They keep coming.
Swarms of white, bloodthirsty rodents crawled down from the upper levels, cutting off their escape routes. Morgan and Annie immediately summoned a wall of flames to stop them, but this only slowed them down; as the rats had begun climbing up the tunnel walls and around the fire.
The group was forced to retreat into the damp cave and ran in an orderly file to the other end. "[Sanctuary]," Mrs. Salt blessed the group with her magic. "Balder's Mercy."
You gain resistance to all hostile diseases. You got [reply 5 minutes.
A series of magic spheres flew out from behind them, penetrated the wall of fire, and aimed directly at Walter. Annie reacted quickly and raised a round yellow light shield to protect him.
"They can cast spells?" Wu Long frowned and prepared his bow and arrow to shoot any pests that came out of the flames. "Everyone?"
"They combined their SPs!" Annie guessed it immediately, and Morna prepared a spell.
"Hive mind," Walter Tai added, grabbing two potions from his bracelet. "I'm going to disperse them, stay back!"
As if in answer to his words, six huge winged shadows flew through the cave wall and flew directly towards the group. Gwen immediately recognized them as [Shadow Demons], demons from Niflheim capable of possessing their targets.
"(Shield of Order)!" Mrs. Salt cast a dome of light around the group, repelling the [Shadow Fiend]; Morgan and Annie quickly cast a spell on the creature, using fiery rays and wind blades to They destroy. Meanwhile, Walter Te
Tye), although startled by the sudden lightning, recovered his posture and threw the potion behind the group.
An explosion of light and sound followed, sending the magical rats flying in all directions.
As her eyes recovered from the sudden flash of light, a hidden rat, as big as a dog, suddenly emerged from the shadows near Gwen. The fact that it can become invisible at such a close distance must be due to its stealth skills. The princess raised her sword to defend herself, but the monster bit her right forearm, its reinforced teeth piercing her armor and piercing her skin.
[The Vampire Plague was [denied] by Pendragon's Amulet].
"Rats spread vampires!" Gwen warned, stabbing the vermin with her sword and tossing the corpse aside. Thanks to the priest's spell, her wounds had healed.
"Fire Thunder!" Morni shouted, firing a bright red beam at the shadow demons. She has always been fascinated by fire magic, and it showed tonight. "Fire Thunder!"
"Wind cut!" Annie added, slicing a shadowy demon in half with a sharp blast of air. After a series of attacks, the remaining shadows fled back into the wall.
"Walter, Mrs. Searle, call more strong men to be the vanguard." Gwen ordered. "They were obviously forcing us into an ambush."
The priestess and alchemist obeyed, casting a summoning spell, and Take
u then fires at the disoriented mouse. An arrow of light struck the tunnel ceiling, pummeling the rats and crushing them beneath the debris; but at the cost of trapping the wolves in the cave.
"Flash bomb?" Wulong asked Taiyi, his bow ready to fire another shot. "You don't sell these things in your store."
"I kept the experiment in case I needed it," the alchemist shrugged, concentrating on his spell. "It was like being dragged out of my shop and into a dangerous dungeon."
"I understand how you feel, my friend," Mrs. Serena smiled at him. "But you promised me you would follow me all the way to Helheim if I did the same."
"I said?" The alchemist shook his head, and Gwen noticed that Annie made an unhappy expression behind her back. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but if we survive this, I swear I'll think twice before I swear."
"As long as we get through this, I will consider your promise fulfilled," the priestess replied, amused by the reaction. "[Summon the Vulture Daughter]."
A winged angel appears next to the priestess, a warrior wielding a sword and a shield of light. If Gwen hadn't seen a Valkyrie in person before, she might have mistaken it for a Valkyrie. Angel glanced at everyone, her eyes lingering on Morgan a moment longer before waiting for the order.
At the same time, Walter Tye summoned a powerful [Earth Elemental], a nine-foot-tall giant made of stone and earth. "The summoned creature moves to the front," Gwen told her team. "What spell will they cast?"
"No, but it's resistant to almost anything and can be melted into stone," Walter Tai replied.
"Healing spells and attack spells, light spells and fire spells."
"Then the angels will focus on healing, and occasionally there will be some effective spells to disperse the enemies." She felt that a huge battle was still waiting for them. "Since there must be monsters hiding within their walls, we won't risk the elemental scouting; it will be our vanguard. Anne, Lady Thrall, is ready to summon the barricades. You will be the defenders and everyone else will attack .”
