A New Dawn 133 Battle of the Wild Mountains : Part 1

"It was time." Moving her small muscles to wake up her body, Leilade began to approach the holographic globe that was in the middle of the room. Seeing so much completely dark, with so little white, she wondered how they will discover the rest, and in what state. From where they were, she could see the big white dot representing the Hero right next to them. Turning her head, only Malakov was present for the moment.

Like her, everyone else had used those last days to rest their bodies and their minds. It was just that they did not have the possibility of having a soul guarding their self while allowing some peace to their minds. "Empress, many powerful magicians have arrived recently. But none that could become truly problematic." The lich had complete confidence in the dark arts he used, reinforced by his centuries of existence.

"That means the Archmage is still not here. Yet. Only a fool would not understand that this is the best chance to get rid of us, even if he was extremely weak. As for his sleeping problem, did we ever encountered something like that?" At those words, both Malakov and the Viscount were mute. It was not that having a hard time to sleep was that uncommon, just that it was extremely easy to induce sleep to the human body. Months, where someone that was supposed to be powerful could not rest, was unthinkable for them.

"No, he will come. And I don't even need to receive another news from that princess to know it. We didn't receive anything, right?" Freezing for a second to check all the corners of the base, the lich shook his skull. "No, Empress. The only thing that came inside was that small probe from yesterday night. But they did not manage to uncover anything, I can assure you."

"Assure what?" Kardel was the first to arrive, immediately taking a seat in the comfy chair nearby. But as expected, Malakov did not even look at him and continued like he never said anything. "I have already destroyed all the non-essential undead and the legions are ready. If the first to enter is not a Hero, he will not cross the first room alive."

The plan of the underground base was firstly designed to be a true fortress. If the first corridors were made of natural stone, the later parts and the shortcut with the teleportation sigil were reinforced with magic. Even Ymir with his full strength would have a hard time breaking the wall. "And the shortcut?" She had let complete control over the defense to Davion and Kardel, both far more expert at holding a point and infiltrating a fortress.

"Still active, only, with a slightly different destination." The duvodiad had an evil smile while saying this, something that even the lich agreed on. As for Leilade, it was fine as long as it was not linked to this room. "Empress." "Empress." Both Davion and Meridiana arrived at the same time, leaving the lich that brought them here behind. Now that they were five, however, space was getting a bit tight to watch the small screens.

Sensing the stares of the three subordinates, Malakov had no choice but to enlarge them, even if he was inwardly complaining about wasting mana. Like that, they waited a long time, before finally seeing the Hero walking in front. From what Ymir understood, he was called Avirus, the Butcher of the North. But to them, he was only a massive amount of mana if he was alone. Behind him, they could see hundreds of soldiers following him.

"Davion?" Pondering a bit, the orodil gave his opinion. "They are bait. Expendable troops. Or they are providing a disguise to highly trained veterans, to the cost of having inferior equipment. See those armors, it has the emblem of the 2nd Legion of Massalia, not the first. And even if they are walking in order, there are gaps sometimes."

"In short, they won't past the second room alive." The duvodiad was still smiling while saying this. Even if he interrupted Davion, the latter did not seem to care about that, more focused on the actions of the Hero. Behind the first group of soldiers, many were waiting in line, but some were beginning to leave in a specific direction. In front, a group of hooded silhouettes was calmly walking.

"They are the ones that sent the probe. Do I take care of them?" The lich, like everyone besides the duvodiad, could feel that they were different from those that stayed the last week. Even if for Meridiana, it was almost imperceptible, the gap between the two groups was evident for the others. But for the moment, the little girl had no intention of unveiling what they had in their bag. "No, this will only be used when the Archmage appears. They will soon see how useless it was to dig that hole."

The location where the humans had gathered was not very far from where the trolls were sleeping. The only issue was that, by going so far away, it was not really helping them advance. If all the tunnels were connected, they only touched the main structure at one specific intersection. So in the end, they could avoid the first few dozens of meters, but they won't be able to bypass the hundreds remaining. That was also why Leilade had to walk so much when trying to go from the forge of Agnil to the trolls.

