Chapter 472
As I threw myself into Combatant’s Bloodlust, the slight thread of the clarity that sat at the back of my mind couldn’t help but laugh at something that the conscious me hadn’t ever thought of. Fighting against the spawn of Illan’Klli reminded me that humans called keelish hatchlings “spawnlings”, which I’d done for a long while after I’d reincarnated as a keelish. Thinking about it, hatchlings was somehow more tender, while spawnling communicated something about how the creature was a pest, something to be eradicated. At least, that was how the term always felt to me, and nobody in the Saharliard Empire called our young spawnlings. Now, there were creatures directly created and sent by a god that called “spawn” and that similarity brought some measure of mirth to my mind.
Then, I cut that foolish thought process out. I allowed myself to think about that only for a split second as I continued to fight. Only a day had passed since the last time we had fought against the Spawn of Illan’Klli, and already I could feel a difference in the monsters I fought. They still couldn’t pose a threat to me, they were too uncoordinated and their magic lacked the strength to penetrate my defenses, but already they were tougher and their magic more responsive. Those I’d struck with Destructive Wave had tumbled from the walls, but none died from that first attack. Fortunately, they all seemed to lack the intelligence to retreat, or maybe they couldn’t, but whatever the case was, they continued advancing up the wall.
With my opening attack made and my enemies bloodied, though I could stand to defend the wall for a long while, it was better that I instead allow my people to fight as well. Regardless of if they had access to the System’s guidance or Nievtala’s voice in their heads or not, the same general Quests were provided to all of us, and the way for a Keel to grow strong was to kill and to hunt. I would be doing myself no favors if I stole every opportunity to grow from my growing Empire's soldiers. I stood to gain nothing from slaughtering the weak while my people could grow to be the soldiers they needed to be with enough help.
All around me, the sounds of battle raged while I also struck down the enemies that came within reach. Not only the Spawn, but also the Misti Hawar hunters flooded forward, which I left exclusively to the other defenders. Their conjured shadows lashed against the defenses and torches that my people held aloft, and though I stood strong, the battle lines began to buckle. My own magic was largely uncontested against that of the people who wanted to break our walls, but ordinary flame couldn’t hope to stand against the shadows that choked out their light.
Their magic had obviously grown stronger since the last time I had stood against an assault at their hands. I couldn’t say why exactly it was, but each of the Misti Hawar that rushed forward fought with a strength that nearly matched that of their leader when she’d infiltrated my city and attempted to murder my children. As soon as I noticed it, I cursed myself for potentially missing that the night before, but turned to those who fought under my direct command.
“Stand strong against the magic,” I commanded, strengthening my people’s resolve with my voice and Overwhelming Address. “It poses a greater threat than before.”
In response, my people chittered and screeched in agreement, nothing but bloodlust and rage seeming to color their attitudes as the battle grew ever bloodier. I listened to screams of pain and anger as my people re-doubled their dedication to the destruction of our attackers. I grinned despite the slaughter, feeling the overwhelming confidence they held in me. A very literal ripple spread over my people as they threw themselves into the battle. Every time a Misti Hawar was pulled from the shadows, they were summarily ripped to pieces, their blood slicking the walls we stood on.
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Even so, the battle grew bloodier as more bodies were thrust into the fray. Kha corpses were shoved emotionlessly back towards the inside of the walls, no scrap of food able to be spared and no foothold able to be sacrificed. I focused on throwing myself at the spawn, the threat they posed far too great to be allowed to grow to the point that they could fight individual Keel on their own. Combatant’s Bloodlust revealed small points of vulnerability at their main bodies, but their tentacles fought madly to prevent my spear and claws from reaching them.