Logan folded his arms and stared at the situation in front of him with steely eyes, despite his facial expression he was expecting Xazier's appearance but that didn't make him any less annoyed. Xavier smiled slightly at him before turning his gaze to the undead wreaking havoc below, he opened his mouth and spoke out a spell.
'Oh no, you don't!'
Logan immediately sent an Enfeeblement Ray at Xavier, trying to interrupt his spell-casting. But after reaching Stage 5 a sorcerer could shorten the length of spells, and could even silent-cast the basic ones. Xavier was Stage 8, with one hand he created a barrier to stop Logan's attack while his other attack created a formless energy that crushed the undead he targeted into clouds of dust.
Logan tsked as he saw how easily Xavier destroyed his undead. Again, he was already excepting it but that made him even more irritated. Sorcerers were able to manipulate the magical energy around them with Magical Sense and Command Words, but although they had all the elements at their beck and call all sorcerers still had one element they excelled at controlling and they mainly focused on that when they chanted their spells. They were called Centre Elements.
Xavier's Centre Element was the Gravity Element, in the whole Dragonstone Kingdom he was the only one who could use this element proficiently.
Logan controlled the Skeleton Dragon to dive under Xavier, then it shot a stream of emerald flames up at him. Xavier surrounded himself with a barrier but the flames were strong and destructive, different from the Enfeeblement Ray, his barrier couldn't hold up so he flew higher into the sky with Logan following close by.
Soon they were high above the castle, high enough that their fight wouldn't affect those beneath them, which was what Logan wanted. Xavier looked at the Skeleton Dragon beneath Logan and chuckled.
"I must commend you for finding such an incredible specimen. That's a Wyvern skeleton, isn't it? Bravo."
Logan's frown deepened. He was belittling him. It was common knowledge that Wyverns – also known as lesser dragons – were far weaker than actual dragons. Logan was miffed, but he didn't respond. His mind was in the concentration state sorcerers needed for battle. With quick chants he shot six Enfeeblement Rays at Xavier, they were blocked but he didn't care, he was just getting started.
The Skeleton Mages in the air gathered and sent huge fireballs Xavier's way, Xavier responded the same, the air around him burned and sparked, and the flame elements around him conjoined and burst into numerous giant fireballs. The fireballs exploded, forming green and orange fireworks that illuminated the area.
But the people below weren't in the position to enjoy them, they were too focused on their battle. The order had been restored with the king's presence, the fight was no longer a brawl but a coordinated battle, and with the Skeleton Mages away the Sword Knights could focus solely on the Undead Legion.
The knights were trained for war, but the Legion weren't incompetent themselves. After all, the person controlling them was someone from the royal family, there was no doubt he knew the art of war. The king and his knights fought back fiercely against the tireless undead.
Roman tried not to let the worry he felt show on his face, he needed to keep a stoic and fierce expression, and he needed to show an unbending back to give his knights courage. But he knew that the battle wasn't in their favor, the undead heavily outnumbered them but they needed to hold on till the rest of the Sword Knights come from the private fortress stationed at the Capital City.
An explosion rocked the sky once more, Roman took a glance at the sky but couldn't see anything but thick smoke. Xavier was the strongest sorcerer in the kingdom, Roman knew he shouldn't worry because of that fact but the explosions in the sky were eye-grabbing yet no one from the Sword Land came to offer reinforcements.
He didn't need to think much to know that his brother had something to do with that, he had had a lot of time to plan and Roman wasn't sure Xavier would be able to stop Logan himself.
"Roman, Ezekiel!" He yelled at his sons who were fighting alongside him, "Go now, take your sister and mother, and hide in the cellar."
"What?!"
"Father, no!"
"I order you to!" Roman raised his voice another octave, his shout made the young men stiffen. Seeing their father was serious they bowed their heads and jogged dejectedly back into the castle.
A trace of relief showed on Roman's face before it turned back to its signature stoicalness, he raised his sword and shouted, "Onward!" Then he dashed forward, with his brave Sword Knights close behind him.
…
White Tiger Duchy, Flame Temple.
The battle between the Flame Giant, Ifrit, and the two greater undead was coming to a close, with Ifrit being the victor. Ifrit – although less magnificent than when he was summoned – stood proud and tall, his remaining arm held a sword that pinned the Undead Knight to the ground. Magma-like blood dripped down from the cracks of Ifrit's stone armor, his helmet had been dented and his left arm had been torn off, showcasing how mighty the fight had been.
