Child of Destiny

...

Right after Shin and the others left, Black Hand quickly took over the commanding role in this battle as he was the most proficient one who could take it after Shin.

The rest didn't say anything as they were already familiar with him. Moreover, they could also trust his skills in that area given the background he had, he was one of the strategists within the Wing's Alliance.

Given his skills and achievement, it was pretty normal for him to take on that role.

"Owen, be careful when facing him. Even though his information panel says that he is a monster, it is pretty much obvious that he is as intelligent as an NPC with the highest level of AI," the first thing that Black Hand did was to warn Owen about the upcoming fight.

Given that Owen was going to be their main tank in this battle, he would surely be the one to carry the greatest burden among the group. Even though Leonard had his back, he was still the first person to face all of Nel's attacks.

Moreover, based on what they had seen earlier, there was a high chance that Owen to get killed in an instant if he was not careful.

He then started adjusting the formation that they had. He also asked Ember and Ravier to take care of the remaining fallen knights. He told them that they were free to throw out some spells to their opponent if they saw an opportunity but also reminded them of their main task.

With Charlotte and Arielle on their side, the magic damage that they could deal was more than enough for the team.

Of course, as the main support and healer of the team, Cloe still needed to stick to her role. But since her holy powers were fatal to undead monsters, her holy spells were a huge help to the time.

And with him around, Black Hand was more than enough to support the entire team, especially since they had fewer numbers compared to earlier.

But at the same time, they also had a lesser number of strategies that they could employ given the limited number of members. They were now lacking in terms of flexibility, given that most of their members were currently absent.

Fortunately, their job right was only to buy time before Zero and the others arrived. Though, it was also going to be as challenging.

Taking a deep breath, Black Hand focused his mind before giving out his signal. "Let's go!"

Right after those words left his mouth, the others quickly make their moves, proceeding according to the plan.

The first to make her move was Cloe who slammed her staff on the ground and summoned a golden magic circle that appeared underneath their feet.

She started chanting out a series of prayer verses, giving a series of buffs to everyone that enhanced all of their stats significantly. She also didn't stop there as another series of buffs was cast on Owen and Leonard who were currently charging at their opponent.

S.Tigris, on the other hand, was left behind as his job was to protect the rest from the unexpected threats that might come out of nowhere.

After the series buffs cast onto him, Owen immediately felt the significant boost in his stats. He felt that he could do everything with such a series of amazing buffs.

"Sister Arielle sure is the best!" muttered Owen as he quickly increased his speed and fearlessly charge forward.

His mana which had a deep blue color suddenly covered his entire body like a violent flame dancing along the wind. He also left a beautiful trail of light behind as he continued moving ahead.

It then transformed into a raging bison that was charging forward. It was originally the form of his Aura Manifestation but after his endless research after getting beaten up by Shin, Arthur, and Leonard in their sparring sessions multiple times, he found a way to make his mana turn into a real manifestation of his powers.

It was similar to a Fighting Spirit in the real world, a higher form of Aura Manifestation. But instead of having a humanoid form that reflected the unification of his spirit and fighting style, this current form of his mana carried the form of a bison which had the essence of his Martial Arts.

Swoosh!

Seeing Owen charging at him in that current state, Nel couldn't help but become impressed at such a powerful spirit. "Hoh~! This is interesting! Yet another interesting kid that is worth my time! Let's see if you can keep me entertained!"

Owen naturally heard those words as Nel's voice was loud enough for everyone to hear. He then raised his shield in front of him and further increased his speed, charging with even stronger momentum.

Swoosh!

"Hahaha!" Nel started laughing out loud when he saw the fearless actions that Owen had committed. And to respond to it, the Vanguard King raised his iron mace in the air before swinging it down, perfectly timing it right after Owen reached his attacking range.

Whoosh!

Boom!

(-64,334)

"Ugh!" Owen couldn't help but groan painfully when his shield came in contact with the descending mace. His feet sank to the ground as he tried to withstand the attack.

At the same time, more than half of his current Health Bar instantly disappeared right after the contact.

'Holy Priestess Skill: Holy Cure'

(+15,000)

(+500), (+500), (500), …

'Archbishop Skill (Tier 2): Greater Heal'

(+25,000)

Fortunately, Cloe and Black Hand quickly restored his HP back to a healthy state with their respective healing spells.

But it didn't stop the iron mace from pressing at him. It continued to increase its weight and further pressured him, seemingly trying to totally crush him.

