Chapter 439: The Absolute Shield
The smoke cleared to reveal Alexander unscathed. The darkness around him had formed a dome that absorbed the Platinum-Tier attacks without taking a scratch. As the shadow barrier dissolved, Alexander’s black eyes locked onto the soldiers. With a smirk, he lunged forward, extending his claws to manifest the scythe blade.
However, before the slash reached the soldiers, the General intercepted his path, thrusting her hands forward and channeling her mana.
"[Divine Light Shield]!" shouted the General.
The scythe strike slammed into a translucent barrier that erupted in a flash. Seeing that his attack failed to pierce the wall of light, Alexander tilted his head to the side, confused. In this state, his body operated on instinct; no reasoning remained in his mind.
Without hesitation, Alexander unleashed slash after slash in a barrage of dark scythes. The Divine Shield began to tremble, forcing the General to grit her teeth to hold her ground.
The soldiers watched with concern. Never before had they seen the General struggle to contain an attack. The reputation of the "Divine Shield General" was renowned throughout the Federation; her defense could repel undead hordes within The Breach, making her a venerated figure.
"We can’t stand here; he’ll slaughter us if we don’t move," said one of the soldiers.
"What do you suggest?" asked his comrade, priming his mana.
"We counterattack; we need to wear him down," said the first soldier.
"Break off and disperse—attack from every angle!" commanded the officer.
Following orders, the operatives broke formation and scattered to flank the beast. However, the soldier who had proposed the plan didn’t turn back to strike; he bolted in the opposite direction, fleeing from the battlefield.
The soldiers fanned out along the flanks and unleashed a barrage of attacks to draw his attention away. Torrents of wind and thrusts of light slammed into Alexander’s back, but the shadow cuirass and mantle of darkness granted by [Lord of the Night] absorbed the strikes.
At that moment, one of the officers noticed the soldier sprinting away.
"Damn you, coward!" roared the officer in rage. "May the monsters devour your soul for abandoning us!"
Without turning to glance at his aggressors or the deserter, Alexander concentrated energy into his right arm. His instinct told him that the obstacle was the wall of light standing before him.
"General, hold on! We’re wearing down his power!" shouted another soldier from the left.
"No... this isn’t wearing him down!" said the General, feeling her arms tremble under the pressure.
Alexander raised his arm and brought down a strike with his claw. The shockwave was a heavy impact of energy that made the stone under their feet quake.
A crack echoed across the battlefield.
A fissure split through the center of the [Divine Light Shield], spreading out like a spiderweb of shattered glass. The General’s eyes widened, unable to suppress the mana backlash that hit her chest.
"Impossible..." said the General, coughing up a trail of blood.
Alexander gave her no time to recover. With a second strike loaded with force, the barrier shattered into light shards that dissolved into the air. The shockwave launched the General backward, sending her rolling across the ground while the soldiers watched.
"The shield... has fallen," said the officer, taking a step back as the silhouette of the Lord of the Night advanced through the smoke.
Amidst the smoke, Alexander raised his right arm and pointed a finger toward the distant silhouette of the fleeing soldier.
Upon receiving the signal, hundreds of true vampires broke rank from the swarm and shot across the sky like a cluster of dark comets.
The deserter glanced over his shoulder, and upon seeing the tide of shadows closing in, he burned his mana to accelerate his pace. The soles of his boots shattered the stone with every stride, but his efforts proved futile.
The vampire vanguard plunged down upon him like a pack of wolves.
Two of the creatures dove, tearing through his legs with their claws to cut off his escape, while a third impaled him through the shoulder, pinning him into the earth.
"No! Please, no! Mercy!" screamed the soldier, squirming as blood gushed from his wounds.
The vampires offered no mercy. They drove their claws into his limbs and began dragging him back across the dirt, leaving a trail of blood toward the General’s position.
"Mercy! Save me! General, please!" shrieked the deserter, thrashing against the grip of the creatures.
The remaining soldiers watched in horror, listening to the coward’s pleas as the vampires tossed him at Alexander’s feet like a prize.
The deserter lay upon the rocks, trembling as he stared into the bone crown and glowing red eyes of the entity.
"Please... I beg you! I have a family!" shrieked the deserter, trying to crawl backward with his broken arms.
The creature didn’t utter an articulate sound. Driven by the thirst consuming its mind, it stepped forward, seized the soldier by the throat with a shadow-clad claw, and hoisted him off the ground.
"Stop, you cursed beast!" yelled the squad officer, taking a step forward with his sword trembling in his grip.
The monster drove its fangs into the deserter’s jugular.
A scream echoed through the valley as the soldier’s body contorted. Fresh blood surged down the entity’s throat, smothering the fire raging inside its core. The crimson eyes embedded in the bone crown flashed with intensity as it drained every drop of life.
Within seconds, the deserter’s skin turned grey, leaving behind a desiccated corpse. The creature tossed the lifeless husk aside, letting it crash onto the stone.
"He... it drained him dry..." said one of the soldiers, dropping his shield.
"It’s a demon... a monster of The Breach!" said the officer, backing away with a pale face.
The General forced herself up, leaning on her broadsword while wiping a trail of blood from her mouth. Her white eyes locked onto the demoniac form, reflecting dread and resolve.
"Hold your ground," said the General, stepping in front of her surviving men. "If we yield to panic before this entity, none of us leaves this rift alive."
The monster licked the trail of blood from its lips, exhaling a plume of dark mist. Though its thirst had ebbed, its glowing crimson eyes locked back onto the General and the remaining troops; its hunger demanded more.