The winged angels walked in front with the elementals, Gwen and the others behind them, as Lady Thel translated her commands in the languages of the gods. They entered the next tunnel, although the elemental had to duck its head to enter.
"Where did you learn such an advanced spell?" Take
u suddenly asked the alchemist, telling Gwen his own thoughts. The princess was grateful for his forthrightness.
"Practice," the alchemist replied. "I have levels and perks in Battle Mage."
"Have you ever fought in a war?" Morgan asked curiously. Perhaps she had considered how he might help Gwen's political career.
"No, but I have to survive on the road," the Alchemist said, sounding old and tired despite his youth. "I just... I just wish I could put this all behind me. Do something meaningful instead of killing people all the time."
Gwen felt a pang of sympathy for him, before reminding herself of his unclear loyalties.
Luck check successful!
When the princess noticed something on the tunnel walls, a strange feeling of fear overcame her. Round, intricate symbols are carved into the stone.
"Explosive runes!" Annie panicked. "Run!"
The summoned creatures in front ran forward as fast as they could, followed by the group of people. These symbols glow red in the darkness, gathering power.
Gwen heard an explosion behind her, but continued rushing through the tunnel before it collapsed. She could only pray that her comrades would move quickly to avoid being buried alive.
However, when she reaches the end of the tunnel, poisonous arrows rain down on the princess.
[Earth Elemental] and [Bald Man's Winged Daughter] used their bodies to protect her at the last second, but a cannonball nearly hit her in the eye. She managed to block it with her blade at the last second, but she remained on the defensive.
Her team made it through the collapsing tunnel, only to find they were facing an army.
The cave they entered must have been a mining storage depot, judging by the wood and iron pillars supporting the 20-foot-high ceiling above their heads. Dozens of tunnels lead into this circular area, large enough to accommodate an army...
Dozens of armed skeletons, zombies, giant slimes and pale goblins surround them, each armed to the teeth. Gwen, at the helm, recognized the three elite undead who killed Sir Sigurd. The ruthless Blackroot swapped his former weapons for a skeletal flail and a shield, while the strange mummy's claws glowed in the dark; the elite zombie swordsman did some footwork drills as if enjoying the coming battle. None of them carry lights, and the princess can only see them in the dark, thanks to her buff spell.
A masked necromancer hid behind his army, watching them from a stone pillar.
"Kill them all," the malevolent wizard ordered from his "throne," while he himself was surrounded by dark energy. "But leave the princess to me."
"You heard what the boss said," Hagen answered, raising his shield. "action!"
A horde of ghouls and monsters rush towards the adventurers, attacking from all angles. The summoned creatures moved forward to protect the group, while Anne and Lady Seer set up a magical barrier.
"He ambushed us with his entire army?" Morgan panicked, and she burned an undead with a fireball. Tai helps her drop bombs on the Skeleton Warriors. "That's cheating!"
"That makes sense." Take
u replied, aiming at the Necromancer and shooting a cold arrow. "I always wondered why other bosses never did this."
The Necromancer waved his hand, deflecting the cannonball, and fired back with a powerful bolt of lightning, aimed directly at the [Winged Daughter of Balder]. The attack pushed the summoned creature against one of the cave walls, disrupting the defensive formation. Take
U was forced to abandon his current target and focus on attacking his goblins at close range.
"I will fight their leader," Gwen said, activating her magic item and increasing her attributes. "Walter, Taklu, cover me. Girls, call you, protect our rear."
"Gwen, this is suicide!" Mo
ga
e panicked. "There are too many of them!"
"That's right," she replied, casting a spell on herself. "Killing him is the only way we can disperse his army."
Your actions and reactions are twice as fast as normal.
Gwen rushed forward as hostile spells, arrows, and spears fell around her. Following her orders, Anne and Lady Thrall provide protection by replenishing the magical barrier, while Taklu, Tye, and Morgan go on the offensive.
As for the princess, she winds her sword in wind and light, then passes through a skeletal warrior, then a green slime. She forges a path forward for herself, while the elemental behind her crushes stragglers with its stone hands.
The elite of the necromancers immediately surrounded the princess, just as they had surrounded Sir Sigurd.
"You play three on one," Gwen said, taking a defensive stance. "You fight without honor."
