Dozens of skeleton warriors filled the courtyard, their armor speckled with snow as they moved into a loose formation. And as Darian waited for them to gather, he could hear the shuffle of boots in the other buildings, the sound punctuated by the thump and groan of marching zombies. But Darian made no move as the dead surrounded him. The more of them that got close, the better.
After killing Victoria, Darian had obtained the Triumph [Grave Bane]. It gave him a small passive increase in the damage he dealt to the undead, but its true power lay in the skill that came with it.
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Grave Bane
* Range: 20 feet.
* Uses: Once daily
This skill sends out a shock wave of anti-necromantic energy. Any undead caught in the blast will take severe amounts of damage. This damage is tripled if the undead are half of the skill user’s level or lower. Undead destroyed by this skill will be reduced to ash.
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Since he could only use the skill once during the battle, he was going to make sure he made it count. And by the looks of things, I won’t have to wait long.
There were dozens of them now, the horde so crammed together there was hardly any room between them. And as they stared at Darian, the zombies shuffled in from between the ranks of warriors, some of them wearing the armor of Justicars. And from the fringes by the wall, Darian could see archers, their black arrows ready to fly.
“Well,” Darian said. “What are you waiting for?”
Some unheard signal passed between them, and the undead marched forward. Darian stayed rooted where he was, ready to receive them. There were more in the building at the other end of the courtyard, probably coming from that hole the fairies talked about. But Darian would deal with them after he culled those who dared approach him.
The first zombie lost its head in a dazzling spray of blood, Darian’s blade whipping through the air to take another’s arm off. Then he split it in half at the waist, Sparkblade leaving a red trail in the air as he spun to deflect a whistling arrow. Ducking a zombies’ swipe, his electrified blade took out a leg, then his fist came up, crunching into a skeleton’s head so hard its skull split open.
More pressed in on all sides, Darian’s blade carving a red ruin through the advancing horde. But then a blade slipped past his guard, the tip scratching down his shirt, his chainmail holding firm. A zombie gripped his wrist next, its mouth snapping at his arm. He jerked free of it and drove his sword through its open mouth. Twisting it free, he used its blood to send daggers into the archers along the wall. Reactivating his defensive skill [Bulwark] Darian took a sword on the shoulder, the edge biting through his armor.
Though an undead fell with each swing of his blade, the courtyard continued to fill with them. He wasn’t kidding about there being a small army. Darian kicked, a zombie’s rotting chest caving in from the strike. Just a little longer and I can use it.
He became a whirlwind, blocking and slashing, parrying and thrusting. The ground filled with the bodies of his enemies, forming a carpet over which their brethren marched. And Darian gave himself to the rhythm of battle, his blade becoming a crimson brush from which he painted a scene of destruction.
But there were simply too many of them.
Grunting as a shield rammed into his back, Darian spun and gripped the skeleton’s arm. Electrifying it with [Shocking Grasp] and finishing it with a thudding strike to the skull, he decided it was time.
Ducking low, he activated [Grave Bane].
A wave of crackling, white energy spread from his body like a tidal wave. It crashed into the undead, sending them spiraling back as their bodies disintegrated. Their weapons and armor fell to the ground amidst heaps of ash, the once full courtyard now plummeted into near silence.
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The archers along the wall still stood, a small clutch of warriors and zombies still between them and Darian. But he summoned six of his wolves and advanced, making quick work of those that remained. Then he stood and looked up at the sky, ash thrown into the air by his skill falling around him.
Standing amidst the ash, he heard the scrape of iron coming from the barracks. Turning back for the prison, he sent his wolves to kill whatever was left inside. He rolled his sore shoulders as he walked, but he smiled. He’d managed to get through the fight without taking any serious damage. Now to get some answers. But then he stopped, frozen still as his connection to the wolves was cut loose in an instant.
