Nero nodded approvingly. Broncar was a nightmare to his foes on the battlefield. He was someone the half-dragon would be happy to test his mettle against – once he grew a little more powerful.
The tides of battle were constantly changing, and the combined militia forces were dying in droves every second, but the player dared to hope they would be able to win.
Then the bouldite mages joined the fray.
***
“Damn it!” Sullivan shouted as a huge explosion of rock and magic tore through the center outpost, killing half of the soldiers on the walls. “What the hell did that?”
“Over there!” Panda shouted, pointing to the wall of the gorge on their right. A duo of especially large bouldites appeared, moving their arms rhythmically, clearly in the process of casting another spell.
“Damn, we need to take them down!” Sullivan yelled.
“I’ll get the one on the right,” Panda shouted eagerly, sliding down a ladder to the internal courtyard.
“Don’t be crazy,” the strategist shouted after her. “The last mage we encountered was level 180.”
“Don’t worry, boy,” Ragnar said, easily jumping the wall after the berserker woman. “I’ll give ‘er a hand.”
“You can’t possibly—” Sullivan called after them, but the two were already running toward the main gate. “Damn.” His eyes scanned the forces below. The battle was precariously balanced. They were currently winning against the throng, but if he withdrew too many forces to counter the mages, it might tip the balance against them. His eyes landed on the ferocious princess, hacking apart another bouldite lieutenant. She and the golems were single-handedly holding the army’s western flank, and they were closest to the mages. Running a quick assessment, Sullivan made his call. “Savol, send the princess and the golems to take down the left mage,” he said, pointing at the bouldite mages. The two had just completed another joined spell, causing an additional explosion that completely devastated one of the outposts.
The general’s expression darkened, but he nodded. “Savol will do this.”
Sullivan returned the nod, then paled as he spotted two other mages appearing on their other side.
***
“Damn!” Nero hissed as an explosion detonated in the center of their force, instantly incinerating a hundred soldiers. They had already lost over half their troops and those that remained, though they were the strongest, were already exhausted. GreenPiece soldiers continued falling by the score while the bouldites had lost only a third of their army. And the two new bouldite mages that just revealed themselves next to his forces weren’t helping things either. On the far side of the skirmish he could see two additional mages being engaged, meaning he had to deal with the two close ones with the units under his immediate command.
There was no response.
Nero gritted his teeth. “Mob Squad, you’re with me!”
The four exhausted players turned and nodded at him. “Just point the way,” Misa said, trying to smile despite breathing heavily.
“We’ll charge the closest mage,” Nero shouted over the sounds of battle.
“What about the other one?” Riley shouted back. The other mage was turned away from them as he faced the remainder of Akzar’s forces, casting spells that instantly healed a group of smashers that were slicing through their ranks.
Nero’s eyes scanned the battlefield. Broncar was engaged, occupying a large group of hurlers on his own. The powerful boss was already bleeding from dozens of wounds. The Ettin was holding back a trio of lieutenants, while another group of hob soldiers attacked them from behind. Without The Champion, the soldiers stood no chance, but if the mages were left alone, they risked the entire army. The point was driven home as another lieutenant’s club smashed into the ground, instantly debilitating a group of soldiers.
Nero sent out his thoughts.
“Yes, Overlord,” the Ettin growled loudly as his response entered the player’s mind. Bonecruncher hurtled straight through the lieutenants, scattering them like bowling pins, as he charged their mage.
Despite his speed and power, it was the group of players who reached their target first.
Riley opened by casting a spell, hurling a bolt of darkness at the bouldite mage, but the enemy easily swiped it out of the air with a surge of mana. Then Fox, Nero, and Raystia were upon him, hacking and slashing, forcing him to concentrate on them instead of casting more spells. Misa launched a chain and tugged at it as it wrapped around one of his arms, but her strength wasn’t enough to even slow down the giant monster.
Not far from them, Bonecruncher was carving a bloody path through the ranks of enemies, ignoring the damage he received, and barreling straight into the other mage. The mage had 75 levels over the Ettin, but the latter was a tier 3 boss and had more health and sheer mass. The two hulking brutes started trading blows. The Ettin’s acid-covered cleaver left sizzling, nasty gashes along the bouldite’s chest, while the other chanted a quick spell causing shards of glass to shoot out of the ground and impact The Champion.
The rest of the army was fighting desperately now. They were killing bouldites left and right, but their own numbers were falling even quicker.
Nero was giving everything he had trying to bring down their overpowering foe. He only hoped it would be enough.
***
Sullivan shook his head in amazement. “Unbelievable.”
Despite the gap of almost 140 levels between them and their enemy, the two crazed players were holding their own.
“Ha, ha, take that!” Panda cheered as she slammed her giant axe against the bouldite mage’s leg, leaving a small bleeding wound behind.
The mage scowled and tried to crush the puny woman, but his left hand dangled immobile at his side. His other hand was busy, trying to reach the stubborn antman who was cutting pieces from his back. Ragnar’s formidable vice claws bit into the mage’s body, shearing into thick skin and muscle, somehow slicing through flesh tough enough to resist most weapons. He had already severed the mage’s left arm tendon.
