I was told to keep collateral damage to a minimum, but I don't think I can... not that I was going to anyway. It is a shame to do this, but it isn't mine so whatever. As the monster horde comes stomping through the fields and towards the city, I lay waste to the area in front of me with one of the new techniques I came up with. Using my Fire Breath I scorch the earth along with the many monsters, but this alone isn't enough to stop them. To follow up my Fire Breath I use Elemental Manipulation on the air to change its composition, causing the scorched earth to continuously explode. Limbs fly off in various directions as the battleground carries the scent of burnt flesh. Blood can't even bee seen on the separated limbs as it has all evaporated under the intense explosions that continue even now.
But even as the explosions begin to die down, disfigured bodies run out from the smoke and continue towards the city. Lifeless eyes, missing limbs, burned flesh, stomachs wide open, these disfigured monsters continue their assault with no regards to their lives. Without legs, they continue to crawl. And without arms, they continue to strike. Those that should by all rights be dead continue to charge. Cannon fire from the walls ram into their bodies, but to no avail, the monsters get up and continue their charge forward, eventually reaching me.
They tried everything they could to harm me, but in the current state, my passive recovery from air absorption heals me for more than what they can deal altogether. With half their jaw missing the bite, with their claws removed from the limbs they strike. With plenty of them now in my range, I inspect them with Draconic Insight, learning everything I need to know. Truly an attack from the dead, these are nothing more than the empty bodies of monsters, being controlled by someone else. It's no wonder I couldn't feel any souls and why they would defy survival instinct, those simply don't exist for them anymore.
Looking back I see the morale from the wall is horrendous. A mass of monsters has made it towards the wall on are attempting to call it, climbing over each other. No matter how many arrows they take they continue to climb, cannons shots being nothing more than a small set back turned footstool to climb on. Even with arrows poking out from their eyes and bodies ripped apart by cannon fire, the dead march on.
I guess now is a good a time as ever to save them. I could have completely prevented them from even approaching the wall, but if I want to raise my image I think it's better if I come and save them from their despair. Manipulating the air, I produce gale winds, conjuring hundreds of tornados. Lifting up nearly all of the monsters, I direct the tornado back towards the previously burned fields. A few heavier monsters still remain, but with a combination of Ice and Air Manipulation I bring down the temperature around them, slowing their movements. Keeping this up I use my Ice Breath continuously on all of them, eventually encasing them monsters that remained near the city wall in ice.
But those that got flung away by the tornados, had not remained idle as I froze the other monsters. I had dispelled the tornados previously to focus on chilling the air and freezing the monsters, but the dead know no rest as they keep the charge coming. But this time I keep them from approaching the city walls with more walls. I create hundreds of Water Walls laying them on top and in front of each other, then freezing them, creating and brand new wall of Ice that stretches across the entire battlefront.
Although they were not able to do much too me, the same can not be said for the footsoldiers who fought on the frontlines. While I just shrugged the monsters off and sent them flying back, the soldiers who hadn't been fighting on the wall have all fallen, trampled by the attack of the undying monsters. Now having been isolated from the monsters outside of the ice walls, soldiers come down from the walls to recover the bodies of their fallen comrades. But even in this momentary place of peace, on the outside, the monsters are trying to take down my ice walls.
But now that the monsters have been isolated from the soldiers I can start cleaning them up without killing the people I need to gain the recognition of. Jumping up I spread my wings and glide down past the walls of ice and right on top of the monsters. I ignore the weak attacks of the many monsters on my body, as I being the first step of my plan. Using my Ice and Air Creation & Manipulation again, I create a heavy hail storm and chill the surrounding area. The temperature slowly drops more and more, making it harder and harder for the monsters to keep moving. Eventually, it becomes so cold that the monsters have been rendered completely immobile and with a quick sweep of my Ice Breath is enough to completely entrap all the monsters attacking here in a tomb of ice.
Leaping back over the ice walls I find a torrent of soldiers pouring out from the gate, and pointing their weapons at me. But soldiers who fought here at the wall get them to stand down saying I helped them.
With the battle effectively over, I begin to shapeshift into my humanoid form in a flash of light. "Ungrateful bunch aren't, practically all alone I had cleaned up all the enemies here and you want to point your weapons at me."
They don't even react to my words as their faces of full of confusion, both the soldiers who had just arrived and those who had fought here, seemingly confused over my transformation or perhaps they're stunned by my beauty... alright, that might be pushing it.
Before long a group of Elves come through the gate, lead by the Elder and that guy called Faelar. "What are you all doing!? Just standing around when there is a battle to be fought... what happened here."
"You guys are all late, I took care of everything on my own."
"But that's--"
The Elder puts his hand in front of Faelar, Cutting him off before he gets much of a chance to say anything. "You are the Dragon, the winged monster that had been appearing over the Alliance territory, yes? Are you the one that did this? Are you certain that this has been taken care of? It has already been discovered that these things can't die under normal means, but we Elves has a special magic that can kill them."
"Well, I wouldn't say they are all completely dead yet. So long as the puppet master remains alive they can still move. I simply encased them in ice rendering them all incapable of movement."
I look over all the Elves as I speak and a few of them turn their eyes away from me at the mention of a puppet master, including that Faelar guy. All the ones that turned away seem to be significantly younger than the others. Seems like their elders never taught them how to cover up their lies.
"As long as they are no longer a threat, than this is fine. We will take care of the rest."
Seeing that I know what's really going on, the Elves make their way toward the frozen monsters and begin to defrost them and use some showy magic as the monsters fall to the ground. All this political manoeuvring isn't my forte, I'll just relay the information over to Milla and Lia, just get them to do all the hard thinking. But I'm a little tired after all that, so I think I'll check out that food stall a see if it's still standing.
To my surprise, the find that the old Dragonoid who owned the stall protected it from the monsters that got into the city and even led volunteers to fight them back until the Elves arrived and took control of the situation. He's a lot more capable than I first thought, but more importantly...
"Hey, old man, serve me up some more skewers."
"Sure, my pleasure."
But just as he finishes cooking, I feel two hands coming down on my shoulders again...
Turning my head I find that both Milla and Lia behind me. "You are coming with us, we have things to discuss."
Not willing to give in a second time, I say, "I eat or a transform right here."
"..."
Perhaps dumbfounded by my ultimatum, Milla just shakes her head and sighs. "Fine, but you can have some food, but you will still be coming with me. Lia go pay for some skewers and meet us back in our room."
Heh, I won.