"We fight to win," Hagen replied, trying to crush her head with his flail. She ran too fast, but not fast enough to avoid the zombie swordsman.
The monster's blade is invisible, but Gwen can see it, thanks to her [Pendragon Amulet], and ward it off with her own sword. She had lost count of how many times this priceless royal treasure had saved her life.
"Well, what level are you at?" Hagen asked casually, trying to distract the princess while walking past her.
"As if I could say that," replied Gwen, who had been taught since childhood to hide her true abilities. To be honest, she hoped this battle would push her all the way to level forty.
"Well, I'm just trying to find something to talk about. Either way, I don't care."
"You talk too much, Hagen!" The zombie roared, launching a series of incredibly fast attacks. The princess guessed that he must be of swordsman level, enough so that his attacks forced her to take defensive measures.
The Mummy Killer took advantage of her distraction to attack her from the side, his claws narrowly missing her neck. Gwen could feel its murderous intent, his primal desire to see her bleed. However, instead of being scared, she felt excited.
at this point. It was a righteous fight that she had fought for all her life.
"Stay away from my cousin!"
A giant fireball hits the zombie swordsman, blowing the monster in half and killing it in one fell swoop. Morgan and Walter Tye abandoned their formation to join Gwen. The witch summons a wall of fire between Hagen and the princess, pushing Dullahan away, while Tai attempts to impale the mummy with shards of ice. The creature blocked the projectile with its claws, but was forced to take defensive measures.
"We'll take care of them, Gwen!" Morgan said as Hagen started walking around the wall. "go ahead!"
"But—"
"Do what you gotta do!" Walter Tye said angrily, standing back to back with Gwen's cousin as the remaining undead elite surrounded them. The mummy went through the projectiles, forcing the owner into close combat, and Walter barely dodged a neck attack. "Keep doing it!"
The princess nodded gratefully, but quickly glanced at the rest of her team. Anne and Mrs. Salter still have the barriers, but have begun to use them aggressively. They use their magical shields against incoming monsters, effectively dividing enemy armies into different groups. Take
u successfully rescued Balde
’s daughter, who shoots arrows at painted goblins while hurling pillars of fire at zombie hordes.
Unfortunately, the [Earth Elemental] fared worse, collapsing under the weight of dozens of skeletons, impaling it from behind, leaving the caster exposed. Gwen didn't have much time left before the front line collapsed under the overwhelming numbers of the enemy.
So, she turned to face the Necromancer. She half expected Walter to stab her in the back.
But none of this happened.
Is she mistaken? Is she too suspicious?
"I didn't expect things to develop to this point." The necromancer said, when Gwen was poised to pounce on him. "You're making me regret my career choice and regret that I don't have a (mind control) spell. It's so much easier this way."
"[Holy Power]," Gwen summoned her [Paladin] ability. "Clean the aura."
Your strength increases by two levels. You gain +5 to all checks against [] undead] and [demon].
"I told you, if we kept fighting there would be a bloodbath," the Necromancer argued as she walked up to him. "Why don't you look back? If it's power and fame you're after, I can create monsters for you to fight. Do you really want to die in vain?"
As if she would accept such an obvious devil's deal.
"Even if you kill me, the Kingdom of Avalon will find you and destroy you." Gwen said bluntly, raising her sword and jumping towards him. "If you want to save people, surrender."
"There is no worse fate than Helheim, mortal," the magician replied, then raised his hands and began to use ancient magic. "I'd rather risk fighting all of Avalon than go back there!"
Gwen's sword stabbed him in the throat, and at that moment, the Necromancer's body exploded into a cloud of purple smoke. The explosion pushed her back, allowing her to witness the wizard's shadow growing larger! When she stood up, the pillar beneath the wizard had collapsed.
Because the creature before her now was huge.
Although not as big as Utgard the Jotun, he is just as powerful. It was a serpentine undead beast, more bone and muscle than flesh, with four tiny claw-like limbs and a clean golden skull. Its teeth are gems and its eyes are fire pits of hatred. Its curved neck reaches to the ceiling, and its howl makes its troops tremble in fear.
An immortal dragon.
The Necromancer is a [Li
o
m] Professional undead dragon. No wonder it survived the Great Purge! Could this evil creature have been behind the Necromancer's orders all along? No, he was definitely the (ankou); shapeshifter?
Gwen decided to wait until she survived the battle before asking these questions.
