"Atar!" Felix shouted over the screams of the onrushing horde. The fire mage looked at him before raising his hand to the sky and sending an Imbued Sparkbolt racing upward. Fifty feet in the air, it exploded.
Stone Shaping!
Influence of the Wisp!
Felix's channels burned as Mana poured from him in a torrent. Ten foot bulwarks of stone ripped from the ground ahead of them, the sides facing the monsters forming jagged spikes. Monkeys and insects slammed into it without stopping, while a ripple of blue-white fire enveloped nearly a hundred of the common monsters, many of whom were then trampled to death by their allies.
"Field of Flames!" Atar shouted before sending a stream of almost liquid fire arcing over the walls Felix just built. Screams filled the night as the monsters collided and died among the spikes and flames, but then the first of the Reforged reached his barrier.
And shattered right through it.
"UNGH!" Felix grunted. He felt his wall shatter like a physical blow, one that would have broken something only hours previous. More Reforged came through the gap, their immense shoulders chipping the barrier wider and wider. Their ice armor was now accompanied by deep panes of crimson, as if blood had been frozen to coat their grotesquely muscled forms.
Felix shook the pain off and nodded at Vess, but she was already moving.
"Wyrmling's Call!"
A ghostly dragon's head formed around Vess's own as the Skill activated, and a piercing roar cut through the monstrous noise. Even the Reforged were dazed for a brief instant, before they resumed their charge with a new, rabid intensity.
"It taunted!" Vess shouted. Felix knew her Skill had an equal chance to induce a Taunt or Fear Status Condition on those within range, and that it was entirely out of Vess' control. He grinned, and Vess smiled right back, her dimple showing. "Atar! Again!"
"Got it!"
Another two Imbued Sparkbolts shot up, bursting simultaneously in the dark sky.
Unfettered Volition!
Felix raced out, crossing the thirty feet to the nearest Reforged and swinging down with both his club and sword. No strike Skills or magic. The enhanced abomination didn't even try to dodge. The weapons caught it across the chest
and smashed it back into the ground.
*KATHOOOM!*
The Reforged fell, chest armor shattered by Felix's club while his Blade cut deep into the meat of his abdomen and back out through the bastard's groin. He whipped the Blade up and around, severing the creature's arm at the wrist as it reached for him, before plunging it straight into its heart.
You Have Killed A Reforged!
XP Earned!
Without pause, another Reforged lunged at him, and then another. He twisted around their attacks, but they were a lot faster now. He got blindsided and smashed to the side, sending both of his weapons flying from his grip. The Reforged that hit him followed after, while the rest were still affected by Vess' Taunt.
C'mon, Felix thought. He searched the sky. C'mon!
The Reforged warrior that came after him was nearly twenty five feet tall, an equal for his old pal Grimmar. Felix flexed his hands, letting Sovereign of Flesh thicken his dark scales. The Reforged howled, it's voice muffled by the jagged helm of ice around its head, and it bounded forward like an animal.
Shadow Whip!
Shadow Whip!
Dual cast, the black whips shot outward and snagged his weapons. With a sharp pitch, Felix brought the both of them smashing inward in an arc. The Blade hit first, stabbing straight through the Reforged's neck before the Femur smashed into its expanded deltoid. The force of the second strike catapulted his Blade the rest of the way through its neck, tearing its throat out completely.
You Have Killed A Reforged!
XP Earned!
Orange explosions shook him from his notification, swiftly followed by a rush of intensely hot air. Felix ran toward the source, yanking his weapons back to his hands. The Reforged had reached Atar and Vess and more were on the way. He had to fight them off, to give their plan a chance. Hethere!
Above the battlefield, a pale purple star blinked into existence.
"Where did?!" Felix heard Mud exclaim, but the rest was swallowed by the utter firestorm of Sparkbolts, Ice Arrows, Acid Drops, and Shadow Jaws that razed their forces. Mud screeched, like tortured metal. "Ambush at the rear! Attack!"
"HUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAR!" screamed a thousand voices in unison, as, from beyond the smashed gates came the sudden appearance of hundreds of warriors racing toward the monsters' flank. They appeared as if from nothing, but Felix could see the telltale quivers in the air. Thangle's Obfuscation had worked!
The shield wall raced ahead, the Iron Ranks supported by Bodie, Yan, Kelgan, even Portia and Alister. Thangle himself just behind them all, atop an avum armored for battle. His small fists stabbed into the air as the purple star above the battlefield exploded into streamers of violet vapor.
"Forced Calm!"
The Ghostfire Simians and Lesser Wretches stumbled and fell as lethargy inundated their senses, their counter charge stymied for a brief second. Their senses returned almost instantly, but by then they were engulfed in ice, flames, and shadow.
"No!" 55118 screamed, and that bastard boy laughed. Ahead, the Fiend bowled through the Reforged, his Father's perfect creations! The cursed creature's blade and bone were blurs of death and dismemberment, each strike fueled by such power. He started forward, but a hand held him back.
"He taunts you, 55118," his sister hissed. A series of vines had grown up around her arms as life Mana surged underfoot. "Do not be tricked!"
"They are killing our troops!" 55118 roared, and the Mana beneath the earth responded. "I'll end this now!"
The Arcid's hate flared, and he shook off the restraining hand of his peer. 55118 ran at Felix, his feet pounding the earth so much that it began to heave beneath him. He shouted to his troops, his voice a deep, resonating cry. "Kill them! Kill them all!"