Chapter 586: Space-Lock
The Laprix Lord's death and the deadly trap set up by the 12 Adventurers changed the situation in the Savannah Region at once.
The stalemate was intercepted the moment the 12 Adventurers appeared. One of them used Pull, a Soultrait that pulled a marked target through space. The Soultrait's range of effect wasn't large and the prerequisite to use Pull was to have marked the target beforehand. It was a complex Soultrait despite its rather simple effect.
Combining Pull with a wide variety of other Soultraits allowed the 12 Adventurers to set off two traps simultaneously. First, they managed to mark the Laprix Lord in one of the battles in the last few weeks, therefore, meeting the requirement to pull the Laprix Lord into the depression. Second, the other Adventurers had the power to seal and restrain the Laprix Lord. They managed to take him down mere seconds after he was pulled into the depression.
Third, the Soldiers working for the 12 Adventurers set up a trap in the depression with explosives, Pyro Stones, and complex runic engravings to trigger the trap at a specific moment.
The specific moment was when three Adventurers used their Space-type Soultrait to teleport the 12 Adventurers out of the depression. The three Adventurers were known as Teleporters, their Soultraits allowing them to travel through space and bring other people along.
The Space-type Soultraits triggered the trap, sealing the surrounding space right after the Teleproters moved everyone out of the trap's range. Even if the Super Elite force of the Valkyr and the other forces of the Trilance owned special devices, or Soultraits that would have normally allowed them to escape the trap, they weren't able to escape this time. The space around them was sealed and the trap erupted, killing everyone in the inferno's wake.
Siegfried Dracoon and the others outside the depression stared at the disaster in shock. They realized, at last, that the Council of Xylon shouldn't be taken lightly. Just because some plans worked out pretty well against the Council of Xylon didn't mean they were on the brink of destruction.
"Retreat to the next line of defense!" Immortal Knight bellowed. He was the first to regain his senses. His confident voice thundered through the surroundings, silencing the murmurs around him instantly. Even the Trilance's force who had been about to charge into the depression, only to watch their friends and allies burn to death, heed Immortal Knight's command.
They retreated together, changed their stances again, and prepared for the next course of events. However, the Council of Xylon didn't attack anymore. Their army retreated as well.
"Are they going back now that they killed the Laprix Lord?" Tiara asked, only for Lilica to frown deeply, "The morale of the Trilance is at its lowest, most Laprix are panicking, and half of the Super Elite forces have been eliminated. It doesn't make sense to retreat now. Their chances to overwhelm us are the highest right now. They wouldn't waste such an opportunity...right?"
Lilica's attention fell onto the Immortal Knight. Siegfried Dracoon was deep in thought. His eyes traveled across the members of the Savannah Expedition, his eyebrows furrowed.
"Didn't we fight one of those Adventurers before?" Pheli asked Liopham at this moment. She tilted her head, recalling to have fought against one of the 12 Adventurers two weeks ago.
"That's rig-..." Liopham's answer was cut in half as a golden hue engulfed him.
Tiara's hair stood up to its end when the golden hue entered her view. Her head flicked back to the battlefield where a particular set of 12 Adventurers stood calmly. The 12 Adventurers had emerged in the middle of the emptied battlefield. They were in the center between the forces of the Trilance and the Council of Xylon, watching the Savannah Expedition calmly as they retreated to the first line of defense.
Both armies retreated to their first line of defense, a gap of 1,000 meters separating them.
One of the Adventurer's arms shimmered in the same golden hue as Liopham. One moment, Liopham's sentence was cut in half, and in the next second, Liopham disappeared.
He reappeared in front of the 12 Adventurers, his eyes widened in shock and terror.
Tiara was already on the move. She ignored Immortal Knight's warning and dashed forward. Silvarean Tiger strengthened her physique while transforming half of her body. Simultaneously, Zeroa coated Tiara, shrouding her body in blazing azure flames.
Tiara's fur was set ablaze and her eyes burned fiercely, but she didn't care. She motioned Zeroa to manifest a spatial portal to close the distance to Liopham, but the Elemental Empress found herself incapable of setting up an anchor on the battlefield.
The 12 Adventurers had triggered the space lock again, restraining all uses of spatial affinities and abilities for the next few seconds. It was only a few seconds, but that was more than enough to deal with their enemy.
