by Dakota Krout
Frank directed an earth Mage to test the sewer, but unfortunately, it had collapsed. The army–though disappointed–returned to taking ground slowly and painfully. A surprise attack wiped out over half of the Goblin berserkers as demons and undead that had buried themselves in the dirt sprang to their feet. Like a knife through butter, the Goblins were torn to shreds only to be pulled into a waiting abomination’s body. Now over eight meters tall, the abomination howled and ran into the army. It slew over a hundred Goblins before Father Richard was forced to incinerate the horror in its entirety by dousing it with holy light.
People were tiring quickly, but fortunately, an intact sewer entrance was found. A pained cheer rang out and people began filing into the minor protection the area provided, hurrying to get everyone inside. Father Richard was nearly overwhelmed as he felt a massive concentration of demons and necromancers within the sewer. The real battle was about to begin.
~ Chapter Forty ~
I really couldn’t do much to help with this fight. I watched the battles rage and focused on creating reinforcements and aides to send with them. Each Goblin left the area with a small bag full of potions, which they were instructed to distribute to the people who needed them. Elites took far too long to outfit so they left their spawning point with standard equipment. They had their memories though, which included all of their training, so my hope was that at least some of them would survive and succeed.
Having landed the mountain and deactivated the Runes and rituals needed for flying, Essence was pouring into my domain like a river. Ley lines were collecting Essence and Mana, and I was absorbing everything I could hold. I was lucky that I had access to this extra power because every time a totem was placed by my Goblins a rush of power left me and created a new area under my influence. As the army slowly moved further and further from me, more power was needed for me to take control of the space pinned by the totems. Without all of my various systems for power collection, I would have spread myself far too thin and been rendered totally useless.
The war was continuing apace, and Essence was moving into and out of me as huge sheets of power. Totally exhausting! For a human, it would be like sprinting a mile at maximum exertion, puking, then suddenly being full of vigor and forced to run at top speed again. When the battle turned subterranean, I lost sight of the conflict for several minutes. When they finally reached a good spot, the Goblins sank a totem into the ground and activated it. I knew something was different as soon as my influence began to spread. Instead of sweeping into the area and expanding like gas in a container, something tried to attack and absorb my aura.
I shouted at the pathetic dungeon trying to eat me.
Essence exploded outward from the totem as I forced more and more into the area. All of it converted to influence, powering up my aura. The dungeon in my way… blinked? It didn’t seem to have a very good handle on its own aura and struggled to shape itself into a defensive formation. I stopped using Essence and instead began sinking Mana into my aura. Screaming in pain as the exceedingly powerful Mana impacted it, the dungeon I was invading fractured and lost a chunk of territory. I quickly filled the room and began drinking down the excessive infernal Essence in the area.
The Goblins rapidly formed a perimeter, blocking all the non-initiated from entering the area. I quickly created every extra totem they should need; ‘quickly’ being relative in this case. The necromancers in the area sent wave after wave of undead against the room our front line was holding, obviously trying to reclaim it for the infernal dungeon. The dead seemed a little strange, a little too smooth featured and… not rotten… to have been real people. I nodded in understanding as I realized that they were made by the dungeon. An interesting idea, create creatures and let them be controlled by other people. That would let you get around their need for sustenance via Essence… Maybe I could convince Dale to be a bunny summoner? Later, later.
Totems complete, the war band rolled forward once again. As the leading edge turned the corner, a burst of dark hellfire roared down the tunnel. Anyone caught in the flames was reduced to a charred husk, and we lost easily a dozen Goblins. I hated that the Goblins were considered more expendable than the humans they were traveling with, but it did make sense tactically. I could re-create the Goblins, but the humans and assorted sentients would need to be bound to me and have granted me a full mapping of their memories if they were to be resurrected. That was a rare combination.
I ‘caught’ the hellfire when it entered my influence, draining the Essence away and making the flames sputter to nothingness. Yum. I felt bad that there was so little I could help with, but it was up to the army to set those totems up so I could take part in the fight. Looking over the allied forces, I did a double take when I saw a Goblin collapse after taking no noticeable damage. What the…? He looked perfectly healthy! Oh… perfectly healthy. I pointed him out to another Goblin, who went over to him and pulled on the ‘thorn’ that was stuck into his body. The fallen Goblin’s eyes fluttered open after a moment, only to see a large steak dangling in front of his nose. He grabbed it and started devouring it like, well… like a starving Goblin. Messy. Before moving forward again, any Goblin with a healing Rune was checked and fed.
