That bard is such a charmer!

Chapter 77 Chase and Counterattack

The reason Richard and the others slowed down was simple: their bodies were indeed nearing their limits.

Especially Mendel, who wasn't particularly agile, and Iron Hammer, who was heavily armored.

Although everyone had rested on the fishing boat, and Richard had even played a resting tune for them, and they had drunk quite a few potions during that time... the rest time was too short, and the effects of low-level spells and potions were not inexhaustible; they had to be patient with them after using them so many times.

Ultimately, a limit is a limit.

They had been rushing to the old elm forest in the morning, and then marching like a madman to the island. They had experienced several battles along the way, and now they had to climb the mountain. They were already at their limit.

"From now on, we can only rely on willpower."

As Levin said this, he reached out to pull Iron Hammer, who had accidentally stepped into a mud pit.

But the latter was stuck too deep. With a pull, the person was pulled out of the mud, but lost his balance and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Well……"

Hammer groaned as he got up and discovered he had sprained his right ankle.

Levin quickly handed over the treatment potion.

Although the swelling and pain subsided after taking the medicine, Tiechui's joints were still not very flexible.

After a moment of contemplation, he waved to the crowd: "Let me make this clear beforehand, my willpower is as strong as steel! It's just... although I hate to admit it, my legs are really too short, and now that I'm injured, I can't climb the mountain with you anymore."

After saying that, he raised his axe and turned to face down the mountain.

"Rather than become a burden, I'd rather stay here and cover your retreat! Any of those bastards who dare to come up here, I'll chop them down!"

How is this any different from suicide?

There's more than just Bill and his group down the mountain; there's a huge coalition of the church and the Phoenix family's forces that will catch up in just a few minutes!

Just as Richard and Levin were about to speak up to stop him, Mendel interrupted:

"I'll stay with Hammer. I... I really can't run anymore. But don't worry, we won't be stupid enough to die in the middle of the road."

He pointed to a high ground not far away and said:

"I can set up a base there, plant magic peas, magic carnivorous plants, and my recently cultivated tall-nuts, and have Iron Hammer as my guard, using the projectiles to help you hold off the enemy."

"Only in this way can I unleash my full combat power—as you know, as a low-level druid, my spellcasting ability is not very strong. Cultivating hybrid plants is my forte, but plants need roots to grow; they can't climb mountains with us."

"Anyway, don't worry about us, Levin, David, you take Amy and go first. You're fast, and only if you find that paladin master in time can this all end..."

As he spoke, Mendel glanced at Richard with considerable admiration.

He had assumed Richard would be just as out of breath as he was.

Who would have thought that this poet, like Levin, a wandering knight and elf, moved with such light steps that he seemed to tread on flat ground through the mountains and forests...

How did you train to achieve that?

Richard, who possessed athletic talent and had an agility of 17, was unaware of his extraordinary abilities.

He and Levin quickly discussed it briefly, and finally reluctantly agreed to Mendel's plan.

The team was thus divided into two parts.

Mendel and Hammer went to find high ground nearby to play tower defense, while Richard and Levin continued to play Temple Run with Amy.

Not long after they separated.

Richard and his men then heard shouts of killing and cursing coming from behind them.

"May the gods protect us, may the gods protect us..."

As the originator of this day-long chase, the halfling Amy's face was full of guilt as she muttered to herself, "I hope Ms. Grace, Mr. Hammer, and Mr. Mendel are alright, and that no one else bleeds..."

Richard pulled Amy across the tree roots, offering words of encouragement:

"They are all strong fighters, of course they'll be fine. You don't need to feel too much pressure. We are all fighting for our beliefs. If you don't want to let those beliefs down, then keep pushing and hurry up the mountain!"

"...Belief? What nonsense! You bunch of idiots, all you can do is numb yourselves with this kind of empty rhetoric!"

Richard was interrupted by a sudden shout.

Richard and Levin turned around and saw Bill and Jason riding a semi-transparent golden warhorse, catching up with them.

However, at this moment, the pastor's face no longer held the elegant smile he had when they first met, nor the composure and confidence he had displayed during their previous encounters.

To explain the reason, we have to go back a few minutes...

At that time, what Bill showed Jason was none other than the gold coins he had used to exchange for warhorses in Shell Village.

These gold coins may seem ordinary, but they are actually precious items given to him by Elijah when he accepted him as his disciple. There are only three of them, and each can only be used three times.

Bill thought that once he rejoined the main force, he wouldn't need these precious items anymore.

