Spearbound Ch. 49

It felt strange to focus more on his attacks rather than the monsters he was attacking, but that was precisely what was happening.

Kade concentrated on three skills: [Rapid Strike], [Elbow Smash], and [Rising Knee].

The names of the skills were self-explanatory. He threw jabs, contorted his body to destroy a karnathi with his elbow, and used his knee to break through a karnathi’s body even when it wasn’t the best choice.

Kade’s attacks were far from unsuccessful, but success didn’t show the complete picture. His effort to use specific attacks that weren’t ideal at the moment sapped his stamina. He wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long until he would be helpless against the swarm of karnathis.

He knew he would need to revert to his [Soulrend], but he wished to continue being a brawler until a level-up. Unfortunately, the karnathis he faced possessed far too low [Arcana Level] to be of help.

Kade was methodological in his path of elimination towards the mage. There were times the karnathis could land a strike on his body, but his natural defense was tough enough that it didn’t affect him at all. However, he made sure to avoid any incoming attack that came from the sharp end of the karnathi’s weapons.

He ignored the dying roar of the karnathi that his fist had impaled. He continued, undeterred at the brutal end he had caused.

Kade twisted and slammed his elbow into the descending blunt weapon, shattering it, before continuing unfazed into a helpless karnathi, shattering its face and destroying it.

The mage still hasn’t attacked.

Kade had expected the few mages within the army to have done something by now. He had some vague plans of using the lightning bolts they would throw to cause more damage to the army, but without a response, even after he killed over a hundred of the karnathis, he was suspecting these were not lightning mages.

The unknown both concerned and excited Kade. Right now, he was like a rampaging monster that destroyed frail structures in a helpless town, and anything to change that imbalance would be welcome.

Kade frowned at his thoughts before taking his frustration out on the next ten karnathis.

I can’t be running out of stamina and think about how glad I’ll be for something more challenging.

Curse Applied: 20% Reduction in Speed and Dexterity.

The interface didn’t bother Kade, though surprised. He was far more concerned by the extreme difficulty he now faced at simple tasks, like dodging a rare strike from a karnathi using the sharp end of their weapon.

What used to be a nonchalant task now required him to concentrate fully. Even worse, he couldn’t react fast enough to stay a step ahead. His speed and reactions were now on par with a majority of the karnathis instead of being far ahead.

The curse wouldn’t have mattered if Kade had only had to deal with several karnathis. However, for every karnathi he killed, five more stepped up to replace it. He faced a legion.

Hell yes! This wasn’t exactly what I hoped for, but I now have my challenge.

Kade’s expression from the beginning of the massacre had been of a bored impatience with a dash of absentmindedness. Now, he had a near maniacal grin as he bulldozed through the karnathis around him.

His body absorbed far more hits from the blunt ends of the karnathi’s weapons, and the rate at which he destroyed the karnathi before him had significantly slowed, but he enjoyed it far more than before.

Kade had never stopped trying to get closer to the mages, and he could see them grouped together in the corner of his eyes.

His original intention had been to kill them as quickly as possible, but these were no lightning mages. Nor were they water mages. Instead, they were irreplaceable, precious curse mages… or something similar.

As long as they stayed alive, the curse would be active.

Kade put them out of his mind and stopped his advance. If the mages didn’t move, he wouldn’t either. He would keep the same distance as he wrecked the army around them.

Several minutes passed, and he was still brawling like a madman. The karnathi army had decreased in number by nearly half, but he wasn’t happy about it.

Not only did Kade fail to level up despite the uncountable karnathis he had destroyed, but his stamina had also dipped to a point where he could feel the faint exhaustion setting in.

Warning: Your health has fallen below 50%!

Kade felt the stinging pain on his back. He roared and smashed his elbow back, killing the karnathi that somehow landed it hit on him—a hit that actually damaged him for the first time.

I can’t delay it any longer.

He gave up the efforts to increase his targeted skills and summoned his [Soulrend].

An explosion of fire incinerated the surrounding karnathis when Kade instantly activated [Inferno Burst]. He burst out of the wall of flames, dove into the largest group nearby, and activated [Inferno Burst] again.

