Fuck. Rael turned the wheel, avoiding the row of arrows that were heading his way.
It was just his luck to get into a misunderstanding before even meeting a single person.
There was also the off-chance that Karnyx just really, really hated new visitors.
"Seryn, could you do me a little favor?" Rael asked nicely. "Could you wave this around?"
Seryn's brows twitched as he grabbed hold of the object Rael had given him.
"Yep. Wave that shit, we surrender," Rael affirmed.
Thankfully, flags didn't cost a fortune, so he purchased one for 100 Trell.
Seryn sighed as he rolled down the window and began waving the flag.
Meanwhile, Rael got back to focusing on the road.
Yet not even a second later, Seryn tapped his shoulder before showing the state the flag was in.
"I think they hate white flags," Seryn remarked before tossing the flag out the window and swiftly rolling the window back up.
"Haha... just fucking amazing," Rael laughed, annoyed.
He could keep going as the car would continuously reverse its time, making it easier to dodge the attacks.
"Seryn, we're getting out," Rael announced, suddenly storing the car mid-motion.
The moment he did, he skidded across the ground, meeting a volley of arrows heading straight for him.
However, before they could connect, he used his trusty defensive skill.
[MP -225,000 11,453,400/11,678,400 (x1 Prismatic Bastion)]
<+300,000 Barrier HP>
Soon, the arrows descended on him, however...
[HP -0! (274,000 Absorbed) 18,952,400/18,952,400] (x215 Arrows)
Hmm? Rael tilted his head. Around 1,300 damage per person...? Just how weak are they?
It was a good thing his Prismatic Bastion couldn't retaliate with the absorbed attacks; otherwise, each one of them would be dead.
"Seryn, are you alright—you're fine." Rael facepalmed.
The fucker was literally dancing around the arrows, even managing to catch a few.
"Hm?" Seryn suddenly halted, swatting away an arrow heading for his face. "They're pretty weak."
"Yeah, no shit." Rael snickered as they finally broke through his absorption shield.
[HP -120,785! (26,000 Absorbed) 18,831,615/18,952,400] (x98 Arrows)
It felt like he was stepping on miniature Legos, just with his entire body.
Since it didn't hurt as much as he expected, he merely recast the skill.
[MP -310,000 11,143,400/11,678,400 (x1 Prismatic Bastion)]
<+470,000 Barrier HP>
Wait, what? Rael's eyes widened.
His skill had leveled up way too much for just this amount of damage, so out of curiosity, he decided to check its current stats.
Prismatic Bastion: [Level 33 | 242/18,957] (Legendary)
—Summon an adaptive crystalline barrier that absorbs incoming attacks and retaliates with refracted energy blasts.
Absorption: Reduces all incoming damage by 50% as long as the Barrier is still up.
Retaliation: Releases an energy burst dealing 33,000 Crystal Damage per absorbed hit.
Duration: 45 Seconds.
I understand it now... Rael sighed. This skill, like some of my other skills, has different ways of leveling up. So this gets more experience the more hits it absorbs...
He wasn't having any funny ideas.
But the ground did look a little brighter than before, maybe just a slight speck... or two?
[HP -0! (440,000 Absorbed) 18,831,615/18,952,400] (x552 Arrows)
"You seem to be enjoying yourself," Seryn remarked. "My fiancée had said there were some people who liked pain, but it's my first time seeing it in person."
"Good for you, man," Rael scoffed. "I'm not exactly enjoying this or anything. In fact, I'm not even feeling any pain."
"Okay." Seryn nodded innocently before turning toward the incoming arrows and gracefully dodging them again.
Yep, he doesn't believe me. What a surprise. Rael thought, when, all of a sudden, the arrows stopped coming.
He was a bit disappointed, since this volley managed to bring his Prismatic Bastion skill all the way to level 52. A couple dozen more, and he'd max it out.
However, Rael saw a few people exit the city of Karnyx, which surprisingly didn't have even a single wall surrounding it.
But I guess that's not necessary when they have such a long range defense, Rael whistled as he walked toward the approaching group.
And soon, they met face to face.
In total, there were four soldiers and a single black-haired woman wearing a crown and a silver suit of armor.
She approached before extending her hand, as if asking for a handshake.
Rael tilted his head and accepted it.
The woman nodded. "Empress Caedia Ravaryn. That is my name."
"King Rael Sutekh," he replied playfully. "But what exactly are you the empress of? This small city?"
Caedia's brows furrowed as she suddenly unsheathed her sword, pointing it straight at his neck.
"I've come here to end your life since my soldiers could not."
"So what's with the handshake then? Do you always do this before killing someone?" Rael asked, but she ignored him.
Immediately, Caedia raised her sword high into the air and swung down, trying to sever Rael in half.
[MP -405,000 10,738,400/11,678,400 (x1 Prismatic Bastion)]
<+660,000 Barrier HP>
[HP -0! (589,122 Absorbed) 18,831,615/18,952,400]
Her sword bounced off as her eyes widened.
But before she could process what had just happened, Rael leaned in and delivered a gentle punch toward her liver.
-1,492,363! Critical Hit! (Melee)
Caedia's expression crumbled, turning contorted as she suddenly dropped to one knee, gripping her sword and trying her best not to topple over.
"Surprised your liver didn't explode there." Rael chuckled. "Anyways... these fists don't discriminate between man and woman, so I'd appreciate it if you don't go attacking me again."
She glared at him for a moment before gesturing some weird hand signal to the four nearby guards.
In the very next moment, they lunged toward Rael, their swords drawn.
But he didn't panic as he took out only his rapier and swiftly thrust it, skewering two of the soldiers' throats straight through their arteries.
-21,008,118! Instant Kill! [x2] (x1 Crystal Violin Blade)
Meanwhile, Seryn handled the other two, blasting their heads off with a single lightning-infused kick.
Rael flicked the blood off his rapier as he approached Caedia, lifting her chin up with the tip of the blade and staring coldly into her brown eyes.
"Now then, 'Empress' Caedia Ravaryn, I believe we need to have a little chat."