Elite Mages’ Academy (Web Novel)

Chapter 248: Comeback

The class monitors and instructors looked at each other, but before they could react, the only thing they saw was a blur because Xiao Lin had darted more than 10 meters ahead. The monitors did not think much of it, but the instructors were utterly shocked to the core. As instructors, they had a year’s worth of studying under their belt but could never match up with that kind of speed.

Xiao Lin did not leave the others behind because he arrogantly believed he could deal with all the orcs on his own, but rather, he did so because he had to kill as many orcs as quickly as possible. He was also fully aware that no one else could keep up with him in that state of his.

After the first two battles, Xiao Lin had a pretty good idea of his own combat strength. Swordsmanship alone would be difficult to cause fatal damage to the orcs. If he wanted to kill them as quickly as possible, it was imperative that he use the flame sword aura. He relied on that the most at present, but the drawbacks of the flame sword aura were also obvious during the previous battles—it consumed a significant amount of both mental and physical strength.

However, there was no time to worry about how much strength would be used up and Xiao Lin did not hold back in the slightest. The Elementary Speed Boost’s speed increase, coupled with the Phantom Steps complex footwork, enabled Xiao Lin’s flexible posture to appear practically anywhere in the hillside. As long as a defense tower was surrounded by orcs, Xiao Lin would immediately abandon the enemy in his hand and rush to reinforce it quickly.

The hill was very small to begin with, so Xiao Lin—who was moving constantly at high speed—mistakenly gave everyone the impression that he could actually teleport. He would appear like a savior wherever there was a crisis. The stability of the defense tower thus allowed the long-range firepower to continue piling the pressure.

Within a mere ten minutes, the outermost line of defense that had been breached was almost instantly brought back to safety with Xiao Lin’s approach. Although there were still a few monitors like Cheng Ming on the battlefield, everyone from the fortress wall could clearly see that Cheng Ming and the rest played a very limited role. They might be able to protect a single defense tower, but there was no way for them to protect everything.

Xiao Lin was the only one who could do so, and it was not an exaggeration to say that he was turning the tables on the situation. His Miracle skill transforming all his attributes into agility, Gu Xiaoyue’s Elementary Speed Boost spell, and his excellent Phantom Step allowed his figure to shuttle freely on the battlefield like a ghost. His flame-coated sword aura was like the sharpest of knives, pulverizing the orcs at every turn.

The orcs were also aware of how troublesome he was, but it was only when they attempted to circle Xiao Lin that he engaged them in annoyance. His purpose was very clear, which was to protect the defense tower. As long as the enemy turned his target to himself, he would immediately slip away. He did not enjoy fighting at all, and the clumsy orcs could not nearly catch up to him in terms of speed anyway.

Han Manman and the others gritted their teeth when they saw him. After all, an individual had little strength in a war and could not possibly influence the final moments of a battle. They were very much aware of that universal truth, which was why they decided to set up a temporary headquarters. It was hoped that all 12 classes would be united by that.

In spite of that, everyone had also overlooked a very important issue. The war was one that took place in Planet Norma, and judging from the situation that day, it was only a very small one, perhaps not even on the level of a local-scale war. Would it really be possible to control the outcome of a battle in that world if one’s personal strength was strong enough?

What Xiao Lin did undoubtedly shocked everyone. Perhaps the rest might have more knowledge about the war in Planet Norma after that battle.

However, Xiao Lin was actually in agony. The peak of Phantom Step and Miracle also required a lot of physical strength to support, let alone with the flame sword aura. Whenever he filled the defense line to help defend the defense tower, the energy he expended was truly extraordinary.

Half an hour later, Xiao Lin, who was sweating profusely, finally slumped weakly on the ground and panted heavily. His Miracle skill could no longer be maintained, he even found it difficult to lift his sword. His feet became extremely heavy, and neither the Phantom Step nor the flame sword aura could continue to be used. A wry smile appeared on his face and he finally reached the limit.

An orc nearby noticed his fatigue and charged over with a roar. Xiao Lin had to admire the fighting spirit of those orcs. He had tortured and killed them so brutally earlier but they remained fearless. Be that as it may, no race in the world was without weaknesses.

Therefore, Xiao Lin took a deep breath and squeezed out his last strength. He raised the Holy Soul Sword with both hands only barely, and amidst the hum of the sword’s edge, a swordsman covered in old heavy armor gradually appeared from the lingering smoke.

The Holy Soul Summoning ability attached to the Holy Soul Sword required the death of a large number of creatures as a sacrifice for a successful summon. In fact, that was his main purpose. When he used his flame sword aura half an hour ago, the orcs killed by his sword had definitely fulfilled the prerequisite for a sufficient sacrifice.

“Go! Get rid of these orcs!” Xiao Lin sneered slightly when he looked at the orcs rushing over. The orcs were too naïve if they thought they could kill him when he lacked any strength.

The undead swordsman held his épée with both hands and rushed fearlessly toward the group of seven or eight orcs. His speed was not quick and he was soon surrounded by several orcs. Seven or eight battle axes fell right on the swordsman’s body, but the latter did not react at all. He lowered his épée slightly and swung it, pushing back the orcs around him and causing them to tumble onto the ground.

Xiao Lin hurriedly left after observing everything briefly. He temporarily lacked combat effectiveness and did not want to continue pretending to be the hero. Lu Renjia gave his assurance that the summoned swordsman had Bronze-rank strength when he was promoting the Holy Soul Sword, but from the simple observation earlier, the undead swordsman’s Basic Swordsmanship was estimated to be LV6 or LV7 at most. Its strength was hardly Bronze-rank.

Of course, it might also be the case that Xiao Lin was unfamiliar with the undead creatures, but in short, the combat power of an undead swordsman could only be regarded as ordinary at best. Fortunately, as an undead person, the undead swordsman’s body was that of a soul that was practically impervious to all forms of physical attacks. The exception would be if enchanted weapons or elemental sword aura were used to attack it.

Moreover, orcs have a natural fear of undead which owed a lot to the history of the orcs, but Xiao Lin—who had been absent from school for more than a month—obviously knew little about it.

The appearance of the undead swordsman, coupled with the repeated setbacks in the attack, finally brought down the orcs’ morale and their attack speed slowed down gradually. Xiao Lin paid no mind to the coldness shown by the others when he returned to the fortress. He ignored all the other acting class monitors who were present there and said unceremoniously, “Immediately organize an attack and cooperate with Cheng Ming for a counterattack! The orcs’ morale has dropped and this is our best opportunity. As long as this counterattack succeeds, we might be able to fight on for many more days!”