Chapter 47: Fight Against the Earth Mage Part 1

The mage exploded forward, his hammer raised in the air as he prepared to bring it down. Charon, thinking quickly, ordered one of the skeletons forward. It surged in, bringing its small shield up to block the strike. The weapon hit the shield with a massive ring, the summon’s arm breaking under the pressure. The limb fell to the ground, leaving it open to more attacks. With a thought, Charon had it thrust the sword forward, but it was knocked aside by the mage’s hand. With another swing of the hammer, the skeleton was destroyed, its bones crumbling into a small pile. Pain shot up Charon’s spine as his connection to the summon vanished. He was overcome with chills and grabbed his chest. He ordered the next summons forward out of desperation, hoping that numbers could overwhelm the mage. Bones rattled as they advanced, swords and shields raised to intercept the next attack. The mage shook his head. "This is your best attempt? I had heard the mages of the Fort were impressive, yet all I see are a couple of scared children playing at war." His warhammer was brought high into the sky before slamming down on the ground. Cracks appeared in the street, branching out like a spider web. They spread under the skeletons, knocking them off balance. Wasting no time, their opponent swung the hammer and smashed two of the skeletal fighters, their bodies shattering into pieces. Charon stumbled as another wave of pain hit him, his head beginning to throb. ’They are breaking so easily!’ He glanced around, debating if the fight was worth continuing when his best weapons were getting destroyed with little effort. His focus changed when he saw Emerius flipped through the air, landing beside the mage and swinging his swords around. They hit nothing but air as the man leaned back, the blades passing harmlessly above him. With a grin, the mage spun his hammer around, the spiked side streaking towards the blonde swordsman. It was a bad play, Emerius being far too agile to get caught off guard so easily. He leapt over the blow, slashing his own down and cutting into the man’s arms. Two thin cuts appeared, blood beginning to trickle down. The mage took a few steps back and raised his arm to study the wounds, an appreciative look in his eyes. "Children might’ve been giving you a little less credit than you deserve." His gaze passed from Charon to Emerius. "For one of you, at least. You are fast with a sword, but can your body sustain any hits? I can make a dozen mistakes and stand tall, but you only need to make one to die!" The mage extended his free hand, brown energy collecting in his palm as a series of spikes erupted from the earth. They shot up all around them, extending three feet before tapering into a sharp point. None attacked them directly, but the street became far more dangerous while also limiting Emerius’ available space. To Charon, however, it presented new opportunities. The skeletons marched forward between the rows of stone needles, obfuscating Charon’s position while he fled back into the house. Rather than run, he sat on the floor and closed his eyes, focusing on the energy once more. ’He could handle a few skeletons at once, but how about forty?’ His face was split with a wide smile as he found the energy in his core in record time, the mana swirling in an endless sea. Like before, he repeated the goal in his mind, forcing his body to acknowledge it as his sole intent. The sounds of battle continued just outside the house as he focused. A few times, he was tempted to break his concentration to see if Emerius was still alive, but he suppressed the feeling, knowing that they would need the extra manpower if they wanted to survive. A shiver went down his spine as he felt another of his summons die, but he ignored it, knowing that their sacrifice would buy him time. Reaching out to his ability, he grabbed it in a vice, instructing it with exactly what he wanted. He felt the energy shot up into his head and into his hand, the power activating as thirty-six souls were summoned at once. Unlike the other times, he didn’t enter the River Acheron, the summons being bound to him without needing to drag him from his position. Thirty-six portals appeared in the house, the familiar skeleton warriors stepping out in unison. With a gasp, Charon doubled over and vomited, his stomach emptying as his body went into shock. An unusual exhaustion overtook him, demanding that he sleep so he could regain his energy, but he refused. He should’ve known beforehand that he was too low a rank to try and summon so many creatures in such a short timeframe, but the situation wouldn’t allow him to delay. Mana exhaustion took its toll. ’I can’t pass out now, there’s a fight to win.’ He felt the Warden’s support in his mind, his first summon doing its best to empower him. ’Thank you.’ With shaky movements, he walked out of the house with his summons following close behind, their swords unsheathed and ready to wield. Outside, the battlefield had changed drastically. Dozens more spikes littered the area, and the road was caved in at various points to create potholes. Only two of the original five warriors and the leader still stood, his heater shield dented in the center. Emerius was still unharmed, but his breathing was heavy, his shoulders rising and falling in an uneven rhythm. The mage, by comparison, was covered in shallow cuts. Blood soaked his brown robes, turning them black in a dozen areas. The tattoo on his gut had a nasty scar bisecting it in the middle. Despite his wounds, he smiled like a madman, his hammer clutched in his hands. "What will you do now, swordsman? I can see you struggling, I can see your stamina waning! If you were as smart as you were agile, you would run back to the Fort and beg your High Elders for forgiveness!" Emerius didn’t respond, his hardened gaze piercing his foe as he crouched to launch in. Sensing an opportunity, Charon ordered his new summons to charge, their bony limbs rising and falling with quiet thuds as they surged across the cracked stones. The mage turned with a start, his smile wavering as he saw the horde of undead. "More corpses? Hardly fair! Haven’t you heard of gentlemanly warfare?" Charon just smirked, proud of his ability being put to use. ’Let’s see how he deals with that! Now Emerius should be able to land a fatal blow and end this idiot, so we can continue into the town!’ As the first skeleton reached the mage, something changed. The man’s warhammer had started to glow a golden hue, and the skeletons slowed. Their feet sank into the ground, the stone turning to mush. Emerius, too, seemed to struggle, being forced to grab onto a nearby spike to maintain his balance. The mage lazily walked forward, unaffected as he smashed the first skeleton to bits. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Things had been going so well up until now, and then you ruined it. Seriously, dude, way to kill the mood. It’s only fair that I kill you in turn, right?" The man pushed off the ground and launched himself at Charon, the hammer above his head as he sought to bring it down. Shocked by the sudden change, Charon grabbed his dagger and stuck his hands out, hoping to shield his head and chest from the attack. A strange energy coalesced in his palm before shooting out, smacking into the mage and causing him to slow and frown. The stone of the ground turned solid for only a second, the skeletons being pushed out just long enough to throw themselves at the attacker. Wide eyes lingered on Charon for only a moment before the man’s warhammer began to glow once more, the ground resoftening, but it was too late. The first skeleton reached him with a tackle, his blade stabbing into the man’s side and skewering him onto the ground. With a kick, it was pushed off, but the damage had been done. "You... you stabbed me! You really hurt me!" His growls turned angry as he began to scream in rage. "I’m going to kill you! I’m going to butcher you all and feed you to pigs!" He wrenched the sword free from his body as he sat up, blood pumping out of the new wound to trickle down and cover his once-blue jeans. The shaft of his hammer became a walking stick as he used it to pull himself to his feet. One hand cradled his stomach while his eyes turned to Charon, full of a burning hatred. His summons struggled in the sludge, trying desperately to reach the mage with limited results. Only the leader managed any meaningful progress, but his distance was still too great to get involved. "Time to die, bitch!"