Even without the corrective influence of the domain, Georgios was still supernaturally skilled with his weapon, and Edgar was forced to use his elemental energy to knock the arrow out of the way. Only, he found it nearly impossible. There was such a massive font of elemental energy contained within the arrow that it was like trying to push an earthquake out of the way, or a tidal wave. Only Edgar’s immense magical might allowed him to prevail, and the arrow slid past his cheek, slicing through the flesh. Had it been a little bit to the right, he would have died there and then.

Some might have seen his action as foolish, but he knew that remaining on the wall was simply inviting his enemy to pick him off where he stood. At least on the level ground below, he could move in all directions. Flying might have seemed like a good choice, but it was also a trap. It was a lot harder to use one’s true speed in the air.

“I applaud your bravery,” Georgios said, a lazy grin spreading across his face. “Most of my enemies seek to run, rather than get closer to me.”

“What is the point in running?” Edgar replied. “Anyone who dies to someone such as you deserves it.”

Of course, he didn’t really believe that, but it certainly helped to throw the other man off guard.

Georgios snarled. “I know your kind. Bantering in the face of death. All that achieves is a fleeting sense of satisfaction, held by those too worthless to die bravely. When those bony hands come reaching for you, that shield will crumble soon enough.”

“You serve Slothari. That tells me enough about your character, and what you consider bravery.”

“Enough.” Georgios raised his free hand and brought it down, signaling for the rest of his army to charge.

As they ran forwards, he began to stride towards Edgar, his bow held loosely at his side. Edgar wove the elements around himself, creating a howling cyclone of wind with him as the center. Bodies were tossed into the air and shredded into pieces by his power.

Georgios slammed the end of his bow into the ground and the world around him started to warp. Skeletons crawled from cracks in the ground and a miasma of sepulchral light surrounded him. A sudden conduit had been opened to a realm of pure Death, and the winds of the grave blew through. Edgar felt a sudden chill grip his heart. Georgios had been equipped with centuries to hone his elemental mastery, and as such, it was far greater than his own.

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Elemental mastery was not everything though, and Edgar funneled his immense mana pool into his hands, mingling it with elemental power. A rotating spear of energy formed there. Rather than enlarging it into a tornado, he began to condense it down into a tiny arrow of energy about the size of a pin.

As enough potency to level a small town was channeled into the rotating bolt of power, Georgios struck. The skeletons around him began to shift and change, their bones clattering across the ground as they merged into something greater.

Georgios held out his bow and the bones fused with it, turning the already imposing weapon into a construction the size of a small tree. He set the base of the bow against the ground and then drew back, a loud creak sounding across the land. The remainder of the skeletons fused to form an arrow almost as long as the bow was tall, and dropped into the slot waiting for them on the bowstring.

Edgar sped up, condensing almost half of his mana and elemental energy into the comically tiny construction before him. Then, as one, the two generals loosed their attacks.

The sound barrier cracked many times over as an arrow the size of a missile hissed through the air, carrying the concentrated power of an entire battlefield of the dying. On the other end, a speck of blinding energy made almost no sound at all, the air recognizing it as part of itself. As a result, Edgar’s attack hit first, striking the tip of Georgios’ arrow.

Threads of energy began to dance around the impact point, warring for dominance. However, Edgar had an advantage in this field of battle. As his strike had been made entirely out of elemental energy, he could replenish it from afar, drawing upon the air around it for strength. However, Georgios was unable to do the same.

The elven powerhouse snarled as his arrow was slowly pushed backwards. He nocked another arrow to his string, but it was too little, too late. Edgar commanded the immense charge of power contained within the bolt of energy to burst. All of the power of a hurricane was directed into the tip of Georgios’ arrow. With a boom, it reversed directions, moving at speeds almost unheard of in this realm.

Before Georgios knew what had happened, there was a hole the size of a human head in his torso. He gazed dumbly down at it, and then up at Edgar.

“How?” Were his last words as he collapsed to the earth, finally returning to the Death that he had stolen so much power from.

Edgar tried to respond, but then swayed on his feet. He felt a warm substance trickling down his front, and when he looked down, he saw a splinter of bone sticking out of his chest. Somehow, a piece of Georgios’ attack had gotten through. Death elemental energy pulsed through it, necrotizing his flesh. He tried to pull it out, but it was too late. He fell over and lost consciousness. All around him, the battle raged, but without the aid of their leader, Georgios’ forces were faltering, pushed back by the wave of fighters honed in the crucible of the Waste Warrens.

Kendal lifted Edgar up on a disc of fire and set him down on the ruined battlements. A few healers rushed towards him, wondering if it was already too late. The mage had little health and Resilience to begin with. All they could do was hope.