But now he was in a predicament and had no choice but to spend a lot of money to take them out again, transforming them into three divine horses that could see mountain roads as flat as flat ground. They carried him, Jason, the two remaining warriors and a ranger to catch up with Richard.

He had planned to turn the horse back into gold coins after catching up and carefully put them away.

As a result, they encountered Mendel's ambush halfway through, and the peas were bombarded with a barrage of attacks!

The horse carrying a warrior and a ranger, burdened by its weight, could not run fast and was instantly reverted to its original gold coin form, rolling down the hillside to an unknown location.

Seeing this, the lone warrior at the front pulled on the reins, attempting to launch a counterattack against Mendel's position, but was also hit squarely by a giant squash falling from the sky.

The other person was fine, but the horse he was riding turned back into a gold coin and fell into a mud pit.

At last……

Only Jason and Bill, having not seen Amy, didn't want to linger and ran as fast as they could, thus escaping the peas' fire range unscathed.

But the Guardian teammates were left behind, and only one of their three precious gold coins remained.

Upon realizing this, Bill's heart began to bleed.

Then he thought of the humiliation of being driven out of Shell Village by Richard and his men, and the repeated failures of the blockades from the beach to the forest.

All of the above, like several bundles of straw, completely overwhelmed the camel in his heart.

in short……

He broke down.

Upon seeing Richard again, his anger and confusion finally overwhelmed him, and he burst into a tirade:

"David, Levin, you idiots!"

"If I were you, I would seriously reflect on my own lower-body mentality and what price I've paid for my mere beliefs!"

"Look at all this! So much manpower and resources have been wasted, so much blood has been shed!"

"And what do you gain from this? For a strange halfling and a dead apothecary, what's the point of going this far?!"

"I gave you a chance to reconcile, why didn't you cherish it?!"

Ha, the preacher is here again to argue with us storytellers...

Richard rolled his eyes, urging his companion to quicken his pace while unleashing a torrent of insults at those behind him:

"You pathetic wretch who reeks of money, can't you even function without cost accounting? If you discover you're losing money when you pee tomorrow, are you going to immediately pull up your pants and pee in your crotch to recycle it all?"

Bill was attacked and his body stiffened slightly.

But he was a level 6 priest after all, with a high health bar, so he was unharmed and retorted, "You're the ones who are pathetic! You have no idea of ​​the power of money, you have desecrated the goddess's gift..."

Halfway through his tirade, he noticed that the distance between them was only about twenty meters, and he excitedly raised his hand, preparing to unleash his divine magic.

Anyway, he and Jason finally caught up with those bastards!

Now that they've vented their anger verbally, it's time to let them truly experience the power of money!

Ahead, Richard sighed:

"Money is merely a human creation, yet you and your church have become its slaves—how laughable! I would rather die than stoop to your level!"

After saying that, he also chanted the spell and pointed at Bill and his gang.

He knew that this was the final moment.

The palace is almost here. As long as we can get through this wave, victory is just around the corner!

Although both opponents were level 6, Levin beside him was only level 4, and Amy wasn't even a professional. No matter how you looked at it, this situation didn't seem easy to overcome...

But since things have come to this, all we can do is grit our teeth and fight back!

Just as Richard was thinking this, he suddenly noticed a flash of light, his eyes widened, he replaced his prepared sonic blast with a devastating one, and his finger moved slightly, aiming at Jason behind Bill…

Behind.

Jason had no interest in arguing with anyone; his anxiety was solely focused on completing his master's task as quickly as possible.

While the poet and the priest were arguing, he focused on chanting an incantation, preparing to cast a fireball. In the process, he used a technique unique to warlocks called a powerful spell, which nearly doubled the power of the fireball.

He planned to use this enhanced fireball to turn Richard and the others to ashes.

As the incantation was about to be finished, the murderous intent in his heart surged even more fiercely:

Die, you lowly adventurers!

However, what he didn't notice was that it was getting dark, and the biggest source of light in the forest was the golden spirit horse he and Bill were riding, and that light was shining perfectly into his mouth...

...which allowed Richard to notice that the obviously pampered sorcerer had several gold teeth in his mouth.

hehe~

Phoenix has a big gold tooth, and you have a little gold tooth in your mouth, right?

Then take my scorching metal attack!

The next second, Richard decisively unleashed the spell!

Unlike magic missiles or fireballs, scorching metal is closer to a curse than a magical shot, and therefore cannot be blocked by shields.

At the same time, it differs from the spells of Maniacal Laughter and Charm, as it targets the object rather than the wearer, and therefore cannot be exempted from exemptions due to the wearer's high perception attribute.

