So...where was I last week? If you haven't joined Discord, this is an excellent time to remind you join to keep up to date on all news. But TLDR: I seriously hurt my back while moving things, I still have a deadline to get an entire garage cleared out, my back still hurts, the holidays are here, I'm stressing over the Kickstarter and volume 1, and I shaved my head. The last one doesn't matter, but it just shows where I am currently, so I took my Thanksgiving break early. Either way, I'm back now, and I'll be going all the way until the 22nd. Thanks for your understanding.
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To think my most powerful spell would be countered so easily…what the hell is this monster?
Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.
I felt the guilt of my failure weighing down on me along with the encroaching mana sickness as the city bells rang, singling the mark of a counterattack that would see us charging into the field. My spell had done more damage than all the undead force combined. The city was now open to the undead horde, and I undoubtedly killed many people and sealed the fates of countless others.
Even though I wanted to lament my failures, I didn't have the luxury of doing so. I was on a battlefield, and with my mana so low from two Railgun shots, all I could do was maintain body enhancement for the time being and defend myself. Any other attempts at large-scale magic from me would see me risk dying.
And we had a small team of elite undead riding straight toward us. How could a single Lich raise five of them in an instant? Shouldn't Dullahans and Liches be similar? Or have we always been wrong, and Liches were always the superior undead?
My thoughts were called back to attention by another shout from Lord Vasquez. "Nothing changes! Continue the offensive! Make openings for Cerila to finish off the undead!" he ordered.
It was five versus five, and we met the charging Dullahans straight on. I watched Cerila use her ice magic as a spear, which impaled the first rider's ram straight through its body. I also had the same idea, so I firmly planted my spear into the ground and braced my fist.
The rider tried to avoid it, but the monstrous ram moved too quickly. And even though it managed to jump, I thrust my spear into its midsection. I wanted to try and toss the undead, but my arms shook from the impact as it felt like I had been hit by a moving truck.
I grit my teeth but was forced to back away, removing my spear from its body. The rider regained control, and the undead ram scratched its front leg on the ground before charging at me again. The Dullahan brought its large black sword down and planned to use it as a lance. Even if I did the same maneuver again, the sword would hit me before I stopped the monster's charge.
I dodged to the side, barely avoiding the slash of the blade. It was frustrating. If I had more mana, I could quickly dismount the Dullahan using earth magic. But I would be in trouble if I ran out and had nothing left to fight the Dullahan itself.
Well, I suppose it's time to use some of these. I was holding onto them for a rainy day.
The Dullahan charged me again, and I waited for the last moment where I could dodge. The Dullahan was much faster and anticipated my movements; its blade swept across my breastplate, but that was all it did. From my Spatial Ring, I summoned a glass ball and tossed it on the monster's side.
I used a minuscule amount of mana and put it into one of the most basic spells, one of the first fire spells I had ever learned. I released Scorch, and a tiny burst of flames shot out of the tip of my spear. The flames themselves were incredibly weak, and if I were fighting a person, I would be lucky to singe their hair, let alone burn them in any meaningful way.
But the violent concoction from the Alchemical Firebombs only needed a tiny spark.
Boom.
As the ram turned to orientate itself for another charge, my spell lit the substance, and it exploded into a fireball. Being that close to an explosion made my ears ring, but the effect was immediate. I averted my face as bone shrapnel pelted me. When the smoke faded, the Dullahan's mount was reduced to a scattering of random bones.
The Dullhuan itself was also not unscathed. I had taken the entirety of its left leg armor off and severely damaged the left torso and arm section. White bone shone through the mangled armor, but other than that, the Dullahan was already regenerating the severe damage. But that was fine. I only needed to tie the creature down until Cerila could finish it off.
Or at least, that was the plan.
Boom.
Boom.
I tossed myself to the side and ran full speed to dodge the incoming magic. I managed to dodge the first strike, which was a giant tendril of plants, but the Ice Spears that impacted the ground knocked me off my feet and sent me rolling across the ground. There was no moment of respite as I brought my spear up just in time to block the Dullahan's sword.
The strike held immense power, but I honestly expected more. Perhaps because it was a freshly risen undead, it still hadn't had time to maximize its power. I stood up and used the momentum to knock the blade up, but the Dullahan surprisingly stepped into me. It must have understood it couldn't let me gain distance to use my spear as it pressed a relentless attack against me.
I blocked and parried its blade, but I struggled with it without using magic to increase the gap. I also couldn't put more mana into my body enhancement to get me away quicker. Any attempt to retreat was met with an immediate aggressive response. The monster never tired, and every strike kept the same intensity as the first.
Even so, I was holding my own. I had blocked every single attack, and my counters were connecting. But unlike a living opponent, it didn't matter how often I struck at it. Every time my spear pierced its armor, there was no sensation of ripping into flesh, and it did little to slow it down. Also, one of the most significant weaknesses of the undead, its head, wasn't present. If I could at least hit that, I could disable it for a few moments.
But Dullahans are supposed to have heads…even if they can be detached at will, there should be a head somewhere.
