Chapter 1026 Blighted Feathers Of The Dusk
"Then, I leave my back to you and the rest of the 9th Division. I will send you a signal when it is time to make a move." Izroth said without turning back as he stepped through the entrance along with Kol'Jil and Zel'Kan.
Not long after Izroth walked forward, Lances followed with Noir right behind him.
The first thing Izroth noticed inside the wide spacious area was that the effect of The Renewing Lights had greatly diminished; however, strangely enough, there was a dim purple hue that lingered about in the atmosphere and made it possible to see with a certain level of clarity.
Although the average person may still have a somewhat difficult time freely navigating the room, a person with a decent level of perception would find it less of a challenge.
The room was also vastly different from the other area of the Night Lord's Crpyt where Izroth and his allies arrived.
eαglesnᴏνel The interior was similar to that of a cathedral or ancient temple. It had several thick pillars lined up on each side that led towards a wide staircase located on the opposite end of the entrance.
At the top of that staircase was a mysterious corridor that one could not peer into. And, hung up on the walls were numerous eerie relics that gave one an ominous feeling.
'The mana in the area is restless. That unusual energy is also becoming increasingly dense.'
The further they walked into the depths of the room, the more vicious that terrifying energy they felt near the entrance became. The average person would have already suffocated under such immense pressure.
"There's someone up ahead," Lances stated with a serious expression.
"How kind of them to send someone to greet us," Noir said casually.
'Hm?'
Izroth narrowed his eyes as he noticed a sudden shift in the room with his Energy Vision Sense.
A few seconds later, Izroth, Lances, Jol'Kil, Zel'Kan, and Noir stopped at the bottom of the staircase.
There, levitating at the top of the staircase in a meditative pose with his eyes closed was a single skounae with cold palish-grey and long snow-white hair.
He wore a set of simple black robes and had a silver necklace with a small white gemstone embedded in the prong around his neck. The prong resembled the tip of a bird's talon and was pitch black in color.
More importantly, without a doubt, the terrifying energy everyone felt originated from this man.
"I do not know how a few rats managed to find their way here so quickly, but-" The man said as he opened his eyes.
Soooooou!
An immense pressure swept throughout the room that made the previous one pale in comparison. It was as though they were abruptly dropped into a high-level Gravity Pocket. Not to mention, the killing intent infused into the pressure made those it passed by want to instinctively flee.
"I do not have time to deal with a bunch of children." The man stated calmly before slowly closing his eyes once more.
He then continued, "Come, my shadow beasts of the night."
As the man spoke, the ground started to tremble as numerous fissures formed at the top of the staircase.
Gwraaaah...
An unusual faint cry sounded from the fissures as several streams of darkness flowed out from between the openings.
Bang! Crack!
The next moment, one of the streams of darkness transformed into a large claw that slammed into the ground outside of the fissure, immediately shattering the place it came into contact with.
A similar scene was taking place not just atop the staircase, but throughout multiple areas of the room.
GWRAAAAAAH! GWRAAAAAAH!
The cries that started off as faint spiraled into an amalgamation of frightening screams that flooded the atmosphere.
"Be grateful, for I shall offer up your lives as a sacrifice to the Night Lord. Now, my shadow beasts, feast upon the intruders who dare enter this sacred place." The man commanded as he held his hand forward.
NPC Name: Blighted Feathers of the Dusk, Duke Zareign(Legendary)
NPC Level: ???
NPC HP: ??? (100%)
'As I thought, this skounae is a legendary realm powerhouse.'
A skounae Duke was the equivalent of a War Brigade High General. To reach that level, one had to have already stepped into the legendary realm.
'The fact that he's stationed in front of this corridor is a good sign. Most likely, the Night Lord Zarolas is being kept right on the other side. We must reach that place and interrupt the revival process before it's too late.'
Izroth unsheathed his Sword of the Storm and removed his Scorched Inferno's Fang from his inventory.
At the same time, Izroth's gaze locked onto one of the shadow beasts.
The shadow beast had dark scales with fracture-like areas on its body that emitted a red pulsating glow. The creatures were roughly 1.8 meters tall and nearly twice as long if one included the length of the scaly tail on its back.
It stood hunched over on its two bulky reptilian-like back legs and reminded one of a tyrannosaurus. Its front legs were slightly elevated off the ground with razor-sharp claws and were slightly longer than its back legs. The bottom half of its mouth was curved downward with strange dark white spikes protruding from its surface. Similar spikes also ran along the top of its head and down its back to its tail.
It had a pair of beady glowing red eyes that released a great level of bloodlust.
Name: Night Terror Shadow Beast(Epic)
Level: ???
HP: ??? (100%)
Noir eyes widened as his lips curved into a large grin. This kind of opponent—it was precisely what he joined the War Brigade to face!
"To be smiling in such a situation—what a crazy man..." Jol'Kil muttered to himself as he glanced over and saw the large grin plastered on Noir's face.
"They're coming. Stay alert." Izroth reminded.
Gwraaaah!
The first Night Terror Shadow Beast that emerged from the fissure cried out as it jumped down off the top of the staircase and right towards the group at the bottom!
Woosh!
As the Night Terror Shadow Beast was still mid-air, a few wisps of dark red flames appeared on certain areas of its body.
BANG!
The creature crashed into the staircase as Jol'Kil's flames took effect. However, almost immediately after it fell, the Night Terror Shadow Beast bounced back to its feet and proceeded onward to the group. While its pace had been slowed, its agility was still not to be underestimated.
Jol'Kil frowned when he saw the creature get back to its feet. To be able to move under the effects of his flame meant that they were highly abnormal and persistent. Not to mention, they must possess a great level of physical strength.
It would not be a problem if it were just one shadow beast; however, there were at least sixty of them present!
'We can't ignore these creatures. I guess now is as good of a time as any to send the signal.'
Bzzzzt! Crrrrckle!
Suddenly, a high concentration of the lightning element encompassed Izroth's sword as several powerful lightning bolts struck down from above.
Boom! Boom!
In total, twenty-seven lightning bolts rained down. And, by the time it finished, a small army of lightning soldiers all appeared in front of Izroth.
One of the lightning soldiers kneeled down in front of Izroth. He was different from the others and had a more commanding aura about him. This figure was, of course, Storm Commander Sagarus.
"What are your orders, my lord?" Sagarus asked as he kneeled in front of Izroth.
"Lead the lightning army and eliminate these creatures," Izroth commanded.
"By your will," Sagarus responded as he stood to his feet and unsheathed his sword.
He then roared, "O, Great Lightning Army, hear me! Our lord has given us the order to eradicate the beasts before us! We shall now carry out his will!"
Crrrrckle!
Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!
Without delay, Sagarus charged towards the largest group of shadow beasts and swung the sword in his hands.
BOOM!
The sword unleashed a wave of destruction that closely mirrored the Destructive Aftermath effect of Izroth's Sword of the Storm. This single wave was powerful enough to push back several of the Night Terror Shadow Beast.
At the same time, the other lightning soldiers jumped into action and followed Sagarus' lead to confront the Night Terror Shadow Beasts. The lightning soldiers formed small units of two or three that stuck close to one another and covered any potential gaps in their defenses.