The final push in regards to preparations were made over the course of the next week. A week of nonstop fighting with the undead masses that made up the former territory of Reno and Sparks was like an eternal war.
It was starting to appear that Bartholomew was gaining reinforcements from somewhere, but this was mere speculation on Zane's part. He estimated by now, over the course of the last few months, what his party had dealt was an unimaginable degree of death and destruction to Bartholomew's forces.
Easily 1/4th of the undead in his ranks had to have been sent to the grave. And yet... It seemed as if they had not made the slightest dent to his forces. But this was a concern for another time. For now, the focus was on eliminating Gwen.
And in order to achieve this, Zane wanted his party in top shape. Thus, after unlocking a few minor achievements, and combined with the amount of blood crystals consumed by the five of them. The women in Zane's party finally advanced to level 25.
It was supposed to be the bare minimum that an awakened human should be if they wanted a fighting chance against a Tier I Horde King. And yet Zane and the girls had already taken out their fair share of them.
Still, the girls' levels matched their new equipment. Which focused on raising their primary stats by a few points, in addition to aiding in the power of their skills. Upon reaching level 25, all five of them advanced their new skill to Tier II. Unlocking new means of using their abilities.
Their character screens, upon applying the upgrades, would look something like as follows:
---
[User: Elena Pryce]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 25]
[HP: 200/200]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 20 (+5)]
[Dexterity: 20]
[Constitution: 20]
[Intelligence:20]
[Wisdom: 19]
[Charisma: 17]
[Skills]
[Time Reduction – Tier V]
[Temporal Blade – Tier II]
[Description : Your ability to manipulate time and space has increased by a slight margin. Rather than just simply being able to bind your blade with spatial energy and thus negating a single target's defenses. You are now able to cut through space itself, negating the range between you and any given target.]
---
The ramifications for this meant that Elena no longer had to be in close proximity to an enemy in order to cut their head off. A well placed sneak attack from a distance of her choosing would allow her to slash through the air itself, and yet, as if creating a wormhole between herself and her target, her blade could slice against the hostile she was trying to kill.
It was an excellent move to take out an enemy far away, one that did not suspect it was about to be attacked. But its large cooldown of 90 seconds meant that it was not something she could rely upon often. Rather, it was more of a hidden card she could call upon in her time of need.
As for Olivia, her skill was far more practical on the battlefield, especially against large numbers. Which would be further enhanced by her new attributes, and the +5 effect her gear had on them.
---
---
[User: Olivia Benett]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 25]
[HP: 200/200]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 17]
[Dexterity: 19]
[Constitution: 20]
[Intelligence: 20 (+5)]
[Wisdom: 20]
[Skills]
[Infuse Health – Tier V]
[Divine Boon Tier II: Blessings of Hygieia]
[Description: For 20 seconds, each member of your party gains an additional 90 Health.]
---
This was a huge benefit, especially because after some minor experimentation, Angelica found that she could stack the Blessings of Hygieia with her Holy Armor that she got in the first tier of her new skill, which she had only recently acquired.
Judging how both HP and Armor worked. When her party was buffed with these two skills, they would gain a massive increase in survivability. Which would definitely help them in their upcoming fights against the Horde Kings.
Finally, there was just Lily and the upgrades she underwent by gaining two levels over the past week.
---
---
[User: Lily Arbor]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 25]
[HP:180/180]
[Attributes]
[Strength: 18]
[Dexterity: 24 (+5)]
[Constitution: 18]
[Intelligence: 18]
[Wisdom: 20]
[Charisma: 18]
[Skills]
[Green Thumb – Tier V]
[Charm Animal – Tier II: Unbreakable Bond]
[Description: For 15 seconds, your animal companion steals 20 health whenever it hits with an attack. In addition to this, you and your companion are both healed for 104 Health.]
---
With the skills having advanced to what they were now at, along with the individual attributes that each of the girl possessed, and the level 25 epic quality equipment they had. Without Zane even being present, the women in his party would have a decent shot of taking out a normal Tier I Horde King.
However, working together with the man and his horde, Zane felt confident that they would finally be able to tackle that challenge, which was Gwen. And because of this, after thoroughly discussing their plans regarding how they intended to deal with the young Horde King which took the form of a high school cheerleader.
Zane had decided to embark on this quest sometime early in the following morning, preferably at the crack of dawn.
If there was one thing Zane had learned from fighting the Horde Kings was that although arrogant, and rightfully so, they were not incapable of adapting to their circumstances. Considering how many of their siblings they had lost against Zane and the girls, it was only a matter of time before they began to pick up on the patterns behind their attacks.
And because of this, Zane wanted to make the hours of their attacks at random, as well as how they approached the target. For example, the last time he attacked it was all alone in the middle of the night. He had not even borrowed his horde's strength to defeat the likes of Jett and Lawrence.
But now, Zane was planning to launch a surprise attack on Gwen at the crack of dawn, infiltrating her domain, and popping his horde out of thin air within it to cause as much chaos and bloodshed as possible. Buying him and the girls enough time to track down Gwen, and hopefully take her out before the girl's horde could be obliterated.
And after setting the group up with the strategy, tactics, and plans that they would use on the battlefield the next day, there was only one thing that Lily could surmise from all of it, which she was quick to voice with a certain amount of snark.
"So, basically the plan is that there is no plan? You want to just infiltrate the area, cause chaos, draw out Gwen and work together to take her out? I mean, there are certainly better ways to do this, right?"
Zane, however, was quick to respond to Lily's remarks by patting her head and shaking his own. Almost as if he was lecturing a naïve and ignorant child.
"Oh Lily, if only it was that simple.... Sure, there are more efficient ways to pull this off, and there will certainly be higher casualties going with this madness than having a more organized assault.
But I need those Horde Kings who may be listening to Gwen's thoughts to keep guessing. If they figure out a pattern in our attacks, things will become a lot more dangerous from thereon. And I do not wish to fall into such a trap.
So, we're sticking to this plan. Is everyone good with that?"
Nobody else raised a question. They trusted Zane's judgement. And since he had become a Horde King himself, he naturally had more inside knowledge about how others thought. It was with this in mind that they parted ways for the rest of the day. Making the necessary preparations for the big battle that would take place on the following dawn.