlightenment ceremony for the Oak Forest, heard Matthew's call and silently flapped her wings towards the southwest of the forest.
There, it was the location of the newly established outpost agreed upon by Matthew and Blade.
Seeing Ella safely leave to deliver the message.
Matthew breathed a sigh of relief.
There was no time to change into his mage robe, so he quickly took out the Defense Psalm and held it in his left hand, while his right hand quickly placed the Coughing Staff and the Withered Wood Staff at his waist for easy access.
Eli's reaction was even more extreme.
He glared angrily, pounced forward on all fours, and his whole body swelled up. With a roar, a tall and powerful Sabertooth Tiger appeared in the moonlit wasteland.
He actually charged straight towards the enemy group!
"Attack!"
An ambush was always unexpected, but Edson's response was not inferior. He shook off his cloak and took a huge Nail Hammer from his back with his other hand.
The Nail Hammer emitted a dark red and eerie glow.
Under his command.
The Gnolls rushed out.
They rushed towards Eli with small wooden sticks and small round shields.
Matthew keenly noticed that some of the Gnolls were holding wooden boxes in their hands, and compared to normal Gnolls, their eyeballs were more prominent, with bloodshot whites and a faint eerie glow similar to the Nail Hammer in Edson's hand.
"Roar!"
Eli bravely rushed into the group of Gnolls.
His size was completely overwhelming for these medium-sized creatures.
With just one encounter.
The Sabertooth Tiger pounced, its fangs pierced, and its tail swept.
Immediately, three or four Gnolls died a violent death!
However, unexpectedly, the Gnolls, who were known for their low morale and tendency to flee in the face of danger, showed an unreasonable bravery.
The death of their companions did not make them hesitate or fear, but instead they continued to swarm forward as if they were not afraid of death.
Eli's strength was strong, so he was naturally not harmed by the Gnolls, but there were simply too many Gnolls. With the boost of courage, even the fierce Sabertooth Tiger had to maneuver and couldn't push forward head-on.
A few seconds later.
Edson himself joined the battle along with the Gnolls.
He swung the huge Nail Hammer while shouting loudly.
Warlocks' spells were complex and obscure, and he chanted them quickly and indistinctly. Matthew didn't even have a chance to interrupt with the Coughing Staff, and Edson had already finished the casting phase.
Matthew could only vaguely judge that Edson had used three spells during his movement—
The first spell was summoning a demonic pet!
A black smoke rose under the moonlight, and a demon that looked like a hyena with barbed spikes on its tail quietly appeared.
...
"Susuwah Demon Hound (Elite/LV10): Abyssal creature, intermediate demon, usually accompanied by elite Gnolls."
...
Just as the information about this summoned creature appeared in front of Matthew's eyes.
He also completed his own summoning.
As the radiance of the Undead Contract gradually dimmed.
A stealthy-looking Minotaur skeleton appeared in front of Matthew.
"Oh, I was just getting into it, Matthew!"
Peggy complained, then immediately saw the situation in front of her. She drew her Bone Blade with a swipe:
"Who should I cut?"
Matthew pointed to the Susuwah Demon Hound that was charging towards him.
Peggy immediately went up to meet it and fought with the Demon Hound.
On the other side.
Due to Eli's impulsive charge, his position was vaguely held back by the Gnolls. Just as Matthew was about to command the Silver Moon Zombie to go and reinforce Eli, Edson had already swung the Nail Hammer and killed the Sabertooth Tiger.
At this moment.
Matthew also distinguished that the second spell Edson cast should be a spell that infused power or enhanced physique through praying to a patron.
Because he saw Edson's body start to visibly swell at a rapid pace.
Swoosh!
The black thorn-like fur screamed and tore Edson's robe.
With the increase in size.
Edson, the Warlock, also revealed his ferocious true form—
The human appearance illusion was shattered, and under the moonlight, a giant Minotaur with abnormally bulging muscles, standing at two meters tall, appeared!
"Die!"
The huge Minotaur struck the Sabertooth Tiger's waist with the Nail Hammer.
Eli couldn't completely dodge it and was hit on the side, immediately letting out a miserable scream!
The Gnolls became even more aggressive when they saw this.
Although the Silver Moon Zombie had already arrived nearby to support Eli.
But Eli, who was targeted by Edson, still looked miserable.The latter did not expect that the warlock would possess such terrifying melee abilities!
Edison continued to swing his nail hammer.
Eli's position was constantly being squeezed.
Helpless, Eli could only hurriedly cast two buff spells on himself.
Then he prepared to retreat from the battle.
Matthew was also preparing to support Eli.
He took out his withered wood staff and aimed it at Edison's back from a distance.
At this moment, the warlock seemed to be completely focused on chasing Eli and completely indifferent to what was happening behind him.
All signs indicated that now was the best time for a surprise attack.
Matthew tightened his grip on the withered wood staff, preparing to unleash his most powerful single-target spell, "Greater Drain Ray."
But at the critical moment, he suddenly remembered the third spell that Edison was chanting!
"I am a mage, there is no reason for him to ignore me from the beginning. The 'Battle Spell Identification' just now was also correct. It really is three spells, the enemy cannot be shooting in the dark!"
So what exactly was the third spell?
Matthew stared intently at Edison's back, which was glowing red, and chanted the incantation rapidly.
One second later.
A burst of cold air erupted from the tip of the withered wood staff.
