piratefiction Chapter 145 Final Preparations
Chapter 145 Final Preparations
Chapter 145 Final Preparations
Ah—it feels like I've had a long, dreamlike dream—even though I've rested for so long and my body has recovered, I'm still very excited.
Geb had just returned from his meditative state, and as he got up, supporting himself on his knees, a head popped in from outside the door.
"Have you found a way?" the swordswoman asked in a hoarse voice, her expression slightly tense. She had come in immediately upon hearing the sound.
"Why do you look like this? Didn't you get much sleep?" Gebu asked with concern, looking at the disheveled woman with a tired expression.
"I had Dulin take over the shift and got some sleep—it's alright, I'll be ready for the battle, don't worry." Dove placed his hand on the half-sword beside him and patted the hilt.
"Nothing strange has happened, has it?"
"No, that beastman is fast asleep," the woman said, clearly understanding who Gebu was referring to as the "strange thing."
"Wake everyone up, I've found a way to defeat the manticore." Gebu grinned at the woman.
For some reason, even though she hadn't heard what Geb's plan was, the expression on the swordswoman's face relaxed a little.
"I knew you'd find a way." She patted Geb on the shoulder, then went back into the room. "Dwarf, orc—get up!"
Within half a minute, the group gathered together, forming a circle, and all eyes were on Gebu.
The goblin placed the resonance crystal in the middle of the four people, looked at the chaotic energy within the crystal, and said to everyone, "The current situation is as follows."
"That manticore, with its black-winged rattlesnake, is affected by the magic in this ruin—I won't go into the specifics, but in short, the manticore is being interfered with by magic, making it exceptionally ferocious. My magic has no effect on it—it might even have the opposite effect. We can't take that risk."
"I can use my newly acquired power to charge this crystal, and once charged, it will neutralize the magic on the manticore."
"But this is not as simple as it sounds. Simply getting the crystal to the manticore is not enough. We need to make the crystal as close to the manticore as possible—ideally, put it inside its belly."
The three men exchanged glances and frowned. Wasn't this just suicide?
"So, my plan is—" Geb looked at the dwarf, "Dulin, you eat the crystal, then let the manticore swallow you—"
Before the goblin could finish speaking, the swordswoman glared at him fiercely.
"Is this the time for jokes?!"
"Why so serious? Just kidding," Gebu muttered. "Plan B is to trap the manticore and then figure out a way to stuff the crystal into its mouth."
"You can use your magic to trick him into eating the crystal, can't you?" Thorton said suddenly after a long silence. "I've seen you use illusion-creating magic."
"I've thought about that too, but the wild magical aura around that manticore will make my magic very unstable. I don't know what my illusions will look like when it gets close—to be on the safe side, I won't cast spells near it during the first half of the battle."
"The first half?" the swordswoman asked, puzzled.
"Yes, even if we dispel the magic on the manticore, we still have to kill it. Four people—" Geb glanced at Dulin, and seeing that he was hardly a fighting force, changed his words to "three and a half people, fighting an adult manticore—this will be a fierce battle."
"You make it sound so easy. Trapping the manticore, feeding it crystals, killing the manticore—none of these are easy tasks," the woman with the sword said with concern. "Let's start with the first one. How exactly are we going to trap it? We don't have nets, we don't have traps, and even if we tie it up, we don't have enough manpower to hold it down."
"We can't do it with manpower, but maybe we can." Gebu pointed, and all three of them looked at the stone door on the outer layer of the room—beyond which was the entrance hall of the ruins. Now, the manticore was waiting there, and they could even hear the monster's deep breathing.
Yes, use the mechanism in that stone gate!
"We need to lure the Blackwing Rattlesnake in, then block it at the doorway, making the door jam it—if we're lucky, we might just crush it to death—but that monster shouldn't be that stupid. We just need to trap it for a few seconds, pry open its mouth, and stuff the crystal in. That's the first step."
The swordswoman glanced at Thornton.
"Only the two of us can do this. Can I trust you, beastman?" the woman asked coldly, her eyes like sharp blades.
Thornton glanced at the holy emblem on Dove's shield.
