Chapter 86: Warlocks (1)
With their guns in hand, Angus and Henry spiked the reins of their horses and galloped forward toward the group of City Guards that had trooped out of multiple corners of the Black Manor Compound with their guns in hand.
"Who dares—?" The one at the forefront started to say but was interrupted by a yell from Angus.
"DROP YOIR GUNS!!!"
Angus' eyes flashed a powerful shade of purple as his voice rolled out in probably the loudest volume Henry had ever heard it at. The Vinculum on his chest glowed hard through his shirt and pulsed with even more intense beats and for the first time ever, Angus Spellbinding wasn't followed by an unseen force.
The ripples of purple energy were visible. Henry saw as they avoided him and traveled toward the approaching men in arches that smacked them with an almost physical impact that froze them in place.
*Clatter* *Clatter* *Clatter*
If he were to make a quick count, the City Guards who made their way over were at least twenty in number and all at once, dropped their weapons to the ground with the clear ringing sounds of multiple clatters.
Henry took immediate advantage of the enemy losing their weapons by pointing his two normal revolvers and firing his shots. One bullet- one kill.
[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 6 Exp] …
Angus joined in the killing and with the multiple bullets hitting their comrades without a weapon to defend themselves with, the City Guards turned tail and ran only to be chased after by the horses that hit and trampled them while the riders continued to pick them off one by one.
This wasn't a challenge. Not even when they had planned this job, had Angus deemed it important to wonder what to do if they met the average gun-wielding man. It hadn't come up because it had not been a bother.
The bother, however, were the Vykers within the Mansion. According to the Vyker Captain Angus had questioned, there were not many of them available but even just five was cause for concern.
But then, as Henry and Angus were gunning down the last of the City guards, the large doors of the Manor pushed open outward, and out of them stepped three men wearing robes and walking out with confident steps.
"The absolute audacity," One of them said.
"To dare storm the Black Manor," said the second.
"And with just two of you too," said the third while shaking his head, "Pathetic."
Angus paused and then the corner of his lips twitched as he said,
"Warlocks."
The moment he heard the word, Henry's mind went to the Train Job and he remembered a magic wielder he had left the rest of the Gang to fight while he went after Mr. Grant for the completion of his very first Sub-Quest.
Henry called Magical energy to his eyes immediately and they glowed a faint blue as he scrutinised the three;
[Activating <Insight Lv.1>]
——————
[Name: ???]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Warlock]
[Health: 200]
[Mana: 260]
[Strength: 15]
[Agility: 20]
[Stamina: 16]
[Intelligence: 90]
*[Remarks: Used to be part of a Quad but now only a member of a Trio. Relatively advanced in magical knowledge but lacking in physical abilities. Killable but caution is advised.]
——————
——————
[Name: ???]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Warlock]
[Health: 190]
[Mana: 250]
[Strength: 15]
[Agility: 20]
[Stamina: 16]
[Intelligence: 80]
*[Remarks: Used to be part of a Quad but now only a member of a Trio. Relatively advanced in magical knowledge but lacking in physical abilities. Killable but caution is advised.]
——————
——————
[Name: ???]
[Race: Human]
[Class: Warlock]
[Health: 180]
[Mana: 240]
[Strength: 15]
[Agility: 20]
[Stamina: 16]
[Intelligence: 70]
*[Remarks: Used to be part of a Quad but now only a member of a Trio. Relatively advanced in magical knowledge but lacking in physical abilities. Killable but caution is advised.]
——————
[Class: Warlock
A Magical Class that relies on the acquisition and understanding of Magical knowledge for combat and very little else.
Lacks the versatility of a Wizard/Witch but not as restricted to Elemental magic like Mages.]
As usual, because Henry didn't know the names of the three Warlocks, his <Insight> skill hadn't supplied it. A part of his mind wondered if this was a weakness of the Skill that he might later overcome. For him to know if that was the case, Henry knew he'd have to pay more attention to his Perception Stat which the <Insight> skill scaled off of.
All in all, Henry's attention was mostly on the Warlocks' Intelligence Stats which were their most increased stat and clearly the most important to them. Yet again, his mind went on a tangent about how insanely lacking they were compared to Yelena but he brought his mind back to focus quickly enough.
Meanwhile, while Henry was investigating the enemy with <Insight>, Angus was pursing his lips at this development and then he tossed all worries to the wind. If anything, he was quickly determined to get rid of this bunch before the expected arrival of Vykers.
"I fought one of you, you know," Angus said calmly as he raised his gun, "Killed him too."
Angus fired but his bullet struck a shield conjured up by his target who, like the other two, was frowning deeply at Angus' revelation.
"Master's item," the Warlock said from behind his conjured shield,
"You stole it. You have it."
The Vinculum's glow had lessened now that Angus wasn't making use of it to amplify his Spellbinding so it wasn't all that visible behind Angus' shirt but with his revelation, they realized Angus and Henry were not just average fools who dared try to storm the Black Manor. They were something even more distasteful: They were the elusive thieves their Master had lost multiple Vykers to.
The three Warlocks paid particular attention to the magical energy Angus was giving off. They detected the mutated aura of a Vyker but realized it wasn't as simple as just that. There was a different aura that seemed to supersede the Vyker aura.
Angus smiled,
"Put down your shield."
The eyes of the shielded Warlock widened as Angus' command gripped him and he brought down his shield.
Angus cocked his revolver in that very second and fired at the Warlock only for his bullet to be blocked by a shield conjured by the second Warlock.
At the same time, Henry twisted his wrist and exchanged his gold and bronze painted revolver for 'The Hydra's Sting' and fired an <Acidic Combustion> shot at the third Warlock.
With incredible reaction speed, the Warlock erected a shield to defend against Henry's shot only for his eyes to widen in shock as the bullet broke through his shield and struck him in the shoulder.
Henry smiled at his 'successful' shot, expecting the Warlock to start sporting signs of poisoning as had been the case when his shot pierced through any Flame Vyker's flame field before now.
That didn't happen.
The Warlock bled and his face was wrinkled in pain but it seemed, all the combustive acidic goodness/evilness the 'The Hydra's Sting's' shot was capable of was gone the moment it made contact with that shield.