3.An impenetrable defense.

Galen had the foresight to raise his round shield, easily blocking his opponent's sneak attack.

"Oh? Actually able to block my crossbow, you guy has some level."

The male looter flipped his wrist, and the small crossbow disappeared like a trick, and in its place was a sharp short blade with a ghostly green hue.

"Against bulky shield guards, melee rush attacks are the best choice!"

The male looter bent his back low and scurried towards Ivo like an agile bobcat.

Galen stepped forward and took the initiative to engage the enemy, using the round shield in his hand either to swing, block, grid, or top, using it skillfully.

The shield and the short sword clashed continuously, the latter's grade was obviously higher than the cheap round shield, and each of Galen's blocks were accompanied by splinters of wood.

But even so, the masked man's attack did not have the slightest possibility of breaking through Galen's defense.

"O earth elementals hoarded in the earth, heed my call ..." At the other end of the tunnel, came the female looter's chanting voice, "Quicksand Art!"

With a flash of earth-yellow light, the ground under the feet of Galen's men instantly turned from hard to soft, transforming into constantly descending quicksand, and in the blink of an eye, it had already wrapped around the ankles of a few men.

The masked man saw that his companion's spell was successful, and no longer tried to break through Galen's defense, his feet swept backward, avoiding the ever-expanding quicksand terrain.

If it wasn't for the fact that this shield guard was too tricky, the throats of those two lower level adventurers would have been slit by his blade long ago.

"Diana, do you have a way to break the quicksand?" Ivo shouted anxiously.

With their movements blocked at the moment, there wasn't much difference between a few people and a lamb brought to slaughter.

"I, I have to think about it ... Quicksand is an intermediate level magic, I haven't mastered the corresponding breaking spell."

"Go back and remember to learn it properly, there's no time for that now." Galen said, as he took off the heavy traveling bag behind him and dropped it on the ground.

Then he bent down on his stomach and took the initiative to meet the piece of quicksand that kept on descending.

As the contact area expanded, the speed of the quicksand engulfing Galen also slowed down.

Gaelen supported the bag with one hand to use the force, the back of his hip and leg muscles tightened violently, and pulled his feet out of the quicksand with all his might.

Ivo's eyes lit up, he thrust his cross sword into the ground that hadn't yet been quicksanded, and followed Galen's maneuver, successfully escaping from the quicksand bondage.

Compared to the two battle clerics, Diana, who had not yet mastered the corresponding spells, was extremely passive.

At this time, the quicksand had already gone past her knees, and the best time to save herself had already been missed.

The female looter who had cast the quicksand spell obviously did not expect Galen and Ivo to get rid of the quicksand so quickly.

She immediately canceled her maintenance of the Quicksand Spell and chanted once again, "O Fire Elemental that tumbles in flames, heed my call ... Fireball Spell!"

With the fall of the incantation, a miniature magic formation was sketched out by it.

Head-sized fireballs shot out from the formation, wrapped in rolling waves of heat, and slammed fiercely towards Ivo, who had just gotten out of the trap.

"Shield Block!"

Galen stepped on the ground that had regained its compactness and raised his shield to block before the fireball.

Boom!

The fireball exploded and streams of flame splashed everywhere.

Heat waves instantly scorched Ivo's eyebrows and hair.

The accompanying shockwave even caused Diana, who was on the side, to have a stuffy chest and almost fainted.

"This is already ... already close to the casting ability of an advanced fireball spell!"

Diana clearly understood the gap in strength between the two sides, and her heart was already half cold.

When she looked at Galen again, the remaining half hope completely dissipated.

Facing the fireball burst directly, Galen did not retreat in half a step.

Only the small round shield in his hand had become charred and broken, with very little durability left.

How could a shield guard who had lost his shield be able to withstand a fireball spell of this intensity?

The masked man sneered and charged again, "Hmph, with the turtle shell broken, let's see how you can still resist!"

"Your opponent is me!" Ivo shouted in a deep voice and took the initiative to kill the masked man, never giving this person the chance to take advantage of the sneak attack.

