บท 442: Answers Between the Sand (6, 7)
A/n: Regarding the Power Ranking issue, I know it is affecting the novel's Views, Follows and Comments (I mostly care about comments) but the Content Team of Webnovel has reached out and explained that there is a big update coming up. I am looking forward to it.
Also, Double Chapter! Daily + 4/6 Monthly Chapter
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It wasn't a rare sight to have a chaotic battle in the Alik'r Desert. Monsters, undead, warriors or even Daedra… in this part of the world, all is fair. Even some Mages come here and try the Master level spells they are working on.
However, as popular as the Alik'r desert is, it is a danger zone known worldwide and the Dead Sand is one of the most infamous spots.
Unknown to the world, the Dead Sand area was now having its own fun as two groups started fighting each other. Jon Dare and his summons as well as Illindar of the Citadel of Ebonarm against an unknown cult of organized Necromancers.
"Get them!" (The Necromancer's Leader)
"Jax, Xikil, come out and have fun." (Jon)
"MORTAL!" (Xikil)
"BOSS!" (Jax)
"What the fuck is that?" (Illindar)
Yet, despite the Alik'r Desert is a chaotic place, some may have to look for another standard for the adjective 'Chaotic' from now on.
It was simply an open war.
Xikil's large body covered the sky above Jon as the Daedric Titan glared at the enemies of his summoner.
Jax's towering height covered Jon's right side with a large axe emitting a flaming aura.
Illindar, the Redguard Warrior, covered Jon from the left side.
Nefertiti, the Shadow Fairy, blended in the shade of the enemies ready for signal.
Wrath, the Bone Samurai, stabbed his blade in the sand planning to raise up an army.
Jon stood in the center of the formation with the Ebony Blade and the Elder Staff, Pride. The staff's head was glowing with a strong spell that seemed to have been evoked and overcharged for a long time now.
"Illindar and Jax, defend me. The rest, wreck havoc." (Jon)
""""YEAH!"""" (The rest + Jax)
"Mind explaining something first?" (Illindar)
"Kill now, ask later."
The warriors of the Necromancer Cult was descending from their ground charging at Jon with the lead of their Orc Commander.
Jon's eyes were fixated on them as he could see how there people worked.
Many of the Warriors clearly used the Baleful Aura, an advanced form of the Dark Aura. The Assassins took the flanks and seemed to be ready to get into ranged combat while the Mages were preparing Magic Formations.
Breaking those people would be easy with the skill set of Jon and his team.
First, Xikil ignored everything and headed directly to the mages.
"Too many women over here! Hahaha!"
The perverted Daedric Titan was planning to chew on some mortal females.
The second move was Nefertiti's, she targeted the assassins and conjured a small number of Shadow Atronaches.
The third was Wrath, as it took its blade out of the dead sand, a legion of undead formed a defensive wall to block the warriors.
As the three teams of the Necromancers cult were intercepted, they didn't stand idly by and watch themselves being countered at.
"Armor on!" The Orc leader shouted and his followers performed a spell.
Many bones were conjured and started covering them like armor. The spell was simply called [Bone Armor].
Once they came into contact with the Undead of Wrath, their weapons extended into the shape of a scythe. The spell was also called [Death Scythe].
These were advanced Necromancy spells.
From the sides and the back, the mages and the assassins started using spells like [Flame Skull] that fires a skull of poisonous flames, [Blastbone] that conjures a suicidal exploding skeleton that chases its target. They of course, as necromancers used the regular Conjuring and Reanimating of the undead.
"They are vicious indeed." Jon smiled and let loose of the spell he was preparing.
It was a normal Adept level [Chain Lightning] spell but after being amplified, it flew over the warriors taking some of them down in the process and attacking the Ritualists in the back.
The spell was so powerful to the point it broke their bodies to disintegration and charred some black.
Still, a certain Imperial female Mage managed to completely stop Jon's spell from killing all the ritualists that heal the ranks.
"Found you."
