Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Against an army (IV)

Kan Golge watched his enemies in frustration. He wanted to weaken them, to exhaust their resources, and then attack. However, the offensive of the losts weren't forcing them to exert themselves to their fullest. They weren't even expending much mana, which was his goal.

As if that weren't enough, the dryads' territory was slowly expanding, and some losts were awakened. It wasn't a problem yet, but it could become one if it continued.

He needed the shadows to be more aggressive, but it was clear that they were scared. Several had died, apparently because of that strange elven archer. She didn't seem to be anything special, apart from being unusually powerful, but her arrows could kill his ethereal minions. He wondered if she was to blame for the other deaths, at least if she was one of the culprits. Although, it didn't matter much now.

In any case, the vampire hadn't associated the movements of the plants with her, because he believed that they were exclusively the work of the dryads. Therefore, he was still underestimating her power.

"Where's the other one?" he wondered.

In their first encounter, he had met Maldoa, but she wasn't there. He would have liked to believe that she had died, but he wasn't so optimistic. He knew that those who had died were the children he had left behind after escaping.

The vampire couldn't imagine that the drelf had taken control of an Origin, and that it was one of the reasons for the arrival of the power of the dryads. Despite his extensive knowledge, he was oblivious to the secrets of the dryads.

It was then that he felt it. The shadows were linked to him now that he had absorbed part of the miasma. He could feel them, direct them telepathically. One had disappeared.

Another.

Another.

Two more.

Another.

He didn't know how, but they were being annihilated. It didn't matter if they fled or hid, they all disappeared without a trace.

"How?" he wondered, as frustrated as he was incredulous.

Apparently, the elf wasn't the only one capable of eliminating his shadows. If Goldmi's existence should already be impossible, it was hard to believe that there were other beings like her. In addition, they were attacking in many places at once. There had to be a legion of elven archers, and they couldn't have gone unnoticed.

In theory, only the fairies should be able to pose a threat to the corrupted spirits. Nonetheless, it was impossible for them to reach there, to the heart of the corruption.

"It can't be... Shit!" he realized when he looked incredulously at the path of life created by the dryads.

There was an uncorrupted path that presumably reached the area of the living. For the first time, it occurred to him that the fairies could travel it, but it was too late to take action. All the shadows were concentrated there, too close to the influence of the dryads.

He hadn't seen the fairies, because they hadn't allowed it, but his deduction was correct. They had come through that path, and were decimating his subordinates, freeing them. Soon, only the shadows that had fled remained, though they didn't survive for long.

Rage took hold of him. Again and again, his plans had been thwarted and his forces reduced. He had to finish off all his enemies. The first to fall was a harmless Bat that was fluttering nearby.

"Oh. Are they bothering him?" Gjaki smiled mischievously.

The Bat that was watching Kan Golge had been struck down, so she had sent another. This time, she had paid more attention, and discovered that his enemy had personally destroyed it.

Far from thinking it was useless to continue sending them, her decision was just the opposite. She sent another, and a second was ready to approach immediately if the first was shot down.

The vampire, blinded by rage, didn't hesitate to launch a ray of miasma at the new pest, which was much more powerful than necessary. It was difficult for him to control his new power.

However, skillfully led by the vampiress, the winged summon dodged the attack, and the second, and the third.

"Damn it! Now you'll see!" Kan Golge exclaimed.

He opened one hand and closed it, aiming at the Bat. A large amount of miasma enveloped it, prevented it from dodging. The pressure exerted made the little explorer explode. Immediately, another took its place. It was looking mockingly at Kan Golge, or so it seemed to him.

Those childish provocations wouldn't have even made him flinch in his normal state, but the miasma partially clouded his judgment. Otherwise, he would have left there already.

"Just disappear!" he exclaimed angrily.

A sphere of miasma expanded around him. It reached the Bat and the nearby losts. Although the miasma itself wasn't harmful to them, the force of the impact sent them back several meters, many on top of other corrupted beings.

Then, another Bat appeared to replace the previous one. The vampiress was fine if he continued to waste his power. She had to admit that, at that moment, he was more terrible than she had believed. His partial transformation was very dangerous.

Luckily, her enemy looked unstable, both mentally and physically. Perhaps, she could make him make a mistake by provoking him.

"Damn it! Attack! Everyone! Get them!" he ordered the corrupted beings.

He couldn't control them precisely, but he could give them the order. Even the shadows would have known that it wasn't a very good idea, from their own experience. The corrupted beings would advance and attack without caring that others allies were in the way. Unfortunately for him, in his state, emotions easily got the better of him.

"I think I've made him too angry..." Gjaki worried. "Eldi! Lini! Back off!"

The high human and the lynx didn't ignore the vampiress' warning. They had noticed the change in attitude of the corrupted beings too. For a few moments, it had been more relaxed, as the shadows were no longer controlling them. The losts had seemed to be waiting for orders, but, suddenly, they had all started moving in their direction.

Since the vampiress could see through the Bats, she had a better understanding of the battlefield. Although there were someone who had better vision.

"All the losts are moving forward at once. The faster ones are trampling the slower ones. They're really stupid," the goshawk informed her sisters.

It was definitely time to go back. For now, it seemed impossible to reach Kan Golge.