The Adventurers were already at the 3rd Tier. Each of them was strong enough to deal with Liopham on their own, yet, they charged at him together when he was pulled into their range of attack.
Liopham had no chance to defend himself. He used the Swiftness Soultrait in its strongest form to push back and flee, but the pulling force of the Adventurer with the Pull Soultrait was simply too strong. Liopham was pulled closer to his enemies. He retrieved his Spirit Dagger, ready to give his utmost. There was no way he would die without resisting.
However, it was helpless. The dozen Tier-3 Adventurers weaved around him. They circled him and unleashed six different Soultraits simultaneously, dulling Liopham's mind and body.
Liopham's mind blanked out for a second, but that was already enough. Something felt odd. He looked down at his body and saw a dozen blades pierce through his body.
His Spirit Leather Armor Set blocked many attacks, however, it was not strong enough to resist the combined attack of a dozen Adventurers with Tier-3 Weapon Artifacts. Their blades were razor-sharp, sharpened through enchantments, and capable enough to pierce through Liopham and his Spirit Leather Armor.
Liopham coughed up blood. The strength in his legs left him. His legs caved in and he slumped to the ground.
A puddle of blood formed beneath his twitching body.
"Didn't they say that the reinforcement from the Untamed Jungle is powerful?" One of the Adventurers mumbled in displeasure, twisting his swordblade in the Forest Elf's body before ripping it out in disinterest. He clicked his tongue and locked eyes with Tiara.
"She's only Tier-2 as well. What a shame," The Adventurer mumbled, the glimmer of interest in his eyes dying down slowly.
Tiara's overwhelming fury and rage intrigued him, but no matter how angry a little kitten was, it would be impossible to harm a Tiger. That was the disparity in strength felt by the Tier-3 Adventurer.
He chuckled lightly and glanced at the compass, the space lock, they'd used to seal space around them. It was a Legendary Artifact, a national treasure they'd been given by the Council of Xylon to participate in the Regional War against the Trilance. All they had to do was one thing; Eliminate reinforcement from the Untamed Jungle.
It was a fortunate incident that they managed to mark the Laprix Lord, allowing them to set off a deadly trap. However, their main mission was to remove the most cumbersome enemies on the battlefield; the Savannah Expedition.
The Adventurer deactivated the space lock, which the man next to him used as a sign to use Pull once again. After Liopham had been pulled to the dozen Adventurers, everyone knew what was going to happen.
Siegfried shuddered at the thought of losing Liopham and Pheli, but he didn't have the means to protect Liopham. The sudden disruption in space and Liopham's transportation right in front of the Adventurers was not something Siegfried could have prevented. It was unfortunate, but there was nothing he could do. He had to remain strong and protect those he could protect.
Therefore, the Immortal Knight altered his tactic and ordered the Savannah Expedition to charge.
"Charge ahead!"
He stared at Stinger, who stung Pheli and a dozen other powerhouses simultaneously. Not even a second later, Pheli was shrouded in a golden hue and transported to the dozen Adventurers. However, Immortal Knight, Zeroa, Stinger, and the rest were prepared.
Zeroa created a spatial portal to transport Tiara to the Adventurers, whereas Stinger switched places with Pheli. Stinger switched places a second time, allowing four Mid Tier-3 Berserkers and two Low Tier-3 Warlock Centaurs to take its place.
Zeroa conjured another large spatial portal right in front of the Immortal Knight, allowing him and the remaining Forest Elves to move toward the dozen Adventurers.
But not everyone handled to pass through the spatial portal before their enemy used space lock once again. The surrounding space was locked again, leaving eight Adventurers of the Council with the strongest powerhouses of the Savannah Expedition.
The Immortal Knight was the first to notice that the Teleporters disappeared, including the Adventurer with the space lock. He also realized that the remaining eight Adventurers panicked.
They had been calm and composed until a moment ago, certain that their Teleporter Comrades would pull them along. However, the Teleporters alongside the Adventurer with the Pull Soultrait disappeared, leaving their allies behind.
'They sacrificed their comrades to stall time!' Siegfried realized faster than the rest, his head flicking back where he saw the three Teleporters and the other Adventurer appear...right in front of Pheli.
Their Weapon Artifacts arced through the air, and fountains of blood spurted everywhere.
Pheli's body slumped to the ground.
Her severed head landed in the wet soil with a thud.