The bard fantasized again.

Chapter 40 Fear Spell

Tang Qi still remembers the moment before he was thrown backwards.

He clearly caught the explosion.

The only thing unclear is its origin, direction, and even its goal.

[Alertness] made him subconsciously take a step forward, knowing which direction he should dodge in.

But this immense force struck almost simultaneously with the explosion.

His speed wasn't fast enough to allow him to lie down in an instant.

The invisible, columnar repulsive force struck his waist and abdomen directly.

"boom!"

Tang Qi felt as if he had been hit by a heavy punch from a boxer.

As he collapsed to the ground, his internal organs contracted, squeezing out stomach acid, which flowed back up his throat.

"Cough cough—vomit!"

Pain and nausea struck at the same time. Tang Qi collapsed to the ground, sour fluid dribbling from the corner of his mouth, his eyes red-rimmed, and he could barely straighten up.

Without a doubt, if he hadn't acquired the [Vigilance] feat, any of the previous arrow rain and chaotic blades would have sent Tang Qi to embrace his next life.

But it only serves as a 'warning,' not a true 'avoidance.'

As a result, given Tang Qi's physical limitations, it's impossible for him to rely on just one specialty to overcome every crisis.

He can react to and clearly see things like arrows from a distance or the trajectory of a sword swing, so hiding there will naturally make things much easier.

But what if the crisis arrives in an instant, or if the scope is wide enough?

So much so that his reflexes and physical abilities were insufficient to help him escape danger.

All he could feel was trembling and despair.

The popping sound rang in my ears again.

He squinted slightly and vaguely made out the trajectory—

It seemed to be an invisible, colorless force, which could only be glimpsed when it burst out of the white mist, distorting the air as it came down from above.

【Magic Burst】, a trick unique to sorcerers.

The reason it's not as popular as the Flame Arrow is simply because fewer people like signing indentured servitude contracts.

Sorcerers are a group of spellcasters who gain power by signing a contract with a 'master'.

The title 'Sect Leader' is just a substitute and is not fixed.

It could be a supreme god, or an ancient and bloodthirsty longsword.

It could also simply be a little devil struggling to generate revenue.

If mages need to study the ubiquitous 'formulas', warlocks need to discover the magic hidden in their blood.

The sorcerer obtains the 'sect leader's' gifts by selling his soul, his freedom, and everything else of value to the sect leader.

So much so that they can even skip the learning process altogether.

Overnight, they gained power that some people could never attain in their entire lives.

Even knowing the spellcaster's identity, Tang Qi's body still reacted a beat slower than his nerves.

The pain was rebelling against his will.

Fear struck again.

He knew he couldn't escape it—

"Qiang! Qiang!"

The force field arrived in an instant.

It was like an explosion on steel, producing a crisp metallic clang.

"If you're not dead, then fucking stand up!"
I can't navigate in the fog!

The black snake precisely pinpointed the landing point of the two impact beams.

He flipped the blade in his hand, causing the repulsive force to forcefully strike the slender blade, which was less than two fingers wide.

The impact was so strong that even he was forced to stagger backward a few steps.

"Rua!"

Kuru possesses the ability to see in the dark.

It identified the source of the impact and immediately waved its wand.

Ice crystals pierced the night sky, shooting straight into the overhead dome—

A huge, earth-yellow bat, with its rat-like head held high, lurked in the night, circling overhead.

On its back sat an old goblin woman dressed in a long black robe.

Seeing the ice crystals coming, she screamed in fright and quickly patted the bat's neck, signaling it to move around in the air.

In the nick of time, barely managing to bask in victory, I noticed a layer of eerie white light clinging to the bat's left wing—

That's the spot Kuru wanted to hit!

Bat wings are naturally thin and translucent.

Now, a spiderweb-like frost has spread out, and the cold air penetrates its skin and seeps into its blood, turning its fleshy wings white with frost.

This also slows down the speed of the fanning.

Even more critically, because the flapping amplitude of the two wings was different, the bat was unable to maintain its balance for a moment.

With a sway of its body, the elderly sorcerer, utterly powerless, could no longer grip its back with his legs and plummeted from a height of forty feet.

For intelligent people, calculation is never a difficult task.

Kuru may not be human, but it must be intelligent enough.

