Dust covered the horizon. Their monstrous and grotesque forms straight from the abyssal dimension formed a wall that surrounded him. Uncountable. Inconceivable. Endless. That was the only way to describe what was approaching him.
All sorts of demons were present; Chaos Goblins, Gargoyles, Twin-headed Ogres, Imps, Ghouls, and even Trolls.
As Lassim stood, preparing for the tumultuous onslaught of the abyssal legion, his mind turned to calm calculation on what to do next. "Okay, deep breath. I’ll start with [Aegis] up and try and pick them off from a distance with [Thrust]. Once they’re closer… Well, I guess I won’t have to worry about having enough points at the end."
With a wry smile at the thought, he the tapped his jade bracelet and set the system panel to always be on display. That way he could keep a tab on Sirium and Lustria and see if their names ever fell off the list.
Then, with the monsters within 100meters of him, each thought of his became focused and sharp like the blade of his halberd.
As if that alertness and focus was the signal, the storm above mirrored his battle fury. He controlled the lightning mana in the cloud to unleash repeated lightning strikes towards him that he channeled into [Thrust] towards the wave of monsters. The first several strikes scorched the earth and many enemies at once.
"At least they’re weakened according to the headmaster. I can’t even imagine what facing the real deal would be like.," Lassim muttered, his voice a low growl as he observed the horde’s movements. They attacked from all directions and he was thankful to Elder Valeria’s training.
He was able to use the mana to sense their chaotic energy source and predict patterns in their chaotic attacks from all angles.
His halberd sliced through the air, severing a creature’s head with a clean swipe, its body collapsing in a heap of more putrid ooze. His [Aegis] blocked several arrows shot by a tall troll in the distance that was aiming for his back legs.
Adjusting his stance, he eyed the encroaching foes with icy detachment. "Oh, you want to play?," he declared, launching himself at an oversized beast, his weapon connecting with a sickening crunch. His halberd’s blade halfway into its ribs. The troll howled, staggering backward from the force with drool leaking from it’s tusk filled mouth.
Then Lassim silenced its disgusting cry with a shock of lightning, ending its life before turning to spin his halberd with the rain condensing into [Block], a water barrier the shape and width of his fast spinning pole-arm.
The water absorbed some sort of purplish fire plasma type attack that was lunched by a group of imps nearby. Their figures working together and muttering incomprehensible words before launching three more rapid fire plasma bolts towards him.
Lassim controlled the icy hail to intensify, turning the battlefield into a lethal blizzard of sharp, frozen death. The water barrier turned into a thick slab of ice to which he then dislodged the halberd and swung backwards. With his entire force he unleashed a water elementally charged [Slam] against the slab, sending giant ice shards towards the imps and impaling them gruesomely.
Necks slashed, heads impaled, and some crushed under the speed and force of the shards.
Lassim continued and maneuvered through the blizzard, his movements deliberate and precise to maximize his ability to deflect and block the oncoming attacks from every direction.
"Control. Control. Control. I can make it work. I’ll use the storm," he reminded himself, turning his control over the weather’s fury to his advantage. He connected with all of the water elemental mana and the air and unleashed his largest [Storm’s Grasp] he had yet.
The hail turned to rain in an instant, a cold slurry that flooded the surroundings. All the beasts in an area of 100 meters around Lassim became covered with this slurry. It covered a height taller than the imps and knee-height of the larger trolls nearby. Slowing down the monsters gave Lassim an easier time, making them prey for his strikes.
With each fallen enemy, Lassim’s focus was steady, or even becoming more sharpened. Unaware, his growing will was manifesting and affecting the eggs in his inner world. The eggs begun to swirl each other slowly and radiate blue or violet auras depending on the egg’s element.
Even his own body, if you had a high cultivation like a Spirit Ascendant, would see the signs of a blue and purple swirling aura leaking from his skin.
After beheading a Three-headed Hell Hound from behind on its tall back, he took a brief glance to survey the situation around him and trial timer again. "There’s really no end to them, huh? Still, another 21 and a half hours to go. Fine. I’ll cut down as many as it takes," he said, his tone steely.
