Serpentlord (Rise To Omniscience Book 9), page 24
In answer, the cultist whirled, green light coating her fingers. Morgan caught the blow, then punched her, the gauntlet tripling in size before it smashed into her upper body. The gnome’s arm remained clutched in his hand as the rest of her was torn away, the force of his punch shattering bones and rupturing internal organs.
With a sound of disgust, Morgan dropped the arm, then turned to face the four beasts, just as they did him. The entire series of attacks had been blindingly quick, so fast that none of the beasts had had a chance to react. Or, more likely, just simply hadn’t cared to.
“Why did you all join up with Strangler?” he asked, looking between the beasts. “I can understand those of other races agreeing to be subservient to another, but beasts?”
The strongest, a creature with five serpentine heads and the body of a canine, stepped forward, his heads hissing out in unison. Some Pinnacle beasts contained the ability for limited speech, although many of them opted not to speak at all.
“We were onccce weak,” the serpentine heads hissed. “The dregsss of our kind. Ssstrangler made us ssstrong. Ssso long asss we carry her mark, we remain that way. No mortal will ssstand againssst ussss. Not even you, Beassst King!”
“You seem to have mistaken me for someone else,” Morgan replied, his brows coming down. “What I cannot understand is why you’d give up your free will in exchange for power. If you want to die as slaves, then I will be happy to oblige.”
“You think you can bessst usss becaussse you defeated Havock. But he didn’t ussse the giftsss our massster bessstowed upon usss.”
Morgan shot into the air as the five heads extended, Strangler’s green light visible in their throats. Acid poured over the ground in a wave, hissing and bubbling as it melted grass, dirt, and stone.
He turned in the air just in time to be tackled by the second beast, a dog-headed lizard with gleaming green eyes. It radiated Strangler’s power, and Morgan could feel the Starforged armor beginning to give way. Still, even as he was slammed back into the ground, he reacted, summoning a half-dozen glittering black spears, all charged and primed to go.
They lanced into the beast’s side, cracking with electricity and sinking into its flesh. The beast howled as it was tossed free, giving Morgan the chance to teleport away. He was glad he had, as the other two beasts attacked, unleashing condensed beams of green power.
It seemed that in addition to making the beasts stronger, Strangler’s abilities had leaked into theirs, just as they did with normal cultists. However, unlike the regular cultists, these beasts were actually a serious threat. Morgan had faced Strangler’s corrosive power before and knew he could be injured or even killed by it if he wasn’t careful.
While initially, it might have seemed like a good idea to go toe to toe with these beasts, now, he realized that he simply couldn’t take the risk. He was too important to too many people to allow himself to be killed because of some reckless action on his part. As the snake-headed beast aimed upward, unleashing a hail of small green bolts, Morgan reached for one of his Superior skills.
Soulstream would be perfect for this particular fight. He didn’t want to risk a skill like Meteoric Downfall when there might be others around, nor did he want to risk using his Light or Infernal Star, much for the same reason. His Continental Collapse was definitely out of the question, so he was left with only one real option.
Morgan continued dodging the attacks thrown at him, twisting and moving between the lunging beasts and floating even higher as he activated his Soulstream. His body began radiating a brilliant, violet light, even as his RP was reduced by 7,125. The base cost for the skill was actually 9,500, but with his King of Eternity title, the cost of all skills was reduced by 25 percent.
The violet light hovered just a few inches from his skin, long claws forming at the tips of his fingers and a bushy tail extending from the back. The light sharpened over his face, taking on a more bestial cast as the skill reflected the beast of his past. Just like last time, Morgan could feel the Beast King’s consciousness blending with his own, sharpening his senses and increasing his power and regeneration tenfold.
It had been quite some time since Morgan had unleashed power of this magnitude, and while his Meteoric Downfall and Star skills were powerful, Soulstream was on a whole other level. And that wasn’t even to mention the power of his Ultimate skills, neither of which he’d used since his fight with the goddess Sarah.
