Tales of the Endless Empire
Chapter 208: Rematch

The battlefield was chaos, a maelstrom of blood, steel, and arcane fury.

"How the hell are we supposed to get to the ritual? The vampires are everywhere!" Josh shouted, his voice barely cutting through the din of war. His elbow claws gleamed in the crimson light as he tore through the rotting flesh of a massive undead hyendon, cleaving it in two with a sickening crunch.

"We fly!" Evelyn called back, twisting out of the path of a clawed strike from a particularly strong vampire. With a graceful pivot, she retaliated. One of Kargul's well-placed smashes sent the creature sprawling, its body contorting unnaturally as it was driven deep into the dirt. A cloud of dust and gore exploded into the air. "Most of them are already occupied, and I can cast an illusion around us. It won’t take long to reach the target!"

"Then let's mess them up for what they did to the humans!" Jack whooped. His form shimmered and twisted, morphing into a squid-like shape before vanishing in a blink, teleporting high into the air and disappearing from sight.

"Quick! After him! No way I'm letting him take all the glory!" Josh yelled, his body a blur as he activated his movement skill in rapid succession, speeding toward Evelyn. Vorlok, their massive sky turtle, was already lifting off, its shadow stretching long over the battlefield as the group scrambled onto its back.

For now, they had held the breach, holding back wave after wave of undead, but now, things had escalated. The enemy had sent in their elites. Kargul's group was replaced by a monk clad in pristine white robes, his presence exuding an overwhelming aura of power. His movements were swift, deliberate, and every strike of his bare hands cut through the undead like a blade through silk. His precision was inhuman, his awareness near omniscient.

Above him, a fire mage floated midair, standing atop a burning disk of flame. He rained fireballs down upon the undead in waves of relentless destruction, his inferno consuming all in its path. And then there was the last one—a warlock, ancient and gaunt, wielding a power few dared to touch. His form twisted and bulged, transforming into a red-skinned demon. His transformation was eerily similar to that of the vampires, yet more refined, more raw. The moment his transformation completed, he unleashed a storm of carnage, his clawed hands rending through undead with terrifying ease, leaving only shredded remains in his wake.

The moment Josh landed on Vorlok’s back, the sky turtle surged upward, breaking through the smoky air with incredible speed. As they climbed, Evelyn’s magic enveloped them, their forms blurring into a shifting, cloud-like mass, barely discernible to those below.

"Move fast," Evelyn hissed through gritted teeth. "I can't hold this illusion for long, and I’m not wasting more mana than necessary."

"Let’s smash that bastard midair, Vorlok." Kargul’s deep voice rumbled. He squinted at the massive undead wyvern circling above the treetops, wrinkling his nose. "Who the hell picks a rotting wyvern as a battle beast? That thing must reek."

Beneath them, the war still raged. The human defenses barely held against the undead tide. Only the fortified towers the vampires had yet to dismantle and the skyships hovering overhead kept the battle from becoming a massacre. From above, they could see the alchemists' work in action—poisonous gas and corrosive acid bombs had turned the areas near the breaches into death zones, dissolving the weaker undead before they could even set foot inside. It was an efficient strategy, allowing the soldiers to focus on the real threats.

Their target loomed ahead—a massive undead wyvern, its rotting wings carrying it in slow, predatory circles above the treetops. But it was the ground beneath it that made their blood run cold.

A ritual circle, massive and pulsating with unnatural power, covered a clearing at least fifty meters wide. At its center, a woman knelt, her body wreathed in swirling crimson mist. Her eyes burned with a red, unnatural glow, locked in an empty, trance-like stare. From time to time, eerie, manic laughter escaped her lips.

She was the puppet master, controlling the undead swarm from afar.

The ritual’s power was overwhelming. If not for the protective runes inscribed around her, it likely would have consumed her entirely. The circle devoured ten undead every five seconds, their bodies dissolving into thick, red mist, which was then siphoned into the sigils carved into the ground. The mist spread outward, fueling the crimson veins that stretched across the battlefield, empowering the undead to absurd levels.

Josh swallowed hard. "Uh… do we have any ranged attacks? We need to kill her before setting foot down there."

