Tales of the Endless Empire

Chapter 366: Dance of Darkness

The elf flashed toward Thalion, his sword raised high. Saliva dripped from his mouth as he screamed furiously. The elf’s rage was a bit annoying, since it partly negated the fear effect of Thalion’s aura, which normally fueled him with strength. There was still pain and despair from losing someone close, but it was buried beneath the fury.Thalion did not allow himself to be overwhelmed and dashed in as well, his whole being radiating darkness, malice, and power. The elf, blinded by anger, did not even notice. Thalion let him swing a few times before suddenly darting forward, raking his claws through the body of the enraged elf.

Dark smoke poured from Thalion’s mouth as he activated Umbral Miasma once more, and this time nothing stopped his domain from expanding. The elf, nearly bisected, was devoured by the corrosive darkness. His death was agonizing, and Thalion bathed in the elf’s suffering. Two tendrils shot out from his body, consuming both elves and storing their items within his amulet.

That was something Thalion had not even known he could do. Maybe it worked because it wasn’t pure darkness but a mix of his elemental essence? He wasn’t sure if that was the reason, but it was certainly a useful discovery and so the great looting began.

Most of the fighters hadn’t collected the corpses or the weapons yet, which was understandable amid the chaos of battle. Hidden within his dark domain, Thalion sent out multiple tendrils, guided by the greed of his elemental, to gather the fallen. While the elemental absorbed the dead bodies, Thalion took all the equipment. The others mostly ignored him since they couldn’t see him and probably didn’t even realize he had already slain the two elves.

Forgetting his presence so quickly would be their downfall.

Thalion began to charge his darkness with power, forming several black spikes concealed within the Umbral Miasma. The strongest group among the three factions were the elves, which meant Thalion would target the orcs and humans first. If he killed the elves first, the other two might flee, while he could count on the arrogance of the elves to keep them fighting. Yes, there was no way those fools would run.

The faction most likely to retreat first were the humans, which meant he had to eliminate them before that happened. Thalion turned all the dark spikes toward the humans and, after fully charging them, released the barrage.

There was still intense fighting in the center where all factions clashed, but Thalion aimed so the projectiles struck the human archers, mages, and healers in the rear. That a few orcs and elves would die as well was simply unavoidable. Not that Thalion had any sympathy for anyone present. They were obstacles that needed to be erased.

His injury from losing a wing earlier had now fully healed, allowing him to switch to his human or Eagly form again. None of the others had kept track of him, and so the twenty or more spikes made of pure darkness hit them cold and mercilessly.

Over fifteen fighters were ripped off their feet, impaled and thrown backward by the spikes. Some even skewered two or three enemies at once. Thalion didn’t stop there. Two tendrils shot into the ground before him while others anchored him to a distant wall. He used them to catapult himself forward toward the human group with speed that could rival most movement abilities.

It was his first attempt to use his tendrils that way, and he could already tell he would be able to go even faster next time. Why hadn’t he thought of this before?

Within mere moments, Thalion appeared in front of one of the mages. He was moving so fast that he couldn’t manage a clean swing, so he adapted and instead sank his teeth into the man’s chest with Abyssal Bite. His fangs crunched through ribs, and with a violent twist of his head, Thalion tore out flesh and shattered bone, leaving a gaping wound filled with festering darkness in the mage’s torso.

Another mage nearby already had lightning crackling around his staff. Thalion reacted instantly, firing a black tendril forward just as the mage released his spell. Lightning bolt and tendril collided midair. The shadowy limb completely annihilated the magic and pierced deep into the mage’s chest.

Another tendril shot from Thalion, finishing off the first mage he had bitten. In no time, both were slain and devoured.

“What the fuck is that thing!” one of the archers cried, disgust and terror clear in his voice. The latter Thalion could feel through his elemental connection. Those were the archer’s final words, as a shadow spike rose from his own silhouette and impaled him instantly.

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The elves and orcs gladly left the humans to fend for themselves while they kept fighting each other. They still didn’t see Thalion as a real threat — a miscalculation they would soon regret.

Thalion continued his assault, hurling himself across the battlefield with his tendrils while launching spikes and exhaling waves of black miasma. The humans were completely overwhelmed but still resilient enough that they didn’t fall immediately.

