Parallel Vol. 4 [LEGACY EDITION]

Chapter 37: Death Stance

Shadow's eyes narrowed as he and Larsial glared at the dozen Canjun Sneezers that stood between them and Rayatha. Boom! The assassin gritted his teeth, gaze tight on the druid as he danced around the explosions. Shadow frowned as he another Canjun Sneezer rise from seeds thrown on the ground.

Larsial said the thoughts running through his mind, "We can't remain passive. He'll soon have an entire army."

Shadow looked at Larsial. "Do you have a plan?"

Suddenly, Larsial's tattoos burst with a dark glow, and she shouted as she suddenly broke toward the druid with blinding speed. "Cover me!"

In response to the daeben's charge, the Canjun Sneezers immediately concentrated fire on her. The blue mana spheres blotted out the daeben's vision, but, Larsial did not hesitate. She charged into the midst of the explosives with unnerving confidence.

BOOM!

Larsial's instincts proved to be correct as several daggers flew past her and collided with the mana spheres before they reached her. She burst through the resultant explosion and closed the distance between herself and the plant artillery in one swift swoop.

Rayatha snorted and stomped his staff against the earth. Thick tree roots shot out of the ground and slithered toward the daeben.

Larsial's gaze narrowed as she ran her finger across her blade. The 'flame rune' burned bright and the dagger burst into flames. She made to cut down a Canjun Sneezer, but the tree roots wrapped around the plant, protecting it from the attack. The roots caught fire as Larsial buried the daggers within them.

Whoosh!

Larsial quickly retreated, and then pushed in the direction of a different Canjun Sneezer. The roots aggressively pursued her while simultaneously protecting the Canjun Sneezers from her nefarious blade. The assassin's evasive skills were pushed to the max as she weaved, ducked and kicked her way through several tree root clusters. However, despite pulling out all the tricks in her books, she could not land a solid hit on any Canjun Sneezers. Worse yet, the Canjun Sneezers had recharged themselves during the brief seconds;

Clack!

"Argh!" Larsial shouted as she tripped up on a root that stealthily shot up off the ground.

Rayatha's eyes gleamed as he watched the daeben's clumsy tumble. He manipulated the tree roots to rapidly increase their speed. Larsial certainly seemed doomed as dozens of vines rose around, and then struck down at her. However, at this seemingly hopeless moment, Larsial suddenly flung her dagger through a gap between the vines and looked up at them with a mocking grin.

Rayatha frowned, then suddenly paled as he suddenly remembered there was meant to be one more assassin. He quickly scanned the surroundings, but it was too late by the time he finally caught sight of Shadow.

Shadow seemingly materialized out of thin air above one of the Canjun Sneezer and caught the dagger thrown by Larsial mid-air. His gaze remained cold as he rotated mid-air and shot the blade at the Canjun Sneezer's charged bulb. The roots might have protected the Canjun Sneezers, but because Larsial's attacks had all come from the ground, the druid had subconsciously only set up a barrier around the bomber plants and neglected the area above it.

Shadow would be a shame to the assassin profession if he did not take advantage of this glaring weakness.

Puchi!

The dagger accurately struck through the bulb's exterior and stabbed into its core. Larsial's true aim finally revealed itself as the bulb instantly exploded. Even worse, the bulb's compressed atmosphere caused the explosion to be at least three times worse compared when it was shot outside.