Chapter 937: A Clock In Motion, A Showing Hand
"?!" The Tempest soldier, Cosmin, was surprised by Glacia remembered the name of someone like him who was a nobody in her eyes.
"D-Duchess, it is an honor that you remember this lowly one's name. My apologies for interrupting the duchess, but I have a report from the separate contingent in our distant rear. According to the signal sent from their end, they have come under attack and are currently engaging in battle against an unknown enemy force that numbers less than fifty men." Cosmin explained.
"Eh? Who's stupid enough to attack a separate contingent? Is he sure it came from the Centurion?" One of the nearby Tempest soldiers commented.
"Idiot, there's no way that Centurion Aloysius would send a false report."
"But, there shouldn't be any need for concern. After all, it's that Centurion Aloysius we're talking about here. Like hell he'd fall to something like a mere ambush."
"Silence," Glacia said casually; however, this casual word was enough to immediately silence everyone with haste.
Glacia remained quiet for a moment as if she were in deep thought. She then called out, "Prisca."
"I am here, my lady." A voice sounded in response. But, this voice seemed to have no point of origin, and one could not tell the identity of its owner.
"Take fifty men and make your way over to assist Centurion Aloysius," Glacia stated.
"If it is just to assist Centurion Aloysius, I alone am enough, my lady." The voice replied.
"Have you forgotten who else is present among the separate contingent? Their safety, along with the mages in escort, must not come to any harm. I will not take any chances. You have your orders; see that you carry them out." Glacia commanded.
"Yes, my lady." The voice sounded before fading into the winds.
"You may return to your unit," Glacia said unhurriedly.
"U-understood, duchess." The Tempest soldier gave a respectful salute before returning to his warhorse and making his way back toward his unit.
"We shall continue our march into Malentansium," Glacia ordered as she was the first to begin moving again.
"Yes!" The soldiers cried out in unison as the entire main group resumed their journey.
...
BANG!
Aloysius slid back several meters before he managed to regain his balance.
As he came to a halt, Aloysius narrowed his eyes with a darkened expression as a bit of blood trickled down the side of his mouth.
"How is it possible that I'm losing in terms of strength?" Aloysius thought to himself as he glanced down at the battle axe in his hands.
Just a moment ago, Aloysius was overwhelming Izroth with his power to the point that he could not receive one of his attacks head-on without being knocked back.
But, not too long ago, it was as if Izroth had come into a second wind of strength, and Aloysius found himself actually being pushed back!
Aloysius, who was always used to holding the advantage of strength over his opponents, was left momentarily stunned by this situation.
However, the fact that Aloysius became suddenly overpowered by Izroth was not some random phenomenon.
Izroth utilized the passive from his Ring of the Ancient Colossus, Strength of the Ancient Colossus. This temporarily increased his Might stat and the effects it brought about by 100%.
Since the Might stat worked in perfect synergy with the Earthly Golden Bones passive from Izroth's Heavenly Golden Body, it was not as simple as one plus one equals two. As a result, Aloysius quickly found himself on the backfoot of Izroth's assault.
'I only have a bit under thirty seconds left until Strength of the Ancient Colossus comes to an end. If I want to thoroughly defeat him here, it will require a bit more effort on my part. Though, at this point, it appears we're both waiting for the same thing.'
Izroth could tell that Aloysius had not gone all out. What gave this away was a lack of desperation often seen in those who were backed into a corner with no way out. So far, Izroth had not gotten such a feeling from Aloysius. This meant that the Tempest Centurion had yet to display the full hand at his disposal.
Before it reached that point, Izroth knew that Aloysius was probably waiting for the same thing as him—which side would be the first to tip the scales in their favor.
Once the answer to this question became clear, a clock would start for one side and would determine which of the two was faced with reaching that point of desperation.
From the beginning, Izroth and the 9th Division were placed at an automatic disadvantage since they had a separate clock in the form of the inevitable Tempest reinforcements. Therefore, the worst-case scenario for the 9th Division would be that another clock starts as soon as the other is finished. Meaning they could not afford to be here when the reinforcements from the main group arrived.
On the other hand, Izroth also viewed this as an invaluable experience for the 9th Division. After all, it was not every day that they would get to undergo this kind of high-stakes, high-pressure situation. These conditions were ideal for expediting one's growth and unlocking their latent potential. This was even more so considering the 9th Division was still freshly formed.
Nevertheless, even though Izroth understood this was a good opportunity for the 9th Division's development, he did not lose sight of the bigger picture.
Izroth kicked off his back foot and pressed forward with a rain of sword strikes against Aloysius. He did not give the Centurion a single moment to catch his breath as he continued to push him back with every blow.
However, Aloysius was a battle-hardened individual and safeguarded his vital points. This prevented Izroth from landing any critical hits despite several of his attacks breaking through the Centurion's defenses.
Izroth, "Is your group having a problem with the protections surrounding the carriage?"
Izroth casually spoke over voice chat without halting his offensive barrage against Aloysius.
Niflheim, "Yeah, we ran into a little trouble on our end. According to Bellum, it was not just a magic barrier protecting the carriage but also a magic formation that's at least at the advanced level. She's already managed to disable the magic barrier and is currently working on finding a way past the magic formation. She said it should take five to ten minutes. Though we just approached the five-minute mark a few seconds ago."
'Oh? A magic formation that's at least at the advanced level? I suppose that explains the strange aura mixed in with the magic barrier I sensed earlier. That being said, can she disable a magic formation that powerful within such a short frame of time?'
Izroth had some knowledge regarding magic formations in RML. According to the books he read, a magic formation had a total of five levels. From lowest to highest, the levels went Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert, and Pinnacle.
The Endless Sword Blossom Array magic formation Izroth received as a reward after saving the Thousand Blossoms Holy Maiden, Seina, was an Expert-level magic formation—just one step shy of reaching Pinnacle.
Magic formations possess numerous sub-types, from attack-based to illusions or even recovery. They were incredibly versatile. However, the resources required to set up a magic formation were astronomical. It was not something most players could afford to dabble in, let alone own the means to deploy.
"Enough!" Aloysius' voice boomed as an explosive crimson aura erupted from his body.
Izroth retreated several meters just beforehand to avoid being swept away under the sudden emergence of Aloysius' aura.
'It looks like he finally decided to show his hand.'
At the moment, Aloysius looked furious to an almost frenzied point. However, he had not lost his mind or gone berserker as one would think. This was merely a byproduct of his true power feared by those who faced him on the battlefield.
"This farce has gone on long enough! Now that it has come to this point, none of you can dream of leaving this place alive!" Aloysius roared as a stream of white smoke flowed from his mouth.
At the same time, the battle axe in the Centurion's hands turned pitch-black and became encompassed by a thin layer of crimson aura as a potent wave of killing intent poured over the surroundings. This caused many of the 9th Division members, and even those on the Centurion's side, to feel a heavy air of oppression fall upon them.
NPC Name: Centurion of the 10th Tempest Legion, Aloysius(Epic -> ???)
NPC Level: 62 -> ???
NPC HP: ??? (100% -> 49.28%)
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