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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/RangerFrank on 2024-12-02 17:51:13+00:00.
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So...where was I last week? If you haven't joined Discord, this is an excellent time to remind you join to keep up to date on all news. But TLDR: I seriously hurt my back while moving things, I still have a deadline to get an entire garage cleared out, my back still hurts, the holidays are here, I'm stressing over the Kickstarter and volume 1, and I shaved my head. The last one doesn't matter, but it just shows where I am currently, so I took my Thanksgiving break early. Either way, I'm back now, and I'll be going all the way until the 22nd. Thanks for your understanding.
To think my most powerful spell would be countered so easily…what the hell is this monster?
Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.
I felt the guilt of my failure weighing down on me along with the encroaching mana sickness as the city bells rang, singling the mark of a counterattack that would see us charging into the field. My spell had done more damage than all the undead force combined. The city was now open to the undead horde, and I undoubtedly killed many people and sealed the fates of countless others.
Even though I wanted to lament my failures, I didn’t have the luxury of doing so. I was on a battlefield, and with my mana so low from two Railgun shots, all I could do was maintain body enhancement for the time being and defend myself. Any other attempts at large-scale magic from me would see me risk dying.
And we had a small team of elite undead riding straight toward us. How could a single Lich raise five of them in an instant? Shouldn’t Dullahans and Liches be similar? Or have we always been wrong, and Liches were always the superior undead?
My thoughts were called back to attention by another shout from Lord Vasquez. “Nothing changes! Continue the offensive! Make openings for Cerila to finish off the undead!” he ordered.
It was five versus five, and we met the charging Dullahans straight on. I watched Cerila use her ice magic as a spear, which impaled the first rider’s ram straight through its body. I also had the same idea, so I firmly planted my spear into the ground and braced my fist.
The rider tried to avoid it, but the monstrous ram moved too quickly. And even though it managed to jump, I thrust my spear into its midsection. I wanted to try and toss the undead, but my arms shook from the impact as it felt like I had been hit by a moving truck.
I grit my teeth but was forced to back away, removing my spear from its body. The rider regained control, and the undead ram scratched its front leg on the ground before charging at me again. The Dullahan brought its large black sword down and planned to use it as a lance. Even if I did the same maneuver again, the sword would hit me before I stopped the monster’s charge.
I dodged to the side, barely avoiding the slash of the blade. It was frustrating. If I had more mana, I could quickly dismount the Dullahan using earth magic. But I would be in trouble if I ran out and had nothing left to fight the Dullahan itself.
Well, I suppose it’s time to use some of these. I was holding onto them for a rainy day.
The Dullahan charged me again, and I waited for the last moment where I could dodge. The Dullahan was much faster and anticipated my movements; its blade swept across my breastplate, but that was all it did. From my Spatial Ring, I summoned a glass ball and tossed it on the monster’s side.
I used a minuscule amount of mana and put it into one of the most basic spells, one of the first fire spells I had ever learned. I released Scorch, and a tiny burst of flames shot out of the tip of my spear. The flames themselves were incredibly weak, and if I were fighting a person, I would be lucky to singe their hair, let alone burn them in any meaningful way.
But the violent concoction from the Alchemical Firebombs only needed a tiny spark.
Boom.
As the ram turned to orientate itself for another charge, my spell lit the substance, and it exploded into a fireball. Being that close to an explosion made my ears ring, but the effect was immediate. I averted my face as bone shrapnel pelted me. When the smoke faded, the Dullahan’s mount was reduced to a scattering of random bones.
The Dullhuan itself was also not unscathed. I had taken the entirety of its left leg armor off and severely damaged the left torso and arm section. White bone shone through the mangled armor, but other than that, the Dullahan was already regenerating the severe damage. But that was fine. I only needed to tie the creature down until Cerila could finish it off.
Or at least, that was the plan.
Boom.
Boom.
I tossed myself to the side and ran full speed to dodge the incoming magic. I managed to dodge the first strike, which was a giant tendril of plants, but the Ice Spears that impacted the ground knocked me off my feet and sent me rolling across the ground. There was no moment of respite as I brought my spear up just in time to block the Dullahan’s sword.
The strike held immense power, but I honestly expected more. Perhaps because it was a freshly risen undead, it still hadn’t had time to maximize its power. I stood up and used the momentum to knock the blade up, but the Dullahan surprisingly stepped into me. It must have understood it couldn’t let me gain distance to use my spear as it pressed a relentless attack against me.
I blocked and parried its blade, but I struggled with it without using magic to increase the gap. I also couldn’t put more mana into my body enhancement to get me away quicker. Any attempt to retreat was met with an immediate aggressive response. The monster never tired, and every strike kept the same intensity as the first.
Even so, I was holding my own. I had blocked every single attack, and my counters were connecting. But unlike a living opponent, it didn’t matter how often I struck at it. Every time my spear pierced its armor, there was no sensation of ripping into flesh, and it did little to slow it down. Also, one of the most significant weaknesses of the undead, its head, wasn’t present. If I could at least hit that, I could disable it for a few moments.
But Dullahans are supposed to have heads…even if they can be detached at will, there should be a head somewhere.
I blocked a thrust and diverted the strike to my side. I planned on bashing the Dullahan’s exposed leg, but I heard a sudden set of running footsteps behind me.
“Duck!” Professor Garrison shouted.
I dropped to the ground and watched Professor Garrison’s sword swing over me. The Dullahan blocked it from the side, but the sheer force of the strike blew the Dullahan backward.
“Thanks for the assist…”I said.
“No problem. Let’s handle these things and get to that giant before things get even worse,” Professor Garrison said as he glared at the giant monstrosity.
The undead giant was constantly firing off magic toward the wall and into the group of defenders that remained. The Gryphon Knights were keeping its attention, but they were purely defensive. They couldn’t get past the anti-magic, let alone dodge all the spells the giant was launching at them. And even though more riders had been dispatched from Curia, they still suffered heavy losses.
I saw Cerila, who now had Mom at her side. The two of them were overwhelming their Dullahan, so it would only be a matter of time before we had the advantage here. Back on our side, the Dullahan pressed its attack. Professor Garrison met it head-on with his sword, and the two exchanged blows.
I came in from the sides and did considerable damage to it. My second spear thrust hit right at the elbow joint, ripping through the remaining armor and separating its left arm. The Dullahan slashed across its body in protest, but Professor Garrison gave it a swift kick to the exposed leg.
The Dullahan crumbled from the blow, and I sent my spear directly down its headless neck and into its torso. But I felt something odd. There was a weird amount of resistance that shouldn’t be there, and when I hit it, the orange flames that sprouted from the armor ceased.
“The Dullahans’ heads are in their chest! Aim for the center breastplate!” I shouted to anyone who could hear me.
With the help of Professor Garrison, the two of us brutally hacked the Dullahan to pieces. We tore its armor off, scattered its bones away, and kicked its limbs elsewhere. All the while, the monster was trying to regenerate itself, but once we ripped the chest plate off and removed the cracked head, I reared back to toss it.
Cerila and Mom had already finished their Dullahan off and were running over to assist us. Cerila’s eyes lit up, and she brought her sword back as I tossed the head. In mid-flight, the Dullahan’s eyes lit up with an orange glow, but Cerila cut ...
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