Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 64B1 - Raid I

David beheaded two Kobolds with a slash and a quick thrust. A blur of Torb in his plated armor rushed past him, smashing the heavy shield into another Kobold’s face. A sickening crunch resounded, followed by a satisfied grunt. A moment later, Torb’s mace arced through the air, crushing the target’s skull.

David barely had time to process Torb’s speed as the dwarf twisted his body, narrowly evading a sword slash before his mace jumped back into action.

Torb killed two more Kobolds before a projectile barreled past them. David’s hair stood on end. He missed the first projectile, but his head whipped toward the unfortunate target and found a gaping hole where its heart had been. His ears perked up as he heard more projectiles whistling through the air, and he focused intently.

He perceived something magical. Mana and a Mage’s spells weren’t something David was familiar with, but he had seen and sensed enough to know when a Mage cast a spell. His eyes followed a dim, green glow in the shape of a thin spear and narrowed as the glow pierced the chests of two more Kobolds.

“Damn it,” he muttered as the last Kobold dropped dead, spinning around to face a smug Melach.

“It’s a Class Skill called [Spear of Aeryon],” Melach explained simply. His smug smile widened. “But that’s not even my best Class Skill.”

A groan suddenly resounded, drawing David’s attention. He turned to see Torb checking the Kobold corpses. The dwarf looked up and stared daggers at Melach.

“Why did you destroy their hearts? Aren’t we here for money?!” Torb grumbled.

Melach’s smile didn’t falter, though he offered a casual “Oops,” as if the mistake were hardly worth acknowledging.

“Your wind spear is probably quite mana-intensive. Don’t use it too often,” David reminded Melach. “We don’t know how many enemies there are, and we can deal with normal Kobolds just fine. Their Rank doesn’t seem to have changed much.”

The kill notification labeled the two Kobolds he’d killed as Iron V and Iron VI—not bad, but far from impressive. David frowned slightly. They hadn’t used any Skills either, which made them little more than fodder in his eyes.

“Right, they have Ranks now,” Melach said, his smile finally cracking. He appeared to be looking at something in the air before him, his expression souring. “You were right.”

“At least they didn’t use any Skill Runes. The Kobolds didn’t strike me as very powerful,” Torb commented with a light shrug.

The dwarf seemed to ignore that they’d only defeated a small patrol, and there would be many more tiny monsters to deal with in the Nest. But they should be fine. They’d defeated a Demon Horde before, but Kobold Nests were unpredictable. Even with their equipment upgrades, they couldn’t afford to get complacent.

Torb had purchased a magical armament before they left for the culling mission. It was a shield with a powerful passive enchantment that used ambient Aether to augment the shield’s fortitude, creating faint, glowing runes across its surface when activated. The enchantment was also highly effective against projectiles, absorbing a portion of the impact when triggered on time.

David didn’t know much about Torb’s family, but it was clear the dwarf felt guilty about spending money on a magical armament, given his family’s financial struggles. It had taken considerable effort from the rest of the team to convince him that the magical shield was a long-term investment. It improved his power and helped him protect himself and others on their missions to earn even more money.

Back then, Torb hadn’t seemed convinced, but now his mood appeared much lighter. The corners of his lips tugged upward, his fingers twitching as he counted the eight Kobold corpses, calculating their worth with palpable excitement.

“How much are they worth?” he asked eagerly, prompting a chuckle from the others.

“You were angry about the hearts a moment ago,” Melach teased, smirking as Torb glared at him.

David wasn’t sure if Melach had bought a magical armament. His eyes drifted over the elf, from his head to his feet, searching for something new. At first glance, nothing stood out—except the tip of his Mage Wand. It looked a little different now, a faint glimmer emanating from a newly added gemstone.

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He ignored the others’ banter and inspected the unfamiliar gemstone for a few seconds. Traces of mana emanated from it, but that was all David could tell. He moved on and approached the corpses, struggling for a few seconds to store them efficiently in the storage necklace.

Eight corpses and eight weapons made from an unknown blue metal ended up in his storage, increasing the pull on the dimension stone’s reservoir noticeably.