He spun, nearly slipping on the blood slick snow. Coming through the entrance of the barracks was a beast Darian had never seen. It crawled on all fours, its sickly and tight skin milk pale, marked here and there by signs of rot. Darian thought it was possibly human at first, but its arms and legs were wrong, elongated, the bones within stretching through its skin. And along its protruding spine ran a series of bloody nails, their tips glowing from arcane runes. Its face was sunken, the skin pulled tight around a smiling mouth filled with needle-like teeth. But Darian’s eyes were drawn to its fleshless hands where claws of bone stabbed out from where its fingers should have been.
The Nightmare.
It drug along the corpse of one of Darian’s wolves, snarling as the summon’s body evaporated into smoke.
“Hungry,” it moaned, the sound full of pain. “Hungry.” It’s pale, dead eyes snapped onto Darian and its smile widened. “Food.”
It shot forward, its clawed hands tearing at the earth as it scrambled across the ground. Darian summoned his last three wolves and his bats as he fell back into a defensive stance. But with a single swipe of its claws, Darian’s wolves were reduced to red mist. His bats screeched, distracting the Nightmare long enough for Darian to collect his thoughts.
Using the blood from his wolves, Darian created a blood shield. Then he ran forward, hurling a flame spear as he advanced. But before the fire could reach the Nightmare, the nails on its back flashed, glowing like coals in an open flame.
The Nightmare screamed in agony, the flesh around the nails sizzling. But the spear sputtered out of existence, the nails somehow canceling the magic. Then its eyes snapped back to Darian, and it burst forward with more speed than Darian had ever seen.
Bringing his blade up on instinct, the creature’s claws slammed into the steel, sending Darian rolling across the ground.
“Hurt,” the beast bellowed as it leapt through the air. “Pain.”
Something like a hot iron pierced Darian’s mind, sending a wave of agony throughout his entire body. He tried to roll away, but he was too slow. The Nightmare’s claws came down and dug into Darian’s shoulder. Blood oozed from the wound as the Nightmare opened its smiling jaws, dozens of voices screaming in agony from somewhere within it.
Darian felt his whole body turn grey, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not lift his sword. It was like all his emotions, his drive, his desire to live, were being sucked out of him. Then golden light lifted from his chest, flowing into the Nightmare’s throat. As the golden strands left him, Darian’s mind began to slip into oblivion.
But then the golden light flashed a brilliant white, and the Nightmare fell back, its claws leaving a huge gash in Darian’s shoulder. As it writhed on the ground, the golden energy returned to Darian’s chest, and his will to fight along with it.
He shot to his feet, teeth barred. Sending a signal to his bats to attack, Darian activated [Dash Strike], not giving the monster time to recover. It looked up, tears in its eyes, and the nails upon its back burned bright orange. The wave of pain that hit Darian was nearly unbearable, but he was ready for it this time.
The Nightmare brought its left arm up, and Darian’s sword severed its hand at the wrist. Then he used [Biting Swarm] on the beast. He pulled around the blood shield he’d created earlier and used it to block the Nightmare’s counterattack. Then, using its own blood, he formed three crimson daggers that he shot into its ribs. It howled and rolled away, but as it rose, one of Darian’s giant bats sunk its teeth into its shoulder.
His other bat swooped down on the left, but the Nightmare swatted it form the sky using the nub where its left hand used to be. Even weakened, the monster’s strength was incredible, crushing the bats head with only a single strike. But with the other bat still on it, Darian readied the killing blow.
Using [Determined Strike], [Arcane Blade] and finally 10% of his HP for [Blood Strike], Darian burst forward. The nails once more lit up, and another wave of agony hit Darian’s body, putting him slightly off balance.
Still stumbling forward, the Nightmare reached up and dug its claws into Darian’s bat. Then it tore them free, ripping the bat in half, its blood raining down on the monster’s smiling face. It jumped back, noticing the threat Darian’s blade now possessed.
Fighting through the pain, Darian watched as a shard of bone burst from the Nightmare’s severed wrist. It dug the spear like appendage into the ground, the nails finally ceasing to glow. Then it and Darian circled each other, knowing whoever was to land the next blow would be the victor.