CHPT 120: Never-Again Walkers
Claude and the Phantom Wolves stood at the top of the snowy forest covered hill, looking at the large mass of Draugar roaming the clearing down below.
He stood patiently, readying himself for the violence to come while also trying to devise a plan that would help them face the Undead warriors that outnumbered him and the pack.
"Hmmm. There has to be at least 20 of them. Me and Frosty have faced larger numbers.....but these are probably stronger than the Skeletons...." He observed while Ashe and the rest of the Wolves patiently stood on standby.
"Ok. How do I make this fight advantageous for us?" He thought to himself.
Before he could come up with anything promising, the sound of scuffling and growls drew his attention. He quickly turned around and saw Onyx and Shadow pulling on a low hanging branch from a nearby leafless tree.
After noticing Claude staring, they quickly stopped and walked away from the tree with their ears flat against their smokey heads as if they got caught doing something bad.
"Right!" Claude said, completely unbothered by their goofing around. "The forest. That's how I level the playing field." He thought.
His quick realization led to a fully functioning plan equally as fast.
He now stretched and warmed his muscles in preparation for the fight, he couldn't help but take notice of the butterflies fluttering away in his stomach as he thought about fighting the Draugr.
Thoughts like, "what if they're too strong?", "What if there's more hidden somewhere nearby?" And "What if the Wolves can't keep up?" Swam around in his mind like poison and caused him to hesitate for a moment.
"Come on!...what would Arne say?" He thought in an attempt to soothe his mind.
"Your fear is justified and will keep you alive in battle. But, you must calm yourself to a degree, Claude." He mocked in a failed English accent before adding, "That did nothing...."
After stalling for a few more seconds, he began to become angry with himself and decided to address the absolute truth.
"Ok. Either I fight here and risk death while trying to get stronger.....or I wake up and die in the real world. In eight days— seven now depending on the time. Get stronger here or die in a week— die without getting revenge."
The last part of the statement reminded him of the ideals that never stayed far from his mind. Images of the HellBreeder he read about in the Library, Dolion, Jack, the twins, Rikah and his friends/family flashed in his mind sending a jolt of urgency rushing through his body.
There was only one option he could take in the Astral Realm that would lead to his desired option in the real world. The finality of it centered him and left him with only one thing to do.
"Ok. Let's move." He said before tightening the grip on his Short Spears and leading the Phantom Wolves down the forest covered hill...
***
A cluster of pale bluish white eyes led by a pair of bright green eyes flew down the length of the dark hill at impressive speeds and lack of noise. They hopped over obstacles, kicking up snow and dirt and zig zagging through trees until they reached the forest edge.
Claude and the Wolves crouched low in the dark forest, watching as the Draugr stalked the clearing. He could hear them dragging their feet along the snow and letting out quiet gurgling snarls that combined to make a wet and throaty symphony of growls. The noise resonated across the clearing like a sound wave.
"Alright. Ashe, you remember the plan?" Claude whispered to the leading female Phantom Wolf before flicking his head off to the side.
Ashe nodded once and turned to the rest before snorting quietly to get them to follow her back into the forest.
He watched them slowly find hiding spots near bushes and under large pine trees, while others hid behind normal trees. Once they were all hidden, he stood up and prepared to walk out into the clearing.
"Get stronger here. Get revenge out there....keep them alive out there." He reminded himself as he took his first steps into the field.
"Awe! You guys smell like ass!" He said after taking a few steps into the field.
Once he was about 20ft in, the scent of death and magic was thick on his nose. "This looks good enough." He mumbled as the Draugr continued to make their rounds in the distance, walking left to right in small groups. He took in one final deep breath before executing the final part of his plan.
"YOOOOOOO!!!" He yelled loudly into the dark field of white as steam came from his mouth in the cold air.
The Draugr all stopped— almost in complete unison, their bright blue eyes landed on him within seconds.
"COME GE—" he wasn't even able to finish taunting them, as the Draugr immediately chased after him at speeds he didn't expect.
He quickly turned and ran back into the forest with 20 Draugar behind him.
