Ascension of the Nephilim



Two more days had passed since the group had explored the area.

Philip and Serena were tasked with scouting the region and found numerous skirmishes between the humans and the imps.

They took advantage of it and began to act as scavengers and plunderers of the battle.

But on the third day, Serena proposed a wild idea. 

Although Emeros told them to rest, the group grew restless and started to hunt more of the imp brigades. They even saw several skirmishes between the humans and the imps.

Wesret led the group and fought a hard battle without Perment or Emeros.

But Vivindel went with them in the form of a whip.

Serena had great compatibility in using it and together.

"Are you sure about this?" Brent asked.

"Why are you worried? Master Emeros permitted us."

"When you said we would attack the imps, I thought you meant to attack a small brigade. Not meet the army of the imps!"

Before, they were a full-scale offensive led by humans. The peace during the past days and the scouts' reports spoke of war among monsters. And so, an offensive was made. But the imps met them at the wide opening of the underground world. And so, two armies positioned their platoon nearly a kilometer long, and all fought together.

"Master told us to show ourselves now to the humans fighting in this region. There is a skirmish; the humans are losing, so why not help? This will make things easier when we finally go back here. Are you scared?" Philip chuckled.

"...Scared? What is this? My first day with you idiots? I'm just worried we might have interpreted Master's words wrong."

"You need to work on that INT stat of yours, sir Brent." Don chuckled.

"Master wants us to do things he cannot do. He focuses on magic while we bring home the life energy for his next level up. We've been consistently defeating him; he needs to level up. We're already used to his speed." Don added.

"If all of us fought him." Serena corrected.

"Yes. But Master is keen to learn how to fight against groups. His discipline as a swordsman is very unique. I heard Ravagers are poor swordsmen... Ha! Tell that to the swings of our master!" Wesret chuckled.

"Are you ready, Vivindel?" Serena asked.

"You don't have to ask. I'm thirsty. Whip me out, and I'll drain the lifeblood of them!" Vivindel answered.

The imps and the humans were fighting in a dangerous battle.

The regular imps and Gremlins had now become cannon fodder. But their numbers were still dangerous to the human soldiers.

Most of the army was made up of Pucks and Chorts.

Several Troglodytes were right at the center of this group.

Kallikantzaros commanded each group, and the leaders of this skirmish, the Krampus, were fighting against the Captains at the center of the charge. The aim of the attack was to break through the center and block the tunnel, which was the fastest way to leave the region.

If this were closed, then the armies of the humans which has spread themselves out would have no way to escape and fall as they would be trapped and surrounded.

With that, Vivindel had instructed them to support the eastern flank and remove the pressure so the humans could push toward the center.

And the dagger that stabbed at the side allowed the soldiers to push ahead.

The group attacked and had the element of surprise.

BOOM! BOOM!

Two explosions occurred as the group used fire or bombs.

The ranks at the side fell, and like a dagger, the team charged in through the gap.

She held a sword and a whip. But with Vivindel, this whip didn't need much control. Serena only pretended to swing the whip, and Vivindel did the rest.

Wesret ran and dove deep into the ranks making quick stabs and attacks.

Don, Brent, and Tyra supported Wesret and Serena's hasty assault as Philip positioned them and used bows up close range, supporting everyone as fast as he could.

"Who are they?!" A soldier noticed the group enter and quickly began to dive deeper. 

The group only killed who they could, but the main goal was to disrupt, wound, and support the soldiers by weakening one line of foes.

BOOM!

Explosions occurred on several points as Serena and the group advanced. 

Serena and the rest were unstoppable despite their few numbers and levels.

Soon, everyone even revealed using fire magic!

"Who are they?!" A Captain was amazed as they saw the whip strike and caused a Kallikantzaros to fall.

The morale of the soldiers increased. The battle at the center was to their loss as the Krampus had used several. 

They stood their ground and even slew several Chorts and a few Kallikantzaros.

With all of their experiences, the group was hardened and experienced. Their dexterity was at its peak as they had constantly practiced and even would fight against Emeros.

Though Emeros was faster, the group could always defeat Emeros in a mock battle, frustrating Emeros more and more.

