Skirmish (1)

Lewis' greatest asset was his experience.

Even if his party was outnumbered, the individual strength of himself, Orianna and Jorg was very high, much higher than the average acolyte. With his blood human bloodline, his perception was enough to immediately pinpoint the location of the enemy leader, Ice Countess Sheila.

Communicating in sign language, Jorg immediately adopted an offensive posture and rushed in that direction, followed closely by Orianna who looked incredibly mad and excited from the skirmish, a perk of insanity that seemed to get increasingly stronger as her spirit grew.

'Well, that's a worry for another time, she has enough experience to control her sanity for now', Lewis thought as he remained calmly next to Raon. 

At the end of the day, their mission was not the killing of enemies, but rather, the protection of Raon. The death of any golem master or their golems would result in the delay of the castle's build. Even with hundreds of dwarves supplying with ore and stone pieces, the design already ready and magical golems, the overall project was estimated to last 1 year. If Raon died, then the duration might increase to 1.2 years.

The faction war was fierce, but at the end of the day, it was a war of attrition. Once the crimson castle would be finished and the runic formation engraved on its walls, then even a medium-sized faction would not be able to enter the dwarven mountain range, not to mention a small-sized faction like the blue wolf mercenaries.

One of the perks of the crimson castle was the runic formation providing immense durability to its walls, perception of the surroundings in a three-miles range as well as a bonus of mana regeneration for its members. With such buffs and tactical knowledge, the war would end in days, which is why the blue wolf mercenaries were targeting workers and supply chains of raw materials at all costs.

With Jack, they had already managed to kill 8 Crimson Clan members, which was more than roughly a fifth of the total head count, a terrifying figure. But even greater casualties arose among Blue Wolf Mercenaries, a stat that Lewis planned to increase.

[Blood Shield]

To Raon's surprise, Lewis casted a spell that he never showed until now in this lifetime, a defensive spell that surrounded them with a veil of blood. The water element was known for its versatility and its defensive properties. The blood element being a branch of the water elemental path, it was no exception to the rule and the the blood shield was naturally a core spell in his collection of spells.

*CRASH*

It was timely cast as well, as a crossbow bolt crashed onto the blood surrounding them, reflected with ease. Although it looked like an enchanted bolt, it was inufficient to deal with an elite beginner acolyte's spell with 80 points of proficiency.

Grinning, Lewis did not hesitate upon casting his favorite long-range spell : 

[Blood Arrow]

*SPLASH* 

"Aaaaaah", a scream of agony followed suit

The shot had given the location of the crossbowman away, and with this information pinpointed and high mastery of the spell, he successfully cast the blood arrow spell with unmatched precision in less than one second. With 6 points of spirit, regular defensive spells would be shattered upon impact, not to mention a crossbowman who did not have time to cast one. 

"One more down", Lewis muttered as he drew his blade, seeing two acolytes with blue capes charging towards Raon, their target clear.

[Name - Lewis Steelguard | Age - 15 years old

Attributes:

Strength - 3.8 | Agility - 2.8 | Vitality - 4.6 | Spirit - 6.1

Perk: Crimson Pact [Sealed], Blood Human II (Increased perception, dexterity and physical growth rate)

Spells: Blood drain (156), Analysis (132), Blood Enchant (95) , Blood Shield (80), Sanguine Tracking (75), Blood Arrow (53), Blood Essence Gathering (36), Blood wolf Summon (50)

Sealed spells (not enough spirit): Blood Golem Summon (60), Tides of blood (40), Blood Curse (10)]