Blood spilled out, painting the stone ground. Alaster pressed a hand over the deep wound as he jumped back. The four Black Guard took one heavy step forward as one, thrusting their spears in an attempt to cover their master while he retreated. Goblins had swarmed them, coming from both directions. Alaster just counted himself lucky that the tunnel was so narrow, otherwise his Undead would have been overwhelmed in the first few moments.

As it was, they weren’t far from that point as it was. Alaster’s Undead were much stronger than the Goblins, and while they couldn’t get tired, they still had a breaking point. The Goblins just kept coming. One after another, each dying quickly, but occasionally one would get a solid hit in on one of the Undead. And there were so many and coming so quickly that even with the Living Bone enchantment, Alaster’s second mind, and the Skeletal Mage all doing their best to heal the damage, it wasn’t enough.

Even when Alaster himself healed them, it was just barely faster. But with no end to the Goblins in sight, Alaster was concerned about his mana reserves. He had a lot for a Mage of his level, a nigh infinite amount with [Blood Price]. But that was only if he had enough health to convert. He was reaching his limits.

As Alaster had ventured deeper into the Dungeon, the Goblins and grown smarter and more numerous. The tunnel had branched off a few times, but after the first several branches had ended in a dead end that wasted over an hour, Alaster had ignored all the paths that had branched off of the main tunnel. Such a simple and seemingly innocent decision was about to kill him.

The Goblins had built short platforms that gave their crossbows a better angle over their rushing comrades. The melee Goblins were now using an even mix of cast iron tipped spears and iron studded clubs. The spear users weren’t able to do much damage, but they were able to attack from further back, while their club users pushed up. It was the clubs that were the most damaging. Their powerful blunt attacks sent ripples of cracks through the bone armor.

Alaster attempted to aid his Undead with fending off the goblins. But while he was an adequate swordsman, he was not the best, nor was he experienced in fighting in formations or with a spear. His sword was lethal, but in the current situation, he couldn’t even get in range to use it effectively.

Goblins were instinctually cowardly creatures, during the time Alaster had been in the Dungeon, he had been studying the Goblins. In addition to their darker skin and rough scales, Alaster had noticed several other things. Dungeon Monsters were notoriously difficult to frighten, and in this case, it also applied to the Goblins. Normally, after having a few of their brethren killed in front of them, they would flee, but these darker Goblins hadn’t. They continued to attack even after taking significant losses.

The Minotaurs were dispensing their wrath as efficiently as they were able. Sending limbs flying and blood spraying their bone white armor and weapons. Despite the Goblin’s bravery, or stupidity, they hesitated to face the giants as the blood of their brothers painted the white armor. Alaster and the Skeletal Mage had been required to repair the Minotaurs glaives several times throughout the battle.

Alaster bent over as he put pressure over the wound. He had over extended on an amateur thrust with his bone spear, and had gotten stabbed by a Goblin spear.

‘I really need to make a full set of armor for myself.’

He had a bracer on one hand and the parasite guarding his other hand, extending to his forearm. He also had a helmet and shin guards, but he had neglected to make additional armor. The ache in his abdomen was a sore reminder of his mistake. Yet another of his mistakes since entering the Dungeon was still not resolved, and still threatening to kill him.

During the battle, Alaster had been forced to supplement his Mana with his Health. And his decreased health was slowing down his body’s healing. Alaster’s own blood was seeping through his fingers and soaking into his clothes. He was out of commission, at least physically. Alaster took out the bone chair from his Ring and sat down. But as much as he wanted to take a break, he couldn’t. He continued to look over the battle, and continued to heal his Undead.

‘After this mess, I need to figure out how to use AOE Spells. That would be really helpful right now.’ Alaster mused to himself, his face twisting as he adjusted, and cast [Necrotic Heal] on one of the Black Guards.

The Night Children had long ago been destroyed. They were simply too fragile. And Alaster didn’t have the opportunity to raise more Undead. He had tried to raise [Horde] Skeletons, but the Goblins, in the desire to reach the Undead, would drag their own dead away, out of reach of Alaster’s Magic, and clear room for themselves.

‘Wait, why can’t I create an AOE right now?’

Struck by an idea, Alaster moved quickly to put it into action. Necrotic Mana naturally wanted to destroy the living. Slow to move, quick to destroy. All Alaster had to do was let that aspect free. Alaster held his palm up, Necrotic Mana slowly gathering. First it was a few wisps, but as it gathered, it condensed, becoming more liquidlike. The young man imagined it shooting from his hand, flying in an arc, and exploding, consuming the living.