"I've got a spear in my inventory." Kargul shrugged, his attention not on the ritual, but on the red-skinned orc riding the undead wyvern. His grip tightened on his weapon. "Might be able to hit her. I’m a pretty good thrower."

Before anyone could reply, a deafening screech split the air.

The wyvern’s rotting head snapped toward them, its empty eye sockets blazing with unnatural light.

They had been spotted.

The red wyvern, a monstrous beast of raw power, let out a deafening screech as its body began to glow, its muscles tensing as it beat its massive wings and surged toward them. Evelyn dispelled the illusion in an instant.

Before the creature could fully accelerate, a massive purple squid materialized above it—larger than the wyvern itself, radiating an almost unbearable telekinetic pressure. Jack, in his true form, crackled with energy, and in the next heartbeat, an invisible force slammed down like a hammer.

The wyvern and its orc rider were sent hurtling toward the ritual circle below, the sheer impact shaking the ground as the nearly thirty-meter-long beast crashed into the glowing sigils. A shockwave rippled outward, scattering dirt and blood-soaked mist into the air.

"Haha! Caught the bastard completely off guard!" Jack laughed, now floating in midair, having returned to his human form.

But his laughter was cut short.

A bloody lance shot up from below, piercing straight through his chest.

"What... is that?" Jack gasped, his voice barely above a whisper as he looked down in shock, watching the crimson spear embedded in his torso. His body trembled and he plummeted toward the ground.

Below, an enraged red orc, a blood-soaked witch, and the undead wyvern all looked up, their eyes gleaming with malice.

"No! Jack!" Josh screamed, his voice thick with panic and desperation.

A barrier flared into existence beneath Jack, halting his fall, while a soft white glow wrapped around him, Evelyn's magic desperately fighting to counteract the corruption spreading from the spear wound.

A cackling voice rang out from below. "Hahaha! Haven't we been here before, little girl?"

Josh clenched his fists, his entire body shaking with fury. "I’m going to kill you for what you've—"

But before he could finish, Kargul's roar shook the air.

"YOU DARE THREATEN EVE?!"

The massive orc’s body bulged with power, his muscles tensing like coiled steel. He raised his colossal mace, his entire body crackling with pure killing intent.

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"ROAR! YOU’RE GETTING SMASHED!"

The sheer force of his presence sent a ripple through the battlefield, the air vibrating with uncontained fury. For a moment, it was as if he had grown in size, his bloodlust alone rivaling Thalion’s aura back in the forest.

Kargul launched himself down, gripping his mace with both hands. As he descended, the weapon expanded, growing to a towering ten meters in length, its sheer weight turning him into a living meteorite. His descent was unnaturally fast, almost as rapid as Josh using his movement skill.

The ritual circle shattered as the blood witch gathered the remaining power into a single blood spear, hurling it straight at Kargul’s descending strike.

The clash was cataclysmic.

A shockwave ripped through the jungle, flattening nearby trees and kicking up a storm of dust and debris. The sheer force of the impact sent Kargul rocketing back into the air, but he was unharmed—he had neutralized most of the attack with his raw brute strength.

From his airborne vantage point, Kargul surveyed the battlefield. The undead horde, once an unstoppable tide, now seemed weakened, their strength rapidly waning. It wouldn’t be long before the defenders took control again.

But the main gate—that was different.

There, multiple auras burned so intensely that the very air vibrated, bathed in a sickening red glow. That battle was on a completely different level.

With a wolfish grin, Kargul turned his gaze back to the blood witch.

His hardened skin cracked as he activated his falling technique, making his descent even faster. That bloody witch—she would die. That was all that mattered.

He had seen the look in Evelyn’s eyes—that pain, that hatred—and for that, this witch would pay. He could already imagine the satisfaction on Evelyn’s face when he presented her with the smashed corpse.

Meanwhile, Josh struggled against the red orc, who moved with the relentless force of a juggernaut.

Josh’s every attack was absorbed, his spells doing nothing but slowing the orc down momentarily before the wounds healed in an instant.

Josh cursed under his breath. What kind of monster is this?!

He had tried to target the orc’s knees or ankles or anything that might cripple his movement. But the flesh was too dense, too unyielding. The orc took every strike head-on, as if they were mere annoyances.

