Online Game: My Hidden Class Is Dragon Sovereign!

--Chapter 24--

Title>> Sword and Shield

"Not Again..."

Timothee’s panicked scream and Priya’s potential execution sparked something deep inside Xavier.

"It’s all your fault," a voice he couldn’t recognize or didn’t want to recognize resounded in his head.

Pulling a deep-seated fire into his stomach.

At that moment, Xavier didn’t hesitate. Or he simply didn’t allow himself to.

The last time...he lost two of the most important people in his life.

Whoosh

His body blurred with every ounce of Agility he could pull from his present build.

And in no less than two steps, he materialized right next to Priya. The air itself seemed to crack around him from the sheer burst of his speed.

With the stainless dagger firmly held in his grip, he swung it up and caught the Sentinel’s downward sword slash on the flat of the blade.

Clang!

Both sets of steel screamed as they collided furiously.

The Sword Sentinel.

A knight-like creature cloaked from head to toe with dark armor groaned menacingly, the small gaps in its visor glowed ferociously with four purple orbs for eyes.

The impact of the slash and Xavier’s cross-guard collision sent a jolt of force down Xavier’s hand, through his shoulders. And all the way down...

Causing the ground underneath to succumb as well. As spiderweb cracks spread across the stone floors of the gallery.

Xavier’s boot crushed into the ground further but his fingers tightened around the dagger even harder.

’Heavy,’ he thought...

Only then did Priya come to her senses. Her widened eyes finally refocused as she hurried out of the way of the two monsters, retreating toward the rest of the party.

’Good... she’s alive.’

The thought vanished as quickly as it came. Xavier’s attention snapped back to the Sentinel before him.

Timothee caught Priya and they moved back, while Dex and Juo stepped forward, weapons raised.

With Priya out of the way and safe, Xavier knew it was time to play the advantage.

Quickly, he moved to shift the balance of the stalemate.

Twisting his wrist and moving his body ever so slightly, his weight shifted to the right, redirecting the force that the Sword Sentinel kept pressing down on him.

SHRIIEEEKKK

The Sentinel’s blade skidded off the dagger, leaving sharp metallic sounds as it fell off the flat surface and buried itself in the stone floor beside Xavier.

At this point...anybody else would have taken this chance to retreat but not Xavier.

Not Hunter X...

As a matter of fact, he pushed his minor advantage by stepping into the opening created by the deflection.

The moment he was inside the space, he drove his greaved boot into the Sentinel’s foot with full force. The iron-fused leg crumpled slightly under the impact.

The Knight construct staggered a bit without falling but it left its defenses down for this split second.

Without turning, Xavier called out, hoping the rest of the party would know what to do.

"Juo...Now!"

The mage of the party understood the assignment instantly...

Stretching her magic staff forward with one hand, she balanced the round glasses around the bridge of her nose with the other.

"Jet Stream," she said coldly.

The white crystal crowning her staff glowed blue as mana gathered around it, charging and condensing into a compressed stream of water.

Boom!

The skill surged forward and struck the creature squarely in the chest, cracking the armor and leaving a decent gash.

"...Not bad," Xavier admitted inwardly.

The force of the skill was genuinely impressive for a level four mage. Possibly level five after the first floor. He hadn’t thought to check.

The Sword Sentinel’s HP bar dropped sharply like bad stocks, leaving a small smile on Juo’s face as she conjured the same skill again.

One more hit was all it would take...Now.

She released another blast of the skill in quick succession but, at that very moment, the air shifted.

Seemingly out of nowhere, another Sentinel emerged.

It moved sideways, pulling a massive shield with it.

Slam!

The Shield Sentinel planted the massive shield between the party and their target.

With the shield in place, the follow-up stream burst harmlessly against it, spraying the gallery walls with water.

"Shit... she almost had it," Timothee grimaced.

"Hunter X..." Priya’s eyes narrowed as she clenched her jaw, afraid Xavier was caught in a bad situation between two of those monsters.

But Xavier was never in trouble...

He was the trouble.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Xavier pulled at the Dread Cloak, smiled, and merged with the ground using its active effect.

Less than two seconds later, he re-emerged beside the team, where Dex finally decided he wanted to pull his weight.

Nocking an arrow, his eyes burned with anxiety.

"Stop," Xavier ordered, causing Dex to hold back his already drawn arrow and lower his bow slightly, his eyes filled with questions.

"How did you?"

