Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead-Chapter 1221: Not So Difficult, Is it?
Capítulo 1221: Not So Difficult, Is it?
For Ir’Houwl, the overall conquest of the desertic realm had been a great success. Some time of adaptation had been required for certain, and her fight against the two Ersta’ras had been rather intense, leading to her unlocking her very own zone by using her innate ability as the basis for it.
The strength of her zone was undeniable, but the later stage of her conquest was no child’s play. The mysterious Solar Beasts were often very troublesome to deal with, requiring careful planning–Naturally, having the assistance of the Undevigintis was a major help since all Solar Beasts were precisely attuned to a single one of them.
Thus, by ensuring that the one who was linked to the beast did not shine its light, the creature would be unable to deploy its true strength when roused from sleep beneath the sand and subsequently attacked from every direction.
The more Solar Beasts Ir’Houwl and her soldiers defeated, the stronger their forces became, as the creatures would then become undeads. Making sure they wouldn’t turn out into Negators was also surprisingly easy since the Solar Beasts showed blind obedience to their patron sun.
As such, defeating the beasts themselves was rather easy with proper planning… Yet, the issue here was not the number of these beasts buried beneath the sand–There were indeed many of them. However, the real issue was that the beasts seemed to be connected in some way.
Not as in they could communicate or anything of the sort, but whenever one of them was slain, the rest seemed to grow in power. The effect had been barely noticeable at first, but as the kill count grew and grew, it had become undeniable.
The Solar Beasts were getting stronger and stronger–An effect that did not apply in the least to the undead Solar Beasts. Only the living ones were seemingly able to benefit from this unexplained link.
It might not be a problem now, but there were many Solar Beasts buried beneath. If this ‘ability’ had no limit, then by the end of it all, the Solar Beasts would be absolute monsters.
To combat this issue, Ir’Houwl needed to start preparing right now. The first step was to acquire heavy weaponry, specifically designed to deal with giant creatures like the Solar Beasts.
The second step was to be specific about which Solar Beasts to deal with right now and which to leave for the end.
These creatures mirrored the abilities and mannerisms of the Undeviginti they were attuned to. Thus, the ways in which they would wield their solar vapour were rather predictable… By operating in this manner, Ir’Houwl moved to first eradicate the Solar Beasts attuned with Cleansing Undeviginti.
They were by far the most aggressive and had the greatest amount of firepower as well. They would attack by triggering explosions, and would almost always immediately start with an obliterating beam of cleansing vapour. They were definitely the more direct in their approach, and it made them the more dangerous of the lot.
As such, they had to go first.
The beasts following Prime Undeviginti were at the same point, attacking with head-on spells of vapour, but they also tended to have the ability to manifest smaller versions of themselves from vapour. It made it easy for them to cause chaos and destruction if not dealt with swiftly.
They had to be out of the picture as well.
As for ‘Watchful’ Solar Beasts, and ‘Sanguine’ Solar Beasts… They were far less likely to open a confrontation with a direct blast of vapour. They would instead attempt to summon hired help.
The former would manifest various spirit-like entities taking on forms reminiscent of the hunters employed by Watchful Undeviginti.
The latter would instead attempt to animate the countless corpses hidden deep beneath the desert.
These two types of solar beasts always wanted to call for assistance early on, so by preparing the terrain to prevent them from doing so–As blocking vapour being used in this manner was much simpler than dealing with vapour twisted into an offensive spell–Ir’Houwl and her men could land several powerful attacks while the enemy was distracted.
With enough firepower, this could end the fight before it even truly began.
Lastly, the Solar Beasts that were attuned to Illusory Undeviginti were definitely the least dangerous of the bunch. Undeads might not be immune to mirages as they were to illusions target them directly, but they were still difficult to trick with such a thing.
A group of prepared undeads who knew that their opponent would be employing such means was enough to completely dismantle the main strength of these Solar Beasts. They were unable to sow confusion, and just like the previous two, this was the sort of move they would most often start with.
