A monstrous yet silent crowd was withstanding the defenders' gaze. The Necromoon's slaves looked at the living with eyes burning with hatred.
"I feel like we're the last survivors in this world," murmured Priam.
"It's a biodiversity disaster," agreed Louis.
"It's mostly a disaster for my nostrils," Blueberry grumbled.
Priam couldn't help but agree. With every inhale, he felt like he was breathing in the distilled scent of a charnel house.
"Even my cat's litter slls better," grimaced Louis, pinching his nose.
"What's that?" asked the bear, scratching his ear.
"A place to do your business," replied Priam.
"Thats weird. There are places where you can't?" The bear inquired.
A bad feeling grew in Priam.
"Since you've been here, where have you sh"
"Silence !" Kazuki's voice echoed. The hoplite used his Concept with terrifying precision to simulate sounds directly in the defenders' ears. Without Domain, a warrior would have been defenseless against this kind of power.
With a glance, Priam checked the emotional state of their strategist. Kazuki clenched his teeth, attempting to solve an unsolvable problem. How could fourteen defenders defend such an imposing base?
Priam and the rest of the fighters stood on an earthen rampart. Recently constructed, the defense ford a semi-circle forty ters from Log-a-rhythm. Its two ends t the river that secured the north of the base.
The rampart's soil ca from a ditch just in front, three ters deep, rigged with enchanted stakes. At the top of the mound, Priam, Louis, Blueberry, and the hoplites had been waiting for a few minutes. Each was responsible for defending a section of about ten ters. The task would have been impossible for a human, but Priam could cover that distance in a fraction of a second.
The cold wind changed direction, carrying the putrid slls toward the forest. As his nose was finally freed from tornt, Priam felt his patience waning. The wait was becoming burdenso. A silent question lingered on everyone's lips.
"Why aren't they attacking?"
It had been three minutes since Priam and Louis had joined the other defenders. No Necromoon servants had pursued them out of the forest. The horde gathered under the cover of trees, silent and terrifying. The red eyes and bloody halos of revenants of all kinds contrasted with the black background of the underbrush. Added to the sound of bones clashing and flesh rubbing against bark, the scene was horrifying.
Even more horrifying was the number of enemies. Priam's HUD was covered in red dots.
"There must be a leader," Kazuki finally declared. It was the most probable explanation. Their basic instinct didn't allow them to wait to launch a brutal assault. A higher consciousness commanded them.
"I volunteer to eliminate it." It was Hyshana's voice. Her husband had dampened her voice before relaying it himself, demonstrating once again his mastery of his Concept.
"You would be too easily corrupted," Kazuki refused. Hyshana was a warrior who excelled in close combat, not in reconnaissance or elimination. "Priam, Jasmine, Elaine, are any of you confident?"
Elaine? Priam turned to a hoplite juggling with golden runes. She was a glass cannon sniper.
"Sir, I can't do much without knowing the leader's position," the hoplite replied.
"What is ve doing?" Priam asked ntally his subordinate.
"She's heading towards the territory of the rabhorns. Should I follow her out of Log-a-rhythm's territory?"
Outside of his land, Priam would have no connection with Jasmine. She could evade him for the rest of her days without a problem. Worse, if Sumstreh captured her, the god would discover the truth about his condition. Too risky.
"Abandon the pursuit and find the leader of the revenants. Kill them if possible, otherwise send their position. Do not leave the Log-a-rhythms domain."
"Understood."
"Jasmine will take care of the leader," Priam announced to the group.
Without his most powerful attacks, he couldn't afford to plunge into the sea of revenants. If corruption reached him, he would have to commit suicide. While usually a positive thing, the gained attributes were now dangerous.
"Good. For the rest, stay at your posts, conserve your aether, and avoid flashy attacks. Priam, how long until the barrier is restored?"
[26 min, 43s before Log-a-rhythm's protective barrier reactivation.]
"Twenty-seven minutes."
"Then we must protect Log-a-rhythm for twenty-seven minutes. It's our top priority; we'll eventually be overwheld without it. Any questions?"
The activation of the event had destroyed Log-a-rhythm's protection. Yet, it was their only way to survive an infinite horde.
