Liam kicked off the ground towards his first opponent. The mummy brought it's arms down in a devastatingly powerful arc that was timed to intercept him. With a flex of his [Merged Spirit] and the straining of his muscles and bones, he forced himself to a stop right out of the creature's reach and forced back a flinch as flaming bandages whipped right in front of his face. The stone of the floor cracked under the force of the blow, but the resulting vibrations didn't have time to reach Liam before he was in the air, axe raised high above his head. His [Undead Lore] Skill wasn't high enough to tell him anything about the particular type of undead, but if there was one thing he had learned from facing them this past day, it was that overwhelming power trumped whatever gimmicks they had holding them together.
He reached the apex of his jump and, with gravity assisting him, he used everything he could to bring his weapon down upon the creature. The phantom blade of his black mist was the first to impact the creature, causing no visible damage but stripping the area it penetrated of its vital force so that the bone edge that came next would not be hindered. Then, the actual weapon made contact and carved through the creature's skull like it was made of butter. It kept going until it hit as deep as the mist had gotten before it met true resistance and could go no further, becoming lodged in the bone.
It was still moving, its arms reaching up to envelope him in a crushing embrace but he didn't panic. He had been finding more and more uses for [Spirit Shaping] in this battle and right before he initiated this reckless attack he had attempted another one. His [Spirit of Protection] that had been keeping him safe was now no longer wrapped around his body, instead it was concentrated on holding back the overcharged powers of his axe from exploding out early. The Tier II bonus of his weapon has reinforced the Spirit with enough strength to hold on this long but against the raging storm of energy that dwelled within the crimson instrument of destruction, it wasn't enough.
He felt a spiritual twinge as the last of his shield broke and the stolen fires within his armament were set free. They spilled out of the axe head with explosive force, shattering the mummy's head from within and scorching the vicera before it could splatter everywhere. With the majority of it directed downwards, the carnage continued into its chest, tearing its ribcage apart and incinerating any organs that might have resisted rotting for this long. This continued until the upper portion of the creature's torso was mangled beyond recognition and the fires of its bandages winked out only to be relit by the firey attack that had claimed its unlife.
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A rush of energy filled him and for a moment he thought that his [Spirit of Protection] had leveled up again. A quick check proved that wasn't the case and the feeling he got across the bond was that the Spirit was too weak and exhausted from the strain he had put it under to even attempt any improvement at the minute. No, the energy he felt flooded his body and reached up to his mind before integrating itself, making him more solid both physically and mentally. He had leveled up.
He didn't have time to check the notification, not after the last couple times he had allowed himself to get distracted had ended with him blindsided but something, but he didn't let that stop him from willing any free points he had gotten into Strength. The effect was immediate. His muscles brimmed with power as he ripped his weapon from the mummy's remains and crossed the distance to the other one in a single bound. He thought about repeating his successful tactic but, with the lesser amounts of charged energies in his armament and lacking his [Spirit of Protection], he wouldn't be able to replicate it any time soon enough to matter in this battle.
That being said, with the amount of fire being hurled at him and in the surroundings his axe was charging at a record pace. He stepped forwards and swung, meeting the mummies own blow head on. Before, he had just lost out in a head on clash but now, with the extra points in Strength and his damage multipliers, he was more than its match. He cut into its flaming arms and pushed them back, forcing the creature to take a step backwards. Then, he ripped his weapon out of it and buried it on its chest in motion too fast for its rotted brain to follow.
He was going to have to invest in some Dexterity soon, since his axe had landed way off where he was aiming but it still did its job wounding the creature. Being undead, it didn't react with pain but instead continued its attack. Its arms, which he'd knocked to the side came back at him and he ducked under them, pulling his axe with him and spinning until he stuck it back into the thing's flesh. He cut the first injury he had dealt in its side much deeper before stepping past it to avoid the follow up.
Liam spun again and left a gash along the thing's back. He could tell that whatever magic was holding the creature together was beginning to fray by how it was beginning to shed bandages, the fabric burning to ash as soon as it lost a connection to the undead's body. It was definitely much more injured than it looked and he had a feeling that this next exchange would be its last.
It charged him again and he was unsure whether the creature just didn't learn or it had no other options left. He stepped back and let its slam miss before putting his axe in its head and vanquishing it for good. Fire splashed against him as he did, the same as it had for the entirety of his battle with the mummies, but this time he could finally turn his attention to the source. The skeletal battalion now had nothing to run interference for it, and his axe was ever hungry for more bones.