On the other hand, as the Phoenix family's butler, Jason was not careful enough to have magic-resistant spells engraved on his dentures.

Lastly, and finally, considering Richard's charm score of 18...

In conclusion...

"Ugh! Ahhh!"

Richard's spellcasting was a resounding success!

Jason's gold tooth suddenly became as hot as boiling water!

The steward, accustomed to aristocratic life, was immediately scalded and cried out in pain. His tongue lolled out, saliva flew everywhere, and his hands waved wildly, wanting to do something but not knowing how—after all, teeth are not helmets that can be removed at will!

To make matters worse, he was at a crucial stage in chanting the Fireball spell.

Thanks to someone's lucky talent, the incomplete spell only partially took effect, condensing into a huge fireball in mid-air. However, because it was incomplete, it failed to fire and instead plummeted straight to the ground.

It landed right next to the Golden Horse, and then...

It exploded with a loud bang!

Flames and shockwaves swept around, overturning the last horse formed from the gold coins and sending Bill and Jason flying.

Bill: "?!"

Jason: "Oh ho ho ho!"

Earlier, Richard was also surprised that this move had achieved such results, but he did not indulge in his surprise. Instead, he immediately drew his one-handed sword.

He noticed that the warlock named Jason had fallen very close to him and was clearly not very agile, taking a long time to get back up.

So he decisively launched a counterattack.

Using his athletic skills, he quickly got to his opponent and unleashed a flurry of attacks!

when!

A magical item on Jason activated, creating a shockwave that knocked Richard's one-handed sword away.

In the distance, Bill managed to get up, noticed his teammate's predicament, and was about to give Jason a shield.

Seeing that his counterattack was about to fail, Richard did not panic, nor did he rush to bend down to pick up his sword. Instead, he gave Bill a silver-light sharp word, instructing the latter to make his movements even faster as his divine spell failed.

With that, he lunged forward, pinning Jason's back with his knee and twisting his head with both hands.

This is precisely the unarmed killing move recorded in the Flowing Water Shattering Rock Fist!

now.

Jason felt the increasing pressure on his neck and struggled desperately, but his strength was only 11 points, far lower than Richard's 15 points, so it had no effect whatsoever.

His heart was instantly filled with terror.

What happened?

I was aiming at someone just a moment ago, how did it turn into this in the blink of an eye?

He was a mid-level warlock! The steward of the Phoenix family! A renowned figure in Phoenix City! Even if he wasn't a nobleman yet, he could still converse with noble lords on a daily basis! He was a being different from the lowly commoners!

Why, why would I be pinned down by a newly emerging poet!

Why...

咔。

With a sharp crack, Richard snapped Jason's neck, leaving the latter forever bewildered as to why.

[Kill a level 6 human warlock, experience points +15]

[Kill a higher-level enemy, gain an extra 5 experience points]

Higher-level enemies give more experience.

Come to think of it, I seem to have killed quite a few people along the way, and it looks like I'll be leveling up soon?

Richard let his thoughts wander for a moment, but instead of actually opening the panel to take a closer look, he quickly shut down the system and looked at the remaining Bill.

Levin, who was standing next to him, quickly followed suit, raising his crossbow and aiming at the target.

Bill instinctively raised his shield of piety, his face devoid of its initial elegance and composure, and the trace of madness from before, replaced only by boundless fear.

Once, twice, three times... This poet actually made him fail three times!

How did he do that?

He must still be a low-level professional, right?

Despite fighting since morning, he still has stamina and magic power, and has not only broken through the encirclement multiple times, but even killed Jason of the Phoenix family!

How... how is this possible...?

What should I do now...?

Hey! You guys!

At this tense moment, a shout suddenly broke through the crowd.

When everyone turned around, they found that it was actually a group of patrolling guards. It turned out that they had unknowingly arrived at a distance of several dozen meters from the palace gate, so much so that the sounds of fighting could be heard there, which alerted the guards.

At that moment, Bill stared at the captain of the guards and recognized him as a believer who often went to the temple to collect donations; he was an old acquaintance of his!

A sudden inspiration struck him, and he was instantly roused from his despair:

This is wonderful! This is an opportunity given by the gods!

He can still be saved!

He can still turn the tables!

Thinking this, he shouted to the captain of the guard, "Seize these three! They are assassins who intended to kill the harpist master and the church priest!"

At that moment, the captain of the guard also recognized Bill.

Upon hearing this, he gave a low shout and ordered the guards to surround Richard and his men.

Richard and Levin frowned immediately and shielded Amy behind them...