Path of Dragons

Book 7: Chapter 63: Letting Loose

Everyone told Elijah he was crazy, but he felt confident in his plan. Still, he knew he couldn’t implement it until Unchecked Growth came off of cooldown, which took close to an entire day. So, they continued as they were, with Dat taking care not to alert any more of the exploding hulks. Doing so required him to take some chances that ended with him pulling groups containing more powerful or numerous undead.

But they were ready for them, and though things got a little dicey, the group managed to avoid any major injuries. Elijah did notice that Nico was characteristically stingy with his ethera, but he’d already established that Nico wasn’t cut out for his role. He was probably great in a clinical setting, but he lacked the ability to know when to pour ethera into a task and when to be conservative.

Elijah knew that, if pushed, he could probably do a better job as a Healer than Sadie’s brother, though he decided to keep that to himself. Because despite his lacking talent as a Healer, Nico was still a prideful man. He thought a lot of himself, and any hints that others didn’t feel the same would predictably be met with a good deal of anger.

Still, they made it through that day without too many problems, and eventually, Elijah’s ability finally came off cooldown. When it did, he once again explained his plan, adding, “Be ready to heal me if things go wrong. I don’t anticipate it, but…well, I’m not infallible.”

“Humility?” asked Sadie with a smirk that didn’t reach her eyes. She was worried, and if Elijah was honest, that was a reasonable response to what he had planned. But the reality was that the group simply wouldn’t make it if they kept going the way they had been. They’d already scoured the edges of the army, killing all the easier targets. If they continued with the same strategy, they’d get progressively larger and more powerful groups that they would struggle to handle.

It was an army, after all, and they were a group of six. Those sorts of odds didn’t favor them. Something had to change, or they would fail their mission before they overcame the first obstacle.

“I’m the humblest,” Elijah said, returning her smile with one of his own. “Everyone says so.” When no one laughed at his bad joke, he took a deep breath and added, “Seriously – be ready. I think this will work, but if it doesn’t…”

“It’s an unnecessary risk,” groused Nico.

“We should continue our current strategy,” added Gideon. “This plan is foolish.”

And that was if they found a way to deal with the other hulks, the giant skeletons that would doubtless prove quite powerful, and the demons scattered throughout the army. Dealing with unintelligent zombies was one thing, but the demons were almost assuredly sapient. Like anyone with an ounce of intelligence, they would see through the group’s makeshift defenses and figure a way around them.

It was inevitable.

That was what drove Elijah to change the game. He only hoped he was strong enough to enact his plan without getting himself killed.

Once he was sure that everyone else would be capable of holding their own while he was gone, Elijah shifted into the Shape of Venom – which Gideon, Zhang Yue, and Nico had never seen before – then padded forward. The second he was out of sight, he used Guise of the Unseen and headed toward the army. The deep snow drifts had been destroyed by the previous passage of hundreds of zombies, so the way was easy enough, and soon, Elijah crested a hill and found himself only a hundred or so yards from the outlying elements of the army.

They were only about ten miles from the base of the mountain where his companions were entrenched. That was far too close for comfort, though there wasn’t much anyone could do about it. They were working within the constraints provided by the system.

In any case, Elijah had no intention of repeating Dat’s feats of enticing clumps of wandering zombies to follow him to their destruction. He had a different target. So, without further hesitation, he crept forward, staying low to the ground as he closed the gap between him and the army. When he drew close enough, he couldn’t help but hold his breath.

The sheer weight of their numbers was so intimidating that he very nearly thought better of his plan. His previous estimate that the army numbered in the tens of thousands seemed woefully incorrect, and he adjusted his count to the hundreds of thousands. Perhaps there were even a million of them present.

Elijah silenced his doubts, then proceeded among the zombies. They were larger than the ones back in Hong Kong, but most of them still appeared vaguely human. Not a one was less than six feet tall, and most were closer to seven. What’s more, Elijah could sense a degree of power that hadn’t been present in the ones Dat had pulled back to their defensive position.

As he proceeded into the central part of the army, Elijah noticed two things. First, they became far more densely packed, which forced him to take great care in his approach. If he brushed against them, Guise of the Unseen might protect him from detection, but he didn’t want to trust it. So, he moved slowly, maintaining caution as he progressed toward his first destination.@@novelbin@@

The second thing he couldn’t ignore was that the further he traveled, the more powerful the zombies seemed to become. By the time he’d reached the center, the creatures practically blazed with invisible ethera while their bodies were wreathed in pale blue mist. It clung to them like a cloudy aura that pulsed with enough power to give Elijah pause.

They weren’t ascended – clearly – but they were strong enough that, with their numbers, they could easily overwhelm Elijah.

Part of it was due to something he’d noticed about the undead back in Hong Kong. The more of them there were, the stronger they became. However, this exceeded his expectations, supporting his suspicion that another factor was at play. When he reached an open area, Elijah settled down to investigate that further, and it only took a little extra focus and a few minutes for him to detect, via Soul of the Wild, dense ropes of ethera leading to what appeared to be a camp at the base of the wall.

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Perhaps that was where their leader was located.

Which made Elijah hesitate. He knew the demons scattered throughout the army were sentient, at the very least. Sapient, in all likelihood. That meant the enemy could adjust to whatever strategies Elijah and his companions conjured to combat the horde. But the presence of a true leader would further complicate matters, and not just because they were likely strong enough to rival even Elijah in single combat.

He lowered himself, considering the conundrum, and after a few more minutes, he decided he needed more information before he enacted his plan. Previously, the idea was to use the exploding hulks to destroy large portions of the army. He’d intended to survive it via the use of Unchecked Growth, following it by escaping into the mountains where he could use Guise of the Unseen to avoid any pursuit.

