Chapter 47
The fight went on for what felt like hours, but there was no way to tell the passage of time deep down below the ice. The only thing that was changing was that Michael felt increasingly exhausted, despite his healing working overtime to keep him alert. It had gotten to the point where the healing was costing more and more mana to keep up, and his dantian felt completely devoid of Qi.
Another change was that the golem protecting him was beginning to struggle. Cracks had appeared on its stony surface, more than it could regenerate, and pieces of stone were crumbling to the ground, covering the mounds of shaved-off ice from the fight with brown particles like topping on a dessert.
Drullkrin re-emerged from the dwindling stampede to lend a hand to the struggling golem, allowing Michael to keep fighting the elite monsters one at a time. They all seemed to be aiming at him, ignoring the rest of his team, making controlling their movements easier than if it had been an all-out melee. But whenever something barred their way and did not allow them to reach Michael, they became enraged and fought viciously until they were killed or destroyed so thoroughly that there was nothing left of them.
The winged fox was the next to emerge from the fight, having done all it could. It now switched to supporting Michael, and with the help of her paralyzing beams his fights became much easier. Even though the golem was no longer alone, the sheer number of elites left meant that soon enough controlling them was impossible, and one last all-out brawl broke out. Michael kept the healing aura working overtime, with the members of the team falling back towards him every time they were injured.
Still, he couldn't keep the aura active and use his other abilities at the same time, the mana draw was too great, and soon wounds began to accumulate.
Fortunately, before any of them collapsed from their injuries, the tide eased and then the flow of monsters ceased. They finished off the last remaining fighters quickly now that the monsters did not have any more support, and then collapsed on the ground, panting. It would have been funny to see the chimera flop to the side or the winged fox drift lazily down to settle on Michael's shoulder, but he was too tired to really acknowledge them.
Still, he kept the healing going, and soon the blood that stained the ground red and other colors from the monsters' wounds stopped flowing.
"We fought well, my lord." Drullkrin said tiredly, "but let's hope we don't encounter another tide such as this, or we will be hard pressed to continue."
As they were, they decided to make camp and rest. Their bodies were fine, thanks to the healing, but their minds were tired after fighting for so long. Even monsters got tired after a while, although Michael wondered whether the goblin general had called for a rest to allow him a respite, or whether the monsters were indeed as mentally exhausted as they claimed to be.
Then they were once again scouting the tunnels. As they walked, Drullkrin congratulated Michael for his skill, claiming that he had grown a lot from when he had emerged as king, holding the piece of the Unity back in their encampment in the forest.
"Really?" Michael was incredulous.
"Of course, my king. I would not lie to you, just to make myself look good in your eyes. I would rather stay silent than bear such shame. My praise is earned, as you indeed have grown stronger. I could see your ability and confidence soar during the fight, the last enemy you fought was several times stronger than the first that the golem had let thought and yet you dispatched of it quicker than you had the other."
It was hard to believe, especially with his insecurities still playing tricks on his mind, but if Drullkrin said so, then it had to have some merit. It was here that Michael's kingly persona played a crucial role, as it allowed him to hide his real emotions and address his team as befitting of his status.
"I must congratulate you all for a fight well fought. We faced the danger of a monster stampede and, despite the numbers threatening to crush us, and the hostile environment, came out on top. You really are the elites, and deserve recognition. Let us defeat the king of ice, and I will see to it that you shall all be rewarded handsomely."
How he was going to reward them, he still didn't know. But his words galvanized the monsters, and with renewed vigor they threw themselves in their tasks, exploring the caves and dispatching enemies with fury.
Eventually they arrived at a large cavern, dimly lit with the shifting light of braziers and scattered torches. It carried the heavy weight of mana, elemental energy and a faint hint of Qi within it. At the center of the room was a large throne made of ice, and on the throne sat a gigantic figure entirely made of animated ice, like a huge elemental. Even looking at it was enough to freeze the blood of whoever dared intrude into the king's chambers, and the spikes on its body glinted with dangerous light.
