Chapter 1100: Open It
Chapter 1100: Open It
The following morning, Archer woke up with a raging headache, which worried him, but he shortly pushed that aside and used Blink to get out of bed. He appeared by the room's
window, which overlooked the city below.
'Strangly quiet for a big city but it is early hours,' he thought.
The night was peaceful, with a gentle wind causing the trees outside to sway rhythmically, their shadows dancing across the room. Archer watched the scene, feeling inspired, and lifted his hand to conjure small mana orbs.
One by one, they appeared, casting a soft, warm light that filled the dark room as they floated around in graceful patterns. The orbs shimmered as they moved, illuminating the space in multiple colored glows.
At the same time, Archer poured his energy into each one, feeling his mana draining as more orbs appeared. He continued doing this until running out of steam and collapsed into a nearby chair.
Following that, Micha was the first to wake up with an adorable yawn as she looked out the window, "Why are you awake, love? Come back to bed," she said in a tired voice.
"I will go to sleep, and I'll join you two in a minute," Archer replied before turning to the window as the rain started.
The pitter-patter of the raindrops hitting the glass lulled him into a relaxed state. While sitting there, Tiamat whispered into his ear, "Let me show you how hard your silver-haired elf is fighting."
With that, his vision darkened, and he appeared in a dark world as a screen showed him the inside of a horror-filled ship.
***
Talila and the Dragonknights secured the large foyer with the thousands of soldiers, but chaos soon broke out as the Blightborns attacked from all sides. The silver-haired elf sent hundreds of mana arrows into the horde.
She watched the soldiers form a sturdy shield wall as the creatures surged against them, pushing their line back. Talila understood that she needed to reduce the enemy's numbers to ease the pressure in the cramped foyer.
'Damn Blightsborns are getting annoying!'
Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself and drew her short swords, ready for battle. As the clash of steel and the roars of the Blightborn filled the air, she crouched behind the shield wall, her heart racing.
That's when she sprang forward, launching herself over the shields like a dark comet streaking through the chaos.
In mid-air, the creatures turned, eyes wide with surprise, but it was too late. Talila landed amidst them, her swords flashing as they sliced through the Blightborn. With each slash, she carved a path through the crowd, her movements a lethal dance of death.
The enemy staggered back; their hideous snarls were cut short as she cut down one after another, her focus unwavering. Blood splattered across her face and armor, but she pressed on and continued to kill dozens of Blightborns.
As the fight dragged on, the Dragonknights were inspired and charged into the chaos when they saw this. Their swords cut through the creature's body, which didn't take long to deal with.
By the time the battle stopped, Talila was breathing heavily, 'That was fun, but I wish I had Archer's stamina,' she thought before cleaning her swords.
The Dragonknights quickly locked down the foyer as someone gave her a map of Archer's Wrath and sighed when seeing how big it was. Talila decided to put the skills she learned while living in the forest as a young elf.
She turned to her commanders and said firmly, "I'm going to scout the way to the bridge. Stay here and make sure the Blightborns don't get passed. We need to wait for reinforcements."
They tried to protest, as one woman stepped forward and said in a concerned voice, "I wouldn't do that, Your Majesty. The king will go mad if something happens to you."'
Talila waved her away with a confident smile, "I have training in hiding from my enemies. If we travel through the ship, more soldiers will be lost. How many have died since we boarded this nightmare?"
The woman briefly thought before answering, "One hundred and twenty-three, Your Majesty."
"Okay, that's not as many as I expected after that fight," Talila replied with a thinking expression. "How many sailors were on board?"
"8500, but there was more on board due to the Lionheart mission," a man revealed.
"Too many will die," Talila murmured, her heart heavy with the weight of the impending battle. She turned to Maria, her voice firm but urgent. "Take one hundred Dragonknights and secure this section. If you start to take heavy losses, retreat back to the foyer."
With a resolute salute, Maria set off to execute Talila's command. Once that was done, she approached the door leading to the central part of the flagship. "Open it now; I'm going to scout ahead," she ordered the knights.
As the heavy door creaked open, she drew several darts from her belt, readying herself for whatever darkness lay beyond. With a deep breath, she slipped into the shadows and vanished, surprising the Draconians.
Talila traveled down the corridors while hiding in the shadows; she had to pull out a cloak with a hood to hide her silver hair. The air was thick with tension and the faint stench of decay.
She moved like a shadow; her presence vanished as she passed by. She spotted a group of Blightborn huddled together, their grotesque forms illuminated by the dim glow of flickering lights.
Without waiting, Talila aimed at the first creature, her wrist flicking as she launched the lethal projectile. It struck true, embedding itself in the creature's head. The Blightborn slumped to the ground, silent.
She drew another before the others could react and launched it with speed. It found its mark in the second Blightborn's eye; the beast collapsed backward, its grotesque body thudding against the metal floor.
'Easy, if they can't see me, they are like sitting slimes,' Talila thought.
The remaining creatures stirred, confusion spreading through their ranks, but she was already in motion, 'Here we go, let's deal with the rest before moving on,' she thought with an excited
grin.
Talila stuck to the shadows before throwing another dart from her hand, striking a third creature below its ear. It twitched and fell, the others still unaware of the death surrounding
them.
With only one left standing, Talila took her final dart and held her breath. She released it with a flick, and it sailed through the air like a whisper, embedding itself into the final Blightborn's
chest.
The creature froze for a heartbeat before crumpling to the ground, allowing her to pass by only to run into another group, causing her to take a deep breath and let out a beautiful silver
fire.
She stood transfixed as the flames consumed the Blightborns, reducing them to ash. But soon, Talila's gaze caught sight of another horror lurking beyond the fire. Her heart raced angrily at seeing a ghoul clad in a Draconian naval uniform.
"They've been turned into ghouls!' she realized, fury boiling within her. 'What kind of magic did the Swarm use?'
Then, Talila stalked through the corridors, killing more Blightborns and putting down the Draconian Ghouls. Hours passed, and she reached the sailor's quarters covered in blood. She noticed limbs lying all over the place, causing her to think, 'Looks like they were caught off guard and butchered like cattle.'
Talila scanned the room and spotted a door at the back. She made her way over, only to find it blocked, which caused her to think, 'What the hell? Has someone barricaded it?' Without hesitation, she stepped back and kicked the door, forcing it open, but a spell crashed against the wall. Talila jumped back as a man's voice rang out, "Come closer, and you'll die!" "I'm part of the rescue party," she replied to the panicked voices. "Don't you dare cast another spell at me."
Talila left it for a few seconds before slowly walking forward and entering the small room, which hid four people on the opposite side. Her expression softened as she asked, "Do you want to get out of here?"
The three women and a lone man nodded like obedient chickens, causing Talila to lead them out of the sailor's quarters. Her trip back to the foyer was an uneventful one, as she had killed
hundreds of Blightborns.
When the four survivors realized they were safe, they broke down, causing the Healers to tend to them as the commanders approached her with curious expressions. Talila sighed before speaking, "The whole ship is infested with Blightborns and Ghouls who were the former crew, but that's only a handful as hundreds were slaughtered."
Following that, Maria returned with three injured Dragonknights, which shocked the silver- haired elf, who rushed up to the woman and asked, "What happened in there?"
The human looked up at her with tired green eyes as she muttered, "Horrifying monsters are
beyond that door, don't go there, Your Majesty."
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