One of the knights shouted. "We have to leave. This village has hundreds of orcs, they must be commanded by a leader-class evolution."
Aidan focused on his undead horde. The place where several of them were dying was also where the tremors should be originating. He focused both his and Dawn's brains for the sudden sensory shock. Both of them sat down with eyes closed.
"We have to run, not sit down and meditate."
"Shut up and let them do their thing." Sora chastised the knight.
"Sense Link."
Suddenly hundreds of points of view flooded into their mind. They stressed to sift through but they only had to search for the biggest target. There it was. Aidan filtered out the other undead's senses and focused on the ones near a hulking four-meter tall orc made of pure muscle and malice. He was swinging a huge club and each time he hit the ground a tremor would be felt. Glowing embers in the club illuminated the cavern. The undead he killed burned to ashes. Interesting.
He gathered the path to the exit the Orc Leader was taking and ordered all undead to ignore any other enemies, run to that exit, and attack the big orc.
They dismissed the link right after. There was no magic to cure headaches but they would recover in a few minutes.
"There is a four-meter orc coming to the surface," Aidan announced.
The two knights that were able to move tried to convince them. The fear and despair in them were obvious.
"It must be the third evolution at least. We need to go. It is suicide to stay. With or without your dragon pet."
Skippy hissed, roared and snapped his jaw in the knight's direction.
"Not a pet. A companion." Dawn retorted.
Aidan tried to remain composed. The three of them could flee flying, but the knights would perish. "But we can't flee carrying two grown men. They will catch us."
The vocal knight took Aidan's shoulder and looked in his eyes.
"Young man, this lady is of noble birth, right?" Aidan nodded. "We are lowly peasants even after being knighted. Our lives, our oath is to protect them. Leave us behind and save the lady."
"I can't," Aidan mumbled, head lowered.
After what he did here, if he were to abandon four men to die just to save his skin, the abyss would devour him. He felt that. He needed validation. He needed to prove that he was still human. That he was better than the elements he wielded.
"I won't." He spoke with determination. Aidan lifted his head and stared in the eyes of the knight. "I won't sacrifice anyone. I won't allow anyone to die. We are killing that thing."
He pulled away from the knight. Sora came to him.
"Aidan, the knight is right. We can't risk losing her. We can't risk dying here."
"Nobody is dying. I won't allow nobody to die here." His voice was quavering, breaking like a teenager going through voice change. "What good is mastery over death if you can't avoid it? Killing is fucking easy. Snap a finger and they die. No. The true master of death decides when someone that should die lives. It is what I did to me, to her. That is my path, Sora. I'll be selfish. I'll kill that thing to prove myself right."
His speech sent a shiver down the Knights' spines. Death magic?
Sora looked in her mate's eyes. She could only see those eyes on rare occasions and they scared her. The fiery blazing eyes that knew no retreat, no defeat. The irresistible force that could only go forward. This is what those eyes meant to her. Those were a warrior's eyes. Fierce, piercing.
Even though the squirrel tribe was mostly made of diplomats and merchants, the beast-kin are at heart warriors. Something deep in her core resonated with that determination. Something primal. She drew and started to string her bow.
"We are going to kill that thing. I'm with you to the bitter end, my love. And don't mind my hand. Even if I bust it, we can fix that after we return to the capital."
Aidan patted her head and caressed her ears. "Yes. The four of us are going to kill that thing. And get these four brave men back home safely."
Dawn stepped in. "Soldiers, get potions with Sora and focus on getting the other two back on their feet. If and when we need to flee, we will only go if they can walk. You will keep the perimeter safe from goblins and lower orcs. The Leader is ours.
"Sora, focus on defending the perimeter. Snipe the Orc Leader only if you can get a good shot."
Sora finished readying her bow and handed her potion pack to the vocal knight. The vials were labeled and color-coded.
