Before the battle began, Lex took stock of the arena. Confederate runes enchanted every tile on the arena stone stage. A spiky pit jutted out around the arena. On all sides, stone stands rose into a theater. The viewers would hear every squelching sound in the theater. He found it rather sadistic. If he died, they'd listen to his flesh tear and his screams as if he were beside them. Or would Morgan steal the show with her own? Wouldn't that be depressing? Even in death, Lex would be outshone.
Morgan groaned beside him at his grim joke. "Stop that, and you have a chance." She said over their welded link.
The undead surrounded him. If this wasn't the time for gallows humor, then when? Being mob wasn't what he signed up for either. Lex found himself the odd zombie out.
Before the fight began, the field was set against him. The light robes he wore were pathetically thin. Lex's sandals exposed his feet to the elements. While he had great potential for the Tang standard, he had no skills to use it. His foes would be in their detail and practically immune to pain. Lex's living smell would make him a target. The undead would be more dangerous than usual and more difficult for their owners to control.
What advantages did he have, a few tricks, tenacity, and his troubled past? He could hold his breath for at least an hour. For a time after he sparked his cultivation, he'd been solid. That strength had waned after Artus stabbed him and but his dantian was still on the mend.
Fighting wasn't new; all his life, he'd fought dangerous animals around his village.
Thoughts of his village put him in a foul mood. He refused to die, not until he took revenge on Artus. He couldn't remember many of his past other than Artus and his village burning, which stood out.
Also, Artus was a dick. He said they'd save the village together and immediately burned his home down. Knights under Artus's command barred the doors to every home and set the town to the torch, starting with Lex's house.
Suddenly, as if rising from the dead, a spark of purpose arose in his chest. Lex calmed, focused on his surroundings, and sized up his opponents. The witches gathered around weren't quite so mighty as Jean, Cleopatra, and Halley. They weren't even his opponents, but their undead was still fierce.
The ravenous army before him was as strange as they were powerful. Men were sewn together with animal muscles pact beneath the skin. Some pale monsters moved by cutting in and out of reality like stop motion animation. A Centipede made of human arms, legs, and linked torsos scuttled about. There were chilling white-fleshed creatures in their center, but the worst was a little girl undead; he'd bet his last penny she was a wight.
Their arena was a tiled square of stone blocks. 20m by 20m was big enough to give a centaur zombie, with poor stitching, room to gallop. He didn't like the arena. Lex tapped the ground a few times, and the tiles felt soft. If he weren't careful, he'd lose his sandals to the smooth stone.
On the other side, the centaur scraped her hooves against the ground, never leaving a scuff in the stone. Lex ground his teeth; he was on the disadvantaged side. He'd have to make his way over there ASAP; throwing punches had more to do with a solid stance than his fist.
He was positioned beside the wight. A little girl with thick blonde curls and chocolate brown eyes gave him a reassuring smile. She glanced over at him and hissed before sniffing the air. He turned and tightened his fist, prepared to strike her first. It would be cold, but if he covered her in his robe, she couldn't touch him. If he neutralized her, then it would be one more minor threat to worry about. He'd lose a few seconds giving the centaur time to charge, but he'd neutralize the most dangerous enemy to him. How long would it take him to bond her in his robe? She'd get out if he didn't do anything with her afterward.
Lex glanced over to Morgan. She had a few witches sitting with her. Most gave her a wide berth. If he spun, he might be able to fling the wight into the stands. Unfortunately, he'd be open to an attack after that and naked in the cold arena. If he didn't neutralize the wight first, then he invited a paralyzing touch when he least expected it.
Morgan sent him a message through the welded link. "Don't wight," the news came in a little wonky. He felt a shit ton of worry from her but put it out of his mind. She didn't matter at this point. Surviving and winning were more critical right now.
A bell rang, and an announcer stepped up on a balcony above. "All bets are final as of now. Participants, prepare to give your undead their commands. When the bell rings three times, the fight will begin."