Josh twisted his body just in time to dodge a red slash, the orc’s massive axeblade cutting through the air with enough force to split a boulder in half.

Josh gritted his teeth. He had pushed his class to its limits—but even with all his luck, it was barely enough to stay on the defensive.

One mistake.

One single mistake, and he was dead.

The orc didn’t need magic, didn’t need tricks. If he got close enough—if he managed to grab him—he could tear Josh in half with his bare hands.

Josh felt the ground tremble beneath his feet as Kargul’s impact shook the battlefield. Dust and debris billowed into the air, the aftermath of the orc’s devastating landing spreading in waves across the clearing. The echoes of splintering wood and shattered bone mixed with the chaotic roar of combat, painting a brutal and relentless picture of war.

Across from him, the red orc let out a deep, rumbling laugh, his voice thick with amusement. A sinister grin spread across his scarred face, his burning red eyes locked onto Josh with a hungry gleam. Every movement radiated a confidence born of sheer brutality.

“Well, if you won’t fight me,” he sneered, flexing his massive hands, “then the traitor certainly will.” His muscles tensed for a split second before he launched himself back in in Kargul's direction, moving with a speed that belied his enormous frame.

Josh barely had time to react before the orc vanished into the jungle, his thunderous footsteps sending leaves and branches cascading in his wake. He was heading straight for the clearing, where Kargul was surely already locked in battle with the witch and her undead wyvern.

<--

“Come on, Jack, hold on!” Evelyn pleaded, her voice shaking as she channeled healing energy into his chest. A soft white light flickered over his wound, but the magic barely seemed to take hold. A single tear slid down her cheek as she fought against the growing panic in her heart.

Jack lay unconscious, his breath ragged despite them having escaped the witch’s reach. But Cathrin had grown far stronger than expected, and even now, the lingering corruption of her magic continued to threaten his life. Without Evelyn’s constant healing, that single wound would have already claimed him.

In the distance, a violent crash rumbled through the trees, followed by the unmistakable sounds of battle. Flesh met steel, weapons clashed, and somewhere in the chaos, Kargul’s roar of fury cut through the night. The fight had begun in earnest.

Vorlok, the great skyturtle, hovered uneasily beneath her, its massive body shifting from side to side. Its black eyes flicked toward the battle, its restless aura vibrating with anticipation.

Evelyn hesitated, looking at Jack, then at the battlefield. She bit her lip, then made her decision.

“Go, Vorlok. Help them. I’ll be fine here on my own.”

She extended her hand, weaving a mana barrier beneath her feet, forming a floating platform of shimmering energy. Carefully, she laid Jack onto it, ensuring it would keep him stable while she worked.

Vorlok turned its head toward her, hesitation in its gaze. Then, with a low, reverberating growl, its aura shifted—but this time, Evelyn felt something new.

The skyturtle had always been hungry for battle, but now, it burned with a fury she had never sensed before. This wasn’t just instinct—this was personal.

With a powerful stroke of its massive flippers, Vorlok launched forward, vanishing into the fray like a storm given form. A rush of wind and magic followed in its wake, leaving Evelyn alone with Jack’s slowly withering form.

She turned back to Jack, her stomach twisting at the sight of his wound. Even after removing the blood spear, the injury still festered, the dark crimson energy pulsing with an unnatural life.

His flesh warped, veins blackened beneath his skin as something insidious worked its way through his body. This wasn’t like fire or acid—this was something far worse.

It was the corrupted blood.

The magic of that spear wasn’t just meant to kill—it was meant to twist. Slowly, it worked to remake him, shaping him into either an undead puppet or a bloodslave. Evelyn’s hands tightened into fists.

No. I won’t let that happen.

She had spent countless hours studying blood witches—analyzing their rituals, their curses, their methods of control. That knowledge was the only reason she had been able to keep Jack alive. But now, she needed to purge this sickness before it could consume him completely.

Her lips curled into a small, determined smile. There was one thing that could counter this corruption perfectly.

As she extended her right hand, her fingers began to change—elongating, turning jet black as her nails sharpened into needle-like claws. A slow dripping venom formed at the tips, a deep, eerie green that pulsed with an unnatural glow.