“Take that, Rockey!” Ragnar shouted, full of glee, as he labored to incapacitate the bouldite’s other arm.
Panda ducked under a clumsy swing then retaliated with another crippling blow, which staggered the massive creature though it did little actual damage. Her arms were already numb from the force and her sword was starting to bend, but she didn’t care. She was having fun. “Haha! That’s what I’m talking about!”
“Crazy woman,” Ragnar said as he opened his pincers as wide as he could and bit down on the nape of his opponent’s neck. The drone hummed happily to himself as his opponent’s blood filled his mouth. The bouldite mage screamed, and a glow started spreading through his body.
“He’s priming!” Panda shouted.
Crazy or not, both were seasoned players, and they disengaged from the raging boss before the glow reached his head. Once it did, the energy discharged in a flash of light that consumed everything in a three-meter radius around him.
“Was that it?” the drone asked.
The woman nodded. “Should be the last boss phase. Let’s take him down!”
“Ohh, yeah!” Ragnar cheered, oblivious to the blood covering his entire body.
The two charged their giant opponent, easily dodging his sweeping attacks and rolling through a storm of stones his magic sent flying. A single clip of his powerful strikes or one of the magically propelled rocks would have been enough to kill either one of them. But they dove through the storm of damage unscathed and continued to wear down the mage. One sliver of health at a time.
The second mage was too occupied to help his friend. A few moments after the two crazy, lower-level players had engaged it, a goblin girl wielding a giant magical sword came at him using a rapid chain of teleport spells and lopped of
f his fingers. The mage activated his prepared spells, causing a rain of burning rocks to shoot at her, but the goblinette dodged them, and her magnificent armor negated the few burning dust particles that did connect. Then it was too late for him. Two metallic monstrosities joined the fray, their heavy limbs pulverizing the ground as they charged. The mage, level 185 and one of the eldest of his kind, found himself drowning in a torrent of crushing, rolling metal.
Sullivan nodded in approval. The first mage was taken care of, and Lirian and her bodyguards quickly moved on to the other one, helping the player tag-team to put it down. The strategist swept his gaze over the battlefield, assessing the situation.
The forces of smashers and lieutenants pinned against the outposts were down to less than half. The hurlers’ losses were less severe, though they were still too engaged in melee, fending off ferocious bonetises, to make use of their deadly ranged attacks. Though by the look of it, it wouldn’t be that way for long. With a nod to Savol, another force of 500 shield-bearing lieutenants disengaged from the melee and rushed between the outposts’ walls to help assault the hurlers, and the bouldite losses started to mount again. Lirian and the golems returned to the main battle, and the extra losses the army had taken due to their absence weren’t too severe.
They were going to do it.
Then a sound he hadn’t expected came over the battle. It was the roar of another bouldite force.
And they were coming at them from the rear.
***
“Shit, damn, crap, hell,” Fox grunted with each strike he dodged or dealt. “We’re about to get it.”
The militia’s combined forces were reduced to a mere few hundred while the remaining force of 200 bouldites pushed them back, systematically cutting down their soldiers.
Nero looked around frantically. Knights and the few elite soldiers they had were falling by the second. Broncar and Bonecruncher were on their last legs, their lives steadily being bled away by repeated hits.
They had brought down the two mages, but by the time they did, it was too late. Their forces were quickly being taken down, even as they claimed a few more bouldite lives.
They were not going to win.
“Hold strong!” the half-dragon roared, feeling a weak stream of warmth spread through his tired muscles as one of the few surviving adepts cast a healing spell over him. “Make them pay for every life they take!”
The exhausted defenders gave a disheartened battle cry, taking down a few more bouldites.
Suddenly, the force before them melted away.
Nero lifted his head, allowing himself a brief sliver of hope for a second, but his tattered wings sank at what he saw.
“Oh, bloody hell,” Misa said, lowering her arms in defeat.
The fighters assaulting them moved back – not in defeat, but to give way to their other force … consisting of a hundred hurlers.
Riley sighed. “Well, we gave a good—”
His words were drowned out as a storm of boulders descended on them, turning the remaining tired defenders into meat paste.
***
A force of 150 howling bouldites descended on the GreenPiece army’s rear, and that was all it took to break their delicate advantage.
The rear line of ranged soldiers burst apart as the smashers hit them from behind, allowing the hundred surviving bouldites that were pinned down the chance they needed to retaliate. The two enemy groups worked together, quickly decimating the now-flanked army of Shadow-Touched monsters.
Sullivan’s eyes widened as he took in the new development and a bitter realization hit home.
They couldn’t win.
Their army had already lost two-thirds of its forces. It would have been enough to destroy the last 200 bouldites, but the arrival of 150 enemies had turned the tides.
In his mind’s eye, the strategist already saw the enemy’s forces crushing their ground troops, then turning on the outposts.
They were about to lose.
