BXBX NOVEL Chapter 141: Multiple Enemies
"Damn it! Does this shit ever end? Are they what? Clones?" Strax shouted, slicing a man in half without remorse. It was now a matter of kill or be killed.
Strax continued to spin and slay, his movements swift and precise as if he danced through the carnage. His enemies tried to encircle him, but the skill he had acquired with the flaming swords turned him into a hurricane of destruction. The blades burned with an intensity that seemed to consume not only the bodies but also the darkness around them.
Strax was the one dealing the most damage, but the women held their own. Monica, with her sharp dagger, moved with near-supernatural agility. She weaved through attackers with impeccable grace, her movements a blend of elegance and lethality. Each strike was a fatal blow, the dagger slicing through the enemies' defenses with lethal precision.
Whenever an attacker tried to approach Strax, Monica was there to neutralize him before any harm could be done. Despite not being the best combatant, she fought with everything she had.
The numbers kept increasing, and they couldn't comprehend what was happening. There were so many... but how? How could there be so many?
[>]
Strax read the message while continuing to kill more and more. "What the hell is going on, system!" he shouted, already beginning to tire of the endless stream of enemies. It was like a river of blood.
[>]
"Damn it! Of course, there's an idiot duplicating himself!" Strax roared, visibly frustrated and extremely angry. He needed to find that idiot as quickly as possible, or this would go on forever...
Monica and Beatrice were visibly exhausted. Despite their courage and determination, the strain of the battle was starting to weigh on them. They weren't new to this world, but they lacked the experience of prolonged fights. They had just begun their training and combat experience, but they lacked the training and physical conditioning that Strax had.
It was only a matter of time before their stamina would be a serious risk to their lives.
He needed to find the source of the multiplication and eliminate the threat before it was too late. Using his mana, he transformed it into a sonar, spreading it throughout the forest. The magical energy spread like a shockwave, hoping to locate the source of the duplication before the situation became irreversible.
"Come out, you son of a bitch!" Strax roared, his voice causing a slight tremor among the attackers. It wasn't a physical tremor but a disturbance in the mana itself—a small distortion. "W-what are you doing?" Samira asked, startled by the effect of his voice. "Come here!" he bellowed, his voice now resembling more of a beast's roar than a human's.
Within the Shared Spiritual Realm...
"He... used that so easily?" Tiamat said incredulously, seeing that Strax was truly invested...
"It wasn't easy... it's the need," Ouroboros explained, observing through Strax's vision. "The fear of losing his wives drives him... he's one of those who becomes significantly stronger when motivated by someone or something he cares about..." Ouroboros concluded.
"Even so... isn't it excessive?" Tiamat questioned, finding it absurd. "Dragon Words can't be used due to emotions." She finished, "Ignore that; it wasn't the real thing, just an Echo," Ouroboros said, returning to observe him.
With the expansion of his mana domain, and while still fighting, Strax managed to detect a point of anomalous magical energy... Coming from within the trunk. It was a concentrated presence, a source of energy causing a distortion in the mana field. Without hesitation, Strax directed his sword at that point, unleashing a fiery attack that struck the source with a devastating impact.
KABOOM!
The fire energy exploded against the trunk, creating a massive breach. Through the smoldering debris, Strax saw the source of the multiplication: a hooded mage wielding the same weapons and clothes, but with a staff in hand and an intense aura of magical energy. The mage was focused on maintaining the multiplication ability, but the explosion caused a disruption in his power.
"Hrgh!" The mage cried out in pain and surprise, his concentration shattering as the multiplication ability began to dissipate.
"You bastard!" Strax roared, charging towards the mage. With a swift and decisive movement, he attacked the mage with his flaming swords, slicing through the magical defenses and hitting the enemy with relentless force. The flames from the swords engulfed the mage, burning him with an intensity that seemed to consume all of his magical energy.
The mage tried to defend himself, but Strax's strength and fury were overwhelming. With a final scream of desperation, the mage fell to the ground, his multiplication ability finally neutralized.
Strax turned to Monica and Beatrice, seeing that they were exhausted but still standing. "Monica, Beatrice, it's almost over. Just hold the formation and finish off the remaining ones!" he ordered, his voice filled with fury directed at the remaining enemies.
But before he could make another move, the multiplied bodies began to collapse and disappear in black smoke, leaving only variously sized corpses on the ground.
"Ah, damn it," Strax muttered, sitting down on the ground. The area around the carriage was a pool of blood and dead bodies. Apparently, when the clones died, they remained on the ground without turning to smoke.
"That was close," Strax said, his body sweaty and worn out as he looked up at the sky. "Damn it, I need to get stronger."
He took a moment to catch his breath, his mind racing with thoughts of how to prevent such situations in the future. The battle had been fierce, but the victory had come at a cost. Strax knew he couldn't afford to be caught off guard again.