Amazingly enough, that still wasn't enough to kill the Kobold King. He forced his head up to execute one final defiant bite on Long Wang, but my dragon butler reflexively jumped away from his snapping jaws after yanking his claws out and sending a spray of blood into the air. The Kobold King jerked toward him, only for me to scissor his neck with both Azure Dragon and Azure Frost. With a stroke from my two hands, I decapitated him and sent his disembodied head flying through the air.
The headless corpse of the Kobold King twitched for several moments before finally falling still. Sylvie and Silvia joined me, along with Myria, who butchered the remaining Kobolds in her path as she fought to reach us. Already, they were being routed by my summoned spirit beasts, their morale having dropped rock bottom when they saw that their king had been so brutally beheaded. A few of them even stood still in shock, not even reacting as they were pulverized by the Colossal Crabs' pincers or stomped on by the Guardian Golems. Xiao Huo led the countercharge, incinerating a swathe through their ranks and causing the shell shocked remnants to flee…right into the waiting electric net of my aquatic armada. Those who went the other way found their feet stuck in marshes created by my Mud Fishes, or tangled by leaves and sprouting seeds sown by my Twig Turtles.
We weren't the only ones who had scored a major victory. Hei Ba had finally trampled over the rapidly dwindling squadron of Raven Guard, his golden beams catching one and disintegrating the armored figure instantly. His claws clamped down on another writhing figure, and even his night black armor wasn't impervious to several tons of bone, muscle and flesh stomping down on him. Another guy spun around and took flight, but he failed to evade one of the heads, which caught him in his jaws and chewed him to a slow, agonizing death.
Meanwhile, Sigmund had finally gained the upper hand. He severed one of Corvus's hands at the wrist, sending both the fist and lightning claws hurtling away. Corvus hissed and withdrew his stump, the spurting blood slowing to a trickle as his superhuman system kicked in and his blood clotted near instantaneously to stem the bleeding. He determinedly slashed with his remaining set of lightning claws, but Sigmund fended them off before responding with a riposte that ran through his breastplate and obliterated his chest.
Miraculously, Corvus survived. Even as bloody spittle foamed around his mouth, he grabbed Sigmund's gauntlets and pulled him closer so that he could stab his lightning claws into his neck. Sigmund twisted about, dodging the blades by a hair's breadth, even as the disruptive energies flared close enough to scorch both his skin and black armor, and then he tossed Corvus over his shoulder and slammed an armored boot onto the guy's face, breaking his nose.
Pulling his sword out, he twirled it around and plunged it into Corvus's neck in what appeared to be an uncharacteristically vengeful retaliation, but I knew him well enough to not succumb to his emotions. His expression remained grim as ever, and I understood that he wasn't beheading his opponent for revenge.
Someone who could survive having his heart destroyed and his chest ruptured couldn't be underestimated. he was so tenacious that only a separation of his head from body would be enough to guarantee his death. otherwise, we couldn't leave such a dangerous foe lying around without confirming that he was dead.
He might return to bite us in the ass, after all.
Hei Ba finished off the last of the Raven Guard. There was a single sole survivor by now, and witnessing the demise of his lord, he spun around and took off with a flap of his pseudo mechanical wings. However, a golden beam caught him in his flight path and erased him from existence. Hei Ba hissed in triumph and stomped on the ground, his nine heads squirming about as he sought for more prey. I shook my head and quickly dismissed the near uncontrollably spirit beast, teleporting him back into his Abyssal Cavern.
In the skies, the Grim Owl and my Xiao Huo Long had finally subdued the two Crow Bats that were leading the Bat army. Their four-winged carcasses plummeted, one scorched and charred, and the other sliced apart both physically and immaterially. The Vampire Bats and Goliath Bats wheeled about to escape, only for their erratic retreat to pass through an electrical storm thrown up by my Little Anglers and Lantern Fishes. Sylvie and Silvia joined in, conjuring more spells to massacre the rest, and their elemental projectiles and spirit swords also shot down the decimated Ravenous Ravens who had decided to flee once the Raven Lord was slain. I didn't want to be outdone, and I added my own volley of azure arrows to the mix, shooting down dozens of them at a time.
However, the real MVPs were the Owls. The Round Owlets and Arrow Owls followed the lead of their commander Grim Owl, harrying and pursuing the running Bats and Ravens. They tore into the backs of their fleeing foes, using beaks or talons in close range, or sniping them from afar with precise barrages of feathers that cut through them like bullets. Within the hour, the night skies were clear of the enemy, and the Owls reigned supreme like they always did.
Owls were the apex nocturnal birds of prey, after all. Funnily enough, I was looking out for golden and brown Nocturnal Owls, but obviously those don't exist. I mean, owls were nocturnal, so nobody would name them Nocturnal Owls…right?
"Good job, everybody," Sigmund said as he rejoined us after finishing off the Lycanthrope Lords that were faltering after the death of their king. Morten waved at him after kicking a Kobold to death, his attack all the more potent because his victim was still shocked by the sudden reversal.
"Thanks! You too!"
"The only threats left are the Shrieking Banshees," I murmured, turning to check on my ghost spirit beasts. The Ghost Pumpkins were herding the Shrieking Pumpkins toward the reaping scythes of my Pumpkin Wraiths, while the Phantom Stumps formed a cordon, sections of their line enforced by the stalwart presences of sentinel Tree Revenants. I didn't have to worry about them, even more so now that my battered Elder Tree Revenant limped to rejoin them.
Under Da Shu's careful watch and leadership, the Shrieking Banshees were doomed. They wailed desperately, but their sonic assaults were not effective against the Phantom Stumps, Ghost Pumpkins, Tree Revenants and Pumpkin Wraiths. Perhaps they would be better off unleashing eldritch cries, the ghost element allowing them to be super effective against fellow ghost type spirit beasts, but it appeared they didn't have that option.