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Aidan's plan had three phases. First, he would swarm the Orc Leader with the undead. If the undead could deal with him, problem solved. The second phase Skippy would drop all his Dragonfire on the monster. Aidan was channeling mana to the little dragon as he explained the plan. The third phase was risky. They would put Dawn on the frontline with Aidan giving magic support and Sora with ranged attacks.
"That is suicide." Sora protested.
"Dawn can't die. I'm putting Undying Resilience on us. And I'll be working as an observer for her. I can see movement better than her. with me watching the fight, she won't have blind spots."
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The ground shook and the sound of wood splintering resounded around. Aidan sensed undead on the surface.
"He is here."
They went outside the hut.
The big orc with the ember-clad club was swinging his club at the undead and trying to get the goblin zombies off of him. At least two dozen of them were clawing, gnawing and clinging to his body.
"By Mars' sword. That is an Orc Leader or King."
"Swarm him!" Aidan ordered.
The orc and goblin zombies in the ground rushed in a frenzy, grabbing the club and being throw away, clinging to his legs and biting, clawing. The Orc Leader skin was too thick. He was only getting scratched.
There was hope. If the undead could break his skin and inject the plague, the boss would slowly turn into a zombie under Aidan's control.
It roared and a pulse of mana ran through the air. It suddenly tasted like ash. Several zombies around him burst into flames and died. Aidan kept sending mana to Skippy. The dragon was already feeling tipsy and itchy from converting mana to Dragonfire.
Less than a hundred zombies now. The Orc Leader was slowing down. Blood came from his back. Some goblins dug through the flesh. It let go of the club, threw himself to the ground, and rolled, squashing the goblin zombies on his back or throwing them away.
The embers on the club died. It returned to an ordinary wooden club, unscathed. He stood up and picked up his weapon. The wood glowed red and the embers started burning again. Aidan turned on his magic sight. He could see mana flowing from the huge orc to the weapon. It finished killing the remaining undead as more and more poured out of the cave he came from.
Aidan knew the undead wouldn't last for too long. He commanded the few survivors to return underground and harass the orcs and goblins.
"Skippy, dump everything on him but stay above the reach of that club."
The dragon puffed his chest. Between his scales, in the chest and neck, a red glow could be seen beneath the skin. Skippy took to the air and gained altitude fast.
Looking at the humans, the Orc Leader pointed his club and hollered a challenge. He was wounded, several minor bruises and scratches bleeding. They all added up. If he were a troll, it would mean nothing. He was not.
Dawn unsheathed her rapier and flexed her arms. She pointed her weapon at the Orc Leader, accepting his challenge. The Orc Leader took a step forward.
*FWOOOOOSH*
And his world became flame.
Dragonfire burns anything.
Atop the cone of flames coming down on the massive monster one could see a tiny dragon belching something even purer than elemental fire. The flames were twenty, thirty times his size. Skippy finished unloading and tumbled to the side, just in time to avoid a thrown club.
The figure of the Orc Leader was entirely covered in flames. It crouched and brought his arms closer to his chest. Aidan could see a huge amount of mana gathering in the orc's heart.
And it burst out. Ashen mana enveloped the Orc Leader and both energies canceled each other. Cladding.
Flakes of burnt flesh fell to the vitrified ground. His skin was almost entirely burnt, reddened and oozing. huge bubbles and charred patches where it burnt the most. The giant club fell on a hut, smashing it.
"Guess it is my turn." Dawn quipped.
"Butterfly Step."
"Tailwind."
"Resist Pain."
"Stone Bones."
And Aidan used their life insurance.
"Undying Resilience."
Leaving control of the spell to him would mean not depending on Dawn's consciousness to dismiss it. Once she was out of mortal danger the spell could be lifted for proper healing.
"Is she really fighting that thing?" A knight asked. "With that flimsy sword?"
Aidan glanced sideways, the other two were recovering consciousness.
"No. She is KILLING that thing. We are killing that thing. You just take heed and bear witness to our deed. Her deed."
The Orc Leader slowly walked to retrieve his weapon. Aidan could see a lot of ash mana was circulating around him, cauterizing his wounds. Each step was a pain. He took the weapon and roared.
