Supreme Magus

Chapter 4222: Unexpected Mercy (Part 1)

A crimson-red aura blazed from Nyka’s body and equipment, coating her like a second skin. The vampire wielded Bloodsport in a two-handed grip and struck with all her might, even though the closest Ishara to her was dozens of meters away.

The head of the war mace detached itself, revealing the existence of a thin enchanted chain hidden in the haft. Nyka’s strength alone was enough to propel Bloodsport’s head like a bullet, but Ruler’s Might turned it into a meteor.

The spell granted the Awakened undead all the mass and life force she had imbued into it, bringing her raw physical strength above a Divine Beast’s.

It would have still not been enough to hit the Ishara due to the Life Maelstrom boosting his reflexes if not for Ruler’s Might’s aura also granting Nyka the same speed as a Blood Spell.

Bloodsport’s head pierced through Utho’s enchanted armor and released hooks that made it impossible to remove without bursting the metal open.

"Get over here!" Earth magic fused Nyka’s legs with the ground while Ruler’s Might gave her arms the strength to lift the Ishara off his four legs as if he weighed like a man.

"With pleasure!" Utho replied with a snarl, conjuring one tier five spell on each of his four limbs.

The Ishara struck with pure magic while the vampire with raw strength, both relying on their mystical barriers for defense. The clash generated a flash of blinding light that forced Imosi and the rest of the Divine Beasts to cover their eyes.

’Nice!’ Solus and Loma thought.

She had her back turned on the explosions, while the Horde had no eyes at all.

Solus conjured several gravity arrays to slow down the other three Isharas while Loma hit them one after another like an exploding train. His spores resonated to generate a power above the violet core but below the white.

The Horde projected that energy inward, turning every spore into a living projectile that exploded upon impact. The mana blast killed the spores and breached past every defense the Divine Beasts could conjure.

Then, part of the Horde would slip through the cracks and enter the Isharas’ open wounds. A living disease spread through their flesh, eating the Divine Beasts alive and poisoning them with its mana.

It was a disease that light fusion couldn’t fight and a parasite that fought darkness fusion with its own. Loma lost mass with every impact, but he gained more as new spores burst out of the fallen Isharas’ armor.

It was a tactic impossible for any other Awakened species since the mana abuse would have worn out their flesh and bones. Moreover, Invigoration’s effectiveness would have decreased with every use.

Hordes had no such problem. The lost spores were discarded and replaced by new ones with fresh bodies and cores. A single complete turnover reset Invigoration and removed the effects of mana abuse without the need to rest.

It was thanks to their unparalleled attack means and recovery speed that the Hordes had managed to live free since the first of them gained consciousness.

Numbers meant nothing to a Horde since weaker enemies would quickly become their spawning grounds.

Raw power also left them indifferent since they could briefly tap into the white core and produce countless new spores from every wound they inflicted.

Killing a single Horde took the overwhelming destructive power of an Eldritch, and to capture one of them alive, even that wouldn’t be enough.

It was a feat that only Guardians could achieve, but none of them would ever stoop that low.

"Bring them down, my children!" Imosi unleashed all the Life Maelstrom he had left, splitting it evenly between his enemies and allies.

Yet while the Isharas distributed it between their bodies, mana cores, equipment, and spells, Imosi forced the silver lightning into Loma’s, Solus’, and Nyka’s cores.

The overloaded orange Horde’s spores exploded like fireworks before reaching their next target, while Ruler’s Might turned against Nyka, threatening to blow her apart.

The power of the Blood Spell grew beyond what she could handle, and her weakened blood core couldn’t resist the violent waves of her own mana as they tore her body apart.

’I need a second. Only one second.’ Solus used her bloodline ability, Draining Grounds, to split the life force from the world energy and neutralize the Life Maelstrom she couldn’t Dominate fast enough. ’Help me, Staff.’

’Yes, Mom!’ The Sage Staff used its emerald crystals to amplify Draining Grounds and support Solus’ Domination. It also grounded part of the Life Maelstrom, dispersing everything that might harm its master.

Solus would have turned Imosi’s winning move into a colossal mistake if she didn’t have to worry about Nyka and Loma. Solus suffered no damage from the Life Maelstrom thanks to Domination protecting her body, but her companions weren’t so lucky.

Without her help, they wouldn’t last more than a second.

Alas, they didn’t even have that long.

Nyka had dragged Utho away from his kinsmen, and he exploited her move to release a Doom Tide infused with all the Life Maelstrom he had received. The Isharas, instead, conjured their Spirit Barriers and reinforced them with the silver lightning.

Even with the Sage Staff’s help, the silvery-blue blast was too much for Solus’ Draining Grounds. She and Nyka were sent flying, and neither of them would have survived if not for Solus infusing the vampire’s body with part of the Life Maelstrom she had already stolen.

Loma’s spores were too many, and Solus had barely enough silver lightning left to ensure her own survival. After the Doom Tide washed over Loma, nothing remained of the Horde.

"It’s over." Imosi said. "We have accomplished our mission. It’s time we go home."

"It’s not over!" Utho snarled, pointing at the still-writhing bodies of Nyka and Solus. "These two are still alive!"

"Leave them be." Imosi’s stern tone brooked no argument. "We killed two Hordes today. Two noble warriors who only wanted to protect their dying race. You won’t disgrace their memory with your unsightly behavior."

"You are right, Imosi. This is over." Solus and Nyka Spirit Blinked away, but the energy signature of the spell didn’t belong to them. "Also, I appreciate your words more than I can express. So, I’ll return your mercy in kind."

Ygri rose from one of the spore stashes he had hidden far away from the meadows before approaching the fungus folk’s hiding spot.

"I will let you live. Surrender now, and I promise no harm will come to you and your clansmen."

Before Imosi could argue, five pillars of different colored mist surrounded the area. It had taken a while for the rest of the Hordes to reach their brethren from the four corners of Verendi, but they had finally arrived.

"I’m sorry, but I can’t accept your offer, brother Horde." Imosi clenched the emerald sphere in his hand. "I hold the key to save my race, and I’ll be damned before I give up on it out of cowardice.

"We all volunteered to come here and don’t care about our survival. We are willing to put our lives on the line and fight to the bitter end like mad dogs if that means delivering the fungus folk to our people.

"We Isharas might fall, but we’ll bring down as many of you Hordes with us as we can."