Taking these beasts on wouldn’t tax him nearly as much, so he was fairly confident he could take them on without issue.
He dove, landing on the ground faster than any of these beasts could follow, then unleashed a series of quick punches. Four forged gauntlets appeared, flashing into being and slamming into each of the beasts as he punched. Screams and howls of pain sounded as they were all driven back in separate directions, the force of the blows breaking their toughened bones.
Morgan darted to his left, angling for the five-headed snake beast first. The creature hissed its displeasure, trying to strike at him, but with his massive increase in speed, the beast seemed almost to be standing still. He easily wove between the heads, ducking beneath its body and lashing out with his clawed fingers extended.
The blow punched straight through to the beast’s core, and with a vicious yank, Morgan tore the core from the beast’s chest. He whirled, flashing across the distance to the next beast in line. He wove between a series of acidic blasts, not even pausing for an instant. A sword formed in his hand as he slashed upward, neatly severing the lizard-like head from the beast’s body before turning to the next.
The other two were still slow to react, their attacks traveling through the air at a snail’s pace. Morgan easily wove between them, his hand flashing out and latching around the beast’s throat. His clawed fingers curled inward, and with a vicious ripping motion, slashed it wide open, leaving the beast to drop to the ground and bleed out.
He spun, teleporting right inside the last beast’s reach. A closed fist crashed into the side of its head, plowing it into the ground hard enough for it to rebound. The beast screamed as Morgan’s claws plunged into its left eye and straight up to its brain. Morgan ripped his hand free, then stepped back, allowing the bodies of the four beasts to fall to the ground.
He looked at them, twitching and bleeding, and felt an odd sense of disappointment. These were supposed to be Pinnacle Beasts, the most powerful creatures to walk Somerset, and yet, he’d defeated them all in less time than it had taken to teleport them here. Had he gotten so powerful that he’d never fight another challenging battle again?
Morgan shook off that petty notion, knowing well enough that if he wanted a powerful opponent, all he needed to do was go over to where the World Beasts were clashing. He also reminded himself that despite his power, there were still several gods probably plotting his demise. One, he’d managed to defeat. But having to fight all the rest at once would surely mean his end.
He held a hand up, noting the blood trickling off the claws as part of the glowing cloak covered him. Soulstream would last an entire fifteen minutes, and he’d barely used a few seconds. It would be a shame to dismiss such an amazing skill after such a short amount of time. Knowing this, he cast his senses wide, trying to get a feel for the battle.
Katherine was faring well against her opponent and had almost beaten the beast, so he wasn’t going to interfere there. Instead, he focused on the battle, which was currently raging across the walls and in the immediate vicinity of the inside. He took a deep breath, sensing Sarah flying high above the walls and raining destruction down from up high.
He needed to find a way to tip this battle in their favor while freeing up their most powerful fighters, and he had a pretty good idea of how he could do that. The world warped around him as he teleported back to the walls, ignoring the sounds of fighting below, the clashing of weapons, cannon blasts, and the blood and viscera painting the battlefield.
Morgan appeared near the closest still-functional cannon and blasted it to pieces with a single blow.
“Get everyone off the walls,” he yelled at a nearby group of elves. “I’m bringing it down!”
They stared at him for several seconds, not comprehending what he was saying. But when a group of trolls and cultists charged him and Morgan eviscerated the lot with a single swipe of his hand, they jumped to obey his commands, shouting for all within earshot to abandon their positions.
Morgan began flying along the wall, destroying every cannon he came across and passing along the order. At one point, Sarah flew down to join him, looking him over with a scrutinizing gaze.
“You’re completely unhurt,” she noted, giving him a smile.
“I can’t say the same about you,” Morgan said, noting the long red lines tracing her left arm and the dents in her armor.