Noticing the Hero getting really close to the main gate, Malakov looked at the little girl, that nodded her head. The rest could see the massive gate slowly opening, while the wall of darkness blocking the sight was fully displayed. The reactions from the humans were mixed, from frowning for the Hero to sometimes shuddering for the soldiers behind him.

But soon, the first of Avirus began to glow, and he transpierced the wall like it was nothing. Well, in fact, it truly was nothing, that was one of the most basic spells used by dark sorcerers to scare their enemies. The cost in mana was so ridiculously low because of just being able to absorb light. From this point of view, forcing the Hero to use his power just to destroy that wall could even be considered a win.

However, his action seemed to have calmed the soldiers, and some were even shouting. "Can we have better sound?" The first to complain was, of course, the duvodiad, because while they could hear stuff, sometimes, it was not clear. "That is the extent that I can transmit before they truly find those spirits. Or maybe you want us to be blind and deaf?" Faced against that, Kardel could only raise his hands in the air, admitting defeat. He had only said that to bother the lich since he knew Malakov probably did the maximum.

After that small exchange, they could all see the humans beginning to enter the first room. Inside, the last remaining ghosts were present. At this point, only three were still alive, but they were no match against a Hero. Only by using his own body, the human was able to inflict significant damage to the ethereal monster. In a few seconds, the last patch of spirits was dissipated in the air. However, that was not the end.

Right before Avirus could enter the left corridor, the statues that were previously immobile began to leave their pedestals and wave their weapons at the unfortunate soldiers. The sudden movement, coupled with the terrifying aura they had managed to surprise the humans. The closest soldiers did not even have the time to raise their shields before being smashed into a pulp by the massive weapons. In a hurry, Avirus began to rush toward the unexpected foes, but in a way, it was too late.

The common soldiers were able to slowly wither the statues while they were waiting for help, but the cost was huge. Hundreds of kilograms of stones crushed bones and flesh alike, encountering no resistance from the human body. Some injured were already beginning to retreat and left the tomb in a hurry, showing blood in the outside. The only reason there wasn't more death was the pitiful number of statues.

That still managed to stop the progress of the army for a few minutes, where everyone including Avirus left the underground base. The spirits controlled by Malakov could not hear the content of their discussions, but they still managed to see who was talking. A few mages, easily recognizable by their robes, the Hero, an old man and some officers slightly younger but definitively old. In the vicinity, a few young humans were present, with one being the princess they met, wearing the same armor she had.

From what they could see, most were encircling the oldest of them all, that was quite impassive. But, apparently, the Hero was not really happy with this, arguing vehemently against the other general. Fuming, he stomped forward in the direction of the tomb, making others look at him weirdly. This time, soldiers from Avenio were following their general, visibly less afraid than their predecessors.

"Just this and they are already like this? it's a shame I wasn't present, I would have enjoyed messing with their minds even more." The succubus was twirling her hair a bit, regretting the fact that as the weakest of the survivors, she was forced to stay inside the base. "Even if you are right, do you think the gods would have let you escape? Or wouldn't have seen you for what you really are? They managed to see me."

Kardel quickly destroyed what she imagined. Looking at the beast in human form, she knew that if someone was capable of finding a duvodiad want the latter did not want to be found, her disguise would not last any longer. And if she could manipulate her body to a lesser extent than Kardel and not use a single spell, a succubus was emitting far more mana than a human, betraying her nature. But in those last days, even weeks, in fact, she had nothing to do so she was bored.

"Kardel, get in position. He is angry and prone to make mistakes." The cold voice of Davion brought the two back to reality. Picking up the energy rifle next to him, he began to leave the room, before turning one last time.

"The first spot?"

"No, the second. Let him gain confidence."

"As you wish."

Not truly understanding what the two were up to, Leilade could only see the Hero stop and gaze at the vast room in front of him and what was inside. Many barricades were positioned along the way, in a slight slope going upward. Rows of skeleton archers were also positionned both at the end and on the side of the way. Ramparts were dug inside the very walls, with only one entrance being on the opposite side.

The rest of the soon to be battlefield was filled with a white and silver color. Hundreds of undead warriors, that were previously as immobile as a statue began to move their skulls to look at Avirus. Their empty sockets where their eyes should have been stared at him, awaiting any movement from the human.

Chapter end