Tales of the Endless Empire
Chapter 198: Legendary Battle

Thalion sidestepped Kargul’s massive mace, his movements fluid and effortless. As the weapon whistled past him, he grabbed the orc’s thick arm and, with a powerful heave, hurled him over thirty meters through the air. Kargul crashed into the tall grass with a heavy thud, his landing sending ripples through the sea of green.

Before Thalion could press the advantage, another telekinetic blast streaked toward him. He reacted instantly, leaping over it and closing the distance between himself and the insectoid warrior. These fighters were likely Kargul’s allies—otherwise, the orc would have had no reason to intervene in the battle.

Thalion had no intention of killing or seriously injuring them. If they knew who he was, they wouldn’t fight like this. But he needed them to. He needed the challenge. There was no better way to refine his skills and prepare for the war ahead. The warning from his title still lingered in the back of his mind, but he wasn’t concerned. He was in no real danger.

Covering half the distance to the insectoid in mere seconds, he lashed out with a shadow claw, testing his opponent’s abilities beyond simple melee combat. The insect warrior dodged with an unnatural, almost erratic movement, as if yanked to the side by an invisible force. It was eerily similar to a telekinetic dash, confirming Thalion’s suspicion that his enemy had more than just raw strength at his disposal.

High above, the floating squid-like entity prepared another attack. Without breaking stride, Thalion flicked his wrist, sending three dark spikes hurtling toward it. He avoided striking any vital spots, choosing instead to gauge its response. The squid flared with energy, its form momentarily shimmering before vanishing entirely, only to reappear five meters closer to the ground. A teleportation ability. Interesting.

Thalion smirked. This was a formidable hunting party. If other bases had warriors of similar caliber, the upcoming war would be more intriguing than he had anticipated.

As he sidestepped another slashing attack from the insectoid, his gaze flickered toward Kargul. The orc was back on his feet, now flanked by two massive griffins and a truly colossal turtle. It had to be Vorlok, though its sheer size made Thalion hesitate for a moment. The beast had nearly tripled in mass, and its presence exuded a quiet, overwhelming power.

Kargul, however, had not escaped unscathed. The throw must have torn a muscle or caused some internal damage, as Evelyn was tending to him, her hands glowing with restorative energy. Good. That meant he had time to deal with the other two before facing Kargul again.

With a flick of his fingers, Thalion willed the shadows to rise. Over a dozen dark tendrils erupted from the ground beneath the squid, coiling around it and dragging it toward the earth. The creature shrieked in surprise, its many tentacles flailing in a desperate attempt to undo the binding, but it couldn’t reach the tendrils gripping its form.

Satisfied, Thalion turned his full attention to the insect warrior, who charged toward him, his entire chitinous armor burning with raw energy. The warrior’s elbow blades gleamed menacingly as he swung, slicing through the air with deadly precision.

Thalion dodged, keeping his opponent to the side where his remaining arm and functioning eye had the advantage. The insect warrior was fast—impressively so—but Thalion could tell he was still faster if he truly wanted to be. Of course, he wouldn’t reveal that. If he simply overpowered them, there would be no challenge, no lesson to be learned.

Instead, he weaved under a clawed strike and countered with a powerful kick. The moment his foot connected, he felt something crack beneath his boot as the insect warrior was sent hurtling over ten meters away. Perhaps that was a bit too much force.

Fine. Time to switch targets.

Thalion turned back to Kargul, who seemed fully recovered. The griffins hesitated, their large talons scraping against the ground as they instinctively stepped back. They weren’t just wary—they were afraid.

Kargul, however, grinned.

Planting his mace into the ground, he bellowed, his voice filled with uncontained excitement.

"Finally, a beast worth hunting! Our battle shall be legendary!"

Raw energy erupted around him, crackling like a storm as he surged forward. This was some sort of augmentation skill, Thalion mused. But there was more. Eve’s hands glowed as she focused on Kargul, likely enhancing him even further.

Thalion’s grin matched the orc’s, his sharp teeth flashing as he met the charge head-on.

Kargul raised his mace high, and as he swung, the weapon tripled in size. The sheer weight of it howled through the air like a falling star.

Thalion ducked—but Kargul had anticipated the move. The orc’s leg shot up in a brutal kick, catching Thalion square in the face.

Pain exploded through Thalion’s skull, and a surprised snarl escaped him as he was flung ten meters across the battlefield. He landed hard, but nothing was broken. Instantly, he sprang back to his feet, wiping the sting from his face.

He hadn’t been paying much attention to his passive abilities, the ones that would have easily warned him of the attack. Instead he had suppressed them to make things fair.

Perhaps he had underestimated Kargul after all.

Good.

The orc’s massive mace was already descending toward him again, the ground trembling beneath its weight.

Thalion moved to evade, but a shimmering barrier materialized in his path—Evelyn’s doing. A trap.

He didn't stop.

Reinforcing his body, he smashed through the barrier headfirst, shattering it like brittle glass. The moment his body broke free, he twisted, just as Kargul’s mace came crashing down inches behind him. The impact sent a shockwave through the battlefield, tearing into the earth and kicking up a dense cloud of dust and debris.

