Apocalypse Healer - Path of Death-Chapter 47B2 - Warzone

Fear was ever-present as the enemy forces inched closer to the detonation zone. It was so intense that David was sure he could grasp the tension hanging in the air.

Screams resounded, but they were mere whispers in his ears as the massive cloud shrouding their enemies advanced. Chills ran down David’s spine as the imposing structure moved, and it was as clear as day that it had to be taken care of. If not, the poisonous fog would devour them all, killing most defenders on the spot.

David caught sight of the last men and women rushing to their positions from the corner of his eye when the first traps triggered. Thunderous explosions rang out, and he enhanced his view with Blood without a second thought. Even though he couldn't see the explosions through the dense poisonous fog, David pinpointed the life signals of countless creatures. Even the half-undead creatures couldn’t escape Bloodthrone Dominion.

Several life signals at the head of the Grand Horde disappeared as more explosions resounded, and it did not take long before the next traps triggered. Blazing flames erupted from the ground as the first creatures stepped into them. David’s eyes lit up as the flames burned through both the monsters and the poisonous fog.

Using alchemical fire, amplified with a relentlessly burning substance, had been the right choice, he thought as more explosions followed. Several pits opened up, swallowing multiple creatures—likely killing them on the spot—in one go.

However, fewer monsters than expected died in the highly destructive traps of the first line of defense. David gritted his teeth and grunted in displeasure as he sensed a sudden shift. His hair stood on end, and Blood surged through his body. The poisonous fog surged forward.

David felt the fog detach from the Grand Horde and surge forward at an accelerated pace. That was new.

The tension in the air intensified, and more desperate screams rang out as the poisonous fog surged forward. He hoped someone would move, but it looked like the world around him was frozen. Only he and the poisonous fog seemed to move. Not even Maja responded, her eyes quivering.

She stirred only when David uttered Words of Power and conjured a large ball of pure Blood. He cast [Purify] and imbued it into the ball, intertwining the pure Blood with [Purify].

“Drop it on the fog,” David urged Maja.

She flinched but obeyed, creating a portal at his command.

His projectile vanished and reappeared above the fog. It plummeted from the sky and burst open, ripping the fog apart from the inside out.

The fog didn’t slow down.

He clicked his tongue and prepared a second ball but retracted the Blood when the first shouts reached his ears. Lukas and the rest must have regained their senses, resuming their initial plan.

The weakest Mages stepped forward, their distressed life signals tugging at David’s nerves even as the first flames ignited above. Half the Mages failed to conjure a simple overclocked fireball in one go. On one side, it was understandable. The Mages weren’t injured, but their life signals were the weakest. A few seconds exposed to the poisonous fog would be enough to kill them. Not even the best Clerics would be fast enough to rescue all of them. But on the other hand, David thought that failing to do their portion of the plan would kill them and others even faster.

They had to try twice, some even three times, to materialize overclocked fireballs. But once the fireballs came into existence, they hurled them straight at the poisonous fog and started the next incantation.

The weakest Mages rapidly drained their Mana Cores, conjuring a few overclocked fireballs to burn through the poisonous fog. But while the initial plan had been to utilize the full potential of the Hunters and the stronger Mages to attack the Grand Horde directly, that wasn’t possible. The poisonous fog had already left the detonation zone and advanced quickly, whereas the monsters were still too far away to attack.

“Focus on the cloud!” someone on the walls shouted, conjuring a brilliant azure flame. It was smaller than the average fireball, but it emanated immense power.

The azure flame soared through the air in a beautiful arc and erupted into a fierce inferno upon hitting the poisonous fog. The temperature in the surroundings seemed to rise as more Mana stirred atop the walls. Hundreds of fireballs formed while the azure flames sizzled through the fog. Fireballs, as well as flame-wreathed arrows, filled the sky, dyeing the poisonous fog orange-red as they erupted near-simultaneously.

“Projectiles,” Maja muttered beside him, pointing at a pair of weaker Mages who were releasing weak magical projectiles at the poisonous fog. The Mages looked like they were on the verge of collapsing, yet their attacks were oddly effective.

“The Clericy imbued [Purify] into the mana bullets," David said, smiling as the seemingly weak attacks transformed into a torrent of ‘destruction,’ cleansing the poisonous fog.

At last, after several barrages of fireballs and magical projectiles, the poisonous fog slowed and diminished. Its density thinned drastically until it became see-through. Some Mages and Clerics continued to work on the poisonous fog, probably hoping to remove it permanently. One threat less was one more advantage for the defenders, after all. However, David doubted it would be that easy.

The explosions continued rampaging, killing enemies by the dozens, but the traps had been far less effective than expected.

A wry smile formed on his lips as the dense poisonous cloud dispersed, finally burned to a crisp, revealing the Grand Horde… still coated in a thin layer of poisonous fog.

Surprise, surprise.

