บท 31: Chapter 31 - The Power of The Summons

Quick Note: This is a third-person chapter. It would make no sense to have the main character be able to narrate everything when he can't see it, so sometimes there will be chapters like this, so you guys don't miss out on the action.

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- Before the horn sounded -

Lilah and Domino dropped into the mass of soldiers, weapons already out and ready to end their enemies. The darkwraith fell upon a mage in the middle of casting a spell, and her blade cut him in half, sending his two pieces flopping down to either side. There was no hesitation or reaction, instead, she charged into soldiers who had turned to look in shock and surprise at the embodiment of death that had landed within their midst.

Soldiers scrambled past mages and kords readied attacks, but no bolts of magic or spells caught her as the sound of gunshots rang out, sending men and women alike to the ground, some still alive, screaming, others already dead.

It was like a dance for the two summons. They had never worked in such a way before, but with Lilah's skill and Domino's luck, they hadn't needed to. They ravaged the battlefield around them. Any soldier who got too close to Domino met their end by blade or by an unfortunate accident. A kord charged at her only to be hit by a bolt of magic from an ally mage, who was beheaded a moment later by Lilah.

She couldn't block everything, however, and strikes did hit her, but the damage they caused was minimal, and she didn't care for the pain. She was undead, her whole life was pain, or it had been until her master, Nathan. For him, she would do anything and with his command pushing her, she did not stop fighting.

Her hand shot out whenever she had the chance, sucking the souls from her victims to replenish and empower herself.

A group of soldiers led by a kord charged at her, while she battled against another kord. She flicked her gaze to the oncoming group then turned back and performed a quick pivot to dodge an incoming strike to her head, then used her dark shield to block the follow-up and used the moment to send her blade into the kord's chest. She ripped it out and was just in time to block the first strike from the kord leading the group who chose to surround her. She gazed at them and then flicked her gaze over to Domino who was firing nonstop with her SMGs but was being enclosed on all sides.

She felt something rise up in her, something she'd never felt before, and dark red light began to pour from the cracks in her armor and she tossed her head back and let out a soundless scream. Skulls of dark red erupted from her and flew to the nearest enemies, exploding on impact and sending them to the ground, dead, their bodies and souls unable to take the shock of true darkness. The darkness of primordial man and the dark soul.

She looked down at the bodies for only a second before she charged over to Domino, her blade ready and stained with blood.

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Leone grinned and tore her hand away from the crushed head of a soldier to look up at the shocked and surprised faces of those around her. She didn't give them time to recover and instead leaped at the closest mage, who was dressed in robes. She swiped a clawed hand across his chest, disemboweling him before launching herself at the next enemy.

Many of the soldiers, seeing their allies killed so brutally finally snapped out from their daze and readied to charge at the new enemy, only to have their brains blown out as the bullets larger than any other stuck them with enough force to punch through their armor easily. Blood and viscera coated everyone and panic began to set in. Some ran, screaming while others looked around frantically for the source of this new threat.

One particular mage didn't look in the right place and an axe from above found its mark in his skull. He toppled and Zombiman didn't bother retrieving his axe, instead, he summoned his machetes to his hands and began tear his way over to his allies. Unlike the others, he wasn't particularly strong or had amazing defense and even if leveling up had increased it he was still easy to kill, but unlike them, he had his regeneration. Bolts of magic and spears and swords alike impaled and tore him apart as he moved through the soldiers, but to the soldier's shock and dismay, the man just wouldn't die and simply continued as though he was taking a comfortable stroll, not even bothering to look around,

Leone glanced over at Zombieman and chuckled at the horrified looks on the soldier's faces as half his torso and most of his face simply regenerated.

"Die!"

She dodged to left, not even looking at her attacker, and swiped her claws through his head, tearing it in half. Wounds covered her body, but she ignored them. Her own regeneration had increased like eveything else with her levels and she had already been more durable than most, so the only thing that could really damage in this situation was mages and kords, but even they had trouble as she moved through them like a beast hunting its prey.

They stood little chance and as Zombiman finally reached her, many of the soldiers simply turned tail and ran, while others stood their ground, weapons clutched in shaky hands.

"How was your walk?" Leone asked, moving her gaze over the soldier surrounding them.

"Bloody," was Zombimans only response.

"Wells it's about to get bloodier," Leone said with a feral grin.

They both charged back into the fray.

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While the soldiers at the north and east were being decimated, those in middle were having an even worse time. An unseen enemy was tearing through them and setting off explosions that devastated their ranks. Every time it seemed like they had spotted it, it vanished a moment later and with the carnage going on, the soldiers were unable to get a lock on the enemy.

The Stalker moved through the soldiers with ease, his tail lashing about at every turn and movement, slicing apart and impaling unfortunate mages and kords. Its claws tore through armor easily and while some attack did hit it, its own armor was of a far higher quality. Its main damage however came from its proximity mines. Explosions riddle the center of the army, sending soldiers flying in all directions, causing mass confusion and panic

One mage attempted to crawl away, one of his legs torn off, but he didn't make it five feet before an unseen strike took his head from his shoulders. As more and more continued to die, panic truly began to set in. They couldn't see their enemy, and they couldn't defend against its strikes. To them, they were facing something unbeatable and when it truly set in, many saw only one option as the logical conclusion.

Retreat.

Unfortunately for them, the rest of the battlefield wasn't any better.

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"Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin!"

Blair laughed as another of her pumpkins struck a siege engine, destroying it and sending pieces flying in all directions. Rath roared from beneath her sending his own ball of fire to finish off anyone nearby who had survived the blast.

The duo was havoc incarnate, spreading destruction and fire wherever they went, Magic and arrows were a constant annoyance, but with her ability to morph into a cat and Rath's natural defense, most missed and even those that struck true only took her out momentarily as she simply reappeared.

They left death and pain in their wake and moved over the battlefield, destroying pockets of soldiers which looked like they were getting back some semblance of calm and order. They also kept an eye out for the others and destroyed groups of soldiers heading to reinforce those already fighting the others.

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While the summons were doing their jobs, the talon riders were not to be forgotten. Their silver hawks dove into the fray, their sharp wings and claws slicing enemies apart. They moved like blades cutting through the winds, and swaths of soldiers fell.

Those that managed to take one down, quickly learned what a mistake it was, when the enraged rider began to cleave through them, her fury and rage fueling an endless number of strikes that could not be blocked or dodged. Their armor protected them from magic and they moved far too fast for an ordinary kord to land any strikes. Their two ended glaives allowed them to create pockets of death around themselves and anyone who neared died. Their flexibility and agility allowed them to easily escape being surrounded and the enemies quickly realized the best option was to run, but there was nowhere to run.

Fire and death were everywhere they went. A warrior covered in bones with the face of a skeleton and bottomless eyes cut through them like wheat to a scythe. A beautiful painted lady danced through their midst, her unusual weapons ending lives in the dozens while no attack hit her. A beast woman tore her way through them with an unkillable soldier at her side.

Then there was the wyvern and the witch atop it. They rained death from above. With all this, the soldiers could do nothing but wait for the end or try and run.

Then the horn sounded.