A Gunslinger's System in a World of Magic-Chapter 271: Goaded To Attack

With the path mostly secured, Boyle and Doran came charging through. Eloise and Aurelius joined them and together they all charged toward the Orc Priests and were targeted by barrages from the Archers still alive.

Eloise cast her shield to defend against the arrows and Nyx charged toward the Archers to spear them through with her <Dread Horn> but it was Henry who got the most kills. The Archers had no real defenses in place and what they would have relied on were the shields the Orc Casters might decide to cast for their protection.

When Henry and Nyx had already been responsible for the death of ten Archers and she had used her speed to avoid the retaliation of the Casters, shields were erected to protect the Archers still alive.

Henry just smiled. He had drank mana Potions and his Mana had been restored enough for him to raise his hand and cast a spell.

*Kroa's Might!*

The spell began to charge again in the form of its usual chaotic orb.

While gritting their teeth in chagrin at how easily he was casting a spell they had spent years mastering, the Orc Casters rallied to interrupt the cast. Of course, they failed. Flitting so fast that she blurred into a dark mist that seemed almost immaterial, Nyx ensured Henry was always safe so the moment the spell was charged, she came to a stop so he could launch it.

And so came plan B.

The Archers scattered to safety so when the Orb hit the ground and expanded in a bomb-like explosion, they were thrown away but still relatively safe. Only three directly lost their lives to the attack.

Of course, the ones who fell to the side were also picked off.

The moment the Orb was launched, Henry had 'Cudgel' in hand, and cycling a bullet to be fired after every shot, he killed them all before they had the chance to even contemplate escape and survival.

As he raked in Exp and headed toward the next Level-Up, a wave arose targeting Nyx but it was stealthy. By now, it was clear to all just how fast Nyx was and so, to catch her off guard, spell casts had to be more secretive. Unfortunately, they succeeded.

Their attacks aimed at Nyx almost exclusively so while the effects would certainly affect Henry too —because he was not exactly the target—, his Precognition of it was slightly lacking.

*WHUUMMM!!!*

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Nyx let out a neigh before the wave hit her and looked ready to kick into a gallop but it was too late. Also, it wasn't really a wave at all. It was a wall of Mana that hit her in the side so hard, that Henry heard the crack of fractured ribs.

"-ARGH!!!-" she yelled through the telepathic connection she shared with Henry as she was lifted off the ground by the attack which knocked Henry off her saddle.

[Nyx has lost 100 Hit Points]

[Nyx's Hit Points: 265/365]

Henry hit the ground a second before Nyx did but after she did, he saw a ring of daggers begin to rotate above her ready to stab down while she was still struggling with the pain and her loss of balance to properly escape.

"-Nyx, to the shadows!-" Henry yelled at her and she immediately obeyed. Maybe she had even been planning it already.

The shadow beneath her got darker and larger and she vanished into it.

At the same time, Henry was alerted of attacks aimed at him and rolled out of the way right before they hit the spot he had been just a second ago.

He was on his knees and could feel the intensity of multiple eyes on him and attacks prepared. From arrows to spells.

'All Stat Points to Agility.'

He had hoarded the points long enough and while a much more balanced distribution might be more prudent overall, it was not wise for the current situation.

The System seemed to realize that as well because it didn't ask him to confirm his choice.

[Agility: 138 ———> 174]

Henry felt incredibly light. Much lighter than he had ever felt which was of course a given seeing as he had never had his Agility at 174 before. When he stepped away to dodge the arrows and orbs that came flying at him, he did it so fast that the eyes of most of the Orcs were unable to follow.

When next he appeared, he had his gun pressed to an Orc Archer's head and blew out its brains before getting away quickly only to do the same to the next.

When he had killed his third victim, his enemies predicted his actions well enough to already have their spells and arrows ready which they tossed at him hopefully before he could get away.

Henry's Precognition of course warned him but he was under too much of a barrage to confidently get away and avoid all injuries. Fortunately, while he was moving he had replenished his Mana so he dodged part of the volley of Attacks and thrust out his hand…

*Kroa's Shield!*

… To summon protection against the rest.

The shield cracked and shattered soon enough but Henry only needed it to help his escape and once he was gone from that spot, it was again hard for the Orcs to stop him as he laid waste to the rest of the Archers.

Meanwhile…

"Ack!" One Orc Caster suddenly let out when a horn stabbed out its front and sliced up in a wound it could not probably shrug away.

Nyx had not resigned to be in the shadows for too long. She exited to make a kill, vanished, and exited to make another.

Nyx almost exclusively went after the Orc Casters. While they had shields, they always faced in one direction, and with her Shadows to perform stealth attacks, she could strike at their usually unprotected backs and pick them off.

Of course, this tactic of hers was not without its own caveats. She had been targeted many times and once it was clear that the Shadows were her friend, the Orcs began to pay special attention to it. The moment it darkened unnaturally, they concentrated their attention, and eventually, their attacks on it.

Alas, unfortunately for them, the shadows were so much Nyx's friends that they'd lie for her. She had mastered her skill so well that she could create 'false' shadow pockets to deceive her would-be attackers and confuse them on which she'd actually exit from.

If they had longer to study her mannerisms, they might have gotten better at their predictions. Alas, Nyx didn't give them the time.

Henry was also quickly done with the Archers and turned his attention to the Casters himself and soon, he and Nyx had killed so many that they were 'celebrating' yet another Level-Up.

[Nyx has Leveled Up!]

[Nyx is now Level 24]

[Nyx's Hit Point Maximum increased to 380]

[Nyx's Mana is now 395]

[Strength: 155 ———> 160]

[Speed: 290 ———> 300]

[Stamina: 150 ———> 155]

[You have Leveled Up!]

[You are now Level 41]

[Hit Point Maximum increased to 410]

[Hit Points: 220/410]

[Mana Point Maximum increased to 520]

[You have received 6 Stat Points to Allocate]

Meanwhile, Doran and Boyle were still trying to cut their way toward the Orc Priests who mostly regarded them with amusement but were not in too much urgency to act. They just gave their Orc Caster subordinates pointed stares to order them to take care of what they considered nuisances.

Eloise cast a shield to stop a volley of spells and when it was shattered, she swung her sword and unleashed a Mana surge that swept the volleys that got past the shield aside.

And then she dashed forward with her weapon free hand pulled back so that it flared with her Mana before she struck it out at the Orc Casters who simultaneously cast shields that melded into a single wide protective screen that Eloise's spell collided with.

*Crack!*

Only the first crack was heard after which the large shield shattered but the mana in her hand was not done. It radiated rays that touched all the Casters, causing them grave injuries. Most of them fell to the injuries. The ones that survived tried to put as much distance between themselves and Eloise as they could.

She conjured a mana string that she wrapped around the neck of one to pull it close and stab her sword into its heart, killing it. The others were hunted down by Aurelius who flitted through the space between them and sliced them up before they could properly understand the danger that approached them.

Doran and Boyle were even more deadly. But this was especially the case for Boyle. The side quest of sorts he and his group had gone on had improved his stats so much that his Mana surge empowered his blade to slice through shields and decapitate Casters before they could think to reconjure their destroyed shields.

Of course, Boyle saw no joy or sense of accomplishment in this. The real task was in defeating the Dungeon Boss and to get to it, they'd have to defeat not one, not two, not three, but seven Orc Priests. All of whom were starting to look less passive and more goaded to attack.