Tales of the Endless Empire

Chapter 365: Ruthless Ascension

This had been a good fight. A lot more dangerous than first thought, too, Thalion thought while looking down at the orc that was slowly being overtaken by the curse. He had caught them off guard with the fire, but in close combat he would have been trouble.They were simply so fast and so strong that, with the little coordination they had, Thalion wouldn't have stood much of a chance. He didn't let that one live to experiment that much with the malediction. He mainly wanted to get some information — to see if the fellow had anything valuable to share and then get out of here to visit the next palace.

He was actually quite close to the top. His current position was two hundred and twenty. He had fallen back, waiting in the dungeon, not sure whether he should use the portal or not. In the end he had decided that he should practise more control and refine his blood. The enemy could only come from one side, which should make an ambush impossible, and when he wasn't able to defeat the attackers he could escape through the portal. Even if they followed he could simply shapeshift into Eagly and fly away. That only counted if the portal led to open air and not underground.

"Now tell me. Who are you, and give me all information about your masters and what the plan for today was," Thalion said to the orc after the curse had fully taken over and the creature looked up at him as if he were his messiah.

The orc spilled everything. It was insane how many uses this curse had. Just insane. This brute was one of the subordinates of the third on the leaderboard — Meyra, Chosen of Eshara. She was a female orc and a shaman, which was a bit of a surprise for Thalion. He hadn't expected that this name would belong to an orc. Also, a shaman was intriguing, but so far Tardat hadn't seen much of her besides the overwhelming aura. Until now she had mostly used dark green flames for almost everything. This didn't mean that it was her only means of attack. She had multiple amulets and rings around her arms; her clothes and body were full of runes, too. She also possessed several staves, some topped with the heads of dead elves or humans. So there definitely had to be more to her than simply dark green fire.

Tardat also told in which areas they would be searching for treasures, but this could vary widely. Important was that he knew where the chosen would be when night came. Thalion didn't want to fight her but mostly wanted to stay away from her. He knew nothing of her true abilities and didn't want to test his luck. Technically his chances might be higher to kill her now because of the level difference, which would grow over time. Still, there could be many other orcs with her, and they were strong enough that Thalion wouldn't mess with them. Also, he might really have a good chance to reach the top without fighting a chosen. No — it was time to check out the other palaces and eliminate everyone and everything in his way. He was done letting anyone live.

The last time it had ended with the hydra group, and he was still a bit traumatized by it — that he had even allowed something like that to happen. He would have liked to take the orc with him to see how he fought, but Thalion guessed that the shaman had a way to find her underlings and he really didn't want to pop up on her radar. He killed the creature by draining his blood and that of all the other orcs who were lying on the ground, dead or unconscious. Next he took all their items. Some even had a few fire crystals he could later give the Sanguis Impera when they were chilling in the safe zone or had a few minutes for strengthening their affinities.

Speaking of affinities, he definitely should start with fire affinity in his human form. That would directly strengthen his flames, which would be a big bonus in power. Finding a fire mage now to get some good tips would really be helpful. Without further ado Thalion stepped through the portal and appeared in the tall grass behind the mountain the palace was placed on. After checking that no one was watching him he shifted to Eagly and took to the sky.

He quickly shot high and started to move in the direction of the next palace in the distance. Thalion enjoyed the wind brushing through his feathers and the warm sun rays on him. It felt so nice after the dark dungeon he had been in before. With his sharp eyes he could clearly observe the two next palaces. One looked abandoned while around the other a group of humans, orcs and elves fought ferociously. It was also the closer one.

Thalion didn't fear those parties. The auras were strong, but if he started to avoid such people he would never become a god. You couldn't always hope for a lucky encounter and Thalion wasn't that kind of person. It was time to be ruthless. This was his system event, and if those people didn't step aside he would make them.

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In this open battle, Thalion would try to stay as Eagly for as long as possible. Most of his fights he had fought in his human form or as the crippled Eclipsari. Eagly was, in most situations, simply not good enough. The biggest problem with that form was its lack of endurance and vitality. One solid hit could mean Thalion’s end.

Still, in such open battlefields, he should be able to dodge incoming attacks and strike back with his lightning. Thalion tucked in his wings and dropped from the sky like a stone toward the combatants. Electricity crackled around his feathers, and his horns were passively charging up while he prepared the lightning beam.

