Chapter 496 - The Battle Of Death March (5, 6)
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(Part 1)
Myr raised the Ansei Ward and a frightening power came from the blade. Myr didn't like talking too much or wasting time, so with a single swing, he created an energy blade attack with the Ansei Ward and launched it at Grand Anchorite Almion.
The Grand Anchorite who is also a Vampire didn't realize what kind of energy was that at first yet once he saw what the energy did the Undead Creatures between him and Myr, his ghost almost departed his body from the scare.
The Energy seemed harmless towards the Living but it broke the Undead apart. Just like the Sun Magic but more dreadful and destructive.
The Sun Magic is the closest element to Aetherius and a Source of Life. It can provide actual sunlight to any farm planted even under a mountain as long as the other elements are provided. Such an element is the bane of Undeath thus why the [Soul Snare] spell weakened such an element. Yet according to what Myr just used, he seemed to be unhindered by the [Soul Snare] spell to begin with.
The Grand Anchorite was forced to move off his place with a bitter face. It is safer not to block such a strike.
"So… you decided to prolong it. Very well."
On the other hand, Myr was displeased that his opponent took the negative choice that would lead to the suffering of the many.
In an instance, a cross slash came from Myr's direction aiming to cut the Ancient Vampire into four but the latter was alert and moved from the sky in the form of a swarm of bats.
"No matter what you are, you are no match for an Immortal!" Almion didn't just upset Myr but also bragged about his Vampirism which made Myr think for a while.
"You dare get distracted against me!" Seeing Myr unresponsive, the Vampire decided to turn the tide and rushed at Myr in an instant. Myr was not moving and got caught from the neck by the clutches of the vampire.
"Any last words, fool?"
"You just called yourself Immortal?" Uncaring about the Vampire's actions, Myr directed a question to the vampire.
"Indeed! Ahahaha, why? Are you interested in switching forces for immortality as well?" Almion raised Myr from the neck then pulled him closer, "You have a fine face? For an Elf, your blood is… your blood is…"
"My blood is what?"
"I… I am not quite sure… What are you?" Almion bared his fangs and as he brought his face closer to Myr's.
"What a shame! For a second, I thought you were onto something." Myr held the vampires are and twisted it removing the clutch of his neck effortlessly.
"SHAAA!" The Vampire hissed from the sudden shift of situation.
"Listen, undead. It is shameful to call yourself Immortal. It is a word that even I don't describe myself with." As soon as Myr's words were done, he swung the vampire like a toy and tossed him down like a falling meteor.
"Immortality may sound like the goal of many who practice the Arcane arts but Longevity is the best thing to achieve. Those who wish to cheat death crawl into the darkness of Undeath but that never makes you immortal. An Immortal is a being the defies the concept of death and transcends beyond the existence of the knowable. Unlike what most think, death is a blessing, an end, and rest to all suffering. Those who want to keep living must bear the consequences and they still won't be immortals, only long-livers. In your case, your longevity is based on the unholy concept of Undeath, the Light of Aetherius flowing through the sun is the secret of all life yet you, a being of the void still claim to be Immortal? The audacity! The nerve!"
As the dust settled, Myr finished the lesson of what it means to be an immortal meeting eye to eye with the Ancient Vampire whose rage was boiling to a critical point.
"YOU! DARE! LAY! A HAND! ON! ME?!"
The vampire's body was damaged beyond recognition but the undead are known to be resilient and tough to kill. The broken body of the Ancient Vampire started to gather from pieces to pieces forming itself organ by organ then limb by limb finally taking the form of a humanoid then covering itself with an aura of darkness to form a robe and a staff.
"Hmph! Alas, my words are wasted on the likes of you." Myr's head shook left and right in displeasure and disapproval.
"You will pay!"
The Vampire ignored Myr's monologue and recognized him as a tough opponent. In fact, Myr was a few levels above Jon in terms of raw mystical power. His powers as an Ehlnofey were the closest thing to divine thus making him the perfect bane to an Ancestor-level Ancient Vampire.
"You are but a talking walking corpse." Myr raised the [Ansei Ward] once again, "What is dead may never rise!"
A powerful clash of powerhouses happened in the sky above the armies of the living and the dead one with golden light and the other with dreadful darkness. The onlookers shuddered to the sight of the two powers that stole the spotlight in an instance.
Meanwhile, the fight between Kareem and Iceheart was turning into more of a fast chase.
"Don't run, scum."
