A day earlier
Ding!
Level up
Legendary level 19
+6 to all stats
Ding!
Achievement unlocked
Title unlocked: Last hope IV
Defend against an incursion with a less than 10% chance of success.
Effect: X2 experience for inhabitants when the host’s chance of survival is less than 10%
Ding!
Achievement unlocked
Skill unlocked: Reverse anchor
Your odds of survival are close to nil, yet you emerge victorious
Set an anchor point in the defeated lands to mark your new land.
Loot given
True phoenix feathers x2
Chamber of eons
Ancient core shard
Lost race template
She had stared at the notification for what felt like hours, disbelief clouding her mind as she could not make heads or tails of what she was seeing.
The incursion was hard fought, her reserves spent, the last of her children in the caves, stalling, fighting a losing battle.
She had known it was over, the methodical nature of her predator having long overwhelmed her. She had fought tooth and nail, sacrificed everything, and nearly lost everything.
For a time, she had given up, but the sight of her children still dying for her had pushed her out of her sorrow. She pushed not to betray their trust, giving up before the toll of the final bell was not allowed.
That is why it took so long for her to make sense of the notification.
The system did not play favorites, nor pranks, but for a second she thought that the dreaded invader had done the implausible, managed to affect the system. She immediately dismissed it, because the war would have been lost the moment the invasion started if he had that kind of power.
It took longer than she would have loved to admit.
The trouble that followed as the swarms lost their order and descended into homicidal and rage induced chaos made her realize it might be true. The horde killed everything in sight, with no heed for the enemy or ally.
She had hesitated to take advantage of the spent force, concerned that it was another ploy.
Time and time again, hordes had been sacrificed and discarded at the first moment, only for her to regret engaging the enemy, her army now slowed and weak, losing a different battle. She learned the hard way to bide her time. Assured battles were her only engagements.
Once the back-line of her enemies fell, she knew the chance was too good to pass up. Her children clashing with a renewed fervor as they too could sense the shift in battle. An assured loss now a definite victory.
She only realized she was smiling when her closest, her deathless, danced on the war-front. They often mirrored her and their smiling faces on the death field, uncanny and rarely seen, made her wonder. Her visage changed when she conjured a mirror.
The battle in the caves lasted a couple of hours before the enemy was completely routed. The caves she had long lost retaken as the swarm was pushed out. In the glee of battle she had wanted to push further, but her taciturn children making her realize she had pushed far enough.
The battle on the surface fared worse.
Empires had come together, egos clashing as unimportant men who thought themselves too important threw their weight around. On the verge of their deaths, they still squabbled like children. It had taken her a long time to come to terms with their incompetence.
Their leaders chosen by bloodline were useless in the face of an all consuming entity. She had dabbled to try and get the capable in power but the maneuvering of the wretched had always put a wrench in her plans. She was not good at politics, she knew this and they knew this.
They made moves in the background to set their own plans, even though they knew they were heading towards doom. They clung to their own mechanizations of power, empty hollow power.
In her annoyance she had killed the useless leader of some useless kingdom, but the impact of the gulf of power had just made everything more tedious.
By the time the incompetent took action, the enemy was already attempting to fix their warfront. The mindless horde depleted, as in their cannibalistic rampages, they tore themselves apart.
The officer level creatures, now surrounded by calm hordes, an officer surrounded by a small army under its control. She smiled as she saw the same issues plaguing her forces clear as day in the enemy. The lack of one leader, now pockets of multiple leaders, nor longer seamlessly connected.
It was that realization that made fully grasp her reality, made her finally fully believe the notification.
SHE HAD WON! SHE HAD REALLY WON.
The high took her by storm.
Sparing no expense, she sent her children to flock to all the kingdoms and empires, to deliver to the people the news. The war was finally over.
By the 20th hour, the celebrations in most of the cities had started. The streets filled by smiling folk, all in fervent celebration. Grain left storage as churches led the celebrations. Kings calling all manner of entertainers to arm the day and night with joyous celebration.
She had watched from a distance, afraid of letting her emotions run free.
The sight of her people once again happy, a sight she had missed dearly.
She was happy but the deep sorrow she had endured now bubbled as she was finally allowed to relax.
A few cities deadly quiet, the news having reached them too.
Gnashing her teeth, she had wanted to swallow them whole.
The thought dismissed immediately. She hated them dearly, their betrayals and in-actions having been the driving forces in her continued losses.
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She would not kill them, the war had taken too many lives, to much had been lost. Now was a time to be merry. She would not add more death on this day, especially when she needed life, desperate for more life.