But only Ifrit stood victorious while the remaining enemy lay at his feet.
The Saber-Toothed Wolf was nowhere to be found, it had been blasted to pieces when Corpse Explosion was cast on it, taking one of Ifrit's arms along with it. Ifrit used his sword that was jammed into the Undead Knight's ribs to send a torrent of flames into it, the destructive flames quickly traversed through its entire body, and it trembled violently as flames jutted out of the openings in its skeletal body. It soon turned to ash.
The High Priestess and the Holy Princes collapsed heavily after this, they had been the ones maintaining the summoning and as much as they would have liked to keep Ifrit around to kill off the remaining undead they were utterly tapped out. Since their energy was gone Ifrit no longer had anything anchoring him to the Mortal Realm, A pillar of flames covered the giant, and when it disappeared, so did Ifrit.
The Flame Disciples close to the High Priestess and the Holy Princes quickly surrounded them to provide basic check-ups and protection, but there wasn't anything to protect them from anymore.
A long time had passed since the High Priest came back after defeating all the undead there, and he brought reinforcements. The Wind God Temple wasn't too far from the Flame Temple, the commotion happening in the city grasped the attention of the followers of Akia, the God of Wind and Clouds, and together with the High Priest of the Flame God temple they battled and destroyed every undead proliferating in the White Tiger Duchy along with their necromancers.
Now, the High Priest was fighting the necromancer the only necromancer remaining, she had retreated into the sky with her undead Silver-Winged Eagle. She tried to escape many times but the High Priest in his fury wouldn't let her. Her spells were burned through and her defenses were flimsy, with a roar the High Priest attacked her with the spell with a wide range. The air burned as what looked like clouds of fire were formed in the sky with the Fire Elements, the necromancer shrieked as she was consumed by the flames. Soon, two entities that were burned beyond recognition fell to the ground.
The followers of the Wind God and the Flame disciples fighting against the remaining undead were shocked when their enemies suddenly dropped, then loud cheers sounded.
The High Priest watched from the sky, he was happy, tired, and had a terrible cephalalgia. They had won a perilous battle but still had to deal with the aftermath. He sighed before praying for strength from his god.
…
Black Stallion Duchy, Iron Hoof Town.
"No!" Riven said for the umpteenth time.
The Swordsman following him almost stomped his foot down in exasperation, "But why?!"
Riven sighed and fought the urge to clasp his face in his palms. It had been hours since the battle had ended, and when he was first asked to join the Luminous Sword Academy he had used checking on the south side as an excuse to refrain from answering – or rather to refrain from saying no straightaway.
On their way to the south gate, he had been asked the same question twice but he just gave vague responses, he was hoping to lose him in the chaos of the fight but by the time they got there, there wasn't much of a 'fight' anymore. No one was dumb, and the sorcerers there had figured out that people were controlling the undead, and killing them would kill the undead too. All Riven did was get rid of the stray undead there, the ones the hooded figures that escaped left behind.
He had tried to sneak away after that but was found. Since then, the Swordsman – Lamark was his name – kept telling him the benefits of joining the Luminous Sword Academy, and Riven kept refusing.
"I just… don't want to enroll in the Luminous Sword Academy." 'Not anymore.' Riven said inwardly.
Lamark stared at him for a few seconds before nodding understandably, "Of course, someone with your talents wouldn't settle for the Luminous Sword Academy. Your sights must be set higher, like the Sword Peak Academy…"
"No! For god's sake, I'm not going to join any academy!"
"What?!" Lamark looked like he had just been struck, "How is that possible? With your prowess, you are guaranteed to be one of the most powerful Swordsmen in the future. But, what? You don't want to join any academy?"
Riven nodded.
"That's absurd!"
Riven sighed again – he had been sighing a lot since he met Lamark – and this time he did rub his face with his hands, "Look, I just…" an idea suddenly came to his mind as he spoke, "…have a really good teacher! Yes, a powerful Swordsman taught me everything I know and he told me he would take me to school – the Sword Peak – when its time."
Riven looked up at Lamark tentatively after speaking.
Lamark eyes were wide and he was nodding, "I see!"
'He bought it?!' Riven thought in wonder.
Thanks to his lie Lamark decided to stop bothering him, after wishing him well he went on his way while Riven went back home. Riven's home/shop was located in the middle parts of the town, and although the higher-ups in the town had hastily built a makeshift safe area Riven had advised his mother to stay at home because it was located in the safest part of the town.
