Kai watched the approaching generals, noting their powerful digitigrade legs and the way their tails swung. The stocky rust-scaled general moved with surprising agility despite his bulk, his claws digging into the earth for purchase as he charged.
Twin axes whirled in deadly arcs as the general struck. Kai barely managed to dodge, feeling the wind from the strikes. The general's tail swept low, catching Kai off guard and sending him stumbling. He rolled just in time to avoid a downward strike that would have split his skull.
Behind him many of the friendly lizardman warriors fighting the lower rank Margax, many with ability marks using small spells of what looked like magic. Kai remembered what ability marks were from that one warrior introducing him to the agriculture. He thought he saw the same warrior next to a straw shack. But the lizardman mostly looked the same with small variations on body structure so Kai couldn't tell.
"Constellation!" Kai called out desperately, trying to thin the ranks of soldiers still streaming past. Maybe not the greatest decision when he should be focusing on the lizardman general at hand, but he wasn't very apt at critical thinking, something that haunted his younger years. Points of light flickered into existence, deadly beams connecting them, but the lizardmen troops' natural agility helped many dodge or leap over the attacks. Their powerful legs launched them incredible distances, making them harder to pin down than Kai expected.
The rust-scaled general pressed his advantage, his muscular legs coiling before launching him forward with explosive force. His axes came in from opposite directions, forcing Kai to duck and weave. "Luminant Star!" The concentrated stellar energy caught the general's shoulder, but his thick scales absorbed much of the damage. The general's only response was a guttural laugh.
"How fucking strong are these guys!?" Kai grumbled to himself in frustration.
"Stronger than you could imagine." The general said with a toothy grin, somehow hearing him. Kai forgot lizardman have quite the sharp hearing.
Two more generals joined the fray - one with black and dark green scales wielding a spear nearly twice his height, the other a red and grey color, carrying a crackling lightning sword. Kai heard about weapon enchantments from his village, but he never saw one up close. He had to be cautious. They moved with deadly coordination, their tails helping them pivot and change direction with unnatural speed. The spear-wielder used his weapon's reach to keep Kai at distance while the sword-wielder looked for openings.
"Nebula!" Kai created a shield of cosmic matter, trying to envelope the lizardman, but the spear-wielder's strength was incredible. Each thrust made Kai's arms shake, the general's clawed feet leaving deep gouges in the earth as he pressed forward. The sword-wielder circled, his tail lashing with anticipation.
Kai tried to counter with Solar Wind, but the generals' scales provided better heat resistance than he'd anticipated. Why were they so much stronger than the Kowxlincui? They pressed forward through the scorching air, their reptilian eyes narrowed to slits and grinning snouts. The spear-wielder's thrust came dangerously close to Kai's throat, while the sword-wielder's lightning-enhanced blade crackled past his ear.
"Asteroid!" The celestial projectile crashed down, but both generals leaped away with impressive speed, their powerful legs carrying them clear of the impact. The sword-wielder actually used his tail to swing around a tree trunk, maintaining his momentum to launch another attack.
Kai's breath came in ragged gasps as he tried to maintain distance, and consciousness, he realized. He was using too much energy. The generals' natural advantages made them formidable opponents - their claws provided better traction, their tails offered superior balance, and their legs gave them explosive power. Even their scales negated some of his attacks' effectiveness.
The rust-scaled general rejoined the fight, having shrugged off the Luminant Star's effects. Three sets of reptilian eyes tracked Kai's movements as the generals circled. Their tails swayed in perfect balance, muscles coiled and ready to strike. Kai knew he needed to end this quickly, but his opponents' natural abilities made that easier said than done.
Summoning his remaining strength, Kai attempted to combine Constellation with Luminant Star, creating a web of deadly energy. But the generals' mobility proved problematic - they leaped and rolled through gaps in the pattern, their bodies twisting in ways a human's couldn't. The spear-wielder even used his tail to vault over a particularly dense cluster of energy beams. Constellation was good with multiple weaker targets, not three burly tanks he learned.
