novelLapis, Towering on the Ground
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The moment Rhode attacked, Stefania also made her move. The black, loose-fitting cloak on her body inflated abruptly. At the next moment, two thick, pitch-black, long whips shot out from the openings of the cloak, lashing at Catherine.
Facing Stefania's attack, the Light Angel reacted swiftly by turning around and dodging the attack. However, Stefania apparently had no intention of letting her off. The moment Catherine evaded her attack, she lashed the whip in her hand again from above. The whistling whip narrowly brushed past Catherine and struck the ground in a heavy blow.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A string of explosions rumbled. The instant Stefania's long whips landed on the hard cobblestone pavement, it was pounded like it was blasted by cannons. Smoke and dust sprayed out like a cloud of dragons soaring skyward. Looking at Stefania's battle style, it was completely impossible to link her to the profession of a merchant, which was supposed to make peace and money. Logically speaking, using whips as weapons was usually a feminine choice. But watching her pressurizing and unyielding battle style, it was clear that she wasn't giving the opponent a chance to live at all. The long whips in her hands were like two giant hammerheads. Perhaps this analogy might sound a little odd, but it was actually true. In the face of Stefania's attack, Katharine was like a mole in whack-a-mole, except she was dealing with two huge and heavy hammers of steel. If she were hit by one, she wouldn't just be making an adorable, wailing shriek, but would turn into minced meat instead. But even so, the plaza had been blasted by Stefania with dozens of deep holes. Her whips swung down hard, smashing the hard cobblestone pavement in an incomparably powerful force and impact. The solid ground seemed to cave in and spread out like a soft sponge to the sides. Whirling dust and stones exploded from the flat ground, scattering in all directions. Absolute strength and power; that was how Stefania fought. In a nutshell, no wimping out and only attacking!
"Miss Stefania is really powerful..."
Looking at this scene, the crowd in the distance whispered. This was also the first time they watched Stefania's battle at such close quarters. As a plane merchant, Stefania was still a peace-loving businesswoman, after all. That was why she avoided confrontation as much as possible and it was rare to see her fighting personally. But at that moment, after witnessing her attacks, many people, including Marlene, were stunned. It seemed like they would have to reevaluate this plane merchant who was always smiling and 'collecting junk' everywhere she went.
But at that moment, Rhode didn't have the time to be concerned about Stefania. He was facing two opponents at once and... They were trickier to deal with.
Whoosh... !
The ghostly, icy-cold scythe grazed Rhode's hair. At that moment, he witnessed several strands of his hair flying in midair. After dodging this attack, he lunged forward, only to split into three with his shadow clones and attacked Dona and Eleanor who were in front of him.
In the early stages of the fight, both sides coincidentally chose to engage with skills rather than their own means. Rhode didn't summon his card spirits, while Dona and Eleanor didn't use any strange powers. Both sides were simply relying on swordplay in their sparring. It was just like what Rhode expected. Dona was a complete berserker with terrifying speed and strength. Rhode remembered a slogan from a cartoon he watched when he was a kid. The slogan was the perfect way to describe Dona.
Eyes of an eagle, ears of a wolf, speed of a panther, and strength of a bear.
Eyes and ears aside, Dona's speed and strength were much faster and stronger than most half-beasts. The first time Rhode collided with her, he sensed a powerful force flowing in the blade of her longsword. In addition to her massive strength, if it weren't for his experience on the battlefield to react and disengage in time, perhaps he would be struck away in one hit.
Not only that, but Dona's speed was also terrifying. Logically speaking, most double-handed sword wielders were unrestrained in thoughts and actions. For instance, Shira was a prominent example, always damaging the opponents at the cost of her allies. However, Dona's attacking style was completely different. The huge longsword in her hands was more flexible and versatile than one-handed swords. There were several times where Rhode couldn't find an opening in her defenses.
Moreover, Eleanor was also glaring at him like a tiger from the side. The scythe in her hands was a huge trouble for him. The attacking trajectories of such an odd weapon was different from ordinary weapons. Furthermore, she was also an expert in that weapon, where she sneaked up from behind from time to time and caught Rhode off guard. Not only that, but her skills in wielding the scythe were also entirely different from the rest.
Swish!
Clang!