Targeting the healers would always bring out the big shots that are hiding among the enemies. If such a powerhouse is dragged out early, it will be dealt with instead of leaving it to wait and scheme.
Without waiting, Jon took out the Lever-action Crossbow and fired a full magazine of bolts at that Imperial Mage.
"Tania!"
The Orc warrior noticed Jon's tactic and tried to stop him. He tossed up a large shield intercepting most of Jon's bolts.
"Annoying!"
Seeing the Orc stopping him, Jon felt that he underestimated the enemy's skill but he was still successful. Two bolts managed to injure the Imperial Mage severely.
Mages are weak to Archers, that's why Jon would always switch to a ranged weapon if he wants to get rid of a mage as soon as possible.
Still, that mage is only injured and can heal in less than a minute if she was protected.
"Jax, get me the Orc's head." (Jon)
"On it." (Jax)
"Illindar, you get me that Imperial. Xikil will assist you." (Jon)
"You mean this flying… dragon?" (Illindar)
"Don't worry about him, Xikil is a Daedric Titan but he is also a fellow man of culture." (Jon)
Illindar sighed with no further arguing. Staying with Jon is interesting but mind consuming, every time he thinks he will get used to it, things turn rather weirder.
Still, now is the time to get things right. Once the leader of mages falls, her staff will break and the barrier she made will fall as well. Xikil will annihilate the mages from the point and the fight will be won.
His shield will be getting in his way so he put it on his back and took out his second saber.
"Krilon."
"What?"
"Are you familiar with the term 'Whirling Dervish'?"
"The Mystic Dancers?"
"Close." Illindar said while taking off his helm that obstructs his vision.
"The Whirling Dervishes of Clan de'Sha are different than the ones you know. Watch what I do."
As he said so, Illindar charged at the enemies with his silver eyes glowing in cold light.
"A bloodline?" Jon wondered as he prepared to support Illindar with magic.
Illindar was indeed using a bloodline ability that made his movements fast and accurate. He would jump and step on the heads and shoulders of the undead summoned by Wrath and finally arrived at the frontline.
Jon couldn't help but notice the maniac smile of Illindar as he fell right between the enemy warriors and in a blink of a second, heads and arms started to fly around.
Illindar was whirling around himself like a Whirling Dervish but instead of using a tanoura (large skirt), he was using his swords and in a very dangerous and martial fashion.
"Daaaaym!"
Jon was taken aback by the strange movements and decided to cast a healing rune that can follow Illindar around just to be safe.
Not far from Illindar and his precise fight, Jax was having one on one fight with the Orc blademaster. His axe was carrying fire and his hoof was causing drum sounds and fire pools everywhere he steps. Jax was a true arsonist and overwhelmed the orc in a few exchanges.
Away from them, Wrath was facing a large number of assassins that tried to hijack the control of Jon over the gigantic undead.
"Control it! It will be ours."
"Haha! The Lord will reward us."
"Once we take it, those undead will turn as well."
Thinking too early of their victory, some assassins thought of Wrath as nothing but a large undead that can move slowly judging by its dull speech.
{I WIIILLLLLL KILLLLL YOUUUU!}
Wrath was enraged how they underestimated him. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared and appeared behind them.
"Shit!"
Mistaking Wrath for a warrior type undead is the trick of its appearance, Wrath is an assassin and his traits were chosen carefully by Jon.
At that time, a few [Death Scythe] spells penetrated his armor from the back.
"AAANNNOOOYYYIIIINNNNG!"
Wrath turned to the assassins that were too insignificant for him to care about and finally unleashed his rage.
*ROOOAAAAAAR*
Wrath let go of his skill [Howl of Wrath]. As if Jon was shouting, a thundering sound from the inside of Wrath's skull and was unleashed like a shock wave destroying the bodies of the close living enemies and making those who resisted fall into a state of hysteria.
For an independent Sin like Wrath, his growth was clearly notable.
Now, the battle was tilting for Jon's side.