The wight turned to him. Drool ran down her face as she stared up at him. She wiped her face and held up her hand. "I'm Milly. Let's be friends. My mistress is Cassidy; I think she's friends with your mistress Morgan." Lex blinked, not expecting the wight to speak. When he didn't say a word, she nodded her head. "Cassidy said young undead couldn't speak. Well, stick with big sis, and we'll get through this." She scrunched up her nose. " I hate centipede's; Cassidy said they don't paralyze right." The wight looked thoughtful.
Lex leaned back, and suddenly, Morgan's voice came in the clear. "Don't fight the Wight. She's on our side. We're teamed up with Cassidy against the others. Just let the Wight do most of the work." Morgan said.
He stepped forward and tuned her out. Lex tightened his sash since he wouldn't need to strip. His feet were frozen, but that was ok; he could still wiggle his toes just fine. This was like when he began cultivation. He didn't know what he was doing and just winged it.
The bell rang three times, and he dashed forward. In two steps, he crossed the arena. One of the pale undead appeared in front of him, its eyes and mouth black as the void and infinitely hungry. He could feel some force from it pushing at him. The second it tried to tunnel beneath his skin, the party vanished. The undead froze, and Lex went for a death hold.
He wrapped an arm around the creature's neck and pulled it off the ground. While it had looked formidable at a distance, it was all paper skin and glass bones. Once the creature's feet dangled off the ground and it couldn't vanish from his grip, it was helpless.
Lex twisted the undead's head and felt the trachea and spine shatter in one fluid motion. He reasoned this undead were simply more fragile in exchange for speed. Still, despite the snapped spine, the undead kept kicking. Suddenly, the kicking stopped when Millie touched it. Milly beamed up at him.
"You have to remove the head, or they'll keep kicking," Milly said.
He stabbed through the empty eye sockets and used them for leverage. With a pull, the top of the skull yanked free. Lex grumbled as bloated green brains fell on the floor. He sighed and tugged at the mess before tearing the head free one chunk at a time.
"Look out," Milly yelled.
Lex saw the centaur less than 3m away, barring down on him with her charge. He threw the body of the shade hard into her legs. She tripped up; long horse bones ripped through her hide. She hit the ground hard; momentum carried her a few meters more. Lex could feel it now. His strength was coming back.
Milly tapped the centaur on the head, dropping the bare-breasted centaur zombie. "Chimera zombies are a little dumb, especially horses. At least this one wasn't a horse head on a human. Those run right into the spikes every time." Milly said.
Lex nodded and lifted some skull fragments from the ground. They were disk-shaped and sharp on the ends. He tossed one, embedding it deep in the body of the zombie with bear arms. It turned to him and charged.
It had been modified more than he thought. Not only did it have bear arms but goat legs. Those of various animals had replaced the creature's teeth. Only up close did Lex realize its torso was that of a gorilla. Instead of leading with its claws, it chose to bite. Tiger incisors and the razor-sharp teeth of a python lined the monster's maw. It was made to grip flesh and saw it away. The monster's neck bulged with various muscles packed into the body.
Milly tapped it once. The creature stopped on a dime. Its goat legs locked up, and it froze mid-bite. Lex clapped its face earlier. The stitches holding the teeth in place ripped, and lost jawbones shattered. Stitches along the neck tore, releasing over-packed muscles that jettisoned from the creature like some meat piñata.
Lex couldn't say this was the worst time he'd ever had. Assuming most people would be disgusted by the scene before them, Lex was a bit different. He'd fought much more vicious, and deadly undead before and could this batch was weak. Oh, Milly was a great ally. He only wanted to wrap her up in his robe and throw her on a spike a little bit.
He thrust his foot through the undead chimera's chest. The chest cavity caved open, blasting black oozing organs across the stage. Three of the undead hearts still beat outside the body. The oozing green brain was still intact. Lex bent down and ripped the arms off one at a time while the other undead held back.
The centipede undead scuttled about, staring at them, looking for a chance to attack. Lex ripped off a few bear claws and threw them. One spun through the air before splattering the green brain of a shade undead.
From the heat coming off them, none were that powerful. They couldn't compare to the undead that attacked his village.
Four bear claws later, only the centipede undead remained. It approached them and suddenly turned grey. Lex threw another bear claw, but it bounced off its hide. His eyes widened when Milly touched it only for one of the centipede's arms to knock her sprawling across the stage.
