Chapter Seventy Nine: Boom

The entrance to the sixth floor is directly behind Mylingar. He is, as a boss should be, the last line of defense. The monstrosity is a crystal skull which sits on a bed of bones. Its eyes glow a malevolent green as it subconsciously controls a literal sea of undead. Between it and the approaching force, there are about ten million shambling corpses and Frankenstein like monsters which stand packed between them.

A good ten miles of distance would need to be traversed before even Mylingar could even be assaulted. Of those ten miles, the last mile is easily the most difficult. [Bone Golems], [Flesh Weavers], [Undead Mages], and other atrocities stand in condensed clumps and over level one hundred each.

This time, there is no longer a named [Elementalist] to rip the floor apart. No longer will there be hundreds of incinerating tornadoes, freezing hurricanes, explosive earthquakes, and every other unnatural disaster you can think of. This time, the force sent against the boss is about two hundred Gejan and an equal number of undead, most of which will quickly fall under the control of the boss once they are closer.

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Quasi grits his teeth as the mental force required to keep his undead under his control exponentially increases as he gets closer. Mylingar continues to send wave after mental wave and attempt to take the reigns of control, but the [Hero] perseveres. Quasi is getting used to it, the constant mental battles for control, though they do take a mental toll on him. However, he has fared against worse. His thirteenth summon was one in which the species he was a part of all had psionic capability. Battles were decided by the mind, and this is no different.

…

Well actually, this is very different. He can't necessarily mentally attack back. All he can do is keep slapping Mylingar’s hand as the boss attempts to take control of his undead. Easier to keep control of his older and modified undead, but far more difficult for the newer undead in the back.

“Commander, what's the plan?” Darrow asks first. He, like the others, is tired of the constant combat, but he still sports a confident smile.

Quasi assesses the field, his mental fight is ongoing, but it’s not nearly occupying him enough that he can't think normally. All of his undead are now fighting and creating a room for the living to breathe. They are keeping the undead back for the time being so that he can explain the plan.

He points towards the boss and the litteral army of undead between it and them. “First off, destroying an army alone is not something I can do. Yet.”

Tessa and Lilly nod. Thorous frowns but stays silent, as does Jessica and Alba. Zorren is, unfortunately, delegated to assisting in the defense.

“But, that isn't our goal anyhow. Our goal is to run into the next floor.”

Thorous clicks her tongue loudly. “Doubtful. Fighting through as we are will be impossible. Too many are already exhausted and the undead deeper in are even stronger.”

Darrow snorts. “Stop underestimating the commander. He’s always got a plan, right?”

Quasi gives Darrow a deadpanned look which causes Darrows smile to falter. A silent panic begins to form to those present as they feel the mood change.

Quasi stares at them all, looking each of them in the eye.

Suddenly, the moment is over and Quasi begins to laugh. “Ha, got you all. Yup, I have a plan.”

Sighs of relief and groans of annoyance are heard around.

Still chuckling, Quasi points behind him towards the gigantic undead known as Berosus, that is easily holding back the tide of undead, destroying them with its massive tentacles of bone.

“I’m going to have Berosus here lead the charge. He will split the wave of undead with his body and make a bridge for us to travel through relatively unmolested.”

Thorous shakes her head. “Berosus is too slow. Enemies from the sides will still be able to hamper us. We’ll be swarmed and killed.”

Quasi smiles, his eyes beginning to glow a powerful purple, his posture changing to complete confidence. A wave after wave of absolute strength and surety seems to ooze out from him and into all those present. His dense aura seeping into every crevice of the mind.

“I fear… that you all will be too slow.”

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Darrow is not just running, he is fucking sprinting, as is every single living thing. His laughter is loud and obnoxious as he watches Berosus with unrestrained glee.

“I love the commander! Hahaha!” he says while doing his best to keep up.

“Shut up and keep running, idiot!” Lilly yells with pure unadulterated anger. Her short legs can barely keep up with the speed.

Darrow continues laughing with glee, his eyes scanning the others that are barely keeping up with the huge undead which is systematically destroying hundreds of undead per second.“Hey, Jessica,”

Darrow yells towards the [Archpriestess] that is being carried by the undead Mule! “What are those called again?” He points at the modified Berosus.

“Wheels!” she yells in reply.

__________________________________

The question of whether undead feel panic is something that is still up for debate. Granted, thinking undead is also up for debate, but that’s because the majority of the population of undead can’t actually think.

But Mylinger can, and the boss is rather confused. An undead, smaller than himself, but larger than any in his command, is racing towards him at a very fast speed. This undead, clearly a modified version, has its legs removed and replaced with circular objects. Its most frontward legs have been combined into a roller that is systematically crushing undead as it heads into his direction.

Of course, Mylingar doesn't understand any of this. He is, after all, an undead. So all he does is order his undead to converge towards the speedy undead which refuses to submit to his mind.

He can sense other undead behind the big one too, but his attempts are foiled as well when he attempts to take control. Thus, not exactly annoyed, Mylinger attempts to once again take control of a specific undead.

Thorous

It sends.

Cannot follow order: Order interferes with Priority Directive.

It replies.

Thorous

It sends.

Cannot follow order: Order interferes with Priority Directive.

It replies.

The first of its kind. Two undead, both with limited intelligence, communicate with one another, all while an ignorant [Hero] is slowly losing his mental faculties from the constant bombardment of mental attacks.