The fog was semi-transparent, and while David didn’t perceive it as a threat, it was still recovering. In fact, it had already recovered—at least a little.

The fog won’t harm me… but what about the others?

He tilted his head, shifting his focus to the weaker Mages as the first monsters reached the end of the detonation zone.

The Mages were drained and could no longer help. Thus, they retreated. Specifically, they were supposed to rush to the prehistoric Rift and enter it to use the ambient Aether to replenish their Mana Cores as quickly as possible. Potions were a viable option, but the weaker Mages couldn’t fully utilize them. The potions would be wasted on the weakest Mages. David agreed with the others’ assessment; it was best to give more potions to the strongest, ensuring they could unleash their most powerful skills for an extended duration.

David got up and channeled more Blood into his eyes as the poisonous fog spread out. That wasn’t it, he shook his head. The Grand Horde was spreading, and the poisonous fog followed.

“Do you want me to start?” Maja asked.

He shook his head. “No. The others should work their magic first.”

That was exactly what they did. Sudden bursts of energy caught David’s attention—until he noticed the source: the Fragments used in the artificed catapults. They activated, releasing the projectiles and hurling them through the air. The projectiles’ magical solution seemed to dissolve upon impact as they shattered, shooting metal shrapnel everywhere. Pained squeals and roars reached the Sanctuary, bringing a smile to David’s lips. Several excited shouts resounded, and the workers jumped right back into action, preparing the next salvo. Simultaneously, the Hunters stepped forward—some from their hiding spots outside the Sanctuary’s walls, others from the towers—rapidly firing Aether-imbued arrows.

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Finally, some decent fighters, David commented, noticing half a dozen life signals vanish every second.

The Hunters did not focus on the undead, knowing their arrows would cause little damage. They focused on the living instead. Unfortunately, the Mages didn’t do the same. Their magical projectiles were far more destructive, but their eyesight and precision were weaker than the Hunters’.

David licked his lips and joined the hunt as well. He cast [Blood Blast] a dozen times while uttering a few Words of Power. Once amplified, the bloody projectiles whistled across the Sanctuary and the crude stone walls, piercing the foreheads and chests of the living.

“Why can you join, but I cannot?” Maja grumbled, glaring at him.

David smiled. “Because I have close to 100 Blood Droplets and enough Origin Essence to do this all night. And that doesn’t include—”

Maja jabbed him in the side, interrupting him. “Include your life-draining ability and Intents. I know.”

He raised an eyebrow at her. Had he corrupted her personality? Where was the innocent, shy maiden he used to know? freёnovelkiss.com

It was great to see how much Maja had changed—how confident and comfortable she had become. He turned back to the battlefield, casting [Blood Blast] a dozen times again. His attacks were highly effective, more so than the Mages’ bombardment. While many monsters died, the strongest survived. Their life signals pulsated vibrantly as they charged ahead.

“So fast.” Maja gasped.

David agreed with a nod. The Grand Horde moved much faster than before. Had they intentionally slowed down to catch the defenders off guard? If so, they were much more disciplined than expected. They ignored the deaths around them and did not accelerate even as the blazing flames burned through them.

They could have avoided most deaths in the detonation zone if they had moved a little slower, but they didn’t. The Grand Horde stayed slow, stretching into a wide line to attack them—

David’s eyes narrowed to slits.

“How likely is it that none of these monsters has a Rune?” he asked while the gates to the Dwarven Sanctuary swung open.

Dwarves riding prehistoric monsters walked out, joining the ranks of the defenders hiding behind the crude walls. But more dwarves followed the prehistoric cavalry. Dwarven Warriors, Shieldbearers, and more melee fighters surged from the main and subsidiary gates.

However, while the dwarves charged ahead fearlessly, others were more hesitant. It made sense. They were afraid of the poisonous fog. No matter how thin and weak it was, it would kill them eventually. Dwarves were tougher, granting them greater resistance to the poisonous fog, but even they could not survive in it forever. The higher their Body stat, the longer they would survive. Yet that also meant their high Body stat would make them suffer longer before death finally caught up to them.

But that didn’t change the hard facts. Either they fought the Grand Horde head-on, or they would sit back and let them steamroll the Dwarven Sanctuary.

“You can start,” David muttered, sharply adding, “but don’t go overboard. This seems too easy… It doesn’t make any sense. Something is happening, and I want you to have enough mana to support me when the time comes.”

Maja intoned, her eyes flashing gold as several portals opened across the battlefield.

A pair of crude but heavy stones vanished from one spot and reappeared in the sky, crashing down into the most crowded area, squashing several monsters at once. David’s attention flicked to the other portals, which materialized before the cavalry. They charged through the portals in small units, emerging behind and beside the Grand Horde.

Maja continued spreading the forces, deploying them to the spots she deemed most suitable.

