Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Chapter 197: The Undead Horde [Part 2]

Desmond was supposed to be a part of Lucius's group pushing deeper into the area where the undead tended to originate every night. However, at the last-minute plans were changed up and he was asked to assist in the defense of the camp.

Desmond held no complaints about the request because it did mean he could keep a better eye on his sister who was not capable of fighting in a place like this. She had no Compatibilities at all and her mark was rather useless in an area like this.

Jade possessed the Mark of Water Control. If she were near a body of water she could manipulate it to her heart's content. At their academy back home, she was a rather terrifying opponent as it was on a small island and they were surrounded by infinite amounts of ammo for her to use whenever and however she desired.

The only water near here was reserved in canteens, buckets, and other containers. The nearest body of water for her to use to defend herself was almost a twenty-minute walk away. Jade was no slouch with a shortsword, but she would likely struggle with fighting off the undead.

Shortly after Lucius left with a small group of experienced fighters, the undead suddenly appeared. They materialized out of the ground and from the walls of the ruins. Among the monsters were skeletons, zombies, and other strange abominations like flesh golems.

Individually, most undead were weak, but their strength lay in numbers. 'Numbers' was certainly something they had. In mere moments, the front line was overwhelmed and hundreds of undead creatures poured into one of the camp entrances.

Desmond flew into action with a strong opening attack meant for large groups of targets, "[Spear Arts: Aura Sweep]"

A large wave of golden mana arced at the oncoming skeletons and cut through their aged bones like a hot knife through butter. Desmond repeated the process a number of times, but was only able to use it at the center of the group. The creatures pouring in through the sides were not able to be targeted or else his attacks would hit his allies.

He was relying on the other adventurers to take care of the stragglers, but the numbers were great enough that several researchers and non-combatants fell to the onslaught. Even a small number of veteran fighters fell to the horde.

Sweat beaded on his brow as he felt mana exhaustion start to hit him. The consecutive use of his Aura Sweep drained much of his reserves. Everyone else was able to hold back while he took the brunt of the initial assault, but they managed to push the enemy back into the narrower streets and away from the larger space the camp occupied.

Someone handed him a rancid tasting potion, but he recognized it as a mana restorative and drank it with gratitude, doing his best to ignore the taste. A few moments later he was fully restored and ready to fight. His fellow warriors continued to push the enemy back, but were starting to struggle against some of the worst monstrosities.

While most undead were weak, some could be rather strong. Among the stronger ones were flesh golems. They were creatures made of an amalgamation of bones and rotten flesh jumbled together into a creature that very loosely resembled a bulbous troll. They were nowhere near the size of the creatures they resembled, but they were equally as hideous.

"Shit those things are uglier and smellier than I thought." Desmond complained and pinched the bridge of his nose in a vain attempt to block the stench.

Ultimately, he gave up on the effort and stepped into battle once more. "[Spear Arts: Heavy Impact]"

A sickeningly wet sound erupted from the point of impact as the flesh golem was thrown backward as though it had taken a direct hit from a catapult. If the sides of the ruins were not made of the ridiculously strong stone-like material the demons used to build this place, then the force would have cracked the wall too.

Since the creature was unable to feel pain, it simply stood back up and continued to limp forward to continue its attack. One massive swing with its arm knocked aside three of their men. Two hit the wall and groaned in pain, but still alive. The third was not so lucky. The force threw him directly into a group of zombies that were fighting against a few other people.

The ones in the back immediately turned around and set upon the man and tore into his flesh.

Screams of pain and anguish echoed through the ruins and everyone present did their best to ignore the man's pleas. They were unable to save him now and if they did, the damage to his body would be impossible to heal. Even moving to end his misery would distract them too long from the fight with the main enemy force.

Desmond stepped forward again and combined two Arts. He was never very good at combination Arts, but when push came to shove, he could pull it off. "[Spear Arts: Heavy Impact], [Spear Arts: Triple Thrust]"

Three rapid strikes, each with the same force as his first Heavy Impact, struck the body of the flesh golem. Since all three attacks hit simultaneously, the creature erupted into a fountain of gore, coating the monsters behind it. With the flesh golem dead, they were able to quickly dispose of the current wave of undead.

Based on the sounds, even after they cleaned these ones up, more were on the way. According to the men still alive, the first wave was already many times worse than it was before.

"We need to regroup and refresh. Those who feel like they can push on for a bit longer, to the front. Those who are in absolute need of immediate recovery to the back. Prioritize healing potions to the most injured. Anyone with Light Magic, step away from the fight and do that. Don't kill our healers."

Everyone quickly grouped themselves together. Since they were all adventurers, and experienced ones at that, everyone was honest about their capabilities. They ended up with a pretty even number between those needing immediate help and those who could push on. Desmond was in the group that could push on. He took no attacks and all he needed was a mana recovery potion and he was good to go.

Thanks to all the undead attacks, the research camp was very well stocked. In terms of supplies, they had enough recovery supplies to last three nights of this before running out. The hope was that they would not have to use them though. Find your adventure at M V L