"Help!"

The sorcerer's hoarse throat betrayed his panic.

Several nearby goblins and orcs had no choice but to abandon their pursuit. They quickly wove a net with their arms and stood at her landing point, barely managing to catch her.

This actually relieved the pressure on the black snake.

Seizing an opening, he spotted the enemy and, without hesitation, abruptly took a step.

If the spellcaster is high in the sky, it will be difficult for me to inflict effective harm on her.

But now that she has fallen to the ground, that brief distance is nothing more than a breath's time for him—

Since Tang Qi could not avoid those invisible repulsive forces, he also lost the possibility of breaking through the encirclement.

But he himself could not abandon this poet who had seen through the illusion.

Then we have no choice but to take the risk and capture the spellcaster first, hoping for a chance to escape.

He couldn't believe that a goblin sorcerer who could use third-circle spells would be treated like dirt, like those suicide squad members who went ahead!

Black Serpent's blade is always venomous and deadly.

The blade was dark and dull, yet it moved with lightning speed.

It was about to pierce the shoulder of the orc beside her and slit her throat.

To date, no third-ring spellcaster has survived his attack at such close range.

Because his knife was fast enough, they didn't have time to react.

Most of those who perished under the knife only felt the pain in their necks as they were dying.

But this time is different.

He was facing a spellcaster who was surrounded by a guard.

This prevented 'Snake Kiss' from reaching its speed limit.

This also left an indelible stain on the scimitar's dazzling record of victories—

One of the orcs reacted quickly, swinging his hand axe, his innate strength ready to be unleashed.

It roared, and with a clang, sparks flew as it forcefully deflected the slender blade of the 'Snake Kiss'.

This brief gap was enough for the old goblin to come to his senses.

As the black snake failed, she clutched the necklace on her chest.

A dark, malevolent light flickered from within, and the pupil instantly expanded from the center, turning the whites of the eyes and the entire eyeball into a uniform black.

Her withered hand suddenly opened, and a handful of black soil, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, suddenly scattered in front of her eyes with the wind.

Black soil flew up, crumbly like ants and flies.

As it was being wielded, it was like a swarm of locusts passing by, obscuring the view for nearly thirty feet!
"Be afraid!"

The incantation she chanted was obscure and difficult to understand, a combination of numerous onomatopoeic words that was more insane than babbling.

The black snake was extremely close to her, and she had no way to avoid it.

As black soil filled his nasal cavity, 'worms' clung to his pores.

Only one thought remained in his mind:
"Ruined."

Fear: Illusion school, third-circle spell.

Create an illusion within a 30-foot cone-shaped area. All creatures enveloped by the spell will drop everything they hold and confront their inner fears.

Those who panic will seek the safest route to escape the spellcaster until they have nowhere left to go.

The fearless are the very spellcasters who instill fear in the very caster of magic.

Why is the status of spellcasters always so lofty?

Why do the rule of city-states and empires always require the support and maintenance of spellcasters?
This is certainly not out of respect for scholars—

Only strength can earn respect.

Perhaps the physical abilities of low-level spellcasters are far inferior to those of seasoned adventurers of the same level.

However, the sheer variety and complexity of spells have always been a source of headaches.

"You'd better take out the enemy spellcaster at the very beginning of the battle."

Otherwise, you'll be finished off by the enemy's spellcaster at the end of the battle.

Unfortunately, Black Serpent failed to put this well-known rule into practice.

The price he pays for taking such a risk will be one he cannot afford.

The black snake had lost all its strength and was only trembling.

It was as if he had never been brave.

All those tainted by the black soil, friend or foe, collapsed to their knees before the goblin, their eyes filled with nothing but darkness and emptiness.

A deep-seated fear surfaced before them, before the black snake—

It made him feel as if he were in an abyss.

He let the deep sea press against his chest.

He gradually found it difficult to breathe.

“No, don’t!!!”

No one knows what he saw.

But the black snake, which had been so confident of victory, suddenly dropped the scimitar in his hand and struggled while weeping bitterly.

He wanted to escape at all costs—

But just as he was crying and trying to straighten up,

The darkness faded from the whites of his eyes.

As things become increasingly clear.

He saw an unexpected figure plunge a rusty scimitar into the sorcerer's chest: