Destroyer of Ice and Fire

As they advanced, skeleton warriors filled their sight in all directions. It seemed like the dark world was entirely made up of them.

"Ouch! My stomach hurts! I may have eaten something bad, I can't fight anymore!"

Suddenly, Ayrin who was rushing at the front shouted and squatted down while holding his tummy.

"What!?"

Stingham almost fainted.

"Ayrin, you are just like Grandmaster Screwface, huh!? You're the one who said to stay back and block the skeleton army, yet now you say you got a stomach ache and can't fight!" He shouted, "Blame yourself for eating anything you see. You even ate a fat worm. It'd be strange if you didn't get sick."

"I'm feeling dizzy. My injuries may not have healed yet, I also can't fight." Rinloran spoke. Then, a wave of pale green arcane energy spread out from his feet. The muddy ground beneath him suddenly became a patch of soft grass. He sat down.

"What!? Why would you feel dizzy all of a sudden!?" Stingham almost went mad.

"We also can't......" Shanna and the Chinyu arcane masters seemed a little hesitant.

"Don't tell me you also got some problems and can't fight anymore?" Stingham looked at Shanna and the others with unbelievable eyes.

"It seems our arcane skills backfired and we received a backlash. We can't move now." Shanna bit her lips and quickly explained. Then, she and the Chinyu arcane masters also sat down.

"How can this be? Are these skeleton warriors carrying the Evil Dragon's curse?" Stingham screamed in fear.

Charlotte was the next to try and find a reason to sit out. "I...... I feel something wrong with me. I may really be cursed." She too sat down.

"I don't feel anything wrong! How can this be?" Stingham cried out to Ferguillo, "Ferguillo, do you feel anything?"

"No." Ferguillo shook his head.

Stingham let out a relieved sigh.

"But I also can't fight." Ferguillo added as he sat down.

Stingham was petrified, "WHY!?"

"My injury's acting up...... it seems I was hurt by that Locust Emperor. Its arcane power is very strange. I didn't feel anything before, but it's acting up now." Ferguillo plainly spoke.

"......"

Ayrin and Rinloran almost toppled down.

Ferguillo, how bad are you at lying? Can't you find a better excuse?

You can even claim your injury from the Locust Emperor is only acting up now?

"I also can't seem to fight."

At that moment, Jean Camus, who was finishing off the approaching skeleton warriors, also suddenly spoke, "I need to stop now."

"Even you? Why?" Stingham became teary-faced.

"Can't fight means can't fight, what's with the why?" Jean Camus's expression was a little stiff.

"There must be a reason you can't fight, right?" Stingham shouted.

"Then...... I was also hurt by the Locust Emperor, it's only acting up now." Jean Camus quickly spoke and then sat down.

"......" Everyone was speechless.

Is it harder for geniuses like Jean Camus and Ferguillo to find a good excuse than defeating a powerful foe?

Stingham's tears had already dried up. He turned his pleading gaze towards Merlin and Mody.

Merlin's body let out a unique metal humming sound and emitted smoke. Then, it stopped moving.

"Merlin's acting is the best!" Ayrin and Rinloran instantly gave Merlin the highest score in their minds.

"Don't look at me. I'm your target of protection. After using this domain, I have no arcane particles left. You need to protect me." Mody smiled at Stingham and sat down.

Stingham's face twisted.

"Stingham, stop them! We will get killed otherwise! Help us!" Ayrin exaggeratedly shouted.

"Don't do this to me! How can I alone save all of you!?" Stingham desperately yelled. He was on his wit's end. He desperately swung his Green Dragon Spear and fought against the skeleton warriors who were swarming them from all around.

"Success!"

Ayrin was elated and secretly made a victory hand sign towards Rinloran.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Several impact sounds rang out.

Not a single skeleton warrior was completely destroyed.

Instead, Stingham suffered a few hits. Some skeletons were slammed away by his spear, and others by his own body.

