44 Book 3 Chapter 40

Use the target's shadow to bind their body.

Lasts 10 seconds. 1 minute cooldown.

Remark 1: Target must be within sight.

Remark 2: Duration depends on the target's strength compared to yours.

Passively adds +1% Strength.

Olivia had now spent months fighting with a team. Monsters were near impossible to assassinate, so she shifted her focus to something more practical: control. With this change in fighting style, her shadow based skills grew more effective.

The downside was she could only manipulate her own shadow as well as inanimate ones. The shadow of a wall worked, but not another living creature. That rule changed with her first rune – Shadow Grasp. With the unlimited potential of runes, she was able to break through the limits of her build.

It was this rune that allowed the team to kill demons efficiently. Shadow Grasp was able to bind tier one and two demons long enough for Shenlong to pierce through their head, killing them instantly. His spear was at most two inches wide, so the hole was barely noticeable.

Shadow Grasp was less effective on tier 3 demons, due to them having significantly higher strength then Olivia, so the party focused on gathering tier one and two corpses. It wasn't that they couldn't kill a tier three demon; the problem was how mangled the body became.

The only issue was when an ascender killed a demon, the corpse instantly transformed into essence, so Ebba had to imprint a demon before it died. This was just a minor annoyance, however.

Time passed, and it was now the day before the next blood moon.

The haven recovered to fighting condition just in time. The repairs on the walls were the easiest to fix, while the traps took time to manufacture. The worst was the ammo. The robot floors only accepted reputation, not gold, so Peter had to up the personnel farming the floor to increase the supply.

To the east of the haven was a strange sight. Thousands of demons laid motionless on the ground, their eyes dull and lifeless. Even after a minute, none of them blinked. Hell, they didn't even breathe. These seven thousand odd demons were Ebba's undead horde.

They were a powerful force indeed, but they'd be slaughtered in less than ten minutes even if they helped during the blood moon. Maybe they'd be of great assistance if Ebba's rune was a couple of tiers higher, but until then, forget about it.

Next to the undead horde stood three hundred ascenders. Shenlong spoke to Peter, who was at his side. "So, you've decided?"

Peter gave a decisive nod. "The town won't expect an attack during the day. Plus, who knows what complications might occur if we travel during the night?"

Peter handed over a newly made map. "We've found a total of seven strongholds in the dread plains. They're spread all over the place."

Shenlong found the haven, minotaur tribe, and the nearby stronghold on the map. However, the detailed map confused his muscle-bound brain. In the end, he grunted. "Sam, lead the way!"

"To which stronghold, sir?"

Shenlong paused in thought before replying. "The furthest one."

"Got it," Sam adjusted his armor habitually before leading the way. Following behind was Shenlong's squad and every ascender who formed their second rune. At the back was some seven thousand undead, and if not for time constraints, there would be more.

Andy was the only unwilling member in the raid; the poor guy was strongarmed into participating. He could only blame himself for possessing such a versatile ability, or at least that was what he told himself.

The trek across the dread plains was uneventful, and soon the raid arrived at their destination, a small stronghold built next to a murky grey river. Initial reports estimated at least a hundred demons lived there.

According to Lavos, this stronghold was a frontier settlement under the command of demon lord Tyra, one of the demon king's twelve generals. The demons who lived here were too weak to join under Tyra's banner. They were the lowest on the totem pole in demon society and were akin to peasants in the human world.

Unfortunately, the dust cloud kicked up by the raid alerted the demons. Shenlong didn't hesitate and gave a command. "Hide in the monster horde!"

The ascenders at the front slowed their pace until the undead caught up. Hidden behind the car-sized monsters, Shenlong turned to Andy. "Make them appear alive and summon a tier four demon."

"I understand," Andy did as told, albeit with some resentment. The wounds caused by Shenlong's spear disappeared as the expressions of the dead came to life. Leading the horde was now the giant gorilla from before.

"Haha, look at these mongrels. I can't wait to suck them dry," the demons, long since aware of the incoming horde, rushed out of the town with apparent joy. To them, monster hordes were a pleasant surprise, and they couldn't wait to collect the free delivery of essence.

While these demons were considered the losers of demon society, they were still higher lifeforms. Their base stats were absurdly high. Add on to the fact each demon facing the horde had between four to six runes; they were a force to be reckoned with.

Like all demons, they had black leathery skin as tough as steel, with long sharp tails. The horns on their heads varied greatly: some were straight, others curved. The size differed as well.

The most common fighting style of demons was to transform their bodies with runes. To them, their bodies were the ultimate fighting weapon, so there was no need for external powers like magic.

As the two sides grew closer, the demons only took a second to turn into fighting machines. One had bones protrude from their body like a porcupine, while the muscles of another expanded like a balloon.

In no time at all, the two sides clashed!