Waves of magic crashed into the caravan. The Lich cast magic on the mummies causing them to shift and transform. Some grew bigger while others changed garments. Their wraps either hardening or unraveling to display more of their gruesome forms. Some of the mummies started to cast magic of their own.
Wind whipped past Alex and he had to recenter his feet. The mages brought their shields up to confront the magic. They worked to reinforce the barriers. Alex could only watch at the moment and fight the mummies that came too close to him. He felt exhausted. The mummies had only grown stronger despite their fewer numbers. For the first time in a while, he was forced to take a step back. He needed the help of others to take down individual enemies and worked together more cooperatively.
"Focus on the mummies!" Alex commanded those around him. "Mages, I need you to distract the Lich!"
He knew it was an enormous ask. The Lich was an ancient and powerful being, far beyond their usual foes. The mages looked unsure but nodded, fear and determination painted across their faces. They stepped forward, drawing on every ounce of their power. A blaze of colors engulfed the air as they threw their spells at the Lich, each one a dazzling array of arcane might meant to distract and disrupt. In the meantime other mages held the shields and kept pouring mana into the shields to repair the damage done by the Lich.
The Lich seemed amused by the efforts. With a sardonic laugh, it raised its staff, and a swirling vortex of darkness appeared in front of it. The spells of the mages disappeared into the vortex, their effects nullified.
The warriors charged towards the mummies. Every step was a struggle, like moving through a dense swamp. The transformed mummies were a force to be reckoned with, stronger, faster, and more relentless than before. Yet, he knew they were the keys to defeating the Lich. If they could cut off its source of power and distractions, they could focus on the main threat.
They fought with renewed vigor, their weapons flashing in the eerie light. Swords slashed and their metal swept through the mummies. The mummies fell one by one, their dark magic no match for the sheer determination of the warriors. Yet, each fallen enemy was immediately replaced by another. The tunnel seemed to have no end to these horrors.
“Funnel the mummies! Earth mages start on the barriers. Make sure to reinforce them thoroughly,” shouted a fighter.
Other calls were made, and orders were adjusted plans executed by the various teams within the caravan.
The fire mage he had watched earlier helped lit the tips of arrows for a group of archers before continuing to fight on her own. The flaming arrows hit a group of magic wielding mummies and helped distract them before an axe wielding warrior barreled through them. The mage fired off missile after missile fire at the Lich. It had built a hefty protective barrier for itself made of both its physical army and dark magic.
Tentacles of darkness sparked from its staff and raced forward. One shot toward a shield bearer. The shield instantly cracked, and the man was sent backward into his teammates. A rain of light was sent in the opposite direction by one of the caravan’s mages. The light magic working to counteract the Lich’s magic. Other tentacles knocked people off their feet and dragged some toward the Lich. More attacks were hurled at the ensnaring traps to try and free those who were trapped.
Some were torn free from the Lich’s attacks while a few were too late. They were lifted into the air while the lich’s staff stabbed through their guts. Their bodies were dropped to the ground as the Lich moved on to other beings to kill. Alex watched and could do nothing but help against the current mummy forces. He was not a ranged fighter and had no lightning left in his battery. It was in these moments that he again wished he had more power, more lightning charged up, and proper magic to work with.
But his magic was different and a bit unique. Alex didn’t even have to read his status screen to see the spells he could use. He had a single one. Always had a single one Manipulate Electricity. It was a versatile spell that could with effort recreate any lighting spell he could think of, but it came with one downside. He did not have the other side of the coin. Without the ability to generate electricity he was severely limited.
It was then he realized the reason why Alex had put him in charge of assisting and guarding some of the mages. He was a mage and so were they. They had the power to conjure elements at will. Elements such as lightning.
Alex reached out with his senses. It was even easier than with his echolocation. He felt the electricity coursing through the bodies of every living thing around him. It was constantly shifting and moving with the movement of people. Alex expanded his search and felt lightning in the air itself. Then he found it. He immediately turned to where he felt the nearest lightning mage. Alex cut down the mummy next to him and made his way as fast as he could toward the lightning mage.
A proper plan had yet to form in his mind as he moved. He just knew he had to access the lightning that could be summoned. After that he could do so much more.
“Hey, I need your help,” said Alex with an urgent tone. He grabbed the arm of the lighting mage. “I need you to summon lightning for me. Lots of it.”
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Alex continued to explain his plan and his needs to the fellow lightning mage.
“Let’s bring down these mummies.”
Alex’s echolocation spread through the surrounding area identifying all of the humanoids and moving objects travelling through space. With an effort of will and concentration he layered his mana and lightning sense on top of the images recorded by his echolocation. His vision lit up with the moving living people within his vision. But around them were something else. The undead, still humanoid in form but distinct from the humans in his mana sense. The mummies, like all of the undead he had seen with this special sight, held no lightning. They were not biological creatures but powered by magic.
He felt the air around him changing. Alex looked at the mage and nodded. The lightning was released. It shot out like a web.