Ivo took a big step forward and slashed his sword horizontally, the exuberant sword light trailed a half-moon type trajectory with the swing of the cross-sword, further expanding the range of the slash.

Elementary Half Moon Chop!

This was the strongest battle skill that Ivo had currently mastered.

Although it was only a beginner skill, it was coupled with Ivo's proficiency that he had polished day in and day out.

It allowed his Half Moon Chop to have a range killing power comparable to an intermediate skill!

Facing such a chopping attack, the masked man did not have any surprise in his eyes, and his speed did not decrease in the slightest.

Only to see his feet stomped, waist and abdomen tightened, a flip and leap to avoid the half-moon decapitation. It seemed that he knew the speed and range of this move in advance!

Being in mid-air, the masked man still had the ability to strike, and the poisoned knife took the opportunity to slit Ivo's throat.

The expected blood splatter did not appear, the masked man who had not yet landed only saw a rapidly enlarging shield, slamming fiercely towards himself!

Bang!

The masked man flew backwards, tumbling all the way to the side of his female companion before he was able to stabilize himself.

His short sword fell to Galen's feet, and his right arm, which was holding the weapon, also hung down weakly, the arm bone had already been broken!

Loosening his grip on Ivo's collar, Galen twisted his waist and threw his arm in pursuit of the attack, and his nearly obsolete small round shield flew out with a whistling sound.

Shield Throw!

Whew--Bang!

A fireball the size of a man's head crashed into the round shield in the air, flames and wood shavings splattering in all directions at the same time.

"You guy, are you really just a lower level adventurer?" The masked man's eyes were icy cold, "But it doesn't matter, how tricky can a shield guard with insufficient output and not even a shield be?"

"Elder!" Ivo handed out his cross sword, "Use my weapon!"

Although he escaped having his throat slit, the poisoned blade still cut through his skin, and the blood and flesh under the shallow wound was transforming towards black.

Galen kept his head down, like he hadn't gotten over the blow of his shield being destroyed.

"Don't give him a chance to get his gear!" The masked man shouted, his intact left hand picking up the small crossbow once more and reloading the arrow.

His fellow spellcaster raised both hands as well, and began to chant and cast spells!

"Equipment that's broken can still be repaired, but destroyed can be completely lost ..." Galen took off his helmet, and underneath his half-length, slightly curled black hair were eyes so angry they glowed red "... . you guys can really do it!"

Without bothering to take Ivo's crossed swords, Galen swept forward with large strides, heading straight for the two looters.

Hardened arrows were the first to strike, and Galen swung his helmet, knocking the arrows away.

The cheap, old-fashioned helmet slipped over Galen's hand and was used as his fist shield!

In the next second, Diana's gain magic and the para cleric's fireball spell descended on Galen at the same time.

As Galen swung his fist, the helmet and the fireball exploded simultaneously, revealing the shattered arm armor and the reddened skin underneath.

Continuing to run forward, the agility boosting magic granted by Diana allowed Galen to speed up a few more points.

His body was like a reef in the waves, and the shockwave from the fireball's explosion had no effect on him!

"Damn it! What kind of monster is this?"

Facing a shield guard like Galen who couldn't fight or stop him, the female looter was obviously a bit flustered.

With the distance between the two sides, she originally had one last chance to release her Fireball spell.

But when those words were spoken, the female looter missed that opportunity, and the withdrawal in her heart had clearly overridden her desire to fight.

The masked man was also gloomy.

With his right arm broken, he was in more danger than his companions.

But when his eyes swept over Ivo's neck, the gradually blackened and spreading wound, his expression immediately loosened, and said to his companions, "There is no need to fight with him, let's withdraw."

Said the masked man toward Galen shot an arrow, and then did not look back, toward the exit of the underground palace ran.

Galen was about to go after him, when Diana's shout suddenly sounded behind him, "Ivo what's wrong with you? Wake up."

Galen stopped and looked, only to see that Ivo, who was still alive half a minute ago, had now collapsed on the ground.

Foam flowed out from the corners of his mouth, his throat continuously issued a "ho ho" sound, has not been able to say a word.