New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 997: A Fearsome Request



From the back line of the hundreds of kobolds, small crossbow bolts, as well as crudely crafted arrows, flew over the army, heading for the small party. The limited height of the kobolds allowed them to fire over their allies, and still have a clear target on the humans, something they were using to their advantage.

Unfortunately for them, the risen platforms on the sides, which Rì-Chū had made through his druidic powers, allowed Killian, Jin-Sil, and Aapo to return fire with abandon.

Arrows flew back and forth, along with the loud resounding boom of gunshots in the small enclosed space, and kobolds started falling left and right.

As for the projectiles coming for the humans, Violette and Jonathan had been tasked with interception, their magic the fastest amongst the group.

Their silent coordination was a sight to behold, a testament to the bond they shared. Their efficiency in combat, a result of their practiced teamwork, left Liu Yan in awe of Kary's foresight in fostering such relationships.

Not a single arrow went past their onslaught of small but precise shots of air and water.

As for the other mages in the group, Kary, Liu Yan, and Rì-Chū, Kary had assigned them to target the ranks of kobolds pushing against Winston and the undead barrier to keep the pressure to a manageable degree.

David was up to his own gimmicks, raising the kobolds who fell, trying to sow discord in the backline of the enemy force, while Cory stayed laser-focused on Winston, who, through a feat of herculean strength, was holding back dozens of enemies on his own.

Every attack that managed to slip through his barricade-like defence only managed to graze his skin, causing nothing more than superfluous wounds, which Cory hurriedly closed up, keeping him in fighting condition for as long as possible.

Their well-oiled machine of teamwork was working fine, and in the span of a few minutes, dozens of kobolds had already fallen. But Kary was still sporting a massive frown, one which David did not miss.

"You can tell too, right?" he asked her, pulling his focus away from his undead forces.

Kary nodded in response, not voicing her concerns, to avoid alarming anyone. But her senses were telling her this was not a viable way of fighting.

She could tell everyone's mana reserves were dwindling alarmingly fast, even for those who were not actively using magic. At this pace, they wouldn't be able to fight for more than ten minutes.

And with no idea where the dungeon they were in ended, using up their mana already could spell catastrophe.

To pile over this pressing issue, the loud booms of combat, accompanied by gusts of wind and waves of erratic mana, kept echoing from inside the cavern, behind the kobold army.

'Hurry up, Alex. We can't fight these enemies for too long if we want to stay in peak condition...'

Inside said cavern, locked in a battle of attrition against Shegror's best intentions, Alex and the kobold warrior were going at each other's throat on every opening they had. Of course, the one who attacked most often ended up being Alexander, as the kobold fought defensively.

But the problem remained, the fight wasn't going anywhere.

As much as Alex liked to think he was much stronger than his enemy, it seemed the kobold warrior was much more experienced than he was in combat.

For every attack that Alex launched at him, a shield rose, a sword parried, or a well-timed dodge wasted the effort Alex had put behind it.

It was like the kobold could read Alex's every move, like an open book. This was starting to grate on his morale.

'Shegror. I thought you said you'd guide me through this fight. We have yet to inflict a single wound bigger than a scratch on this enemy. What the hell are you doing?' Alex asked, annoyed.

'Hey, it's not like I understand what's going on either, boy. By all means, your attacks should be too quick or powerful for this enemy to even defend against them. But he keeps spiking in power and reacting way past his natural means,' Shegror replied, sounding just as pissed.

'It's almost like he's getting outside help from something much stronger than himself,' she added.

Although Alex could see the kobold's mana bursting on every assault, he couldn't understand how and where all that extra power was coming from. He had gazed long and hard inside it, and couldn't see a tether or signs of a secondary being inside the kobold.

The kobold saw Alex had stopped attacking, and he lowered his shield slightly to smirk at the human.

"What's wrong, human? Are you realizing you are unmatched to the great one's powers? Did you think your pale imitation of a dragon's power could rival the true thing?" the kobold mocked.

Alex scoffed at the words.

"As if a pocket-sized thing like you could draw the actual power of a dragon. Hah! Don't kid yourself. I've fought dragons. You wouldn't be able to stand before one, let alone fight like one," Alex replied, trying to anger the kobold.

But the lizard only grinned in response, raising his shield again.

"Then why aren't you landing your attacks, human? Where is that power of one who claims to have fought dragons?" he mocked from behind his shield.

Alex was getting annoyed at the cockiness of his foe. If he was inside New Eden, this kobold would already be dead twenty times over.

But his strength outside the game world was limited to how much mana he could draw upon. And right now, although the mana density was steadily rising the deeper inside the dungeon they went, it was still nothing close to what he needed.

It was already a boon to him that had allowed him to even use Shegror's power at all. But he felt like even if he tried dragging out all his power, he would collapse from mana exhaustion

in seconds.

Which was a less-than-ideal situation, even if he won instantly.

'Shegror. We need to end this. I can tell that my friends are using too much mana. If this fight stretches on too long, we'll have casualties.'

There was a moment of silence in his mind, before Shegror's voice echoed in his head, with words he never wished to hear from one of his soul companions.

'I know of a way to use more power, which would come at no cost to you. Relinquish control to

me.'