Enchanted weapons were able to break the bones that formed the Wights’ bodies while darkness magic spells attacked their blood cores, snuffing the green flames that animated Kalla’s minions as if they were just candles.
Yet instead of just disappearing, the flames reverted into small wisps that darted back into Kalla’s body, who only needed a breath of Invigoration to give them new strength.
Before all the bone fragments of the dead Wights could touch the ground, the wisps were back, animating the lesser undead once again.
Conducting experiments about Lichhood on herself had taught Kalla a lot about blood cores and phylacteries. On top of that, she had learned how to imbue small amounts of her willpower inside the blood cores she created.
In normal circumstances, it would allow her to control her minions as if they were part of her body, even giving them access to all the spells she knew. When such a fine control wasn’t possible, she would use willpower to create a different kind of link with them.
She would become their phylactery, allowing them to be raised back from the grave as long as she was unharmed. The new wave of Wights joined the fray, shifting the tides of the battle again.
Even if Erlik’s followers were able to overpower the Wights, it still took them time, effort, and wounds. Kalla had called upon a lesser version of herself because they were among the worse opponent an undead could face.
Physical attacks and normal weapons did them no harm, whereas even being grazed by them meant having part your life force sucked and your body invaded by darkness magic.
Undead could feed upon other undead, but it would weaken them rather bring them nourishment. Kalla’s Wights had no care for their lives, being mindless lesser undead, and every time they fell, she would simply animate them again.
This strategy allowed them to double the damage they inflicted upon their enemies at the expense of their lifespan like Balkor had shown her. Yet unlike Balkor, Kalla had access to Invigoration, and with it to an almost unlimited supply of mana.
Gremlik was afraid that Phloria would press her advantage so he Blinked away and consumed a fraction of the energy stored inside his blood core to instantly recover. He rejoiced seeing that the human didn’t move, just to curse when he realized why.
Erlik was still locked in battle with Leannan, making both him and the Sapling useless. On top of that, the rest of their army wasn’t faring well. Leannan had emptied her vaults to equip the Fae with the best artifacts Laruel had to offer and the damn Wight negated their numerical advantage with her own troops.
By protecting Kalla, Phloria was holding half the battle. Gremlik had just the time to cast his best flight spell when Pala’s death cry reached his ears.
After killing Megon, Lith had used the two beams of Final Sunset to aim at where the Nightwalker was and where she would appear at the same time. Pala’s reflexes and the distance separating them had saved her at first, but Blinking so many times without rest had taken a toll on her.
Being an undead, she didn’t tire but the mana in her blood core was still limited and a battlefield was a chaotic place. Lith could afford to fly while keeping up a multi-layered barrier, whereas if she Blinked in the wrong place she would be caught in the crossfire between plants and undead.
The moment the black flames had pinned her against a wall she no longer had the strength to fight back and was turned into ashes.
‘Two down, two hundred to go.’ Lith thought while using Full Guard to dodge the barrage of incoming spells. It was his first time facing so many enemies that could actually kill him in a few blows at the same time.
Kalla’s undead never left the field for long, but each time one of Erlik’s followers was without an opponent, they would strike at the closest enemy who offered them their back or suck upon the World Sapling to recover their strength.
‘Our side is barely holding their ground.’ Solus checked the cores and the life forces of the fighters to estimate the outcome of the battle. Her mana sense gave her a much better judgment than Gremlik’s.
Lith kept moving while searching for a quiet place where he could use Invigoration. Between the barrier, Full Guard, and using Setting Sun for so long, he was starting to feel tired.
Even with Solus’s help, encompassing the whole room with his senses was a mammoth task. He reached Kalla, seeking Phloria’s protection as well.
“Focus on him. I won’t get caught off guard this time.” The Wight reverted to her Emperor Beast form, revealing the equipment that Scarlett had gifted her before leaving the academy’s forest.
A silver armor covered her from head to toe, sticking to Kalla’s body like a second skin and giving her the same looks she had when she was still a Byk.
Several purple mana crystals, each one the size of a nut, were evenly spread throughout the armor, forming a network that would fuel its enchantments and boost Kalla’s physical abilities.
She stood on her hind legs, beckoning to Gremlik in defiance. The Grendel hesitated, weighing his options.
‘On one hand, the three of them assembled means I could kill them all at the same time and turn the tides of the battle. On the other hand, fighting them by myself is a pointless risk. I should focus on Leannan…’ His train of thoughts derailed when he noticed that the mindless Wights weren’t mindless anymore.
If their opponent retreated, instead of blindly charging forward as they had done until a while ago, they would join forces with their nearest ally. To make matters worse, they had even started casting spells.
With no other choice left, Gremlik darted towards Kalla. He transformed into his Grendel form and used the momentum of his flight spell to increase his already enormous strength.
Kalla sidestepped the attack, knowing that facing head-on a Grendel was suicidal. His attack failed, yet Gremlik smirked. His aim was perfect, so now that the Wight had dodged, he would strike Phloria first and Lith after her.
The Grendel had planned his attacks so that the three would block each other line of sight and each time one of them dodged, the next I line would be caught by surprise. His claws barely grazed Kalla, yet they still managed to cut through her armor and deep into her body, almost reaching the bones.
A Grendel moved so fast that each of their attacks generated an air blade, so dodging their attacks was nigh impossible. Kalla had yet to grunt in pain that Gremlik’s other hand extended towards Phloria.
Her tier five spell, Bastion, was still active, so she managed to conjure a stone wall in front of herself. The rocks she carried with her were harder than most metals, yet it took Gremlik just a slash to destroy both the wall and her conjured tower shield.
Contrary to the Grendel’s expectation, not a single drop of blood was shed. Knowing that now her enemy was unable to use magic to change his flight path, Phloria had abandoned her protection and flown up.
‘I’ve no reason to worry for Lith since he can see past me thanks to Life Vision.’ She thought.