"Log-a-rhythm currently has over a thousand Potential points," revealed Priam. "I was thinking of purchasing Abundance - Life II or Camouflage II."
Priam wanted the hoplite's advice on this kind of tactical decision. Kazuki had been the active military leader of an empire for decades. The high human wasn't arrogant enough to think his calls would be any better.
"Could Life reinforce Log-a-rhythm's resistance to corruption?"
"It's almost certain. But if Camouflage is powerful enough, it could end the conflict," analyzed Priam. If the revenants couldn't find their base anymore, its inhabitants would no longer be in danger.
Silence answered him, as Kazuki was deep in thought.
"Let's wait for the barrier to be restored," the hoplite decided eventually. "If we can't defend, we'll use Life. Otherwise, Camouflage will be more useful."
As if waiting for Kazuki's decision, a roar ca from the cover of the trees.
From the shadows, hundreds of animals, each different from the others, began to march. Bone-white, putrid black, and bloody red mixed to form a colored wave of death. The ranks of the dead were tight, and their contained rage made the air tremble.
Priam paled at the marching necromantic army. The fate awaiting those who succumbed to corruption was chilling. Priam was confident in his ability to survive, but he feared for his loved ones. The battle would be tough because each corrupted could inoculate the Necromoon's curse.
Unless I kill them first, he motivated himself.
"[Spirit of the Braves]," declared Hyshana's voice just before a wave of vigor invaded Priam. His already formidable endurance seed bottomless now.
A tremor shook the rampart as the first corrupted monsters impaled themselves on it. Priam sighed in relief as he saw the skeletons crumble to dust. The spikes were working. Furious and enraged, the revenants continued to throw themselves into the ditch.
A few seconds later, the situation was beginning to deteriorate. If the bones disappeared, the System did not take care of the recently dead revenants' putrefied flesh. As the corpses piled up, the pit filled.
"Contact in a few seconds," Kazuki said. "Let your blades sing!"
Priam prepared Prosse as the claws of a giant reptile reached the rampart's edge. The enemy was finally here. Without unnecessary thought, Priam attacked, splitting the skull of the claw's owner.
Turning his hips a few degrees, Priam used [Unrelenting Thrust], retrieving his weapon and attacking again, pulverizing a new enemy. Everywhere, the corrupted ones climbed. The pile of crushed bones, flesh, and revenants was rising, allowing the enemies to progress.
Imagining a death line, Priam began to leap from one end of his section to the other, slashing and thrusting tirelessly. Entering a deadly routine, part of his consciousness cald down, focused on eliminating opponents optimally. He micro-controlled his muscles, executing his skills perfectly.
Ti lost its aning. Prosse beheaded, pierced, eviscerated, pulverized, and bisected his enemies. His Sun points accumulated as the pit filled with white powder. Like a death machine, Priam made no mistakes, directing his ard arm against every monster that dared to cross the death line.
He was in the zone.
Lvl Up: [Focus] lvl 39
PERC 1
VIVA 1
DEXT 1
Lvl Up : [Unrelenting Thrust] lvl 13
STR 3
As his vengeful arm destroyed a new Necromoon slave, Priam detected out of the corner of his eye the skeleton of a monkey that had just climbed the wall. The no monster's land had been breached. Priam leaped and impaled it. The world gave him no respite as five new arrivals penetrated the left of his section.
Barely out of breath, Priam understood that defeating the hundreds of corrupted ones coming was impossible. I need to change tactics.
[Moon Mist], [Kinetic Control].
His summoned mist quickly condensed to form ice crosses. Floating in the air in front of the army of death, the sharp crosses began to rotate on themselves. Quickly, their speed beca so fast that a spectator would have thought they were seeing circular saws. Enhanced by the Conquest Aura, the weapons were terrifying.
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Priam grimaced as he felt his mind split into several parts. Controlling so many weapons simultaneously was a complex task. Fortunately, the System was there to help. [Focus], [Battle Sense].
The five crosses began to move slowly. A mont later, Priam gained confidence and sent them into the attack.
Bounding toward the enemies climbing the rampart, the first circular saw easily traversed a skull, a sternum, a tibia, a femur, and a bone Priam didn't know the na of. Three of the five opponents died on the spot. A second pass took care of the stragglers.