It rose and tried to body slam, Lex. He dashed to the side as it shattered multiple arena tiles. Lex ran to the side, avoiding hits. The creature rose again, and a split in its torso opened. Lex saw a maw filled with razor-sharp teeth and dozens of naked girls. They were attached to the undead and made of red flesh.
Disgust overwhelmed him. They were the creature's tongues. Sticky slim dripped from them as they rubbed their large breasts and cuddled around each other. They shot out and snatched up Milly and before sucking her in. Milly screamed as she was taken into the beast.
For the first time in this fight, he felt traumatized. "The hell is that?" Lex asked Morgan.
He dashed back closer to Morrigan's side of the arena. "It employing glamour to tempt the audience. Many witches prefer the company of other women as well as men. This tactic could work. Do you want me to surrender? You've given me plenty of faces.
Lex sucked in a breath and prepared himself to fight. "I'll need new shoes after this," Lex said. Morgan gave her acceptance.
He placed his hands on the ice-cold ground and prepared for a maneuver. It would be difficult, but he knew he could do it.
Lex shot left at an angle just slow enough for the centipede to follow. The creature turned quickly, and a tongue shot out with its arms outstretched. He stabbed his foot through the tile, arrested his movement, and shot right. His left sandal snapped as he changed direction.
He stepped closer to the creature and its right. It turned quickly as his right sandal snapped. Before its tongues blasted out, Lex had halved the distance. He ducked the first tongue, twisted his body away from the second, and punched the third.
Lex felt his hand stick hard to the creature, but it was too late. He held the tongue by its throat and ran to the side of the beast. After crossing the distance of the creature's body, the tongue pulled tautly. Lex bent low for more leverage. He stomped through the tiles and pulled the tongue beyond its limit. The material the language was made from was hardier than its insides. He placed another hand on the monster's tongue. As he pulled, more of the creature's insides came free.
Broken columns of bone, guts, and muscles tore free with each pull. Lex saw Milly struggling in one of the black tubes of belly he ripped free. He continued to move as the creature thrashed. Bronze pieces mixed in with the flesh fell out, causing the animal to attack and lose control. Even a few green masses of brain tumbled out of the corpse. It seemed the tongues were the foundation of the beast.
He turned and pulverized the tongue sticking to him into a paste and walked over to the thrashing creature. The languages shot at him, but the blow from him turned those organs into puddles of flesh. By the heat radiating from this creature, it was around qi condensation stage 3. Lex was around stage 1 of qi condensation, but Morgan claimed he should be as strong as a stage 5.
The power difference didn't match that. Such a large creature should be much more robust than an intermediate stage 5 of qi condensation. It might be more potent than a stage 8. If it had more techniques and experience, the creature would have become truly formidable.
Lex concentrated on his fists and what his qi did when he prepared to throw a punch. With every strike, he invested a considerable amount of qi to his muscles. His qi pushed down through his feet and anchored him to the ground to raise his leverage. Just before a punch, his qi stiffened, creating something like a lever for his body. When he struck, the blows held a great deal of power. It's what his qi did instinctively.
Was that normal?
"No! It isn't." Morgan yelled through their link. He waved her away and focused on the creature. Lex pulled his fist back, ready to turn the creature's head into pulp. Great technique or no, he was sure it wouldn't matter.
The bell rang suddenly. "The match is over. Coven centipede has pledged to pay a ransom to Lady Morgan." The order to stop never came. Morgan only smiled and gave him a nod.
Lex decided to experiment with this a little. He sped up his cultivation and filled his meridians to the max. So much qi flowed around him that the air filled with static. All around the arena, tiles shattered as force gathered. Lex anchored himself, reared back, and threw a devastating punch. Force shot through the centipede, flesh turned to bloody paste, bone matter shattered, and organs were rendered into boiling jelly. The arms stitched to the creature flew off in every direction as the beast was torn apart by the force of the blow.
Just as he unleashed the blow, Lex felt weakened. His cultivation quickly returned power to his meridians, but he felt dried out. Throwing punches like those came with a price. He blacked out and fell into a puddle of gore.
When next he woke, he was in a coffin though this he had a pillow.