Chapter 308: Breaking Barriers
Rows of spectral gladiators slammed into the beach, one after the other, their greaves driving into the ground as a prelude to their formidable presence. They were solid manifestations that had come to this plane of reality at the beckoning of the Mistwalker himself, forming a bulwark of resistance deep within the Fallen Zone. Dark sand, dirt, and gravel splashed in waves as they arrived and shifted into strict formations.
No words were necessary to establish a level of organization that would have taken years of training to execute so flawlessly. They interlocked their rectangular shields with the metallic clangs of iron and steel, immediately prepared to engage with the alien army that sprinted across the sand toward their position. Their opponents were long-limbed creatures with glassy shells smoothly masking their mechanical nature. They pressed forward, the desire to kill the phantasmal spearmen exceedingly obvious.
The warriors carried the same will as Coop, staring the approaching enemies in the face with grim confidence behind shining faceguards and polished ancient iron spears. Ethereal mana drifted from their positions, blurring the details that would make them individually identifiable, forever guaranteeing they were nothing more or less than nameless phantasms ready to fight to the last man.
The Elite Primal Insurgents barely disturbed the surface as they rushed forward, gliding across the shallow water and moving up the wide sandy shore, always precise with their steps, even in an all out attack. In contrast to the more immediate threat in the Insurgents, the giant figure of polished glass at their backs blasted disorganized waves of furious mana across the battlefield, and high into the air, as if it was performing a pyrotechnic show of black fireworks from the center of an entire stadium filled to the brim with spectators.
As Coop decided on his simple plan, the murky mana that the boss was expelling began to take shape. It was forming an expansive dome similar to those summoned by other Primal Constructs, except that it was completely opaque, like an oppressive polished shadow, gradually encroaching on a weakening light source. The dark reflective surface was like a distant smoky mirror, matching the skin of the Insurgents and the boss itself, and the images it projected were clouded by the haze of shadows that filled the domain.
The shield covered an area appropriate for the Omega Construct’s ‘Region Boss’ title, claiming a massive portion of the Fallen Zone as a personal domain. It was comparable even to the mana domes that isolated the civilization shard territory during settlement events, so much area was covered. The boss was guaranteeing the confrontation that Coop had initiated, preventing the intruder from any real chance of escape.
The Omega Construct continued to cast even after the dome took shape and solidified, keeping Coop’s attention, jabbing its black baton back and forth as if encouraging its minions to smash against the meddlers within its domain. The Region Boss was frantically conducting its army to crush Coop and his phantasms like they were insects invading a sacred place. Coop grunted. Obviously, he intended for his squad to be even more difficult to remove than simple bugs.
Coop had stretched Legacy of the Mists to call upon 90 phantasms, barely leaving enough durability for his ethereal spear to continue being usable. The last time he tested his manifestations, he had a limited capacity to summon phantasms, where if he called upon 100, his weapons would shatter, dismissing the phantasms as well. It had been a long time since then, and he had gained hundreds of levels and even a new affinity that transformed his relationship with mana in ways that he hadn’t been forced to test just yet.
His most recent challenges had not pushed his power level so much as they had stretched his coverage. The erosive pure mana of the Underlayer had also prevented his phantasms from existing long enough to summon more than a few dozen at a time, but the Fallen Zone was a different matter. The Omega Construct promised to rekindle his need to find his limits and push through them.
Coop, despite taking a few licks as he initially overestimated his superiority, was game. His wounds still leaked mists, but he was more than ready to fight at his best. He knew the challenges would just keep coming before finding this Region Boss, and he could feel the heat rising from his shoulders as the excitement for battle burned within him. His nostrils flared as he smiled toward the towering six-eyed face that glowed red, high in the darkness, more like an ominous building than an intelligent being, that had risen from the depths of the blackened sea.