“Yeah,” Sarah said, looking at her arm. “I had a run-in with another pack of beasts that were being controlled. They did this to me while I was freeing them.”
Morgan nodded but was aggravated with himself for not being there to help.
“Don’t give me that look,” Sarah said as he destroyed another cannon.
“What look?” Morgan asked.
“You know what I’m talking about,” Sarah replied, extending a hand and sending a hail of red and blue ice bolts through a group of cultists who thought they could take them on. “The look you have when I get hurt. That look where you blame yourself for what happened. I appreciate everything you do for me, and I love you for it, but you can’t constantly be babying me. I’m an adult, and thanks to you, I have the opportunity to take care of myself.”
“That doesn’t mean I can’t worry,” Morgan said defensively as he tossed a screaming cultist from the wall.
“You can worry all you want, just like I worry for you. Just don’t let that get in the way of what we’re doing here,” Sarah said, punching a troll in the face and shattering his skull.
“We can both be worried about each other. That’s what being in love does to people,” she continued turning to face him. “But loving someone also means not blaming yourself for every bad thing that happens to them.”
Her lips quirked up in a smile then, and Morgan returned the grin only for their moment to be ruined by a screeching gnome.
Morgan growled, whirling in place and punching the bearded bastard in the stomach. His small body was ripped in half, organs, blood, and entrails littering the walls as he flew.
“That,” Sarah said, watching the upper half of the gnome’s body sail away, “is beyond gross.”
Morgan let out a sigh, turning his attention back to the matter at hand.
“Is everyone on our side off the walls?” he asked, craning his neck one way and then the other.
“There might be a few stragglers left,” Sarah said. “I’ll do a quick flyby to make sure.”
Morgan watched her as she took off, then turned his attention back to destroying what few cannons remained. He flew higher as he finished traveling down the line, taking a better vantage to watch over the battle. The cloak of his Soulstream still burned around him, but despite the urge to take action that the bestial part of him was pushing, he remained where he was.
From his viewpoint, he could see everything. The neat and orderly lines from before had devolved into a chaotic scramble. Foe and ally alike were intermingled, their forces fighting in small groups rather than as a cohesive unit.
Blood and gore, as well as thousands of bodies, littered the walls and ground below. This battle was truly horrifying to behold.
His gaze flicked to a spot where the earth was writhing, turning to spikes and dealing out death. A massive hammer glittered, and a creature made entirely of metal charged alongside the dwarf wielding it. It seemed that Ivaldi, the dwarven smith who’d crafted his spear, had decided to join his king in battle.
Malachi was nowhere to be seen. He’d decided to abstain from this fight, forging on ahead with his scouts to get a better lay of the land.
Katherine was just finishing off her own beast, the creature crumpling into a bloodied heap as the Queen of the North raised her bloodstained mace high. She looked to have taken several injuries, but when she turned, searching for her next opponent, Morgan knew she’d be fine.
“Everyone who counts is off the walls.”
Morgan turned as Sarah flew up to him, her icy wings trailing sparkling water as she did.
“How much longer do you have with those?” he asked, noting some cracking on the wings.
“Another five minutes, maybe a little less,” she replied, eyeing the wings dubiously.
Unlike his own skill, which would allow him to remain airborne so long as he had RP to burn, Sarah’s wings were tethered to her Construct skill, which had a timer. It wouldn’t run out for thirty minutes, but when it did, it would need an equal amount of time to recharge.
“Retreat to the opposite side of the wall,” Morgan said as he began to drift higher. “I’m about to bring this battle to an end.”
Sarah gave him a nod, then flapped her cracking wings and picked up speed, heading in Katherine’s direction.
Morgan watched her go as he rose higher and higher into the air. With his skill, his RP regenerated at an astonishing rate. This ensured that he could fly as high as he wanted while it was active and not run the risk of running out. Still, as he reached roughly two thousand feet, Morgan figured that going any higher wouldn’t really make much difference.