We were lucky.
"Phew." I wiped the perspiration from my face, but Sylvie tugged at my hand and pointed at something in the distance.
"Those ruins…aren't they what the Kobold King and his army were protecting?"
"Ruins?" I asked, following her finger and catching sight of an eerie monument that rose silently in the midst of the spectral forest. It resembled a black monolith, with an arched roof and eldritch runes carved into its black surface. The arcane symbols glowed a disturbing green, the creepy radiation causing me to flinch.
"They were using that to corrupt the natural mana of Yggdrasil," Sigmund said, recognizing it. "It's the technology of the dark elves, designed to suck up mana, transform it into demonic energies, and then pump it back into the source to contaminate it."
"We have to destroy it!" Morten gasped.
"Yeah," Myria agreed, moving forward with her sword drawn. "I don't know what that is exactly, but I don't like the look of it. If what Sigmund says is true, then we can't leave it be."
"Leave it to me," Sigmund said, stepping forward. Azure energies ran along the length of his huge sword, and he swung it to unleash a tsunami of destructive energy that engulfed the foul monument and demolish it. I blinked and my lenses automatically darkened to protect my eyes as a blinding flash lit up the forest and momentarily turned night into day. The corruptive monolith shattered, its radioactive runes flickering out and losing that sickly green light immediately before crumbling away into nothingness. In the face of Sigmund's cold fury, nothing was left standing.
A second later, the air felt a lot purer than before. The gloom was slightly lifted from the forest, and though visibly nothing appeared to change, I could feel the atmosphere lighten a lot. The somber weight that hung over the spectral forest had been lifted, and the pall that used to suffocate the trees was slowly dissipating. I wasn't sure how to describe it, but the mana felt a lot cleaner than before. It was like breathing fresh air in the rural areas after exiting an urban city.
I hadn't even noticed the taint in the mana or the stifling pressure in the atmosphere before because I was so used to the harsh surroundings, but now that it had been removed, I could feel the noticeable shift. It was sort of like realizing the difference between drinking pure water from a spring and chlorinated water from the tap. I wouldn't have noticed that such clean energies could exist until I actually experienced them firsthand.
"That should be a major setback in their plans," Sigmund said, sheathing his sword in satisfaction. "Good work, everybody. Now, after we launch a final major offensive at the very top of Yggdrasil, we should be able to end this once and for all."
"The top of Yggdrasil?" Myria asked.
"That's where the dark elves and their allies have gathered," Morten explained. "You noticed that there wasn't a huge presence of dark elves here? Most of the Dire Wolf riders had retreated, and even Lelith Maledictx herself hasn't shown up, despite this being such an important stronghold for them. They must have withdrawn for one last gambit at their very top."
"We only slowed their plans, not foiled it totally," Sigmund continued solemnly. "No doubt they have a backup contingency in place for when they fail. Even if they can no longer corrupt Yggdrasil like they originally planned, we cannot allow them to roam freely. We must apprehend them…or ensure they are no longer able to threaten our world again."
"I see." Myria nodded tiredly. "And I agree. I will confess to not being familiar with the machinations of these dark elves, but from what I've seen of them, they are definitely a danger to the rest of the world…including my home."
Even though the others didn't understand what she was referring to, I was the only one who was aware that she was concerned about what would happen if the dark elves developed a way to infiltrate and raid Atlantis. Unlikely, given that the dark elves hadn't shown any inclination of being able to operate underwater, but it was probably a simple matter for them to develop the necessary techniques should they show any interest in the aquatic kingdom.
"Anyway, we should meet up with the rest." Morten raised a hand after pressing it to his ear, as if listening to instructions issued from elsewhere. "It seems like the other battles are going well. we've pretty much annihilated the enemy in Noctwood, and Colonel Blake has ordered a recall for those who are done fighting to muster back in the command post."
"Let's go!" Silvia piped up. "I need a good sleep after all that spellcasting!"
"Silvia!" Sylvie chided. "The rest fought harder than we did! They are more tired than we are! We spent most of our time in the backlines!"
"You still contributed significantly to the battle," I told the fairy sisters. "If it weren't for you, we might not have been able to defeat the Kobold King. You too, Long Wang. Thanks for your assistance."
"Not a problem, my lord." Long Wang bowed. "I'll now return to your dungeon."
He vanished before I could say anything, but I decided to leave him to it. He probably preferred resting in the Deep Sea Palace.
I was about to follow the rest of my party back to Colonel Robert Blake's command post when a notification window popped up next to me. At the same time, I caught sight of ten Round Owlets swooping down to land in a circle around me.
"Eh? What the?"
The ten Round Owlets hooted and hopped closer, gesturing at me with their wings. I glanced at the notification window from the system and understood.
-Would you like to make a spirit contract with this Round Owlet? –
There were ten of the prompt windows. Exactly the same number of Round Owlets that had gathered around me. I wasn't sure how, but it appeared that the system had communicated with those most willing and asked them to come forward.
"Yeah, I would. But are you guys sure? What about the rest of your flock?"
That was when the Grim Owl landed on a branch slightly above and beside me. He hooted and raised a wing before nodding once. I understood immediately.
"Thanks. I'll make sure to take good care of these kids and do my best to nurture them to their full potential. Or at least give them a safe haven for them to grow up safe and sound."
The Grim Owl appeared to smile at me, as far as an avian spirit beast could smile with a beak anyway. Then he took off with a flap of his huge wings and disappeared into the night. I then returned my attention back to the ten Round Owlets and held out my hand. Next to me, the prompt windows winked out of existence, having affirmed my decision.
"Well, if you will have me, then…I would like to welcome you all to my family."