Once he entered the forest, he turned and raised in spears in preparation for them to enter. The Draugar moved faster than the Skeleton Soldiers he faced and the first couple groups entered the forest in no time.
Unfortunately, the first group of Draugar found themselves being snatched up by nearby tree branches and thick green plants or vines beneath them.
Claude wasted no time and charged the Draugar as they tried to push past their restrained members.
AWERRGLGLG!!
Shck!!.....Shck!.....Shck!
Claude stabbed his spears into the faces of two Draugar that were caught on the tree branches that wrapped two others in front of them. His attacks did nothing but leave thick holes in their pungent grey skinned faces.
Claude snarled angrily before jamming his two spears up one of the free Draugar heads, piercing its chin so deep that his hands hit its cold stiff skin.
"Survive this!" He growled as he used his spears to tear its head off.
SHRIP!
Before its head hit the floor, he began to work on the other free Draugr on the left side. He delivered a stabbing combo relentlessly to its neck, face and the side of its head until it had so many holes in it that it looked like Undead Swiss cheese. It died slowly as the blue lights faded from its eyes.
The two Draugar that were restrained in front of them— making a sort of unmoving door, growled at him angrily and strained against their wooden binds.
[+120 EXP]
"Yea these guys are strong..." he heaved in between ragged breaths as the Draugar in the distance broke free from the vines and chased after him.
He turned and ran deeper into the forest as they chased.
After running for a few long seconds, he turned and met their charge:
SWOO!
The closest Draugr delivered a simple overhead swing. He dashed in close enough that the Draugr's boney elbow hit his shoulder as he stabbed his spear through its neck.
SHLCK!
Even though the maneuver was meant to make it so he took minor damage and the opponent was hit with the killing blow, he still felt that he was receiving the most damage.
The elbow hit his shoulder with a loud cracking sound that was muffled by his moose pelt. Even though the damage was partially absorbed, he felt the impact shake through the right side of his body entirely.
He quickly pulled his spear from its neck and sent a side kick crashing into its ribs. The Draugr tumbled down the hill, taking about 5 others with it as it scratched and clawed at everything around it.
[95% HP remaining. (332/350)]
Two more Draugr took its place and came jogging at him with their swords raised. The one on the right wore a helmet that left its angered face unguarded. It also took the lead, running a bit faster than the Draugr to its left.
Swoo!
It swung quickly as soon as it reached him. He quickly sidestepped and slammed his spear into its face.
SW—Chnk!
rrRRGLGL!!
"The fuck?" He said as the Draugr bit down on his spear with cracked and missing rotten teeth.
He tried to pull it out as the other Draugr came in but had no time. Instead, he drove the spear deeper while sending the spear in his left hand through its exposed stomach.
The Draugr growled angrily as he used his spears to move it to the left of him, just as the next Draugr swung madly.
RRAAAGLGLG!!!
SWSH!
The Draugr's frost covered and cracked blade slashed through the other Draugr's neck as Claude used it as a shield. It's head disconnected from its body with little to no effort, expelling blackish blue smoke and dark blood.
[+60 EXP]
Before the remaining Draugr had time to react, Claude swung his spear— with the Draugr head still on it, like a baseball bat. The helmeted head crashed into the side of the Draugr's face and sent it tumbling down the hill, bringing 5 or more Draugr down with it.
He eyed the 5 closest Draugr, scaling the hill as 15 or so tried to recover from being knocked down behind them. While they all continued to try untangling themselves and get up off the ground, he saw 5 more Draugar entering the forest for the first time.
"Those have to be the last of them. Perfect." He thought as he activated his skill, (Beast Assistance).
"NOW!" He yelled into the forest.
Suddenly, masses of black with glowing light blue eyes came from all directions. They overwhelmed the heap of fallen Draugar at the bottom of the slope, stripping them of their brittle armor and tearing their throats out until their heads rolled off into the snow with lifeless hollow eyes.
"Let's finish this." He said as he ran into the fight with two large birds flying behind him.
***
The surprise emergence of The Phantom Wolves evened the the playing field and their ferocity in battle made it borderline unfair as they tore down the Draugr alongside Claude.
