Chapter 99: The Not-So-Helpless Hostage

’Even though he’s injured and has already used a lot of mana, he’s still a Seventh Order curse user. My chances of defeating him are very slim. Very, very slim.’

Ethan wasn’t willing to take that chance. Since he could still use his Legion Formation, he decided to destroy the skyship and get away from the masked man first.

He gave the order, and all his summons appeared.

More than forty thousand figures suddenly filled the sky around the vessel blocking the view. The masked man was shocked by the sight.

"Where did all these come from? Have those bastards caught up with me?"

The masked man stared at the figures surrounding the skyship. He had never seen anything like this before, and he couldn’t understand how all this figures appeared out of thin air.

The Solar Elementals raised their heads as the light in their eyes became brighter as they fired their solar rays. All the rays came together, forming a huge golden beam that shot straight towards the skyship.

The Storm Archers also drew their bows as lightning arrows formed and they fired. The Shadow Wraiths joined them, attacking the vessel with their claws.

"Are you people insane?! Don’t you care if I kill the hostage?!"

He thought the pursuers from the Aethernal Empire had somehow caught up with him. But judging by the way they were attacking, it seemed they no longer cared about Ethan’s life.

"Damn it!"

He had no choice but to focus on protecting himself. With his injuries and the amount of mana he had already used, he couldn’t afford to let any of those attacks hit him.

The golden beam struck the skyship, causing a loud explosion. The metal body shook, and several parts of it were torn apart. The arrows followed, hitting the damaged areas while the Shadow Wraiths continued their attacks.

The skyship couldn’t hold up against all of them. Its metal body began to break apart, and Ethan soon found himself falling along with the wreckage.

His summons were falling too. None of them could fly, but that didn’t stop them from attacking while they were still in the air.

’Having a flying-type legion would be really useful.’

Ethan couldn’t help thinking about it. He had more than forty thousand summons, yet none of them could fly. He would have to look into getting a flying legion in the future.

But first, he needed to find a way to land without turning into meat paste.

Ethan looked down at the approaching ground and quickly called for his Shadow Wraiths.

Several of them moved through the shadows of the falling wreckage and appeared around him. They released their Phantom Chains, grabbed onto Ethan, and pulled him towards a large piece of the skyship nearby.

Ethan held on as they dragged him onto the metal wreckage. It was still falling, but at least he was no longer dropping freely through the air.

The Shadow Wraiths continued using their chains to keep him from slipping off. When they got closer to the ground, they moved through the shadows below and pulled him away from the larger pieces of wreckage.

Ethan finally landed hard on his side.

"Ugh..."

He lay there for a few seconds before getting back up. At least he hadn’t turned into meat paste.

The skyship had crashed nearby, and pieces of it were scattered across the area. Ethan looked around, trying to find where the masked man had landed.

"Did he die?"

He wasn’t sure. The man had been caught in the same attack, and with his injuries, it wouldn’t be surprising if he hadn’t survived.

But before Ethan could look any further, an angry shout came from the direction of the wreckage.

"YOU LITTLE BASTARD!"

Ethan turned towards the sound.

The masked man was flying above the broken remains of the skyship. His clothes were badly damaged, and blood covered much of his body. He looked to be in an even worse condition than before, but he was still alive.

Ethan quickly stood up.

’That was too good to be true. He’s a Seventh Order curse user after all.’

The masked man also noticed him. He stared at Ethan in disbelief.

"It’s you?! Who would have thought the hostage wasn’t as helpless as he looked!"

"I didn’t say you could leave just yet."

Ethan interrupted him.

The masked man’s face twisted with anger.

"You!"

He raised his hand, and several dark red markings began to appear around him. He was already preparing another curse.

But Ethan wasn’t going to give him the chance.

He activated his Legion Formation and summoned his entire army.

The ground around Ethan was soon covered with summons. Shadow Wraiths, Solar Elementals, Storm Lancers and the rest of his legion appeared across the area. More than forty thousand summons had gathered, and all of them were facing the masked man.

The masked man stopped what he was doing and stared at the army surrounding him.

"What...?"

He had fought many powerful people in his life, but he had never seen anything like this.

More than forty thousand summons were gathered in one place, all waiting for a single order from Ethan.

’What is this? Is this guy a one-man army?!’

"Who the hell are you?!"

The masked man couldn’t understand what was happening. He had thought Ethan was just an ordinary student, but how could an ordinary student have such a large army of summons?

Ethan didn’t bother answering him.

The masked man looked at the army surrounding him. He knew he couldn’t afford to fight all of them in his current condition. Even if he managed to kill thousands, there would still be many more.

He quickly turned and flew away.

But Ethan had already expected that.

"Storm Archers, Solar Elementals. Attack!"

The Storm Archers immediately raised their bows and activated Arrow Manifestation. Lightning gathered between their fingers, forming arrows as they drew their bowstrings.

They then activated Lock On and aimed at the masked man.

At the same time, the Solar Elementals activated Solar Ray. Golden light gathered around their bodies before they released powerful beams of solar energy towards their eyes.

Thousands of lightning arrows and several golden beams shot towards the masked man.

He quickly noticed the attacks and tried to change direction, but the Storm Archers had already locked onto him. The lightning arrows followed his movements, making it difficult for him to escape them.

"Damn it!"

The masked man raised his hand and formed a dark red barrier around himself.

The first lightning arrows struck the barrier, followed by the Solar Rays. The attacks caused it to shake violently, and cracks began to spread across its surface.