The earth trembled as dark green energy surged forth, and from the shadows emerged a legion. Twenty undead skeletons, ranging in form from human-like to beastly, all answered the call of their master.
"SLAY THEM ALL," the master commanded, and the legion obeyed.
They charged at the monstrosities with relentless ferocity, their bones rattling and clattering with each stride. The abominations, caught off guard by the sudden assault, scrambled to defend themselves against the undead horde.
The clash was swift and brutal, the air thick with the sounds of bones snapping and the wails of the dying. The undead skeletons fought with unwavering resolve, their loyalty to their master was unflinching as they hacked and slashed at their foes with chilling precision.
Azrakar observed from the sidelines, his eyes glowing with dark green energy as he directed his minions in the fight. If left to their own devices, his skeletons would behave and fight as they did in their former lives. However, Azrakar could directly control them, altering their behavior and fighting style at will.
"Hmm… This is a problem," Azrakar observed the battle with keen eyes, noting a very serious issue.
Although the abominations were weaker than his own skeletons, thus far, not a single one had been vanquished. No matter how much his skeletons ripped and tore, the abominations would simply rise again, reattaching their missing appendages and mending their wounds.
For now, his skeletons still held the upper hand, but Azrakar knew that this wouldn't last, especially since the abominations began to collaborate, overwhelming a single skeleton.
"My Mana will inevitably run out," he thought, his sharp eyes scanning the battlefield, searching for a solution to the abominations' regenerative abilities. He knew that if they couldn't find a way to halt the creatures from healing, the battle would drag on endlessly, with his undead warriors suffering significant losses.
"Nexus, do you have any ideas on how to counteract the abominations' regeneration?" Azrakar asked, his eyes narrowing in concentration.
[Master Azrakar, it is possible that the corruption that has twisted the abominations' forms is also responsible for their regenerative abilities,] Nexus replied. [If we can disrupt the corruption, we may be able to weaken the abominations and prevent them from healing.]
"Disrupt the corruption?" Azrakar mused, his mind racing as he tried to come up with a plan. "But how?"
[Perhaps you could use your necromancy or another magic to siphon the corruption from the abominations,] Nexus suggested.
"Is there a skill that can do that in the shop?"
[Let me check, Master Azrakar.]
Immediately, multiple system messages materialized before Azrakar. He watched as Nexus began sifting through the hundreds of skills available in the shop.
A few seconds later, a description of a skill materialized before his eyes.
…
[Dark Siphon Lv1 (Warlock): A forbidden spell that allows the caster to siphon dark energy from their target, weakening them and restoring his own mana in the process.]
…
[Master Azrakar, I have found a skill that should fit your needs,] Nexus reported. [It is called "Dark Siphon" and is available at Level 1 for the Warlock class.]
"Great, let's see the cost," Excited, Azrakar clicked on the skill to check its price. When he saw it, he swiftly closed it, feigning ignorance.
"Let's just stick with the old way," he mumbled in defeat, rummaging through his inventory.
Azrakar was POOR!...and the price of the skill was well…A bloody 15k system points! Too much for his meager balance of less than 2k
'I need more points!' he sighed again 'Why do I get the feeling that I will be saying this frequently in the future?'
At that moment he heard the familiar Ding! Inside his mind. Puzzled, Azrakar opened the notification only to discover that he had received experience points from his minion's kills.
"WHAT!" he exclaimed, his eyes scanning the battlefield searching for the skeleton responsible for slaying an abomination.
In a flash, Azrakar found what he was looking for. One of the dire wolves, its jaws clamped around the neck of an abomination, its teeth sinking deep into the creature's flesh. As the dire wolf skeleton shook its head violently, the abomination failed to regenerate.
"How? And why didn't it regenerate?" Azrakar narrowed his eyes, searching for a clue "What's the difference"
He shifted his gaze for a moment to one of the abominations that was in the process of regenerating its arms. Azrakar's eyes darted rapidly between the creatures, searching for any discrepancies. And sure enough, he spotted it.
"The ground!" he bellowed as realization dawned on him. That dire wolf skeleton was the only one who had hoisted the creature from the ground using its jaws. Since these creatures were corrupted and the land suffered from the same affliction, they must somehow be linked.
"Nexus, could it be that the abominations are drawing their regenerative power from the earth itself?" Azrakar inquired, his eyes gleaming with determination.
[It is a possibility, Master Azrakar,] Nexus replied. [The corruption may be feeding off the energy of the land, and by disrupting that connection, we may be able to weaken the abominations and prevent them from regenerating.]
