Chapter 461: Speed
The two Generals surrounded the Arctic Emperor Cobra from two opposing sides, doing what they thought would make it difficult for the beast to react.
The battle erupted in the midst of it all, but the addition of two powerful Generals made it so that there was practically no one other than the Colonels of the army that could stay close, especially since the Generals were riding steeds that bolstered their power by another level.
And this was exactly the opportunity that Sylas was waiting for.
The Arctic Emperor Cobra roared, its hood flaring as it seemed to "try" to cast a skill, only to fail.
The short hesitation caused the Generals to lag behind, resulting in a vicious tail whip. The General and his steed went flying through the air, crashing near the area City Lord Orciulius stood and wiping out another large portion of the army.
Then, the Arctic Emperor Cobra actually began to turn and run.
City Lord Orciulius frowned. 'This beast has some intelligence... Chase.'
He made a few hand signals and several more Generals moved. But under Sylas' control, the retreat of the Arctic Emperor Cobra, though seemingly imperfect, was steady.
The wounds began to accumulate more and more, but the Arctic Emperor Cobra continued to close in the distance on the portal.
City Lord Orciulius' frown deepened. At this rate, it was going to manage to escape. The worst part was that the Generals were only adding to the casualties of the city.
Sylas was very careful not to kill anyone, but the Generals weren't the same. The best part was that these kills didn't count toward Rolland's total at all because they were under his own faction. Only when they killed the stray beast would it count for something.
Suddenly, Rolland sprung into action.
Sylas stood to his feet at the same instant. He didn't expect that Rolland would be so decisive, but that only proved he was more of an impatient man than he thought. In that case, that would only benefit him.
He shot onto the battlefield, weaving through practically undetected in the chaos.
He was an Earl, no one with status too low would dare to tell him to do much of anything.
The Arctic Emperor Cobra was about to be stalled. The power of City Lord Orciulius was too great, especially within the city.
Scales sprouted across Sylas' skin and his Speed skyrocketed. He dodged out of the way of a beast's claws, sweeping it off its feet as he slid down between its legs.
He hopped back to his feet with an almost exaggerated smoothness that made it feel like he had never been on the ground at all. Not a single time did his Speed drop below his max. In fact, he was still accelerating.
On the other side of the battlefield, the Arctic Emperor Cobra blocked a palm from the City Lord and was sent a bit away from the portal. Clearly, the City Lord was trying to knock it away, moving it further from its goal.
'Not yet...'
Sylas had the Arctic Emperor Cobra fail to cast another Skill as he closed in.
He wasn't a far distance away to begin with. He could only control the Arctic Emperor Cobra so perfectly when within the 50-meter range of his visualization. The only reason he hadn't closed in the distance already was because weaving through a battlefield and running a straight distance obviously required different levels of strain.
However...
'Now.'
The City Lord descended with another attack. This time he had pulled out a sword, one that looked not too dissimilar from the one Azrael had wielded. It was a black straight sword that seemed to vanish into the shadows when it was swung.
And right at that moment, the Arctic Emperor Cobra activated <Arctic Howl>.
The Skill rebuffed the City Lord's strike, catching him off guard for a moment. This was the first time the Arctic Emperor Cobra had actually succeeded in casting a Skill.
But the City Lord was prepared for a follow-up, reacting quickly, only to find himself frozen in place.
Sylas had manipulated the Runes in the air, forcefully changing the effect of <Arctic Howl> to <Arctic Howl Mutant>. He had already evolved the Arctic Emperor Cobra to be able to withstand his Freeze Ice-Poison Rune, so the rest was easy.
As expected, the City Lord broke through it instantly, only for Sylas' eyes to flash.
<King's Bind>.
Rolland was frozen again. He had sensed that it was someone else who cast this skill and realized that he was caught in a trap. But just as he was about to break free again and see who was coming from behind him, the Arctic Emperor Cobra's tail descended.
If it was just one temporary bind, Rolland would have still had the time to dodge.
But after two binds, the time it took for him to counter both of them gave the Arctic Emperor Cobra the chance to send him flying...
Right toward the portal.
Rolland's eyes widened as he unfroze in the air. What was happening?
He was ready to cast a skill to orient himself, avoiding the portal, but that was when a forceful rush of telekinesis slammed right into him.
The second push stacked on top of the first violent counter by the Arctic Emperor Cobra.
Then, for inexplicable reasons, the beast he had been chasing all this time vanished from his sight. All that was left was a man covered in scales.
Rolland's eyes widened as he came to a realization at the same instant he was swallowed up by the portal.
Sylas' feet never stopped. According to what he knew about portals, Rolland would be ejected a decent distance. However, it wouldn't be long enough that he couldn't come back.
The only reason he was even able to do this in the first place was because the restriction on Rolland as a City Lord had been loosened by the Quicktime Event.
Simply put, this was likely going to be the only chance he had of ever killing Rolland outside
the city.
And he was going to take it.
He needed Speed. He needed to reach the portal before Rolland could make his way back, and avoid these Generals while he did so.