Allowing the army to pause so long may have been a mistake. A posse of Demons sprinted into the room followed by what must have been an A-rank necromancer. The oppressive aura he exuded forced anyone under the Mage ranks to freeze in place, trembling uncontrollably as the demons began a wholesale slaughter. Fifty people in the crowd were dead before the Mages in our army counterattacked. A sparkle of light announced that Nez was fighting, and a demon fell in half as the sword-wielding speedster moved past him. Now, this didn’t kill or banish the demon, but it did slow him down enough that he was easy prey for a crossbow that fired demon-banishing bolts.
A ripple of celestial energy moved through the room, freeing the people caught in the oppressive aura. My people rallied, emboldened by the morale boost that followed while the demons faltered and hissed as the diametrically opposed power washed over them. Father Richard stepped forward, joy etched on his face as celestial Mana moved through him. “Demons, your time tainting this plane has come to an end. If it were possible, I would end your suffering. Sadly, all I can do is return you to the plain of despair, the abyss, as you await judgment for your crimes. I know this human waste called a necromancer is not your master, as Sonder tells me that your bond is held by another.”
The power in his voice held the entire battlefield enraptured. “Your master has broken a sacred taboo and will pay for his crimes against the world by joining you upon the plains of despair.” He began to chant, “But it is not this way among you, whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant. Whoever calls upon the darkness to destroy another shall be returned to the darkness. The mighty shall be pulled to captivity, and those that do his bidding shall descend with him!”
A lance of golden Mana moved through the room too fast to avoid, piercing the four remaining demons. The Mana then moved past them, racing through stone and dirt to find the man who had summoned these foul creatures. Four golden beams impacted the man, and a shimmering pentagram formed, linking all of the beings. Between one breath and the next, all five vanished into the abyss. A terrified wail floated down the tunnels to the army.
The A-rank necroman
cer was trembling in rage, looking at the shining priest. “You will pay for that! You sent a man to the abyss!”
“He paid his own price. As will you,” Richard stated coldly. The shaken necromancer began attacking, and dark rings began swirling around him. Anyone unfortunate enough to be caught by a ring started to rot away at a terrifying pace. If they died before their body was gone, they rose again as undead and started attacking the gathered people.
Now, one Mage against an army sounds like a swift death for the Mage, right? This would be true in most cases, but an A-rank Mage is the equal of at least ten B-rank Mages. In the confining sewer, this Mage could easily block the entire force indefinitely. At the A-ranks, there was no need for food or sleep. The only way to stop him was to match him, and besides Father Richard, there were only two A-rank Mages in the army of the living: Madame Chandra and High Magous Amber. Amber had stayed on the mountain to recover her strength, the portal she created to destroy the main forces of the dead had cost her much of her Mana reserves. Chandra made her way to the fight as Richard and the other Mages worked desperately to fend off the advancing necromancer.
Walking forward, Chandra seemed to change. Those who didn’t know her looked on in confusion; those who truly did know her looked on in fear. Plants were writhing around her, and they grew with every step she took. Vines completely wrapped her like an elegant uniform, and large, leafy plants hung behind her like wings. She started jogging faster. A tree grew from her wrist, transforming first into a thorn and then into a beautiful, massive sword. A stump grew in a circle on her other arm, elongating and becoming a polished wooden shield. The leaves on her back stretched, and she lifted into the air, moving at high speeds.
A blur slammed into the necromancer, who was now coated in darkness and hovering a foot off the floor. The dark rings around him attempted to constrict around the flying rainforest but failed as she moved out of their range. Chandra shouted at the necromancer, “It doesn’t need to be like this! We don’t need to be at war! Tell him that we can make peace! Tell him his revenge has been taken! What more can he want?”
A voice responded from the blot of inky blackness, echoing like it came from a deep well. “What more? What more? What don’t we want? So his revenge is realized! So his plans are nearing completion! What about the rest of us? Unlike you, he cares for us and will ensure our place in the world! We will go from the lowest class of person, hiding, scurrying like rats, to the Kings! Dukes! Princes! The world is ours, Dark Valkyrie!” His laughter was loud and manic, then wet as roots exploded through his skin. In moments, he was fertilizer for the plants that had been embedded in him during the first attack.
Chandra landed softly on the ground, shaking her head. “I need to hear it from him. If only he would have ignored the ‘screens’ telling him what to do. He could have done great things for his people.”
“What are you talking about?” Father Richard limped over to Chandra, blessing the bodies that he passed.
“When he was young, I knew ‘The Master’.” Chandra spit the title. “He was normal, intelligent. He opened my eyes to the plight of men in the city. All my life I was told that men were only useful for a few things, and otherwise, they were barely tolerated. Like cattle. Then one day he told me about a ‘screen’ that appeared in his vision. Practically overnight he was a powerful cultivator. He moved through the ranks faster even than Dale has. Of course, even though I didn’t tell on him, he was found out. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t a necromancer; men were forbidden to cultivate. Long story short, he was the cause of the first necromantic war and the reason men in this land now wear slave collars.”
