Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Reinforcements (II)

As soon as the vampires got close enough to Goldmi, they found that she had disappeared, they had stopped feeling her presence. In fact, she hadn't moved, but rather her aura had vanished thanks to One with Nature. As long as she didn't move, she would look like just another plant.

That confused them for a moment, and denied them a target to attack. They stopped and scanned their surroundings with extreme caution, as it was evident that something wasn't right. Unfortunately for them, the surroundings didn't include the ground they stood on.

When they realized it, the low vegetation had already gotten Tangled around their feet. Before they could break away, roots began to appear, thicker and thicker. They were still struggling to escape when a Vegetable Prison engulfed them.

In panic, they began to use their spells against the plants, and even injured themselves. In this way, they managed to get free from some bindings, but more powerful roots were emerging from the ground and wrapping them. As if that weren't enough, they felt like Dozing. It was a strange feeling taking over them, lulling them to sleep.

Goldmi was generally reluctant to use nature in this way, so aggressive, as it suffered too much damage. If she weren't, she probably wouldn't have that connection.

Unfortunately for her enemies, that nature wasn't real, just a recreation of mana. In a few hours, it would be pulled together again, like any being in the dungeon.

For this reason, after locking them in a Plant Prison, she had declared them Outcast. The nature had taken it upon itself to attack them without her having to do anything. In fact, one of them transformed into blood to escape, but when he recomposed himself again, all the plants rushed towards him. It rendered his efforts useless.

The elf was tired and had barely any mana. Therefore, she resorted to Mana Loan and Energy Loan, thus absorbing said mana and energy from the artificial nature. She would have to return it, but that would be later. Her friends needed her help now.

In fact, she hadn't borrowed it before to not leave the surrounding nature without resources. First, she had needed to deal with her enemies.

She cast Mana Link and Energy Link to transfer part of what was recovered to her sisters, who also needed it. Next, she aimed her arrows again.

"She's the target! She's weakened! Seize her now!" the leader of the vampires exclaimed, as he transformed into blood to prevent a Shred from reaching him again.

The blood receded a couple of meters, and he reappeared, with one arm less. A previous Shred had cut it. Dealing with the high human while keeping an eye on Nilgha wasn't easy. When he had lost his arm, he had been forced to dodge her after an attack from Eldi. The vampire had ended up falling easy prey to the axe after doing so.

He was on his last legs, and his companion wasn't any better. At first, the short-haired vampiress had managed to keep the lynx at bay. It wasn't easy facing a magical and intelligent beast that was only a couple of levels lower, but she was a good fighter.

However, the situation had worsened when her deceased companions had begun to attack her, as they were controlled by Gjaki through Necromancy. While she was practically unable to move her body, she had recovered enough mana and blood to move the dead corpses.

Although their power was lower than when they were alive, her leg had been grabbed by surprise. It had caused her to lose her balance. The lynx had taken advantage of that to attack her.

The vampiress had managed to escape with her escape technique, but she hadn't been unscathed. Using that technique had a price, in addition to the burns and scratches caused by her enemy.

She was now being harassed by the lynx and a pair of former companions controlled by Gjaki. She practically had no time to breathe, her wounds were accumulating, and her mana and blood were decreasing. Therefore, when she saw the reinforcements arrive, she regained her almost lost hope.

The thirteen vampires headed straight towards Gjaki, without needing to cross the barrier. They had a device that resonated with said barrier, thus allowing them to overcome it.

The four most advanced wanted to pounce on the vampiress, but they fell into the holes created by Eldi. Immediately, six Blood Hounds entered the traps to finish them off.

Although those hounds were much less powerful than the vampires, the latter had fallen on sharp Icicles. The mana beings had landed on them and bit them, thus making them sink deeper into the cold, sharp ice. It is true that the hounds were also damaged, but it didn't matter. They only needed to fulfil their mission.

The other nine stopped dead at the sudden unforeseen event. The traps took up the entire space between two huge rocks, so it wasn't easy to overcome them. Maybe, they could jump over them, but they didn't know if there were other traps on the other side. In fact, there were.

"Let's take a detour!" the leader of the group exclaimed decisively.

Quickly, the rest followed him, although this time they were searching for new traps. A mana being, similar in nature to the hounds but larger, preceded them.

"Finish those two! I'll get rid of the others! Don't follow me!" Gjaki informed her companions.

They didn't quite understand what she meant, but they were busy with their adversaries. They had to finish them off before the other vampires arrived. There were only a few seconds left.

It was then that the goshawk Collided against the one-armed vampire from behind. She damaged him with her wind aura, and pushed him forward, off balance.

Eldi received him with Drill. He was using the axe as if it were a spear thanks to Spearaxe. Perhaps, the vampire could have avoided it, but at the same time, three arrows that Goldmi had synchronized with the attack of her winged sister arrived. Furthermore, Nilgha quickly overtook Eldi, and attacked with her sword from the side with Final Thrust.

He was pierced by the Spearaxe, the sword and a couple of arrows. His wide-eyed gaze seemed to mean that he couldn't believe it, but he was unable to make another sound.

Eldi left the axe impaling his enemy, and took out a spear from the inventory. With Javelin, he threw it against the enemy vampiress, who had already enough problems by dealing with her other enemy.

She was able to avoid it, but the abrupt movement wasn't wasted by the feline, who Shred her left leg.

The vampiress could barely maintain her balance, while defending herself from the attacks, when a second Javelin arrived, preceded by three more arrows. The nine vampires arrived just to see how a huge lynx Chewed the neck of her companion just a few meters away from them. However, most of their focus was on their target, Gjaki.

There were nine of them, who were just a little tired from the running, and frustrated by the situation. Their enemies were exhausted and wounded. Although they had managed the impossible to hold on until now, they couldn't face nine high-level vampires with their mana and blood reserves almost full.