To the king's side were two statues, made of compressed snow packed in so tight that it was harder than ice. In their empty eye sockets shone a deep cerulean light, while the snow that made up their bodies glimmered with tiny crystals of ice, lit by the strangely white light of the fires and torches.
Before the team even got time to take in the full size of the gigantic room, filled with furnishing and carpets, golden goblets standing on ornate counters and tapestries, a sudden sense of danger assaulted them. Michael didn't even know how he could tell, but he dove to the side right as his distortion sphere deflected a spear aimed at his head.
The rest of the team reacted immediately, and they took defensive positions against the ambushing enemies coming from above. The creatures were quick, but weak. They looked like the ghouls they encountered in the tunnels, and they were dispatched with ease.
They were, however, just a diversion. Now the statues were on them, and their might was soon revealed when one managed to pop one of Michael's bubbles, and in his shock he almost stumbled, only recovering in the nick of time to defend Drullkrin from an attack from behind. Even though he had put considerable mana into the magic skill, the statue had been strong enough to pop it.
He recovered quickly, and the team fell into their practiced tactic. All of the members fought to keep one of the statues occupied while Michael deal with the other, all his skills flaring to power. He empowered his body, summoned flame, pushed his sped-up reflexes to the maximum and used his distortion sphere with abandon. He even tried to use his foul water but, like with the other monsters made of ice, it was mostly useless. A portion of its power, that of rot, did work but the rest was absorbed and went to strengthen the monster, making the skill a net loss for Michael.
He fought quickly, dodging below savage strikes that had no right to come from a statue that big. He would have been shocked had he not met the golems already, who were just as big and quick. But the statue was stronger, and it could cover itself in ice where it was damaged, recovering its integrity even as cracks spread through the packed snow.
To the side, the team was struggling. The golem was cracked in many places, and the others were being thrown around like ragdolls.
Michael knew he didn't have much time. Deciding to suffer a vicious blow that cracked his ribs, he dove for the statue and started melting it with his flame, summoning a [Distortion Sphere] inside the hollow he had carved with fire to make it explode. Then, he turned to the other statue just in time to see its eyes light up, and Michael watched in horror as the essence of the first statue was absorbed into the second before most of it could disperse, empowering the other construct.
But still, it was a full team against a single statue. They suffered wounds, and at one point the statue managed to grab the chimera's tail and rip it off entirely, eliciting a roar from the twin heads of the creature. This only sent the monster into a rage, making its attack ever more vicious at the expense of its safety, and the team soon got the upper hand.
Micheal turned to face the king, having dealt with the statue. Behind him, the chimera was not regenerating its tail even though Michael was healing the monster, the lingering ice energy crippling his regeneration skill.
It was with utter horror that Michael noticed that the king was nowhere to be found. With a sudden sense of dread, Michael turned around the find the king suddenly standing before the golem, delivering a vicious blow and sending the stone construct flying back into the corridor from where it came. The cracks on its stone body widened as entire pieces of rock crumbled to dust, and light was now visible coming from its partially exposed core, but the golem still tried to right itself up.
The king paid it no mind anymore, and instead jumped up with impossible speed, catching the winged fox and ripping its wings out before the little creature could so much as scream in fright. Then the king tossed it at the golem, where it impacted with a meaty thud and fell unconscious.
Michael could only stare in horror until Drullkrin voice reached his ears. "We need to retreat!"
Not needing to be told twice, he sprinted down the tunnel. He did not stop running until he had crossed the bend that brought the king's chamber out of sight, collapsing in a panting heap, heart thundering in his chest. Beside him, the team stood broken and battered.
Even though he tried to heal them, the damage lingered. The fox's wings did not grow back, and neither did the chimera's tail. Still, the king had not followed them out of its chamber, even though they could still hear its booming laughter that was like ice sheets grinding on each other.
"We have earned a reprieve. We need to—"
Michael's words died in his throat as he felt the energies shift before he could even feel the ground begin to shake. He looked up at the end of the tunnel, and quickly saw a monster appear, followed by another, then another two.
"Another stampede…" he muttered. "We are surrounded."