“Lets attack together”, Alden’s voice rang out. The dukes nodded as they shared the common feeling of urgency.
The four dukes, now united in purpose, channeled their mana in perfect unison.
Duke of Ethwer raised his hands as he summoned a massive ball of fire. It blazed with an intensity that seemed to melt everything in its path as it launched towards the shadow man.
At the same moment, Duke of Hans unleashed a mighty water dragon from his palms. The creature roared as it surged forward, its body coiling and twisting like a stormy wave.
Duke of Norish followed with a fierce determination as he thrusted his hands into the ground. The earth trembled and cracked as massive tendrils of stone erupted, seeking to cage the shadow man in a prison of rock and dirt.
Finally, Duke Alden, with a flick of his wrist, unleashed a blade of wind. The wind cut through the air with terrifying speed, aiming straight at the shadow man, intending to slice him apart.
All four attacks were aimed on the shadow figure.
The scene was absolutely magnificent. Count of Azazel and Lilia stood frozen, their hearts racing as they watched the overwhelming display of power.
It was a spectacle beyond anything they had ever witnessed, the four dukes, the very pillars of the kingdom, each one a powerful Arch Mage were combining their might in a unified assault.
The ball of fire, the roaring water dragon, the earth-shattering tendrils, and the cutting arc of wind collided in a brilliant explosion of energy. It was as though the elements had come to life, bent to the will of the dukes, and the shadow man was at the center of it all.
If not for the king’s golden barrier which surrounded the entire castle, the whole city would have been obliterated in an instant.
However the next moment, the shadowy figure roared loudly with a sound that seemed to shake the very foundations of the castle. The force of the roar was so intense that everyone had to cover their ears, the pressure almost too much to bear.
The figure was unfazed by the combined attacks of the dukes. He simply thrusted his palm forward, and an eerie, unknown energy began to concentrate on it. The mere sight of it sent an icy chill down the spines of everyone present.
As the dark energy swirled and concentrated, it radiated a malevolent power. The air around it seemed to warp and distort.
Without warning the energy exploded and it hurled directly at the dukes combined attacks. A flashing light shone over the battlefield upon the impact.
The dukes’ combined attacks initially seemed to hold against the dark energy as it resisted its force with a fierce struggle. For a brief moment, it appeared as if the dukes’ combined might could overpower the unknown force.
However as the time went on, the dark energy began to devour their attacks, twisting and consuming each element in an unnatural way.
The fireball was extinguished, the water dragon evaporated into steam, the ground began to crack and crumble and the wind attack was absorbed, leaving only a faint whisper of its former majestic strength.
The energy continued to grow as it overpowered the four Arch Mages, and pushed them back as it surged towards them with an unstoppable force. As the shadowy energy continued to surge forward, it completely absorbed the combined attacks of the dukes.
The four dukes were already trembling from the overwhelming force and they felt a deep sense of fear as the energy made its way for them.
Panic gripped their hearts, and for a brief moment, they hesitated. It was a feeling they had never experienced, being powerless in the face of such an unstoppable force.
Just as the energy was about to strike the dukes, the king raised his hands in a last desperate effort. His golden aura flickered as he chanted an incantation under his breath.
A glowing barrier formed around the dukes as it absorbed some of the incoming force, but it was clear that the damage was still too much for even the king’s royal barrier to handle.
The shadow’s energy slammed into the barrier with a deafening crack, sending shockwaves through the hall. The king’s barrier held for a moment, but the relentless force of the shadow’s attack began to break through.
The dukes could only brace themselves, knowing they were at the mercy of this mysterious, malevolent force.
The king’s face twisted in concentration as he tried to maintain the barrier. Although he was a Grand Mage, he had already used a lot of his mana maintaining the barrier around the castle while it withheld the combined attacks of four Arch Mages and the mysterious energy of the shadowy figure.
The royal protection spell had been designed to hold against large-scale attacks, but to make things even worse, this new form of energy seemed to eat at the barrier itself, draining its strength with every passing second.
Now that the king was forced to split his focus to save the dukes, he could feel his barrier getting weaker and the small amount of the dark energy was leaking through.
As the chaotic battle raged on outside, Julian who was still recovering from the earlier attack, found the opportunity to converse with his system.
“System,” Julian began, his voice steady but laced with curiosity, “What energy is this?”
The system responded, “Host, that is called Death Energy. It is a separate form of energy from elemental energy or the cosmic energy, a unique and destructive force that corrupts and annihilates life itself. It is far beyond the scope of normal mana or elemental magic.”
A small shiver ran down Julian’s spine as the system’s explanation painted a picture of the destructive power that Death Energy held
Julian’s brows furrowed in deep thought as he processed the information. His thoughts flickered to his skills, particularly the Necromantic Thunder. A realization began to dawn on him. Could Death Energy be connected to my necromantic abilities?
He wasted no time and asked the system, “How is Death Energy connected to Necromantic Thunder?”
The system replied, “Necromantic Thunder summons the power of death itself, allowing you to strike down the living and revive the fallen. It taps into the realm of Death Energy to resurrect the dead and control the dead as loyal minions.”
