The Augias they had rescued earlier was one of the most massive, but it was only the third largest of its group. Two other creatures towered over it by several meters, the dominant ones of the herd.
The remaining six creatures were almost half the size, more like the height of an ordinary giraffe. Their strength was much less, but their mobility was far superior to that of the three behemoths. Ikaris determined that they were juveniles.
Scanning the battlefield more carefully, Malia suddenly pointed her finger at the largest Augias and shouted, "Hey, look!"
Ikaris and the others followed the direction of her finger and noticed a frightened tenth Augias, tiny compared to the other nine. This one was cowering terrorized between the legs of the largest Augias, who consequently didn't dare move for fear of exposing its offspring to the hungry Skeletons.
The huge creature stood still to protect its cub, but the Skeletons were having a hard time penetrating the thick leather of its skin. Ordinary Undeads with their rusty swords were just not able to harm it even if they were to keep at it all day long.
Regrettably, they were not alone. Seeing that they were getting nowhere, some of the larger Skeletons uttered an ominous cackle to instruct them to retreat and four of them swooped down on the creature. Now it could only bleed and be slowly devoured in silence.
When the most formidable of these Skeletons, an even more intimidating Undead than the one Ikaris had ambushed, raised his greatsword over the neck of the huddled behemoth, they knew it was bad news
The Skeleton's long claymore glowed dimly, and with a sharp thrust he drove it deep into the creature's throat. A strange reddish metallic sheen deflected some of the force of the impact, but the tip of the blade still sank several dozen centimeters.
The excruciating pain caused the previously stoic victim to roar in pain and subconsciously it shifted from its previous position, exposing its cub to the Undeads. The baby Augias whinnied in terror to call for help, but it was too late.
A pleading neigh then abruptly echoed from the Augias' mouth that had led them here. Ikaris and the others did not speak its language, but understood its request.
'Am I capable of defeating this Skeleton?' He asked Magnus mentally.
'If you play all your cards and strike fast and hard... Maybe.' The Vampire didn't dare lie.
"That's enough." The teen said as he drew his sword. To the others he ordered grimly, "Attack."
He did not have to repeat himself twice. The scene of the Augias protecting his cub had moved them. The first to strike was Ruvaen, the elf who loved the forest and nature.
Grabbing his dagger, he threw it with precision at a Skeleton that was about to take a bite out of the baby Augias. The Undead's skull was knocked aside by the force of the blow, but another Skeleton immediately took its place. Without hesitation, Ruvaen equipped one of his javelins and speared it with a perfect throw.
All of the Skeletons that had been attacking the baby Augias and its parent suddenly lost interest in them and pounced on Ikaris like a pack of hungry piranhas at once. Ruvaen was so taken aback that he forgot to fight.
The youth's heart pounded at the sight, but his unflappable composure immediately took over. Connecting to his Necromancy Spark, he commanded in a clear, articulate voice with great spirit,
"Attack that Skeleton."
The Undeads that were about to swoop down on him braked sharply, sometimes even stumbling because of the suddenness of the counterorder. Their bones creaked as they received this contradictory order, but as soon as Ikaris touched them and gave them some of his Mana, their hesitation disappeared.
Like puppets controlled by invisible wires they slowly turned with frightening synchronization toward their previous leader and suddenly charged at it.
Ikaris staggered after they left, a small puddle of sweat forming underneath him after touching more than fifty Undeads. That was his limit.
There were more to come. The ones he had not been able to touch, began to engage him again after a few seconds of hesitation but he was ready. In a few swings of his swords he slashed through more than twenty Skeletons before Ruvaen took over.
Together they managed to fight their way back to the huge Augias and its cub. The Skeleton leader still stood on its back.
The Skeletons that Ikaris had temporarily taken control of had started climbing up the giant creature's body to get to it, and it had crouched over its offspring to shield it from the onslaught at all costs, not yet realizing that the terrifying Skeleton on its back was their target.
At the foot of the Augias, Ikaris saw the Skeleton Minotaur mechanically slaughtering its minions with its claymore, showing no sign of dismay. Being an amnesiac Undead had its perks.
Its speed and technique was as breathtaking as one could expect from a former soldier and Lord Sorcerer. It went without saying that none of those puny Skeletons managed to touch a single one of its bones. Their broken bones littered the back of the Augias, forming a messy pile of whitish fragments.
Before the victorious Skeleton had time to rally any more minions, Ikaris again leapt toward his enemy, but landed safely on the Augias' back a few feet away.
"Now it's between you and me." He proclaimed in a low voice as he raised his guard.
After a quick thought on how to proceed, the teen connected with his Necromancy and Black Magic Sparks. His eyes began to glow crimson, then black, and he slowly articulated with utmost concentration,
"Black Veil."