Chapter 4565: One Too Many (Part 1)
Chapter 4565: One Too Many (Part 1)
"Formation switch! Endless Thunder!" Jinima roared as she joined her soldiers, silver lightning focused and amplified between her open pincers.
"They’re going to use Chain Maelstrom as well!" For the first time since the beginning of the fight, Orpal doubted its outcome. "Stop the Isharas at all costs!"
Not even Jorl had predicted fighting so many Divine Beasts, let alone someone with the Guardian abilities necessary to counter the Upyrs’ best weapons.
’Send Moonlight to evacuate the troops, but keep your tower away from the battlefield. It’s too dangerous.’ The Storm Griffon said via a mind link.
’I know.’ Orpal and Night replied as one, cursing their bad luck.
The clone had regained only a few breaths of Invigoration worth of energy, and the Adamant equipment was spent. Fearing the worst, the Dead King stored everything in his pocket dimension and had it reappear beside his real body in Jiera.
"Kill them all!" Akhton roared, thrusting Ashen Dread at the heart of the enemy formation. "Give them no quarter!"
’This wasn’t supposed to happen!’ Jinima abandoned the Chain Maelstrom formation, holding her polearms with her pincers and arms to block the Bastet’s blow, yet it wasn’t enough.
The reports she had read and the simulated fights didn’t prepare her for the Thunder Soul Akhton injected into his spear. Jinima’s four limbs broke like dry wood, the Corrupted Thunder inflicting agony that even darkness fusion couldn’t stop.
The destruction stopped at her chest, but Ashen Dread didn’t.
A mass of sapphire light twice as big as Akhton tackled him from the side with the power of two tier five spells combined, yet that wouldn’t have been enough if not for the crimson comet riding its back.
"We’re not done yet, you fucker!" Ilthin struck the Bastet’s head with Orphan Maker, twisting his neck and cracking his skull.
Akhton bolted back with a flap of his wings, but the Firstborn Banshee struck him with a Shattered Soul that reverberated past his armor and shook him to the bones.
"Thanks for the save, mister..." Jinima asked while using Invigoration to regenerate her wounds.
’Ajatar, but introductions can wait.’ Part of the energy coalesced into the Sapphire Dragon’s head, who established a mind link and used his breathing technique, Foresight, at the same time. ’Our people need my help, and I need yours.’
’How much Life Maelstrom can you withstand?’ She could barely believe her own eyes. The thing in front of him had a life force, mana, and even world energy.
’As much as you have.’ Ajatar replied.
With more of her Ishara soldiers suffering grievous wounds from the Upyrs’ Thunder Soul by the second, Jinima set her doubts aside and passed the silver lightning stored in her mana organ to the Sapphire Dragon down to the last spark.
’Thanks.’ Much to her shock, the mass of sapphire energy grew in size by over thirty times and flashed with silver like a thundercloud.
Ajatar rearranged his body into the form of a colossal Dragon that reached 50 meters (166’) from the top of his head to the tip of his clawed feet. Yet instead of flesh and blood, it was made of pure energy, and its wingspan was so vast it blotted out the sky.
’A Guardian?’ Orpal thought, but he was wrong.
The Sapphire Dragon washed over the battlefield like a tidal wave, blasting away the Upyrs in its path and leaving Awakened, undead, and Isharas unscathed.
’Not a Guardian. It has already shrunk.’ Jorl pointed out. ’Hitting so many Upyrs and neutralizing their Thunder Soul took its toll.’
’I noticed, but this is one interloper too many.’ Orpal snarled. ’First the Ishara army and now this? If one more powerful enemy appears out of the blue and joins the battle, we’ll be wiped out.’
The colossal energy Dragon shrank even more, his mass compressing into a high-speed drill twice the size of an adult Divine Beast. The Upyr in front of Ajatar conjured a Spirit Barrier, and the energy drill pierced it along with its caster without slowing.
Only the Upyr’s four lifeless limbs were left, and they reverted to their original human form as they fell to the ground. The Sapphire Dragon bolted at his next prey, splitting into twenty energy pillars a split second before the impact with the second Spirit Barrier.
’What?’ Everyone on the battlefield thought, and their surprise grew again when the sapphire bolts slammed into twenty dumbstruck Upyrs.
The Life Maelstrom coursing through their bodies saved them, but only from the physical blow. When the energy mass rearranged itself into the tier five Spirit Spell, Meltdown, the Corrupted Divine Beasts died without knowing how.
Orpal stared in horror as the energy of the spells coalesced back into the sapphire pillars and moved on to more targets. His horror turned to terror as the rescued Isharas shared part of their Life Maelstrom and each bolt of sapphire energy became ten times stronger.
"Retreat!" The Clone yelled. "To all forces, retreat!"
Ajatar bought the Isharas enough time to trigger the Chain Maelstrom. Bolts of silver lightning spread across the allied forces and the sapphire pillars, tipping the scales of battle beyond the many contingency plans the Dead King had prepared.
The Chosen opened a Spirit Warp and crossed it without waiting a single second.
The Upyrs followed suit a heartbeat later, but not before leaving behind a deadly farewell gift.
"Choke on this, you undead bitch!" Akhton let Ilthin hit him one last time, delivering all the Thunder Soul and the Life Maelstrom he had through her mace.
The Corrupted Lightning disrupted her focus, while the silver lightning tore her apart. The two air-based bloodline abilities were perfectly compatible with the Blood Maelstrom empowering her, and together they were more than even a Firstborn could handle.
Life and Blood Maelstrom overloaded Ilthin’s core while also multiplying the destructive power of Thunder Soul that ravaged her body.
Akhton flipped her off with a laugh as he flew through the dimensional corridor. Blood trickled over his fangs from his wounds, giving him the appearance of an avatar of vengeance.
Ilthin screamed and cast as many spells as she could to get rid of the excess power in a desperate race against time. Akhton’s life Maelstrom only boosted her blood core, and his Thunder Soul only afflicted her body.
She survived by redirecting the Blood Maelstrom and focusing it into boosting solely her physical strength while also consuming the life essence stored in her blood core to heal her wounds as fast as they opened.
’I’m going to die!’ Ilthin inwardly screamed, crying blood tears. ’I don’t want to fall at the hands of one of Narchat’s thralls. Anything but that. Mother, please save me!’
Baba Yaga answered the call and opened a Warp Gate across the thousands of kilometers that separated her from her daughter and led her straight to Drenghen.
"Foolish child, you should have called me sooner." The Mother used Domination to forcefully extract the excess Life Maelstrom, but she was helpless against the living malice animating Thunder Soul. "Come here, little Dragon, I need your help!"
"With pleasure, but I expect you to return the favor." The bolts of sapphire energy disengaged from the Warping enemies and merged before the dimensional passage.