"Doesn’t matter," Xavier replied. "I’ve got a plan."

Priya stepped back to Xavier’s side, her breathing controlled, eyes fixed on the two Sentinels.

The pair stood in the gallery and waited.

They didn’t advance nor press forward.

They simply stood there.

"Why did they stop?" Priya murmured.

"They’re guardians," Xavier answered calmly. "They won’t leave their post."

His eyes settled on the Shield Sentinel. He knew that if they were going to get past this floor, then the Sword Sentinel had to serve as bait.

The Shield Sentinel was the true problem.

Getting through its shield was the difficult part.

***

Turning to the party, Xavier spoke without wasting another second.

"Listen carefully."

The four of them immediately focused on him.

"These creatures work on the concept of the sword and the shield. That is to say, the Shield Sentinel never attacks."

"Never...?" Dex asked with an eyebrow raised. "I thought I saw it back there atta--"

"C’mon, Dex... listen to the man," Juo cut in with a serious tone before Timothee even had the chance to.

The tension in the air was still dense after Priya’s close call.

"Look, it’s the protector. As long as it’s alive, damaging the Sword Sentinel critically becomes a lot more difficult."

"So we kill the shield first," Timothee said.

"Yeah... we can’t. But..." Xavier continued.

"...But we can distract it."

He looked at the rest of the party, who remained silent.

"Since the Shield Sentinel only uses its shield, then we give it something to defend and work with the openings that creates."

Xavier’s eyes moved to both Timothee and Priya, pointing at Timothee first.

"You hold the Sword Sentinel. Draw its attention and don’t get greedy. Just keep it attacking you."

Timothee nodded, his copper-hued eyes narrowing with determination.

Immediately after, Xavier pointed at Priya.

"You want payback, right? Then you’re going to be patient."

Gesturing as though he had a coaching license hidden somewhere in his inventory, he continued,

"The moment the shield commits to blocking Timothee... when he becomes a real threat..."

He made a turning gesture with his index finger.

"...you go around its right."

Priya narrowed her eyes.

"There’s a weak spot?"

"There is."

Priya nodded.

"How do I find it?"

"Trust me. You’ll see it. Just activate your Talent."

Priya looked determined as she drew her iron sword, her eyes now fixed on the Sword Sentinel, which still hadn’t moved.

Next, Xavier explained Dex and Juo’s roles.

Or, more accurately... He explained Dex’s role.

"Understood!" both Dex and Juo replied.

With the plan laid out, it was finally time to put it into motion.

Xavier crouched, lowering his stance as the grip on his dagger tightened, his eyes sharpened, already preparing for Plan B should this execution fail.

"Move!" he bellowed.

Timothee immediately led the way.

Mid-charge, the man’s body grew larger. His muscles swelled, while snaking veins spread across his biceps.

Clang!

The Titan Bloodline-enhanced body of the boy met the Sword Sentinel head-on.

Reinforced fist crashed against steel.

The impact sent a small shockwave across the gallery, but the Shield Sentinel didn’t move.

There was no threat yet...

That changed in the very next second.

Priya dashed to the side, attempting to circle around the Sword Sentinel.

But Priya was only the distraction, it seemed.

Because the Shield Sentinel, which had remained unresponsive until now, shifted.

Its shield came up and she moved forward to block four spaced-out Mana Bullets and a Jet Stream aimed at the gash in the Sword Sentinel’s armor.

However...that was exactly the opening Priya needed.

[Talent Activated: Eyes of Horus]

Priya’s Talent activated as her eyes turned completely white with a faint shade of blue.

Immediately, she marked the Sword Sentinel.

Every opening, and angle. Every inch of the Knight creature fell into her gaze.

And in that split second, she spotted the exact weak point Xavier had spoken about.

Circling in like a feather, she closed the distance.

The Sword Sentinel sensed her and moved to react.

Timothee never gave it the chance.

Bashing straight into the six-foot-two construct with his shoulder, he forced it off balance.

Slash!

Priya’s sword slipped cleanly between the gorget and the pauldron.

Her blade disappeared into the narrow gap beneath the armor.

The strike tore straight through the weak point, sending a metallic echo across the gallery as dark miasma burst from the opening.

Ding!

[Player Priya: Sword Sentinel Lv.8 Defeated!]

--End of Chapter--

A/N: Kindly...Add to Library, Pls it’s a new week, I need them Powerstones and tickets.

T for Thanks