Black Widow Brotherhood Raid (5)

[You have successfully cast the spell [Soul Seal]. You have obtained [Cursed Soul Flask - Medium-grade]. Successive casts of the spell [Soul Seal] led to a better comprehension of souls and the spell itself. Your proficiency has risen by one point]

'So far, everything went as planned. Still, where is the last intermediate rank acolyte?', Arthur thought.

Regular acolytes could not cross the plains of deaths unscathed. Travelling alone was near impossible unless you could move forward for several days straight. Knights might be able to pull it off, but regular acolytes just didn't have the stamina and vitality necessary to cross so much distance.

After all, sleeping in the plains of deaths meant taking the risk of being bitten by poisonous insects. Most of the deaths that occured in this cursed land were not related to wild beasts, but the environment, including plants, insects and the weather.

This is why in spite of the danger, the Ivory Tower Acolytes and the Crimson Clan members were not escaping the battlefield. They knew that leaving meant death. After careful consideration, they had realized that the attackers were not that numerous. They were taken by surprise, and more than 15 had fallen already. Still, besides a few acolytes who were hiding, a group of ten acolytes had gathered in the settlement center square. Four acolytes were focusing on defense, while the rest were ready to attack at any moment.

The reason why they couldn't move and hunt was due to the contribution of a single acolyte, which Arthur never expected to be that powerful.

[Kayle Smith - Level 5 Acolyte]

Despite her low cultivation, young age and recent rise in the Ivory Tower, she had somehow created a poisonous fog around the center square that imprisoned the rest of the Human Settlement Forces. This was part of the plan, but Arthur had never expected her to pull it off.

This plan had been created so that the Crimson Clan forces would be split, making it easier for Allan and Bjorg to take care of the human soldiers and knights. Arthur had taken upon himself the most dangerous mission of taking out isolated acolytes, including one intermediate rank acolyte. Lucie and Helena accepted the same mission, due to their seniority.

As for the Billy, he took care of patrolling acolytes and escaping rats that might get out of the human settlement. His swarm of monitoring bugs made it convenient for him to track and kill them after all.

'Alchemy, huh...Indeed, although it must have been quite expensive to brew, the effectiveness of these potions are very high, forcing even the intermediate rank acolyte back...', Arthur analysed, 'Perhpas William's goal is not that stupid after all'

After taking care of the remaining acolytes with Lucie and Helena, the trio gathered.

"Kayle, how long can you last?", Arthur asked

"The potions will be effective for five more minutes, but I will run out of potions afterwards. I can still fight, since I didn't use much mana besides condensing the fog", she said

'Kayle Smith...Her wealth, skills and foresight are not to be underestimated. I suppose she is using an alias, hiding her true identity so as to avoid suspicions or any involvement of her family. This way, she could join the organization without risking her family's honour. Is she some kind of duke's daughter?', Arthur wondered

"You can dispel the spell. Giving them time is exactly what they are hoping for. I will take care of the beginner rank acolyte. Arthur and Helena, you take care of the intermediate-rank acolyte. Be careful, John Crimson has been around for more than thirty years. He is used to battles, unlike the others. It is a pity that my mother is not here to take care of him, but you will have to overpower him. Thankfully, I heard he has suffered some injuries in the last orc raid alongside his leader, so he isn't in his peak condition", Lucie said, "I will cast a curse on him. Hopefully, it will help you in your task. If only the old man Raphael was not in some long-term mission, this raid would have been much easier"

Raphael Magnus. He was an intermediate-rank acolyte belonging to the Black Widow Faction, as well as the strongest necromancer in the Ivory Tower. Although he didn't possess high firepower, he had created an army of skeletons that could basically match an army. Targeting a skeleton mount, he decided to travel to a Porfield County where Wyverns had been sighted.

Arthur nodded. Although Helena was running out of mana, Arthur was confident to take him down. He possessed more than enough strength to take him on.

[Name – John Crimson

Class – Level 11 [Intermediate Rank] Acolyte

HP – 26 / 40 | Mana: 75 / 110

→ Experience Stored: 4 630

Attributes:

Strength – 3 | Agility – 2 | Vitality – 4 | Magic Power – 11

Skills: (?)

Spell: Blood Arrow [Medium-grade] (85), Blood Poison [Low-grade] (16), Blood Spear (15), Blood Paralysis [Medium-grade] (30), Blood shield [High-grade] (55), Orb of Healing [High-grade] (30)...

Magical Artefact: Blood Totem [Medium-grade], Blood Scepter [High-grade], Arcane Earing [High-grade]

Enchanted Items: Orc Shaman Necklace [High-grade], Crimson Heirloom ring [Medium-grade], Orc Shaman Spirit Ring [Medium-grade],...]

After scanning the man's attributes and skills, Arthur was surprised to see how overgeared John Crimson was. It was totally unlike Rick Crimson, who only possessed the [Magnetic Ring]. John possessed three magical artefacts as well as a fair share of orc shaman enchanted equipment.

There was a reason why the Crimson Clan monopolised the orc battlefield. Although they lost a lot of manpower, the orcish items were beyond valuable and couldn't be reproduced. Rather than having thirty beginner acolytes, it was more useful to possess a handful of well-equipped intermediate-rank acolytes from a Magus family's point of view.

Arthur sighed. He had used his [Moonlight Ring] already.

'Seems like I won't get out of this fight uninjured, this time', Arthur thought as he was looking carefully at the long list of spells mastered by John Crimson, 'If he dies, though, then the Crimson Clan will no longer have influence in the tower. Besides the clan leader, only John and his son Ben Crimson are intermediate-rank acolytes. If John falls, then there will no longer be an influential figure to lead the Crimson Clan'