“Long story short? That’s a huge leap! That’s like saying a child lost his sweets, one thing led to another, and a continent was plunged into war! Do you know why he did all of this?” Richard glanced at her sharply as he finished consecrating the bodies piled knee high around him.
“I don’t.” She groaned as she looked at the devastation. “I will stop him though. One way or another.”
“He isn’t here,” Adam called to the Mages. When they looked at him curiously, he shrugged. “He wasn’t here earlier, and the portal Mages cut off and then destroyed the portal system in this area. Unless he has a different way of crossing the continent, he isn’t here.”
The army started moving again, not encountering much resistance for nearly a mile of twisting tunnels. Rooms were cleared, totems were set, and the army was refreshed. They turned one final corner and entered the heart of the dungeon. This was a massive room where all waste had once flowed to since it would be washed away by a river that cut through the space. On the other side of the river, an altar was safeguarded by the necromantic army. Thousands of undead swarmed the room controlled by demons and necromancers alike. A huge ritual was underway, and if Amber had been present she would have been able to tell the group that the necromancers were preparing a one-way portal.
There was shock on the faces of the living people, and my Goblins were preparing themselves for death. Outnumbered by a huge margin, they could only pray for a miracle.
~ Chapter Forty-One ~
Weapons were drawn, and the dead started charging at our meager defensive line. More of our people were arriving, but the tunnels were fairly narrow. Bob kept slamming the totems into the ground, and they connected their power together as he did so. Soon, I was able to gain a foothold. I slammed Mana into the room, and the infernal dungeon’s hold on the entryway shattered like glass. We owned the land up to the river now. Unfortunately, the dungeon must have already been in the Mage ranks, or else I’d have shattered its Core with that blow. My Mana began to suffuse the area, and I made it available to Bob as a weapon.
Tyler’s oddities were coming into play in interesting ways. The arrows he created flew into the mass of dead and exploded with holy fire, seemingly blessed by clerics and infused with celestial Essence. The Dwarves were assembling the siege weapons they had brought with them, and the Amazons were standing on the front lines with my berserkers. The first wave of the dead reached us and drove directly through the people in the way. Completely overwhelming us, it looked like they would push to the mouth of the tunnel when Chandra strode into the room like an avenging angel.
Her sword grew and became as flexible as a whip. With every swing, scores of bodies were dismembered and chunks were falling to the ground. Seeds flew from her, planting themselves in bodies and growing at astounding rates. Whatever she attacked soon had plants growing in it, the voracious plants eating all the flesh touched. This denied the abominations food, and they had to begin eating the dead that hadn’t been damaged in order to grow stronger.
More Mages began to pile into the room, supporting Chandra. All fighters under the B-ranks were assigned to holding off the lesser undead, eliminating the distractions as the Mages began fighting abominations, demons, and necromantic Mages. The Air was thick with power, but the Necromancers began draining it of usable Mana and feeding it into the portal that was growing near the altar.
“Soon The Master shall arrive, and all of your pathetic death throes shall have been for naught!” a Necromancer helpfully screamed at the army. He yelped as the ground beneath him exploded, tossing him backward and into a plant. The plant began feasting on him as he screamed. Being infused with Mana, the potency of Chandra’s plants was not to be trifled with.
Dale gasped happily as he stood back. His earth shattering technique had been more effective than he had been able to manage in the past. Reaching into his pocket, a burst of Essence flowed into him. His breathing evened out, and he
began punching the undead with renewed vigor. Every blow was followed with either a wave of fluid as Dale’s battle gauntlet activated or a slight drain of the Essence keeping the undead moving. He didn’t know it, but by draining the undead, he was draining the necromancer connected to the walking carcass. After yet another corpse fell, drained of all Essence, an entire segment of the dead fell. The necromancer controlling them had fallen unconscious from Essence loss! Must have been in the low C-ranks…
This was going too easily for us. I looked over the remaining necromancers, studying them quickly. What the abyss? This was the great force protecting a necromantic dungeon? Most of the living people were in the low to mid C-ranks, with a few B-ranks and a single remaining A-ranked Mage. Suddenly the purpose of the portal was clear. The main troops weren’t here! They were off subjugating the world or some other nonsense. An attack upon a defeated city, which should have been their foothold, was entirely unexpected!
I laughed wholeheartedly as I poured Mana into a spell formation Bob was creating, allowing it to pull ambient Mana from the room. The Mages working the portal stumbled as they suddenly had to double the resources they were devoting to the tear in the world. Bob’s spell landed in the midst of a group of C-ranked necromancers and the undead they were controlling fell to the ground. The Mages in our army rushed forward into the gap, reaching the necromancers and engaging in direct combat with them. They fell in droves, weaker in close combat than expected. Too much time devoted to summoning things to fight instead of training themselves, I suppose.