Illindar soon freed himself from the melee fight and charged at the mages all by himself. His speed and evasion were top-notch and nothing could even touch him.
"Stop him." The Orc Blademaster shouted.
"Where do you think you are looking." Jax wasn't pleased with his opponent looking away and attacked with anger.
Illindar evaded the rear guards and cut their necks as he arrived at the Imperial female mage who was using [Rending Flesh] to heal herself.
"Hey, bye!"
His first sword slash got her arm as she tried to defend with anything she has. His second attack took her head.
"Now!" The Orc Blademaster seemed to have fallen desperate as he blasted the land beneath him with a stomp and retreated away to kill Illindar. Nefertiti disappeared from her place and arrived at Illindar then teleported him away from the center of the enemies' retreat line.
"Dammit! Kill that mage!"
The Orc became frustrated as he pointed at Jon.
"Hehe! Is it that easy?" Jon couldn't help but mock.
Still, he was surprised by what happened next.
From both his sides, two thin presences moved with swords at hand.
Two assassins… two high-ranked assassins.
So the Necromancer Cult had that level of Assassins as well.
Jon was surprised but only for a second. By the next second, he was holding the two assassins from their faces as the Evil Chains of [Ahzidal's Evil Fists] were holding them like snakes.
"Shit!" The Orc Blademaster didn't think that Jon is not only a terrifying mage but a warrior as well.
Jon wasn't remorseful at all and tightened his grip over the heads of the two assassins.
They screamed and quivered but to no avail, a few seconds under Jon's hand pressure and…
*Squish* *Squish*
Their heads exploded with a lot of brain matter everywhere.
"Sigh! What a nasty habit."
Jon shook his head as he cleaned his hands and eyed the Orc Blademaster.
It was an overwhelming victory, the Necromancers were all hunted down like ants.
The Orc Blademaster was no longer able to do anything but to issue his last order.
"Retreat!"
**********
(Part 2)
The mountain was steep and high and flying over it was impossible even for Xikil because of the Magicka disturbance in the Dead Sand area.
Jon's next option was to give chase to the Necromancer Cult that retreated on the mountain narrow path.
"Are you, alright?" Jon asked.
"I am… where is everyone else?" Illindar asked.
"The enemies retreated and the others went back where they came from."
"So you're walking around with an army all the time… and we let you into the citadel."
"Dude, when it comes to actual Magic combat, I am a conjurer more than anything else. Summoning armies is kinda my thing."
"Ebonarm!"
The two spoke while walking the mountain path.
"This mountain is uncharted but it seems like there is a small mountain range inside the Dead Sand Region. Never did I think that we will find Necromancers here." Illindar said.
"They were good too but not strong. If they existed here for ten more years, we may have faced an Arch Necromancer instead of Masters and Experts." Jon remarked.
"True. Let's track them. The road on the mountain is safer than the deadly Dead Sand."
Before he could go further, Jon received telepathy signal from inside the Cube.
"What is it?" He replied to only find Wrath requesting something from him.
"Is that so. Fine." Jon agreed.
"What is it?"
"Wrath wants some dead sand. It seems the curse on it will accelerate his growth."
"Do what you must but hurry."
Jon indeed was hoping for Wrath to grow and be more powerful. The Sins were picky about the material that makes them grow so it was a rare chance indeed. Jon stored a large amount of the cursed sand in his Cube enough for Wrath to submerge himself in them.
That done, the two young men continued their path until they reached a large cave entrance. On the road, some traps tried to stop them but it was nothing interesting.
In the cave, a huge gate blocked their path. Jon tried to detect the space and teleport through it but it was protected by a dark blessing probably from the Daedra this cult worships. Still, it was physically breakable.
Jon gathered as many bones as he could and made a mound of it in front of the gate.
Illindar silently watched as Jon used [Pride] to cast a spell on the mound of bones. It was [Necrostruction] and Jon had a certain shape in mind.
"A battering ram? An undead battering bloody ram?"
"What a nice way to describe it!"