Still, the sustained assault began to take its toll. The rust-scaled general's movements slowed as radiation sickness set in. Kai didn't know what it was, just that the book told him it could damage any foe, that didn't use a specific magic to combat it. Maybe some kind of poison?
The sword-wielder's scales blackened under repeated exposure to stellar energy. Even the spear-wielder's impressive leaps grew less precise.
However Kai could say the same. His muscles were beginning to feel heavy and slow. A sign of heavy strain. he had to think fast. However he couldn't think fast enough.
The black and dark green scaled lizardman leaped at him, his spear aimed straight for his face.
The only thing Kai could do was block with his arms. The impact made a spine shattering sound, Kai was hoping the spear would at best impale through his arms, at worst almost splitting his brain open.
However a large Clank echoed in the wilderness around. The spear bounced straight off his hands.
The impact sennt vibrations through his body. His eyes widened in shock as he stared at his gold-trimmed sleeves, which showed no signs of damage.
Suddenly, the world around him blurred and shifted. The battling lizardmen froze in place as strange energy swirled around him. His magical book materialized before him, its pages turning on their own as reality warped into a starlit void.
"What the fuck is this!?" Kai yelled out.
Text shimmered into existence:
"The mineral Nyctophyte grows within items blessed by cosmic magic. Your cloak's fibers are slowly being infused with this legendary material, granting protection beyond mortal metals. The process accelerates during combat."
"Nyctophyte, huh? Cool ass name."
Kai couldn't help but laugh. This "magic" or whatever possessed him seemed oh-so-noble. Kai hated those people.
Kai glanced at his sleeves. The gold trim on black seemed to pulse faintly with an inner light.
"However, you struggle needlessly," the text continued as he read it. "The spear upon your back can be transformed. My being flows through your body like the mitochondria of a cell, and I know your affinity for the sword. Will its shape to change, and it shall become a blade worthy of cosmic magic."
"What the fuck is a mitochondria of a cell?" Kai yelled out, waited for an answer but nothing came. All of this was so damn weird for him.
Kai reached back, gripping the spear's shaft.
"So I can transform it into a sword, huh?" Kai never really bugged with using the spear as he knew he would look stupid with it. However he was forced into sword practice sessions when he was young - something that left bitter memories - but he learned some stuff, and knew he wouldn't look as stupid with a sword. The time around him stopped, everything purple anyways, so he might as well try. Sometimes he wondered, was supposed to be the guy with this 'Primordial Magic?' Or was it a mistake, something Kai couldn't imagine a higher being making.
As he pulled it forward, he focused his will into the weapon. The gold metal flowed like liquid, reshaping itself. The spearhead elongated and flattened, transforming into a crimson blade atop a golden hilt.
Reality snapped back into focus. The book in front of him dematerializing. The generals were advancing more slowly now, their movements hampered by the radiation sickness inflicted by Kai's earlier attacks. The sword-wielder's lightning blade crackled as he lunged forward.
Kai met the strike with his newly-formed sword, red blade clashing against crackling lightning, surprisingly good at countering it. Though more comfortable with this familiar weapon, he still found himself hard-pressed by the lizardmen's natural physical advantages. Their tails and powerful legs allowed them to attack from unexpected angles, even as the radiation sickness took its toll. Kai never really thought about the physical prowess of this race, mostly because he wasn't in any danger.
The spear-wielder thrust at Kai's flank, forcing him to disengage and leap back. His sword left a trail of red starlight as he parried and countered, but the generals' coordination made landing a solid hit difficult. Even weakened, they remained fearsome opponents.
"Is that all you've got, human?" the rust-scaled general taunted, though his voice was noticeably strained. "Our might cannot be overcome by mere tricks!"
Kai gritted his teeth, knowing he needed to end this quickly before exhaustion claimed him. The battle was far from over, and his energy reserves were running dangerously low. He still needed to fight the leader, who was standing in the distance with a smug expression etched on his snout.