“Once the main army starts to move, the other two of us have to focus on killing the monsters as fast as they can so that the Abomination is forced to fight their alleged prey one on one.” Olua said.
“I think you’re overestimating yourselves, underestimating Abominations, or both. I’ve seen those creatures in action and they are nothing to scoff at.” Lith said while his mind replayed the combined attack of the Abominations hybrids against Night.
Even one of the Master’s chosen was enough to take down the entire cleansing team with ease.
“We are not underestimating Abominations, Scourge, but from my aerial recon I didn’t spot an Eldritch, just a Puppeteer. They are rarely old and powerful enough to be a threat to someone of our caliber.” The Roc included Lith in her estimates.
A lesser Dragon capable of using Origin Flames and already with a bright blue core at such a young age was bound to have more than one ace up his sleeve.
“What’s a Puppeteer?” Lith asked.
“A newborn Abomination looks like a shadow. It lacks substance and has constant need to absorb all kinds of energy just to keep itself alive.” Bodya’s words reminded Lith of the Wither, the first Abomination Lith had faced.
“After a while, they stabilize and can turn into two different types of Abominations. Empowered, who still look like shadows, have no physical body, but can talk, reason, and use magic properly.” The description matched the Master’s envoy that had tried to retrieve the Orc shaman’s crystal from Lith.
“The second and rarer outcome is for an Abomination to find a proper host. Possessing a body, be them alive or dead, allows the creature to permanently stabilize its form and to get full control over the hunger.
“They are called Puppeteer Abominations because they pull the strings of their host from the inside. They are hard to identify because they don’t leak Chaos energy like the Empowered and can last longer without nourishment.”
Lith recognized the creature that had taken over the dryad’s body at the academy as a Puppeteer, finally understanding why he had never met something like it until that moment.
“Puppeteer Abominations are stronger than Empowered and can use some tricks from the body they inhabit, but that’s it. Both Empowered and Puppeteer can evolve into Eldritch, creatures so strong that we wouldn’t dare face one without the help of the Council.
“Our foe, however, is so weak that he has to rely on monsters to survive. As long as we avoid getting hit by Chaos spells, it shouldn’t be our match, neither magically nor physically.” Bodya said.
“If it doesn’t emit Chaos energy, how can you be so sure it’s an Abomination and not just some kind of undead?” Lith asked.
“It’s not an undead because it moves freely under the sunlight and feeds upon monsters. Don’t ask me why, but the undead find a monster’s life force to be so revolting that they’d rather feed on grass whereas Abominations are omnivorous.
“On top of that, the creature tried to drag me down to the ground with gravity magic at first and then used dimensional magic to attack me from a distance before realizing that I’m an Awakened.” Olua said.
“I see. Undead can’t use light magic freely.” Lith nodded.
“If you’re done asking questions, Scourge, start weaving your spells. We’ll commence our attack the moment we are all ready.” Bodya said.
“I’m not a clairvoyant and you dragged me here barely a minute ago. Before I can prepare my attack plan, I need to know against who I’m going to fight and how many enemies I must expect.” Lith said.
“Can’t you see from afar?” Olua looked genuinely shocked. “What the heck do you need all those eyes for then?”
“It’s a long story.” Lith instinctively touched his forehead, between his two extra opened eyes. Three were still closed and almost invisible amid the scales while the others were all of their natural yellow color.
“The situation is a bit odd, but it’s what you have to expect when Abominations are involved. We’re facing a mixed group whose main force is comprised of Orcs. They also have a heavy infantry of Ogres, goblin scouts, and even a shaman.” Bodya said.
“What about the cavalry mentioned in the report?” Lith asked.
“That’s the nasty part.” Olua tapped the ground with one of her talons, turning the mud into a diorama.
It represented a man, sitting on a throne carried by several beautiful creatures with four arms each. A whole tribe of trolls followed the throne closely by walking on all four, each one of them mounted by one or more goblins.
“How did they manage to tame trolls?” Lith asked.
‘And here I thought that we’d see goblin riders only in Dungeons & Looting.’ Solus thought.
“Usually, different monster tribes never collaborate. Let alone trolls, who even resort to eating each other when too hungry. Yet a Puppeteer Abominations makes a perfect leader. It can hide among their ranks and uses its powers to pretend to be an envoy of the gods.” Olua said.
“It used its constant need for light element to create a symbiotic relationship with the trolls, who instead have a lack of darkness element. The closer they get to the throne, the more they revert to their unfallen state.
“It keeps both the Abomination’s and the trolls’ hunger at bay, making also the rest of the army believe that as long as they follow their leader, he will undo whatever damage makes them monsters.”
“Does the shaman have a crystal?” Lith asked.
“Only a few small ones that they found while pillaging the abandoned human cities. The shaman can still use them, but their effects are limited to a small range.” Bodya said.
Before weaving his spells, Lith took flight to study the enemy formation from afar. His aim was to understand what elements would deal the maximum damage and would be the most difficult to defend against.
“Oh, crap.”
A multi-colored mass of bodies occupied a plain the size of Lutia. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if according to the Nue’s map they were supposed to be in the middle of a luscious forest.
The monster army uprooted trees just to look for small animals and ate everything even vaguely edible they met on their path.
They set woods ablaze with magic, keeping the fire under control and making it disappear only when they smelled burned flesh. There was no method nor skill in their hunting technique, only desperate hunger.
Orcs were humanoid creatures, with an average height of 1.8 meters (5’11”). They were gifted from birth with a physique that closely resembled that of an Awakened after several breakthroughs.
They were stronger, faster, and sturdier than humans. Their skin was naturally resistant to most elements and they would hardly get sick. Rarely an orc would display a talent for magic, but when it happened, the creature would display incredible abilities.
Unlike humans, they were all bald, even the females. Their skin was brown as tree bark and almost as hard. Orcs also had enhanced senses that made it difficult to take them by surprise and were able to display short bursts of explosive strength or speed thanks to Fusion Magic.
Lith had faced them both in their natural state during his boot camp and in their reversed state in Zolgrish’s lab.
