Chapter 3775: Wild Hunt (Part 2) Protector missed half the times when he used Wild Hunt, but going past the speed of sound also meant a dozen attacks per second. Every time he succeeded, at least one Upyr died, which meant that half a dozen Upyrs died every second. ’And what are we supposed to do?’ A Titania replied. ’Unless we recall Frost Soul, we can only attack with our bodies. If we do recall it, however, that monster will have access to magic as well, and we’ll have to deal with the arrays of the manor.’ ’You would be right, if this could get any worse, but I don’t see that happening.’ Kazam replied. ’Also, being restricted beats being dead. Remember that this place has no offensive array. On my mark. Mark!’ The Upyrs dispelled the Frost Soul and activated the Spirit Barriers of their armor in what they hoped was a timely counter to Protector’s next attack. The emerald barrier slammed in front of the flabbergasted Skoll, making his prediction useless. Wild Hunt had allowed him to assess a situation that had now changed dramatically. The expanding dome deflected the maces, hurting Protector’s wrists, and rammed into his legs, making him trip on his own feet. ’Hold still!’ Kazam yelled, expecting a flurry of deadly blows to hammer at the Spirit Barrier from every side. ’Whatever happens, don’t panic and give everything you have to the barrier!’ Great was his surprise when his plan succeeded, but not in the way he expected. Protector’s momentum had turned him into a living cannonball, and he moved too fast to recover his footing in time. He had crashed into a wall, suffering heavy wounds as the enormous kinetic energy he carried was brought to an abrupt halt. He bled from many deep cuts, and his body was battered by both the landing and the strain Protector had put himself through. Moving so fast took a huge toll on his body. Moving even faster with the enhanced mass from Life Eater and the improved strength from the golden lightning, more than tripled that toll. Kazam and the rest of the Upyrs stared in shock at the injured Skoll as he wheezed like a bellows and showed no sign of getting out of the crater he was stuck in. The only silver lining was that Frost Soul was no more. Protector used his breathing technique and switched the focus of the arrays from the Larks to the Upyrs. ’Stop him!’ Kazam yelled. ’I mean, stop the barrier and activate Frost Soul again!’ Protector had only drawn one breath when he felt a deathly cold run down his throat and stopped Invigoration. ’Fuck!’ The Drake couldn’t believe his own eyes. He had reacted as quickly as he could, yet the monster in front of him didn’t pant anymore and all his wounds were already closed. Protector had recovered only part of his stamina with Invigoration, but Life Eater healed his injuries the moment they opened. "This is still an unfair fight." Protector moved in front of the pantry again while the Upyrs were focused on assessing his condition with Life Vision. "But it’s an unfair fight I can win now. Face me if you dare." Despite his willpower, he couldn’t hide the tiredness from his voice more than he could stop his limbs from shaking. Life Eater enhanced Protector life force and provided him with the nutrients he needed to heal, but could restore neither his stamina nor mana. Using Wild Hunt so many times had drained his mana core, while accelerating past the sound wall and slowing down without turning his legs into mush had consumed his strength. Even if the Upyrs took down the Frost Soul for good, Protector had no way to use magic. His torn muscles were whole again, but still burning from the exertion, just like his lungs. Kazam needed but a glance at his communication amulet to notice the missing runes and know that the battle outside the mansion wasn’t going well either. ’Maintain Frost Soul and kill him as fast as we can.’ The Drake ordered. ’The arrays have already recovered too much for my liking. If he gets away while we deal with the magical formations and regain his strength with Invigoration, we’ll be dead. ’The mission will also fail, but I don’t give a shit about that. Yet even if we want to just Warp away from Verhen, I don’t trust turning my back on that thing even for one second.’ Everyone nodded, having experienced on the skin of their dead comrades what Protector could do in a single second. The Upyr tightened their formation, kicking out the corpses of the fallen, and charged at the barely standing Skoll. Kazam led them, lunging with his battle claws at Protector’s head and heart. The rest of the Upyrs fanned out, restricting the Skoll’s movements and flanking him from either side. Much to their surprise, he didn’t move from the spot. His left mace deflected the battle claw aimed at his head, and the second crushed Kazam’s skull from above. As long as Frost Soul was active, no one could conjure barriers, and the Drake’s tail wasn’t long enough to block an overhead blow. Kazam’s sight turned black. He felt a weird chill where his head had once been, and then he never felt anything ever again. As his corpse fell down, so did Protector’s. The Skoll and the Drake fell to the ground in a deadly embrace, and the Upyrs cheered. No one cared for Kazam. His death only meant the reward would be split among fewer people. ’Kazam died to protect us.’ A Titania said. ’His noble sacrifice will be honored. I call dibs on his armor.’ ’No fair! I need it more!’ A Treant said. ’I-’ The Upyrs were so busy quarrelling about the spoils of the fallen that they didn’t notice how no blood came out from the wound in Protector’s chest. Not even as Kazam’s corpse hit the floor and the battle claw slipped free. So, when Protector stood up unscathed and ready to fight, it caught them completely off-guard. From so up close, the Upyrs could stop none of his three sudden strikes. The mace in his left hand cut the Titania asunder, finding her Root and taking her down. The mace in his right hand crushed the skull of a Roc, killing her on the spot. Protector’s head reverted to its full size, biting at the closest enemy and swallowing him down to the hips. The Treant was still alive because he had kept his Root in his left foot, but half his mass was gone. With no source of nutrients available, he couldn’t regenerate his body, only rearrange what he had left to restore his limbs. The arrow tip formation crumbled now that Protector was in its midst, and the fight devolved into a chaotic brawl. Just as he had predicted. He hit as hard and fast as he could, not bothering to defend himself except from the heaviest blows from the most dangerous enemies. He didn’t fear a Titania’s strength so much as her ability to send him flying. If that happened, the Upyrs would have had the time to reorganize themselves and fight as a united front instead of a bunch of scared cats. If that happened, he would die.