If these terrifying plants made their way to human settlements, they would cause a massacre. However, these three adepts were far too involved in their fights. No one could spare any effort to care about such an 'insignificant' matter!
The scales of battle were a little slanted, but as a whole, it still maintained a delicate balance.
Adept Sicha undoubtedly had the most melee combat power of the three.
Every one of his attacks was at least one hundred and ten points in power. Moreover, his movements were swift and agile. It would be challenging to get away if he managed to catch up.
Still, Greem's Flame Fiend was the one doling out the most damage.
Casually dishing out a hundred and thirty points of flame damage was something that neither Flandre and Sicha could deal with.
Flandre the Water Adept, on the other hand, was vastly inferior to Greem when it came to attack damage. However, he had the advantage of producing attacks that persisted and lingered, as opposed to the explosive destruction of fire spells. Moreover, water spells also had a bit of a slowing effect attached to them. That was why his primary purpose in this battle was to slow Greem down and give Sicha more openings to strike.
Of course, Greem also had a clear idea of what was happening from his vantage point on the dragon.
The reason he was engaging in this messy fight was all for the sake of buying time for the chip. It was currently gathering data on the two of them.
Chapter 447 Bait
Sicha. Human. Body Refining Adept (Assorted Poison Style).
Bodily attributes: Strength 12 | Agility 8 | Physique 14 | Spirit 6.
Melee battle techniques: Quick Strike, Barbaric Blow, Lacerating Touch.
Flandre. Human. Elementium Adept (Water).
Bodily attributes: Strength 5 | Agility 3 | Physique 6 | Spirit 17.
Commonly used spells: Ice Lance Barrage, Whirlpool Strangulation, Tidal Impact, Water Dragon Wave.
An adept's potent life force and Spirit usually came together to form an intangible forcefield that could obscure probing abilities. Under normal circumstance, the chip's passive probing ability would not be able to identify the opponent's attributes clearly.
However, in the heat of battle, Greem could determine the enemy's Spirit based on the effect of the magma fireball crashing against their defensive spells. He could evaluate the enemy's Spirit regeneration rate from the time gap between the spells they cast. He could figure out the enemy's Strength, Agility, and Physique based on their movement speed and endurance.
Even though all of the enemy's external performance was a result of countless factors, Greem was still able to extract quite a lot of useful data through quantitative and qualitative analysis.
It didn't matter whether it was Greem's attacks piercing through the enemy's defenses or the spells cast by them. The mental flux frequency, the effect of the spells, the strength of their defenses, the delay between each spell, the rate at which magic regenerated; all these minute details were things with which the chip could dynamically draw upon to construct a basic model of the two adepts.
Then, Greem could attack them to repeatedly probe the strength of their defenses and draw more responses from them to verify the data collected. These were undoubtedly extraordinarily precise and inconsequential pieces of information. Most people would not have the additional presence of mind to care about such things during an intense battle. Consequently, the enemy would never even imagine a person collecting information on them while they fought.
Initially, Greem knew nothing about Flandre and Sicha's attributes. The battle had been tense, with dangers lurking at every corner and turn. However, the fog of war obscuring Greem's eyes cleared the moment the data models on the two enemies finished; everything seemed so clear now.
Greem now had their bodily attributes. The chip had also captured and recorded their fighting patterns from the battle up till now. Greem might still find himself caught in a numerical disadvantage, but now it was as if he had a third eye. He was now able to predict the enemy's next actions to a certain degree.
Now that Greem knew Sicha's Strength and Agility, he could estimate his base movement speed, as well as the limits to which his attacks could reach when he struck. In doing so, Greem could assign his magic defenses and reposition in the manner that was most appropriate. He could continuously keep Sicha in an awkward position where it was hard to unleash his strength fully.
Sicha felt the difficulty of the situation!
When he wanted to strike at Greem forcefully, the fire adept would be in just the right position where the force he exerted would be at its weakest. If he wanted to strike from the side, he had to take the risk of being bombarded by Greem's spells.
On the other hand, if he wanted to run and drag it out into some form of guerrilla warfare, then Greem would chase him all the while and present him with a full fireball bombardment before Flandre's attacks could connect.
Trying to manage his advances against Greem, and his efforts to avoid attacks, was extremely difficult!
It was important to note that Sicha's twelve points of Strength provided him with a frightening offensive ability. If one were to ignore the effects of defensive spells, every single one of Sicha's claw strikes could deal a shocking seventy points of damage.
This number might not sound like a lot. After all, it was one third less than his full-force attack of a hundred and ten points. However, Sicha's high Agility also allowed him to chain his melee battle techniques, striking the enemy with the relentlessness of an endless storm, keeping them engaged with him.
He could strike five times in three seconds, with each attack dealing seventy points of damage. If all these attacks landed accurately, what kind of defensive array could hold up against him?
That was why most adepts couldn't cast spells if Sicha managed to close in on them. They had to rely on their defensive spells and quickly put some distance between them and the body-refining adept.
