Blood Legacy: New World Of Doom

"No kidding!" Magnus sneered. "Your basic fitness attributes are above 20. Do you even know what that represents? That Skeleton doesn't even have muscles and wasn't using any of its Sparks when you ambushed it from behind. What did you honestly expect?"

"That's why I sneaked up on him." Ikaris grunted in his head. "There's no need to be so scathing."

"It's for your own good that I say that." The old Vampire replied in a softer voice." If he had seen you, it might have been different. Don't underestimate inferior races like humans or this skeleton.

A human Body Sorcerer might only have two to three times the basic strength and agility of a human, but if he uses a spell at the right time he can multiply it by 5, 10, 50 or even much more if the circumstances are right.

The number of occurrences of hate-crazed Apprentice Sorcerers killing Grandmaster Sorcerers and even Magi is not common, but throughout the long history of the Forsaken Lands it's not that rare either.

"And most of all..."

" Most of all?" Ikaris sensed the change in tone.

"...This skeleton wasn't acting alone. I can tell from its Sparks that this skeleton was a Sorcerer when it was alive. It still retained its Life Spark and a trace of its Soul Spark. Its Divine Spark appears to be the product of necromancy, but it's still very impressive.

Even though it is the creation of a Major Saint like Faulch, he has no choice but to use expendable fodder to bolster his Undead army. After all, breeding powerful Undeads is expensive in terms of resources and among humans and most beasts the ratio of Sorcerers in the population is only one in 900.

That means mathematically that for a Skeleton like this, there should be at least another 900 of those out there."

Ruvaen, who was spying on their conversation with his mental sense, turned livid upon hearing Magnus' words. The late Archmagus had obviously noticed, but he had chosen to pretend otherwise.

For Ikaris, who was still euphoric from his effortless victory, the Vampire's final words were like a cold shower. On edge, he scooted around, each shadow and bush a potential Undead.

Then his gaze fell on that burdensome Kailu, who still hadn't dared to open his eyes, and he suddenly felt a deep pang of annoyance. He slapped the nobleman's face. Hard.

"Do you want to die here?" Ikaris growled in a much deeper voice than usual due to his partial transformation. "If you don't open your eyes in three seconds, you won't have to worry about the Undeads. I'll kill you myself. One... Two..."

"I'm opening them!" The Healer suddenly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the devilishly savage and not-so-handsome face of his Lord and he nearly screamed in terror. If Ikaris hadn't given him a direct warning by pressing his blade against his throat, the Healer might have revealed their position to every Undead in the vicinity.

"Sorry... I didn't mean to, hehe." Kailu raised his hands in the air innocently, his face drenched in cold sweat.

Muffled sounds of people landing near them sounded and Ikaris recognized his other companions. Seeing them gather around one of the headless halves of the Skeleton, the aristocrat finally realized what his Lord meant. His lord had just saved his life.

THUD, THUD.

The earth shook and as Ikaris and the others turned around, they saw the huge Long-Necked Augias approaching them with a lumbering gait, his hooves carving deep dents into the muddy ground. It wasn't until they saw it up close that they realized just how gigantic this creature was.

It was like seeing a brachiosaurus in real life.

Once within 20 or 30 feet of them, its long neck arched down toward them and they reflexively gripped the hilts of their weapons.

"Do not attack." Ruvaen whispered, barely moving his lips. "I feel no hostility."

The head vaguely reminiscent of a horse's, but more elongated and filled with sharp fangs reached for the bones of the skeleton slaughtered by Ikaris and cautiously sniffed what remained of the corpse. From so close, they had all the time to admire its yellow reptilian eyes with slit pupils.

After confirming that the Undead was gone, the beast's vengeful wrath took over and the huge creature reared up without any warning. Their vision suddenly darkened as a result of a large shadow, a shiver of absolute dread running down their spines, and ignoring the elf's previous words, they dove to the side.

It was a good thing they did. The legs of the giant beast slammed down heavily on the still intact bones of the Skeleton and the furious creature proceeded to trample it relentlessly in a destructive frenzy that only stopped once the bones of the Undead had been ground into a fine powder.

It was only after it had satisfied its revenge and vented its pent up frustration that the creature deigned to take notice of them. Its clever yellow eyes lingered on each of their faces as if it were trying to memorize them, then after gazing one last time at Ikaris's it headed back in the direction it had come from: the heart of the forest.

"What do we do now?" Malia asked as she resumed breathing normally.

Kailu was still traumatized, but at least he didn't dare close his eyes anymore because of his fear of heights. Today he had cured his phobia. He had discovered, that all he had to do was to find something that would scare him even more. Like for example, dying stupidly crushed by a carnivorous dinosaur-giraffe or devoured by an Undead because he didn't have the gumption to open his eyes.

Just as Ikaris was about to announce the end of the mission, a now familiar high-pitched whinny sounded in front of them. The Long-Necked Augias was beckoning them to follow him.

"What does it want?" Luka frowned. "Our help?"

"My Lord, that's not a good idea." Liam advised solemnly.

"Let's follow that creature." Ruvaen suggested against the grain. Receiving confused looks from his companions, the old elf justified, "Don't we need allies against these Undeads? I can say that this creature is intelligent and devoid of evil intentions towards us. On the other hand, it is desperate and insecure. I think it wants us to save its own kind."

"You mean this massive beast isn't all alone?" Kailu nearly fainted on the spot.

Ikaris considered the option seriously.

"This beast is powerful and rather fast for its size, but it is a fact that it lacks flexibility. Its size becomes its weak point against these Skeletons with superhuman strength and speed." He analyzed aloud. "If we can combine our mobility and tactical sense with the brute strength of these humongous creatures, facing a few Undeads like this one is not impossible.

If it were up to me, I'd suggest following this beast to establish a good relationship with his herd, but for such a risky mission I propose a show of hands. Those who want to follow this Augias, raise your hand."

The teenager raised his hand readily. Malia and Ruvaen followed right after. Liam and the other three Werewolves exchanged a knowing look, then raised their hands in turn.

"By volunteering for this scouting mission, we had already come to terms with the idea of facing Undeads." Noreen chuckled. "We have to make sure we deserve all the herbs we've picked."

"I ate so much Rank 4 Boar Meat." Javier grinned as he patted his muscular belly. "It's time to prove I deserve my paycheck."

Liam and Luka merely waved their weapons to show their resolve. Only Kailu was left to convince.

"You don't have to come." Ikaris kindly warned him. "Your job is not to risk your life here, but to look after us if this mission goes wrong."

The nobleman grimaced sourly and slowly raised his hand. "I haven't made a good impression so far, but I can fight and I heal quickly. If any of you are hurt, I could heal you right there."

Noreen brusquely hugged his neck and pushed his head against her furry bosom as she laughed, "I knew you had it in you, kiddo."

With the female Werewolve nearly displacing his cervical vertebrae with her sudden hug, Kailu responded with a grunt as he rubbed his sore neck.

"Let's go." Ikaris said quietly.

The long-necked beast had been waiting for them. Relief could be seen in its eyes when it found that these tiny beings had chosen to follow it.

The Augias suddenly galloped off, shaking the earth and uprooting trees in its path. It let out a high-pitched neigh as if to announce its glorious return to its own brethren and charged forward, Ikaris and the others at its heels.

With a huge Demonic Beast to lead the way, they crossed six kilometers in no time. As they wondered how far they were from their destination, high-pitched whinnies reached their ears, followed by tremors akin to a small earthquake.