When the battle had started getting a bit too hot the Lich used an escape spell, but not one to take him away from the battle entirely. Blink just allowed the user to withdraw a short way away from the spot it was used.
For many spellcasters it sent them somewhere random, something you used when surrounded so that any other spot but here was better. The Lich King had control over his spell. He blinked opposite the skeleton marching column, the one that wasn't being harried by Gary.
It brought him closer to the front lines but also blocked him from view of the human shooting that awful weapon. He now put everything into driving the mummies forward, just hoping to keep them in the fight until the skeletons came up.
For the random humans that were causing so many problems the lich relied on his bodyguards, well the ones still standing. Once the skeleton army reached the front, he could let the mummies fall, then summon something more powerful. It was this step in his battle plan that had yet to reach fruition in past attacks.
As the Lich concentrated on his summoned forces there was a strange pull in the death energy, siphoning away the magic forcing the Lich to concentrate harder. What was doing this he thought. His forces knew that if they could occupy the enemy, HE would summon a battle winning monster.
**
Javy was still admiring Gary’s axe work from behind cover. So far he drew the attention of about one fifth of the skeleton forces. Whatever he didn't slay with his wild axe swings Javy shot with normal arrows and when needed his concussive ones. There were 6 of those left.
The half orc was on the other side of the battlefield meditating or some shit, fucking loco, that thing should have been chasing down something with its fast bottom and tearing it apart with its strong top.
—
After Travis helped the Slayer, he noticed that things looked manageable, there didn't seem to be any dyer situations. That allowed him to try something different. He was going to sneak up on the half orc and kill it with a few head shots but then he saw the Lich King, unprotected.
He was able to make his way to the fence area at the back end of the farm, it was lined by trees and bushes, from there he snuck to about 20 feet behind the Lich. Bullets to the face hadn't killed it, let's see what a sword stroke to the heart did.
As Travis emerged from his hiding place and started to lightly jog towards the enemy leader, he encountered a daring enemy, cow dung—or some kind of dung; Travis wasn't an expert. Half-jokingly, he wished Clyde was here; he actually was an expert.
Regardless of what it was, he slipped and fell, initially thinking himself in a world of trouble. However, he soon realized that no one was paying attention. The Lich was deeply concentrating, the skeletons almost to the front lines by now, seemed to move like automatons, just marching ahead.
Travis swiftly pulled his sword and, running up behind the Lich, thrust it through where the heart should be. He then pulled it out and aimed for a clean decapitation. Not an expert swordsman yet, Travis's blow landed on the Lich's shoulder, penetrating through bone pretty far.
The Lich, taking a moment to regain focus after the intense concentration, lunged forward, carrying Travis's sword with him. Thinking on his feet, Travis drew his gun, methodically walked forward, and started firing. Unfortunately, he still had the bunker buster clip in, so the bullets mostly passed through. Nonetheless, the Lich now had a series of holes in his chest and more in his face.
The undead leader fell to the ground, seemingly lifeless. Travis cautiously approached the monster and retrieved his sword from its shoulder.
Using the opportunity to survey the battlefield, he noticed that the mummies were nearly defeated, and the skeletons had ceased their movements, no longer driven by dark energy.
As Travis felt a tug of satisfaction, he heard someone scream from the direction of the front lines, "...magic... Use magic!!!"
He looked to see the sheriff running up, urgently shouting, "Use magic to kill it or it's not dead!"
Sensing the urgency, Travis raked his brain for the best thing to do. He had no regular spells and using a scroll would take too long. This all came to him over the course of a few seconds.
Reaching a decision, he went into his bag and retrieved a damage/accuracy boost potion, not to be confused with high level destruction magic but it did add to his already magical bullets. Loading a new clip—hollow point should be best, he guessed, though who knew with an undead lich—and drinking the potion, Travis was ready for what came next.
He stood over the evil fiend and unleashed a 16-bullet magical clip into it, starting with its head and going down to its undead balls. By the time he was done, the Lich was riddled with bullets.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The sheriff reached him as the clip was finishing.
"Good enough?" Travis asked.
"Not to kill his spirit, no," the sheriff said disappointingly.
"Spirit? What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Call it what you will—a soul, a spirit, an evil entity, the spirit of Jack Nicholson from The Shining, I don't give a shit. But it will come back unless killed by pure magic."
The sheriff noticed the slightly questioning look on Travis's face and continued, "Scrolls and spells are fine to kill its physical body, but it won't die for good. Those bullets are magical?"
Travis nodded.
"Yeah, so that's why it's dead now. Anyway, how did your party make out?"
"Good, I think. It looks like the half-orc thing ran off after that other big fucking monster, whatever it's called. I killed the goblin and spider."
"A Vargeist," the sheriff said.
"What?"
"The thing on two legs that was a cross between King Kong and the abomination, that's called a Vargeist. Nasty things. But they will be back now."
Travis ignored him and started walking towards his party. He turned around really quick, though. "How did you guys make out?"