"I thought only your Undead follower was the Necromancer, you are one as well?" Illindar asked with disdain.
"Hm? This spell is Alteration but it works on bones."
"Oh! I see."
Jon completely avoided the question of him being a Necromancer. Sure as hell a member of the Citadel of Ebonarm wouldn't be happy with Necromancers especially with the long bloody history between the Redguards and the Undead.
Not everyone is as open-minded as Isha anyway.
Anyway, the battering ram was ready and it was basically an undead creature. It didn't need anyone powering it but it wasn't really portable.
*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Crack*
The skull head ram kept knocking on the gate with all the might in the world. Jon reinforced it with Magic to make the damage output higher but it seemed to the cultists were desperately trying to support the gate on the other side.
Still, to no avail.
After a couple of hours as Jon and Illindar were resting. The gate became too badly damaged and its structure crumbled piece by piece.
Jon could see holes where the ram head was striking.
He took out a few flasks of poison gas and passed them through the door making them explode. The ones on the other side could no longer withstand the attack and retreated.
"The enchantment on the gate is broken. Who will do the honors?" Jon said.
"That would be me?" Illindar said as he took out Windshear and imbued it with Magicka.
The blade's enchantment was activated and the wind danced around the blade. With a wave of his sword, a blade of wind was launched and the gate was broken to splinters.
"That's satisfying to watch." Jon said while taking the lead.
The cultists behind the door were all wounded and dying. Jon walked in and they all knew their end was at hand.
"I see… it was weighing on my mind that this is cult settlement but apparently it is more of a stronghold. It would have been troublesome if there were children." Jon said.
Seeing that Jon was not attacking on sight, the cultists started to escape into the cave. Jon wasn't planning to kill them if they were to surrender but it would take their leader to make such a decision.
Jon walked steadily in the cave until he felt the air temperature change. The cave was open from the other side. Soon, the light at the end of the tunnel was seen and the two proceeded to it.
Shielding their eyes from the light beyond the way caves exit, both Jon and Illindar halted in their place with dumb looks on their faces.
"Impossible!" Illindar cried.
"Fuck me dead!" Jon's eyes were open wide as well.
This place was no longer what they thought off. It is not a cult hideout or the place of the Gates of Wish they are after.
It was a large valley between the mountains, the valley was wide and could only be accessed by the caves of the mountains surrounding it.
In that valley, there were many statues, old buildings and relics of the past. Towers marked the place four cardinal directions and in the center stood a great building.
That great building meant a lot for the two. A building with a square base and a pointy top, in Jon's past world, this is called a Pyramid.
Pyramids existed in many around Tamriel as in Morrowind, Elsweyr, Black Marsh and Hammerfell but they were not The Pyramid.
This, however, is completely different from all that.
"A Yakudan Pyramid." Illindar said, "The ancient Yakudan Pyramid where the three Ansei Heroes made a covenant with Tu'whacca to protect Hammerfell from the threat of the Elven Necromancers and created the three Ansei Wards."
To Illindar, it was a sacred site related to the history of the Ansei (The Sword Saints), wielders of the Shehai (The Spirit Swords), the mythical Sword-Singers.
To Jon, it was a nostalgic memory of his past life as the pyramid looked identical to the ones in Giza.
There was even a stone path with many obelisks on its side.
"... Such a place!"
"It is a Legend! A lost Legend… by Ebonarm! Follow you here, Krilon, was the fortune of my life."
Seeing Illindar excited, Jon could only sigh.
"This place now is filled with Necromancers. What do you think? If they surrender, we will deliver them to the government and both you and I know what will happen then." Jon said.
"... You are right. I almost forgot those wretches. If we handed them over to Sentinel, the Forebears and the Crowns will hear of this place and will try to seize it for Political power." Illindar said.
"Whatever the case, any decision will be for the War Chief of the Citadel of Ebonarm to make."
"Right."
The two headed down the valley and came across the remnants of the Necromancers Cult led by the Orc Blademaster.
"Surrender yourselves! It is only the two of you."