"Master! Master! Save me!"
Kareem was rushing behind Iceheart who decided she is no match for the dangerously overpowered Prince who just grew wings. His majestic power cut through the ranks of the Undead horde as Iceheart ran left and right avoiding him and rallying the Undead puppets to distract him.
"I said… STOP!"
Kareem let out a rush of violent energy that destroyed a large Flesh Atronach, the same thing that appeared in front of his city less than a few days ago. The Prince's fast rise in power is indeed shocking but Kareem knew that he is borrowing the powers of Prince A'tor and the Sword Saint in the Ansei Ward thus he had to use it wisely.
"You will never catch me! You will never catch me! Ahahaha!"
Iceheart used her Lichdom powers to manipulate the army of the dead into a meat-shield for the aggressive Prince that is out for her head. Kareem spared no effort in destroying everything in his way.
"I'll catch you, you…" Kareem was infuriated by the shameful acts of Iceheart but a voice rang in his head.
{You mustn't let her pull you any further! You are being led to a trap.}
Sure enough, Kareem was in the middle of the enemy's force fighting alone with Undead coming from all directions.
"Dammit!"
Realizing the mess he's in, Kareem felt the need to retreat but it was rather hard to break through the lines of these undead. He decided to use the Wings he had to yet in the air, the enemies were more dangerous than the ones in the ground. The Undead army had wraiths and gargoyles that could fly and cast terrible curses.
"Hahaha! What is wrong, pretty boy? You want to retreat?" From nearly all around him, Kareem could hear the vile laughter of Iceheart who was celebrating her victory.
Surely he had more firepower enough to defeat her but she was more adapted with her powers and took the fight to a place where she can fully utilize all her skills. Kareem would break from the dead with brute power but she would lay traps to damage and exhaust him. The dead he fights would explode when they are too damaged to fight, the undead behind him are always more powerful than the ones ahead of him forcing him to go deeper into the army of the dead stranded from all aid. Iceheart was as crafty as she is powerful and Kareem was in real danger. What he didn't know that it wasn't only him but Iceheart also managed to trap Jax into the same exact situation both of them were waiting to get from the other.
Meanwhile, Myr and Almion were having a devastating fight high in the sky. Myr's powers were boundless compared to Almion but not infinite. On the other hand, Almion was killed over seven times already but would always regenerate from his remains and rise again.
"That's not possible!" Myr was taken aback by how much effort it took him to fight this undying thing.
"Hahaha! You see now, puny creature. I am an immortal! You can't harm me!"
Myr was by no means puny yet Almion was drunk in power. He can regenerate from a single drop of blood back into his full state further proving Myr's point of undeath. Yet what made Myr uneasy was how much energy this undead could muster. Almion too was terrified by Myr whose attacks would kill him without much resistance.
Almion's secret was simple and soon, Myr saw through it.
"You are not immortal but one is surely backing you, resurrecting you each time you are killed. Resurrection… I see, just like that girl. You are a prophet as well."
Myr's insight was right on point, Almion was indeed Mannimarco's prophet, the eyes and ears of the King of Worms in the mortal world exactly like Beth and Boethiah.
Myr adjusted his powers and readied himself to launch another attack but suddenly stopped and looked down at the battle between the living and the dead. With a smile, he launched a powerful attack towards Almion slow enough for the latter to dodge and powerful enough to land on the undead on the ground and wipe out a good chunk of them. Sure enough, it bought Jax enough time to escape the trap Iceheart has prepared and rush to join Kareem.
"Hateful! What are you plotting?" Almion noticed that the plan he came up with, to lock the powerhouses of the enemies in prolonged fights and drain them fast, was seen through.
"Heh! It seems we have reached a deadlock, undead. You can't harm me but I can harm you but you can keep me occupied. Still, that doesn't mean I can't keep you in check and ruin with you plans. After all, if there is no army of the dead, your petty Immortal won't be helping you that much."
Myr may appear as a pure and quite Elf but he is the origin of both Miranda and Mirren, two of the most dangerous assassins in Tamriel.
"Hateful! I will strike you down!"
Almion realized he can no longer rely on the support of the King of Worms and had to put effort to fight Myr, unfortunately for him, he is no match for Myr to begin with. Myr kept throwing attacks at the Undead army here and there while keeping Almion in check. Yet Myr's only worry was his reserve of energy that was running low faster than he hoped.
It was a race against time, Myr's Stamina and Magicka against the unending numbers of the Undead.