Thalion grinned wider.

The orc certainly had some power behind him.

And this fight had just begun.

The griffins still hesitated, uncertain whether to continue the fight. Thalion helped them decide by launching spikes of darkness at their legs. He kept the attack weak—just enough to incapacitate them without accidentally killing them.

The spikes struck true, piercing both of their front legs simultaneously. A chorus of pained screeches filled the air as the griffins collapsed, their wings flailing helplessly. Thalion barely had time to register their fall before he had to dodge—Vorlok, the massive sky turtle, was dive-bombing straight at him.

The ground trembled violently as the turtle crashed into the spot where Thalion had stood mere moments before. The impact was immense, even greater than Kargul’s mace strike. That was surprising. Most sky turtles, despite their massive size, were relatively light. Perhaps their ability to fly was not purely physical but aided by some passive skill, which would explain the sheer force behind Vorlok’s descent.

Thalion chose not to counterattack. Dragging the fight out a little longer would make things more interesting. Instead, as Vorlok lifted its head from the impact crater, Thalion lashed out with a shadow claw, more to intimidate than to harm.

With a panicked yelp—one that starkly contrasted with the brute force of its previous attack—Vorlok frantically flapped its flippers, managing to dodge by swiftly ascending into the air.

No time to dwell on it. Kargul was already back on him, the insect warrior at his side, fully recovered. The squid must have freed itself too, though Thalion couldn’t spot it just yet.

Fighting two melee combatants of this speed and caliber was no easy feat. He had to use the shadows to stall one opponent whenever the other came too close, ensuring he didn’t take any serious hits. Kargul had adjusted his grip on his mace, holding it higher for faster swings at the cost of raw power.

Despite his efforts, they managed to land a few blows. None were severe enough to truly threaten him, but the tide of battle shifted when Evelyn directly intervened, empowering both warriors.

Her support skill had to be formidable. Unlike the termites, which used visible energy strings to enhance their allies, Evelyn’s method was far more subtle. Only a faint white glow emanated from her hand, unconnected to the fighters. That would make it much harder for an opponent to realize she was the source of their newfound strength, especially in the heat of battle.

The effect was immediate. Kargul and the insect warrior grew even faster, their attacks sharper and heavier. For the first time in the fight, Thalion felt his crystalline skin crack. Kargul’s mace clipped his right shoulder, and a sharp, searing pain shot through him. His enhanced healing kicked in instantly, sealing the fracture before it could worsen, but it was clear—this fight had escalated.

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Then he spotted the squid.

It hovered barely above the ground, thirty meters to his left, its form flickering back into visibility. Without hesitation, it shot a barrage of writhing tentacles toward him.

Thalion knew exactly what the creature intended. It wanted to grab him, reel him in, and finish him off—most likely with a beak-like maw, if it had the same anatomy as the ones from the tutorial.

No more playing around.

Darkness erupted from Thalion’s body, swallowing the light around him in an expanding aura of pure shadow. Three jagged spikes of solidified darkness speared upward from the ground, impaling the squid’s tentacles mid-air.

The creature screeched in agony, thrashing wildly as its remaining limbs flailed. The attack had fully halted its assault, and though the squid could still break free by severing the spikes, its tentacles had already darkened where they’d been pierced. It needed to remove them soon, or the creeping corruption of Thalion’s magic would spread further.

That would keep it occupied for now.

Thalion pivoted, flipping backward before landing smoothly. As his feet touched the ground, he exhaled a dense cloud of umbral miasma straight into Kargul’s and the insect warrior’s faces.

The effect was immediate. Both fighters staggered, their movements sluggish, their reactions dulled. But unlike the spiders before, they weren’t completely incapacitated. Their resilience was formidable—until a radiant white light enveloped them, Evelyn’s support skill flaring to its full potential.

The miasma dissipated as if it had never existed.

Thalion narrowed his eyes. That was annoying.

Dancing between his two attackers, he adjusted his stance, subtly shifting his attention toward Evelyn. She was the real problem here. If he let her continue bolstering her allies unchecked, the fight would become far more difficult than it needed to be.

Kargul, however, wasn’t finished.

The orc suddenly stomped the ground with such force that the earth itself trembled, sending a violent shockwave outward. The vibrations nearly threw Thalion off balance, but he reacted instantly—creating a thin shadow platform just above the ground and stepping onto it mid-air.

His growing mastery over the shadows was impressive, even to himself. He had executed the move instinctively, without hesitation.

The insect warrior, however, wasn’t as lucky. Caught off guard by the tremor, he stumbled.

Seizing the opportunity, Thalion’s shadows lashed out, snaring the insect warrior’s ankle. With a swift motion, he hurled his opponent aside before charging straight at Kargul.

The orc’s eyes widened in surprise. He had expected his tremor to hinder Thalion, not the other way around.

But Kargul was quick to adapt.

As Thalion closed in, the orc swung—not with his mace, but with a powerful fist, while keeping his weapon poised for a follow-up strike.

