Chapter 441 Archive (1)
Chapter 441 Archive (1)
Ashton had the beasts pinned under the thick foliage of the forest for cover. Sadly, there was only so much the trees could have done, and their safe space was rapidly shrinking. The raining poison was too potent for the trees to outstand the relentless barrage.
Whenever the beasts tried to fall back, Ashton pushed the cloud further in their direction using [Wind Manipulation], causing more devastation over and over. But when all seemed lost, many flying creatures appeared on the horizon and rapidly flew in his direction.
"What are they, kamikaze birds or something?"
[No, they are something that'll ruin your day.]
"What?"
[Have patience and learn something yourself.]
Although a bit taken aback by such suicidal manoeuvre, Ashton wasn't all that worried about them. No matter how large and robust those flying creatures were, they won't stand a chance against [Scorching Rain].
Therefore, it surprised him when they didn't die even after spending minutes under the bloody rain. The birds covered the clouds, giving the beasts a fighting chance without worrying about the rain.
"How the hell are these birds not dying yet?" Ashton cursed out in frustration.
[They have some special coating on themselves which they use to adapt to the harsh environment of Occuna. It seems their coat is resistant to your little concoction. Simply put, no matter how deadly your skill is, it's useless if it can't enter the target's body.]
While he was focused on the birds, the beasts on the ground charged at him. Despite trying to move the clouds away from the birds, Ashton had little success stopping the beasts as the raven-like birds quickly covered any gaps he created.
Ashton was caught in a dilemma. If he focused on the birds, the beasts on the ground would eventually break through the walls. But if focused on the beasts, more and more of them would keep charging in and swarm him. In a flash, all the progress he made was ruined.
'I need to stall them till I get rid of those pesky birds.'
Summoning the Bone goliath had consumed most of the skeletons available, and the Goliath himself wouldn't have been nearly enough to stop the horde for an extended time.
'Time to fight like a necromancer.'
[Translation: you want to fight like a bitch?]
'You're a part of this bitch, so shut the fuck up.'
Although Ashton wasn't particularly fond of summoning an army to fight in his stead, he didn't have a choice in the matter. The support from a few zombies he could call from Valhalla will have to be enough.
But then it clicked him; there was someone who specialised in disrupting a cluster of monsters. Someone he had long since forgotten about.
Almost instantaneously, a portal opened behind him. It wasn't the one leading to [Valhalla] but to the Eastern Palace on Earth. As soon as the portal opened, someone popped their head through it.
"You... Want something?" A surprisingly calm and soothing voice asked him.
"It's nice to meet you too, Ursa." Ashton casually greeted the siren, "I see you found some clothes."
"I thought you didn't like seeing me naked, so I thought I'd wear something." Ursa smiled, "I can take them off if you like?"
"Not now, first get here. I'm in need of your help." Ashton mumbled while cancelling [Heaven's Downfall] skill so he didn't accidentally kill her.
Ursa did as told and immediately realised what was going on, "The horde; you want me to distract them, right?"
Ashton nodded, "But don't worry, you won't be alone."
Saying so, he opened yet another portal, which led to [Valhalla]. However, instead of something coming out, a portion of the undead world itself fell out of the portal, becoming one with the ground below.
Within moments, something weird happened. Countless hands reached out of the portion of [Valhalla], ripping it apart to reveal forty zombies climbing out of there.
Unlike the skeletons, these Zombies weren't as mindless as some other creatures but carried specialised weaponry. Some of them carried swords and battleaxes, while some had a shield twice as large as their bodies. A few even took bows and arrows, and the rest were mages.
All of them bowed before Ashton, eagerly waiting for his command.
"Ensure her safety, that's all. I don't care about anything else." Ashton commanded beforE flying towards the birds above.
The zombies nodded and assumed a defensive formation with Ursa at the centre. At the same time, Goliath stood in front of them like an impregnable wall.
[Skill: Aggravate has been activated.]
The aerial beasts saw Ashton coming and immediately attacked him. As he neared them, Ashton realised why Scorching Rain did not affect them. Their wings were made of some metal that protected them.
However, their metal wings weren't strictly used for defence, as Ashton realised a moment later.
Hundreds of birds threw themselves at him like javelins. The control they had over themselves was impressive. Even with [Wind Manipulation], Ashton would have struggled to pull off manoeuvres like them.
Sadly for the birds, just because Ashton couldn't match them, it didn't mean he couldn't disrupt them. Instead of using [Wind Manipulation] to move away from them, he used it to pull the birds towards him.
Ashton struck as many of them as he could using [Aggravate], making them bleed uncontrollably.
At the same time, Ursa let out [Siren's Cry], attracting the beasts towards herself. Ashton and Ursa attacked the beasts on two fronts simultaneously, causing an uproar among the beasts.
This sudden attack was Ashton's makeshift plan, and he decided to render it useless when he caught on someone kind of centralised intelligence controlling the beasts.
After all, counter-attacking two different fronts at once would be difficult regardless of how intelligent the one controlling the beasts was.
'It's just the beginning.' Ashton thought, and dove towards the monsters headed towards Ursa.
Enraged birds followed him since he had angered them. Everything happened so quickly that the beasts had no chance of survival.
As they neared the beasts, Ashton retracted his wings and fell to the ground. However, the birds couldn't abruptly stop their momentum. As a result, the birds hit the beasts like bullets from a high-calibre machine gun.
Each bird hit around a dozen of beasts. As a result, thousands of beasts were dead and more were injured. Still, thousands of creatures were alive, and it would have taken hours to kill them all by himself.
Thankfully, Ashton wasn't by himself. After all, no one could have done a better job scavenging than the Wraith wolves.
Another portal opened up, and this time, hundreds of wraith wolves climbed to hunt down the survivors.
[Hm, they have been breeding a lot more than I thought they would. Well, it's a good thing. Now you don't have to worry about them dying often.]
'I'm no Xyran. I care about them as I care about my summons.'
[...you make me regret being a Xyran more than anyone in the universe.]
"What's going on here?" Vimur questioned as soon as Kass landed the ship, "I'm not hallucinating, am I? Beasts are attacking each other, and Reaper is chilling amongst them?"
"They are his pets," Anna replied while patting the nearest Wraith wolf's head, "Don't worry, they won't harm anyone unless Reaper instructs them. Either way, let's make ourselves useful, shall we? Call everyone else for clean up."
"On it!" Ricochet exclaimed and contacted the rest of the mercenaries.
The horde had been dealt with; however, their job was far from over.