A Rattling Monster

Chapter 53: The Counter-Attack

I am encircled. I have not a single chance to climb down the cathedral without getting targeted by their crossbows or their spells. And the guards are defending each position with some priests near them. I can see some particles around each man of the Church. That's not good, they have modified the air around them. Whether it will reduce my acid or reduce the damage that it can inflict I don't know. But I won't be able to instantly kill them like I did before. Or it will be too costly.

Right in front of me is a plaza, huge and without a building near. But at the back of the cathedral, the distance between it and another roof is not that big. I can try to jump. And after that, a pursuit will begin and that is at my advantage. The moment I can see a sewer grid without surveillance, I can return to the underworld and enjoy its protection. If I forget the ratman assassin inside it.

I quickly climb down the bell tower and run on the roof. After that, however, I am in range of the crossbows. I can see numerous bolts coming toward me. I activate my aura for a few seconds to melt them. Just the time needed to reach the end of the roof. There, I jump on a house, without taking any damage. I can sense the army trying to follow me. But they are a lot slower than me. First, they have to take the roads while I am just jumping from a house to another house. And now, I realize how quick I am. At my full speed, the nearby enemies are quickly left in the dust. But at each new crossroad, new guards and magicians are coming. My speed and the lack of aiming have allowed me to dodge every bolt. But my luck will not be that good forever here.

Did you finally find a gate to the sewer?

(No, nothing, they are communicating. Now, all the sewer grids near the cathedral are not watched but you are so far away that by the time you reach them, the guards will be in position. The only thing you can do is outrun everyone and hope that at a moment they will not be quick enough.)

Easier said than be done. Are you really expecting me to run around the entire city just to have a chance? No, better melt my way out. Find a location where they are not that prepared, where only guards are present. I don't know what the magicians and priests are doing, but I don't want to meet them right now.

(Ok, so keep going in that direction for half a kilometer then when you will see a house with a red door, jump to the right three time. The priests are all too far away from that grid. You will have to face at least ten guards.)

Ten is not a threat. Just my aura is preventing me to face their bolts and an orb will dispatch them. Even if I only have a hundred MP by now, it is enough for doing this. But I really need to reap the benefits of my plague. No one has died yet. That's not a good news.

After less than a minute, I see the red door. I obey the instructions of Oslo, and like he said, three jumps later, a patrol is pointing their menacing crossbows at my location. I can see a priest at the end of the road, but he is too far to do anything. He can only see the humans facing me get disintegrated. Shortly after, the gate preventing me to enter the sewer is destroyed as well.

But I am really nervous. I have done that, to kill a lot of people. But nothing has improved. I know that my requirement to level up is huge since the number of people I killed after the djinn ritual is more than a hundred. And all were true warriors, not a poor peon that is useless in a fight. But if that failed, I would have anger this city for nothing. Right now, I have not a chance to escape from the assassin. Where is he by the way?

(He reached the cathedral. But right now, he is not moving. He probably needs to follow your footsteps and since you were on the surface, he can't track you. At least, you make him lose your track. The problem is, he will roam inside the sewers till he finds a trace of you again. Because he knows that with the mess you made, there is no way that you can stay on the surface.)

So before I had a fixed distance between me and my future killer and now, he is going to have erratic movements, and can even randomly find me or a place I was minutes ago. Great improvement. Wait, my Plague has gained a level. I have gained a level too. It is working. It is really working. Get that you Church. Not so powerful.

After some moment of joy, I realized that I only gained 3 level in total. [Create Acid] was overcome by my other spell for the first time, it was only level 7 while [Create Plague] is now level 8. And [Deadly Body] breach his boundary of level 1 directly to level 3. I really wonder how many people did I killed. Oh, my title changed, I got [Slaughterer]. What's the description?

"[Slaughterer]: you are a mass murderer, by your hand, more than 1000 living being have perished."

So I guess the [Killer] was just a hundred victims. Weird, that means all the djinns weren't counted as my victims. I guess that makes sense since I didn't receive any experience from their deaths. And I feel that the System is judging me. I mean, he says that I am a mass murder but who won't be with such a System. Something that can improve only by taking the life of others.

Such thoughts are useless right now. I need to run away quickly. And prepare for the next wave. First, they tried to defend themselves by blocking my entrance to the sewers. And since that plan lamentably failed, they will forget the defense and begin their offensive. I just need to know what will be used. They can't drown me since the sewers are too large. They can't use fire either and try to use smoke to force me to show myself. So what will it be?

(I think I know what. I can see those alchemists bring a lot of potions, even barrels of a product. I don't know what is the effect of it, but it shouldn't be good for you. They have now a lot of it, near every single sewer grid that I can see. They will probably leak it inside.)

So what, I should escape? Where and how? Since they are confident, I can't risk to touch it. Now that I remember, the rat nest that I killed was in a small cove, only partially exposed to the garbage flow that flows inside the sewers. Maybe I can avoid the danger. But I need to be quick, it is quite far from my position. And they can release it at any moment.

My best hope will be that the assassin dies because of it. But expecting that false hope is stupid. I have to suppose that he will survive anything that won't kill me. But if he is injured, and it is a possibility, that's still very good. The slower he reaches me, the stronger I will be. Well, if that plague keeps going. And it is not looking very bright on that side. C'mon, a few more levels, please. No?

(They are beginning to use their weapon. It has not reached your location yet, but the eastern side of the city is completely done. But I still don't know what the liquid is doing. Yes, it is a liquid that I mixing with the dirty water of the sewers and Reach that shelter right now. You better run quicker, you will not make it at that speed.)

What? Why is this so urgent, how powerful it is?

(It's not that powerful, but I recognize what it is. They used it during the Portal War and it is not directly threatening your life. It's is highly efficient, and totally harmless toward any humans inside Ronta. It is part of the blessing granted by Aria. Just that they turned it into a curse to any non-believers. The more you breathe the smoke generated by this liquid, the weaker you become. They mainly used it during battle, where they broke small vials filled with it at their foot and then begin to fight. My only option was to either have a weaker army in a strong position or a strong army in a weaker position. They manage to capture a few fortresses with a lot of it. And even if you have the mark of Aria and it shouldn't be effective on you, you have my mark too, so don't breathe a lot.)

Hahaha, so you are telling me, that for the first time, the fact that Aria made me her Hero will save me. Hahaha, if the men outside were to learn that, Hahaha.