This also exposed them to immediate attacks. If Ir’Houwl was involved in particular, the first window of opportunity the beasts offered was oftentimes lethal for them, and if not, it was crippling enough that they might as well have been slain on the spot.
In consideration of all of this, it was clear that the ‘Cleansing’ and ‘Prime’ Solar Beasts were going to be focused upon until none remained alive. They had the greater firepower of the bunch and were also the most likely to attack in a direct, destructive manner.
Then, there were the ‘Watchful’ and ‘Sanguine’ Solar Beasts, more vulnerable, but whose signature moves, if they managed to use them, could easily result in disorder and drag the confrontation on for a while longer.
The ones that would be preferably saved for last were the ‘Illusory’ Solar Beasts. They were definitely the ones with the weaker firepower, and whose signature ability, even if it was used to completion, would have basically no bearing on the fight. Meaning that it would just be wasting time and making itself a slow target.
Ir’Houwl believed that combining heavy weaponry, a proper slaying order, and the various tactics that had already been invented to deal with the creatures, she would be able to nearly fully rid the realm of the Solar Beasts…
As for the potential uses they could have as living soldiers–She had already learned that Solar Beasts were basically a manifestation of an Undeviginti’s power. As such, it was possible for them to create more, and as long as the realm itself was technically filled with life force, then the beasts they would create would also be alive.
Being thorough, she also had one new beast spawned by an Undeviginti, and tested to see whether the new one would receive the same boost as the other currently possessed from the many slain beasts–It did not, so there was no problem with this part of the plan.
Ir’Houwl thus proceeded with the plan, utterly exterminating the two most dangerous types before moving on to the two less threatening types–The surge in power was highly noticeable, but just as expected, despite the drastic increase in strength, the Solar Beasts behaved in the same manner.
They remained easily predictable… Save a few isolated incidents that were successfully contained, all of those were also utterly wiped out, and now, for the last remaining kind of Solar Beasts, there was an entire army of their dead kindred to welcome them once they emerged from the quicksand.
With the assistance of pre-set magic circles to momentarily nullify the illusory vapour of the beasts, everything was just fine, as these Solar Beasts in particular were very consistent with what their first move would be.
They made for excellent targets.
When it was time for the last Solar Beast to be awoken, Ir’Houwl could feel that the power boost this one had received was unlike any other–The one before had been powerful and resilient, but it had been nowhere near as imposing in presence.
This one was still underground as well. Slumbering. Not even yet ready to fight.
“Move further away”
Her order was immediately followed.
It was best if the creature’s attention was on her alone. She felt that her soldiers would all be blown right back to The Graveyard if they stayed anywhere close to this thing once it emerged.
In preparation, she unsheathed both of her stone scimitars, fusing them into one great sword, activating the runes upon its surface to their maximum power.
“Siccitas”
She activated her Ierpalam.
“Zone”
A great pillar rose out of the sand, just on the edge of the quicksand in which the Solar Beast resided.
She raised her scimitar above her head, red sand gathering around the blade and its wielder, forming an opaque tornado of red.
A single grain was sent into the quicksand, travelling downward. It was enough to stir the final Solar Beast awake. The creature surged to the surface. Resembling a titanic Roc with an elongated neck and bulging eyes.
Unlike the vast majority of its predecessors, it did not start by casting a mirage, instead attempting to fire a beam of pink vapour directly at the minor lord.
To which Ir’Houwl replied by swinging her blade down. A great mass of red sand followed, forming into a giant blade that cleaved right through the beast’s left wing, sending it to the ground, writhing in agony before swiftly forcing itself up to its feet.
But it was already too late. The red sands surged toward the bloody wound, going directly into the bird’s body.
The Solar Beast collapsed to the ground, drained of all its blood, right as the pillars shattered, and the Ierpalam came to a forceful stop.
Ir’Houwl ignored the cracks on her bones, instead looking at those that formed upon her blade.
The sword had served her well.
