Chapter 128: Marta’s Wizardry

“As we all know, the fighting has lasted for far too long. Many have fallen on both sides. The gods do not desire endless bloodshed and misery, and I as the king, as the enactor of their will, agree.”

King Saul looked down at his followers, his stare unwavering, then towards Goliath.

“Philistines! I extend a challenge! For the next forty days, morning and evening, we will send out champions. We will battle one at a time. We will fight one at a time. Any weapon may be used. Do you agree to these conditions!?”

His voice carried over to the enemy. The twenty metres of distance meant nothing, as if the gods were wanting the Philistines to listen.

The Philistines didn’t have to think twice before accepting the invitation to battle. They were on enemy territory: instinctively, they recognized their disadvantage.

“Agreed!” Goliath shouted back. He barked out an order to his men. “Send the first soldier out for this evening’s battle! Send out Philo!”

King Saul looked across his own troops, considering the many brave men that he could choose from. He knew that every man would be willing to fight the Philistines and he also knew that any man chosen would likely die. The reality was that the Philistine army was better equipped. In a war, victory or loss could flip like a coin depending on tactics and territorial advantage. In a one on one, that was not the case. Equipment, skill, and instinct meant everything.

William understood that the players were supposed to volunteer. Even so, the colour of surprise appeared on him when he noticed Marta smiling at Kazi.

“Marta, you look excited. Care to go?” Kazi asked, grinning back.

“Yes!”

In the charged atmosphere of the Valley of Elah, Marta stepped forward. William could feel her heart in his own ribcage, pounding as she approached the king to his left.

“Your Highness,” Marta began, her voice steady, “I come forth not as a soldier, but as a champion. Allow me to fight for our cause.”

King Saul regarded her with skepticism. “A woman?” His piercing gaze fell upon Marta’s attire—a suit of plated armour that shone in a dazzling display. The king’s eyes lingered on Marta’s armour. His skepticism softened as he observed the aura of mystique that surrounded her. “Your armour,” King Saul remarked, his voice filled with a note of intrigue, “it bears a quality that is unlike anything I have ever seen before.”

With a swift and practiced motion, Marta summoned her Shadowshade Staff. From the perspective of the ordinary, it came from nothing. The king’s eyes widened in astonishment. “Magic,” he murmured under his breath. “Are you…a prophet?”

“No, Your Highness. I am a woman of faith,” Marta replied.

“What is your name, champion?” King Saul inquired, his tone reverberating with a newfound respect. “No, who are you really?

Are you our saviour?”

Marta stood as tall as she could, her gaze meeting the king’s with unwavering resolve. “I am Marta, Your Highness, and I fight for justice. I fight to invoke the power bestowed upon me.”

King Saul nodded. He gestured toward the enemy lines, where the Philistine champion, Philio.

“Go, Marta,” King Saul declared, his voice carrying across the battlefield. “Fight as our champion, and may the power you wield aid our cause.”

A steely determination in her eyes, Marta strode forward, her staff held aloft, ready to face the Philio, the first champion of the Philistine army.

“She’s really good at this role playing thing, eh?” William muttered to Kazi.

“She plays Dungeons and Dragons,” Kazi responded.

’What do dungeons and dragons have to do with role playing? Am I missing something?’

[ Name: Philistine Soldier

Level: 15

Class: Amateur Swordsman ]

“To think they would send a magic woman to fight me,” said Philo. “I am honoured.”

Marta was taken aback by his manners. “I as well,” she replied. “Um, let us commence this battle of valour!”

“Let’s!”

In the heart of the Valley of Elah, feet on water, the anticipation hung heavy in the air as Marta faced Philio. The tension crackled like electricity, the eyes of both armies fixed on the impending clash.

Philio charged toward Marta, his sword gleaming in the sunlight as he swung it with ferocious intent. But as the blade arced toward her, a semi-transparent black barrier shimmered to life.

Clang!

Marta’s smile remained unwavering as she deflected the onslaught effortlessly, the magical barrier absorbing the force of each blow. The soldiers on both sides looked on in astonishment.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Seven strikes, and not even a crack. Philio, stunned and weary, stepped back. He needed to reconsider his options.

That was when the Wizard struck. Marta raised her staff, a surge of dark energy coursing through her being. A hushed murmur spread through the battlefield as she unleashed her spell.

“Super Shadow Bolt.”

No incantations were spoken, no visible gestures made. Marta simply called forth the words and created a manifestation of raw magic, of the System. The very essence of darkness coalesced into a swirling vortex of energy, gathering at the tip of her staff.

With a resounding force, the Super Shadow Bolt erupted from Marta’s staff, a beam of black energy that blazed across the battlefield. The air crackled with the sheer power of the spell as it surged toward Philio. Its speed wasn’t all that impressive, yet there was nothing Philio could do, his mind going blank at the sight of. Block or dodge? Block or dodge? Block or dodge?

His thoughts overwhelmed him and the devastating black bolt struck Philio, engulfing him in a maelstrom of shadow and light. His form was blasted backward, sent hurtling through the air with an otherworldly force, crashing to the ground amidst a cloud of dust and debris.

Goliath gazed down upon his soldier, unfazed.

Silence descended upon the battlefield as both armies stood in awe of the extraordinary display of magic. Marta, her staff still aglow with residual energy, remained poised and steady. She inhaled, then exhaled and smiled.

The soldiers whispered in hushed tones. There was reverence and fear.

In that moment, Marta stood not just as a champion of the Israelites but as a saintess—a woman whose abilities transcended the boundaries of humanity and dipped into the territory of the gods. That was the thought of the common man. Even William, a player, was taken aback. He had unlocked a skill called Magic Sensitivity and was able to taste the intensity of her magic.

’They were the same level. Their battle experience couldn’t have been that much different either,’ William thought. ’How did Marta get so strong!? That Shadowbolt was just…wow! Incredible…!’

A darker thought crossed his mind: how was she able to do what he couldn’t? How was she was able to wield the darkness with such ease when he struggled to feel a spark of it?

Arms crossed, looking like a proud father, Kazi said, “I guess she was too strong.”

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