Even using the corpses of powerful beasts or magicians, there was only a small chance for a Praetorian to be born instead of a simple Soldier. She emitted a gargling sound, calling all her minions to help in battle.
Lith was amazed by how even a sword Forgemasterd with fake magic could be so powerful, yet he had no time to waste. He was still one against three and according to Solus, Hatchling Clackers were incoming from all directions.
'Thanks to Invigoration I was back at my peak condition when the fight started and aside from Switch I have yet to use a strong spell. If I let them combine their attacks, I'm done for.' Lith thought.
The Mother and here Praetorians stepped back to safety. Once the caster died, the frozen wall crumbled leaving a hole in their formation.
"Curse you, human! I don't care anymore of taking you alive. I'll make sure you suffer like the inferior being you are!"
If it wasn't for Lith's "No speeches while fighting" policy, he would have liked to tell her that she had just taken the words out of his mouth. Lith Blinked again instead of bantering, sending the Brood Mother into a panic.
"He's behind us!" She yelled noticing no exit point had opened in front or above them. The four turned around at unison, unleashing several spells that turned the ground in front of them into what looked like an earthquake aftermath.
Yet aside from some Hatchlings that had managed to arrive faster than his brethren, the natural forces they unleashed only hit the air. Lith had actually Blinked into the pit. The exit point had escaped her detection thanks to the magical flames that were still burning the cocoons with enough strength to overwhelm the dimensional magic signature.
Being generated from Lith' own mana, those flames were harmless to him.
'She must be scared witless to keep using Life Vision like that.' Solus pointed out.
'If you manage to keep her on her toes and prevent her from using Invigoration, she won't last long.'
'Yeah, the problem is that the same goes for me. I can't Blink around too much without using Invigoration. Time to use my ace in the hole.' Lith thought. He hadn't created the small cloud just to use it as a cover.
It was also his contingency plan in case something went horribly wrong.
Before descending to the ground, he had separated with air magic the positive and the negative charges, turning it into a thundercloud. While his enemies were still attacking the ground, he used air magic on them.
He charged them positively and turned them into living lightning rods.
Real thunderbolts were much stronger than their magical counterparts, but it also made them much more dangerous. Lith wasn't immune to their fury, so he kept channelling his spell from his hiding spot.
Suddenly, the Brood Mother noticed that her and her Praetorians were glowing like a Christmas tree, yet she couldn't feel any negative effect.
"What treachery is this?" She said looking at her palms trying to understand what was happening. The answer came in the form of a rumbling sound from above.
The evolved Clackers looked up in the sky with a confused look, while their Queen went into a panic again.
"No, no, no!" She screamed trying to think of a solution.
"Infuse yourselves with earth magic and shield us with rocks! Quick, or we are all dead."
Lith inwardly cursed at his bad luck. It was the first time he had attempted that trick, so he had no idea it would be that slow. He started weaving several earth spells, while helplessly watching his enemies build a makeshift fortress.
When the first lightning bolt came down, the Clackers' protection held it at bay. The rock barrier had taken the brunt of the attack and most of the electricity that managed to reach them had been nullified by their earth fusion.
The flash had blinded them, the thunder almost deafened them and the resulting shockwave had killed many Hatchlings that were still trying to reach their queen to protect her. Yet the Brood Mother rejoiced.
"Yes! We will survive. Not even lightning can beat our combined spells!"
'What do you think I was waiting for?' Lith inwardly replied.
When the following thunderbolts came, he unleashed all of his spells at once, turning the fortress they had spent so much mana to build in a pile of dust.