"Good considering, but we lost another four with three injured. The first time he attacked, we had over 50 with the Slayers making up 7 members. From what I hear, it's down to two, and that's thanks to you. Come see me when you get settled; I have a mission for you."
***
Undeath magic, also referred to as dark magic, though in error, because undeath is but one type of dark magic. As things branch out from the original rules set by the DM and more and more by the AI, they start taking on a life of their own. Undeath, or for the lazy, death magic is an example of this.
For the Lich King, things had always been as they were. Monsters' memories and understandings of their circumstances had been near perfected by the 3rd generation creations. Some of the "generations," as the DM refers to them, are only separated by a day or two, but the process in creating them vary widely.
We know Torak is 1st generation and not only that due to his proximity and interactions with the MC has surpassed all estimations or predictions in terms of his power. There are other 'boss' type monsters that fit this mold but none quite like the werewolf mage.
Then you have 2nd gen, which were created after Torak; these monsters have all of the right memories, and for the unthinking types, there is no issue. It's the intelligent ones that think they are on a new planet or just a new place, depending on their understanding of cosmic forces.
Similar to the Kobolds that were sent here on orders from their revered dragon mother. Eventually though, many of the OG monsters will die, and others will come along, then the myth machine takes hold. That's when history and stories intertwine to create an image of the past that different species either believe or don't, with many in between. Not entirely dissimilar from this planet's human history.
Finally, there are the 3rd gen monsters. These are from here; they remember things about their homes. Maybe each had to migrate due to weather or a magical mishap, better yet because of the humans, creating a hatred of them.
For the Lich King, he was a former human, which in some ways is true, at least genetically. Then he was merged with another species that we have yet to meet; he is unaware of this species as well. His former 'master' taught him the ways of necromancy, and he became the new Lich King when he killed his master in his sleep.
The man dabbled in undeath magic as a means to extend his life, and the DM couldn't resist giving the Lich this doozy regarding his former master, "it's ironic, he could save others from dying, but not himself." (if you know you know)
Back to the Lich. He has an ingrained understanding of this world's basis in undeath magic. Yet, everything he teaches himself, which is not insignificant, becomes a new thread, only some of which fit into the "rules" of the game. This is how, in part, we get unintended consequences.
Being able to store one's soul, spirit, or aura (each being using its own word) into a vessel of some kind is one of those new discoveries. That is why the Lich needs to be killed with pure magic, because as things have progressed, the pure use of magical energy destroys the soul or spirit.
Luckily for the Lich, who actually refers to himself only as Lich King, he was not ended by pure magical means in this recent battle. As such, his being floated back to his secret camp to be resurrected. The reason his two bodyguards withdrew instead of continuing to fight is that they are powered by the Lich and hope to also be able to store their spirits.
When the Lich rises, he will need protection for a time, and having two of his three bodyguards will bring them favor, although losing the battle was a blow. Surprisingly, the Lich is rather pragmatic and understands that they had no defense for that strange weapon. That strange human whose spirit was off the charts in terms of potential strength, he is altogether intriguing.
If the Lich can transfer his spirit to that vessel, he will become what all Lich Kings seek out—to become a Lich Emperor! of course. Like the great Napoleon, who was secretly a Lich Master, how else did he raise so many forces, hmph!
On second thought, maybe he needed a name after all.
***
The three-party members met back up and exchanged congratulations for surviving and fighting well. Each person had gone up a level, at least one. Gary had taken out a bunch of skeletons after they stopped moving. Travis hoped that counted; once he hit level 5, things became much easier.
Travis actually still had a journal leftover, but he got caught up in thinking he should save things for some emergency. Also, until today, he didn't know how valuable Gary was going to be. That was part of the reason why he was here.
No one was significantly injured either.
"The Sheriff wants us to meet with him before we leave; he said something about having a mission. Speaking of, did you get any solo missions?" Travis asked Javier.
"Sí, something about killing or driving an elite from the battlefield. I was surprised it wasn't just killed, but I guess the book knows these undead are cowards."
"The book knows more than makes me comfortable if I'm honest, but that's not our problem right now. Speaking of problems, Gary, you were a fucking menace for those boney bastards." Travis tended to fall back into jarhead speech after a battle.
"Hell yeah, felt good smashing into those creepy fucks. I thought I was never going to get a chance, chasing you two around like a Mary. Then something snapped, and I just went for it."
Travis thought two things at that. One, what does "chasing around like a Mary" even mean, and two, Gary can't be just running out in battle like that. It worked this time, but it's not a sound strategy going forward. He wasn't going to kill the man's confidence after such a good battle right now though.
"You know what, it's getting on in the day. Let's go see what that crazy motherfucker wants. Then eat something while we go over our books. Gary, I'll check you out in mine; if you are close to level 5, then things may be going your way sooner than later."
They walked off towards the main town square, feeling good about themselves, Travis hoped it could keep up that way for the entire trip.