The Wolves had dealt with a large number of the Draugr with the help of the birds Claude called and now watched him face the final two, ready to hop in and overwhelm the Undead whenever it was needed. But, it didn't look like he'd need any help.
As he spent the better portion of over half an hour viciously taking down the Draugr, he found himself entering a state of intense focus and understanding of combat after being hit with a number of their attacks. He was flowing— everything was working. Anytime one of the Draugr positioned themselves behind him, his ears painted a perfect picture of their movements and location, his eyes followed all movements comfortably and his body felt as sharp as a blade despite the numerous cuts and bruises.
The two Draugr swung, punched and kicked relentlessly. Claude dodged and slipped every attempted strike while also finding a way to sneak in his own powerful attacks until one of the Draugr simply fell from having so many gaping wounds all over its body.
He charged the final Draugr, not even acknowledging the death of the previous one.
SWOO!
The Draugr thrusted its sword at his face— a new move.
Claude still was fast enough to dodge with ease. Before the Draugr could pull its arm back to deliver another strike; he punched it in the face and knocked off its horned helmet.
RAGLGLGL!!
The Draugr roared in anger and went to punch him in return. Claude ducked under while sliding over the snow on his knee and driving his spear into its gut.
SHLCK!
The impact knocked the Draugr back a few steps with a wide hole in the center of its stomach. It looked down at its stomach, and the rest of the holes in its body where there was no armor before growling at Claude angrily.
Claude growled back, baring his sharp teeth and blazing green eyes. He was joined by the intimidating Phantom Wolves and the deafening cries of the nocturnal birds.
The Draugr went on the offensive with its sword held above its head in a two handed grip.
"It's over." He thought as he sidestepped and watched the Draugr's sword stab into the floor in front of him.
Swoo—
The Draugr recovered faster than usual and swung backhandedly at Claude with its free hand as he stood at its side.
The attack caught him off guard, causing him to drop the spear in his left hand to catch its arm before it hit his face.
Before he could make his next move, the Draugr turned its head so its mouth was above his hand. Black smoke with glowing blue cracks and undertones fell on his hand and froze it until a thick block of ice coated it.
"AHH!"
[Frost Damage Sustained!]
[70% HP remaining. (245/350)]
He tried to pull away, but his hand was frozen to the Draugr's arm. The Phantom Wolves were on alert immediately and moved to intervene.
"NO! Stay back!" He ordered, unsure of how strong the Draugr's ice was.
All the Wolves stopped slowly, except for Ashe and Shadow who stalked the Draugr closely with deeply hostile growls rumbling throughout their lean-muscled smokey bodies.
Swoo!!
Shlck!
"Ah! Dammit!"
[60% HP remaining. (210/350)]
The pain caused his anger to skyrocket and turn him wild. He growled and thrashed until his foot crashed into the Draugr's ribs so hard that the arm connected to him ripped off as it stumbled backward clumsily.
His frozen hand hurt and strained from the added weight of another arm being connected to it. He even felt the ice slowly spreading with a numbing burn-like feeling. Unfortunately, he had no time to deal with it as the Draugr's sword came flying towards his face.
WOO!!
His instincts took over and he spun out of the way, using his momentum to load up a powerful spear throw in return.
"RAGH!"
SWOO!
SHPOOF!
The spear flew through the air so fast— with so much force, that when it slammed into the Draugr's chest dust flew from its body like it was hit with a giant's hammer.
If their was any chance of the Draugr getting back up, Ashe and Shadow obliterated it. Biting down on its face and arms until it became a torn mess of armor and flesh under a black sea of snarls.
[+120 EXP]
DING!
[You have Leveled Up! You are now Level 10!]
[Skill, (Beast Assistance) and (Beast Trait) range increased!]
DING!
[New Skill Unlocked! (Eyes of the Wild)!]
Claude felt the ice around his hand melt as the battle came to an end. His legs felt numb and the cuts on his body felt like lines of fire across his hot skin. Despite the terrible condition he was in, he hadn't felt this good in a while.
"We did it...."