Chapter 407: Battle of Wills (2)
Aerwyna's group sat pale-faced, but stoic. They continued to hold it together, but from time to time, they couldn't help but look toward Sylas who was still sitting in silence.
It had occurred to Aerwyna that Sylas' Will should be powerful. He had made it through not just one, but two Will challenges all on his own and without the chance to swap with others.
However, she had never imagined that it was so strong. She had no way of knowing that Sylas' base Will of 873 was already beyond her own, let alone the fact he could boost it by an additional 400% with Madness when he needed it.
They were all working together, protecting one another, and most importantly taking the brunt of the pressure off her in the center, and yet even she was feeling some clear fatigue.
The wear and tear was starting to get to them when Sylas finally opened his eyes. He stared right at them, but he wasn't moving a single inch.
His breathing was even, his cheeks rosy.
Maybe it was an illusion, but it felt like the pressure around them had actually grown when Sylas awoke. The discomfort they were feeling only increased the calmer he was.
Suddenly, an hour later, the first of them coughed up a mouthful of blood. Before they could pass out, a mysterious force descended and teleported them out.
It was one of the archers.
Aerwyna's jaw clenched and she began wondering if they should go all out to attack Sylas now. But she was hesitant, not knowing if she should take action.
As she was thinking, a second fell.
Her group was down to eight. Although she knew that they would return to her when the next round started, her expression couldn't help but become somewhat ugly.
She wanted to believe that Sylas was just bluffing, but everything pointed to the fact that he was still in top condition. The problem was that that didn't make any sense.
'I know that he had a rare Mental Comprehension... could that Comprehension be related to Will?'
If Mental Comprehensions were already rare, Will Comprehensions were basically extinct. She hadn't even considered it until this moment.
Should she attack?
She was beginning to waver. Suddenly, the fact Sylas was sitting in front of a wind tunnel went from a concession to a death sentence. If they really moved to attack Sylas now, would they even be able to make it close before another one of their members fell?
Sylas suddenly stood to his feet at that moment and Aerwyna suddenly tensed. For some reason, she felt like she had lost control of the situation. All logic pointed to the fact that she should still have everything else in her grasp, but the longer she stared into those glowing green eyes, the more she felt as though she had already lost.
Another cough of blood. Another loss.
Her group was down to seven.
She had lost two staff wielders and an archer. Suddenly, her ability to control the battlefield had fallen by half.
Sylas stretched out his limbs. This was the most rest he had had since he stepped into this Dungeon. Other than the fact he was missing out on sleep, he had never felt better.
Another cough. Another loss.
Suddenly Sylas moved. It was at this same instant that Aerwyna was putting up her hand to signal something.
The distance between them was still over 200 meters, but the instant Sylas' skin flashed and black scales began to appear, he seemed to soar forward.
A green light wrapped around him and the intent in his eyes blazed.
In just a handful of seconds, he had already cut the distance down by half and it all hit Aerwyna at once.
She had made a mistake.
What she had still yet to realize, though, was that even if she hadn't just sat there, this was still Sylas' battle to win. He was the only one that could withstand the harsh winds of the wind tunnels for so long. The moment he had reached one, the battle was over.
They had only managed to last hours because they had huddled up together and weren't fighting. If they had been in combat at the same time, let alone hours, they would be hard- pressed to last a few minutes.
The instant the first of the shieldmen fell to lack of Will, Sylas moved. This was precisely what he was waiting for.
With just two drained shieldmen left...
Aerwyna couldn't stop him.
"Form up!" Aerwyna's battle intent blazed and her palm flipped, revealing a bow. Clearly, she knew that she couldn't stand on the sidelines this time.
Her aura became far more valiant and it was like she had become a completely different woman. Her hair tie shattered and she began to release a rapid fire sequence of arrows.
In that moment, her arms became a whirlwind of their own. By the time the two shieldmen had locked shoulders and were prepared to form a barrier, she had already unleashed an assault of dozens.
Sylas felt danger from each and every one, his Luck blaring warning signs at him, but that only made his gaze colder.
The arrows curved out and then suddenly converged onto a point of attack, making Sylas feel like he had nowhere to dodge at all.
However, Sylas suddenly stomped the ground and hit another gear. His weight fell by half under the influence of his telekinesis and he outpaced the arrows, rushing by them and even using the explosion they created to his back to accelerate further.
Aerwyna's gaze sharpened and she was already firing another arrow. But...
They had entered Sylas' 50 meter range.
At that moment, Sylas pulled on his Gluttony Seed and the world flipped out.
He pushed out with a palm and a strong surge of telekinesis hit one of the shieldmen like a wrecking ball. It felt like a 200-pound man had suddenly rammed into him with 1200 points
of Physical.
BANG!
He was sent flying backward, only to slam right into one of the staff wielders preparing a
spell.