Ayrin, Rinloran and the others were speechless.

Isn't this standard too humiliating?

Those skeleton warriors were at most at the level of a three-gate arcane master in close range combat. They could not even use any arcane skills. Before Stingham participated in the national tournament to represent the Holy Dawn Academy, finishing off a few opponents of this level was a piece of cake.

Even Meraly, who was relatively weak compared to the others, could instantly finish off a few skeleton warriors. However, Stingham could not even do that.

Isn't this close range combat technique too poor?

He never improved in close range combat ever since the national tournament?

Or is he perhaps unable to perform normally in such a situation?

If not for the Lover's Corpse, wouldn't Stingham be killed by those skeleton warriors?

"Watch out, Stingham! They're coming from the side, they're almost on Ferguillo!"

"Stingham, don't use Water Dragon. It will exhaust your arcane particles!"

Ayrin shouted out advice continuously.

"Stingham, using your Green Dragon Spear to smack them like a stick is wasting too much strength. You can only break a few bones and can't really cause any damage. It's useless to break a few bones. You must incapacitate them. The most conservative method is to aim properly and stab through their spine. The best spot is the lower back area. You can break them in half by stabbing through there."

"Stingham, for close range combat, you must grasp your surroundings. You need to differentiate the priorities by checking which skeletons are the most threatening to us!"

"Control the strength you exert! Maintain it at a level that will just about break their bones! Every bit of extra energy you use is wasted stamina. Also, don't jump around and don't do unnecessary actions. Make use of your spear's reach. That will save your stamina and lengthen the time you can fight."

"The key to using a spear is to have your heart, hand and spear tip aligned. That will give you accurate and lightning-fast stabs!"

"Don't shake your body, your aim will be off!"

Everyone began giving pointers to Stingham.

It could not be refuted that Stingham had been completely relying on his talent, the high Green Dragon bloodline's natural power and his intimacy with arcane power to fight.

His foundation was even worse than Holy Dawn Academy team's reserve members.

"I can't stop them alone! You all better recover soon!" Stingham desperately yelled as he listened to everyone's advice.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

He was still occasionally hit by the skeleton warriors.

"Idiot! You already forget what I said! When the enemy isn't a threat, don't take evasive measures. Your spear is longer than their arms. Why are you retreating!? You're also shaking when stepping back, you can't stab precisely like that!"

"I told you to control your strength. You're still using too much force! You want to exhaust yourself quickly and let us die!"

"Don't keep turning around to look! Use your senses. When taking on enemies on this level, you can feel which will reach first from just the vibration in the air."

"Idiot! Can you be more efficient? Don't tense your muscles! Look at your moves, even pigs move more elegantly than you!"

Rinloran's merciless scolding kept coming out like a steady stream.

"There are too many! Their spines are so thin......" Stingham argued.

How humiliating......

If Chris was here, even if she stood still and those spines were as thin as a single strand of noodle, she would easily stab through them all.

The way he uses his spear is really worse than a bear holding a spear......

And he's really an idiot. He even believed those excuses that were clearly fake.

But such a lazy idiot who's so poor at close range combat...... is desperately fighting for us. He really is holding back on his Water Dragon which is his favorite. He's really trying to be careful of the amount of force he exerts, trying his best to stab the spines of the skeleton warriors......

Such a guy...... if we don't die in this battle, if we can survive...... He will probably continue being our teammate, right?

Rinloran continued scolding.

However, his ice cold expression revealed a rare warmth.

Great improvement!

Looks like forcing him to fight is a really effective training method!

Ayrin's eyes sparkled.

Stingham missed every strike at the start, but he was able to hit the skeletons' spines now.

It seems there won't be danger for a while without helping him.

Why don't I take a nap first?

"Stingham, I'm feeling sick, I can't hold on." Ayrin scratched his head, laid down and closed his eyes to sleep.

"Why aren't you getting better? Don't collapse!" Stingham's tears flowed non-stop!