Earlier, during Greem's duel of fire and water with Flandre, Sicha had charged up from the side. He had smashed through the wind dragon's defenses, then took the mere two seconds of being close to Greem to shatter his Lava Shield into pieces.
If the wind dragon's Vortex of Wind hadn't expelled him immediately, all of Greem's Lava Shields would have shattered.
Of course, Sicha had also paid an equivalent price for his wild advance.
The Burning Domain that incinerated everything near the Flame Fiend stacked with the Ring of Fire. Sicha had to endure an overwhelming eighty points of fire damage per second while he was next to Greem. The damage from the Lava Shield itself also caused him to take an additional twenty-five points of damage per second.
His temporary withdrawal from the melee wasn't just to avoid the counter-attack from Greem. He also needed time for his body to regenerate. Fourteen points of Physique allowed him to restore any damaged part of his body through the consumption of Spirit, as long as it wasn't something as critical as a severed limb.
Sicha only needed to gain a distance of twenty to thirty meters. He had absolute confidence in his combat skills and means of dodging to avoid most of Greem's spells.
His sacrifice was worth it!
In the mere seconds that he had managed to draw Greem's attention to him, Flandre had already finished channeling another Water Dragon Wave. It surged at Greem like a storm. It was quite tricky for Greem to endure this wave of attacks without any injuries now that he had lost some of his Lava Shields.
If Greem had been caught in this situation a few minutes earlier, he would have had to expend the wind dragon's power. The dragon would have to erect a massive barrier of wind and allow him to escape from Flandre's spell without taking any damage.
What made it even worse was the possibility of Sicha reentering the fray and ambushing him while he was making his escape.
However, Greem now had an incredible insight into this battle's situation. He immediately reversed his previous cautiousness and co
nservativeness. Instead, he started fighting in an almost unbelievable manner.
Greem grunted as three Magma Fireballs shot towards Flandre's Water Dragon Wave in a triangle formation. He didn't take the chance to escape with the wind dragon. Instead, he turned around and lunged towards Sicha, who was desperately making his escape.
What is this? Is he trying to drag me down along with him?
Sicha was bewildered for a moment as he ran away. However, that surprise quickly turned into joy as he casually started stepping left and right. He struck back at Greem, his two golden claws punching one after another. The overbearing force generated a blast of wind pressure that smashed against Greem's Fire Shields from a distance of twenty-seven meters. The Fire Shields even trembled from the impact.
Sicha had high confidence in dodging all of the enemy's attacks at this distance. He could then take the opportunity of Greem casting his next spell to rush forward and launch another flurry of strikes. Not to mention, Flandre's Water Dragon Wave was still chasing behind Greem. Those three fireballs could never stop that savage wave of water. As long as Sicha was able to slow down the opponent, Flandre would be able to brutally ravage the Flame Demon, who had practically lost all his shields.
Countless calculations went through his mind. Sicha immediately decided to face Greem head on without any hesitation.
Greem had already predicted Sicha's choice!
In fact, one could say that Greem had influenced Sicha into making that choice.
He hadn't repaired his missing Lava Shields as soon as he could, didn't pursue Sicha when a large spell was chasing him by the heels, nor displayed any means that could instantly cripple Sicha. From the start of the battle, Greem had been misdirecting Sicha. All these various clues caused the overconfident Sicha to make the wrong choice.
The three Magma Fireballs that exploded behind them caused a chaotic flame shockwave that delayed the Water Dragon Wave by a couple of seconds.
In this short window of opportunity, Greem raised both of his hands, and a fearsome cloud of fire filled with flame and lava bubbles immediately appeared above him.
Sicha had no intention of moving away when faced with the terrifying spell that Greem would be able to finish casting in three seconds. Instead, he was like a shark that had smelled blood. Sicha's silhouette flashed as he quickly wove his way forward. In just a single second, he had managed to arrive in front of Greem.
In Sicha's mind, he only needed another second to break through the wind dragon's wind barrier. He would then quickly make it to the Flame Fiend's side, where he could use his Barbaric Blow to interrupt the opponent's casting. When that happened, Greem would have to shed some blood to escape!
Sadly, the moment he arrived before Greem, the wind dragon opened its jaws. A deafening roar that rang throughout the area filled his ears.
And along with it came that majestic and unstoppable dragon's aura of might!
Dragon's Aura of Might?
Sicha felt his body tremble just as the name surfaced in his mind. His brain was also affected by the aura. He had actually fallen into a state of Mental Intimidation at this crucial moment!
Sicha's heart filled with fear, despite only just recently having had a wickedly confident grin on his face!
Dammit, why is it the dragon's aura of might?
Isn't that something only a true dragon could use? Could it be…could it be that this brat had made the dragon golem from a real dragon crystal?
Sicha almost immediately understood the reason for the phenomenon before him. Unfortunately, it was too late!
Greem dispersed the pulsating and rumbling cloud of fire with a wave of his hand. Judging from how quickly he had canceled the spell, it had only been a feint. Otherwise, even Greem, with all his talent and abilities, would have to suffer a tremendous backlash from dispelling a large scale spell of this size.