In a cold flash of light, Eleanor flipped her scythe around and negated the attack from Rhode's shadow clone. At the same time, with the aid of his shadow clone that also forced away Dona's attack, Rhode thrust his sword again, stabbing at Eleanor's chest. With this swift assault, Eleanor seemingly had no chance of retaliating. But in fact, that wasn't the case. Just as Rhode's sword was about to tear through her black robe that was riddled with holes, she turned her arms around and swung up the scythe to strike his sword with an unerring blow. In a sharp rasp, Rhode's blade deviated from its original path and brushed past her instead. Shortly after, Eleanor gripped the scythe and struck forward ruthlessly, startling Rhode into withdrawing his sword to defend himself. He flipped his right hand over and the sword that brushed past her returned with a curved, moon-shaped arc, slashing at the oncoming blade heavily. But the moment he blocked this attack, he heard a whistling wind and the ice-cold flash of the scythe reappeared in his face.
Is this the way of the Shaolin Lo Han staff[1]**?
Rhode never expected a scythe to be flourished as a staff. But now, he didn't have any other choice. All he could do was to evade. But at that moment, Dona also arrived from the other side.
After losing most of his power of the Void Dragon, he was at his limit fighting to a draw against two opponents using his sword skills. But the problem was that... He wasn't fighting alone. He still had Lapis!
... Come to think of it, where is she?
At this thought, Rhode swept a quick glance toward the back and what he saw almost made him faint. Lapis stood on the same spot and stared wide-eyed at him and Stefania. She didn't seem to have the intention to attack in the slightest. Meanwhile, Dona, Eleanor, and Catherine didn't attack her either. After all, this alchemical elf was too weak to begin with, and just standing there motionlessly was enough for them to witness 'I'm weak. Don't bully me' written all over her face. Against such a weakling, the three strongest holy sword card spirits weren't that shameless to find trouble with her.
But...
I didn't ask you to come here and enjoy the match from a VIP seat!
Rhode almost vomited blood out of rage.
This is just like in the game. I play my role well in luring monsters as the main tanker, only to turn around and find the DPS chit chatting away instead of attacking... What is this bullsh*t?!
"Lapis! What are you waiting for? Hurry up and attack!"
While Rhode resisted the pincer attack from Catherine and Eleanor, he yelled at her. Fortunately for him, Stefania was much more reliable. In a few frontal clashes, she managed to contain Catherine entirely. If not, perhaps he wouldn't be able to take on three opponents at once. However, if Lapis continued to be a drag, things would turn out differently for sure.
"But Sir Rhode, I'm... scared..."
Upon hearing his scream, Lapis seemed somewhat hesitant. She grabbed the edge of her clothes and gazed anxiously at him.
"What's there to be afraid of?! Go all out. You have my permission to do whatever you want!"
"Really?!"
All of a sudden, Lapis widened her eyes in shock. Rhode and Stefania had their backs facing her, so they didn't notice the glint that flashed in her eyes. Yes, a glint of unparalleled excitement.
I'm allowed to do it!
Upon hearing his command, Lapis became rather agitated and nervous. She extended her trembling right arm and reached for a metallic object from her spatial bag. Then, she clutched it in her hands.
Almost at an instant, Rhode felt an unknown sense of danger all of a sudden. It felt so strong as though one had struck an ice pick into his spine. He hadn't encountered this feeling of imminent death in a long time since becoming a Creator Dragon. Even at the very beginning when he was being chased down the street by a demon lord, he hadn't felt such danger and fear. But now... His instincts were warning him that death was closing in on him!
Without any hesitation, Rhode rolled on the ground, before leaping to the back in a fluster. He didn't know what exactly was threatening him, but the feeling was so strong that he didn't even have the time to consider whether it was all just an illusion. At that moment, he finally witnessed the source of danger.
Shing———!
A dozen billows of smoke bursting with flashes of light dazzled past his face. It was so fast and close that for an instant, he felt as if they brushed against his cheeks and left behind burning pain.
And at the next moment...
Flashes and rumbles enfolded his world.
Since Rhode dodged at the very last second, Dona and Eleanor didn't have it any better. They were also surprised by his sudden retreat. And it was this moment of hesitation that brought upon a world of difference in their predicaments.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Constant artillery fire suppressed the entire square densely. At that moment, Rhode turned to Lapis and was instantly taken aback...
