Chrysalis Chapter 1737 - Things Took Quite the Turn For the Worse

Exhaustion started to infiltrate the War Bishop's very bones, while his mace grew heavier moment by moment, worsening the sharp ache pulsing in his wrist. In typical situations, he could battle through an entire day without pause, yet staying near the creature required him to linger inside its accursed Domain spell. The strain of pushing back against its power had worn him down heavily, and his capacity to keep resisting was fading swiftly.

Perspiration trickled across his features as he pressed on with the combat, oblivious to the grimace distorting his expression or the intense loathing flaring in his gaze. Nothing else counted except for bringing down this cursed beast.

Warriors from Green Mountain kept unleashing devastation upon the creature, with incantations and projectiles slamming into it without cease using brutal might, hurling fragments of its crystalline shell whirling through the sky. Thrown off kilter, the beast twisted in place, weaving back and forth as it blocked and evaded at unnatural quickness before dropping low for just an instant.

Driven by pure reflex, Graham darted aside as brilliance erupted from the monster and it barreled forward again, shattering their lineup, shoving away the fighters who had tried to pin it in place, and compelling them to start over. Fortunately, it didn't stray too distant this round, letting him close the gap with merely one Dash.

Which thrust him straight back into the Domain's grasp.

Despite the fiery protests from his muscles, Graham refused to yield and kept stoking the blaze inside, consuming his own life force to sustain his power. Surely this abomination had to display some vulnerability, it simply had to!

They had clashed for what felt like an eternity! He'd lost track of how often they'd fractured and scarred its ridiculously durable shell; they'd even drawn its blood!

Still, no matter where he searched, the monster showed no major injuries whatsoever. No matter the harm they inflicted or the torment they piled on, that swift healing showed no signs of stopping. Fissures started closing the instant they appeared, sections sliced off reformed within minutes. Whenever they pierced through to wound the tender tissue below, recovery seemed to accelerate even more!

Even more dire, regardless of the beast's combat style, the ways it deployed its Skills and powers, or the mana it burned through, depletion never came. After everything they'd thrown at it, the thing behaved just as it had at the battle's outset, whereas the Judgement Battalion sank deeper into weariness.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

Now it was obvious what the monster had aimed for from the beginning: it had no plans to truly battle them, merely to sap their vigor.

As the ant's allies let out their war shout and surged ahead, Graham realized the situation had worsened dramatically. When the Ape creature bellowed and emerged, concern gripped him. When shadowy tendrils burst from his own silhouette, aiming to burrow into his mind, terror took hold.

“Focus on the ant!” he bellowed. “We bring it down!”

Failing right here was unthinkable. They embodied the fist of Judgement, the hammer of the Church, and the guardians of the light. Who would follow the Path without trusting its protectors? Graham had never once missed his quarry, and he had no intention of changing that now.

“Curse Magic! Watch out!” someone shouted.

“Suppress it!” Graham commanded. “Feed the flames!”

Raising his mace, he focused inward for a fleeting second, obeying his own directive as he channeled greater amounts of his vitality into the Battalion's shared blaze. His comrades followed suit, emptying their remaining reserves to empower their allies.

Power flooded through Graham, and he lifted his mace high.

“Unleash the Sword of Judgement!”

With those words, he propelled himself at the ant. If they could hold it in place briefly, that would suffice. Regardless of its resilience or endurance, a breaking point existed, and Graham would uncover it, whatever the price.

Bellowing fiercely, he swung the mace downward, radiance bursting from the armament and sweeping in a broad sweep. True to form, the ant countered before the motion fully started, snapping its mandibles forward to deflect his strike. It made no difference, as countless others mirrored the assault, hammering its shell and limbs while their essence ebbed away.

Light Shapers seized that force and shaped it, crafting the massive sword of searing brilliance right above the ant's form.

Graham felt sure it anticipated the attack. The how didn't concern him, just the fact that it did.

“Target the legs! Keep it pinned!” he thundered.

Dozens heeded his shout, lashing out at the creature's six limbs in a frantic bid to immobilize it.

This time, the ant made no effort to evade, neither jumping nor Dashing or shifting aside. Crystalline shards exploded, viscous fluid gushed, and sinew tore as the Judgement Battalion poured forth a storm of attacks.

Rather, the ant tilted backward, lifted its head to the almost-formed blade looming twice as large as itself in the air, and parted its mandibles broadly.

The event that followed, Graham could scarcely ever describe adequately.

There was light.

Then there was darkness.

Then there was silence.

And then all became fire.