______________________________

With the increasingly annoying buzzing in my head, I am forced to destroy all but three of my undead. Only Berosus, Mule, and Joker, are still under my control. Thankfully, that frees my mind and reduces the mental stress so that I can focus on what's going on.

So, I made a slight mistake. When I modified Berosus to have wheels and a rolling pin, I may have forgotten to give him some way to slow down. As of right now, I’m sitting on Peter alongside my [Soldiers] who are all running around twenty miles an hour. They look tired, exhausted, but at least they don't have to deal with attacks. Most of the undead can barely reach ten miles an hour.

Looking through the eyes of Berosus, I see that we are coming very close to the next part of my plan.

“How much longer?” Jessica asks from the side.

I turn to her, gazing awkwardly as she is princess carried by Mule while six [Minor Angels] float above her head, staring at me with death in their eyes.

“Mmmmm, three minutes. We’re almost a mile away from the boss.”

She bites her lip. “And then we stop?”

I nod. “Then we stop.”

____________________

Three minutes pass by and several things begin to happen almost instantly. The first is that the modified Berosus begins to smoke a deathly purple, grow slightly bigger, and accelerate over three times its speed. The glow in its skull becomes bright enough to be seen for around a hundred miles.

As for those following behind, they all stop running and clump around the [Hero].

The [Hero] spreads his arms and releases an enormous wave of mana.

“[Bone Wall]”

Immediately, bones in the surrounding area quickly fly and congregate around the entire group. A circular ten meter wall with a meter thickness forms around the group. Clearly a defensive spell, and considering its size, a very costly one at that.

With the group stopped and unmoving, the surrounding undead begin to form around said spell, smacking and hitting it. The regular undead are unable to climb, but those with stats or abilities do so and are dealt with by the defenders.

Still, stamina and mana is finite. Eventually, those within the walls will die unless something changes.

______________________________

I’m watching through the eyes of Berosus. My mind is connected almost naturally with the undead. Wheels, it was an idea I had thought of but never implemented. Even now, it was poorly and quickly done. There were no brakes and the acceleration was only done internally. An arm was fused into the three frontal fused legs. The arm only moves up and down, but the movement is enough to make the internal lever create acceleration.

Honestly, it’s a shoddy undead, but it was only meant to be a temporary one considering that I had activated [Undead Enrage].

Now Berosus speeds forward, crushing the once alive with ease, heading straight towards the boss. Even the [Bone Golems] are little more than speed bumps while it’s in its mad dash. Some undead take a swing at Berosus, but it does nothing thanks to the effect of [Undead Enrage] and the naturally resilient and enhanced bones of Berosus.

It doesn't take long before Berosus reaches the boss… and smashes directly into the undead’s bony body.

The Boss’s eyes glow a powerful green and the mental attacks take on a whole new level of force. I waver slightly, the feeling of my connection to Berosus is severing.

Unfortunately for Mylingar, it’s too late.

“[Corpse Explosion]”

I yell it out from atop Peter, both as a skill and a code word. The last of my mana depletes and a massive headache makes its way to my noggin.

Immediately, every person falls on the floor and lays flat as previously instructed.

_____________________

The thing about the [Corpse Explosion] skill is that it has a lot of factors which influence its sheer destructive potential. Size and density of the undead is one. The level of the undead is another. The last is the stats of the undead. In other words, the increased stats caused by the [Enrage Undead] skill has a multiplicative effect.

The resulting explosion was not only loud but also extremely potent. Berosus disintegrates and the resulting energy expands out, obliterating Mylingar and everything else in a half a mile radius. Everything further is struck by immense heat and wind pressure. Undead are flung hundreds of feet into the air, bodies are ripped apart, and cracks form upon the [Bone Wall]. After the force passes, only silence and dust remain.

… Except the sound of Quasi puking from the disorienting dinging noise of level ups.

… He pukes several times more...

Then he passes out.

___________________________

Getting up off the ground, Jessica looks around. The wall had barely held and everything is now surrounded by powdered rock and bone. She looks around and finds Quasi on top of Peter. He is unconscious with puke and drool dribbling out of his mouth and trickling down Peter’s fur.

She looks at the others, watching everyone begin to stand up. They are all looking very disoriented.

But not her. She is relaxed. Steady. Controlled. Her mind feels extremely clear.

She takes a breath and focuses her emotions. Her aura extends out.

“Get up and be ready. We march immediately to the entrance of the next floor.”

Her skill activates and enhances her feelings and voice. The Gejan begin to regain their panic and mental control. Her words are followed promptly and immediately.

She looks around and her eyes land on Zorren. She points towards the wall of bone.

“Make an exit!” she yells.

Zorren unlatches his club, walks towards the wall, and swings. The wall crumbles.

“Move, now!” she screams.

They comply immediately and funnel out the opening. Their eyes widen in horror at the crater in front of them. The destruction was complete and absolute. They all look to the now sleeping [Hero] on Peter’s back.

“Stop staring and get moving!”

Jessica yells again and they finally begin moving towards the other side of the crater. No undead block their way, nor do any show up. The destruction was vast enough that anything nearby is dead.

They reach the entrance, walk about a third of a mile, and then the whole group falls and passes out from exhaustion. Only Mule and Zorren continue standing…

And Joker… at the remains of the [Bone Wall].