But the presence of the leader changed everything. Not only would it nullify the viability of his plan – he was counting on the zombies’ braindead nature to shield him from reprisal – but it also represented an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.

Even as he set off through the rest of the gathered horde, Elijah adjusted his plan. The size and density of the army meant that it took him almost an hour to make enough progress that he found himself approaching the camp. And as he took it in, he was impressed by how well laid-out it was.

The tents were made of cloth embroidered with runes, but Elijah sensed that it was only meant to protect the interior from the frigid temperatures outside. Or perhaps that was hope. If those runes offered true defenses, then his adjusted plan was unlikely to work.

Elijah didn’t go directly into the camp itself. There was too much of a chance at detection. Rather, he circled around until he reached the massive, black wall, then approached from the side. Thankfully, he remained hidden until he came within range of the tent. Using Soul of the Wild, he inspected the interior, and what he found was somewhat encouraging.

Inside was a demon being attended to by what Elijah could only categorize as succubi. The feminine demons looked like they’d stepped right out of mythology, which meant that they took the forms of beautiful – if red-skinned – women, with wings, horns, and cloven hooves.

The large demon at the center seemed much more problematic.

Layered with dense muscle, he was at least nine feet tall and possessed a brutish appearance that suggested that he would solve most problems by assaulting them head-first. Nearby was a set of armor that glistened with ethera, next to which was a wicked battleaxe that probably weighed more than Elijah’s human form. Completing the set was a huge slab of a tower shield.

To call the demon intimidating would have been a vast understatement, especially considering that Elijah could sense that he was ascended. Barely, and judging by the sense of ethera that hung from him, he was less powerful than Elijah. However, anyone who’d attained that level of power was dangerous.

Elijah remained in place for a few minutes, studying his enemy, and he considered simply climbing the wall and going in search of the Queen of Desolation, wherever she was. It was then that he lamented the fact that he’d brought a team with him. Certainly, they played vital roles, but he couldn’t help but wonder if their presence was slowing him down.

Not that it mattered. He couldn’t just leave them behind. So, he pushed those thoughts out of his mind, then focused on the task at hand. Killing the huge fighter in the tent had become his primary goal, and he knew exactly how he intended to do it.

But he also knew that it would be wrought with danger, and even if it worked properly, it would not be a pleasant task.

In any case, Elijah couldn’t afford to hesitate. So, after using Brand of the Stalker on the huge demon, he returned the way he’d come. Thankfully, the spell was entirely undetectable by his enemies, but it would be invaluable in keeping track of the creature. With that done, Elijah retreated and soon found a rare empty patch of ground in the middle of the horde. Then, he went to work.

Using Envenom, then Predator Strike, Elijah pounced on a demon. It never even had a chance to react before it collapsed, succumbing to the powerful venom. It would take a few moments to die, but in only a second, it had already become incapacitated. It was a good start.

Elijah leaped from that fallen demon, racing through the horde until he saw another. In the Shape of Venom, he was capable of reaching speeds usually reserved for highways, and what’s more, he was nimble enough to change direction on a whim. He used those characteristics to his advantage, barreling into another demon with enough force that he felt it rattle his own skeleton.

The demon was far less durable, and Elijah suspected that the attack was enough to put it out of the fight. However, he still bit it, using Envenom for good measure, before moving on to the next.

For the following ten minutes, Elijah never stopped moving. He targeted the demons, using his low profile and incredible speed – and Flicker Step when things got dicey – to stay ahead of any reaction to his presence. By the end of those ten minutes, he’d killed nearly fifty demons, significantly impacting their numbers.

But by then, the more powerful creatures had begun to respond. Seeing that the leader still hadn’t responded, Elijah kept going, manipulating the zombies into following him. The enormous army was slow to respond, but once they knew of his presence, the zombies outpaced the larger, smarter creatures.

That was by design.

Elijah circled the area, gathering more and more zombies. Their attempts to catch him were laughable, but he knew that was only because they were incapable of independent thought. They had a predator drive, but that was it. So, it was easy enough to lead them on a merry chase.

Eventually, though, Elijah found himself hemmed in by thousands of the creatures. They had no caution in their approach, instead rushing him with no concept of self-preservation. And when they drew close enough, Elijah shifted into his human form, then used Soothe, Blessing of the Grove, and Swarm.

A second later, the first zombies reached him, and he met them with a whirling staff. His time in the Ring of Battle served him well, and he was intimately conscious of his every movement. He moved fluidly, his staff becoming an impassable barrier for the zombies. Still, Elijah knew that he couldn’t keep it up for long. Just a few more seconds, and then he’d need to enact the next part of his plan.

He started taking hits, though his preparations proved enough to combat the damage he took. The renewing shield from Blessing of the Grove protected him enough that its heal as well as Soothe kept him from being overwhelmed. However, he only made it ten more seconds before he was in danger of being overwhelmed.

He pushed it just a few more seconds, and more zombies clambered to rip him to pieces. He was stronger, faster, and far more durable than any individual zombie, but together, they were more than capable of tearing him apart.

Fifteen seconds after he’d stopped, he knew he’d reached his limits.

Elijah activated Lightning Domain.

Huge bolts of electricity lanced through the zombie horde, turning the closest monsters to ash. Those whips of lightning swirled, arcing out to nearly a hundred feet and destroying anything in range. And Elijah’s previous efforts meant that thousands of zombies fell all around him.

But even as they were killed, he knew it was only the beginning. So, as the lightning whips petered out, then disappeared, he looked out across the charred aftermath of his spell. Then, he prepared himself for the next part, hoping it went half as well as the first.