The karnathis had a reprieve from instant incineration while Kade restricted himself to brawling, but they could thank the brethren who landed a damaging hit for the troubles they now faced.

Kade abused his absurdly large amount of [MP] and made use of [Inferno Burst] liberally. He incinerated any group of twenty or more karnathis before moving on to his next target.

He no longer cared about increasing his skills. The only goal now was to destroy the entire army before his stamina ran out, and he was making good progress on that front.

Kade no longer felt the need to preserve the mages’ lives, but once he brought out his [Soulrend], they kept a significant distance from him as he moved around. Still, they never fled, which was saying something. Likely to keep the curse active, hoping someone in the karnathi army would get lucky.

Unfortunately for the mages, nobody got lucky.

Kade mowed through the remaining karnathis—surprisingly feeling his health restored, meaning he finally got his desired level up—and ignored the few that were running away. He set his sights on the mages with grim expressions at what was coming for them.

Curse Removed.

He blinked at the sudden reversal. The mages looked at him at his sudden stop.

Kade thought briefly that this was some sort of peace offering before he saw all five mages point their arms in the sky. Something was forming around them.

He couldn’t help himself and waited to see what was out of curiosity. The mages would die eventually, and if they wanted to show off any spells he should look out for in the future, he would let them finish.

The mages sneered when they saw Kade refused to move from his spot. They might have thought he was being cautious about the spherical red bubble they formed around themselves.

Kade tilted his head when they lowered their arms. The red bubble didn’t disappear even though they seemed to be done casting actively.

“That’s it?” Kade asked with genuine disappointment. The karnathi mages obviously couldn’t understand him, but he didn’t really care. All of that for just a shield.

With how often the mages stared at the few fleeing karnathis, Kade assumed that there would be some sort of reinforcement on the way. The pillar’s lack of repair meant reinforcements were coming anyway, but maybe a message from the fleeing karnathis could speed things up.

Kade walked up to the red bubble and stared at the mages that were just on the other side. He shook his head to show his disappointment before activating [Ethereal Glide].

He walked past the barrier leisurely, much to the mages’ shock.

Kade didn’t allow them to devise another defense. He had already given them a chance, and they failed miserably.

He deactivated [Ethereal Glide] and impaled the [Soulrend] into the ground before activating [Inferno Burst].

Their own creation, the bubble, hastened their end.

The flames exploded from [Inferno Burst], filled the bubble, and incinerated the mages before they could even take another breath. The red barrier lasted longer than they did.

Kade sniffed at the disappointing end of the fight before looking toward the fleeing karnathis. He considered chasing after them, but didn’t think it was worth the effort. It wouldn’t give him any growth.

He realized the interface didn’t show the messages from the level up received. He customized the interface to avoid showing frivolous messages during a fight, so that meant there was something still around that was worth his attention.

Kade looked around warily. He couldn’t see anything that could concern him. He looked down at the ground in suspicion. The mole titan had burst out of the ground, and a beast could do the same here.

He tensed before he snapped his head toward the desert. Even with the muddled bond, Hellion’s rage was surprisingly clear.

The bird was growing stronger. It wasn’t gradual. He could feel growth at a rate of nearly every other second.

Hellion was in a fight for his life.

“Hellion is under attack. Get there as quickly as possible,” Kade sent a message to Eliza. A few seconds passed without a reply, and he grew more concerned.

He heard a distant sound that resembled a rock being crushed. He turned to the destroyed city and saw two figures standing on top of the hill on the opposite side.

The entrance of the tunnels was at the bottom of that hill.

He remembered the two statues that didn’t respond to him. These figures must have just exited the chambers in the tunnel.

Kade would’ve loved to stay and take these two figures out, but he had to prioritize the safety of Hellion and Eliza over having fun.

He narrowed his eyes when the two figures jumped down into the city and ignored him. They clearly saw that he was there, but they didn’t hesitate to go to the pillar... or the rubble left of it.

They have their priorities, too.

Kade started a brisk jog back to the desert. The interface showed itself when the city was out of sight.