MTLNOVEL Chapter 249: A Bit Like Deja Vu
Arrows previously aimed at the Knights below were turned on Henry and let loose. He retrieved 'Violent Retort' from his Inventory so when he used 'Cudgel' to knock the arrows aside, he pointed the sawed-off double-barreled shotgun and fired a shot into the head of one of the Orcs firing at him.
The two mana-infused slugs blew a six-inch hole into the Orc's head and by the time it hit the ground, Henry had reloaded 'Violent Retort' and l pointed 'Cudgel' to fire both weapons at the same time and make two more kills.
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
Find your next adventure on empire
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
Henry kicked off the branch he was on. Landing on another a few feet away right before Y'Nth metal-tipped arrows struck the branch he had been mere second ago. He had his Perception spread and would have been in awe at how many Orc Archers there still were had he not seen them as more grab just Exp to be reaped.
Their main advantages were in their range and while they all possessed incredible strength as Orcs that they were —which helped them pull their heavy bows and fire their arrows at incredible speeds—, they lacked the advantage Henry had with his Perception.
Also, their large numbers made them complacent.
In all honesty, they had a right to be. You see, dodging could only help Henry so much. When he landed on a new branch after escaping the last volley, he pointed his guns and fired. He killed an Orc, injured a second, dodged a few arrows, and was stabbed by the rest.
"Ngh!"
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
[You have lost 40 Hit Points]
[You have lost 40 Hit Points]
[Hit Points: 141/310]
While stifling what could have been a larger sound of pain, Henry leaped off the tree in time to avoid the next volley. While still in the air and before he landed on the branch that was his next target, he reached out to his Arcane Tapestry for a needed spell.
Extra Arms!
At the cost of 200 Mana Points, he summoned all five and extended them almost as far as they would to smack bows to the side and throw off aims while he shot at the ones the limited arms couldn't reach.
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
Four kills later and the ones whose aim had been disrupted, righted it only for five to be gripped by the watery tentacles. Those five were then thrown with incredible aim at five others knocking a collective ten off the tree.
While those landed on the ground with dull thuds and barely any real sign of pain beyond some discomfort, Henry picked off the ones still on top of the trees. There were about seven of them. Five were wrapped up with the tentacles of [Extra Arms] and just after Henry killed the sixth and seventh, they broke free through sheer brute strength.
Two of them were killed almost immediately after they broke free of their bounds.
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
The other three managed to draw their bows on time. Henry jumped away just in time and they missed but right when they made to try again, he landed on the same branch as one of them, pointed 'Violent Retort' at its head, and blew out its brains.
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
He used the body of that kill as a meat shield against the arrows that followed and retaliated with shots of his own.
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
[Level Up!]
[You are now Level 32]
[Hit Point Maximum increased to 320]
[Hit Points: 151/320]
[Mana Point Maximum increased to 430]
[You have received 6 Stat Points to Allocate]
[You now have 12 Stat Points to allocate]
The feeling of euphoria of another level up and a momentary consideration of how best to allocate the stat points almost made Henry forget he was not quite done. There were Ten Orc Archers down below with a few already up on the branches and aiming their bows at him to fire.
The whizzing of an oncoming arrow alerted Henry first and a hard lean allowed him to dodge one only for the next to stab him so hard that he fell forward and off the tree branch he was on.
Maybe on instinct or just a show of self-preservation that was a testament to how much Henry was getting used to his <Arcana Tapestry>, but he spent 80 Mana Points to repair two of the broken arms of *Extra Arms* and they grabbed the tree branch he was just knocked off to keep him from falling to the ground.
Henry further controlled the arms to swing him upward, firing 'Cudgel' just in time to kill the Orc that managed to land the arrow.
"Witching little prick!" The Orc right beside let out but quickly suffered the same fate right before Henry's feet balanced atop another branch.
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 500 Exp]
A gallant whinny from below and Henry saw Nyx kick an Orc still on the ground and trying to aim at him. Her kick propelled by her incredible speed struck the Orc so hard it slammed at least three feet away to break his neck against a tree.
[Nyx has received 550 Exp]
*Thwack!*
[Nyx has lost 20 Hit Points]
[Nyx's Hit Points: 205/225]
"-Ahhh, son of a—!-" Nyx yelled through her telepathic connection with Henry as an arrow stabbed her hide and her eyes seemed to burn with fury as she let out a puff of angry breath out her nostrils.
After the injuries she suffered in the last battle, Henry had fed her Healing Potions that recovered her Hit Points to their maximum so she was not in any danger from that one shot. She was still very pissed about it though.
Of course, all anyone besides her heard in her reaction to pain was a very aggressive whinny that saw an Orc kicked so hard in the head that its think skull caved in.
[Nyx has received 550 Exp]
And thus began her rampage on the ground. With her attacking the ones below and Henry picking off the ones in the trees, the Ten Orcs were all dead soon enough with Nyx copping herself three more kills to put her total to five.
Henry stayed up in the trees and ran across the branches toward the more large-scale battle happening slightly up ahead between the Knights and the group of Orcs were strictly ground-based. Nyx followed him in the shadows cast by the trees up ahead.
They arrived in time to watch as Boyle took on three Orcs. He parried strikes left and right, picking his moments to charge in and land a successful jab, and right when he looked like he might be getting overwhelmed, he got one of them down to one knee and decapitated it right before leaping away to avoid strikes from the other two.
Boyle took even further steps away before letting his Mana surge and unleashed a massive wave of Mana arcs against the two. Through a brute show of strength combined with their very own unique red-tinged mana surges, they broke through the field only to find Boyle missing.
Before they found him, his sword stabbed the neck of one from behind before spring-boarding from its dying body to leap a few feet into the air and bear down on the third with such an incredible show of strength and battle prowess that he had it on its back soon enough and slit its throat in one fluid move before it had the chance to even think of getting back up.
Boyle seemed quite in his element. Interestingly, facing three enemies was just how to get his mojo back right after almost failing to beat the Orc Priest who had outclassed him once it got blessed.
As Boyle stepped away from his third kill, he suddenly became alert and swung his sword just in time to intercept a large orb of red violent Mana tossed at him by one of the Orc casters.
The Orb pushed Boyle a few feet but he eventually sliced through it. Just as he thought to charge at the Caster and kill it, a shot sounded and the Orc Caster's eyes were wide as it fell to the ground with a bullet on the side of its head.
Boyle looked up at Henry who had 'Cudgel' pointed. Henry gave him a wave and Boyle acknowledged it with a nod right before he swung his sword to intercept an Ax attack and was again locked in combat.
The death of one of their fellow Casters called the attention of the rest and the majority, who were not fending off a certain pesky Mage-Knight, turned their eyes at Henry and cast spells.
Watching the spell circles spin into existence, Henry smiled as he realized something similar had happened a while back.
'Kill one or more Casters and the others turn their eyes on you and try to kill you,' Henry found himself thinking with a chuckle,
'It's a bit like Deja vu!'