Reincarnated As A Plant Life
chapter-171

"I have to admit, even for creatures as low-tiered as you lot are, you seem to be quite skilled," the necromancer commented as he watched his minions beat on Avankor.

Even with Avankor's enhanced healing and mystic mantle, there was only so much he could do against the necromancer's seemingly infinite magic pool.

Every time he managed to kill one of the necromancer's elite units, it would just bring them back to life. It seemed almost unfair, as if there were no restrictions to what it could do at all. A seemingly living, walking god.

Shavak wasn't having much luck either. After the necromancer had called upon its elite troops, one of them cast a sort of barrier around it, preventing Shavak from doing any damage at all.

"This is a lost battle. I say we flee," a whisper carried into the Avankor's ear. Although it sounded distorted, there was no doubt it Shavak's voice.

"And unleash these creatures onto our subordinates? We're the strongest beings this side of the forest besides those wingless dragons, and they won't come to our aid. Besides, we can't leave without Havon. From what I can tell, that thing has him in some sort of spell, no doubt because he was giving it a tough time," Avankor whispered back as he lazily dodged another attack.

His fatigue was so blatantly apparent as the elite unit still managed to scratch his skin.

"My mystic mantle is running out. How long do you have?" Avankor whispered, before sending out a stream of white fluid toward the elite unit.

A green luminescent force field quickly covered the elite unit protecting it from the attack, before one of its comrades counter-attacked, sending Avankor flying into one of the walls of the temple.

"I don't have much time either," a voice whispered into Avankor's ears as he felt an invisible force help him up. "Why don't you command your subordinates to join? They've been waiting outside for quite some time now. They await your word," the voice added as Avankor steadied his feet in preparation for the next attack.

"Like your troops aren't around here somewhere as well. No, if they join, they'd die without making a difference. The only reason we're still alive is because of our mantles," Avankor replied, looking down at the shadowy mass that covered his body.

Unlike before, small patches of his skin were beginning to show, and the mass seemed to be dissipating every second.

"Listen, we need to find a way to get Hav—"

"My children, where are they!" a voice boomed, interrupting Avankor.

The atmosphere seemed to change in that split second, as shadows from all over the place began converging right next to the necromancer.

For a moment Avankor thought that perhaps it was one of the necromancer's spells, until he saw Lucius's damaged body floating up into the air. A shadowy mass, much like his began covering Lucius, forming a massive armor that seemed to heavily resemble some sort of enormous ancient creature.

Thunder and lighting could be heard from outside the temple. And it sounded as if the very forest itself were shouting, humming to Lucius's voice.

The necromancer took a step back, dumbfounded by the sight for a moment. Lucius's eyes were different from before. Where there was once the look of an aged warrior, now there was only cold scorn.

"Solar be-" Lucius was about to howl before his eyes rolled back and his head lolled to the side. His body hadn't been healed from the previous fight, and the toll of being in the mindscape for so long was too much to bear.

The atmosphere slowly returned to its natural state, and the shadows that were once converging seemed to disappear back to whatever depths they had seeped from. Even the thunder and lightning seemed to die down.

However, this distraction was all Shavak needed. Before the necromancer could even process anything, Shavak, Avankor, Lucius, and Alpha were now nowhere to be seen.

Silence filled the halls for a moment as the necromancer stared vacantly at the spot where Lucius had been previously standing.

"The emperor's mantle…" the necromancer whispered, its look of fear quickly turning into one of deep sadness.

"Then that means he really is the Forest Guardian," it whispered before waving its hand. With that, at least one thousand highly skilled undead raised from the walls and the floors. It seemed that the entire temple had been built on the corpses of the undead, as they began to crowd the throne room.

These were the exact same units that Lucius and Ghost had scouted before the start of the battle.

"Find them, and kill everything in your path," the necromancer shouted angrily before the units began marching out towards the forest.

"T-then that means she's really dead," the necromancer whispered, a trail of black blood streaming from its eyes down its face.

*

"Hurry, we have to get him to the sages," Avankor shouted as he, Shavak, and the rest of their squadron ran out of the temple.

"The sages? We're taking him to my clan. You're in no shape to protect Havon," Shavak commented as they sped from corridor to corridor, a rumbling sound following close behind them. Though it was hard to make out, both Shavak and Avankor could tell that those were footsteps.

"My lord, should we stay to stand guard? At this rate, they will catch up to us," one of Avankor's subordinates commented.

"He's right," Shavak added.

"Rubbish. Just keep moving, once we get out we'll meet up with the main group, and they will stall for time. As for where Havon will be staying..." Avankor replied, now looking down at Lucius's limp body in his hands.

"He'll need healing, and my clan specializes in that. Though I understand that we wouldn't have made it out of there without your… ability," Avankor continued, gripping tightly onto Lucius as if he were his actual gold.

"I will send my sages to your den. However, on the condition that I come as well. Our techniques are ours alone, and though I appreciate your help, I will not become sloppy just to pay you back," Avankor said sternly.

"You'd put yourself in rival territory while your that injured? Your brain has really rotted over the past few years Avankor," Shavak replied after thinking about it for a moment. "The two kings in the same den once again, huh? It's just like the stories…" he continued, staring at Lucius with an expectant look on his face.