End of an Era (Project Chrysalis Book 2) by John Gold (popular books to read .TXT) 📕

“Okay, but let’s not fight the god this time. We’ll leave one raid boss and go, but we can kill everything else.”

It’s probably the first time in a thousand years that the fortress has been used the way it was designed to be used. We set up our outpost on the flat roof of the main building, which is where the pieces of the collapsed wall ended up. We toss the undead there. At least, Fem tosses them up, and I use the bodies for the ritual to combine my health with Femida’s. We don’t see any chimeric undead, so we have to go with zombified animals.

The roof of the old fortress is also a great lookout point which I can use to attack anyone who falls within my direct line of sight. In the meantime, Femida blocks the only way up. Our enormous supply of ritualistic health is there so she can strengthen her armor many times over, while I can boost my intellect.

“Attribute window.”

Name: Sagie

Level: 212

Experience 100 213/2 633 500 (2533287 left until the next level)

Race: Human

Class: None selected

Basic attributes

Strength: 189

Agility: 448

Stamina: 422

Intellect: 2451

Wisdom: 1001

Available attribute points: 0

It looks like I may have overdone it with my Space Magic. Time to get to work on fire and earth magic. One way or another, all my complex spells are limited by my poorly developed skills, with many of them stuck at 250. I did a good job boosting my meditation at least because I can completely restore my mana in just a couple minutes now. On the other hand, I have to take that time in the middle of battle, so I’m going to have a hard time really getting to work unless Fem is there to protect me and I have a good spot for it.

“Sagie, let’s go!”

Oh, right. Time to drain the swamp.

“Fire storm! Fire storm!” Two whirlwinds of fire smack into the crowds of undead pushing up against the fortress. That’s when the undead’s boosted intellect kicks in: they split into groups and begin their assault, pouring in through the open gate and broken-down walls. In the two minutes it takes them to get inside, filling the courtyard and walls, I restore my mana and unleash two more fire storms to incinerate them. Skeletons turn to ash, zombies go up in flames, and a rank smell fills the air. As the fire roars and trees crackle, smoke billows upward.

“Sagie, you idiot, put up shields! I don’t have good resistance!”

Oh right, I forgot. A mountain of corpses has piled up on the approach to our roof, and Fem is having a hard time holding back the undead. Time to do a little squishing.

“Dwarf hammer! Maximum!”

The bodies of our defeated enemies are shattered under the blow and sent flying in every direction. The building quivers as I apparently broke through the floor. The undead are going to have a much harder time getting to us now.

I spend a long couple of minutes meditating as I watch the undead working their way around behind us.

“They’re building a wall.”

“What?” What wall? Where would the undead find builders?

“A pyramid! Stairs! Does that help?!” Fem is already preparing to repulse their attack.

No, that’s no good. We need to solve the problem once and for all. We need to make sure the undead have a really hard time getting up to us - we can always find our way down again.

Two magic blows from me destroy the stairs leading to the castle walls. Okay, they won’t be coming up that way. Then, I give the pyramid of undead some dragon breath, practically at point-blank range. Femida loses her shield and the stone melts under the heat. After restoring her protection, I send her to hold the main approach. A minute is all I need. I’m going to burn down the forest around us so I have a clear line of sight I can use to attack the raid bosses.

Thirty minutes later, the forest around us is burning merrily. The smoke and heat are so strong that they’re starting to do constant damage. Life is good when you’re a blood mage who can pull health from a bunch of sacrifices. Even coughing and taking damage from the fire, Fem quietly continues killing the undead as they march up to us.

The smoke from the fire is getting so thick that I can’t see more than a couple of meters in front of me, so I have to send my fire storms where I think the enemy is. I won’t know if I have killed them or not until the battle is over.

“Sagie, do something! They could be surrounding us, and we have no idea. The smoke is a tactical disadvantage for us. They could be gathering their forces to crush us.”

She’s right. There haven’t been any serious attacks in a while.

“Tornado! Tornado!”

A funnel appears in the north and is matched by another in the south, pulling the smoke away. The undead have formed up in a wedge and are marching toward us. Sure, they’re getting ready to attack. They want to build another pyramid. Oh, hey, chimeras! We’ve already gotten through the usual undead.

The biggest disadvantage of a formation like that is how closely everyone is clustered together. Toss a grenade, and you’ll wreck the whole thing; throw in two death stars, and you’ll annihilate the entire middle. Thirty seconds later, the chimeras have reached the fortress and are starting to build a staircase up to the wall and then to the roof using their own bodies. I have to help with the defense; I only had time to recharge half my mana.

I smash the stairs with a dwarf hammer, and then I unleash fire from the