Chapter 96: Druids, More and More
Fidia and Shor had indeed heard from their master about Glad, Abyss’s master, and his strong personality. They had also speculated numerous times about Abyss’s character based on gathered intelligence and assumptions. However, they never imagined Abyss would be such a difficult person to handle.
He was clearly kind-hearted, helpful, and adhered strictly to the Necromancer’s Four Tenets, yet he remained hidden when his familiar and thousands of innocent villagers’ lives were threatened, not even offering a reply. Was he afraid? But Fidia and Shor didn’t believe someone possessing such immense power would be easily frightened.
What was going on? What trick was he playing? Couldn’t he just play by the rules?
Shouldn’t a champion of justice always be passionate, willing to risk everything for innocent people and his woman?
Did this make sense?
“What’s wrong with your master! Isn’t he afraid we’ll kill you?” Fidia turned and grabbed Leona’s collar, glaring fiercely. “Damn it! Your whole family is messed up!”
“I can’t answer that question; I’m just a fighter,” Leona felt quite wronged. ABC had always been like this. But since the old hag had said “your whole family,” Leona decided not to argue.
“Iron Lilies! What are you waiting for? Conserving strength at a time like this? Keep pressuring the Druids! I refuse to believe we can’t force Abyss out! Get the Sage’s Blood, and we all get a share!” Shor, also confused by the situation, could only vent his frustration on the Iron Lily members.
The Iron Lily members had indeed increased the frequency of their attacks earlier. However, while they were fanatics who gloried in slaughtering elves, they weren’t stupid enough to throw everything away as cannon fodder for a group of Necromancers. Only a third of them had been charging initially. Hearing Shor, the higher-ranking Iron Lily members conferred and sent out more personnel. Now, slightly over half of the Iron Lilies were on the front lines – better than nothing.
Shor didn’t have the time to punish these disobedient thugs. He could only chant loudly, raising the corpses of fallen Iron Lily members to throw them back into the fight.
“Abyss Belator! You coward! Get out here! Exchange your Sage’s Blood for their chance to live!” Fidia, furious, amplified her voice countless times with magic, sending it to every corner of Keshel, deafeningly loud. “Druids! Do you really want to protect that coward? His selfishness is leading you to ruin! If he doesn’t come out! Keshel will become a land of death! Don’t wait for our master to intervene!”
Some Druids did waver upon hearing this, but they quickly dismissed the thought.
Master Belator was trustworthy; otherwise, the Sages wouldn’t respect him so much. Masters Arcaiste and Ambrosius hadn’t given any order to abandon Abyss, which meant they must have a plan! No need to overthink, just hold on! Should they distrust their own Sages and believe that a group of vicious Necromancers and elf-hating Iron Lilies would spare Keshel after they handed over their only bargaining chip, Abyss?
Druids weren’t socially adept, but they understood these stakes. Anyone who didn’t would get a slap on the back of the head and a scolding from an elder, leaving no room to doubt Abyss.
The Iron Lilies’ assault intensified. Many members transformed into animals charged forward, using various magics that often caught the Druids off guard.
However, they soon realized that despite their increased numbers, the battle didn’t feel easier; in fact, it felt somewhat draining.
An Iron Lily member transformed into an eagle had just pecked out the eye of a Druid transformed into a lion. Circling in the air on battered wings, he suddenly noticed something alarming. Forgetting the battle, he flew straight back to his side, opened his beak, and shouted.
“Vice-Commander! Bad news! The Druids are getting reinforcements! It seems they’ve abandoned the villagers and are focusing all their efforts on us! Could the Necromancers have tricked us?”
“What!?” Among the Iron Lily members, one who seemed to hold the highest rank immediately transformed into a giant python, reared up, and peered towards the village.
The eagle was right; the Druids were indeed receiving reinforcements! In his heat-sensing vision after transforming into a snake, many figures were rushing from the direction of the Druid gathering. Some had already joined the battle, while others were handling logistics and medical aid. All Druids possessed healing abilities; if given the chance to treat the wounded, their sustained combat capability would increase significantly.
“Shit! Shor! You bastard, you tricked us! Why are the Druids getting reinforcements!” The Vice-Commander was furious, shouting at Shor, who was busy manipulating his corpse puppets.
Shor, suddenly yelled at, glared back at the Vice-Commander, retorting angrily, “What nonsense are you spouting! My plague is still keeping the Druids busy! Who tricked you!”
“Haven’t you noticed more and more Druids joining the fight?” The Vice-Commander looked ready to attack Shor. “Your damn plague is useless! My members have suffered heavy losses! How will you take responsibility!”
“You dare curse me again?!” Shor raged. “They might have found a way to counter the current plague. I just need to mutate the plague ahead of schedule! Watch carefully with your dog eyes! This is the power of plague magic!”
Shor began chanting loudly again. Under his command, the dense magic around the Sacred Tree gathered near him, passed through his magic core, and rapidly spread outwards. This magic carried the command to mutate the plague. With these instructions, the plague would no longer follow the previous three-hour mutation cycle but would immediately transform into another form according to the caster’s will.
“Not only will I mutate the plague, but I’ll also have it directly kill some villagers! This is punishment!”
Shor’s gaze was dark. He had been full of confidence today, but he had faced too many setbacks. He was angry, and the consequences would be severe.
“Change!”
His command rapidly permeated the environment, reaching every corner of Keshel, and then, took effect.
But this time, Shor didn’t feel his spell activate. The feedback mechanism inherent in this large-scale magic didn’t report success.
It was as if… the magic had hit a stone wall…
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