Thinking they could surround Jon and Illindar, the Necromancers were desperate to avoid casualties.
Jon simply took out a good axe and threw it at the Orc Blademaster. Reinforced with Jon's Tyrant Aura, protection meant nothing. The axe split the head of the Orc into half.
"Quit bluffing! The reason why you couldn't wait for us to come here was because of this Sacred Ground. You can't Conjure your Undead here, can you now?" Jon said with a smile.
As he said, this valley was indeed sacred ground.
"Surrender now and the Citadel of Ebonarm will show mercy." Illindar said.
As if his words meant the complete opposite, the Necromancers panicked with the mention of the Citadel.
"No! We can't! We must fight." One of the Necromancers spoke.
"Yes… when they know who we are. We are doomed." Another one spoke.
"We won't let them have us. Glory to the Lord."
The Necromancers were rallied up fighting with their backs to the wall.
"The hell?" Jon found it strange.
Cornered criminals throw their weapons down when they are offered life for surrender. However, this behavior was completely wrong.
Jon wanted to ask Illindar but the latter was making a grim face.
"Krilon, there is no way after this. If what I think is true then they must die." He said.
"Are you sure? I'll give you a hand but if it is not necessary…"
"No. I think it all makes sense now. The Necromancers, their organization, their skills… they are a small branch from a much bigger enemy of the Citadel. I am positive."
"Fine. Let's kill them as cleanly as we can."
Jon jumped in the air like a spring and reached a high position, with [Pride] aiming down, he cast [Faraday Cage] surrounding every cultist he detected with a wall of Lightning that would kill anyone touching it.
[A/n: Faraday Cage was Lightning Cage before changed based on a reader's request. Also, I know Faraday Cage doesn't exactly work like that.]
The Remnants of the Cultists were now under the mercy of Jon from above and an extremely dangerous Sword Whirling Dervishes in the middle of their formation.
***
The flight ended with annihilation.
The Necromancers were almost 500 at the beginning of the day but were wiped off the face of Nirn by the afternoon.
Jon and Illindar walked out after Jon disintegrated all the corpses with Magic.
"Can you explain to me now?" Jon asked.
"Let's just see something first." Illindar was fixed on seeing something before explaining to Jon.
Jon followed and the two stood in front of the Ansei Pyramid. The entrance to the Pyramid was on the center of the lost half of its wall. Jon and Illindar climbed easily until the entrance.
No traps were detected but there was a stench of corpses.
"Nefertiti, check the place."
Jon asked Nefertiti who moved through the Shadow World and confirmed no life signals. The only thing she noticed was the Daedric Energy from the base of the pyramid and from its top.
Jon rallied the information to Illindar who decided to scout it anyway.
Identical to the Pyramids from his past life, this pyramid started with a Descending Corridor then an Ascending Corridor appeared shortly. The Daedric presence came from down there so they took the Ascending Corridor.
Once the corridor was over, it opened up to a Great Gallery taking them to two rooms. The lower room was filled with corpses.
"Look! Those people…" Illindar was heartbroken.
"You recognize them?" Jon asked.
"No… but one look at them tells you that they are warriors."
"Yes, indeed." Jon agreed, "Khajiit, Nords, Imperials… from all races. Those ones have a strong Magicka around them too."
It seemed suspicious. How did this cult gather strong corpses from all over the world?
Jon and Illindar left the room and headed to the upper one, the Ritual Room.
Illindar walked in first and his steps halted. The Ritual Room was the main quarters for the Necromancers now and their banner was hung on the wall.
Illindar knew it but he wanted to show it to Jon.
Once Jon saw it, he understood everything. He understood why the Necromancers refused to surrender… it was because they were doomed anyway.
Those whoever follow this banner are sentenced to immediate execution, even their families get executed with them in some cases.
This banner is one of the most cursed banners on Tamriel.
The black banner of a red skull and a spine connected to it.
The evilest of all cults, the Worm Cult of Mannimarco… The Order of the Black Worm.
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