He rushed home, missing his mother. When he reached his house he knocked on the door in a particular pattern to let his mother know he was back. He heard rushed footsteps from within the house, his mother fling the door open as soon as she reached it.
When she saw him a tired smile appeared on her face, then she gave him a slumpy hug.
As Riven hugged her tight, he decided within himself, 'After a few days, we will leave this place and journey to the Overlord's City.'
…
Green Turtle Duchy, Hard-Scale Town.
The necromancers who attacked the Green Turtle Duchy were probably the most unfortunate ones in the bunch, after the eradication of one of their towns the people of the Green Turtle Duchy began keeping a close eye on anything unusual, and most of their settlements were armed to the teeth.
Unluckily for the necromancers that attacked the duchy they lost any form of inconspicuousness when they rolled in with a giant sea monster in tow.
The necromancers and their undead horde decided to attack Hard-Scale Town when they got ashore since it was the closest town to the ocean, but they were spotted quite quickly and by the time they reached the town all sorts of weapons and super-powered individuals were waiting for them.
The giant sea beast paved the way for the necromancers, and for a while, there wasn't anyone who could inflict substantial injuries on it, the people there could just barely keep it from fully entering the town through the hole it created in the wall.
But then efficient reinforcements arrived, and the followers of the twelve Goddesses of Water arrived on the scene and used superior attacks to slaughter the undead.
The necromancers were unlucky indeed, but their ego played a part in their downfall, especially the necromancer who decided to stand cross-armed on top of the undead sea monster he controlled. He was the first to go.
What happened next could be predicted. Since no one was dumb they quickly realized that there were living beings among the undead, and killing them would end their cadaverous companions.
Soon, every undead and necromancer was taken care of, and rapturous cheers celebrated their demise.
…
Pink Stallion Duchy.
The Pink Stallion Duchy was surely attacked too, but the quick-witted Cornelia had already prepared thorough and well-thought-out protective measures for her country. With the little information she had gotten from Azealia, she utilized every resource in her possession and created a strong deterrent against the undead army that attacked her duchy.
First, all the occupants in the villages were moved into the towns. Then the towns were packed with mercenaries and wandering Swordspeople, add that to the Patrol Knights and they were able to create a decent obstruction. And the main city where most of the attacks were focused on was protected by various powerhouses.
Although the amount of undead that were sent to attack the Pink Stallion Duchy were specifically more numerous than what was used in the other duchies they still weren't able to destroy nor get a decent foothold in the duchy.
The main reason why the Pink Stallion Duchy could have so many helpers was because of their famous brothels. Yes, the places that get leered at by the general public – even though anyone with enough money would go there – were why the Pink Stallion Duchy had minimal casualties. There wasn't a day when the brothels in the Pink Stallion Duchy didn't have customers, even the less popular ones. And since most nobles either had magic power or at least one Aura unlocked they provided sufficient support when the time came.
The battle was still ongoing because of how scattered it was, but most of the attacks were concentrated on the main city. The watchtowers were filled with archers who shot down arrows that had been set ablaze, they had come to know during the attack that the undead were quite flammable. Various brave and strong people who had learned a bit of swordsmanship from sword manuals fought with the Patrol Knights while the particularly strong ones take the lead. On the walls, donned in white attires, were sorceresses who worship the God of Wind and Cloud. There were other sorcerers and sorceresses around but the women in white dresses stood out the most.
They commanded the wind elements around them to form harsh and sharp winds that shredded the undead, both those who were afar and those that managed to get close to the walls. They looked like fairies as the snow-white dresses billowed against the wind.
The people on the ground had to wade through the stack of bodies – mostly undead – that littered the ground, but they were steady and fierce, unlike the sporadic undead.
The battle was in the favor of the living, and it wouldn't take long before they eradicate the troublemakers and send them back to their eternal rest.
…
The White Tiger Duchy.
The White Tiger Duchy had more casualties than the other duchies. Most of its villages had been destroyed by the undead, allowing the necromancers to rack up a shocking amount of undead creatures outnumbering even Logan's Legion.
The only advantage was that although much, the undead mostly consisted of normal rotting corpses. Only a few Greater Undead were a problem to kill. And also controlling that many undead put strains on the necromancer's minds and magical energy. Some of the undead trudged around aimlessly, since they were corpses they didn't have any innate feelings so they only walked around dazedly. Those that were found were killed, and those that weren't would become part of the creatures that live in the Northern Region.
