Chapter 393 – Magic Detonation.

“What are you doing? Stop playing around Wench!”

“You’re one to talk, your ‘army’ of undead is being very useful~”

“Fool! Just watch!”

The cultists did not appear to be fazed by the confrontation with the defenders. Even as their most potent member was being pushed back by the Guild Master and their undead forces were being vanquished, their confidence remained intact. Roland wasn’t certain whether it was false bravado or if they truly possessed greater power, but he knew he had to take everything seriously.

Soon, he realized that the necromancer had more tricks up his sleeve as he began rapidly chanting to resurrect his forces. A significant portion of the area started to glow green as the previously defeated undead began to reassemble themselves. The skeletons rose again, and the ghouls which burned away under holy attacks, had their flesh restored. It was a potent healing spell aimed at the deceased bodies, revealing the true power commanded by this Lich. As long as he was present, these abominations would not be easily defeated.

While this was unfolding, Roland didn’t merely sit idly by and allow his enemies to strengthen their forces. His awareness extended throughout his entire compound, and his eyes darted across various monitors inside his helmet to evaluate the situation. Behind him, a somewhat anxious Bernir was assisting the four adventurers in getting back on their feet. The cultists had been unable to prevent their awakening but were now directing their attention toward the helmet, which was believed to be the source of the spell disruption.

His assistant had become a target for their malice, but fortunately, there was some distance between the malevolent cultists and the other guests. Roland believed that if they could hold out for a few minutes, the guests would be able to escape to safety. Once inside the escape tunnel, they could make their way quickly toward the city, where the soldiers should be advancing. He was uncertain about the speed at which the trained soldiers could arrive and whether the Solarian church would dispatch clerics to assist them. It was wiser to assume they were on their own and had to deal with the enemy combatants independently.

“Oho, they are rising up! You’re not that bad Mr. Necromancer~”

To his dismay, some of the cultists were enjoying themselves as their forces regrouped. The assassin woman had previously displayed an unusual skill that rendered her body somehow intangible. Roland, with his heightened senses and the numerous golemic eyes throughout the area, witnessed Lobelia’s arrow passing through her head. Even Agni’s flames, imbued with divine energies, appeared ineffective against this skill.

He had identified her class as an unknown evolution. Among the various assassin classes, this particular trait was likely an inherent part of this skill. Allowing devastating attacks to pass through her body seemed overpowered. However, skills like these often came with drawbacks. The woman probably couldn’t sustain it for an extended period or had limited uses. Perhaps, the key to defeating her was to force her to continuously use this skill or use an extended attack which would persist until the skill was undone. The biggest problem was performing this without getting stabbed by those two cursed daggers.

The time for battle had arrived, and Roland assessed the most strategic approach. Considering the peculiar skill, he was uncertain about his friend’s ability to effectively combat it. They likely didn’t understand why their combined attacks had no impact on the cultist woman.

Agni, Lobelia, and Armand were all early-level tier 3 combatants with stats below that of this cultist woman. Allowing them to attack her might yield disastrous results. To achieve true victory they would have to coordinate their attacks in unison and then strike when the opportunity arose. Instead, they would probably carry out their usual tactics without being able to seamlessly work together against an opponent with a stat advantage.

With the Eldritch Warlock already locked in battle with the guild master, Kovak the Necromancer became the next viable option. Ordinarily, Roland would have preferred to face him himself, as they shared a somewhat similar array of attacks. The opponent was a spellcaster who relied on numerous minions and provided long-range support. Roland could employ a similar strategy by utilizing the large number of golems and turrets available. Controlling them remotely had become quite effortless, allowing him to emulate summoner-type classes.

However, that was not his sole source of strength as he possessed a more extensive array of abilities than most. Even at close range, he presented a formidable adversary, and his sturdy outer defenses made him hard to injure. It made more sense to provide support for his three friends using the golems while concentrating on dealing with this frenzied woman personally. Kovak, being a spellcaster, had lower physical stats, and if Armand could close the distance, defeating the necrotic mage would not be an insurmountable task given his physical prowess.

“Agni, take care of those undead. Armand, Lobelia can you do something about the necromancer? Leave that woman to me.”

“Sure thing! But what about those guys?”

Asked Armand while pointing at the rising undead and other hooded members from the cult entering through the now wide hole in his wall.

“Awoo!”

“Leave them to Agni, undead monsters are his speciality and don’t worry, you won’t be fighting alone.”

Roland responded by extending his arm toward the area where Kovak stood. The man had made a significant error by advancing into the midst of the shattered runic automatons. Despite having seen the turrets reconstruct themselves, he seemingly disregarded it, especially after the appearance of the Sunlight Wolf. Roland, on the other hand, was pleased, as he could now resurrect the fallen golems that were positioned amidst the enemy forces.

The field vibrated with mana energy that extended in a cone from where Roland stood. Even if his enemies could witness the effect taking shape, they were powerless to halt it. Electrical discharges began to occur as the previously shattered components moved towards each other. Broken spider legs reassembled into functioning parts and reattached themselves to their destroyed bodies.

Much like Kovak’s ability to resurrect his army of undead, Roland demonstrated his power to do the same with his army of runic creations. In no time, all of his previously demolished constructs were restored to their full working order. Their magical weaponry bristled with readiness, aimed directly at their astonished occult adversaries.

The battlefield had dramatically shifted in Roland’s favor, and his resurrected creations stood as a formidable force, ready to defend their master and strike back at those who had dared to threaten his compound. Kovak stood in momentary shock as he gathered his energies to form a more powerful mana mantle to protect himself from the first mana blasts coming his way.

Roland wasn’t finished; he continued his assault. The enemies had rushed into his compound recklessly, charging forward without much consideration. He was relieved that he was up against untrained cultists who relied on deception and an illusory relic for their easy victories. It was clear that these individuals were not well-versed in combat tactics and had entered an area filled with powerful explosives. Now that they were deep inside, he could activate the upgraded runic mines.

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Previously, he had to deactivate most of them out of fear that people working in the compound might accidentally trigger them. At Tier 2, it had been impossible for him to create smart mines, but now it had become a reality. Even if the children from the orphanage were to run around or disturb the metallic parts that the runic mines were constructed from, they wouldn’t activate. Disabling them was as simple as snapping his fingers, and attuning them to mana patterns was also an option.