Empire Of Souls - Chapter 165

“Are you two fools done yet? How dare you insult us with your blatant disregard. We are noble vampires, children of the Blood Sovereign. We will not allow our honor to be besmirched by two soon to be dead imbeciles!”

Anathema once more looked towards the vampire and although her face was hidden, the vampire could strangely feel her malevolent grin. He shuddered and even his horse took a step back in fear. He had never felt such a menacing presence before and the rest of what he wanted to say was stuck in his throat.

“Dammit, attack!”

The vampire commander pulled his horse around and rode back to his camp. For some strange reason he felt afraid for the first time in his life. The other vampires didn’t understand why he had fled back in fear and gave him curious looks. Some even looked at him with disdain. His actions were unbecoming of a noble vampire commander. Flags were waved once more and the army stepped forward, raising high their javelins. These javelins seemed to glow slightly at the tips and were clearly enchanted. The Blood Guard soldiers aimed them at the two hooded figures and prepared to throw.

“These lower life forms disgust me. Honor? What honor can insects possibly have?”

Anathema pulled on the scaled snake-like weapon which was coiled around her body and it whipped outwards, sending a gust of powerful wind away from her. The weapon extended and then retracted, forming into what appeared to be a scaled sword. She then swung her hand downwards rapidly, causing the scaled and extendable sword to strike the ground. It made a whip-like sound and crushed the ground near her feet sending dirt everywhere. It left a small crater and she sneered as hundreds of javelins came pouring down on her.

With swift and smooth motions, she caused her weapon to snake through the air as she maneuvered skillfully while whipping her blade around. Each movement caused the air to quiver and a strange power was unleashed with each flick of her wrist. The hundreds of javelins were easily blown away without a single one touching her.

“Child’s play.” Anathema sneered before rushing forward, “None of you sc.u.m will leave this valley alive.”

Seeing her block all of the javelins despite the strength of their enchantments shocked the vampires and their human soldiers. Her movements were too quick and she closed the distance between them before they could even get over their surprise. Almost instantly, Anathema was among their ranks, flicking her wrist as her blade tore through them.

Every time her weapon extended and sn.a.k.e.d around, dozens of lives would be reaped. What was worse was that a strange and oppressive aura bore down on them, suppressing their own strength. It was as if the world itself was in opposition to them or as if their own power had become their adversary, causing their bodies to weaken. They had never felt anything like it before. Before they could even attempt to attack the hooded figure massacring them, they had to overcome the effects of this strange aura which was impeding their bodies and sapping their strength. They became sluggish and weak, their bodies incapable of moving to their own free will.

While Anathema was dancing through the enemy formation and slaughtering the soldiers in droves, Cladem watched while placing his hands upon the pommel of his enormous broadsword. He had pierced it directly into the ground and it was partially embedded within the dirt and he seemed to be leaning forward on it. It was fully rooted in place and even though it had partially been inserted into the ground, the pommel still reached his chest. Unbeknownst to the vampires and their human soldiers, a mighty and awe inspiring aura emanated from the blade. It was an aura of destruction that sought only to conquer, to rend the earth asunder. All who stood against it would be turned aside, rendered into the cold nothingness of oblivion.

“No need to be hasty, your time to feed will come.” Cladem soothed his blade that thirsted for their blood.

It took some time for the vampires to regain their calm. Anathema had just moved too quickly and before they even realized what was going on, she had disappeared somewhere among the ranks of their soldiers. They could hear the sound of her rampaging through the formation and they could smell the blood of the dead from multiple directions. She was like a violent and frenzied whirlwind and whenever they felt they could sense where she might be, she was already somewhere else killing her way through like slaughtering calves. If they weren’t so disoriented by her oppressive aura, they thought they might be able to mount a sufficient defense, but it was impossible under the circ.u.mstances.

“Stop her! Dammit it, you humans are all useless! Kill that one over there, hurry!”

Unable to do anything to the frenzied female unleashing havoc among their army, the vampire commanders turned to face the tall brawny figure and they charged towards him. Each of the vampire commanders rode atop a Shadow Horse and they charged while brandishing dark red and gloomy vampiric blades. In their rage, their eyes became bloodshot and their strength magnified several fold. It was a special blood line ability of vampires and it increased their strength. It was the very reason why vampires were much stronger at the same level than the mortal races which included Humans, Orcs, and the like. Such a charge would even frighten a Legendary being who most likely wouldn’t be able to escape with their life. Unfortunately for them, the being they were attempting to kill was far above them.

Cladem’s hood covered his features entirely, and nothing could be seen beneath it. There was no way to know the expression he wore, but if one could see, they would know despair. He didn’t move from his position and continued to lean against the blade until the vampires were almost upon him. With a light movement, he stepped away from his blade and lifted one leg. He slammed his foot against the ground sending a tremor that caused his blade to be knocked free and straight up into the air.

The vampires who had been about to bear down on him were suddenly lifted from their positions atop their horses. The horses themselves had lifted off the ground like a pebble that lifts off the ground during an earthquake. It was a light movement that left the horses unaware of their situation and their legs still moved as if they were about to take their next step. Only, there was no step to take because they were no longer on the ground. Time almost seemed to stop for them, but this didn’t seem to affect Cladem.

Cladem grabbed his sword from the air and held it in one hand despite its size and weight. It didn’t seem to bother him at all. This was happening while the vampires and their mounts had yet to fall and were still on their way upwards from being lifted off the ground. Before gravity could take effect and drag them back to the ground, and before they could even realize their situation, Cladem ran forward and swept his sword in an arc straight through their group.

A powerful blast of energy raged outwards from the sword and took the shape of a thousand chariots of war crashing into their enemy. All in the span of a mere moment, Cladem had launched his attack and the power of his sword was overwhelming. The illusion of chariots of war caused by his overbearing might tore into the group of vampires and sliced cleanly through the entire group and their mounts. Cladem returned to the position he had moved from as if he never left, and in the next moment, a rain of blood and body parts fell down where the vampires and their mounts once stood. All that was left was a pile of unrecognizable bits of gore and flesh.

Meanwhile, Anathema continued to decimate the Blood Guard to the sound of laughter. Her laughter was terrifying to the soldiers who could do nothing but wait for their deaths. No matter whether they fought or ran, they all died just the same. They couldn’t put up any semblance of a fight and might as well have been a gentle breeze against a palace of stone. This once mighty army that had terrified the tribes of the Steppes and had protected the border of their empire for over a hundred years fell like wheat before a scythe.

“This is taking too long Anathema.” Shouted Cladem with impatience.

Without waiting for a response, he once more lifted his blade and took a mighty leap that propelled him straight up into the sky. He reached the clouds and for a moment, he appeared still in the sky before he spun around, his head facing the ground. The figure wasn’t even visible to those below, but as he fell rapidly from the sky, hundreds of thousands of illusionary chariots lit up the sky with their blinding radiance. They charged straight towards the soldiers who looked up into the sky in utter despair.

The chariots collided against the earth in a massive explosion that shook the entire canyon pass. A large cloud of dust formed and rocks from the nearby mountainside came tumbling down. It would be difficult for anyone to see what had happened, but one could imagine what the results would be from such a scene. After a while, the dust and debris cleared and the sight of thousands of brutally mangled bodies were visible. Every last one of the Blood Guard had been pulverized to death.

“Damn you Cladem! You almost got my clothes dirty!” Raged Anathema from somewhere nearby.