"GOOD!" With a shout, he retrieved long wooden spikes, remnants from previous battles and scavenging. Though crude, they would serve his purpose well.
"Alright, time to get creative," Azrakar muttered to himself, with determination in his eyes, he quickly called his five human skeletons and handed each of them a long wooden spike.
"Alright, listen up," Azrakar commanded, his voice firm. "We need to take down these ugly beasts, and we're going to do it with these spikes. When you see an abomination fall, impale these stakes through its body, and lift them from the corrupted ground. Ensure they don't make contact with the earth."
The skeletons remained expressionless, but Azrakar knew they understood their task. With a renewed sense of purpose, Azrakar and his undead legion pressed their advantage, driving the abominations back with relentless force. The ground shook with each strike, and the air filled with the sounds of bones breaking and the wails of the dying.
As the battle raged on, Azrakar meticulously adjusted the fighting style of his animal-like skeletons. He commanded the dire wolves to hoist the corrupted creatures off the ground using their jaws, while the Rot Eaters leaped onto their backs, tearing the creatures apart mid-air, preventing them from touching the earth.
When Azrakar exploited this vulnerability, the twisted creatures stood no chance against the coordinated assault of Azrakar's undead legion. One by one they fell, and this time, permanently.
"Ah!...you're the last one I see," Azrakar remarked with amusement, watching his skeletons encircle the abomination he first encountered in this corrupted land.
The boar-like creature cowered in terror as it realized it was surrounded and outmatched.
"Leave this one to me," Azrakar commanded, stepping forward. He delivered a powerful kick to the creature, causing it to stumble backward. It attempted to flee, but Azrakar swiftly severed its humanoid arm-like legs.
"What an ugly creature you are," he remarked with disdain, hoisting the twisted boar high in the air. He proceeded to dismember it piece by piece, leaving nothing but its boar-like head.
However, the moment Azrakar attempted to cleave the head in two, the creature let out a high-pitched shriek, exploding in a dark substance.
"What the...?" Alarmed by this unexpected turn of events, Azrakar instantly released the creature and leaped backward in retreat. When facing the unknown it's better to be safe than sorry.
"What is that?" he inquired, his eyes widening as he witnessed the dark substance devouring the corpses of the other fallen abominations, forming a colossal bubble. As it did, the corruption in the land intensified, pulsating with a newfound energy.
Quiiick! Quiiick!
Screeching and roaring echoed from within the dark bubble as it began to rapidly expand and grow, consuming the very soil beneath it.
"Hmm..." Azrakar narrowed his eyes as the dark bubble slowly began to take shape. "KILL IT NOW" he roared, commanding his legion to surround the dark bubble and attack it from all sides.
Unfortunately, the moment his skeletons touched the expanding mass, it devoured them with a ravenous hunger, swallowing them whole into its inky depths.
"What?!" Azrakar's eyes widened in horror as he felt his connection to his minions abruptly severed. Panic surged through him as he recognized the extent of the dark substance's power. However, before he could react...
A dark tentacle latched onto him, seizing his arm.
"Get off me!" Azrakar roared, slashing at the tentacle with his curved bone blade. But instead of successfully severing the appendage from his arm, the tentacle doubled in number.
"What!" he exclaimed, severing both tentacles, only to find four more sprouts back, wrapping themselves around his neck and leg, relentlessly yanking him towards the pulsating mass.
"UGH!..." Azrakar struggled against the relentless grip of the dark tentacles, his mind racing as he fought to break free from their grasp. With each strike of his bone blade, the tentacles only seemed to multiply, their inky darkness enveloping him further.
Before another thought could form, he found himself mere hair's breadth from the pulsating darkness.
"This thing…Is trying to eat me!" Azrakar struggled against the overwhelming force of the dark tentacles, his mind racing for a solution as panic threatened to consume him. With every attempt to break free, the tentacles only tightened their grip, threatening to drag him into the abyssal depths of the dark mass.
"I will NOT!... Die here" he bellowed, channeling his raw magical energy, attempting to force an explosion, hoping to create an escape route. Tragically, before he could complete the gesture, a shadowy tentacle unlike the others erupted from the mass, clamping onto his chest with chilling finality.
"N-No!" A wave of debilitating weakness washed over him. His eyes widened in horror as he felt his magic being siphoned away, the connection to his own power severed. All resistance quelled, as the darkness swallowed him entirely.