The ground around him was absolutely littered with the slain foes. The rain cleansed the noxious fumes their bodies leaked after death partially, making it easier for Lassim to not have to worry about the smell.
He knew they came from the Abyssal Dimension where the Dragal resides and that they used a different elemental system than the ones Nexarianz used, but it was still a bit unnerving how unnatural it felt when his senses touched their beings. They just felt completely wrong like they shouldn’t exist here.
Not giving Lassim any more time to evaluate the situation, a towering arch fiend flew before him with it’s leathery wings. Its maw gaped with unhinged jaws, fully open and appearing like it was screaming, yet there was no sound coming from it. Just a deep void within its opening.
Lassim met its charge with a fierce counter, thrusting his halberd forward with [Lightning Lash] holding it in an electrical prison. Its wings, no longer flapping or capable of flight, began to fall towards him.
"Too slow, idiot," he smirked, as the creature impaled itself on his weapon. With a quick twist and a kick, he freed his halberd, the beast collapsing with a thunderous thud on the frozen slurry covered ground.
Surveying the chaotic fray, Lassim’s eyes narrowed. "I should pick a direction and start seeing if I can find others in this mess," he said, steeling himself as he begun to [Sweep] and [Slam] and [Thrust] his way in a random direction.
The storm above followed him as the center of the tempest. His swirling egg-bound spirits seemed to be becoming more energetic and frenetic as he slew beast after beast. They responded by affecting the storm’s lightning strikes. They became more frequent and each flash deadly. They were finally becoming an independent ally in his relentless battle.
This was the first time they specifically took control to assist him without his urging or direction.
In amidst the legion’s numbers, Lassim found a grim rhythm to the madness. Each enemy was not really a threat. They mostly varied between SI2 as the weakest and SI8 in strength at the upper ends. He had yet to meet one at SI9, his cultivation level, or one with power equivalent to the Spirit Growth stage.
He was resolved to use this endless legion as a means to hone his skills and to temper his resolve. The aura around his body grew, microscopically—yet it grew.
"Come!" he growled, ready for the onslaught, "Face my storm!"
His halberd became a whirlwind of destruction, cleaving through the swarming horde with lethality. The storm above, now assisting him more independently, unleashed its fury. It cast down lightning bolts that obliterated the weaker monsters in blinding flashes. It eased a bit of the stress on his mind, freeing it to focus more on clearing a path.
In each passing moment, the battlefield grew increasingly strewn with the carcasses of the fallen legion. He was like a machine, a razor, that cut and sliced through the waves. For every beast that fell, another three took it’s place. They seemed to surge forth like a tsunami, as if the very ground spawned them from its seemingly barren womb.
Spotting a larger beast, an armored and spiked barrel of a creature hurling towards him, Lassim braced himself. "Uwaaaah!" he roared, charging forward to meet the creature head-on.
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The clash was titanic, Lassim’s halberd struck against the beast’s thick armor-like hide with sparks flying in every direction. The monster roared, its mouth revealed to be three times the size of its head, was wide open and revealed rows of serrated teeth dripping with venom.
Lassim darted to the side, narrowly avoiding being swallowed whole or given a lethal bite with the venom he saw. He swung his halberd in with a [Sweep] that was blocked once again, yet it knocked the creatures feet off the ground. Before it could land, he continued with a swift upward [Slash], cutting through the creature’s underbelly.
The monster howled, its movements becoming erratic as it thrashed in pain. Lassim didn’t relent; his weapon moved in a blur. Now with the creature on its side, he could spot the weak gaps in the armor. With a final, powerful thrust in towards a gap near it’s shoulders, he pierced downwards towards the creature’s heart.
Its massive body seizing violently before fully collapsing with a ground-shaking spasm. It’s black and disgusting ooze-filled innards everywhere.
Lassim’s martial robes and arms were dripping with the stuff, but he had no time to worry about cleanliness during this massacre.