Chapter 2292: Fighting the Commanders (Part 2)

Swoosh!

The moment Diablo disappeared beneath the curtain of night, the opposing side immediately became more vigilant.

They had realized that the threat posed by this elusive Elven Thief might be even more dangerous than Alucard, who was already occupying two of their strongest Commanders.

With Diablo now lurking within the shadows, the remaining Commanders quickly rearranged their formation.

The Western Wall Commander withdrew from his engagement with Alucard, while the mace-wielding Commander took his place.

The latter joined forces with the Inner Region Commander, continuing to pressure the vampire in close combat, while Skarde provided support from a distance with his Earth Magic.

The Inner Region Commander and the mace-wielding Commander worked together in an intense melee against Alucard, while Skarde continuously searched for openings from afar.

He even manipulated the surrounding terrain with Earth Magic, raising obstacles and altering the battlefield to catch Alucard off guard.

...

Meanwhile, the battle against Diablo had already begun.

The Western Wall Commander activated his special ability, attempting to lock onto Diablo’s position as the latter repeatedly slipped through the shadows.

Realizing that it would be difficult to maintain a mark on Diablo while allowing him to move freely between the shadows, the Western Wall Commander decided to personally pursue the elusive Elven Thief.

"Summers!" he shouted as he charged forward.

Summers, the priest-type NPC Commander, immediately understood what the Western Wall Commander intended to do and swiftly cast a series of blessings on him.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

One blessing after another enveloped the Western Wall Commander, further enhancing his overall Stats as he charged forward.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

With his heightened senses, the Western Wall Commander suddenly launched himself toward a particular section of the plaza that was shrouded in shadows.

Diablo, who was standing within that area, slightly raised his brows upon seeing the NPC charging directly toward him.

"So his detection abilities have become stronger and more precise after receiving those buffs," he muttered.

Despite being discovered so easily, Diablo remained calm and composed.

He simply raised one hand and waved it casually, which made the surrounding shadows move.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Countless tendrils of darkness shot toward the charging Commander.

Seeing the incoming shadow tendrils, the Western Wall Commander swung his sword, which was now wrapped in sacred light, cleaving through the shadows with ease.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

One tendril after another was severed by the sacred blade and reduced to fading fragments of darkness.

However, the shadow assault didn’t end there.

The surrounding darkness suddenly condensed into multiple shadow weapons that rained down from above, while the shadows crawling across the ground transformed into countless tendrils that surged toward the Western Wall Commander from every direction.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Facing the sudden escalation, the Western Wall Commander was forced to retreat.

Whoosh!

After retreating, the NPC Commander immediately raised his head and searched for Diablo, who should have been somewhere in the distance.

However, by the time he looked for the Elven Thief, Diablo had already disappeared into the shadows of the night once again.

Fortunately, Rimal had also made his move.

He waved the magic staff in his hand, causing the bronze rings attached to its head to begin ringing.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Under the repeated clanging of the rings, the surrounding dust began to stir, gradually forming a small dust storm that occupied this section of the plaza.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Under Rimal’s control, the spinning dust storm rapidly spread throughout the surroundings, revealing anything attempting to hide within the shadows.

Diablo, who had been trying to sneak behind the opposing side, immediately halted his advance upon seeing the approaching dust storm.

"There!" Rimal immediately spotted Diablo, although his figure was only barely visible through the swirling dust, and quickly pointed toward him.

Swoosh!

The Western Wall Commander immediately moved, resuming his pursuit.

This time, he no longer had to deal with Diablo’s shadow constructs and tendrils directly, as the spinning dust storm provided him with enough visibility to track his target.

Realizing that infiltrating their formation through conventional means had become much more difficult, Diablo decided to engage the Western Wall Commander directly while searching for another opportunity to attack the backline.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The moment he charged straight toward the Western Wall Commander, Diablo’s body suddenly split into multiple shadows that transformed into clones in an instant.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

The clones flanked the charging Commander from different directions, attacking from highly unpredictable angles.

They surrounded him with countless shadow strikes that seemed almost impossible to evade.

Swoosh!

However, the Western Wall Commander was still able to respond to every attack. He swung his sword repeatedly, creating an impenetrable net of sword light around himself.

Shing! Shing! Shing!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of collisions immediately followed, producing sharp clashes and powerful shockwaves that spread throughout the surroundings.

The Western Wall Commander continued pressing forward while repeatedly clashing with the shadow clones, cutting them down one after another.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Of course, he didn’t emerge completely unscathed.

