The Gamer's POV-Chapter 190: Home of the Hollow Ones [6]

Uriel immediately retracted her head behind the corner, then muttered to Aurora, "There are ten of them."

The Hollow Ones had a good nose for sniffing out creatures who used mana. So, when Aurora heard that there were ten ahead, she knew that it would only be a matter of seconds before the creatures caught on to them.

She immediately turned to the group and quickly whispered into her whisperscript.

"There’s ten of the hollow ones in the way. The vanguards will try to take them down as quickly as possible. As for the rest of you, when the fighting starts, continue on into the temple."

The cadets nodded, their expressions hardening as they prepared for the sudden shift from stealth to combat.

The vanguards of the group were Aurora, Cedric, Leon, Xavier, Alicia, Roben, Levi, Celeste, and five others from Princess Aurora’s party.

The cadets, including the vanguards, all got ready when they heard the order.

Evelyn uncorked her bottle of blood and downed it. Immediately after, her eyes began to gleam red as she activated her bonded ability.

Dion, too, was downing as much alcohol as he could because he had no idea what he would encounter once he got into the temple.

Celeste had already killed herself and was in Audrey’s arms. Even Levi was now dead; Ifrit had killed him immediately after Aurora spoke and was holding him tightly against his chest.

They had not taken their bonded ability forms earlier as that would have drawn attention due to the massive amounts of mana they would be emitting to sustain their forms.

As for Cedric, well... Cedric was just leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, counting mentally from one to hundred.

It was a new habit that he had picked up whenever he felt anxious. He was dressed in his full active Yoroi, looking like a shadowy samurai. He was cradling his katana close to his chest. A wakizashi was tucked into his belt, while his nodachi was strapped behind him.

Arlo was resting on his left shoulder, while Kage was resting on his right like two silent sentries.

’Ninety eight... ninety nine... hundred.’

He opened his eyes.

***

The first hollow one slowly turned toward the building where the cadets were hiding. It tilted its head, and an unnatural smile began to stretch across its lips.

When the others noticed, they too slowly turned their gaze toward the corner.

At that moment, Aurora yelled, "Now!"

Instantly, the cadets surged out from the shadows of the apartment blocks.

The monsters didn’t even move and waited for the cadets to come to them.

The vanguards lunged first, with Aurora leading the charge. Her weapon was a long, crystalline glaive that looked like it was made from solid ice, and on her head sat a crown of frozen shards that pulsed with a cold blue light.

When she reached the first of the hollow ones, she leapt into the air, spun her glaive, and with a fierce cry, brought it down with all her weight. The monster smiled, and raised its spear overhead to parry the blow, and the clash of ice against metal sent a spray of sparks and frost flying across the plaza.

The other vanguards reached their targets and began engaging in a fierce melee battle.

"Combat tutorials..." Cedric muttered as he was almost on his target.

[Activating Combat Tutorials...]

Next, he activated all the combat properties of his Yoroi.

The creature tilted its head curiously as it watched him approach. Since the monster was using a spear, Cedric decided to go with his nodachi.

The moment he was close to the monster, it struck with a sudden, blurring speed. Cedric swung the heavy nodachi in a wide, sweeping arc, and the two weapons met with a violent crack.

’Damn! It’s strong.’

It felt like Cedric had struck a solid pillar of iron rather than a living being. He gritted his teeth as the impact vibrated up his arms, then he forced the tip of the spear into the ground.

Without wasting a second, he swung his nodachi again, aiming to strike the creature’s neck.

It smiled as it gracefully arched its back, and the blade whistled harmlessly over its head. Then, in a burst of blinding speed, the creature closed the gap and slammed its elbow into Cedric’s chest.

Cedric spluttered out blood from his mouth, and his boots screeched as they skidded across the stone tiles. The impact was heavy enough to rattle his teeth even through the protective layers of his Yoroi. He dug his nodachi into the ground to arrest his momentum, sparks flying from the blade as he finally came to a halt several meters away.

Then he immediately raised it to block the descending spear of the creature. Both of them disengaged, then struck again, and again, and the air filled with the rapid-fire sound of clashing steel.

The creature’s strength was monstrous, and each time their blades clashed, Cedric felt the shockwaves travel deep into his marrow. After a few brutal exchanges, he began to avoid meeting the spear head-on, while also trying to deliver a strike to the creature’s chest.

There was a small round opening in the creature’s chest, and through the gap, Cedric could see what looked like human flesh. That was the only weakness of the hollow ones.

’Its strength is absurd, and its speed is insane too. Tsk. If I can just reach for that...’

He thought as he thrust his sword forward, only for the creature to swat it aside with its hand.

Then it raised its spear and brought it down, forcing Cedric to leap back to avoid the blade. The weapon slammed into the stone where he had been standing a split second before, cracking the tile.

The creature didn’t advance and just tilted its head, silently daring Cedric to come for it.

Cedric frowned.

This thing was not even taking him seriously and was just toying with him. This was beginning to frustrate Cedric.

He took a breath and exhaled. Then he glared at the creature in front of him and muttered through gritted teeth, "You are beginning to piss me off, you know?"