How come this arcanist is invincible?

Chapter 18 City of War

Blade protection, water manipulation, and friendship techniques—each of these three tricks has its own unique characteristics.

Blade Protection

It can create a force field around the target, resisting the next melee attack.

Water manipulation

It can manipulate water within a 1 cubic foot range, changing its shape and performing operations such as moving or splashing.

Friendship skills

If cast on a humanoid, and the target fails to pass a Will save, the target will be friendly to the caster for the duration of the spell.

Kane weighed the options in his mind.

For him, blade protection was practical.

However, thanks to his "immortality," he has the lowest need for pure physical defense.

Water manipulation skills are an all-around helper on the journey.

It can be used for everything from fetching water and cleaning to dealing with traps and obstacles.

The art of making friends can avoid conflict, but it may cause a backlash after the spell ends, and it is not very effective for those with strong wills.

After a moment's thought, Kane said to Shar:

"While we're on our journey, could you teach me water manipulation and the art of making friends first?"

"no problem."

Shar continued walking and nodded in agreement.

"The key to water manipulation lies in guiding, not in forcibly controlling."

You need to sense the flow of the water, watch carefully…

Before she finished speaking, water had already gathered into a ball at her fingertips, flowing flexibly with her gestures.

……

As we studied and traveled, darkness quietly fell.

As evening approached, two gray icon outlines silently appeared on Kane's system panel, showing learning progress of 1% and 2% respectively.

They finally left the dense coniferous forest area and climbed a high slope.

Sharli landed and climbed to the top of the giant tree.

A moment later, a low but barely suppressed gasp of excitement came from her:

"Kane, come on up! We've reached the edge of the forest!"

Kane quickly climbed up the swaying treetop and looked into the distance in the direction she pointed.

As dusk settles on the horizon, the silhouette of a city-state stands majestically.

The towering city walls exuded a cold and desolate aura in the afterglow.

"Santair City..."

Kane took a deep breath.

According to the original owner's memories, this city named after the Nord heroes also has a more widely known name—"The City of War".

It guards the edge of the Dark Forest and is an important fortress of the Kingdom of Nord.

For Kane, this is the key place where he can obtain information on advanced professions and move towards becoming stronger.

"We'll arrive in three days at most, and then we'll be safe in the city."

Shar's voice carried a weary anticipation.

"Yes," Kane replied.

"We'll rest for a bit and then continue on our way; we must hurry."

however.

Just as they were about to take a short break, Shar suddenly slowed down and raised his right hand sharply as a signal.

"There's an ambush," she said in a very low voice.

The surroundings were deathly silent.

She bent down, picked up a stone, and flicked it towards the fallen leaves in front of her.

"Whoosh!"

A giant, sturdy net covered in barbs sprang up and tightly wrapped around the stones.

Kane's heart tightened.

Almost simultaneously, the sound of something cutting through the air rang out!

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Two short crossbow bolts shot out from the shadows on the flank, taking down two men!

Kane suddenly turned to the side, the arrowhead grazing his breastplate without leaving a mark.

Shar swung her knife to deflect the crossbow bolt aimed at her, but another arrow had already cunningly shot towards the spot where she had dodged!

"Be careful!"

Kane activated his will, and the invisible force field of the mage's hand struck the arrow shaft at an angle.

The crossbow bolt veered off course and, with a loud "thud," embedded itself deeply into the trunk of a nearby tree.

Three figures emerged from the shadows.

One woman and two men, with dark skin, were the descendants of the Zhuoer.

The woman rides a massive, powerful spider, its cold, compound eyes fixed on the two of them.

"Three professionals."

Shar spoke rapidly, her scimitar held horizontally in front of her, her body slightly lowered.

"Watch out, there might be a spellcaster!"

Kane stared intently at the drow who had begun chanting a spell.

But two close-combat Drow have already attacked from both sides like ghosts!

With flashes of light, Kane struggled to parry the slashes with his dagger, while the Mage's Hand constantly disrupted his opponent's balance.

Shar clashed fiercely with another male drow, their blades clashing and sparks flying.

Just then, the drow's incantation was completed.

A strange green ray shot straight at Kane!

Kane lunged forward and rolled, the beam grazing his back before striking the ground.

With a sizzling sound, a patch of grass quickly rotted and turned black.

"First-circle spell, Disease Ray!"

Alarm bells rang in Kane's mind.

