Chapter 266: Mirror
[1000 PSS bonus]
Every single one of those arrows was reflected in Sylas' visualization. They moved as swiftly as the wind, but with his current Mental capacity, they might as well have been moving in slow motion. His mind separated into 15 different pieces, acting swiftly. With just a single touch, they deviated the arrows off of their current trajectory, causing them to slam into one another.
With just a single move, they clanged in the skies, shifting to the sides of one another and being unable to maintain their flight. The arrows spun out of control and crashed to the ground, but Sylas didn't even send another glance toward them. Instead, his mind had already moved, and he activated <Mirror Step>.
[Your understanding of <Mirror Step> has deepened]
[<Mirror Step> has reached Gold Mastery]
[Mirror Step (FF-) (Skill)]
[Illusive and hard to grasp, you move like the fleeting clouds and your actions are a mystery to all but yourself]
[Create <10> mirror images of yourself for 1 Aether Unit]
Sylas summoned 10 clones at the same time and controlled them all at once. Each one was identical to the next, even down to the blood flowing down from them. It was like he had perfectly copied and pasted himself ten times over. Then, eleven of him split off into different directions while three continued to kneel on the ground.
A heart-pounding pain was ripping its way through Sylas' body, but it only seemed to focus him. His mind was like a hot piece of steel, a forging hammer falling onto it again and again, with the raging heat coming from his heart itself.
A second volley of arrows came, but this time they were far more scattered. It was clear that the group didn't know which clone to target, and without getting closer, it was likely impossible for them to ever know.
Even the Arctic Emperor Cobra didn't seem to know which one was the real Sylas. Its eyes darted from side to side, and by the time it was going to just pick one, they came to a stop, forming a perfect circle around the cobra.
For a moment, the Arctic Emperor Cobra shuddered. Obviously, it hadn't been exposed just yet that these were just mirror images with no fighting power of their own. In the eyes of the cobra, they were all threats, and because the arrows never touched them, even the humans in the distance hadn't realized this yet.
What they didn't know was that Sylas had no choice but to do this because he couldn't control these clones outside the range of his manifestation. This was the only path.
'That thing is clearly trying to find time to replenish its Aether. It foolishly used it all up. If I don't kill it now, I'll probably never get a chance.'
The problem was that Sylas' own Aether was also running low. He had less than 20% left, and that was despite the Basilisk King giving him a huge boost. That barrage of attacks he had levied had taken a lot out of him. Every fist of Aetherflow he formed was like a skill on its own, but who would have thought that he would be interrupted by his own kind just when he was showing signs of taking the beast down?
That fury bubbled up within him again.
He had always thought himself to be a calm person, but he was finding it harder and harder to be.
'I have to take a risk.'
Sylas' mind became sharp as he pressed his fury down. Being enraged because of people he couldn't even see wasn't going to help him, and staying here would only get him killed eventually. He had to force them out even if that meant putting himself in danger.
He gritted his teeth, blood rolling down his chin as more ballista bolts appeared.
He had been using them almost carelessly during this battle, but there were so many of them that he didn't need to worry about quantity for now.
He unleashed bolts at the Emperor and began to kite it. His body forced itself up from the ground, moving back slowly. And because he could summon the bolts from anywhere within his visualization range, it was still impossible to tell which of him was the real one.
More volleys of arrows came from the distance, but Sylas slowly pulled back. With the arrows scattered like this, and those lurking in the dark too scared to show themselves, they were far easier to dodge and deal with.
'Now.'
Sylas burst out of the line of trees. His mirror clones left the range of his visualization and began to act like carbon copies of him with no thought or reason. Luckily, since he was running in a single direction, they all just looked like they were running as well. Unluckily, because most of them were still in the thick forest, some of them ended up running right through trees, exposing them as fakes.
However, Sylas had already expected this. He didn't mind anything else as he entered the line of cottages, dodged behind one of them, and then bolted across the river.
His experience in the lava came in handy. He was already fully prepared, using his Aether to coat his feet and shooting across.
Ripples spread through the water and in three large leaps, Sylas had already made it to the other side.
The Arctic Emperor Cobra unleashed a howl as it rushed forward. It dove into the waters, unleashing a strong whip of its tail.
BANG!
A wave of water surged out of the cobra. It had already locked onto the real Sylas.
However, just as it was halfway through, a ballista bolt shot out.
This time, it didn't come from Sylas, but rather the ballistas themselves. It shuttled forward with even more force than Sylas' telekinesis, rocketing forward with a pace that shook the air around it and left a harsh whistle hanging in the air.
BOOM!