Taking one look around at the majestic landscape, noting how the world curved, and seeing the destruction of the World Beasts, Morgan turned back to the ground and dropped like a stone.
37
Elyssa stood amid a pile of bodies, her Liquid Stone flowing around her like water. The way she controlled stone was in much the same way as those who controlled water or ice. It flowed like water, washing over her enemies, hardening to solid rock when it suited her, before turning back to a liquid once more.
In all her previous battles, Gilderon had been by her side, fighting right along with her. But this time, she was all alone. She still had her honor guard, but they could hardly keep up. Besides, she didn’t want anyone else to take Gilderon’s place. It just wouldn’t have been the same.
She was vaguely aware of the others fighting. Sarah was clearing the walls of the remaining cannons, Katherine battling some massive and terrifying beast, and Morgan was…Where was Morgan?
Elyssa paused for a moment, allowing her guards to take up the slack and taking a breather. She didn’t technically need one, but using so many skills in a row was tiring. Pulling a rag from inside her armor, she wiped at her face, removing blood and sweat. This was the first real battle they were in, and the small skirmishes they’d been fighting up until now were nothing compared to this.
Their own forces were holding up well – it didn’t seem like Shedra had committed a particularly large force to the border wall – and the battle was swinging in their favor. But they were nowhere near done just yet, and the enemy had thrown several surprises at them.
She watched Katherine’s small figure deal a devastating blow, dropping the beast she was fighting, winning a small victory for their side. The caged beasts the enemy had been deploying were difficult to deal with, especially those fitted with collars. They fought with vicious abandon, seeming enraged and hate-filled.
Those they’d managed to free had, surprisingly, fled. But targeting the collars was difficult, especially when the beast was bearing down on you.
There was a loud cry from behind her, and Elyssa whirled to see soldiers running from the wall. Her brows came down as she was momentarily confused. That was until she saw the purple streak flashing down from above.
Cursing silently to herself, Elyssa reached for her Liquid Stone, pouring thousands of RP into the skill and raising a wall between her soldiers and the falling man. The impact was immense as the purple-cloaked Morgan slammed into the wall. The shockwave, however, was even more devastating. Elyssa’s wall shattered, along with the border wall.
The explosion tossed her clean off her feet, sending her bouncing head over heels until she managed to stop herself by digging her feet in. The ground furrowed as she pulled it around herself, arresting her momentum and giving her a chance to view the damage that had been done.
A massive cloud of dust hung over the area, the wall reduced to a pile of smoking rubble. From the cloud walked Morgan, his body blazing with violet light. Elyssa felt the pressure then, the overwhelming sense of sheer terror and despair.
It pressed down on her shoulders, threatening to drive her to her knees. Sweat broke out all along her forehead and back, her legs beginning to tremble as Morgan’s presence seemed to increase.
“Enough!” the monster made of flesh roared, causing the very air to tremble. “I have killed your beasts, destroyed your walls, and shattered your weapons. Anyone who does not lay down their arms and surrender by the count of five will be killed!”
His voice echoed, vibrating through her body and making her want to obey, despite her own considerable power.
“One!”
Elyssa had to fight against the compulsion to kneel, but the enemy soldiers could not. As one, they all dropped their weapons, falling to their knees and cowering in terror. Well, almost all of the enemy soldiers. The cultists all remained standing, stubbornly glaring at him.
Elyssa expected Morgan to keep counting, perhaps trying to force the cultists into submission, but shockingly enough, he didn’t. He attacked. His body vanished, brief flashes of purple appearing and disappearing. Each flash marked the death of a cultist. It hardly took any time at all, barely a handful of seconds at most.
The cultists didn’t have a chance to react, their bodies blown to pieces. Morgan appeared near the very last one, a cultist standing some ten feet to her left.
“I thought you were going to count to five,” the cultist said, growling through his teeth.
“I lied,” Morgan replied before ripping the gnome in half.