With a thought racing through his mind, he winked at Shar, feigning a weakness, and staggered toward the drow.

The male drow who had been fighting him fell into the trap and slashed Kane's neck with his curved blade!

Kane suddenly twisted his waist and turned around, narrowly parrying the curved blade with his dagger, his gaze locked on the other's eyes.

"The Wedge of the Soul!"

An invisible mental thorn pierced deeply into the male drowsy man's mind.

His movements froze instantly, and a look of pain and contortion appeared on his face.

The drow immediately fired an arrow, which Kane deflected with his dagger.

And just as the stiff male drow regained consciousness—

The deflected arrow silently rose into the air under the mage's control!

A flash of cold light, and the arrow pierced the male drow's neck from his blind spot!

"Ugh..."

The male drowsy man clutched his bleeding throat, making a strange hoarse sound, and staggered to his knees.

"asshole!"

Another male drow witnessed his companion's death, and his eyes turned bloodshot.

Ignoring the knife Shar was about to slash at his ribs, he risked injury and pounced on Kane like a mad tiger!

Kane couldn't dodge in time, and the short sword struck the thickest part of his breastplate with a heavy thud.

The blade failed to penetrate the defenses, but the immense impact caused Kane's internal organs to tremble.

The intense pain was quickly relieved by the "undying trait".

The male drow was momentarily stunned when his sure-fire attack failed.

Without the slightest hesitation, Shar's scimitar pierced precisely from his back and emerged through his body.

The drow in the tree let out a series of sharp and piercing curses.

Another pathogenic ray shot out, forcing the two to dodge. She immediately activated the giant spider and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

"What did she just say?"

Kane noticed Shar's gloomy expression and asked.

She called them...useless trash.

Shar translated in a low, heavy voice.

Kane glanced at the corpse, his brow furrowed.

"She's calling for backup; we must leave immediately."

As if to prove his words—

"call out--!"

A sharp, piercing whistle suddenly tore through the darkening night sky and carried rapidly through the forest.

"Walk!"

The two exchanged a glance, turned around without hesitation, and ran as fast as they could towards Shantar City.

The terrain of the dark forest is complex, and relying on one's feet is more agile.

As a Tier 1 Ranger, Shar's stamina and agility far surpass those of ordinary people.

Kane, relying on his "immortality" trait, consumed experience points to quickly recover his stamina, barely managing to keep up.

Along the way, they vaguely sensed the activities of other Drow squads, but they avoided them if possible and refused to engage in battle.

I don't know how long I ran, until the sky began to lighten.

They finally reached a clear stream.

Upon closer inspection, it seemed that there were no pursuers moving behind them for the time being.

Shar's tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

"Let's take a break and replenish our energy," she said breathlessly, taking out some dry rations.

Shar cupped her hands in the stream, drank a few mouthfuls, and let out a long sigh of relief:

"The cult of demons must have made these drows irresistible promises to make them pursue them so relentlessly."

Kane nodded, then shook his head.

After running for almost a day and a night, Shar's physical strength was nearing its limit.

Although he could use experience points to recover from sore muscles, he was also feeling mentally exhausted.

"We need to find a secluded place to rest," Kane suggested.

Shar looked at the stream and said, "Wait a minute."

Under Kane's slightly puzzled gaze, she took off her shoes, rolled up her trouser legs, revealing her fair feet, and stepped into the cool stream.

She turned to look at Kane, forcing a smile onto her face:

"When I get back to Nord, I'm going to sleep for three days and three nights, and then find the best bard to turn this experience into a poem and sing it all over the world."

Kane smiled and shrugged:

"Don't say things like that too early, it's like setting a flag."

Shar is puzzled:

"Stand...what?"

But her question came to an abrupt halt, and her smile froze on her face.

In the distance, a figure walked across the rocky beach downstream of the stream.

It was Anjie, dressed in a striking red dress.

However, at this moment, her face, neck, and arms were covered with fine, dark demon scales.

Its hands transformed into sharp claws, its pupils were cold, vertical pupils, and its feet also exhibited an inhuman, twisted shape.

"Demonization...it's gotten to this extent."

Shar's voice was serious.

Kane's gaze fell on the silent, cold figure standing behind Ange.

Yet another silent killer.

The two exchanged a glance, adjusted their breathing, and walked steadily forward together.

Kane's mind raced as he searched for a way to break the deadlock.

The situation is not looking good.