Too Stubborn to Die

As Aaron passed the shoreline and flew over the territory, he spotted flashes of action in the distance. Skills and explosions lit up the land, and a quick check of his map confirmed that it was right where the two factions met.

Throwing himself into the middle of everyone’s problems was not necessarily what he had planned. But he figured that proving himself an ally would help speed along any future negotiations. Besides, he was already here; he might as well deal with Darius’ legions quickly.

But as he neared the battle, he saw an apocalyptic-sized force of undead charging across a battered battlefield. From where he was, he could barely see the defenders, but he could sense hundreds, maybe even thousands, lying in wait.

But more importantly, he spotted the largest and most powerful constructs he had ever seen.

He almost rushed straight to their aid. There were a lot of defenders, but he had seen what such undead could do. He had seen how Dober had been on its last legs, ready to fall.

And this army was something else.

However, before he could do anything substantial, he watched as the largest construct, the one leading the army, was struck by something extraordinarily powerful, and it seemed to cut straight through it. Blasting a hole several meters wide.

The construct kept moving, seemingly ignoring the hole, but only a moment later, several other powerful attacks landed in its new gaping wound, and it fell over a moment later.

Okay, well, it looks like they’re not so defenseless.

It wasn’t just that impressive attack, either. This was a well-thought-out army. Their setup almost reminded him of fighting alongside Lord Draxas. They obviously had people with trap Skills, as when the undead filtered across a desecrated battlefield, explosions rattled their ranks.

It was a layered defense. More long-range blasts rang out from far away, and even Skills that looked like artillery slamming down on the undead, blowing them into pieces.

Every attack was timed perfectly, too. There were no breaks to let the undead horde recover. One attack after another slammed into them. And as he watched, Aaron started to doubt that the undead army, despite its massive size, would even reach the defenders.

Seeing that, he decided to leave them to it and take the enemy’s rear.

He could already see the two obelisks a few kilometers back from the main horde. They were responsible for expelling the vast majority of the corrupted in this region, and taking them out would greatly help this so-called World Alliance.

Reaching the obelisks, he found what appeared to be a staging ground. Dozens of undead were funneling into a clearing, almost like gathering waves ready to charge the defender’s positions.

Though when Aaron got there, there weren’t too many. No doubt most were part of the force currently attacking.

He looked past them to the obelisks and got to work, carving a path of destruction through the scattered undead in his way.

Before reaching his target, a self-proclaimed commander of the force intercepted him. He looked human, although sickly white. Aaron assumed the man had once been not too different to himself. Someone trying to fight their way through the multiverse, and was unlucky enough to come across Darius.

But unlike Aaron, this man had been stopped at low D-grade, prevented from progressing because he had died, only to be revived by Darius.

The man led a small squad of elite defenders against Aaron, but he crushed them with little effort. The fight wasn’t of any particular significance, but it did remind him what was at stake. And how he could end up if he failed to defeat these foes.

There were a few elite defenders inside the obelisks as well, not that they fought any better.

Most of their strongest were no doubt out fighting against the World Alliance, and, therefore, there wasn’t much of a struggle for Aaron. But he did note that it was interesting that Darius didn’t seem to bother with System-purchased defenses.

A few cheap turrets wouldn’t stop him, obviously. But potentially they could save a position from weaker attackers. And if he had the credits, he could potentially purchase high-level turrets, ones that might even hold him back for some time.

And even if Darius didn’t put wealth accumulation high on his priority list, he had taken control of a significant portion of the world, and must have collected a fortune in gear and other various treasures.

What was he spending it on? Perhaps materials for his constructs?

Of course, he did have the advantage of the corrupted aether. For most, it made attacking the obelisks very difficult.

Luckily for Aaron, none of that was applicable.

Clearing out the last of the defenders, Aaron sat down and meditated as he cleansed the first obelisk, and quickly rushed over to the second. Upon finishing, he sat for a while longer, meditating, and cycling aether for far longer than he needed to. He wanted to push the corrupted aether a little further back than usual, so that this army could push further forward.

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“That’s better. Should keep the corruption away for a while,” Aaron got up with a satisfied grin. “About time I introduce myself.”

Outside, chaos had befallen the area. Undead were rushing around trying to stop their leaky ship from sinking. Reinforcements were running past Aaron without taking note of him. And he could see why. The army was pushing forward with devastating results.

He had to admit, he was impressed. They had no doubt sensed the weakened aether, and had immediately pushed the attack. He appreciated that kind of decisiveness.

Within seconds, he spotted advanced parties moving forward, attacking undead positions, and moving onto the next.

But the grunts weren’t what he was interested in. Aaron rushed forward, back to where the main battle was being fought. It hadn’t been long, and already the massive horde was almost completely destroyed, with all but a single construct still standing.

