"It's hard to talk with a knife inside your throat HAH!!"
The battle between the Berserkers was so intense that everyone forgot about the Warlock including his teammates.
Aya chose the element of surprise and withdrew from everyone line of sight before activating Stealth. This made Rhea and Spots responsible for the frontal attack. Before the second evolution, Beastlords were relatively weak compared to their Warder pet. They started in the scout path and had sprint but most of the spells and enhancements either empowered their companion or provided Elemental Resistance for themselves.
It wasn't until the second evolution that they acquired Animal Empathy, a spell that allowed the Beastlord to Shapeshift into Were-Animals depending on their warder pets. In Rhea's case she would be able to shapeshift into a Were-leopard.
Before this milestone, the proper way to fight a Beastlord was to attack the person not the animal. This was exactly what the warlock intended to do. He needed to eliminate Rhea quickly so that he could concentrate on the rogue that had disappeared a few seconds before.
After casting enhancement spells on his comrade, the Warlock prepare for his own fight. With the space created between him and his soon to be attackers, he managed to create an arcane shield that would absorb incoming damage.
Rhea activated sprint and commanded Spots to attack from the right side while she attack from the left in a pincer attack. This strategy had the Warlock splitting his attention and would decrease his effectiveness.
Warlocks were very intelligent. they were Wizards that decided to spent their mental prowess on the more darker aspects of magic. Magi tried to understand the universe around them and only by further understanding the principles of a spell could they really mastered it.
It was very different using a spell granted by the gods in its simplest form and another completely different using a spell that they had understood. To understand these spells, vast intelligence was necessary. Obviously, this intelligence was also used in fighting and other activities of daily living.
The two fast approaching enemies didn't raffle the Warlock at all. He determined that the most dangerous opponent was the Warder Pet and Cast Netherous Bind on it. Binds made out of dark energy engulfed Spots and stopped his advance.
After rooting Spots in place he switched his attention to the incoming Rhea. Rhea called upon the natural elements of water and activated the only Semi-Range spell she had in her arsenal, Shock of Frost. This spell gathered water elements from the air and condense them into an Ice nebula that will inflict damage to the enemy as well as decrease their movement speed upon contact.
The warlock calculated the power of the spell coming his way and quickly determine that it would not be able to break the ward the elder cast on him at the beginning of the fight. With a smirk on his face he cast Dark Pyre. Dark Pyre took 2 seconds to cast and call microorganisms from the Netherworld that liked to eat the life force of creatures present in this plane.
The microorganisms made quick work of Elders Bears ward and then disappear. It was hard for them to stay in the plane with the little energy supplied by the warlock.
The Ice Nebula also hit Elder Grimsbane ward but didn't manage to consume the energy required to break it. Rhea jump backwards and did 4 back-flips in a row. Less than a second after she Back-flip out from an area, the snow melted and a dark green liquid sank to the floor.
AH HAHAHA!!
The warlock laugh maniacally while shooting Acid Projectiles.
Rhea kept evading and consuming the Warlock's Mana without stopping. Feeling that his Energy level was a bit lower of what he need it to finish the fight, the Warlock cast Void Contract. Void Contract was a very savage spell also known as Self-Cannibalism. The spell provided the mage with a way to exchange muscle mass into Mana. Even though there was a loss of energy in the exchange, it was a very useful way to overcome one of the weakness of the class.
Not wanting to miss the opportunity to counter-attack, Rhea went on the offensive. She rushed towards the warlock and while she was running in for the attack, she donned her fist weapons. They were a pair of push daggers known as Katar. The weapon was characterized by its H-shaped horizontal hand grip which results in the blade sitting above the user's knuckles.
Flurry of Claws!!!
Chi was rapidly consume by the combat art, and Rhea's Weapons blur from the speed burst. The skill allowed the Beastlord to attack 5 times per second. The chi supplied to the skill determined the number of waves up to a maximum of three waves.
The first wave destroyed the ward from Grimsbane and manage to hit the second line of defense lay by the Warlock, his Arcane Shield. Seeing the first wave's result, Rhea knew that the second wave of her combat art would finish her opponent.
Oh Shit!!
When her second wave landed, it hit nothing but air. In the air a phantom left by the skilled used by the mage faded and immediately Rhea felt her legs get shackled.
Rhea's pupils shrunk as she saw 4 acid projectiles coming her way. Rhea sighed and waited for the spells to arrive and claimed her life.
Whimper!!!
NOOOO!!!
Spots had managed to escaped from his bindings and when he saw that Rhea was in danger he used Dash and jump in front of the acid bullets. Spots fell on the snow covered ground and as he melted away he looked in Rheas direction and after seeing she was OK, his eyes showed relief.
Everything was calculated by the mage. From the amount of damage it would take to break Grimsbane's Ward, to the use blink, the follow up Netherous Bind, and the amount of Acid Bullets that was need it to melt his Enemy. The only error he made was to forget about his third opponent.
AH HA H...
The Warlock didn't get to flaunt his greatness. Before he could laugh at Rhea's lost, a Kukri pierced his throat.
Filled with incredible pain and rage, Rhea ran to the now dying Warlock screaming, " YOU FUCKING BASTARD, YOU KILLED SPOTS." As the screams ran through the forest a push dagger known as Katar kept going in and out the mage's body relentlessly. When everything was set and done the warlock's body was unrecognizable.
Ulrik and Grimsbane didn't have time to feel sad for their comrade at all. Every second that passed was filled with savage attacks that required their full concentration.
"You three attack the defiler and leave the Reaver to me".
One of the main strengths of a Shadowknight was his ability to do damage and intimidate opponents in an area around him. His unholy aura was a prime example of that, and there was yet another spell that made them extremely tricky to fight, It was called Clinging Darkness.
Those with poor willpower will be affected by unholy power and see their fears come to life. Sometimes, this images were the last thing they saw as they would be cut down while in the illusion.
Rhaen had fought a few Shaodwknights in the passed and knew it was important to keep him away from his Companions.
"RAWR"
Another Lion's Roar came and the intensity of the fight went up another level. Rhaen used savage blows and shield bashes one after the other. Ulrik wasn't as strong physically as a Barbarian or a Champion, so he opted to evade the attacks instead of meeting them head on.
Elder Bear also knew that they could only win this fight if their opponents were separated. They needed to prevent Elder Grimsbane from casting protective spells on his teammate.
Even though the Elder Bear and Rhaen's reasoning was different, the goal was the same. With a plan in his mind, Elder Bear finally made his move.
Bear Incarnation!!!
The Elder transformed into a massive bear and charge at Grimsbane. The Bear Incarnation allowed the Shaman to take on the form of Ursine the Bear spirit and gain a few enhancements.
Seeing the massive bear coming his way, Elder Grimsbane spat on the floor and said "Why did it had to be Ursine".
Boom!!!
The impact between the Bear and the defensive ward of Grimsbane was pretty strong. The momentum generated sent Grimsbane back a few feet but no damage was done.
"Come Come you stupid goody two shoes!!, I'll-I'll show why being a Mystic is worse than being shit on by a bird".