Wave three was happening today. The battlefield was changed due to the reduced number of monsters expected. The funnels were reduced to two instead of four. The choke points were reduced to a five-foot opening, and a killing area was added just behind it. Walls at the choke point were reinforced and taller. Now 10 feet tall with razor sharp spikes on top. Hopefully this would prevent monsters jumping over them.
We were up against a Litch and its minions. Those minions were Revenants. Those Revenants were around level 20, and even though they were undead, they looked human. No rot or decay on them. They were dressed to fight. All shiny chain mail and open-faced chain mail hoods. Each one had a round wooden buckler with a spike in the center and a one-handed English Cutting sword. The sword had a straight blade, hilt with a knuckle guard that could act as brass knuckles, and a blue gem in the pommel. The sword was obviously enhanced with magic. But the weirdest thing was that each wore a green scarf tied around their neck. The Revenants looked identical, which may cause issues with determining individual targets for our ranged attackers.
The Litch was a powerful magic user. It had used its magic to survive its own death by becoming undead. Unlike the Revenants, the Litch was obviously undead. It looked like a skeleton dressed in what used to be expensive robes but were now just rags hanging in strips off his body. His head was nothing but a skull with sickly green embers glowing out of his eye sockets. He wore a metallic band around his skull. It looked like it was being held in place with nails driven into the skull. Each arm had multiple bracelets that jangled as he walked. Rings on every finger. A necklace with a ruby center piece. All of it glowed with magic. He also carried a black staff carved with runes of power. It was six feet long and emitted a dark aura as if its magic was barely in check. The Litch was power itself and surely the most dangerous enemy we have faced. The fact that it and all its minions were intelligent was daunting, but the defenders of Forest Glen had faced such before and were not afraid. Only anxious.
With the levels of the minions, our defenders were limited to the upper echelon of fighters. Ranged fighters were to fire while the Revenants marched down the funnels, then fall back to the city wall. It was expected most of the fighting would be one on one and two on one, rather than groups like before, because of the limited numbers on our side. We only had 30 fighters available to meet the Revenants threat. The magical healers would still assist as would the medics from the healer’s guild.
Like before, Captain Willop, Viscount Justinian, Brakford and I were in a group. This time we were to attack the Litch. We would wait to see where he would attack and meet him there. All in all, a good plan. Of course, it wasn’t going to go as planned.
The Litch and all his Revenants entered a single funnel. They marched forward in a measured step and stopped just out of ranged attack. The Litch moved forward by itself. At forty feet it stopped. Arrows, Fireballs, Mana Darts all flew at it. A magical translucent barrier stopped them all. The Litch seemed unbothered by any of it. It cackled and then pointed at the sky and started muttering an incantation. A minute passed and the only sound was the Litch’s muttering, but then it stopped. The Litch then lowered his arm and pointed at the walls of the choke point.
Captain Willop yelled at everyone to get away from the choke point. Most of our fighters looked confused but moved into the fortifications with the healers. Two did not. Whether they did not hear the captain or just ignored him, we will never know. A few seconds later the choke point walls exploded. Or rather the meteor that hit them caused them to explode. The Litch had called down a meteor to destroy the choke point and our advantage with it.
As soon as the choke point disintegrated, the Revenant took off running toward us. Hoping to catch us off guard but would be disappointed as our defenders streamed out of the fortifications running at them. Screaming their war cries, the defenders clashed with the revenants. It had turned into a chaotic mess with no quarter asked or given.
Stolen novel; please report.
Captain Willop led us through the battlefield. We killed any revenant that got in our way to the Litch, but our aim was the Litch. As we got free of the chaos, we saw the Litch. It was casting another spell. Not a meteor this time, but a summoning spell. Six more revenants appeared next to him. Higher levels than the others, these could be a problem. Even if they weren’t, they would delay us and allow the Litch to use more magic.
I pulled up the spell list from my Spell Storage ring. I used the ring to cast Chained Lighting at the newly summoned Revenants. It burst from my hand covering the distance in less than a second. It was so bright, it made it hard to see. It hit the first Revenant and torn through it causing it to fall to the ground and burn. The second fared no better as it was torn in two before fell apart. The third and the fourth were also destroyed easily. The fifth survived but had lost its left and hand. The sixth was hit but little outward damage. Finally, the lightning hit the Litch, or rather the Litch’s barrier, and did nothing.
Captain Willop and Brakford closed the distance and attacked the Litch, while Justinian and I attacked the two surviving Revenants. Justinian went for the uninjured Revenant and I the other.
My fight wasn’t much of a fight. The injured Revenant was lying in the dirt trying to get up, when I came behind it and lopped off its head. I didn’t even need Slow Time. But even in the small amount of time it took me to do that, things had changed.
Captain Willop was engaged with the Litch, and Brakford was lying on the ground. His armor was singed, and he was bleeding from his nose and ears. Justinian was fully engaged with his Revenant.
I ran over to Brakford and cast Heal. His bleeding stopped. I cast Diagnose. He still had internal bleeding, but not poison, curses or diseases. I cast Heaven’s Heal again to stop the bleeding and bring him back to fighting condition.
Captain Willop aggressively attacking the Litch, desperately trying to keep it from casting another spell. He was a whirling dervish, ducking and dodging, never stopping. Striking from unexpected angles, he kept the Litch preoccupied. The problem was its barrier was stopping his ability to damage it.
Brakford sat up. I told him to wait for just a moment before rejoining the fight. I saw that Justinian had finished off his Revenant. He then pulled out a giant two-handed war hammer from his inventory and ran directly at the Litch. The Litch saw him coming and actually laughed. I activated Slow Time and joined in attacking the Litch. Maybe with the three of us attacking, something would get through.
Justinian started his swing from behind his back, going over his head and down at the shield for maximum power. Just before his war hammer hit the barrier, he yelled “SHIELD BREAKER”. When the war hammer hit the barrier, it shattered. Yes, the Litch’s barrier was gone. The war hammer continued on and crushed the Litch’s shoulder. The Litch hadn’t counted on us having a magical shield breaking war hammer.
Captain Willop saw the barrier break and immediately attack the Litch with his own smaller war hammer. He hit the Litch’s rib cage just after Justinian did his damage. The Litch’s rib cage shattered, pieces falling to the ground. I attacked his knees, hoping to repeat my success with the Skeleton King. My hit damaged the knee but did not break it. The Litch was in a very dangerous situation. All three of us were constantly hitting it and causing major damage. Brakford joined us and became the main focus of the Litch by using his taunt ability. The Litch hit Brakford’s shield with its staff causing it to fly out of his hands, but Brakford stayed in the fight using his sword to parry and deflect the Litch’s blows.
Captain Willop attacked alongside of Brakford, allowing the Litch to change its focus and attack him. The black staff slammed into Willop and tossed him ten feet away. He lay there in a slump. But Willop had given Brakford the time needed to recover his shield and used taunt again.
Captain Willop struggled to get up and reengage. While Justinian and I worked on crippling the Litch. Bam, a crunching noise, and the Litch goes down on one leg his left knee destroyed. Crunch, the right arm breaks and the Litch lost its staff. Another crunch sound and the Litch lost its other arm. Willop has rejoined the fight and is adding onto the damage. The four of us continue to pound on the helpless Litch. Soon enough, the Litch is nothing but broken bits of bone. Its skull separated from its body and the sickly green light of its eyes died out. Then a huge war hammer crushes the skull to powder. Justinian chuckles as the wind blows the powder away.