Due to the strong force pressing at him, Owen felt slowly sank to the ground. "Ugh!"

Gritting his teeth, Owen slightly inclined his shield to the side and let the iron mace slide on it. He also twisted his body a little and carefully direct the mace toward his side.

Bang!

Due to his actions, the iron mace landed on the ground, creating a strong explosion upon impact.

Owen ignored the minimal damage caused by the shockwave and rock fragments that flew at him since Cloe and Black Hand had his back.

He then focused and gathered his mana on his sword, coating it with a brilliant glow. He then borrowed the momentum of his previous actions to throw a powerful thrust straight to Nel's fully exposed chest.

'Guardian Knight Skill (Tier 2): Divine Counter'

Swoosh!

Nel planned to ignore that attack at first since his body was currently being covered by his mana. Moreover, he was also confident about his armor as it used to be one of the toughest Battle Armor in the world during the time when he was alive.

But as those thoughts flashed across his mind, he suddenly noticed a golden glow at the blade of the incoming sword, creating another layer of aura on it. It was one of the buffs that Cloe had given to Owen and the rest.

Seeing that golden glow, Nel instantly know that it carried the holy powers belonging to the Church of Light, the bane of all undead.

Remembering that he was no longer what he used to be, Nel slightly turned his body to the side, barely dodging the tip of the sword.

Clang!

Then he saw his aura being pierced by Owen's sword. Then the sword continued to move forward, grazing his armor with its edge, creating a sharp and high-pitched metallic sound in the process. There were also metal sparks that flew in the air, caused by the friction between the two metals.

"To think that you can break through by Aura Armor? You are not bad, kid!" laughed Nel before twisting his waist to the side as he swung his iron mace toward Owen.

Despite how fast it was, Owen was still able to respond with it given his innate trait, his 'Extreme Senses' Talent which now evolved and became 'Super Sensitivity' inside the game.

It was a peak-class talent that was almost in a similar league as Shin's 'Ultra Instincts' and Arthur's 'Pinnacle Omniscience'.

With its help, Owen was able to quickly activate two of his defensive skills before the iron mace came in contact with his shield.

'Warrior Skill: Steel Body'

'Guardian Knight Skill (Tier 2): Bulwark'

Boom!

(-45,042)

He managed to nullify most of the force behind that attack, making it to only be pushed to the side and drew a trail on the ground as his feet slid on it.

But despite that being the case, the damage that he suffered was still on a similar scale to the previous attack that he just withstood earlier.

Nel was about to follow up with another attack before Owen could restore his health back to full. But before he could even make it, he suddenly sensed an intense chill coming from his back.

From the perspective of his senses, a hungry lion seemed to appear behind him and was about to devour him alive.

Grr!

He could also hear a ferocious growl inside his head right after that particular lion revealed its presence.

Without further ado, Nel swiftly spun around and strongly swung his iron mace alongside his actions.

Leonard, who was right behind Nel, quickly abandoned the idea of attacking and instead decided to protect himself.

He swiftly raised his battle axes and crossed them in front of his shoulders. He then planted his feet firmly on the ground and gritted his teeth, bracing himself for the incoming impact.

Bang!

(-56,234)

Just like what happened to Owen, he was only pushed to the side as he was fully prepared for the attack. But at the same time, a massive chunk of his HP was also sacrificed during the process.

At the very least, Black Hand and Cloe were more than enough to restore their HP Bars back to their healthy state.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Bang! Bang!

It was at this moment when the spells from Charlotte came. They landed on Nel's body as he was fully occupied with Owen and Leonard.

The damage that they deal was quite minimal since Nel was currently under the protection of his Aura Armor.

But Charlotte was not bothered by it as her goal was to only hinder Nel's movements. On top of that, she was also planning to slowly stack the special effects of her spells, especially the freezing effects of her ice elemental spells.

Nel also sensed it and frowned his brow a little. He might be an undead now, but he was not entirely immune to these types of effects, especially when it came from an Elven Sage, a Transcendent Class of the Elven Race.

"This is going to be a little tricky," muttered Nel as he turned toward the direction where the spells were coming from.

He then turned his gaze back to Owen and Leonard who were now right in front of him and blocking his path, right after noticing his actions of turning to Charlotte and the rest.

He then started grinning widely. "It is troublesome but that is also where the exciting part comes from it!"

...…