The White Tiger Duchy undoubtedly had powerhouses of its own, and apart from the Greater Undead and some particularly strong necromancers they could easily tear apart the undead, as long as they had magical energy or their Auras didn't wane.
But they also had to look after the common folk, who weren't making their jobs easy.
The attack of the undead and fierce and sudden, and most people didn't have time to panic they were killed. When they did panic, they did so hysterically. They ran around like headless chickens, screaming at the top of their lungs anytime they saw a rotten face. The nobles were having a hard time gathering the people who had scattered in their frightened states, most of them had to use force and intimidation to control and gather the common folks into safe zones. Some agitated Patrol Knights killed a few people to set examples.
With the dwindling common folk, the necromancers no longer had an endless source from which they could create undead from. They fought to destroy the duchy, but the people of White Tiger Duchy fought to protect their home twice as hard.
Ian Makarov, the duke of the White Tiger Duchy, sat cross-legged on a rune formation in an underground room in his mansion. He was surrounded by six sorcerers that exuded strong magical energies. The room was small and square, the walls were metal and the ground was ceramic. Various magic crystals were hung from hooks, illuminating the people in the room and the undead creature that was bound to the ground.
The spell they were performing was called the Tiger's Snarl. It was supposed to be a last-resort type of spell, only to be used when the White Tiger Duchy faced an extinction-level threat. There was also a protection spell like what was used on the Black Stallion Duchy main city, but it couldn't be used since the attacks on the duchy were too sudden that they couldn't relocate everyone on time.
The spell was simple; connect the magical energy of the spell with a piece of the enemy and the spell would do all it can to eradicate them. There also had to be abundant magical crystals that would be used to determine the duration of the spell.
"Spirit of the Great White Tiger, the beast filled with strength and great vigor. We beseech you now in the time of our need, to help get rid of our enemies!"
After the words were spoken the people in the room could feel their magical energy drain from them. A hazy form of a white tiger appeared over the main city, shrouding the entire city with its sheer mass. The tiger's sudden appearance greatly shocked the people in the city, different people had different types of reactions to it. The children wailed on the streets, some people dragged their families indoors and locked the door, and others trembled where they stood.
But the phantom of the White Tiger wasn't there for them, its spiritual body floated quickly towards the battle where it sensed the enemy was. It landed amid the battle and let out an earth-shattering roar. Its roar became an attack, the soundwaves shredded the undead in front of it to pieces. It roared in another direction, the earth upturned and shattered. Some necromancers in that direction screamed as they tried their best to protect themselves, but they weren't strong enough and were destroyed.
The people fighting stood there, dazed. In just two attacks the White Tiger had erased almost every enemy in front of them. It didn't stop long enough for them to gawk at it, in a flash it had appeared in another location. It swiped at the undead, the air elements shot out of its claws and gathered till they became visible. The attack created four long and wide fissures in the area.
Surprisingly, despite its great size and strength, none of its attacks hit any of the humans on the White Tiger Duchy's side and only affected the undead. Although the shockwaves from the blasts left some people shaken with mild injuries, they were overall fine.
The White Tiger continued on its mission, it went everywhere it sensed the signature magical energy of necromancy and destroyed it with its unstoppable attacks. This continued for another 20 minutes before it dissipated, by then there was no more threat to the White Tiger Duchy.
But most of its settlements were in ruins, and their civilians were dead.
…
Logan fought fiercely against Xavier in the air, his body exuded waves of necrotic energy and his Skeleton Dragon relentlessly sent streams of emerald flame to the sorcerer. Xavier had created a gravitational disturbance around him that allowed him to fly, it also had the effect of diverting attacks from his body. But the Necrotic Wave Logan was using helped strengthen his attacks, and they bypassed the gravitational disturbance.
Even still, Xavier was a tough nut to crack.
His favorite elements were the Gravity Element and the Fire Element, he also occasionally threw some water elemental attacks in the mix. He raised his hand and cast Fire Lance, a level 5 spell. A huge lance filled with densely packed fire elements began forming above him.
Logan waved his hands and quickly cast Magic Dispel. The flames were snuffled out like they were blown away by a strong wind. Following that Logan thrust his arms forward as he cast Rotting Strike, what looked like a stream of boiling acid slammed into Xavier's ready-made shield. The force of the attack sent him flying backward, giving Logan a moment of reprieve.
Logan looked down and saw, much to his chagrin, that the reinforcements from the Sword Knights' fortress had arrived.
