Chapter 131

“For the all that is holy!” I shouted as I dashed at a speed near my full limits while trying to look heroic —still leaving something in the tank in case the death knights decided to use the opportunity to intervene, whether targeting me or the girls with the hopes of distracting me— and brought down my impressive looking axe to the head of the nearest zombie.

And I cast an undead bane —which I decided to call the useful mixture of light magic and life energy I generated through the biomancy— as I slammed my axe on the nearest zombie, while the explosion killed several more, clearing out a small opening for me.

[-9 Mana]

After that, I started cleaving through the horde of zombies as they barely bothered to attack me, determined to reach the glowing lines of the wards I had created. I responded with another undead bane, forcing the zombies to spread further to avoid the explosions, but ultimately slowing their journey.

[-8 Mana]

I did my best to look disappointed in their strategy journey as I cleaved through the zombies, the axe swinging desperately with its momentum, leaving several zombies in its wake with every swing, their limited mobility making them an easy target.

My desperate defense confirmed the hopelessness of the situation for the necromancers that were responsible for the assault, it seemed, because it didn’t take long for them to add another large group of zombies to the attack, committing further to their strategy.

From the start of the attack addition of the second group, barely thirty seconds had passed, but for me, every second was gold. As my mana refilled, I started to feel more confident. At least, I felt like I had a fighting chance even if they realized my subterfuge.

[Mana: 2141 / 7595]

That didn’t mean that I abandoned my ploy, of course. On the contrary, I decided to commit even further in my desperate defense, feeling comfortable in investing some mana for better returns. I cast a fancy arcana spell on the axe before throwing it on to the army that stood between me and the wounded death knight, and cast another undead bane at the impact point, clearing a large group of undead in the process, and leaving several stronger ones hopelessly wounded.

[-241 Mana]

Then, I dashed forward, grabbing the axe halfway, and reducing the glow of the fake runes that covered its surface, but leaving enough glow to convince them that it still had a few charges left.

For the observers, it looked like I had just spent an expandable ability to force a fight between me and the death knight. Technically, it was a risky move. If the two death knights had pulled out from their hiding place and ambushed me, but I was betting on the fact that Zokras cared more about the death knights than the rest of his army.

Just as I expected, rather than facing me, the wounded death knight pulled deeper into the army, leaving me to face against an impressive number of stronger undead minions, including skeleton knights, monstrous creatures made from disgusting flesh, and occasional bone dragons swooping from the sky, each destroyed with a swing of my axe —which might not be a good weapon, forty-six points of strength that were behind it, swinging it with a merciless speed, was no joke.

I didn’t bother channeling the impact of my kills to Cornelia, as currently, my mana was far too precious trying to do something I could easily replicate with my mana later on thanks to my newest level up.

Just like that, another forty seconds passed as I cut through an impressive number of undead, but not without a cost, mostly in the form of an impressive number of wounds I had collected as I tried to push through the horde with apparent desperation.

[-193 Mana]

[-421 HP]

[Mana: 2716 / 7595]

Unfortunately, as beneficial as my ploy was, it was hard to continue indefinitely. Ultimately, necromancers might be evil, selfish, and reprehensible, but that didn’t mean that they were completely idiotic. Even with their attention on my reckless assault toward the death knights, they soon noticed that the distraction of the runes had little effect.

Luckily, their hesitancy meant that rather than attacking with full force, they decided to send a couple of low-level necromancers to test them from a closer distance —and having a small argument in the process— giving me even more time. Which was welcome, because as I cast another detection spell, I noticed the two death knights finally leaving their hiding spot.

[-14 Mana]

One advantage of having a huge army was that it created a convenient hiding spot for any high-level undead that wanted to reach their target without being noticed. Well, against anyone without a conveniently superior detection spell.

Ambushes were a curious thing. Delivered correctly, they were a strategic miracle, enabling the delivery of extreme destruction, far above the potential the attackers might carry. But paradoxically, once detected, the supposed multiplier turned into a deadly rug around their feet, waiting to be pulled.

And two death knights, hidden inside a huge horde of zombies to conceal their presence fitted perfectly to the situation. If they had been successful in their sneaking attempt, even if I was under the perfect condition, I doubted I could handle them without significant cost.

“I’m out of bluffs, it’s time to retreat...”

[Level: 31 Experience: 489893 / 496000

Strength: 46 Charisma: 58

Precision: 40 Perception: 42

Agility: 40 Manipulation: 45

Speed: 39 Intelligence: 49

Endurance: 39 Wisdom: 51

HP: 1477 / 6324 Mana: 312 / 7595 ]

SKILLS

Master Melee [100/100]

Master Tantric [100/100]

Master Biomancy [100/100]

Master Elemental [100/100]

Master Arcana [100/100]

Master Subterfuge [100/100]

Expert Speech [75/75]

Expert Craft [75/75]

PERKS

Mana Regeneration

Skill Share

Empowerment (1/1)

Teleportation

COMPANIONS

[Cornelia - Level 21/25]

[Helga - Level 17/21]