Alex extended his senses once more, intertwining them with the wild surge of raw power that leaped eagerly from the mage's fingertips. He could taste the electricity, feel its power on his tongue and in his veins. He latched onto it, a mental grip that bore no physical form but held just as tightly. His skin tingled as the power flowed through him.
The lightning bolt ripped through the air, its crackling tendrils snaking out, ready to embrace the nearest targets. But under Alex's iron will, it did not. Each was focused and adhered to his control. He steered the raw energy, bending it to his will as easily as shaping soft clay. His focus was unyielding, and the lightning obeyed.
With an almost effortless sweep of his hand, he directed the first stream of lightning towards the closest cluster of mummies. The energy hit them like a physical blow, their wrappings incinerating almost instantly, leaving nothing but charred remains.
The mummies could do little. Even the largest and most armored of mummies near them could not withstand the attacks for long. The second wave of lightning he sent branching out to the furthest edges of the battlefield, encasing the advancing horde of mummies in a cage of electricity. The smell of ozone and burning wrappings filled the air.
More tendrils of lightning sprouted from the main bolt, striking at mummies left and right, searing them from existence. It was like a dance, a ballet of destruction as Alex controlled and manipulated the element of lightning. He was not just a mage anymore, he was the conductor of a symphony of pure, unadulterated power.
“More!” Alex cried out to the mage.
The lightning mage nodded, gritting his teeth as he channeled more of his energy into the ethereal current. The bolt became a river, then a flood, an endless tide of energy that Alex twisted and shaped with deft precision.
As the mummies fell, one by one, Alex felt a grim satisfaction. He had used their lack of life against them, their lack of biological electricity making them the perfect targets. They crumbled under his onslaught, powerless against the force he wielded.
The final stream of lightning was directed towards the biggest cluster of mummies. It was a tidal wave of energy, a lethal force that left nothing but destruction in its wake. The undead disintegrated under the onslaught, leaving nothing behind but a trail of scorched sand.
When the last of the mummies fell, Alex released his hold on the lightning. It dissipated, returning to the ether as suddenly as it had appeared. Exhausted but victorious, he turned to the lightning mage.
"We did it," he said, his voice weary but satisfied. "Thank you."
In a single wave of attacks, they had incinerated over a hundred undead. The mummies had been decimated. Few were left unharmed. Some were barely holding on. The entire area around Alex had been cleared of the creatures leaving a wide openings that the fighters and mages were quick to realize. Yells of charging fighters erupted. The tides of the battle starting to shift.
Alex dropped to one knee realizing that the energy required to perform such a feat had nearly drained him dry. It gave him a moment to rest and to watch the results of his quickly made plan.
With a large section of the undead gone the number of climbers to mummies had increased dramatically. As such they could deal with the remaining at a rapidly growing pace. At the same time the number of fighters attacking the Lich grew as well and one of those fighters was the Archer.
His arrows flew rapidly into the Lich’s defenses. Dark tendrils exploded on contact with the arrows and other attacks. The Lich was on the backfoot. It focused more on defense as its main fighting force died out. Waves of energy pushed the fighters back but weren’t focused as a whole. Instead of hitting weakened fighters who would then be overwhelmed by mummies the attacks did little. They were knocked back but easily stood back up and were surrounded with other caravan climbers instead of the undead.
Suddenly, the Lich let out a spine-chilling roar, the sound echoing across the battlefield. This was a signal, an order for the remaining mummies to converge on it. With whatever strength they had left, they started to crawl and stumble towards their master.
"Look!" a nearby warrior pointed. "The Lich's calling them in. We need to stop them from reaching it."
Alex realized it as well. The Lich was trying one final push. Alex forced himself to stand. He had not recovered much but decided then to work with what he had left. The mummies could not be left to reform their forces. He turned to the lightning mage who hadn’t wandered to far from Alex’s position.
The lightning mage nodded, stepping forward to block the mummies' path. He showed signs of exhaustion as well. His mana also running low. The man raised his hands and waited for Alex’s signal.
“Let’s do this one more time,” said Alex quietly.
Alex stretched his senses outward and searched for the remaining undead. The Lich in some ways had made it easier for him. Due to their call for regrouping many of the undead were closing in on each other. As a result, Alex planned a less focused attack on the mummies. He did not need every bolt to strike a single undead. Instead, it just needed to hit an area with the gathering undead.
The lightning mage activated his magic and let Alex take control once they were free from his fingertips. Bolts of electricity shot out, blasting through mummies, and leaving the battlefield scattered with the remains of the undead. The air sizzled and smelled of burnt cloth and decay. The attack pushed Alex to the limits of his mana pool. His face was pale as he finally downed a mana potion.
Meanwhile, the Archer took advantage of the Lich's distraction and managed to strike a direct hit. His arrow, imbued with a mystic force, pierced through the Lich's defenses, resulting in a bright flash of light and an agonizing screech from the Lich.
A flurry of mana bolts, stone spears, and fireballs followed Archer’s attacks. The Lich couldn’t hold out for much longer. A few moments later its dark magic receded and the mummies around it shriveled further before dying. Finally, the Lich’s feet touched the ground following its death.