While Sicha was temporarily disabled, the Flame Fiend opened its massive palm. A radiant red tome silently appeared above it.
Flip, flip, flip, flip.
The thick parchment paper flipped rapidly. Every time it reached a new page, a strange rune and numerous symbols would rise from the empty pages.
As Greem's Spirit continued to ripple, several powerful single-target spells blasted forward, one by one, forming at a rapid rate of one spell per second.
The ferocious wave of fire devoured Sicha's body!
Chapter 448 Surrender
How much did Greem's spells hurt?
Three fire spells at one hundred and fifty-five points beat on the body like a downpour. Even a golem crafted from magical alloy would have melted and been reduced to liquid metal in that kind of heat, not to mention that Sicha only had a body of flesh and blood.
Sicha had used various poisons to train and refine his body over the years. This training allowed him to form an invisible layer of force on the surface of his skin when he drew upon his magical powers. This sort of barrier was generated by a combination of life force and Spirit. It deflected all elemental, soul, poison, and curse-attribute magic damage. Of course, the person's ability determined the damage reduction effect of the barrier.
Sicha was a veteran adept and could reduce about thirty to fifty percent of all incoming elementium damage.
Moreover, after all that refining, his body was as resilient as a top-grade magic resistant armor, even without the use of any other equipment. It was the most astounding trait of body-refining adepts!
They could endure an elementium adept's barrage entirely and charge to the enemy's side. After that, a single strike for them would end the battle. If the enemy didn't have sufficient mobility spells, victory was guaranteed.
However, this only held true for ordinary adepts.
An ordinary First Grade adept could only cast spells with power between seventy to a hundred points. Those that could exceed the hundred point threshold could already be considered veteran adepts. One hundred and thirty points would put you at the elite-level.
Flandre's signature Water Dragon Wave might only have one hundred and ten points of power at the point of impact, but its persistent nature made it an effective spell. The spell could last for forty seconds. Converted to total damage, the Water Dragon Wave could reach a shocking one hundred and forty points of power.
An ordinary adept would not even be able to break through Sicha's defenses, regardless of whether they could instantly cast spells as Greem could.
A hundred point elementium attack would be reduced by thirty to fifty percent, then further weakened by Sicha's golden armor, before finally affecting him. Sicha didn't even need to dodge. He could take these spells head on, and he would be fine as long as he could endure thirty to forty points of elementium damage.
This little bit of damage was entirely tolerable for Sicha, who had already honed his body until it was as durable as magical equipment. He might feel some minor pain in the process, but it wouldn't compromise his ability to fight in any manner.
However, a hundred and fifty-five point elementium attack like Greem's was far beyond the limit that his body could endure. The amount of damage that broke through his defenses was shocking!
That was why Sicha's body started to melt the moment the three spells descended upon him!
His previously steel-like muscles quickly disintegrated and fell apart when ravaged by the elementium flames. Sicha was engulfed by elementium flames of over three thousand degrees the moment his forcefield was overcome; he immediately ignited and started to burn.
The fire blazed, burning all his skin, hair, blood, flesh, and nerves.
The intense pain from every piece of his body caused Sicha to break free of the wind dragon's intimidation instantly. He howled in agony and started running away. However, there was no use in running. That ferocious layer of flames still overwhelmed his body, sizzling and crackling as it burned away his flesh.
It didn't matter how powerful Sicha's magic resistance was. His skin still withered, cracked, and turned to ashes under
the effects of that horrifying fire. Without the protection of his skin, the flesh, nerves, and bones were exposed to the flame.
With his powerful Spirit, Sicha very clearly felt how the fires were burning every inch of his skin and every piece of his flesh.
It was a nightmarish feeling that frightened him to the very core of his soul. His actions became even more desperate and mad.
He waved his claw frantically, striking at whichever direction he thought Greem could be in, all while crying out in pain and calling for Flandre's help.
He was now using all his strength and power to keep the elementium flames restricted to the outside of his body. They might be dealing tremendous damage to him, but at least they had yet to affect his spirit origin. As long as his companion saved him in time, he still could recover from such wounds, despite how terrible they appeared to be.
Flandre frowned as he continued to control his Water Dragon Wave, and a chilling light shone in his eyes. He quickly wove signs with his hands, and the unstoppable wave chasing behind Greem immediately transformed into a dozen water dragons. They forcefully broke through the magma field created by the fireballs' explosions and lunged at the Flame Fiend's back.
Flandre still chose to strike at the enemy, even at this moment.
Saving Sicha could be put on the back burner until they had captured Greem.
Greem, on the other hand, had fixed all his attention on Sicha. He was no longer going to be able to escape or avoid the ferocious Water Dragon Wave crashing down upon him.
Fire Teleportation was an excellent tool for escaping and moving around. However, casting the spell still required one second to channeling the flames and lock onto the target destination. The Water Dragon Wave would not provide him with that much time to escape.
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