“Savol,” the player said urgently. “Reinforce the walls, replace our casualties on the battlements, and bring half the remaining melee fighters inside.”
“What about the rest?” the goblin asked, his eyes alert and full of worry.
Sullivan clenched his jaw. “They have to run away. Escort the princess and the rest of the players back to safety. Have them fall back to our previous camp.”
The goblin nodded. “Savol will do this. What about you?”
“I’m going to stay here and help organize our forces to buy you time to escape,” the player said grimly. “Now go! We don’t have much time.”
“Savol will do this.” The goblin offered his hand to the player, who, after a second of hesitation, shook it.
The general turned and started shouting orders. “Scouts, to the walls! Fighters, surround the princess! You and you, hold the outposts …”
Several hundred soldiers broke off the engagement, escorting their precious cargo away from the hopeless battle.
Sullivan watched them run while the battlement he was standing on shook. A large section of the enemy forces broke off in pursuit and the strategist knew they would soon close the distance. He couldn’t allow that. With the walls crumbling around him, he gestured toward the retreating soldiers. “Quick Feet.”
The escaping force’s speed instantly doubled, leaving their pursuers behind.
Sullivan nodded to himself. With a little luck, the headway his skill bought would be enough for Savol to get the princess to safety.
A chunk of wall tore off not far from him, squashing a couple of soldiers.
The next few moments were not going to be pleasant.
19 - Old Demons
Urging my bonetis mount faster, I finally saw the destination up ahead of me; a wide gorge in the path of the bouldite force I had to stop.
“We’ve arrived, get down,” I said.
The ten foblins accompanying me fell off the bonetises they rode on, exhausted from the hard ride.
I looked them over. They were among the oldest of the thousands of foblins in my clan – the elder being 18 months old – a veritable senior in foblins’ terms. They were hardly the strongest of their kind, but I didn’t need their combat prowess, I needed their age.
I ordered the foblins to form a circle around me, and while they clumsily moved together, I opened the skill description I intended to use on them.
Touch of Decrepitude (Soul Skill, Level 52)
This spell drains the target’s life force, causing it to age rapidly. Due to the huge time and mana requirement it takes to activate, the spell is used mainly in demonic sacrificial rituals. The drained energy can be offered to a summoned demon or can be absorbed by the caster.
Cost: 100 MP per month of life drained.
Duration: 50 seconds per month of life drained.
Effect: For every drained month, the caster gains 1 permanent HP. (Can be offered instead to a summoned demon to increase summoning success by 1 percent. Cumulative.)
Apprentice Rank: Spell may be cast on multiple targets at once.
Expert Rank: No limitation on the number of victims targeted, doesn’t add to overall spell duration. Draining victims till death increases the gathered essence by 50%.
I sat down in the center of the foblin circle, took out a vile-looking tome from my inventory, and put it on the ground at my feet.
Yes, I cut him off. It’s time.
I looked down at the book. It contained the potential for tremendous devastation, and I knew using it would come at a great cost. I’d kept it with me all this time in case of emergency, and the time to use it was now.
Book of the Damned
Description: Magical tome containing demon rituals. Wrapped with Elf skin.
Type: Book
Rank: Rare
Durability: 6/6
Effect: Once activated, allows the wielder to communicate with d
emons of the lower plane. The type and strength of the demon contacted depends on the type of offering made during the ritual (offerings can be precious gems, magical items, or captured souls). Single-use item.
With ten foblins, I should be able to extract 100 months of life. The Expert-rank bonus of my spell would make sure of that. Draining foblin younglings would, of course, have been more effective, but even as a monster, there were some lines I wasn’t willing to cross.
I sat down at the center of the ring of foblins and took out the Chalice of Infernal Energies. It was filled with green flames. I placed the unholy relic at my feet and took in a long, steadying breath. I had only one shot at this. The ritual was going to cost ten foblins their lives, and it was dangerous even for me.
I was ready.
My arms snapped to my sides as I started casting the spell and let my mana loose.
The foblins stared stupidly at each other, not realizing what was going on. It didn’t matter; their fate was already sealed.
My mana surged and broke off, soaring upward, then rushing back down and into each of the ten foblins’ mouths as Touch of Decrepitude took hold of their souls. They offered no resistance as the spell raged on for long minutes, sucking away month after month of life from their bodies.
It weighed on me to sacrifice the lives of my clanmates like this. They were the most basic creature in my clan, true ‘puppets’ as Vic used to call them, but they were still GreenPiece. I consoled myself by the fact that forcing them to fight the bouldites head-on would have meant certain death, even if there were a hundred times more of them. But dying here, now, in this fashion, made sure their lives wouldn’t be thrown away in vain. In their deaths, they would serve the clan better than they ever could have in life, punishing our enemies.
The eldest foblin fell first as the tendril of mana retracted from his desiccated body, leaving an empty husk behind. My mana bar constantly dropped as the minutes stretched on and more foblins fell. Then, finally, the last of them died, leaving me sitting alone inside a ring of bodies.
Life Reset: Salvation (Life Reset - Neo Book 6) Page 36