Dawn glided forward, each step graceful like a dance. Firm. Confident. Rapier in hand, shining blue under the afternoon sun. The knights were mesmerized by her figure.
"Ready, Sora. Remember, shoot only if you can hit the mark. Make it count."
Aidan started building magic circles for one of the new spells he tried. Soul Slash, the best for dismemberment. The spells were invisible and it would be impossible to figure out what he was doing besides 'using magic'.
"FIght me, ugly thing." Dawn taunted the Orc Leader. He snorted and channeled mana into the club. Now almost the whole weapon glowed. But his cladding faltered. Aidan could see it was concentrated in the upper body.
He moved to face Dawn. The glowing club actually hindered her sight, but she could rely on Aidan for that.
He swung the club and the wind shifted. Dawn moved sideways with ephemerous grace.
The weapon hit the ground, lifting a dust cloud. The ground shook less than before. He was weaker.
"Soul Slash."
Aidan shot his magic at the monster's right foot toes. It pierced the cladding at its weakest spot and severed the big toe. It became limp and numb, making the monster lose some balance.
It roared and Dawn slashed at the hands but the monster pulled the arms back. The adamantite alloy cut the cladding and chipped the wood.
It swung again and Dawn dodged.
He wobbled and his glowing weapon hindered his sight too. He could only tell that the small woman was somewhere under the club.
"Big Orc will die to a girl. How lame!" She taunted his male pride.
Another swing. Dawn rushed inwards and went near his legs.
Sora released an arrow at his eye. Now he had to choose one threat to pay attention to.
Dawn's height was below his waistline. She lunged and went for the family jewels.
The Orc Leader lifted his club to block the arrow and jumped backward. The rapier nicked his pride and the arrow lodged in the club.
But his attention was divided. His cladding faltered. It was visible that the glow in the club dimmed.
"Soul Slash."
Gone was his left foot. The flesh only remained attached to the body.
The monster lost his footing and fell. Dawn went for his left wrist and slashed with the rapier, severing half the wrist.
The arm came down and she ducked sideways to avoid being slammed.
"Soul Slash."
The right hand was lost. The huge club lost its glow and clattered to his side.
The orc was flailing in the ground, trying to smash Dawn. The girl skated around the limbs, cutting and piercing several times.
It tried to get up and took an arrow to the right eye. It went sideways and stuck in the nasal cavity without reaching the brain.
"Soul Slash."
The left arm was severed. Its core should be almost empty now. His cladding was gone.
Dawn took the opportunity and reached for his neck from the defenseless left. One stab and a rending twist took his arteries and airways. The girl couldn't avoid the blood spray.
Dawn retreated, blinded. The Orc Leader twitched and thrashed around until it died.
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Besides blood magic, Aidan decided to learn lifestyle magic immediately upon their return. In this specific occasion, both could solve the problem. It would be easier to finish dyeing Dawn's clothes red than cleaning them. At least they applied a lot of water magic on it. Maybe pink.
"At least we have a spare uniform in town." Sora comforted Dawn as she helped the girl wash. With magic, they could clean the person at least.
Aidan was carving the monster chest looking for their prize. And there it was. A core the size of a grape. A huge one.
"I can't believe she killed the monster. I couldn't see most of her slashes at vital spots."
That was the cover story for the soul magic. Dawn cut the nerves of the limbs.
They removed the orc head and wrapped it in some pelts after cauterizing the flesh to avoid dripping.
Skippy gasped and growled with a rasping voice.
"You overdid it, buddy. First time I see a dragon burn himself. But good job. We took it with only a sore throat. No, don't make that face. I'll get you overdue quail eggs. Your favorite, right?"
The little dragon purred. Time to return to civilization. Victorious.
Aidan got an idea from this fight. Cladding was impossible for humans. Only dragons and very evolved monsters could do that. But a spell to enhance one's weapon? Totally doable.
And beneath the ground, orcs cowered. Goblins starved. And the dead walked.