That’s manageable, David thought, but his expression soured a little. But it will be a nuisance if there are more than 100 Kobolds to store. An exponential demand for energy would suck the Source dry within seconds.

He could only estimate how much energy the dimension stone would consume for every additional Kobold carcass. It was also uncertain whether each corpse required the same amount of energy or if he missed factors that needed further research.

David shrugged and turned to the quarreling duo. “Should we keep going or wait until the spatial necklace breaks my neck?”

The remark did the trick. The quarrel ceased, and Melach and Torb turned to him with a nod. They moved on, ignoring the dark alley the Kobolds had emerged from. The trio continued walking down the main street for a few more minutes before they turned right into a smaller street. They didn’t encounter a second patrol on the way, but David noticed several groups of Kobolds after they turned.

However, his attention lingered on a large building that seemed almost unscathed. The integration and its aftermath had barely damaged the massive structure.

“The Familia’s intel leads to that building, doesn’t it?” David asked rhetorically. Deep down, he already knew the answer.

“I think so,” Torb replied as Melach raised his Mage Wand. The gemstone atop the wand glowed with an intense, earthy light as unfamiliar words spilled out of the elf’s mouth. The intensity of Melach’s spellcasting caught David off guard; he couldn’t recall the elf ever taking so long for a single incantation.

Screeches and high-pitched roars rang in his ears, yet his eyes remained glued to Melach and his surroundings. The ground trembled and burst open beside Melach. However, the elf didn’t appear surprised. Sweat dripped from his face, and his chest heaved, but the smile on his lips didn’t waver.

Torb shouted something, but David’s eyes stayed fixed on the burst-open concrete street. An earthy hand emerged, followed soon by another.

“I need some fucking help here!” David recognized Torb’s words and spun around. The phenomenon beside him tugged at his attention, but his friend was surrounded. More than a dozen Kobolds: some larger and bulkier than the rest: encircled Torb, attacking from all sides. Despite the odds, Torb was holding his ground, twirling with unnatural speed, blocking most of the incoming strikes and leaving shattered snouts in his wake.

David wanted to help, but the dozen Kobolds weren’t the only threat. More enemies were charging at Torb, shoving their comrades aside to get at the stocky dwarf. Others ran at David and Melach, forcing David to act since Melach didn’t seem close to finishing his spell.

He first cast [Oasis of Harmony] on Melach, summoning a pristine dove that hovered above the elf’s head. Then, he used [Bless], spreading the Skill Rune’s effects across the group. The crimson hue that engulfed Torb was impossible to miss. With a sudden burst of speed and strength, the dwarf crushed a pair of Kobolds too focused on their attacks to defend themselves. Their mistake cost them their lives.

Unfortunately, David couldn’t watch the others for long. Something rumbled behind him, but he trusted it was related to Melach’s spell. He kicked off the ground and leaped toward the charging enemies, wielding a steel shortsword in his left hand and summoning the Obsidian Blade in his right.

David ducked under a spear thrust and drove the Obsidian Blade into the attacker’s neck. He twisted the blade free and spun to block a sword strike with his shortsword. His muscles bulged as he forced the sword upward, creating an opening to behead the second Kobold.

He noticed two notifications flash in the corner of his vision but dismissed them as he pressed forward. He hurled the Obsidian Blade at a charging enemy, and it embedded itself deep in the creature’s chest. A familiar sensation washed over him as his soulbound weapon began draining the Kobold’s blood. The creature collapsed before it could reach David, who dashed past it, deflecting the thrust of another spear with his shortsword. He twisted his body, sliced the spear’s wooden shaft in half, and executed a quick series of strikes until the Kobold crumpled.

A roar echoed in his ears, followed by a second. He turned to see two bulky Kobolds barreling toward him, far larger than the ones he’d fought moments ago. They charged, but a towering figure thundered past before they could reach him.

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It was a massive humanoid creature, seemingly made of earth and concrete. The bulky Kobolds’ spears and swords pierced its body, but the creature didn’t react as if it felt no pain. Its massive fists came down like hammers, repeatedly slamming into the Kobolds’ heads.

Over and over, the creature struck until their defiant roars turned into pitiful yelps.