I blocked a thrust and diverted the strike to my side. I planned on bashing the Dullahan's exposed leg, but I heard a sudden set of running footsteps behind me.
"Duck!" Professor Garrison shouted.
I dropped to the ground and watched Professor Garrison's sword swing over me. The Dullahan blocked it from the side, but the sheer force of the strike blew the Dullahan backward.
"Thanks for the assist…"I said.
"No problem. Let's handle these things and get to that giant before things get even worse," Professor Garrison said as he glared at the giant monstrosity.
The undead giant was constantly firing off magic toward the wall and into the group of defenders that remained. The Gryphon Knights were keeping its attention, but they were purely defensive. They couldn't get past the anti-magic, let alone dodge all the spells the giant was launching at them. And even though more riders had been dispatched from Curia, they still suffered heavy losses.
I saw Cerila, who now had Mom at her side. The two of them were overwhelming their Dullahan, so it would only be a matter of time before we had the advantage here. Back on our side, the Dullahan pressed its attack. Professor Garrison met it head-on with his sword, and the two exchanged blows.
I came in from the sides and did considerable damage to it. My second spear thrust hit right at the elbow joint, ripping through the remaining armor and separating its left arm. The Dullahan slashed across its body in protest, but Professor Garrison gave it a swift kick to the exposed leg.
The Dullahan crumbled from the blow, and I sent my spear directly down its headless neck and into its torso. But I felt something odd. There was a weird amount of resistance that shouldn't be there, and when I hit it, the orange flames that sprouted from the armor ceased.
"The Dullahans' heads are in their chest! Aim for the center breastplate!" I shouted to anyone who could hear me.
With the help of Professor Garrison, the two of us brutally hacked the Dullahan to pieces. We tore its armor off, scattered its bones away, and kicked its limbs elsewhere. All the while, the monster was trying to regenerate itself, but once we ripped the chest plate off and removed the cracked head, I reared back to toss it.
Cerila and Mom had already finished their Dullahan off and were running over to assist us. Cerila's eyes lit up, and she brought her sword back as I tossed the head. In mid-flight, the Dullahan's eyes lit up with an orange glow, but Cerila cut the creature's head in two. Once again, Cerila and Hubris had managed to slay the creature completely.
"Finally…let's go help the others," Professor Garrison said with a deep sigh.
"That may be difficult," Mom said as she brought up her daggers and glared off to the side.
"Damn it. They finally managed to get close, huh?" Professor Garrison snorted as he brought up his blade.
The undead horde had regained a sense of coherence as the corpses shambled toward us. From the pack, a few Ghouls sprinted forward as the vanguard. Cerila froze a section of them into blocks of ice as we cut down the rest.
Thankfully, these Ghouls didn't explode into toxic gas but were still agile and dangerous. Putrid blood spurted out as my spear went straight through a Ghoul's chest. I kicked it off my spear and knocked a few Zombies down before cutting down another.
I looked back to tell Cerila to make a wall, but she was already gathering mana into a spell core. "Hold them off a bit longer. Cerila is almost ready," I said
Professor Garrison's greatsword cut down dozens of the shambling corpses with a single swing. Mom effortlessly cut down numerous undead, each strike from her dagger straight into their heads, dropping them to the ground in a flash. The cold grew to the point I could feel it chill the air and I called for us three to retreat.
Once we did, Cerila unleashed her magic. From a single spot, an enormous burst of blue ice spread out rapidly, engulfing the horde in a solid glacier and freezing them solid, while also separating us from the others. It was truly magnificent.
We took our chance and sprinted toward Guildmaster Elora, who was handily defeating her Dullahan. She had already pinned it to the ground and kept it in a devastated state for Cerila to finish. Elora kicked the limbless skeleton over, and Cerila thrust Hubris into its chest. The orange glow disappeared, along with its life.
As we ran over to support Ms. Taurus, Elora asked me, "Any chance you can use some more of that magic Dragonslayer?"
"No…I'm almost entirely out of mana at this point," I told her.
She clicked her tongue, not really at me but more in frustration. "Anyone have an idea how we are going to take those two down?" she asked.
"We'll handle it when we get there!" Professor Garrison shouted.
Ms. Taurus grinned as she looked back at us. Her Dullahan was on the end of her spear, and she tossed it around and started running toward us. Cerila sprinted forward, and even though the Dullahan was flailing around, it couldn't get off her spear, and Cerila once again sent Hubris directly into its chest.
We also didn't have to go far, as Lord Vasquez had already reached us. He held the glowing skull of his Dullahan in his hand. Cerila held her sword out, and he skewered it on her blade while crushing it with his hands. Vasquez snarled as he rested his axe on his shoulder and glared at the Lich. The Lich was still watching us from a distance, seemingly content with acting defensively.
"Ready yourselves for more tricks. This creature is an unknown factor, but we must bring it down now that we are forced to act offensively," he growled in a low tone.
"The undead are already gathering around it. We have to push back the horde to get to it," Ms. Taurus said.
"Then let's cut a path through this trash and end this," Garrison said, brandishing his blade.