"I don't want to deal with those guys from the church anymore, but neither of us has a choice. I can hold off that monster for a little while, creating an opening for you. You're equipped with a shield, so you can use it to block the manticore's mouth. We also need someone to go and stuff the crystal in."
Geb raised his hand. "I can do this."
Dulin coughed beside him.
"What can I do to help? —"
Geb thought for a moment, then walked over and patted the dwarf on the shoulder.
"My friend, I have a very important task for you—you're in charge of being the bait, luring that manticore in. Shoot it with the crossbow, Dulin!"
"Don't shoot randomly once the war starts, dwarf. I don't want you to accidentally hit my butt again," Doffin said through gritted teeth to the dwarf.
Dulin's face turned ashen. He bit his lip, struggled fiercely with his thoughts, and finally, with a determined look, nodded.
"Okay! I'll lure it over here!"
"Assuming everything goes smoothly, the next step is the final battle with the manticore—I suggest everyone run to the outer hall; it's wider there and easier to hide." Geb pointed to himself. "I'll cast gravity magic to prevent the manticore from taking flight, restricting its movement. Then the four of us will spread out: the swordswoman will throw javelins, Soton will shoot arrows, Dulin will use a crossbow, and I'll use magic. Whoever the manticore chases should run for their life—if we're lucky, we'll kite them to death before they catch up."
The group exchanged glances, and no one raised any objections. Seeing that everyone agreed, Gebu nodded.
"Charging the crystals will consume my spell slots—I need ten minutes to recover. Then, I will cast a spell to resist the poison on each of you—use this time to make your final preparations. Life or death, it all comes down to this!"
Geb, the swordswoman, and Dulin exchanged glances. The swordswoman's face was resolute, while the dwarf's expression showed fear, though he was trying hard to suppress it.
Only Thornton had a gloomy expression, and it was unclear what he was thinking.
"Hey, goblin. What if we kill the manticore?" He lowered his brow and stared at Geb with his beastly eyes.
Geb's expression froze. He quickly thought for a moment.
"Soton, to be honest with you, if we're both still alive after this battle, the best outcome would be for us to go our separate ways."
"That gold is fake, it's just lead. I never intended to bring any money with me in the first place. Those kingdom knights came to kill you," Geb said bluntly.
"Feed—" The swordswoman looked at Soton with some vigilance, trying to stop Geb from speaking.
"It's alright, he's not stupid. By now, he should have figured it out," Geb said.
"You think I'm all alone now and no match for you, that's why you dare to say that," Thornton said with a hint of threat.
"Yes, that's exactly what I think," Geb replied directly. "Even if you can beat us, you still won't get anything. Admit it, Thornton, your team got beaten up like this by the manticores, and you're still thinking about getting the bounty?"
No matter how meticulous the plan, it's useless if you lack the strength.
"————"
"Avenge your comrades," Geb continued, showing no fear despite the deer-man's immense size. "Then live on—not for yourself, but for your comrades. And then, for your homeland."
"I only want one thing."
"What is it?"
"After the manticore dies, I want its stinger. You can take the rest of the body. Then we'll part ways—I'll never come back, and I don't want to see any of you again."
"Very good. You can take the pin with you."
Geb immediately agreed. He didn't want to ask why—for a moment, he felt this guy would go crazy and take them all down with him—but Geb's judgment was accurate; the immense hatred in this guy's heart wouldn't allow him to die like that. He would do everything he could to survive, even if it meant cooperating with the enemy.
After reaching an agreement with Thorton, Geb returned and cast a second-circle spell, Phantom Power, on the crystal. The crystal absorbed the spell's energy and entered a stable charging state.
Arcane Recollection restores 2nd-circle spell slots. Then cast Poison Protection, granting everyone resistance to poison. First Thornton, then the Blade Dancer, then the Dwarf, and finally myself.
Feeling the effects of the poison protection spell taking hold, Gebu took a deep breath.
Alright, the final battle will bring everything to a head.
"Hey, Gebu, are you ready?" The woman with the sword placed her hand on Gebu's shoulder. Through his clothes, Gebu could feel that her hand was a little cold.
Seeing the female knight's slightly uneasy expression, the goblin with amber eyes flashed a goblin-like toothy smile, then said decisively, "Of course! Daring to stand in my path of wizardry, you're overestimating yourself! Take them down!!!"