Ten meters above the ground, Thalion opened his wings and went into a wide curve while unleashing the lightning beam in a flyby. Four orcs, one elf, and three humans were killed in that single attack. Before anyone could even counter, Thalion had already vanished. He had tried to aim for the archers, which turned out to be much more difficult than expected when flying at such high speed. Still, the strike had been a complete success.

Below him, the fighters were screaming loudly and pointing fingers at the sky. It was a tricky situation for them. They were battling each other while also having to watch out for a murderous bird ready to kill them at a moment’s notice. Thalion did not rush. He started to ascend again, scanning for the perfect target or the best route through the chaos.

Skills flew back and forth between both sides, and heavily armored warriors were beating the life out of each other until an orc joined the fray. Then the humans and elves would retreat, much to the orc’s frustration. No one wanted to be struck by one of those powerful swings that could kill instantly.

There were still plenty of archers keeping an eye out for Thalion, which meant he had to activate a few of his abilities. He triggered Thunderous Eyes and Tempest Glide to make it as difficult as possible for the archers to hit him. Thalion refrained from using Stormcaller’s Fury, since that would draw everyone’s attention, and he wanted to exploit the ongoing conflict between the three factions for as long as possible.

The storm raging around him served mostly to divert arrows and disrupt spells. One of the mages tried to blast him with a fire spell, only to have the flames turn blue and shock him violently in return. This divine skill was truly one of a kind, a treasure in itself. Thalion briefly wondered if it would be downgraded once he reached E Grade.

Another lightning beam killed two elven archers in the next pass. The winds had become so strong that it was difficult for the fighters below to even stay on their feet whenever he flew by. Then, suddenly, Thalion felt a pang of danger but was too slow to evade. An arrow pierced his left wing.

Thalion screeched and tumbled toward the ground. The arrow had come from an elven archer and had been fired with such force that it almost tore the entire wing off. He crashed hard into the ruined palace courtyard where the three factions were still clashing. Right before hitting the ground, he shifted into his crippled Eclipsar form and nearly surfed over the broken piles of stone.

Thankfully, it was his left wing that had been destroyed, otherwise he would have had no arms at all. The loss meant little in this form, as the crippled Eclipsari had only one arm from the start. Fighting with just one hand in human form would have felt strange, but this he could manage.

Darkness began to spread around him, and Thalion had to immediately dodge two incoming arrows. The archers who had hit him had not even hesitated before loosing their next shots. Each arrow was charged with so much energy that even being close to them caused damage.

With the agility of the crippled Eclipsari, he had little trouble avoiding the attacks. He instantly exhaled Umbral Miasma to obscure their line of sight. The fighters were so powerful, however, that his dark domain was torn apart after only a few blows, while two mage-warriors dashed toward him.

Thalion had to stay alert. Their attacks were potent, and if they landed, he might not survive. Both were elves with the typical long hair and glowing magical swords in hand. Their aura pressed down on him, a clear sign that these opponents were formidable and not to be underestimated.

Until now, Thalion had restrained his own aura, but that ended here. He fully unleashed his power along with the sinister presence of his elemental. His malevolent energy seemed to shock the two warriors, and Thalion used their hesitation to his advantage. He blurred forward, darkness curling around his claw.

Thalion could sense the fear creeping into the hearts of the fighters surrounding him, making it easier to deal with those who came too close. Thankfully, no one seemed eager to interfere. One fighter dodged fluidly to the right while the other moved left, both evading his opening strike. The elves countered with elegant swings, their swords glowing brightly as they unleashed deadly arcs of energy. Each slash was powerful enough to bisect him despite his high resistance.

Thalion countered by leaping over the attacks and sending out a shadow to grasp one of the elves. Both strikes missed, forcing the two to dodge each other’s blows instead. They ducked under their comrade’s swing, just enough time for the shadow hand to seize one of them.

He did not waste another second. Thalion made a grasping motion while locking eyes with the remaining elf. He could feel the terror and despair radiating from his foe. Their suffering made him stronger. With a cruel grin, never breaking eye contact, he clenched his clawed hand into a fist, and the elf’s body was crushed.

"MONSTER!" the other elf shouted, his face turning crimson as he charged Thalion again, his aura flaring with rage.