Master of Dominion-Chapter 79: Indomitable strength
Rael didn’t even feel fear or terror anymore; instead, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated because it was obvious these two Withered husks were still not the cause of his earlier dread,he was starting to see that whatever was behind these waves was actually trying to wear them out.
The Withered husk that had crashed into the ground wasn’t even dead to begin with as it crawled out of the little crater it had made, which made things more difficult.
Now they had two, if not three, Withered husks to face, and that was not even considering the Withered spawns that were gathering.
Rael had used the Great Bloodrend twice already, with each consuming big amounts of his aether, leaving him with a tiny bit that he was not about to count on. He glanced at Iyvre from the corner of his eye and saw her already in her battle stance; obviously, she probably still had a lot of aether reserved, but her next words did surprise and please him.
"We should retreat for now and recuperate for as long as the last sigil can hold up," Iyvre proposed, sounding more pragmatic, and Rael couldn’t agree more.
So he immediately darted backwards towards the sigil while twirling his sword through the air, cutting down the Withered spawns that swooped down from above.
Iyvre followed behind him, cutting down any vermins that tried to gnaw at their retreat, while also eyeing the Withered husk ,a vermin that still hadn’t charged ahead. It seemed to battle with something within its half-mawed head as it shook it continuously.
They eventually entered through the gates, making sure to avoid places that held traps Ayobe and Yasmin had set days before with most of the traps triggering immediately the withered spawns crossed them, sending clouds of green smoke and shrapnel into the air that plunged in and out of the rotten flesh of the Withered.
The Withered spawns that managed to get through the traps eventually slammed head-on into the stakes that had been inscribed with the Uruz rune, which pierced through them easily; however, that was a minority. The majority of the wave slammed headfirst into the fences that glowed with a yellow light.
It continued to flicker as more and more from above and below slammed into it, causing it to flicker continuously.
"What do we do now?" Ayobe asked, having watched Rael and Iyvre retreat.
"We recover as much aether as we can," Rael replied, feeling more resolved to go ahead with the reckless plan that had formed in his mind. He knew he had to draw out that thing, while at the same time hoping it wasn’t extremely intelligent enough to realize what he was planning.
"If you guys need to recover your aether, do so fast, because those things don’t plan on waiting for nobody," Yasmin spat from above the crude outpost tower structure she stood upon.
She brought out the last of the seeds she had left then bit her thumb to smear blood over them, and then started to whisper silently into her clenched palm.
Rael rested his back against the house of alchemy as he contemplated the last issue with his plan
’Would it be that effective?,but yet whether it is or not, I’ve got to try,’ he thought grimly, having chosen to rely on his territory’s special debuff to intruders.
Rael looked to the sky, which was still shrouded by the gloomy glow cast by the red moon.
"Just a few hours left. No fucking way I’m dying now," he muttered to himself, giving himself as much motivation as he could muster.
"Hufff." Rael took a deep breath before staring down at what he’d pulled from his magic pouch. It was a black axe that had the symbol of the Uruz rune covering both sides of the weapon’s blades. It was once a weapon of the Dark Apostles, one he had taken a fancy to; so, like every other weapon, he’d inscribed it with the Uruz rune as well.
Now, speaking of the Uruz rune, even though it had been stated that it could be applied to not just steel, wood, and rock, but even flesh, he hadn’t tried inscribing it on his skin.
Ayobe had warned against that, saying such inscriptions could lead to irreversible damage to the skin and possibly the receiving part of the enhancements which in his case would be his muscles something he definitely hadn’t wanted before, but now...
Rael conjured a small potion bottle that carried a deep red liquid within. It was all that remained of the Colosape ape’s blood. He knew for his plan to work, he had to trick this foe into thinking he’d truly run out of aether while deep in the wave with no way of retreat and what better way to achieve this facade than with indomitable strength?
Xaphxan sat cross-legged, refilling as much aether as he could while trying to calm his growing anxiety and fear, which was being fueled by the increasing flares and flickers of the array. He opened his eyes only to find Rael shirtless with a determined expression, holding a knife while uncorking a small bottle of red liquid. He peered closer at what his boss was doing in a moment like this, only for Rael to glance at him.
"Come. Come help me," Rael called, making Xaphxan hesitate for a bit before rising slowly and approaching Rael, who sat by the entrance to the House of Alchemy.
"Take the knife and draw this on me, before applying this on what you’ve carved," Rael requested, raising the knife to Xaphxan while tracing the Uruz rune in the sand.
"I... should I... I..." Xaphxan didn’t know what to say, nor did he take the knife from Rael. "I can’t," he finally muttered.
Rael sighed before staring directly into Xaphxan’s eyes. "I’ll say it again, except this time it’s not a request. Take the knife and carve this rune I’ve drawn several times on my back, chest, and arms, and smear this blood on what you have carved," Rael said in a much more commanding tone.
