Supreme Magus novel Chapter 109

- "Why did you kill him?" Solus asked in surprise.

"Six against one is a little too much, can’t afford to miss any chance to even the score."

"Then why did you let the other one live, before?"

"A two-stage attack, where the first is aimed to a random target and the second to his rescuers is a classic guerrilla tactic. I didn’t just pin him down, I also left a fireball ready in case someone tried to free him. Divide and conquer." –

Just like the icicles had missed Terion’s vitals, the fireball had been intentionally weak. Despite the boosted effect from the barrier, both Terion and Recca were incapacitated but alive.

They were badly burnt, but the remaining hunters could clearly see them writhing in pain. Lith did it on purpose, forcing his opponents to choose between abandoning their companions or fall twice for the same trick.

They had no way to know if there was another fireball ready to explode.

- "You scared the heck out of me, back then. For a moment I thought you had gone... soft." Solus hesitated before finishing the phrase. It seemed nonsensical to push him to become more kind, just to worry whenever he wasn’t ruthless.

"As I told you earlier, even if I decide to change, my opinion on people won’t. Especially on those who try to kill will me without a reason." –

In the time necessary for their conversation to happen, the corpse of the spearman had yet to touch the ground.

"You f*cking bastard!" The burly woman took out two short swords from her dimensional amulet, dashing towards Lith, hell-bent on avenging her companions. In her hands the weapons moved nimbly as knives, cutting the air with a hissing sound.

Both the fighters moved at high speed, taking each other by surprise.

- "Is he/she even human?" – They both thought.

While Lith’s speed came from air fusion, the mercenary was actually a normal woman, not even a mage.

Among their many defensive properties, her clothes were also equipped with alchemic gems that could enhance her reflexes and strength, without having to drink a potion.

Despite being faster, Lith was having a hard time dodging the incoming attacks. Her arms were almost as long as his legs, and to make things worse, any weapon or shield he conjured lasted only a couple of hits before shattering.

- "Seems she underestimates me no more. I have to come up with something, fast."

"Watch out for her blades, they are enchanted" Solus pointed out. "I doubt that your uniform can offer any kind of protection from them." –

Gritting his teeth at the news, Lith saw the mercenary sweep the ground with her leg, forcing him to jump.

Her plan was to follow up with a roundhouse kick while the opponent was still in mid-air. Instead of falling down like she expected, Lith darted forward, kicking her face with both feet, forcing her to take a step back with a bloody nose.