By the 27th hour, a spike of potent life energy radiated from deep within the lost lands. The fact that she could feel it from where she quiet concerning. The domain of the death bearer had always been off-limits to her, unable to peer into the thing that marred her no matter how much she tried. She had tried after the notification but the same had happened, she hadn’t been able to see anything.
She had forgotten to try, embroiled in the celebrations.
Her babies had taken over the war front, headway already made as the enemy could barely put up a fight. Deserters increasing every hour.
She was bidding her time, waiting to make the final push. Ready to put an end to this chapter
She was exhausted.
She needed to rest.
She needed to heal.
The potent life energy was felt by every creature with a life affinity.
She immediately sent her best scout to figure out what was happening. It was barely a minute in when the scout called to her in distress and joy. She felt no resistance as the remnant domain shattered to pieces, the wound that drained her in full view.
She could always feel the pain and understand that she was being hurt, but the actual visual of it took her by surprise.
Looking at everything, realizing what was she going to need to do.
With a sigh she sent her intent.
Sallao had been happy when she got the go ahead from mother. The scouting missions, his forte had long turned meaningless as the enemy had grown too strong to try to be stealthy. There was no need for stealth when you had your prey by the throat.
His first job in an while had excited him. He would make mother proud.
The ball of life energy was immediately pulled down to the caverns when he got there and no danger was in sight. He proceeded to check the surroundings, stealthy not necessary. He had seen all the creatures capable of harming him running off in the distance. Only the rabble were left her, the clueless and low leveled, who still thought they might still have a chance.
Old man Augustine was in some prison. Big sister would have to deal with that,he thought.
He pushed towards the wall, sensing the abyss essence radiating behind it. Though less potent, the amount would still be useful. The conversion of abyss though inefficient still provided useful energy, especially now that they were recovering and running low on everything.
Mother had assured them that everything was okay, but it would take an idiot to believe her, she had lost a lot, and she needed to find a way to recover. The life energy could very well help with that.
The first drain of abyss he channeled it down with the cocoon. The mindless charge helped him drain faster, the horde running to its death.
The energy drain was starting to speed up when out of nowhere it just redirected towards the cocoon. He fought back for control but he couldn’t do anything.
He tried to stop the drain, but old man Augustine was in the way. If he pulled back, the old man would die, and he liked the old man. If he continued to drain all the energy was taken by something else and he was not about to work for nothing.
Worked up, she felt mother hone in on their connection and the next moment she was hosting mother.
She found him destroying remnants of the swarm, still in battle with low level officers. She channeled a bit more of her diminished energy to take control.
She saw the useless old man, mouth and creepy smile on his face. She had thought the old man dead. She would have to figure out how he survived.
Another item added to her overgrowing long list.
With a sigh, she focused on what confused her son.
She found that the abyss essence that was supposed to be funneled down was barely a trickle, the vast energy getting absorbed by the cocoon.
This confused her too because she had tried almost everything to work directly with the energy and every attempt had borne little fruit.
The best they could was convert the essence to other forms of essence. But it was very inefficient, essence wanted to stay the same essence.
The fact that the cocoon was directly absorbing the essence did not bode well with her. She pulled the closest army to a deeper cavern and redirected the cocoon.
She failed to peer through the grass, a type she had never seen before. Intrigue and caution growing as she realized she was dealing with something extraordinary. She would have tried to destroy it, then and there if she did not realize that her instincts weren’t screaming danger.
Calm and collected, she gave instructions to her rowdy son and retired back to her body. Getting ready to face whatever was coming.
The caverns were filled to the brim with her army, ready to respond to whatever happened. She brought out her best children, not willing to let any mishaps occur.
An hour passed and she watched as a scared little girl made her way out of the cocoon. She looked like she was about to cry. Scared and confused. She understood the girl though. No one on her would wake up to her babies and not be afraid.
She was late to react when she saw the young deathless rush in, trying to kill the creature. With a thought, instructions were sent and she watched as the waiting army settled down.
This was not a threat.
She turned happy when her children still had their guard up, like her, having learned from the folly of their ways.
The young deathless barely made it to her when a staff appeared from thin air and struck her child in the middle of her head. It barely did any damage but it did get her out of her mindless charge.
She sent another thought,stopping another charge and as she took time to look at the girl.
She was shaking, barely standing as she looked around and she saw the army surrounding her.
Aiga instructed her children to open a path to her.
Excited.
Where had a dark elf come from?