They dodged Thalion’s attacks over and over. They even managed a few counterstrikes, but his skin was too durable, blocking most blows that didn’t land directly. He received a few injuries and cuts, but those healed within moments.

They all fought to the last man, with only the final survivor trying to flee. Thalion caught up quickly with his new swinging technique and finished him off swiftly. Eliminating this single group and collecting all their belongings in his spatial ring brought him roughly seven hundred more points on the leaderboard.

The new rule that granted extra points for killing trial takers was real. You even earned more from slaying other participants than from killing beasts. On top of that, you gained all the treasures they carried. From this battle alone, Thalion had gathered a decent collection of healing and mana potions. Before the start of the tutorial, he had never needed such items, but they might come in handy if he ever faced a Chosen and required a quick recovery after using his bloodline ability.

Now there were still plenty of orcs and elves left to hunt. Thalion wanted to practice a bit more with his swinging technique. He could really slap himself for not having thought of it earlier.

On his way back up the mountain, he discovered another way to use his shadows. Instead of simply pulling himself forward, he let the last meters of his tendrils thin out, allowing him to contract them like a rubber band, only with far greater force. For his human form, it wasn’t as important since he already had two movement abilities, but he definitely planned to test it later with blood enhancement.

With three more swings, Thalion reached the top again, preparing his ambush. He moved from shadow to shadow, making sure none of the other parties noticed him. Most of the fighters had gathered on the large plaza before the entrance to the main building of the palace, where a powerful monster likely waited.

Thalion stopped about fifty meters behind the archers and began forming long, powerful spikes. His aura was once again fully concealed, though some energy still leaked from his active skills. The orcs must have been too busy fighting the elves to notice such a faint aura disturbance.

This time, Thalion created fewer spikes, but made them far larger and denser to ensure that even the thick hide of the orcs wouldn’t withstand the impact. The massive attacks drained a significant amount of mana, so he waited a few moments to recover. The regeneration boost he had received from the Outsider was invaluable.

When his energy was restored, twelve enormous, eight-meter-long spikes floated before him, perfectly aligned to inflict maximum damage and hopefully kill multiple orcs and elves at once. The elves might be fast enough to dodge since he was directly in their line of sight, but Thalion unleashed the barrage on the orcs regardless.

The air howled as the spikes launched forward at tremendous speed. They tore through everything — orcs, the first wall, and even a few elves — before embedding themselves in the palace wall behind the fighters. Those who were merely grazed by the spikes now had festering darkness spreading across their skin, the corruption slowly eating its way down to the bone. The attack also carried the fear effect of his elemental, causing several wounded to collapse to the ground, crying out in agony.

Thalion stuck to his plan and ignored the elves for now, propelling himself into the orcs with his tendrils. The orcs were brutal powerhouses, and even with his strength, testing them head-on would have been risky. Instead, he relied on his superior speed, darting around the hulking warriors while slashing at them with shadows and claws.

The orcs were formidable fighters; a single clean hit from them could kill Thalion. But he kept his distance, only striking when an opening appeared. What proved more dangerous were the elven archers and mages who continued to target him even as he weaved between the orcs.

The orcs were also highly resistant to mental attacks, or at least they didn’t display much fear compared to the humans. Most of what Thalion sensed from them was rage and pride. That didn’t help them survive. Thalion danced between them, never making a mistake, his senses sharpened by his title and his danger perception.

To maneuver among so many orcs was extremely intense, even though he was cutting them down quickly. Orcs could still fight with several holes in their bodies or deep wounds. That was why Thalion usually aimed for their necks or joints. Those spots had the greatest effect, and with his intuition, he could instinctively identify the most vulnerable weak points.

It simply took longer to kill the orcs compared to the humans. None of them even thought about fleeing; they all fought to the bitter end.

Now only the elves remained. Two groups down, one to go. Thalion had already fired a few spikes at the elves when they became too troublesome. He noticed the smug expressions on their faces — they probably thought they had survived because they were superior to the others.

“Is this a special creature?”

“Maybe we get extra points for killing it.”

Thalion heard the voices of the elves while he gathered power to unleash his next abilities. They clearly saw themselves as the superior race, but that arrogance would soon become their downfall.