WHACK!

A Kallikantzaros missed Wesret, who easily dodged it by stopping. This was a Quick Blade's skill! 

"Halting Blade! That's a Quick Blade tech! Is that a Captain?!"

"Too slow!" Wesret laughed as his faint charge worked and pushed his blade directly into the neck of the Kallikantzaros.

STAB!

Emeros had fought them with numerous tricks and fighting styles that Aron, Branze, and even Kyros had in his days as a Paladin. The fighting stances and techniques were passed on to his memory. Since the Steele family was such a prodigy in the blade that they could harness numerous fighting styles of knights, Emeros was naturally able to teach them.

The Quick Blade's technique required a higher Dexterity compared to his opponent. Halting Blade stopped exactly before an attack after a powerful sprint. It also required tremendous leg work. The advantage of Emeros's allies was that they raised the levels at such a fast speed. They understood the vast difference in the new power they gained and, with it, familiarized how to use dexterity and, later on, their strength.

Wesret's one-armed form aided in accomplishing technique as he had less weight to push back.

The Kallikantzaros tried to counter, but a serpent-like whip shot to the wound on the neck.

From afar, it looked like the whip just struck, but Vivindel had bit and sucked out a large amount of blood.

Losing his strength, the Kallikantzaros collapsed.

BOOM!

Another bomb exploded as Don threw another mixture of alchemy. Vivindel's lab had abundant it in the far corners of the room, and they all converted most into weaponized tools.

Wesret charged ahead, stabbing the Chorts and Puks.

Some died, and those that survived succumbed to the strange poison that the blade had.

  Serena's whip was strong, and Vivindel would bite and latch on to the foes and weaken them by sucking out their blood. Serena alone slew two Kallikantzaros in this manner as she fought with a sword and a whip.

The eastern flank advanced further as Serena and the rest fought deep toward the center. The advance became like a wave that rippled from the east end to the center as the Captains took advantage of the change in formation to their advantage.

Morale was high as the warrior cheered, seeing the Kallikantzaros die.

Serena deduced that it was time as they dove deeper into the center.

Four Krampus were busy fighting at the center as they tried to push back the Champion and his Captains.

With the eastern side pushing forward, the Captains began to pressure the imps toward the center of the army.

Serena knew they were far enough.

They had used up all the resources when they attacked the Imp army, but Vivindel's stock was slightly better.

She quickly hurled a sack of rugged cloth towards the center.

The Krampus sensed its sheer power and quickly panicked. But it was too late.

BOOOOOM!

The power is as strong as a Champion Mages fireball attack erupted at the center.

Imps, Gremlins, Puks, and Chorts could be seen flying from the center of the explosion.

Everyone was confused at what had happened as the explosion silenced the entire area.

BOOOOOM!

Another blast right in front of the eastern side exploded again and brought down another platoon.

Two wide gaps in the imp army could be seen.

The imps and humans had paused in confusion.

"ATTACK!" A young soldier roared as he suddenly charged and attacked a Kallikantzaros.

SLASH!

"ATTACK!" Another soldier followed and attacked.

Soon, two more voices were heard, and the rest of the human army began to attack.

"Fight men! Victory is here!" The Champion Knight roared out, and everyone was awakened from their shock.

The war continued.

The Captain on the eastern side realized that this was all due to the mysterious group that made their ambush. But they were nowhere to be found!

"What?! Where did they go?!" The Captain was confused.

Among the soldiers that fought were Serena and the rest. They were the first ones to make a wild attack at the Kallikantzaros. Their previous outfits were deceptive covers. But taking the thick layer of hide and leather was the standard uniform of soldiers. During the explosion, they removed this covering and acted as soldiers.

Now, as the battle continued, Serena and the rest discreetly retreated and began to absorb the life energy.

"Let's fill all these magic orbs! We could all gain a level up after this!" Wesret spoke greedily.

Feigning that a fellow soldier had fallen, the team divided themselves into different areas and absorbed the life energy of Chorts and Kallikantzaros.

Vivindel was also busy feasting on the blood of both humans and imps.