The Guardian System: The strongest Summoner's quest to save his family-Chapter 344: Siegepaths and Killpaths (9)

"Kill them."

The Avatar obeyed. It unleashed a Cataclysmic Cleave, a massive sweep of magma and fire, directly into the center of the skeleton horde, amidst which was Silas.

The mutant human's eyes widened. He saw what happened to Reidar's summons once they died, and with so many of them around him, with his mana reduced by 60%, even his barriers would struggle to resist that bombardment.

In truth, Silas had expected the attack to be aimed at him, not the minions.

The attack struck the skeletons.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

[Apocalyptic Catalyst] triggered.

Every single skeleton that died detonated. The skill guaranteed a 100% explosion chance on death, and Reidar even had perks associated with explosions upon death. The air was instantly filled with a corrosive, green mist as the Melting Point effect of the skill kicked in.

[Apocalyptic Catalyst: Chain Reaction triggered.]

[Armor Reduction Applied: -80% Physical Defense.]

That was a bonus on which Reidar was going to rely upon.

Silas was swallowed by a hundred overlapping explosions of acid and necrosis. The force of the blasts tossed him around like a rag doll inside his own shield, the corrosive mist eating into his barriers, blinding him.

Reidar didn't hesitate. <Fucking die, please!>

He activated [Gaze of the Pariah.]

A crimson eye opened above Silas, searing a mark onto his chest. His resistance plummeted even further.

Silas, caught in the acid cloud, felt himself weaken even more. The -60% stat penalty, combined with all the other effects Reidar subjected him to, was having a huge effect on him.

"What the…?!"

Then Reidar activated [Summon: Mana-Forged Dreadmaw.]

The creature appeared shielded by the vast cloud of dust that appeared inside the cave and that surrounded Silas.

That also prevented the man from seeing it. Then, Reidar played his last card and gave all his summons the [Storm-Wyrm's Ire] skill.

He pushed the command through the Hive Mind. He targeted every single active summon—melee, ranged, beast, and construct. It drained a good chunk of his mana, but he still did it.

Silas stumbled to his feet, coughing. His white robes were dissolving from the acid. His skin was red and blistering.

"You... filth..." he said, raising his hand to cast a healing spell.

Then, the air began to hum.

Silas looked up.

Surrounding him, every single one of Reidar's summons—from the smallest Archon to the massive Siege-Breakers—opened their mouths. Hundreds of jaws crackled with blue lightning.

"Fire," Reidar said.

The cavern turned white.

Hundreds of instances of Storm-Wyrm's Ire fired at the same time were going to be apocalyptic. No, they already were. A concentrated beam of arc lightning, thick as a building, slammed into the Archdeacon.

[Target Resisted: 0.]

[Target Vulnerability (Gaze of the Pariah): Critical.]

The sound was gone. The sheer volume of energy produced a sound so shrieking and loud that it silenced the world.

Reidar added his own power to the mix and activated multiple spells again, among which was [Chaos Storm.]

Bolts of energy of various kinds rained down into the lightning pillar. The ground beneath Silas melted, turning into a lake of slag. The cave ceiling began to crack, with massive stalactites falling into the inferno. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

For ten seconds, the barrage continued. The mana output was enough to power a city for a year or to level the region to cinders. But the cave was naturally resistant thanks to all that dense mana shielding its walls. Though not to the point of the cave not sustaining damage; in fact, a large part of it started collapsing.

Finally, the summons ran out of mana. The lightning faded.

Smoke and ozone filled the chamber.

Silas was still standing.

He was a ruin. His left arm was gone. His face was half-melted, revealing the bone beneath. His health bar was a sliver of red, flashing critically. But he was alive. He was at Level 397, after all, and it looked like his barriers had held out long enough to dissipate most of the damage.

"I..." Silas gargled, blood foaming at his mouth. He began to channel a spell, a desperate burst of light. "I will... kill you... Reidar..."

He stepped forward, his eyes locked on the summoner. However, he didn't see the shadow looming over him from behind.

The Mana-Forged Dreadmaw uncurled from the darkness behind the Archdeacon. It was smaller than the biological original, but it still was terrifyingly big. Its mandibles opened wide.

Silas noticed it too late. He turned, looking up into the glowing maw of the creature.

Then the Dreadmaw snapped its jaws shut around Silas's upper body.

There was no scream. Just the grinding sound of bones shattering and the pop of a life force being extinguished. The creature lifted the Archdeacon's broken body into the air and bit down again, severing the torso completely.

Silas Bishop dropped to the floor in multiple pieces.

Reidar let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

[Level 397 Mutated Human Silas Bishop defeated.]

[You have gained 6,486,980 C.L.A.S.P. Points.]

[You have earned 3,827,318 Survival Points.]

[LEVEL UP! You have reached Level 380.]

[You have gained 0.5 attribute points to distribute.]

[LEVEL UP! You have reached Level 381.]

[You have gained 0.5 attribute points to distribute.]

[LEVEL UP! You have reached Level 382.]

[You have gained 0.5 attribute points to distribute.]

[LEVEL UP! You have reached Level 383.]

[You have gained 0.5 attribute points to distribute.]

A massive golden window appeared in his vision, overriding the combat log.

—[QUEST COMPLETE: The Ascendant Threat]—

Goal: Defeat Archdeacon Silas Bishop.

Progress: 1/1 Archdeacon Silas Bishop defeated.

Performance Rating: Heroic

Quest Reward: 20,000,000 C.L.A.S.P. Points, 6,000,000 Survival Points

Bonus Reward: Title: "Demi-God Slayer," Skill Book: [Primal Resonance]

—[END]—

[LEVEL UP! You have reached Level 384.]

[You have gained 0.5 attribute points to distribute.]

…

…

…

[LEVEL UP! You have reached Level 395.]

[You have gained 0.5 attribute points to distribute.]

Reidar leaned against his baton, his legs shaking from the mana exhaustion. It was done. Silas was finally dead.

But as the adrenaline faded, his mind snapped back to the situation at hand. To the notifications that hadn't appeared yet.

Jake and Lena.

Their quest to destroy Ashwick was still active.