Chapter fifteen: Telling Death a Joke

    In a certain cavern about three-thousand feet under the Murus kingdom a lightning bolt shaped like a man stood calmly looking into the distance, and then he was gone. A path of corpses could be seen going off down one of the tunnels. The monsters, beasts, and dark creatures who filled the cavern felt an instinctual fear, followed by a sudden relief. The force of nature was now gone, so they turned to the meal that still sat in the middle of the cavern. The Five nobles stood up, each one released a frightening aura.

Although each noble house would use a unique breathing technique, after thousands of years each house would certainly develop some similar practical skills. Among those would definitely be an extremely dangerous power enhancing skill. Each of these nobles were determined to die with their enemies, and had put forth everything they had into this final moment. These fellows may still fall short of Thunder Beard, but not by far. After a few moments the room was quiet, the nobles had left through the four remaining tunnels. Some of the corpses were burned, some were frozen, and some could no longer be recognized.

The man in the black robe thought the main group was about to be dealt with, now he needed to organize a search for the other various groups who were causing problems. Suddenly a bolt of lightning appeared striking towards him. The bolt hit a shadowy formation just ten feet In Front of the black robed mage. Thunder Beard appeared, glancing at the defensive formation that had stopped his attack.

Massive booms sounded out as he began to strike against the shadows. The mage began to shout out incantations as he formed patterns with his hands. More shadows rushed forward attempting to surround Thunder Beard. With a flash Thunder Beard dodged without slowing his assault. “In the name of thunder you will die today!” The mage began to sweat as he felt the formation wavering. He felt the shadow of death wavering over him. He lifted the black skull in his hand, calling for help. He desperately reached out to the strongest beings he could find.

Just before the formation was going to break two creatures walked into the room. “Kill him! He’s trying to stop the master’s plan!” Skeletons wearing black robes, liches. One of them had a green shade to his bones, and as he waved his hand a green fog shot forward. The other pulled out a sword as he charged forward, a metallic gleam reflecting off his bones. Thunder Beard dodged the green cloud before charging at the other lich. The metallic lich was launched out of the room, but still managed to throw his sword at Thunder Beard. Thunder Beard blocked without effort, but as soon as he did several armored knights appeared around him. They all wore full body armor, but this failed to hide the stench that wafted off their bodies.

The black robed mage began to laugh maniacally. “HAHAHAHA! These two liches were personally selected by the twelfth elder! They are perfectly matched to face off against powerful individuals like you! I will personally deliver your corpse to the twelfth elder!”

Thunder Beard quickly struck out at one of the knights, launching it away. “What in the Thunder!” He was amazed to see it vanish a moment later, reappearing directly In front of him. Death Knights! These creatures were the ghosts of warriors who had been sealed into their own armor. After being infused with various magics they became troubling opponents. Thunder Beard tried to escape the encirclement, but was thwarted by the group of death knights. These knights were not only strong, but also very familiar with one another's movements. The green cloud floated over, engulfing Thunder Beard and his attackers. Even though Thunder Beard’s body was barely human at this point, he still could feel the green gas seeping in, slowing his thoughts and movements. Thunder Beard could feel the lightning in his body attempting to disperse. The technique he had used to enhance his strength would soon wear off, and the battle would end. Thinking carefully, Thunder Beard tried to find another solution, and his eyes landed on the two liches.

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The black robed mage was grinning as he watched Thunder Beard struggle. The mage thought that although the twelfth elder would probably be angry with the loses, this particular prize should be enough to appease him. The mage saw a flash, a burning sensation hit the back of his eyes as a deafening boom was heard. “What! What happened!” No one answered him. The magic in the room was fluctuating, so he couldn’t feel anything. When he could finally open his eyes he saw Thunder Beard stabbing his sword into the barrier.

Thunder Beard thought that if he could injure the two liches perhaps he could buy enough time to deal with the black robed mage. He ignited a portion of his remaining power, launching himself at the two skeletons. Thunder Beard smashed the green skeleton into the ground, shattering its skull. In the next instance he infused the other skeleton with a portion of his power before shooting him through one of the tunnels. Thunder Beard smiled, it seemed his guess was right, the metallic looking skeleton was highly conductive.

Thunder Beard broke through the barrier with just a couple of hits. He could feel the lightning inside him trying to rip his body apart. He quickly swung at the black robed mage, but the mage dodged at the last second, losing an arm rather than his head. The black skull had fallen to the floor. “I guess those shadows must help you dodge?” Thunder Beard steady his sword, preparing for one last strike. As his blade went flying towards the mages neck, an extremely thick shadow suddenly appeared, grabbing ahold of the blade. An extremely cold feeling filled the room as a oppressive figure stepped out of the shadow.

Thunder Beard couldn’t move an inch as the shadows began to move across his body “Twelfth elder! I am sorry for my incompetence. This man is truly too strong for me.” The black robed mage immediately threw himself to the ground as he began to grovel, but the twelfth elder paid him little attention. The twelfth elder was staring intently at the enemy in front of him. “This is definitely the Thunder clan’s technique. Would you happen to be Thunder Beard? I heard the Thunder clan had been desperately looking for their elder for several decades now. It seems I will have to tell them of your unfortunate demise.” The shadows seemed to tighten all the sudden, as if they were trying to strangle their prey.

Thunder Beard could feel the lightning within him disappearing at the same time that the shadows tightened. He looked at the twelfth elder with a look of desperation. “I..I have something to tell you.”

“Oh, and what is that?” The twelfth elder grinned as he stepped forward, hoping to give his enemy a bit of hope before he slowly killed him.

“Just a bit closer.” Thunder Beard was barely able to whisper as he desperately struggled. The fear could clearly be seen on his face as his body began to dim.

The twelfth elder was slightly suspicious, but he could feel the like energy slipping out of his captive. He leaned forward to whisper in Thunder Beard’s ear. “Of course, I would be happy to pass on your last words.”

“Boom.” The slight whisper was followed by a massive explosion. By the time the dust settled Thunder Beard’s corpse looked like little more than a burnt skeleton, but the smile could still clearly be seen on his face.