“Cavalry units three, six, and eight need to be moved. Pull three to the right, six a hundred meters to the left of three, and divert eight to the Mountain Defenders,” David ordered, squinting as more Blood filled his eyes. He retrieved a small crystal and activated it.

“The Hunters should use Crippling Strike on the Undead Giants. Once that’s done, they should hunt the Kobolds. I think they release the poisonous fog. Once the Kobolds are dead, they should focus on the smaller creatures. They’re… unsettling,” David commanded. “Also, tell the Mages to aim better. If they cannot do that, make sure they switch to supporting melee fighters with distracting attacks. You have a few Shamans too, don’t you? Tell them to use their damn debuffs!”

He didn’t wait for a response, stored the crystal again, and grasped Maja’s shoulder. “Move me to the Mountain Defenders first. Then to cavalry unit two. After that, you can focus on damaging the horde until you have only one-third of your mana left. Take a potion, and then prepare for–...”

“Yes, yes,” Maja intercepted. “I know the plan.”

Her last words had barely left her lips when the space around David twisted. He reappeared outside the Sanctuary, falling from the sky.

A quick scan of the battlefield below showed him everything he needed to know. He conjured two dozen marble-sized projectiles and attached [Blood Patch] to them. [Blood Blast] whistled through the air, marking the Mountain Defenders and establishing a connection with them. He cast [Blessing] several times in quick succession, empowering the Mountain Defenders and cavalry unit eight while applying [Symphony Control] on three prehistoric monsters—the strongest domesticated prehistoric monsters of the Dwarven Sanctuary—before a portal opened before him.

The scenery changed again, but not by much. He nearly toppled over as the portal spat him out mere meters above the ground, but a platform made with [Blood Aegis] saved him. He cursed Maja for a moment, but the torrents of the battlefield made it difficult to hold a grudge against the Portaligist.

The area was a war zone. The thunder of explosions, the screams of pain and despair, and the heavy smell of burned flesh and blood flooded his senses. The cacophony of sounds drummed painfully in his ears, as did the chaos of energies entering his periphery. There was Aether, altered and natural, but also all kinds of mana, holy power, and much more. Poisonous fog swirled around him, and the rotten, pungent smell of the undead soon followed.

He breathed out, cast [Purify] once on himself and the area around him, and applied [Blessing] on himself and cavalry unit three—including their mounts. Their power surged drastically, overwhelming the nearby monsters as the prehistoric mounts squashed them to death.

David unsheathed the Obsidian Blade, coated it in [Blessing], and released marble-sized projectiles augmented with [Sacred Aura] to gather the lifeforce of the recently deceased. Maybe it would come in handy. At the same time, he unleashed [Sacred Aura] at full power on his soulbound weapon.

He leaped forward, burst past the third cavalry unit, and beheaded a Blighted Kobold. An entire pack of them attacked, but they never stood a chance. A pair fell victim to [Blood Blast], their chests pierced by a single projectile, while the rest were too slow to keep up with him.

He spun around, casting [Healing Sphere] a few times to attach to the cavalry, and flicked back, exposing Bloodlust to his enemies. Several monsters froze in their tracks and shivered helplessly, unable to adjust to the sudden exposure to intense killing intent and the overwhelming thirst for blood. It weighed too heavily on them—too suddenly.

David surged forward, severing their limbs or killing them with one strike when the opportunity arose. He killed his enemies by the dozens, but nothing felt the same. The excitement that had once filled his heart when fighting uneven battles was no more. Would it return, or would he always feel like this? The disappearance of his excitement for the fights ahead annoyed him. It was frustrating to no end, but even that frustration faded within seconds.

A shrill scream rang out beside him, followed by a pained bleat, and he turned to find an Undead Giant’s club crashing onto a Utahraptor and its dwarven rider. The dwarf was still alive, but the prehistoric predator was dead—its skull squashed.

David didn’t think twice before willing the blood in the Utahraptor to surge forward. The mount’s thick hide burst open, blood stakes jutting from its body.

The stakes pierced the Undead Giant’s club and arm. It wouldn’t have hurt a living giant much, and it surely didn’t hurt the undead version, but the Undead Giant slowed.

David slashed at the monster with Rend and [Sacred Aura] at full power. The crimson hue of [Sacred Aura] flashed brilliantly as the Obsidian Blade struck the undead monster, and a low rumble escaped the giant’s lips. Did that hurt? David sure hoped so as the Obsidian Blade cut the undead in half.

[You have defeated Undead Giant (Silver I).]

That had been easy. Almost too easy. But that was the power of an Intent, combined with a razor-sharp soulbound weapon that had been painstakingly nourished, and a highly effective Tier-2 Rune, David thought grimly.

Regardless, only one of the Undead Giants was dead, and as far as he could tell, it was not the strongest creature. Monsters like the Undead Giants filled the ranks of the Grand Horde in the hundreds.