[A/n: Remember to put Paragraph comments on the spots you like, Rate and Comment on the Chapter]
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(Part 2)
At the same time, Jax has arrived to aid Kareem in the flashiest way possible.
"Prince! I am here to assist you!" He landed with his flaming wings burning any undead on his sides and his [Lava Whip] pulling a large Flesh Atronach down on tens of smaller undead turning them to fragments.
Jax and Kareem stood back to back ready to fight whatever creature come at them yet all of a sudden, aid came from the most unexpected places. Out of nowhere, Nine Iron Atronachs appeared and started to grind the undead around them like death machines.
"Those are!"
"Krilon's Atronachs?"
These nine Atronaches were the Golems created by Jon using the [Deadlands Hammer] when he arrived at the Citadel of Ebonarm.
This only meant one thing… their owner is not too far.
"What should we do?" Jax asked.
"Not die and kill as much as we can." Kareem was not waiting for a miracle to happen despite knowing that a change is coming soon, they just need to keep their stand on to lessen the load on those who are coming after them. While fighting, they have already formed a mound of corpses beneath them yet they can't stay longer in one place else Iceheart will make those corpses explode to harm them.
The best course of action was to leave the Nine Iron Atronachs to do whatever they are doing and seek out the strongest undead allowing the HoonDing Alliance and the Citadel of Ebonarm to have an easier time advancing forward and break the deadlock of the battle.
Indeed, the forces of the Alliance started advancing slowly and took the fight out of the valley to an open field. Soon enough, the plans were implemented and the diverse forces were deployed on an open field. The Hunding Chargers of Stros M'kai were back on their horses and launched a successful assault on the undead's left flank rendering them to Oblivion. The efforts of the heroes in the front started to bear its fruits.
"Iceheart! Release the hounds!" Almion was watching battle during his fight with Myr and realized the trouble he is in so he shouted for Iceheart to hasten the plans.
Soon enough, Iceheart, who was hiding somewhere in the army of the dead, started to conjure a different type of undead that resembled the Skinned Hounds of the Shivering Isles but on a zombified image. These hounds carried all sorts of poisons and infections making it dangerous to come into contact with them.
The hounds ran and started chasing the horses of the Hunding Chargers hunting a number of them as the other escaped within the range of the Magic Squad. Locking the Chargers away from the battle was the right step to take for the side of the Worm Cultists to make sure that the Necromancers in the core of the formation were safe from a sudden enemy charge.
But the Worm Cult has missed the one true enemy they should be most wary from.
Iceheart, who has retreated to the core of the formation alongside the other Worm Cultists, was sparing no effort into supporting the frontlines sending Necromancers and Worm Knights to stop the Alliance and the Citadel from advancing. Even after the fall of their strategies, Bonecrafter Bobrak, the Cult had many talents of strategy and trickery that can still lead this fight to a sure victory. Oblivion! The Cultists themselves were over 4000 gathered at various points and cells to control the battle without even engaging with the enemies.
Still, not all the plans were working right.
"Mother! Mother! Another seven were found dead!" The one who spoke to Iceheart was her daughter, Mina.
"I don't care about the losses or whatever crazy maniac launches a suicide attack and kill some! Master wants more cells to advance further into the fight and hold the key points. We need to trap those mortals back where they came from and seize the chance to take the high grounds from them."
Iceheart was pushing the plans forward no matter the losses.
"But mother, the enemies that launch suicidal attacks can't kill our ranks or reach this deep."
"Don't bother me with your duties! Protect the ranks and keep the pace, victory is within our grasps!" Iceheart brushed it off but soon, she felt the feedback of her undead thralls getting beaten by Kareem and Jax on a faster rate than before, "AAH! Those two are at it again! I have to go kill them personally."
As she flew out of the core Magical formation; her daughter Mina was the one to stand at the center of the Control Formation, Mina is not Iceheart's actual biological daughter but rather a child that was taken by force from her parents when she was but an infant then got raised with dozen others by Iceheart. Of course, Mina killed the other children to prove herself as the most fitting and loyal apprentice to Iceheart. An unholy cycle of mastering the undeath.
"Bring glory to the King of Worms! He who took us when the world rejected us and showed us power and purpose." Mina shouted.
"HAA!"
The Cultists shouted after her pouring their life energy into the control formation to give birth to more undead. Those who were not strong enough started crumbling and aging so fast as the formation ate them faster than they could maintain it.