Several cuts appeared across his body as the shadow clones managed to land a few strikes with their daggers.

Fortunately, his body was protected by a thick layer of sacred light that blocked most of the attacks, while the remainder was further resisted by his full-body armor.

Whoosh!

While the Western Wall Commander was fully occupied dealing with the shadow clones swarming around him, several of them managed to slip past his defense and charge straight toward the group behind him.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Seeing the incoming shadow clones, the Patrol Guard Commander immediately stepped forward and placed himself between them and the others.

Bang!

He slammed his shield into the ground, summoning a towering wall of mana that blocked the incoming swarm of shadow clones.

Swoosh!

He then pushed the shield forward, sending the massive wall of mana surging ahead and sweeping through the shadow clones charging toward them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

However, despite destroying all the shadow clones that had rushed toward them, the Patrol Guard Commander could still sense an intense killing intent lingering in the air.

Whoosh!

A moment later, two humanoid shadows suddenly materialized behind Sand Commander Rimal and Summers, the priest-type NPC Commander.

The shadow figures raised their daggers and plunged them toward the backs of the two Commanders.

Shing! Shing!

The attack came too suddenly for either of them to react properly, placing them in an extremely dangerous position.

Whoosh!

Fortunately, Skarde reacted in time. He immediately summoned a thick wall of earth between the two Commanders and the shadow assassins, blocking the ambush.

Bang! Bang!

At the same time, the Earth Mage summoned several earth spikes from the ground, piercing through the bodies of the two shadow clones and destroying them in the process.

Poof! Poof!

Unfortunately, the instant Skarde diverted his attention from his assigned position, Alucard took advantage of the distraction.

He drew his magic pistols and immediately began firing.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Alucard’s arms blurred from the sheer speed at which he fired, effortlessly controlling the recoil of each shot.

The crimson bullets flew through the gaps between the Inner Region Commander and the mace-wielding Commander before heading straight toward Skarde and the others in the backline.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Skarde immediately sensed the incoming threat, but the bullets were traveling far too quickly for him to summon another wall of earth in time.

The Patrol Guard Commander was likewise unable to reposition himself, as he was still facing the opposite direction while dealing with the advancing shadow clones.

Fortunately, Summers reacted in time. He immediately summoned a barrier of light that enveloped the group, protecting them from the incoming hail of bullets.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Alucard didn’t insist on continuing the attack and swiftly stored away his magic pistols before retreating.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Inner Region Commander and the mace-wielding Commander immediately increased the intensity of their attacks, forcing Alucard to focus on them once again.

Shing!

However, Alucard deliberately focused his attention on the Inner Region Commander, seemingly ignoring the other Commander on purpose.

Clang! Clang!

He blocked every attack from the Inner Region Commander while effortlessly dodging the attacks of the mace-wielding Commander. It was as though he didn’t consider the latter a threat.

This immediately provoked the mace-wielding Commander, who felt that Alucard was looking down on him.

Bang!

He stomped heavily into the ground, generating a powerful gust of wind that spread throughout the surrounding area.

He then swung both maces in rapid succession, transforming them into a series of blurs that swept across the space around Alucard.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

However, in his eagerness to attack Alucard, the mace-wielding Commander failed to notice what was happening around him.

That gave a certain ghostly shadow the opening it had been waiting for.

Poof!

Diablo suddenly appeared behind the NPC and thrust his stiletto forward, aiming directly at the exposed back of the mace-wielding Commander.

Swoosh!

The sharp tip pierced straight through the NPC’s back and emerged from his chest, sending blood splattering through the air.

Seeing this, the Inner Region Commander immediately moved to save his comrade.

He forced Alucard backward before charging straight toward Diablo.

Unfortunately, Alucard had already anticipated this.

He sheathed his rapier and drew his magic pistols once again, pointing one toward the back of the Inner Region Commander and the other toward the wounded mace-wielding Commander.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A rain of crimson bullets erupted once again, forcing the Inner Region Commander to dodge.

Swoosh!

At the same time, Alucard and Diablo immediately focused their attacks on the wounded Commander.

They finished him off before any of the others could react.

Thud!

The instant the mace-wielding Commander’s body hit the ground, the entire battlefield seemed to fall silent.

Everyone froze for a brief moment, stunned by what had just happened.

The entire exchange had lasted only a little over a minute, yet in that short span of time, one of the fortress’s Commander-ranked NPCs had already fallen.

...