Thalion reacted instantly. A shadow tendril erupted from the ground, coiling around Kargul’s arm mid-swing and yanking it downward just enough to throw off the attack.

This fight was far from over.

Thalion seized the opening and delivered a crushing punch to Kargul’s chest, sending the orc hurtling backward over ten meters. To his surprise, no bones shattered on impact. Kargul had activated some kind of defensive skill just before the strike landed, hardening his skin enough to absorb the force.

A heartbeat later, the three warriors clashed again. Thalion had to rely on his shadows constantly to keep both opponents at bay, weaving between attacks while dodging the occasional sky turtle attempting to take his head off in a reckless flyby. Despite the growing intensity of the battle, he refrained from using more of his Umbral Spire skill. Ending things too quickly would be a waste—he was finally starting to enjoy himself.

Experimenting further with his shadows, he shaped them into a swirling river of darkness, much like he had done with blood before. The inky current coiled around him, accelerating his movements. At one point, he clung to its flow, allowing it to propel him forward in a sweeping arc. With a final twist, he lashed out at the insect warrior, the dark river snapping toward his opponent like a whip.

But the attack was blocked. A translucent barrier materialized just in time, absorbing the blow.

Thalion’s eyes narrowed. That was a strong defense—stronger than he had expected.

Before he could assess further, Kargul’s massive, plate-sized fist crashed into his chest.

The force sent Thalion flying, his crystalline skin fracturing once more. He barely had time to react before slamming headfirst into another barrier—one summoned directly in front of him by Evelyn. His vision blurred for a split second. Then, a shadow loomed above.

Kargul’s mace came down fast.

Thalion twisted, but not fast enough. The heavy weapon struck his right shoulder, shattering both skin and bone. The impact threw him off his feet, pain flaring through his body like fire.

He barely rolled away in time as the insect warrior’s blade cleaved into the ground where he had just lain, splitting earth and grass with terrifying ease.

Good. He had dodged to the left.

His right shoulder was broken, but it hardly mattered—he had no arm on that side anyway. Even as the pain burned through him, he made no indication of weakness. He knew pain. He had endured far worse. A shattered shoulder was nothing.

But Evelyn was becoming a problem.

The young girl darted through the battlefield with astonishing speed, always positioning herself at the perfect angle to summon barriers or empower her allies. She had even managed to heal the squid. Just how vast was her resource pool?

Thalion sent shadowy tendrils surging from the ground to ensnare her, but she was too quick, slipping past every attempt with frustrating ease.

If he couldn’t pin her down from a distance, he would have to take her head-on.

He lunged forward, but not before flinging Kargul aside with sheer force. Then he sprinted after Evelyn, shadows rippling in his wake.

She was fast. Exceptionally fast. But Thalion was faster.

She conjured barriers in his path, trying to slow him down, but his passive skill allowed him to sense them in advance, dodging without losing momentum.

Just as he was about to reach her, a sky turtle swooped in, snatching her up in a fluid motion.

Thalion reacted instantly.

A spike of pure darkness erupted from the ground, spearing through the turtle’s right flipper.

The creature let out an agonized shriek, spinning wildly through the air. Evelyn, caught off guard, lost her balance and tumbled from its grasp. Yet even as she fell, she twisted like a cat, summoning a mana barrier beneath her feet. She landed gracefully, five meters above the ground—just out of reach of the tendrils waiting hungrily below.

Thalion didn’t hesitate.

A spear of darkness shot from the shadows at his right.

The spike tore through her barrier and impaled her left leg.

A sharp, pained scream rang through the battlefield.

Then, an enraged roar.

Kargul was on him again.

Thalion barely had time to react before the orc came crashing back into their deadly dance. But now, with Evelyn wounded and unable to empower them, both Kargul and the insect warrior were significantly weaker.

And Thalion?

His power only grew.

Darkness bled from his form, expanding like a living void. Umbral Miasma seeped from the ground, further slowing his opponents’ movements. The battlefield itself had changed—an eerie, shadow-drenched wasteland stretching over thirty meters. Fighting within it became a nightmare for Kargul and his ally. Their footing was uncertain, their vision distorted, their reactions sluggish.

The battle was over.

Thalion had no intention of pushing them further.

Summoning a condensed river of shadows, he slammed it into Kargul’s chest, sending the orc flying backward. Before the insect warrior could react, Thalion’s tendrils shot forward, seizing him by the throat and lifting him into the air.

“I think this is enough.”

His voice was like the abyss itself—low, resonant, and carrying a whispering echo.

Evelyn’s eyes widened in panic. She must have misinterpreted his words, thinking he was about to execute them.

“Ah. Not like that,” Thalion clarified.

His voice, still laced with darkness, only made things worse. Evelyn’s expression didn’t shift from its fearful intensity.

Sighing inwardly, he reined in his aura, dispersing the umbral shadows that had swallowed the battlefield.

That should be enough to stop them from panicking.

Could he shift back into his human form? Sure. But where was the fun in that?

There was a price to pay for attacking him.

And he intended to collect.