The Amber Sword

Chapter 197 – The final moment (14)

The dust and smoke slowly receded to a thin layer. Even though there was only silence where Veronica and Brendel were at, it felt even more ominous. The strong Mana had changed the shape of the landscape as a deep gully had been formed by the Wall of Chaos’s destruction.

Mana suddenly surged again, causing Brendel and Veronica’s hearts to skip a beat. Amman’s earlier monologue was to gain time so he could cast the Wall of Chaos. But he was currently nowhere to be found. Perhaps he had used a teleportation spell again during that interval.

“Boy, what exactly is that thing……”

Veronica took in a deep breath. Even at her level, she felt the Mana pulses in the area to be increasingly stifling. What kind of spell was Amman preparing now?

Brendel’s eyes were nearly shut. He could have an endless array of strategies when he had his Planewalker’s abilities and even shrug off Andesha’s Element Power to a certain extent, but he could not but feel like collapsing against the swelling Mana.

“Have you never…… heard of Mavekart’s Grimoire? To think…… that I will see it in this place.” Brendel gnashed his teeth.

“Is it really that cursed book? Why does Amman have it!” Veronica finally recalled that name.

There was a deafening explosion. Andesha screamed, but her voice was swallowed up by an even louder blast of sound. A visible shield of light was conjured in front of her wings and it shook violently as the Dark Energy collided into it.

Spiderweb-like cracks quickly appeared all over the shield.

The landscape was already ruined from the earlier blasts of energy. The ground was uneven and filled with cracks, but this beam of energy turned the area beneath it into hollowed ground and destroyed everything into powder.

“Ahhhhh!” Andesha screamed with terror.

She was unwilling to accept this outcome and glared at Amman with wrathful wide eyes. If she was at the peak of her strength, she could have defended against the spell. However, the vegetation that Brendel grew did not just sever her connection with nature, it even distorted the Mana in this area. She did not even have half of her original strength left.

The beam of light was now a tidal wave that warped Andesha’s shield of light. The scales on her wings cracked and were torn off mercilessly. Blood spilled out in large amounts, and showers of blood drenched the ground.

Her screams continued amidst curses.

“Ahhhh! Hamir, I curse you!”

The dragon was actually hurled far away by the Dark Energy. There was a tiny explosion, followed by uprooted trees and soil flying into the air.

Brendel’s eyes lit up as the beam of Dark Energy finally subsided. Andesha did not exceed the limits of a mortal body yet, and the Shadow Blasting Waves dealt quite the fatal blow on her. There was no need to worry about her any longer.

“Now!” He roared. “I need just a few seconds!”

Veronica immediately reacted. She activated her defensive magic equipment and poured her Element Power to form a light green barrier that reduced the burden of the pulsing Dark Energy on the youth.

Brendel calmly took out his Shale Longbow again.

He took on a closed stance to create a steady form to ensure a better frame alignment that was reinforced with his back muscles. His feet shuffled back slightly as he drew the bowstring in one quick motion.

He exhaled violently.

All his senses were cut off. The sensation of the powerful gale against his skin did not register any longer. Roaring sounds of the wind did not reach his ears. The scent and taste of the dragon’s blood were sealed off. His eyes did not perceive the destruction of the landscape.

Amman’s shrouded figure was the only thing that he wanted to have in his mind.

There was a dim shimmering light on Mavekart’s Grimoire, and on it was Amman’s pale bony hand that was shriveled up like a raisin. He laughed like a madman despite the hastened aging on his body:

“Andesha or Veronica, you’re no more than ants in my eyes…… Hahaha—” He laughed so hard that he coughed a few times: “You make me laugh, hahaha……”

Brendel took in a deep breath and his senses came back again.

It was impossible for him to match the truly talented archers in the game. They were capable of superhuman feats. Firing point-blank shots, splitting projectiles in mid-air, or even catching the enemies’ arrows to fire them back. The videos about them leaping around by making use of their environment made it seem like they rehearsed a choreographed dance, all while shooting arrows freely in every angle possible. Some players even joked about them having a Mind’s Eye where they simply needed to think where their target was and shoot with absolute accuracy.

But Brendel was nowhere as gifted as them. What he had was merely a polished system that he gained through countless shots.

His current aiming style was different from his usual preference. It was a modern style that was catered for sports, not for battle. But that was his goal. Three fingers from his right hand pulled the bowstring and anchored it onto his lips, while the left hand held the bow’s grip loosely without letting his palm touch it.

It was going to be a single shot that required accuracy, not repeated firings.

[Distance. Slightly over a hundred meters. Time taken to reach target. Less than a second.]

The size of Amman’s figure was no larger than a thumb, but with his high Perception stats, he could see it with reasonable clarity. The problem was the harsh wind and pulsing Dark Energy. It was as if he had to thread the eye of a shaking needle with a thick string in a single attempt.

His arm was raised slightly. Even gravity affected his arrow, and therefore he had to account for the angle. His projectile was not going to travel in a straight line.

He put his focus on the wind and adjusted his aim.

Time was not an issue.

Amman was continuing his monologue.

Another breath was taken.

But this time he exhaled lightly.

Finally, his right fingers released and straightened at the same time, while his left hand hung loosely. The arrow was shot out as it bent left and right from the vibrations before it corrected itself, rising into the air in a beautiful arc as the Shale Longbow rotated downwards smoothly. The youth’s form was almost ethereal, and it looked like he was performing a ritual to send off the arrow to its victory.

The projectile sailed through the wind and Dark Energy that was now resembling a tempest.

Surely, it was an impossible feat.

And yet it somehow pierced through the shrouded figure.