Chapter 100: Back At It
Nomad blasted through the front gate, Heartstone thumping in his chest, the leathery handle of the sword scraping against his bony fingers. He ducked down as an arrow whizzed toward him, stretched a hand out, and caught it as it passed by over his head. He caught it hard in the palm of his hand and turned and stabbed its pointy tip into the Undead Soldier who came swinging a giant sword. Saw him stumbling back with a hand over the arrow, growling through a set of yellow teeth. Finished the deed with a swing of his sword and sent the bastard’s head rolling down to the cold, dead stone.
Up round the hall, a swarm of them waited for him. Warriors out in the front, archers in the back. The Chief would be waiting for him by the Gate, but for now, he had dealt with this sorry lot.
Good. He could use some distraction.
He lunged in as mana rushed toward his hands, through the broken tiles and into the squirming group of Undead. Lunged in with mad fury burning in his chest, and swung the sword round to give himself some space.
One of them was too late to step back. The sword squelched into his Heartstone and nicked a deep gash across it, sending him crashing into the side wall. Nomad was on him in no time, free hand clasping the nape of his skull and plastering it flat across the wall, bits of his stone splintering about in a sick rain.
He breathed the dying reek of the bastard.
There was nothing like the brutal rush of a battle to quieten the voices.
The lifestone had gone. Drained right after he stole the Void Riftshards. Gave him just enough time to fend off the Everfog of the Liches. Once out from the Legion’s City, he scrambled through one mountain after another, dead soil of the Underworld crunching under the heels of his feet, bones worn and falling off, with no time to think about it all.
He’d had a plan.
He would get inside the Castle Hide, deal with the lot manning it, catch the Bone Collector, and force him to work new skin over his bones. Then, he would go to the surface to find that stubborn Healer and have him prepare another stone like the one in his chest.
But time was of dwindling quality as of late, and the number of bastards was a touch more than he’d expected.
Didn’t matter. Killing don’t change as long as you have a sword in hand.