Immediately after.
A white mist about one meter in diameter enveloped Edison.
Swoosh!
A flash of red light appeared on Edison's body.
The white mist disappeared instantly.
Matthew felt intense pain in the palm of his hand holding the staff!
A slight nausea quickly rose in his heart.
...
"Tip: You used a 0th-level trick, 'Frost Mist,' on the warlock Edison!
You have been countered by Edison's 'Spell Counter (Enhanced Pact)'!
...
Your 'Frost Mist' has failed, and you will suffer the punishment of being countered by a spell:
For the next 12 minutes, you cannot cast any spells of the same level as 'Frost Mist';
Your focus -0.5 (lasts for 18 seconds)."
...
"Tip: You successfully identified and used a 0th-level trick to break the enemy's 'Spell Counter.' You will soon have the opportunity to explore the elements of 'Battle.'"
...
"It really is a spell counter!"
"And it's a spell counter enhanced by the master he believes in!"
Matthew secretly congratulated himself for realizing that something was wrong.
If he had cast a 2nd-level spell just now, the punishment from the spell counter would probably have sent him flying!
Since Matthew crossed over, he had hardly fought against any serious spellcasters. The warlock Edison in front of him was the first.
Actual combat was indeed different from theory. If Matthew hadn't been cautious enough, this cunning spell counter would definitely have caught him off guard.
And this long-planned spell counter made Matthew realize that Edison's target from the beginning was himself!
Sure enough.
After sensing that Matthew had suffered the punishment of the spell counter.
Edison suddenly turned around.
He swung his nail hammer and launched a rapid assault towards Matthew's direction.
And those gnolls ran even faster.
A small part of them crossed over the silver moon zombies and charged towards Matthew.
The rest were entangled in a fight with the zombies.
Seeing this, Eli hurriedly prepared to go to the rescue.
But at this moment, the two sides were already some distance apart, and he could only barely catch up to some of the gnolls that were left behind.
"Hiss!"
Even the Su Suwa Hellhound, who was originally engaged in a fierce battle with Peggy, found an opportunity to shake her off.
This cunning demon accelerated and tried to surround Matthew from the other side.
At a critical moment.
Peggy took a sudden step forward and threw a bone blade towards the empty space in front with anticipation!
Splat!
The bone blade that flew out effortlessly tore through the demon's forehead.
The demon immediately convulsed and collapsed to the ground.
Brain matter and blood mixed together and flowed out from the gap created by the bone blade.
Without caring about the demon, Peggy pulled out the bone blade and returned to protect Matthew's side.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here, no one can hurt you!"
The soul fire in her skull burned brightly.
A quick look at "paw𝑟ead.com" will leave you more fulfilled.
Her golden skeleton gradually settled into a more noble dark gold color under the moonlight.
A fleeting smile of relief appeared on Matthew's face.
But his attention was still focused on the gnoll warlock charging towards him.
In the next moment.
He tightly gripped the withered wood staff, concentrated his attention, and unleashed a solid "Greater Drain Ray" towards Edison's tall figure.
Edison took the full force of this negative energy-filled ray without any deviation.
His body almost instantly shrank by a considerable amount.
Under the weakening effect of the drain ray.
Not only did Edison's life slowly drain away, but his powerful attributes were also gradually diminishing.
But he still did not stop his assault.
The gnoll in the front had already engaged in a fight with Peggy.
Fortunately, Matthew's reinforcements also arrived at the front battlefield one after another-The Skeleton Dormitory was not far from here. From the very beginning, Matthew had used the Undead Summoning Spell to call upon 12 Skeleton Soldiers. Now, they had finally arrived, enveloping Matthew in their midst.
"These bone scraps can't protect you!"
Ed roared as he charged forward.
His powerful Nail Hammer struck Peggy, shattering her arm and chest bones, causing her to stumble and fall to the side!
The close combat ability of this fourth-tier Warlock was evident!
Matthew stared intently at Ed.
He quickly took two steps back.
His withered wooden staff was once again aimed at the opponent.
Whoosh!
A gray light flashed past.
……
"Alert: You have used the 'Armor Negation Spell' on Warlock Ed!
Ed's armor (biological fur) has been reduced to -1."
……
"Your spells can't hurt me!"
Ed swung forcefully again.
Two Skeleton Soldiers were directly swept away by him.
At this point, there was less than twenty steps distance between him and Matthew.
However, when he saw Matthew's face under the moonlight.
Ed couldn't help but be somewhat surprised.
Because it was a face of confident composure.
Now is the time!
"Kill!"
Matthew whispered.
From the unnoticed shadows, a skeleton with twisted hips and dancing steps silently appeared behind the towering Gnoll.
Ed didn't have time to turn around.
The two daggers, Firefly and Bright Moon, were already impatiently resting on his thick neck.
The blades went in as if kissing a lover's skin.
Stab——
Blood splattered before the sound.
The head fell after the scream.
Under the moonlight.
The giant Gnoll's head rolled on the wasteland like a beach ball on the sand.
It happened to roll in front of Matthew.
Matthew lifted his foot.
And stomped heavily on it.
Just at this moment.
Another group of figures crawled out from the cave.
They stared in shock at Matthew, who was stepping on Ed's unblinking head.
Splash!
The eyeballs were squeezed out of the sockets.
Blood splattered half a meter high.
Staining the shoes and hem of the Necromancer under the moonlight.
……