As Kalina's spear grazed past the elder, drawing his attention back to her, Alex seized the opportunity to teleport away. His destination was one of his well-concealed hideouts, where he intended to imprison Penthe securely and safeguard the crucial evidence.
Merely ten seconds later, Alex reappeared on the beach, resolute and prepared. Kalina engaged in a fierce battle with the elder, their energies colliding and swirling, creating a turbulent force that pushed the weaker members of the black-robed men away from the epicentre.
In a bid to counter Kalina's assault, the elder summoned an illusory serpent, its vibrant hues of purple and green illuminating the air as it swam towards her. Though seemingly transparent, the serpent possessed the ability to inflict physical harm, coupled with the perilous threat of its venomous fangs. It posed a genuine danger to Kalina.
To evade the serpent's attacks, Kalina swiftly dodged and weaved, relying on her agility and reflexes. For those attacks she couldn't avoid, she swiftly conjured ice shields to intercept and block their path.
Despite the elder's advanced age, his strength appeared to have endured the passage of time, showcasing little signs of decline. He tenaciously held his ground, engaging in a formidable battle against Kalina, a youthful twenty-five-year-old tier 4 warrior. While Kalina danced with danger, the elder was showing age was just a number to him.
As the intense battle raged on, a realisation dawned upon Kalina. 'It seems the black-robed men have fulfilled their end of the promise.' she thought, recognising the lack of any discernible advantage she held over the elder. It became apparent that he had indeed obtained the promised immortality or something similar.
While Kalina and the elder engaged in their intense duel, Alex materialised in close proximity. His keen observation immediately detected the presence of the elder's henchmen, the other black-robed men, scurrying about around the battleground.
Resembling an army of ants, they steadily multiplied in numbers, emerging from all directions, amassing into a formidable force. Before long, the battlefield became enveloped by a gathering of over fifty black-robed men, their collective presence creating an intimidating and overwhelming sight.
Kalina and the elder were both tier 4 warriors. They have yet to use their spirit guardian possession state. It meant that they were at a stalemate. This stalemate left the battle in a precarious balance, with neither gaining the upper hand. Recognising the impasse, the black-robed men who had arrived as reinforcements for the elder strategically positioned themselves, encircling Kalina. They aimed to disrupt the battle at a critical juncture and tip the scales in the elder's favour, determined to secure victory by altering the course of the fight.
Nevertheless, Alex was unwilling to let the black-robed men's plan come to fruition. He recognised Kalina's potential value as an acquaintance, acknowledging her impulsive nature yet perceiving her underlying goodness. Observing her deliberate efforts to improve herself, he saw the potential for her to become a valuable ally in the future.
While Alex aspired to grow stronger himself, he also desired a trustworthy guardian for his tribe in the north during his absences. Kalina, as the princess of the ice phoenix tribe perfectly aligned with this role. So, her safety was something he desired to preserve.
And this reasoning led Alex to the battle. His white robes swayed in the wind as he materialised before the black-robed men.
Taking out a dagger, he slit the throat of the closest enemy. The black-robed man couldn't even respond properly as a thin line of blood appeared on his neck.
"Splurt…" Red viscous liquid splurted as Alex moved away from his first victim. Quickly, the anger of the black-robed men was directed at Alex.
'Their sluggish movements and frail physicality indicate that they are likely mages rather than warriors,' Alex speculated, his mind racing to assess the situation. The possibility arose that these black-robed individuals could be minions of the evil organisation, perhaps imported from the Western continent. The elder from the thousand-headed serpent tribe was making use of the resources of the evil organisation. Unlike what he had suspected, he couldn't see any warriors of the thousand-head serpent tribe. So, their entire tribe might not be as rotten as he imagined it to be. Alex concluded.
Considering their magical nature, Alex cooked up the most efficient approach to neutralise the threat they posed. He knew that dealing with mages required a strategic plan, exploiting their weaknesses while capitalising on his own strengths.
Unlike the warriors, even weak mages could attack with long-distance spells. They will use their brain before attacking him. So, he had to be careful and be aware of his surroundings. If he allowed them to attack his blindspots, it would threaten his life.
One might think Alex was invincible due to his ability to teleport. But that was not the case. Even though he could teleport, there is a slight delay between each teleport. And the cause of this delay was none other than his reaction time. Unless he could decrease his reaction time to zero, there was no way to dodge a spell that was blitzing towards his face when it was just inches away from colliding with him. And for now, there was no way to reduce his reaction.
Fully conscious of this reality, Alex exercised caution in his offensive manoeuvres. He strategised his attacks, considering the range and speed of the enemy's spells. By assessing their casting patterns and exploiting moments of vulnerability, he aimed to strike while minimising the risk of being caught off guard.
Just as he moved away from the corpse of the man, Alex saw a fireball blitzing towards him. It glowed crimson red as it flew accurately towards his head. Thankfully, Alex had the physical strength of a tier 3 warrior. So, he could dodge it in time.
But, he had no time to relax. The fifty mages that surrounded him were casting spells simultaneously to attack him. One by one, he saw a multitude of spells racing towards him.
Stone bullet, fireball, water bullet, wind slash… The spells moved at a crazy speed toward him.
Thankfully, he could teleport to escape from the onslaught. But, teleport was not a valid option for a prolonged battle.
Alex understood the limitations of his teleportation ability. While it provided him with a valuable escape mechanism, he was well aware of its drawbacks in a prolonged battle. The significant mana consumption associated with teleportation meant that he had to use it sparingly.
Using teleport to dodge every attack would deplete his mana reserves rapidly, leaving him vulnerable once his teleportation ability became unavailable. He needed to conserve his mana for strategic and decisive moments, ensuring that he had enough energy to execute crucial offensive manoeuvres or escape when necessary. And most importantly, he needed to have spare mana to attack the final boss, the elder of the thousand-headed serpent tribe.
So, he decided to use his physical superiority to combat the enemy mages.
With agile grace, Alex weaved through the chaos of the battlefield, swiftly darting left and right. At times, he intentionally revealed his presence, drawing the attention of both Kalina and the elder.
While skillfully evading incoming attacks, he closed in on the slower-moving mages, unleashing swift strikes with his dagger. Though some of his attacks were missed, he persisted like a relentless dolphin pursuing a school of fish. With calculated movements, he circled around the swarm of mages, catching a few off-guards. Gradually, he began to whittle down their numbers.
During physical combat, Alex harnessed the power of mana stored within the cores, channelling it throughout his body to enhance his physical capabilities. Typically, each core would emit a small but steady stream of mana, sustaining his physical prowess over an extended period.
However, Alex soon began to realise his limits in the intense battle. Unlike what he had calculated, mana consumption during real-life battles was very high. He could barely support himself for twenty minutes and could only kill a dozen of the enemy mages.
Seeing the exhaustion kick in, Alex felt his heart beating wildly.
He could always retreat and recover before returning to battle. And his action would not be far from the reality of what the white-robed man would do. But, was he just the white-robed man?
He was also Alex. When he wanted to help Kalina, he was not just thinking about it for fun. He really felt the need to do it. So, retreating, for now, was out of the question.
So, what else can he do to fight?
Driven by the need to excel in combat, Alex's mind sparked with an innovative idea. A simple but intriguing thought took shape within him.
He contemplated the possibility of replenishing his mana reserves during the heat of battle. Typically, consuming mana-rich edible items could recover a small amount of mana. However, in comparison to the mana he was expending, it was insignificant.
Alex needed a way to quickly recover mana while he was in combat. Something that no one else but he could do. So, he found one.