"Holy cr*p. This is..."
Standing right in front of him, Lapis had completely changed into a different person. The shy young lady from before was gone. At that moment, her entire body was encased in a huge, steel armor-like gadget, and even her head was protected by a steel helmet. Dozens of magical runes spiraled and wrapped her body tightly. It wasn't her costume that surprised Rhode, but the huge steel barrels sticking out from her arms, shoulders, and back that were aiming ahead instead!
This is...
Of course, Rhode remembered that downsizing of the magical cannons was always one of Lapis's main research topics. Previously, Marlene's family produced a batch of lightweight and portable magical cannons. However, the only problem was that they were too expensive to be mass-produced, so the project was ultimately abandoned. Thereafter, Rhode handed the project over to Lapis, and of course, she didn't disappoint and mass-produced the portable magical cannons successfully. But after Rhode considered the consequences of the proliferation of firearms, he finally decided to put this research project on hold temporarily. Despite that, he didn't expect her to actually make it work. Not only that, but she also...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The whistling cannon fire interrupted his thoughts. At that moment, Lapis was no longer a person, but a fortress with full gunfire. What made Rhode even more speechless was that this was the first time he knew that Lapis was actually an enthusiast for multiple cannon barrels like himself. Right now, this young lady had four cannons as thick as steel pipes under her arms. There were also two cannons on her shoulders and dozens of densely packed cannons on her back like feathers of angel wings standing upside-down. The constant whirring of the magical brilliance tore through the open space and enveloped the land, covering the plaza in a mere blink of an eye.
Rhode almost didn't react in time, not to mention Dona and Eleanor. The berserker and Grim Reaper were instantly devoured by the gunfire. On the other side, Catherine and Stefania also scrambled from the ambush and even Rhode also couldn't keep it classy any longer. He also tried to dodge Lapis's gunfire desperately like everyone else.
As the saying went, an inexperienced person defeated a master by throwing out the rules of traditions. In this case, it wasn't an unreasonable thing to say. At that point in time, Rhode would rather hope that Lapis was trained as a professional combat shooter like Icy Snow, so that he could predict and dodge the trajectories of her shots. But the problem was that she was simply firing blindly and haphazardly right now with her eyes closed. What made matters worse was that her artillery fire was still strong enough to leave him and the others in a fluster and confused as to where to hide.
"————!"
The land shook. Roaring explosions and rumbles shrouded half of Grandia. Everyone else standing outside the plaza was bewildered. They didn't know how Lapis did it. They merely saw her pull something out of her spatial bag. The item flashed a golden light that wrapped around her and she became like this...
"Well, that works I guess. Big Sister, Lapis isn't thinking of killing Leader, right?!"
Looking at this scene, Mini Bubble Gum widened her eyes in shock. She saw with her own eyes that just a moment ago, Rhode had a hard time escaping from the curtain of barrage. But almost immediately after, another wave of even more ferocious gunfire pinned him right down mercilessly. If she hadn't known that Lapis was firing blindly, perhaps she would suspect that Lapis was planning to take this opportunity to murder her 'husband'!
Whoosh———!
Just as the intensity of the cannon fire gradually decreased, the Grim Reaper flew out and dispersed the thick smoke all of a sudden. Her robe that was already tattered was now covered in burn marks. It was apparent that she suffered a ton in that wave of gunfire by Lapis. But now, she was getting serious. She brandished her scythe at Lapis abruptly!
"Stay away!"
Upon witnessing her appearance, Lapis was alarmed. She took a step back hurriedly and crossed her arms in self-defense. Along with this action, the runes metamorphosed into a shield before her, resisting the Grim Reaper's scythe. Then, at the next moment, an amazing scene occurred.
Swish!
Before the Grim Reaper could swing her scythe again, the cannon barrels that made up the shape of wings behind Lapis fell off on their own like feathers. In the blink of an eye, they hovered in midair and fired. Shortly after, yet another string of magical brilliances erupted, shooting straight at the Grim Reaper.
Looking at this scene, even Rhode was stunned.
"Floating cannons?"
[1] One of the skill sets of the Shaolin Sect in the MMORPG, JX Online 3
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