Chapter 91 - Fighting as Three

Chapter 91: 91 - Fighting as Three

The three of them remained near the entrance for several seconds after Adrien spoke. Absolute Mana Sense continued spreading through the ruins, separating the mana of the plants and ancient roots from the signatures moving farther ahead. Most were weak, but there were enough of them that walking forward carelessly would be stupid.

Lucien extended one hand and began manifesting his bow. Mana gathered into the familiar dark frame until the weapon became solid in his grip, and he pulled a normal arrow from the quiver on his back. "How far?"

"Closest group is around the next chamber," Adrien answered. "Five Barklings. Two more signatures underneath the ground, I’m sure they are Root Crawlers."

Amelia summoned her mace and shield as they started moving. "We’ll stay with what we discussed. Adrien in front, Lucien moving around him, and I’ll keep enough distance to see both of you."

Adrien nodded. "If I call a position, trust it. I can sense them even if they’re behind the walls."

The corridor widened after another thirty meters. Broken pillars divided a circular chamber ahead, and enormous roots covered half of the walls, making the Barklings almost impossible to distinguish by sight.

Absolute Mana Sense made the camouflage meaningless.

"One behind the pillar on the right," Adrien said quietly. "Another two inside those roots. The other two are farther back."

Lucien lifted his bow immediately. "Tell me when."

Adrien continued walking as if he hadn’t noticed anything. The nearest Barkling remained perfectly still until they crossed into the chamber, then detached itself from the pillar and lunged forward.

"Now."

Lucien released before the creature managed its second step. The arrow entered through one glowing eye and drove deep into its wooden head, dropping it instantly.

The remaining Barklings abandoned their hiding places at once.

Adrien manifested Umbral Root and formed three Frost Lances around himself while moving left. Two launched directly at the closest creature, one penetrating the thinner wood around its shoulder while the other smashed into its knee and froze the joint.

The Barkling stumbled.

Adrien sent the third Frost Lance into the stone directly ahead of it. Ice spread across the floor in a thin sheet, and when the creature tried to recover its balance, its wooden feet slipped out from under it.

Lucien didn’t need another instruction.

An arrow entered its neck before it hit the ground.

"Two coming around the left pillar," Adrien warned. "One stays behind it."

Lucien started moving immediately, crossing behind Adrien while keeping his bow raised. He was faster than Adrien expected, navigating the broken floor without losing the tension on the string.

Adrien raised Umbral Root toward the approaching Barklings. Instead of firing another projectile, he forced an Ice Wall from the floor between them.

The first Barkling had already crossed.

The second hadn’t.

The thick wall of ice separated them completely.

"One at a time," Adrien said.

The trapped Barkling charged him.

Adrien waited until it entered close range, formed a short Frost Lance and compressed its length until it resembled an ice blade. He shifted aside from the creature’s swinging arm and drove the frozen edge into the exposed gap beneath its ribs.

The Barkling twisted violently.

Lucien’s arrow struck the same opening from the opposite side.

The creature collapsed.

"That’s useful," Lucien said, already changing position. His eyes had become considerably more focused since the battle started. "Keep splitting them like that."

"That’s the idea."

The ground moved.

Adrien had been tracking both Root Crawlers from the moment they entered the chamber. One was circling beneath Amelia, while the other was approaching from his right.

"Amelia, three steps back. Something is underneath you."

She moved without questioning him.

A second later, the floor where she’d been standing fractured as thick roots burst upward. The Root Crawler pulled itself from beneath the stone, its body formed from tangled wood and several long roots whipping around it.

Amelia raised her shield as one struck toward her.

The impact forced her backward, but she remained standing.

Adrien turned. "Lucien, left side. There’s a soft section below its upper roots."

"Got it."

Lucien vaulted onto a collapsed block of stone and fired downward. The arrow struck exactly where Adrien had indicated, sinking farther into the creature than it would have through the hardened sections.

Adrien created two Frost Lances at once. The first struck the damaged area and expanded the opening; the second hit the ground beneath the Root Crawler, freezing several of its lower roots against the stone.

It tried to retreat underground, but in the end, it couldn’t.

Amelia stepped forward and brought her mace down on one of the roots holding its body upright. Wood cracked beneath the impact.

Lucien fired again.

The Root Crawler stopped moving.

"Other one is coming," Adrien said immediately. "Behind us."

There was no pause to celebrate.

The remaining Barklings were moving again as well.

Adrien decided to try the spell he’d specifically learned for situations like this. He spread Aqua mana through Umbral Root and cast Veil of Mist while moving toward the center of the chamber.

White mist spilled across the ground, rapidly growing denser until the lower sections of pillars and roots began disappearing.

Lucien looked around. "You’re killing my vision."

"Move toward the broken column on your right. Seven steps. You’ll have a clear line from there."

Lucien followed the instruction without hesitation.

Adrien could still perceive every mana signature inside the mist perfectly.

"One Barkling coming toward you. Two meters."

Lucien drew.

The Barkling emerged from the fog directly into his line of fire.

The arrow pierced its eye.

Lucien immediately reached for another. "Again."

"One behind the Ice Wall. It’ll come around the left side."

Adrien sensed the Root Crawler beneath them and changed plans. "Amelia, stay where you are. Lucien, don’t move."

Both listened.

The Root Crawler erupted from the floor between two Barklings, scattering debris across the chamber.

Adrien raised Umbral Root and expanded Winter’s Reach.

Cold spread outward from him. Frost crawled across the ancient floor, coating roots and broken masonry while strengthening every Frost spell he used within the area.

He cast another Ice Wall behind the Root Crawler, cutting off its retreat, then fired a Frost Lance into one of its exposed joints.

"Lucien, now."

Three arrows followed in rapid succession.

One missed the weak point and buried itself in thick bark. The other two hit the target.

Amelia intercepted a Barkling trying to reach Adrien from behind, catching its strike with her shield before crushing the side of its head with her mace.

The last Barkling turned toward her.

Adrien froze the floor beneath it.

Its feet slipped.

Amelia finished it herself.

Silence gradually returned to the chamber.

Adrien dismissed Winter’s Reach and let Veil of Mist disperse. Lucien lowered his bow but kept it manifested while checking every body they passed, putting another arrow into anything he considered insufficiently dead.

"That worked better than I expected," he said. "Your mist is annoying, but if you keep telling me where to shoot, I can use it."

Amelia rested her mace against one shoulder. "We still crowded each other twice. We need more space when Adrien starts changing the terrain."

Adrien agreed. "We’ll improve as we go. At least now we know what actually works."

Only once they were certain nothing else was approaching did Lucien demanifest his bow, allowing it to dissolve back into mana. Amelia did the same with her mace and shield before the three continued deeper into the ruins.

The air became colder and increasingly damp as they descended. Water dripped from roots overhead, gathering between cracked stones until the floor ahead disappeared beneath a dark flooded corridor.

Adrien stopped at its edge and extended Absolute Mana Sense through the water.

Several signatures moved beneath the surface.

Others waited farther ahead.

"There’s a lot more in there," Adrien said quietly.