Not bad. These guys are good.

Just then, another powerful blast slammed into the construct, and Aaron activated [ Gorgon’s Soul Vortex ] as another rang out. He watched in slow motion, his accuracy overlay giving him insights, as a bullet flew through the air.

It was impressive. He could sense tremendous mana radiating from the bullet. This was far more than just an offensive Skill. Whoever had fired this thing had imbued it with a stupid amount of mana.

And when the bullet hit the construct, it was like it had been tipped with a powerful warhead, exploding outward, ripping half of the massive creature apart, and spewing burning bits all over the ground.

As impressive as the power it possessed was, it was the technique that truly interested him. For all his expertise, he had never seen mana used like this. Or perhaps he had, but he just hadn’t had the insights to realize what he was looking at.

Either way, he wanted to know more.

Seconds later, as the construct collapsed, more troops rushed forward, picking apart the dwindling number of undead.

Aaron hadn’t needed to help them at all with the battle itself. Removing the corrupted aether was the only assistance needed.

“Looks like I found some decent allies.”

As he watched them pick apart their enemy, he realized that it wasn’t just powerful warriors that the Alliance possessed. He could see that they were a well-oiled fighting machine. Ranged fighters, supports, and melee combatants all worked together to make the most of their skills.

A second later, Aaron felt something powerful rushing toward him, and he looked up into the sky as his brow furrowed. Who was this? Their aura’s intent was not to kill.

Squinting, he made out their features and brightened immediately. “Mate, good to see you!”

“Aaron Dober, you took your time,” Ernest said, puffing a cigar as he dropped down within a couple of meters. The cowboy tipped his hat and glanced at a rifle he held. “More scrap for the smelter,” he added, noting that its barrel had been blown open, and threw it to one of his men.

“Was that you who took down the big one? Not bad,” Aaron said.

“Work in progress. Pity a man can’t get a decent gun around here.”

“I saw that. Is it because of the mana you’re putting into your bullets?”

“You noticed? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. Yes, the gunsmiths have got a lot to work on. They ain’t bad, but it’s a pain that they’re still struggling to handle my mana. And I assume it was you who dealt with the obelisks?”

Aaron nodded, his thoughts elsewhere. The amount of extra mana he had seen in that bullet was nothing short of incredible. Sure, they might have some kinks to work out, but they were obviously skilled smiths.

It sounds like I might have found some worthy smiths. Better go check that out.

“Yep, all me, mate. But if you blokes want them, they’re all yours.”

“I’ll let them know. So, did you finally show up to help us put that bastard necromancer six feet under?”

“Yeah, something like that. But with everything I saw in the dungeon, I decided it was best not to rush. Right now, I’m preparing myself for that fight.”

“Oh, is that so?” Ernest probed.

“My patron god warned that while the Death God can’t enter our universe directly, he is likely to try something to protect Darius. So, I figured it's best to approach cautiously.”

“Right, ain’t these damned gods scheming?”

“Yeah, mate. And I got a hunch this isn’t the half of it. On that note, I want to know more about that bullet of yours. Or more accurately, the mana you used on it.”

“The great Aaron Dober has come asking little ole me for insights into mana control?” Ernest chuckled. “Well, sir, I'd be delighted. But first, shall we drive these motherfuckers back into the hell they came from?”

“You got a deal, mate,” Aaron said, and the two of them got to work cleaning up the surrounding area of undead.

Within hours, Aaron cleansed a few more obelisks, cutting off the enemy lines so that the World Alliance could handle most of the fighting alone.

It became painfully obvious that he needed to find a way to help other fighters deal with the corrupted aether.

At some point they were going to need to delve deeper into the core of Darius’ territory. And when they did, there was a real chance that Aaron would need to focus all of his attention against Darius. Which begged the question: would Aaron fight Darius alone while the necromancer was supported by an entire army of undead?

That sounded like a question he didn’t want to try and answer, no matter how powerful he was, especially with the Death God lurking about. Not to mention Darius was obviously a master of aether control. He didn’t want to go resurrecting around Darius; who knew what he might be able to do to his soul.

If he fought Darius, he would want to get it done in one go. Dying against the Death God’s minions had almost turned him into a slave to the god, and he did not want to risk that happening again.

The obvious counterbalance was to help his growing army of allies withstand the corrupted aether so that they could handle the legions of undead while he focused on their leader.

As Aaron mused, Ernest dropped down beside him.

“Looks like they’re on the run. The grunts should handle the rest well enough. Follow me. I haven’t been around long. I only found this place shortly after the dungeon. Let me introduce you to the leaders of this alliance.”

“Sounds good. Do I know them?”

“I’d hate to ruin a perfectly good surprise,” Ernest said, and leaped up into the air.

“Alright, keep your secrets!” Aaron said, following after.

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