Realm Lord-Chapter 184: Stand our Ground

The metallic taste of blood filled Arthur’s mouth as he bit down on his tongue, the sharp pain serving as a reminder that he was still alive in this nightmare of endless combat. Sweat stung his eyes despite the cool night air, and his breathing had become labored as the relentless battle continued to drain his stamina. The shadow cloak that normally felt like a second skin now seemed to weigh him down, each movement requiring more effort than the last.

"On your left!" Cara’s voice cut through the chaos, her warning coming just in time for Arthur to pivot and bring his odachi up in a defensive arc. The blade caught a creature mid-lunge, its blackened nails mere inches from his throat. The impact sent vibrations up through his arms, and he gritted his teeth as he forced the blade upward, slicing through the creature’s jaw and into its brain cavity.

The thing’s body went limp instantly, but there was no time to celebrate the small victory. Another creature was already shambling toward him, this one wearing the remnants of a nurse’s uniform that had once been pristine white but was now stained with substances that made Arthur’s stomach churn. The creature’s face was a mask of decay, one eye socket empty and weeping dark fluid while the other stared at him with that same hollow hunger.

Arthur’s muscles screamed in protest as he spun away from the nurse-creature’s grasping hands, his odachi whistling through the air in a horizontal slash that took off the top of its skull. Brain matter splattered across the grass in a gray-black arc, and the creature crumpled to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.

"How many more of these things are there?" Aziel’s voice was strained with exhaustion as he drove his lightning-charged spear through the skull of what had once been a construction worker. The electrical energy discharged with a brilliant flash, illuminating the battlefield in stark detail for a split second before plunging them back into the chaotic darkness.

The answer to Aziel’s question came in the form of more shambling figures emerging from the distance, their numbers seemingly endless. For every creature they destroyed, two more took its place, as if the very plains itself was vomiting forth an army of the undead. The sound of their collective moaning created a horrifying symphony that seemed to vibrate through the ground itself.

Cara’s luminous blade carved through another group of attackers, her movements fluid and deadly despite the obvious fatigue beginning to show in her stance. "I don’t know," she called back to Aziel, her voice tight with concentration. "But we can’t keep this up forever. We need to—"

Her words were cut off as a particularly large creature barreled into her from the side, its massive frame knocking her off balance. This one had been a bodybuilder in life, its enhanced musculature now swollen and grotesque with decay. Despite its size, it moved with surprising speed, its massive hands reaching for Cara’s throat with deadly intent.

Light exploded around Cara as she channeled more power into her abilities, her entire form becoming almost too bright to look at directly. The creature recoiled from the intense radiance, its remaining eye searing and smoking from the exposure. Taking advantage of its momentary confusion, Cara drove her blade upward through its chin, the point of light piercing through its skull and emerging from the top of its head in a shower of sparks.

"Myah!" Arthur shouted toward their distant archer, his voice cracking with strain. "Can you see an end to them?"

From her elevated position above the car, Myha’s voice carried across the battlefield with grim authority. "Negative! There are more coming from all directions. It’s like they’re being drawn to us!"

As if to emphasize her point, another of her massive arrows whistled overhead, striking a creature that had been attempting to flank them from the right. The impact was devastating, tearing the creature’s torso completely apart and sending chunks of decaying flesh flying in all directions. But even as the pieces hit the ground, more shapes were already emerging from the shadows to take its place.

Arthur’s odachi felt heavier with each swing, the constant combat taking its toll on his enhanced but still human body. His shadow powers were beginning to waver, the dark energy that usually flowed so naturally now requiring conscious effort to maintain. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead and into his eye, momentarily blurring his vision just as another creature lunged at him.

This one had been a child once, and despite everything Arthur had seen, the sight of its small, twisted form still sent a shock of horror through his system. The creature’s school uniform was torn and bloody, its innocent face now a mask of decay and hunger. Arthur’s blade hesitated for a fraction of a second—just long enough for the thing to get inside his guard.

Small but surprisingly strong fingers wrapped around his wrist, and Arthur gasped as he felt the creature’s unnatural strength threatening to crush his bones. The thing’s mouth opened wide, revealing rows of needle-sharp teeth that snapped at his exposed arm with mechanical precision.

"Arthur!" Cara’s voice was sharp with alarm, but she was currently engaged with three other creatures and couldn’t break away to help.

Forcing himself to push aside his revulsion, Arthur channeled shadow energy directly into his free hand, forming a blade of pure darkness that he drove through the creature’s skull. The thing’s grip loosened immediately, and its small body crumpled to the ground. Arthur staggered backward, his breathing ragged as he tried to process what he had just been forced to do.

"Don’t think about it!" Cara’s voice cut through his shock like a whip. "They’re not children anymore! They’re not people! Focus on survival!"

Her words were harsh but necessary, and Arthur nodded grimly as he forced himself back into the rhythm of combat. Two more creatures were already approaching him, their movements creating a wet, squelching sound as they stepped through the growing pools of dark fluid that covered the battlefield.

Aziel’s spear flashed through the air like a bolt of lightning, the electrical energy crackling and sparking as it connected with creature after creature. His movements were becoming more frantic, less controlled, as exhaustion and desperation began to take their toll. "This is insane!" he shouted over the sound of battle. "Where the hell are they all coming from?"

The answer came in the form of a low, rumbling sound that seemed to emanate from deep within the earth itself. The ground beneath their feet began to vibrate, and Arthur could feel the tremors through the soles of his boots. Something was happening, something that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end with primal fear.

"Do you feel that?" Cara asked, her voice barely audible over the chaos of battle. Her luminous blade flickered as she momentarily lost concentration, nearly allowing one of her attackers to get past her guard.

Before anyone could answer, the ground in front of them began to split and crack, dark earth falling away to reveal a gaping hole that seemed to extend deep into the earth. From within that hole came more of the shambling creatures, their forms covered in grave dirt and root systems that clung to their decaying flesh like parasitic vines.

"They’re coming from underground!" Myah’s voice carried a note of panic that Arthur had never heard from her before. "The whole area must be riddled with tunnels!"

Arthur’s mind raced as he processed this new information. If the creatures were emerging from underground, it meant they were potentially surrounded on all sides with no hope of escape. The realization hit him like a physical blow, and he felt his resolve wavering for a moment before anger replaced his fear.

"Then we make our stand here!" he shouted, his voice carrying across the battlefield with renewed determination. "No retreat, no surrender!"

His odachi sang through the air with deadly precision, taking the head off a creature that had been attempting to crawl out of the newly opened pit. The blade’s edge was beginning to dull from the constant use, but Arthur pushed more shadow energy into it, sharpening it to a razor’s edge once again.

Cara’s light flared brighter than ever before, her entire form becoming a beacon of radiance in the darkness. The creatures nearest to her actually began to smoke and smolder where her light touched them, their decaying flesh unable to withstand the pure energy she was channeling. "If we’re going down, we’re taking as many of these bastards with us as we can!"

Aziel’s spear became a blur of motion, electrical energy arcing between multiple targets as he struck with increasing speed and ferocity. His hair was plastered to his head with sweat, and his eyes had taken on a wild, desperate gleam that spoke of a man pushed to his absolute limits.

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