"Find replacement to those faithless! We need more power to push forward!"
Much like her mother, Mina was cruel and unforgiving planning to take the world down with her for the glory of the King of Worms.
"Lady Mina! Lady Mina! Another cell was found dead!" Suddenly, a lieutenant of hers came running to deliver the news.
"Dammit! What was the pattern?" She asked.
"All are slashed cleanly into halves and one with a broken neck." The man said.
"Shit! It keeps happening. Replace me!"
She pulled the man in her position but for he was a knight with weak Magicka, the formation consumed him in a couple of seconds.
"Trash! Another one! Make it stable."
This formation was one large formation to control a whole army of undead. Because of the lack of resources once the HoonDing Alliance rose to power, the cult had no mortal sacrifices or young children to power it up so they gladly gave their lives to maintain it. All the citizens of Hegathe have either fled, converted to the faith of the Worm Cult or slaughtered so it was actually a desperate situation for the Worm Cult as well.
Yet right now, the reserve of 4000 cultists that were bought for the maintenance and the fighting was dwindling at an alarming rate. Mina found out about the killings that started happening exactly with the start of the battle. It is safe to say… or rather unsafe, that the rearguard of the undead force is completely crippled by now for the lack of the Worm Cells that control the massive force of this Dead Army.
She looked and looked but without any leads, no matter the enemy at work here, it is as if he is walking through the shadows. Every Worm Cell died with blade cuts but only one member that is usually a weaponless knight has his neck broken.
Why is it being dismissed? Why does everyone think that the Cult is fighting Martial Artists so it is natural that we lose some members to the suicidal attacks? The dead Worm Cells may be not of strategic value but losing them like that is alarming. Without them, the rearguard is moveless. Just some undead standing unless…
"Unless they are blocking us from retreat?" Mina thought, "But why would we retreat? We are winning this for sure. Who is this devil lurking among us?"
No way in Oblivion an enemy can be so skilled in infiltration to the point where even the Grand Anchorite is clueless of his whereabouts.
Mina looked up and saw the most powerful enemy battling the Grand Anchorite up in the skies but the Anchorite was holding well despite the enemy's action of smiting down the undead army whenever they get the chance.
"Can it be…"
As she was investigating, her eyes landed on the Worm Cell nearby. She watched for over ten minutes the scene of a Worm Knight looking for his sword but he can't find it yet he stumbles upon a strange black sword that was lying on the ground carelessly. He picks the sword and falls for its bewitching beauty then without care, he slashes a few times with a dumb smile killing all members of the worm cell he is leading.
A moment later, a black cat-like beast passes by and the man's head is twisted at the wrong direction. It all took a few seconds and a whole section of the army was crippled.
Yet she was unmoving… unresisting… unable to utter a word or raise a finger to point at what just happened.
She was not doing this on purpose but rather for the hand over her shoulder of a person standing on the other side of her. He wore a black cloak and resembles a cultist but a mask was covering his face.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" He asked.
"…" Unsure of when did this man get close to her or how was he even there made Mina speechless.
Amidst the chaos of the fight, no one cared who stood beside whom or who was who. Even in the back lines were the reinforcements were being rallied, everyone was too busy to notice anyone wearing the same color as them. As long as they are black mostly with a green skull on the robes, that's a fellow Worm Cultist.
But this man was not just blending in, Mina feared that if she took her eyes off him, he will disappear in the background with no way to find him again.
He aimed his other hand up and all of a sudden, the black blade that was just used to murder a whole Worm Cell flew right into his hand.
His hand on her shoulder snuck into her hood and touched her neck gently tickling the girl who was drenched in cold sweat. A strange crystal-like substance moved from his sleeve and came into contact with the girl's skin.
"Mina, my dear. I've been looking for you… for someone like you for some time. That's a nice bond you have with your Master. Master / Mother, I mean… I know too damn well what such a bond means because in my life, this is the most precious bond I have. And I know that such a bond will be the key to satisfy my blade. Sweet little, Mina. It is your turn."
And he put the blade into Mina's hands.
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[Lust] <Sin>
- Metamorphosis
- Desire Inducement (Evolved from Truth Inducement)
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[The Ebony Blade] <Daedric Artifact>
- Awakening 9/10
- Absorb Vitality
- Fortify Swordsmanship
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[A/n: Remember to put Paragraph comments on the spots you like, Rate and Comment on the Chapter]
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