The rest of the blades followed, creating carnage in the enemy lines. In a few seconds, they decimated two dozen adversaries, allowing Priam to catch his breath. He directed his gaze to his right and grimaced.
Blueberry roared, covered in red blood oozing from myriad small wounds. Despite his colossal power, the Viscount was in a precarious situation. Dozens of revenants crowded against him, attacking without thinking of protecting themselves. The berserk bear eliminated three opponents with each attack, demonstrating his terrible power.
It wasn't enough.
If this continues, it will escalate, Priam worried. All had used their Potential to unlock [Necro Resistance], but he knew better than anyone that resistance was not immunity. If Blueberry continued to endure attacks, corruption was inevitable.
Two of the deadly crosses were redirected to help Blueberry. With their help, the bear pushed back his adversaries. He had enough awareness left to nod in the direction of his friend.
I won't let you die.
Lvl Up : [Kinetic Control] lvl 57
VIVA 2
DEXT 3
TA (FOCUS) 4
Lvl Up: [Spear Slash] lvl 16,17
STR 2
Lvl Up: [Battle Flow] lvl 15
PERC 1
DEXT 2
Lvl Up : [Unrelenting Thrust] lvl 14
STR 3
"I got it."
Keen on not alerting the enemy, Priam chose to bring his mist closer before creating sharp crosses. Following an impulse, he tried to incorporate his Aura into his Concept. The result was terrifying.
Lvl Up: [Moon Mist] lvl 59
PERC 4
CHAR 2
TA (AFFI) 3
Charisma exceeds 500 points. First milestone reached. Congratulations!
The discovery allowed his charisma to surpass the first milestone. Priam instantly felt a difference in his presence and control of his Aura. The latter had beco more tangible. Once a thing of the mind, his Aura now had weight, significance.
Priam Azura existed, and the world acknowledged his presence and its effects.
Lets try again.
With disconcerting ease, his aura rged with his mist, transforming it. As proven by his Unity with the Fire, Concepts had a defined instinct. When his Aura fused with his mist, its nature tamorphosed.
His mist was no longer insidious and elusive; it was conquering and destructive.
Priam loved it.
Activating his charisma, and thus his aura, to the maximum, Priam directed his fog towards the revenants. The overwheld abominations froze as the aether structure supporting their skeletons collapsed. Before Priam, the corrupted were in disarray, unable to resist his power.
The deadly fog continued its path, rcilessly annihilating each corrupted one it touched, like their nesis.
It conquered aether, devoured energy, and corroded matter, Priam realized.
Before he could experint further, the Tier 1s launched their attack. To counter them, Priam summoned a dozen mist tentacles. Intercepting the attackers, the fog evaporated them on contact. Freshly resurrected, the corrupted did not yet deserve their Tier. Only the forr Tier 2 resisted the corrosion long enough to reach Elaine. The hoplite extended a hand tattooed with a glowing rune.
A spear of light left her hand, pushing the assailant into the Conquest mist. Sacrificing part of his Conquest bonus, Priam strengthened his fog, annihilating the corrupted one.
The next mont, the army of the dead descended upon the defenders as if possessed.
"Brace yourself!" Kazuki shouted.
"Allow " Priam replied before closing his eyes.
Drawing from his reserves, he summoned all the mist he could. His ridians groaned under torrents of aether. A wave appeared among the defenders, and Priam fused his entire Conquest Aura into it.
He opened his eyes and let the wave surge. The floods devastated the enemy ranks like a divine cavalry charge. Faced with such fury, the revenants were obliterated. The tsunami carried away part of the horde, leaving behind a white ground and a light silence.
Event: Necromoon.
Banishnt of a corrupted (Tier 2 - common) - Sun point 100
Banishnt of - Sun point 1784
Breathing heavily while the other defenders looked at each other in amazent, Priam scrolled through his long list of notifications. Sothing had changed.
Finally, reaching the bottom, he found it.
Lvl Up: [Moon Mist] lvl 60
PERC 4
CHAR 2
TA (AFFI) 3
[Moon Mist] has reached level 60, its maximum level as an Epic skill.
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