"She intends to use magic? Then I'll assist. Let's show them the might of the living," Vasquez said as he raised his hand.
The two of them formed their spell cores, and the ensuing magic was devastating. The clash of fire and ice was intense as fire tore through the ranks of the undead, burning them down to their bones while ice consumed swathes of Zombies and Skeletons in its embrace. With a clear path, we ran toward the Lich, but Elora pointed something out that immediately had us worried.
"Hey, shouldn't the Dullahan's mounts have disappeared as well…why are they still active… and why are there even more?" she asked worriedly.
The Lich was at the end of the cleared path, and he raised his staff. We were still a ways away when more of the grotesque concoction morphed and created even more Dullahans. There were over a dozen now, and they were also using the liquid mass to make their personnel Death Knights.
This almost seems hopeless. Even though we handled the first five, if we have to continue to fight an endless amount of higher undead, the giant will eventually have wiped out the Gryphon Knights, leaving us to be the following targets.
"Nothing changes! Kill them all!" Lord Vasquez roared as his battle axe ignited into flames, and he swung at the first group of Death Knights.
We clashed with the Death Knights as the Dullahans sat in the rear, making even more. With the Death Knights being commanded, their threat level increased drastically. I thrust at one Death Knight that took the blow directly to its chest while another came from its back and pushed its spear at me.
The blade shattered against my armor, but as the first Death Knight tried to hold onto my weapon, I managed to retreat. The Death Knights weren't mindlessly attacking us with brute strength but employing actual tactics. And even though Cerila was killing whatever Death Knights came at her, their number was swelling by the moment. They were also backed up by the horde that had gathered after the initial magical barrage.
"We are going to get overrun at this point!" Professor Garrison shouted as he beheaded two more Death Knights.
"There is no retreating! Continue to press forward and support Cerila!" Vasquez shouted back.
We closed our formation and fended off Zombies, Skeletons, Ghouls, and Death Knights alike as we moved forward with Cerila and Vasquez at the front. We were cutting them all down, but Professor Garrison was correct. Eventually, we would be overwhelmed. We were far from any support; the Gryphon Knights could no longer assist us, and we were out of range from any mages on the walls.
Even so, we aren't out of options yet.
"Vasquez! Hold your flames; set the bombs on fire after I throw them!" I yelled.
Lord Vasquez ceased his magic, and from my Spatial Ring, I tossed more bombs into the horde. I only kept a dozen or so on me, but after throwing the last ones, I gave the signal. I made sure to toss them far enough as not to get caught in the blast, and Vasquez did his part.
He went waves of fire in every direction, and they ignited the alchemical mixture, causing a subsequent chain of explosions. Bones and body parts flew through the air as the shockwave hit us on all sides. Some were a little close for comfort, but I had drastically thinned the encroaching horde and destroyed most of the Death Knights. A direct path to the Dullahans had been opened.
But as we began to move toward the elite undead, the ground started to shake. At first, it was only minor, but it quickly grew in intensity.
"Give me a break! I'm getting really tired of that bastard showing up every minute!" Elora snapped.
The ground continued to shake, and in the distance, I could hear something faint over the sound of the moaning dead and battle.
"But this is different…Kal, do you hear that?" Mom asked.
"Yes…it sounds like cavalry? And something even bigger?" I said, unsure of myself.
Great…now we have undead mounted units to fight on top of their already mounted commanders—wait…what the hell is that?
From the north, in the distance, something came into view. It must have been enormous, dwarfing the giants by leagues since I could see it from afar, and its dust cloud was just as impressive. It towered over the horde, and as it got closer, the shaking grew along with it. Eventually, it came into view.
It was an enormous black monster. It walked on four legs, with its front legs being far larger than the back, and had a flat-shaped head and black leathery skin. Its eyes glowed a bright red, and it even seemed to have armor made of Blood Iron strapped onto it. I had only seen pictures of it in my book and even now I was wearing its leather.
"An adult Goliath? What is a Goliath doing here?" Professor Garrison said in awe.
I used my Dragon eye and enhanced my vision, but I couldn't help but be shocked. "There…is a Dwarf riding on top of it. And there isn't just one Goliath…there are two smaller ones beside it," I said in disbelief.
Even for a moment, the undead seemed to stop to face the encroaching monsters. From the north, a thunderous horn boomed, followed by dozens more. The Goliath plowed through the backlines of the undead, crushing hundreds of them with each step. Following in their trail of destruction, the bright mid-day sun beamed down and reflected on the gray armor of thousands of mounted soldiers. They all wore thick armor and rode atop many different monsters that all wore either armor of Blood Iron or Blood Iron collars.
A booming voice, no doubt amplified by a magic device, let out a bellowing laugh. "Charge forward, brothers! Steel and blood!"
"Blood and steel!" the army roared back.
That voice, I've heard it once before.
"Edrunn Greatbeard…that crazy bastard is here? How did he even…" Elora said while staring up, dumbfounded by the monsters.
War God Vasquez smiled wickedly. "The Dwarven army has arrived."