Chapter 568: Going Against a Ruler
Alex was creating mayhem right before the entrance, constantly staying on the move using ground and air alike but not leaving the Skaven a clear path of entry, and while his efforts only slowed them by a little, it was still of great help to the defenders.
It took mere seconds for the Skaven to begin entering a state of rage as the mana of their fallen brethren permeated through the area.
Whereas before, the weak ones were avoiding him like a plague, under the influence of rage, began to throw themselves at him, no longer caring for their own life in the slightest.
Alex was faring well even when he dealt with hundreds if not thousands of Skaven, as anyone who got near him and did not get sliced by his blade or had their bodies twisted by his chaos wings received a serving of chaos, turning into a ticking bomb.
The darkness element was capable of erasing things on a molecular level, and in a direct duel, there was nothing better, but on a battlefield where every side had an enemy, there was nothing better than chaos.
The chaos element could change the nature of things and even mess with the time element, and while far from yet reaching that level of mastery, Alex had a good few skills in his arsenal, one of them being the transmutation skill.
While its unlimited uses were only held down by his own imagination and undressing of the chaos element, Alex's current use was transmuting living individuals, ranging from twisting their limbs to turning their bodies into ticking time bombs ready to explode.
Alex would begin with blood transmutation, turning their blood into a highly acidic substance, and this acid wouldn't just burn, but it would react violently with oxygen, becoming increasingly unstable as it circulates through the body.
Alex could go a step further and destabilize his target's organs, making them produce volatile gases and also twist and turn their mana veils, turning them into walking corpses.
The targets would either die from their heart-stopping only to have their bodies explode into smithereens or endure the few seconds of extreme pain that grew worse by the moment and then explode.
The skill had its limitations, as it required physical contact with a target for at least a few seconds, on top of the target requiring him to be much weaker than him for the process to take full effect.
But even if the target could resist the changes, if not on a similar level to him, it would still end up messing the target's body to a state beyond recovery.
It was a skill with truly gruesome effects and not something that Alex wished to use against any foe, but in his current situation, it was the ideal skill to do immense damage with minimal effort.
Veritas had also become a center of attention as he controlled hundreds of zombies, dead and alive Skaven, who had lost control of their bodies and were doing the bidding of their new master.
The white mist that he released from the pin-sized holes on the fingertips of his gloves permeated his surroundings, and while it appeared pure and harmless, it was anything but that.
Anyone who dared to come into contact with it would soon turn into a mindless creature, and their transformation was only a matter of time.
The white mist, in reality, was an ocean of countless nano creatures, smaller than specks of dust, that seemingly had an intelligence of their own or at least a purpose that they served without fail.
The tiny creatures would cling to any living being like iron filings drawn to a powerful magnet, entering their bodies through breath or skin, and the worst part, not even the dead were spared from such a fate.
On the surface, nothing much appeared different, as the affected target acted normal, their physical or magical abilities still being at their disposal, and the only real change was their complete absence of emotions.
Veritas's skill did not end with just that, as he was also capable of generating a red mist, one that Alex only saw him use once on Kalrosh, the Warrenguard he killed.
The creature whose head was ripped off, his arms sliced clean, was now standing by Veritas's side, all his injuries healed, and his condition returned to flawless.
Kalrosh was not like other zombies, as his previously swelled-up muscles had shrunk to half of their original size, allowing him to grow stronger in all his physical aspects, while magical abilities were also on full display, making him a more formidable opponent.
Veritas himself was also no pushover, as he drowned his surroundings in a thick miasmic domain, a poison so potent that it dissolved the bodies of weaker Skaven while bringing even the elementals in their ranks to their knees in mere seconds.
Veritas was a force to be reckoned with, but he was not the only one wreaking havoc on the battlefield, as next to him, the crimson berserker Keldrek was doing some major damage.
The trio of Alex, Veritas, and Keldrek leading the frontline, butchering the Skaven by the thousands each passing minute, and with Selvryn and Nyla doing their job of securing the final defense line, one could say that their side was doing great if not outright winning.
The Skaven King, who was attacked by Legion Commander Thane, Brigade Captain Valen, and Dalia, was still standing in the sky, not having moved an inch from his original position.
No matter what attack was thrown at him, it did not even put a mark on his protective barrier, and not so surprisingly, he also did not retaliate.
In the following ten or so minutes, two Warrenguards banded together to challenge Alex, but just like Kalrosh, he dealt with them fairly quickly.
But by this time, the unending tides of Skaven had also begun to wear down the number of defenders in other sections, and it was only a matter of time before their defenses broke and the Skaven armies flooded the city's inner areas.
At this point, the Broodmasters of the Skaven army, high-ranking individuals all wielding strength in the Elemental Ruler Rank, were also on the move, and one such creature was quick to come for Alex.
Alex sensed the behemoth with monstres' presence moving beneath the solid ground, coming toward him like a bullet, so he moved away in the nick of time, avoiding the jaws of the giant.
Alex was about to swing his blade, ready to welcome the beast with an attack of his own, but just as he swung his sword, he felt a chill close to his spine.
Alex's void sense picked up on nothing, but his body told a different story as his mind, under the influence of thought acceleration, registered the damage and its cause at lightning-quick speed.
The sensation of a blade effortlessly cutting through his armor, slicing open his skin, followed by the searing burn of poison as it dug into his muscles, was all too real for him.
Alex did not have the time to move away, so the moment he felt the chill, he collapsed his chaos wings, pushing himself forward from the sheer mass of energy, all while turning around and swinging his blade at whoever had sneaked up behind him.
"Nice instincts, boy, but you were a step too late," A cold, emotionless voice echoed, devoid of any warmth.
Alex turned his gaze to the attacker, a small creature, barely three feet tall, concealed beneath a dark cloak. Its rat-like face was covered in pitch-black fur, leaving only its stark yellow eyes visible, glowing with a predatory intensity.
The creature's physique was lanky and thin, resembling that of a typical Gnawling, the lowest of the Skaven race, but the monstres aura that he radiated made it unmistakably clear that he was an Elemental Ruler.
'He is trying to lure out Brigade Captain Marcus, or he is just shitty at doing his job, and I doubt that,' Alex thought, not losing his cool even when he was up against an Elemental Ruler with poison rampaging through his body.
Alex was in immense pain as his muscles were turning into liquid and smoke, and while it seemed like he got lucky, he knew that if that rat wanted, he would be dead before he could even detect his presence.
Alex stared the creature down as he took out a dark vial and swiftly drank its contents before he used the mask to reverse his age, turning back the damage and recovering to a fully healed state.
"JE, JE, JE, JEEEEEE," The creature cackled, its laugh a shrill, unsettling sound that echoed through the surroundings as he eyed Alex recover from his poison.
The Skaven bridged the distance in a single moment, swinging his dagger in a diagonal slash, and Alex retaliated by swinging his blade, aiming to slice the little freak in half, not even attempting to avoid the blade aimed to slice through his torso.
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