CHAPTER 37: ZAP

The undead knight jumped up to avoid the earth spike drilling out of the ground. That was exactly what Zephyr wanted.

The ability to dodge an attack would be hampered mid-air, even if it was just for a second.

Zephyr wanted to capitalize on this moment to launch a barrage of attacks.

Seeing Gale jump upwards, Zephyr unleashed an enhanced mana bolt towards the man. This time, he chained with only a light element modifier to cast faster and to conserve mana.

The mana bolt instantly appeared on his palm and blitzed towards where he aimed.

’The eyes need to go first.’

Zephyr had decided on what his target was a few minutes ago, during their conversation.

Apparently, Gale was not as strong as he was used to. Even then, the man was a master of combat.

So, to defeat him, Zephyr had to do something extreme that utilizes all his current abilities.

Fortunately, the conversation they had before the battle was fruitful. He had gained many pieces of information that he could exploit, while also giving him enough time to replenish the mana he used for the three mana bolts.

And replenishing mana played a critical part in what he was about to do.

’I need to counter strike this guy,’ Zephyr mumbled.

Meanwhile, Gale watched the light elemental mana bolt fly towards his eyes coldly.

Although the attack caught him off guard, he was not really surprised by it.

’Good.’ He silently said and tried to stop his body from reacting.

He wished for the attack to blind him.

However, his body acted on its own, raising the sword to block it.

"Shsss."

"Tunn..."

The mana bolt exploded with a metallic cry, colliding exactly with the sword.

Mana bolt was not a physical attack, thus he didn’t even have to put much energy into blocking it. His arm slightly tilted the sword, deflecting the light reflecting off it to the side.

Gale was a little disappointed. If he had control of his body, he could have not blocked the attack. But the moment the word ’Godspawn’ came out of Zephyr’s mouth, the command of his master filled his mind with the thought of slaying Zephyr.

That was why he made a point to avoid certain topics.

Anyway, he failed.

So, he switched his effort into trying to hold back the murderous thoughts. However, that in turn made it so that he couldn’t control his body as he had been able to. It was a price he had to pay.

Still, he was thrilled by the way Zephyr was fighting. As he expected, the young man was resourceful, clever, and a little bit sly.

Targeting the eyes the moment the battle began spoke volumes about the kind of person Zephyr was.

’My choice to die by his hand was not that bad.’

Well, Gale didn’t really have a choice. The dark mana was slowly eroding his consciousness. What remained was just a small spark compared to his peak.

In a few more months, he would fully succumb to the necromancers’ will and become a tool.

He couldn’t allow that.

So, he used the best opportunity he had while the necromancer was busy to find a way to die.

There wasn’t anyone except Zephyr who could kill him nearby. So, he took the chance.

’Zephyr, I hope you can kill me.’ He silently thought as his body fell.

While Gale was wishing for the death of his wretched existence, Zephyr was mesmerized by his swordplay.

The ease with which Gale blocked the mana bolt shocked him.

’I can’t allow him to gain the initiative. The moment I let him attack me, I will die. I can’t give him a single opening.’

Zephyr reaffirmed his decision to unleash the barrage.

Watching the man fall to the ground, he grabbed his machete tighter and took out something from inside his robe.

The injured left hand grabbed three small crystals. These were the same crystals that were present inside the lamp in his room.

For some reason, he had brought them with him.

Immediately after taking it out, he channelled mana into the crystal.

Simultaneously, he kicked the ground while activating a spell.

’Lightning pulse.’

He channelled mana through his leg to the ground, sending a pulse of focused electricity towards where Gale was landing.

In the darkness, a pulse of mana flowed under his foot before disappearing into the ground.

Gale sensed something happening to the ground. But he was in no position to dodge.

If he were a master, he could have used air steps to avoid the danger. But he was just an intermediate knight right now.

There was no hope of avoiding what’s on the ground.

Sensing the imminent danger, his lips curled up into a smile.

’Yes, he can multicast.’

Gale was pleasantly surprised.

Most beginner mages lack the mana control necessary to activate two spells at the same time. Therefore, there would be an activation delay and a cast delay each time they cast a spell.

Activation delay was the time it took for their spell to be fully saturated with mana.

After that, the spell is activated, and an effect appears in the real world.

The cast delay is the time it takes for them to regain their attention and focus on the next spell.

However, breaking all norms, Zephyr was almost instantly casting spells.

The reason for it was two.

First, he had many separate cores and therefore duplicate spell structures in his mindscape. Secondly, he had absolute mana control as his trait.

Both played well with his ability to cast spells.

Gale didn’t know any of that. But he was thrilled nonetheless.

Multicasting could overwhelm him if properly used. There might be hope.

’I also have to go all in.’ Gale thought and began to burn his consciousness to channel enough strength to block the voyeuristic masters of his.

It was a risky move that might destroy his consciousness. But if he were unwilling to do it now, he would never get another chance.

’It’s a risk worth taking.’

He thought, falling onto the ground.

Immediately, a bolt of electricity drilled up through his foot into his body.

The wet ground was conductive, and sparks were flying all over him, zapping and destroying his nerves.

For a second, Gale couldn’t move.

He couldn’t blink, he couldn’t see, nor could he think.

As if time were frozen, he paused.