Chapter 29 – Illusion counter plan
“Aaaaah…….!”
The Evil Sentinel moved to circle around to my blind spot.
It was neatly swimming just outside my reach, which was limited by having to maintain my [Shadow Stomp].
…..I won’t be able to handle an attack from it like this.
Heavy Knights are slow to begin with, so if they get hit by paralysis, then they become nothing more than targets.
If I take too much time to think about it, then the worst possible scenario will come to pass.
Rather than just thinking, I gave up maintaining the [Shadow Stomp] and moved forward.
“Aaah!”
Exactly because the Evil Sentinel was somewhat intelligent did it apparently think that it would be safe at this point, since I was focusing on maintaining my [Shadow Stomp].
After it froze for a single moment, the Evil Sentinel tried to shoot forward to make up for the delay.
However, I was already prepared to strike there.
“[Shield Bash]!”
To buy as much time as possible for Luce and the others to recover, I sent it flying in the opposite direction from them.
The Evil Sentinel has almost impacted the ground with great force, but it managed to avoid the damage from [Shield Bash] by using its [Ground Swim] Skill to dive into the ground.
“What a nimble guy….”
Even four against one, we weren’t able to properly attack it so far.
The damage we inflicted on it so far mostly came from Luce’s incomplete [Dragon Killer Thrust].
That being said, Luce’s Class, the Clown, mainly fights by leading its target around by the nose with its high movement speed.
Its base Attack power itself is on the lower side as well, so a single glancing blow without a critical hit does basically nothing.
“My paralysis was cured by [Paralysis Heal]!”
Luce came to stand beside me.
“I will blast it away with [Dragon Killer Thrust] this time for sure!”
Luce gripped her knife tightly.
“…..only, its [Doppel Illusion] is still problematic.”
“I-It’s okay! If I can’t tell which is the real one, then I’ll just have to bet on a one-in-three chance! I’m good at things like that!”
“Taking a one-in-three chance might not be that bad for you Luce, but…..if you hesitate at all, wondering if it’s an illusion, then you won’t be able to deal a critical hit.”
The [Dragon Killer Thrust] is a Skill that lets you consistently deal a critical hit whenever you pour all your focus and determination into the blow.
Its success is also influenced by Luck somewhat, but you need to be able to deliver a clean hit first.
It’s hard to make such a clean hit without the disturbing thoughts about a paralysis attack incoming if you hit air instead of the target.
At our current levels, Luce’s base damage won’t be able to do much to the target anymore.
Taking down the Evil Sentinel without [Dragon Killer Thrust] would be all but impossible.
Neither Mabel nor Celt have DPS Classes, nor are they built for that, so we can’t have them fill the role of attackers.
I even thought that it might be best if we tried to rely on rolling a 【6】 with [Dice Thrust] instead, but trying to go for a fickle strategy like that at this point when we are dancing on a razor’s edge is definitely too risky.
“I guess there is no other way; I’ll need to land another [Shadow Stomp] and have Luce attack using that opportunity…..”
Though that being said, I don’t think it would be an easy thing to accomplish against the Evil Sentinel that’s not just fast, but is able to freely make use of the ground to escape as well.
It should also be watching out for this Skill.
“I see…..so you just have to know which isn’t an illusion, right?”
Mabel readied her staff in the next moment.
“Mabel, what do you…..”
“It’s coming for Luce!”
Before I could ask, Celt shouted towards us.
With splashing water, three Evil Sentinels appeared.
It seems it wanted to avoid the possibility of us seeing through which one is the real body by using Doppel Illusion at the same time it appeared.
Splashing around so much like that must’ve been part of the plan as well.
“One-in-three, one-in-three……!”
Luce kept murmuring to herself, as if to hype herself up.
“[Area Heal]!”
Centered on Mabel, a light spread around the area.
The light enveloped us both, and the three Evil Sentinels as well.
However, the healing light simply went through two of its bodies.
“Very well done, Mabel!”
“Aaaah…….!”
With its plan failing, the Evil Sentinel stopped in place and tried to move away as fast as possible from Luce.
I circled around and moved closer to the Evil Sentinel until I was right next to it, catching it in the torso with the flat of my blade.
“[Vital Blow]!”
With a dull sound, the body of the Evil Sentinel flew upward.
Luce got right next to it, crouching down in preparation for her strike.
“[Dragon Killer Thrust]!”
“AOoooooh!?”
Luce’s attack pierced through the Evil Sentinel’s chest.
The monster’s body continued on to fall towards the water surface.
Although it should be heavily injured, it seems she fell short of killing it by a hair’s breadth.
It tried to escape under the water just like that with its [Earth Swim] Skill, but it could only shake its tail that was sticking out back and forth. It couldn’t go any further than that.
“Aaaa…..aaah?”
With my [Shadow Stomp] Skill, I made sure that the Evil Sentinel couldn’t get away.
“Mabel, go for it!”
“Eh…..m-me?”
Mabel looked at me with surprise.
“Yeah, I said so at the beginning, right? That I would like for you to raise your level on the way there, Mabel.”
“B-but, it feels like I would be snatching away the experience points…..The experience you get from a 【Lv：76】 is highly valuable for a B rank adventurer and it’s not like we are in a permanent party…..”
At that moment, the Evil Sentinel that was desperately shaking its tail fins apparently noticed that it was locked down by a Skill, so it turned around and lunged at me.
“AOOooooh!”
“Elma-san, the Evil Sentinel……!”
A desperate last ditch assault.
It wasn’t even able to accelerate that much.
And it’s not like I let my guard down or anything.
I prepared the angle for my shield, then used [Shield Bash] to send the Evil Sentinel flying straight towards Mabel.
“Mabel, pass.”
“Aaah!?”
“Wa-wawah!”
All Mabel could do all of a sudden was to swing her staff with all her strength.
With a dull sound, a large portion of the Evil Sentinel’s face was gouged out.
【You have gained 2048 experience points.】
【Your level has increased from 74 to 75.】
【You have gained 1 Skill point.】
The Evil Sentinel flipped around, leaving it lying face up on the ground in the shape of 大.
“I-In the end, I ended up with the last hit anyway.”
Mabel said with an apologetic tone.
I’ve completely forgotten the levels. Were they already at the 70s?