Desolate Mage: A Legend Reborn! 63 Dragon's Descendan

However, injuries to the spirit-form DID carry over and slowly reduce one's capabilities as a fighter "bled away" in the mental world.

And at this stage, Natalie was nearly at the end of her rope.

'Why... Why is the jump in difficulty so bloody big! Who in the world could possibly pass this f***ing impossible level?!?' She cursed in her mind as she took another light slash to her shoulder. She tried to strike back at the agile Drow hunter but was interrupted by a stunning kick to her back, throwing her off balance.

Then before she could recover, she heard the twang of multiple bows as a barrage of arrows soared through the air towards her from all around!

'Shit!!!' Unable to dodge, she could only use her defensive skill that had a 15 second cooldown, after which she would be defenceless against a similar combo.

A combo that she had been subjected to 6 times so far in a minute!

"Dragon's Aura: Scales!" She yelled out as a golden-red glow surrounded her skin and easily deflected the 5 high-speed arrows which struck her body.

Then she landed on her feet and dashed forward in an attempt to close the distance with the 5 drow archers, but they scattered and she was intercepted by the melee squad of 3 swordsmen and 2 dagger-wielding assassins.

A 10 drow-strong death-squad, all at the peak of the Elite level!

Despite the number of drow being the same in Levels 7, 8 and 9 - 10 drow hunters - their team coordination, battle multiplier, combat power and equipment made them vastly different from stage to stage.

The first 10 hunters in Level 7 had haphazard or no teamwork at all, wielding only the trademark stiletto daggers of the drow. In comparison, the team in Level 8 was not just higher in their cultivation at the mid-Elite stage, but also equipped with a mixture of swords, scimitars, daggers and whips.

Finally, this stage was set apart by the incredible precision and timeliness of the drow squad's teamwork.

5 archers laying down suppressive fire at just the right moments, and at other times, sending deadly critical strikes to all her vital points. 3 swordsmen who mutually supported one another and formed a strong defensive blockade around her, preventing her from piercing the trio of dual-wielding dark elves to get to the archers. And 2 elusive assassins who time and again slipped into her blind spots and struck without warning, their blows lighter but always interrupting her flow of counter attacks!

And beyond these 10 masterful foes, there was still one last hurdle to overcome.

The 11th adversary, a peak Elite already at the pseudo Master level, a drow death-dancer who bided his time and merely stood in the distance. Watching and waiting until she fell or until she defeated the 10-elf squad, at which point he would step in to deliver the killing blow.

'Dammit dammit dammit!!! All these are available and established information, together with all the one-versus-many battle tactics! But why the hell is it so hard to apply those theories in practice??!??'

She frowned as the encircling formation surrounded her again.

'DAMMIT ALL! I'LL JUST GO KAMIKAZE AND TO HELL WITH THE CONSEQUENCES!!!'

"Yaaaaaa!!!!!" She screamed in rage and rushed forward to run down one of the archers, triggering the full power of her bloodline for a strength boost.

The trio of swordsmen quickly raised their swords and converged on one another to block her path. and she saw 2 blurs dart over out of the corner of her eyes. But she ignored the 2 hidden assassins and charged straight ahead at the swordsmen even as she heard and felt 4 arrows approach from behind her and from her sides.

She gritted her teeth and made a split-second twist of her torso and jumped to dodge the arrows - almost succeeding as she winced in pain. The arrows grazed past her, thankfully not landing any critical strikes!

In a flash, she was before the swordsmen, merely 3 metres away and ready to strike in just 1 more step. The drow began to fan out slightly to her sides, each roughly 2 arm's lengths away from each other, while one remained in her path to prevent her from advancing. They lifted up their swords, ready to bring them down in slashes, cuts, thrusts and stabs.

Then just before entering their range, Natalie lifted up her right fist and right leg as if to jump forward in a thrusting blow...

And instead roared.

Dragon's Aura: Tyrant's Roar!

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" The high-pitched roar rumbled through the spirit-bodies of the drow before her, shaking up their brains with the wall of sonic waves. Even the archer afar back in the distance behind the drow swordsmen was shaken, unable to keep hold on the nocked arrow in her bow and releasing a haphazard shot uselessly into the ground!

The three swordsmens' eyes grew bloodshot, the veins bulging as their eyeballs began to vibrate from the sound.

Then blood gushed forth from every orifice on their face as they collapsed lifelessly and began to dissipate.

'Looks like the guide was right...! 3 down, 7 to go! Before the last one...' She thought as she recalled her family's analysis on surpassing Level 9, all while she surged forward to the stunned archer in front of her.

"It is certain that elusive, dodging enemies like the drow are best tackled by wide-area skills which can't be blocked directly, such as flame, wind and water attacks. However, the most effective skills against those with sharp senses are sonic attacks which travel quicker than the eye can see and harm those with the best hearing the most!"

"Also, sonic attacks affect a wide area, making it even harder to dodge. As such, a challenger should use our Sarouneh family's upgraded version of Lion's Roar, Dragon's Aura: Tyrant's Roar! Only 112,000 platinum coins if you buy it today!" - Level by Level Guide to the Talent Assessment Illusion Array by Lina Sarouneh.

'And next... Since I've moved past the interception point, the arrows should be coming from the following 4 angles...' She calculated based on the memorised notes, then the moment she heard the twang of the bowstrings, she stepped left-right-left-right and avoided the arrows completely!

'Yes! Now... JUMP!' She performed a forward somersault just as the assassins threw their daggers silently at her legs, dodging the 4 thrown projectiles deftly before landing with a roll! As the hidden killers could no longer catch up to the girl who was advancing like a chariot, they only had that move left to impede her.

She grinned in thrilled elation, heart pumping fast as she grew in confidence with every successful read and move pulled off. Now that she had broken free from the squad's suppression, she could freely apply the theory she had learned without being thrown off track!

'And now the last one before their entire team is crippled... Once one archer is down, their 5 Petal Bombardment Formation will be crippled!'

She quickly shortened the distance to the target in her sights, the drow archer who was backpedaling as fast as she could while still aiming an arrow at Natalie.

This was the part that she had been dreading and had no answer for - it would still take 7 seconds before Dragon's Aura: Scales was ready, and at such a close distance, there was no other way about it but to eat the arrow head on...!

*Twang!* *Shiiiik!*

"URGH!!! DIE!!!!" The moment before the arrow was loosed, Natalie slammed her foot into the ground to avoid any critical wounds. The arrow that was originally headed for her throat instead sank solidly into her shoulder, the impact nearly killing her momentum.

But she pressed on and before the archer could pull out her long knife, a sick *SNAP* was heard as Natalie crushed her windpipe.

Then the girl stopped and panted for half a second before hurling her body down to the side and way from the volley of arrows striking the spot where she had just been standing.

'4 down...'

'6 to go!'

Then her sight landed on the sharp-eyed boss of the drow out of the corner of her vision.

'No... 7 more to go...' She tightened her fists and got ready for round 2 of the battle to begin.

"COME ON!!!" She shouted as she ran straight into battle again, adrenaline pumping through her consciousness as she raised her fighting spirit once more.

Chapter end