Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer-Chapter 310: Siege (5)

The players hesitated upon seeing Adrian. Their earlier bravado had disappeared. At the same time, Adrian smiled and drew his daggers.

"Your plan was flawless," Adrian remarked, looking at the players. "But luck wasn’t on your side."

"How is he here?" one player whispered, her eyes wide with fear.

"He was supposed to be occupied by the rest of us!" another muttered. "There were fifty of our best out there."

"Looks like he took care of them," a third player said, unsure of what to do next.

Adrian’s unpredicted arrival threw them off. They had thought they had plenty of time to deal with Han and secure the castle. That’s why they had been playing with him. But now their plans were falling apart.

They planned to have half of them distract Adrian at the far end of the map. Even if they couldn’t defeat him, this would ensure he couldn’t get back to defend the castle in time.

Since they wanted to keep Adrian busy for as long as possible, they sent their most talented players to pull it off. But if Adrian could deal with them so easily, then they were no match for him either. Even then, some of them weren’t willing to give up.

"We should attack him now!" one player urged. "He’s alone and probably exhausted after fighting so many of us. Not to mention, he must have run across the map to get here. This is our chance!"

"No, we should run!" another countered. "He can’t chase all of us."

But then, an Olympian, a tall and imposing figure, banged his spear on the ground, silencing the murmurs. Adrian looked at him and knew he was different from the rest.

"Running away is the worst decision we could make. Adrian has found us time and time again," the blonde man commented. "There’s no guarantee he won’t find us again if we flee."

The other players listened intently. After all, unlike them who were mere foot soldiers, the man before them was the son of a lower entity, Aether, within the pantheon. If anyone could get them out of the mess, it was Aetherius.

"Besides," Aetherius continued, "our castle is useless to us now, since the mortal knows its location. Even if we run, he will charge in and conquer it with no difficulties. Whether we run or fight, it makes no difference. We will lose before the time is up."

The weight of his words settled over the group. They realised that their only option was to make a last stand here and now, hoping against hope that they could somehow defeat the mortal.

"Alright," one player said, gripping his sword tighter. "We fight."

"Together," another added, raising his shield.

Adrian curiously watched them. He could see the fear in their eyes, but also the determination. He shrugged, knowing that victory was within his grasp, no matter what the enemies decided.

"If you want to throw your lives away, so be it," he mumbled.

The Olympus players formed a tight formation, shields raised, spears and swords at the ready. Adrian stood still for a moment, wondering if they had learned nothing from their fight before.

’Why should I care about it?’

Then, with a sudden burst of speed, he charged at them. The first clash was brutal. Adrian’s daggers easily cut through shields and armour with terrifying precision.

The Olympus players fought back fiercely, but they were no match for his skill and strength. Every swing of his sword was a death sentence. Besides, they knew injuring Adrian would make the fight more troublesome for them as he would leak poison.

Therefore, the Olympians were strictly going to death blows. Unfortunately, this made their movements slow and predictable, something Adrian was quick to take advantage of.

"Hold the line!" Aetherius shouted, trying to keep his men from breaking. "We can’t let him break through the ranks! Hold him off!"

But it was a futile effort. Adrian was relentless, his attacks unceasing. One by one, the Olympus players fell, their bodies littering the ground. Despite their numbers, they couldn’t do anything against such a one-sided assault.

Even Han, who was still weak but fuelled by adrenaline, joined the fight, covering Adrian’s back and taking down any enemies who tried to flank him. The two moved with perfect synergy, dispatching enemies left and right.

"Arnold, behind you!" Han shouted, deflecting a spear thrust aimed at Adrian’s side.

Adrian spun, his sword slicing through the attacker’s armour before giving Han a quick nod.

The battle raged on, but it was clear who the victors would be. The remaining Olympus players, seeing their comrades fall, began to lose hope. Their attacks grew desperate, and soon their formation broke apart.

"We can’t hold him back anymore!" one player cried out.

"Stand your ground!" Aetherius roared, but it was no use.

The fear and despair had taken hold within their ranks. The players were panicking, which ended in their deaths. Adrian cut through the last of the defenders with ruthless efficiency.

Now the only ones who remained were Aetherius and Adrian. Han was alive, but with the adrenaline beginning to wear off, he couldn’t continue fighting anymore.

Aetherius twirled the spear, prompting Adrian to make the first move. But the latter just laughed, before turning away as if fighting him wasn’t worth the effort.

Enraged by the mortal’s disrespect, Aetherius lunged forward, his spear thrusting towards Adrian. Adrian sidestepped the attack, his dagger in a wide arc. The clash of metal on metal rang through the hall as their weapons met, sparks flying from the force of their attack.

Aetherius pressed on. But Adrian parried each blow. They circled each other, neither willing to back down.

"You’re skilled. I’ll give you that," Aetherius said. "But skill alone won’t save you."

"We’ll see about that."

Aetherius roared, thrusting his spear forward. Adrian dodged to the side and took a swing with his blade. The dagger caught Aetherius’s shoulder, drawing a line of blood.

Aetherius grunted in pain but didn’t falter. He swung his spear in a wide arc, forcing Adrian to jump back, and kicked back, forcing the spear out of Aetherius’ grasp.

Adrian stood over him, his sword pointed at Aetherius’s throat.

"It’s over," he said.

"You’ve won today, Mortal," Aetherius mumbled. "But know this – we’ll come for you again."

"...come all you want, just don’t think about me when you do."

"What?" Aetherius was confused, but not for long as Adrian slashed his neck, ending the third floor trial.