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The dormant ball of Mana reacted to his thoughts and began to boil. Alaster actually struggled to control it, but the fear of it falling apart and consuming him was enough to spur him into action. He pointed his palm into the midst of Goblins attack the rear of the formation, where without the Minotaurs, they were struggling. The chaotic ball shot out, arching through the air, sailing over the heads of the Blackguards and at least a dozen closely packed Goblins, all vying to be the first to get past the Blackguards.

The ball hit one of the Goblin heads. It was as if Alaster had just tossed it over. Alaster sighed. That one experiment had drained him of most of his remaining Mana, and it had failed.

No sooner had he thought that did the ball explode in a sphere of sickly green Mana. It passed through the ranks of the Goblins as if it was a mist, stopping only two meters away from the Blackguards. And just as quickly as it had appeared, the sphere vanished, as if it had never been there. But unlike mist, the only thing that remained of the Goblins within were their weapons, loincloths, and bones. One Goblin had been caught half in, half out. It fell to the ground, its entire back exposed to the bone.

It had been soundless, and left not a mark on the surrounding stone. But regardless, it had left an impact. The Goblins, at the front, had not seen it, and continued to charge into the swinging glaives of the Minotaurs, each riddled with countless bolts. But the Goblins at the rear had. And despite still filling the tunnel for as far back as Alaster could see in the dark, not one dared to move forward. Not one dared to cross the no man's land that Alaster had established.

The Goblins who were engaged with the rear Blackguards were quickly killed, too consumed by their bloodlust at being so close to their prey, they did not even notice they were alone. The six Blackguards in the rear finished with the last of them and stood straight, driving the butts of their spears into the ground, as if daring the Goblins from advancing. None took them up on it.

Given a short respite, Alaster mediated for three minutes, recovering enough mana to create another of those explosive balls. Despite his pain, he stood up and stepped in front of the rear Blackguards, holding up the ball, as if to use it. But he didn’t need to. At the sight of another green ball of mana, the rest of the Goblins scrambled to get away. Climbing over each other, they soon disappeared around the corner over ten meters away.

One of the Blackguards stepped forward just in time for Alaster to grab its unmoving arm in support. He had lost a lot of blood and he felt faint. But he was not done yet. With the Blackguard’s support, Alaster walked to the front of their formation. Three more of the Blackguards from the rear turned around and reinforced the front, leaving only two to guard the rear, not that Alaster expected the Goblins to return.

Alaster was tempted to simply use the Goblin bones from the rear to raise [Horde] Skeletons while he meditated and overwhelm the Goblins with numbers. But he threw that plan out for the same reason the Goblins hadn’t overwhelmed him with numbers. The tunnel was narrow. Just as he had done with the rear, Alaster mediated for a few moments, recovering even more mana.

Satisfied with the amount, Alaster launched another ball over the heads of the Goblins, this time a bit deeper in their ranks. Just as before, it was soundless and left no mark as it cleared out every living thing within its five meter radius. This time, however, the Goblins were more insistent, and continued to charge forward. As they entered the [Dead Aura], that Alaster had left active the entire battle, they slowed unexpectedly, allowing the Minotaurs an easier time dissecting them.

However, Alaster had expected just such an outcome, and had meditated enough for another ball. As even more of their number simply vanished, leaving only bones behind, the Goblins finally retreated. It wasn’t until Alaster could no longer hear them that he allowed himself to fall into the chair.

He breathed heavily. He was exhausted physically from his short spurt fighting the Goblins with a spear. He was mentally exhausted from so many spells being used in such a short time. And the young man was on the verge of passing out from blood loss. Luckily, he had prepared for something like this. He had bought some supplies in Goldview, which including some basic bandages. Alaster moved as quickly as the wound allowed him to and wrapped it tightly, biting down on his coat as he did so.

Cold sweat dripped from his forehead as he panted, his vision blurry and distant. But he had survived, barely, but so.

‘Just how many did I kill in this engagement alone?’

Yet there was no way to accurately know.

When his vision finally returned, Alaster looked over the Undead. All of them were riddled with bolts, except the Mage, but even it had a few sticking out of its bones. The Minotaurs were more bolt than armor, creating the image of a porcupine. But these porcupines were literally dripping blood. Alaster briefly pondered how the Minotaurs didn’t have a speck of white, even on their backs.

Without his prompting, the Mage moved to each Undead, and began pulling out the bolts, healing them as it went. Alaster was perfectly fine with leaving it to do so. The ground was covered in about an inch of blood. This section of tunnel dipped slightly, allowing it to pool. But despite that, Alaster didn’t care. His boots were soaked through already. The young Death Knight desperately wanted to take a bath, but more than that, he wanted to sleep.

Yet despite his desire, he pushed it aside in favor of common sense. He had to ensure the area was not only clear of enemies, but also that his Undead were at max strength before he allowed himself to sleep.

Alaster was already dreading it.