Xavier floated back to him, "Give it up Logan, you will never get the throne."
Because of his words, Logan was drawn into a distant memory. He recalled his father doting on his younger brother, teaching him the ways of politics with a bright glint in his eyes, the glint that always turned sour with disappointment and disapprovingly sharp every time they fell on Logan. He recalled the day he was cast out of the castle.
'You will never get the throne!' His father had said that day.
Rage began building up in Logan's chest as he kept recalling unfavorable events. Him finding it hard to survive after being cast out, Roman's coronation, and his children's births.
Xavier watched as Logan's face became more twisted as he brooded in silence, although he couldn't read minds he had a vague idea of what was going through his mind. He shook his head slightly, "The reason you were disowned was entirely your fault. You were horridly wicked, even as a child. You gained sadistic pleasure in hurting other living beings, you were a bad prince and an even worse human being."
He sighed, then his face hardened with conviction, "Before, I let you go because you were a broken prince. Now, you've returned as an enemy of the kingdom, so I will kill you with a clear conscience."
As Xavier finished speaking he thrust his arm downward and sent an overwhelmingly compressed gravity attack at Logan. Logan broke out of his thoughts sharply, the amount of energy he felt from the attack was bigger than anything Xavier had used since they started fighting. This attack could kill him, Xavier was going for the kill!
Even before the attack reached him he could already feel his bone creaking, even his teeth were hurting. The attack was too wide to dodge and none of his immediate attacks would work on it.
"Aaargh!" Logan shrieked at the top of his lungs as he began burning his soul. The use of Soul Energy changed the fundamental structure of his necromancy. His energy became bitingly cold and the necro-flame burning in the chests of his undead all turned purple. He shaped his hands into claws and cast a Flood of Negative Energy on the compressed gravity, tearing it apart with sheer force.
The force of his attack created a sharp airflow that even affected Xavier's flight. Xavier stared in shock at the events unfolding all around him. The magical energy of Logan was emitting was tremendous, almost double what he had before. The undead below also had an increase in strength, they pushed back against the Sword Knights in a crazed fierceness. A bunch of the undead managed to reach the castle, they hugged it with wide arms and then exploded with a tremendous blast so strong the castle tilted.
The shockwaves were loud, Roman staggered on his feet and looked up at Logan. He and some knights had chased the undead when he ran towards the castle, thinking they were going after his family. The explosion took them by surprise, he was blasted back faster than he came and, by the pain in his ribs, something was broken.
He ignored his hazy vision and muffled hearing, sucked in a breath, and screamed, "LOGAN!" Conveying every ounce of hatred he felt for his elder brother through his voice.
Logan stared at him with cold eyes, he raised his hands to end his brother but was blocked by Xavier. He sneered at him and said mockingly, "Look who finally gathered their courage!"
He suddenly flew lower, startling the apprehensive Xavier. The Skeleton Dragon angled its head towards Xavier, purple flames pooled in its throat and gathered a frightening amount of magical power. Its bone maw opened and sent a concentrated beam of necro-fire so hot it burned the air at Xavier.
Xavier hastily created a strong barrier in front of him. The attack slammed into the barrier with immense force, and Xavier had to keep supplying large amounts of his magical energy to sustain it. Soon the beam stopped, and Xavier took in large gasps of air as he tried to stable himself in the air. Just when he thought the worst was over he saw the Skeleton Dragon gather magical energy again, its fangs sparking as it stared at him menacingly with its empty eye sockets.
Xavier panicked. The last attack had expended more than half of his magical energy, he wouldn't be able to block another one like it.
Logan looked outright monstrous as he glared at Xavier's stricken face. His body and soul were burning but that didn't stop him from enjoying his enemy's demise. He sent a silent order to the Skeleton Dragon to attack once again, but it didn't, nothing happened. Logan was confused and tried to look down but found himself unable to, his body as still as a statue.
His attack wasn't completed, and he received a backlash.
The stasis on him was soon removed but the damage had been done. The stronger the attack, the stronger the backlash for not releasing it. His vision turned black as he heaved out blood, and the pain that racked his body doubled. Because of his state, he couldn't maintain supplementing his magic by burning his soul, his undead went back to their original states, much to the delight of the people fighting them.
Logan dropped on his back, his eyes turned, unable to focus on anything. With a hazy vision, he saw a figure floating beside Xavier. It was a woman, her attire was different from what he had ever seen but what grabbed his attention the most was the intricate golden shield she carried on one arm.