novelraw Chapter 30: Shadow and Stone
Chapter 30: Shadow and Stone
Verso did not wait for the crowd to stop roaring. Neither did he wait for Xavier to snap out of his state of shock.
In a duel of this scale, the first second was often the only one that mattered.
So monopolizing on his head start he sent a mental command to his front line right away.
’Go!’
All four of the seven foot peak Primitive golems launched forward in perfect unison.
They did not spread out, instead moving as a single, interlocking wall of rock and golden light.
Every synchronized step they took sent a shudder through the grey marble stage, the heavy sound of their feet hitting the ground echoing like the heartbeat of a titan.
Xavier snapped out of his daze instantly, the elite training he had received overriding his panic. His face twisted into anger as he pointed his lightning spear toward the approaching wall.
"Kill them! Rip them apart!"
The Mutant Ash Wolf and the Umbra Panther did not hesitate. They lunged forward, like two streaks of grey and black lightning that was aimed directly at the center of the stone formation.
’Is he sacrificing his summons?’ Verso wondered, his brow furrowing.
From a tactical standpoint, it made no sense. Even as Mutants, the wolf and the panther didn’t have the mass and size to stop a four golem charge head on. They would be crushed under the weight of the stone wall.
But Verso knew that Xavier wasn’t a fool, although a mindless bully, he always ranked in the top five during examinations. No one knew better than him exactly what his beasts were capable of.
"Giants, aim!" Verso commanded, his eyes narrowing.
He wasn’t taking any chances with this as he signaled the three nine foot giants in the back to level their palms.
Their golden runes pulsed with a violent frequency as they began to gather mana for a three way beam.
If Xavier wanted a head on collision, Verso was willing to turn the entire center of the stage into a scorched wasteland.
Just as the summons were about to collide, the battlefield shifted.
The Umbra Panther didn’t jump. Instead, it dove head first into the grey marble, disappearing into a pitch black puddle of shadow as if the stage had turned into water.
A split second later, the Ash Wolf using its superior Agility performed a skidding side step, sliding between the legs of the charging golems with an perfect grace.
The heavy stone warriors, built for momentum and power were unable to pivot their massive bodies in time to catch the nimble predators, letting them get past them.
The crowd erupted into cheers. To the students watching this was a display of elite finesse. Xavier’s summons had bypassed the Wall of Stone in a single breath which they had believed to be impossible.
’He’s not trying to fight my army. He’s trying to take me down first.’ Verso’s jaw tightened.
This was a classic Kill the King strategy which was the most effective way to end a duel against a summoner. By bypassing the summons and targeting the master, Xavier could literally end the match in seconds.
"Change targets! Front line, ignore the wolf! Take out Xavier!"
Verso sent the command to the four Primitives that were already halfway through the stage.
Listening to his command the golems did not stop as they continued their charge toward Xavier, who now looked relatively undefended.
At the same time, Verso turned his focus back to the Ash Wolf, which was sprinting toward him with its jaws wide open.
’Giants! Target the wolf!’
Unlike the panther, the wolf did not have the ability to melt into shadows. It was fast, but that was all it had.
All three of the giants who had leveled their palms at the approaching beast started firing their beams in a seperate interval.
BOOM!
The first beam carved a trench in the marble just inches from the wolf’s paws. The second beam forced it to leap into the air, losing its momentum.
That exactly was the opening Verso needed as the third beam which was timed perfectly by his mental calculation, caught the wolf mid air.
The golden mana beam hit the beast’s hind legs, the explosion sending it skidding across the floor in a mess. The wolf whimpered as it tried to get back up, but unfortunately for the beast, it had landed right in front of the two giants.
"Crush it!"
The giants raised their massive stone feet.
CRACK.
The sound of the wolf being stomped back into the summoning space was brutal, silencing a large portion of the crowd.
But Verso didn’t have time to celebrate as the panther was still missing from his vision.
’Where is it?’
He focused onto his sense trying to look around and see if he could spot any dark puddles on the ground. He knew he couldn’t rely on the golems for protection at this range as they were too slow to catch a shadow shifting panther.
He reached into his soul space and pulled.
A streak of light erupted and as the mana solidified, a heavy razor sharp cleaver made of dark marble appeared in his hands.
Verso grounded his feet as he prepared for a surprise.
[Summon ’Minor Stone Golem’ Dead.]
A sudden, sharp spike of pain shot through Verso’s chest.
He gasped, his eyes darting toward the front line. Xavier wasn’t standing still anymore as he was now standing on top of a pile of rubble. The lightning spear in his hand was humming with an insane amount of energy.
Xavier let out a roar of frustration as he readied the spear and hurled it with everything he had.
The weapon turned into a bolt of blue lightning, piercing through the chest of the second golem before it could even raise its arms.
[Summon ’Minor Stone Golem’ Dead.]
Another surge of pain hit Verso, making his vision flicker.
The loss of a summon was draining at his mental stamina faster than he had anticipated.
Everything had just happened in mere seconds. The wolf’s death, the golems falling and even Xavier’s counter attack.
And then, just as Verso tried to get his attention back into the fight, the air in front of him grew cold.
A dark, swirling puddle of shadow manifested right beneath Verso’s feet.
’Fuck me!’
His survival instincts screamed as a pair of violet eyes emerged from the darkness.
The Umbra Panther lunging at him, its claws extended like obsidian daggers, aimed directly at his throat.