Chapter 20
Simon poured more power into his claws.
Eldran was flung several yards back before he caught his footing.
Simon studied the undead warrior with mild surprise.
This one was nothing like the Black Knights.
Lilith had summoned those creatures, but the stronger undead standing before him was clearly something else—perhaps a native undead that had joined her forces.
Simon didn't understand how that had come about.
Nor did he care.
"An undead commander?" he said. "At least you have some strength to you."
He attacked again.
Eldran raised his greatsword and met him head-on.
Their clash sent shock waves rolling across the snowfield, blasting powder into the air with every exchange.
Eldran could barely defend himself.
He was only Tier 5 Veteran—one tier below Lilith, and she had struggled against the Tier 9 Veteran Goblin High Priest even with the Ossuary Colossus.
Eldran had no such trump card.
All he could do was block Simon's attacks and give ground.
How long he could keep it up was another question.
Three Black Knights turned to face the Frost Sabertooth army while the other three tried to support Eldran.
But in a battle at this level, Tier 1 Veterans were hopelessly outclassed.
They couldn't even find an opening to interfere.
Without reinforcements, Frostbound Bastion would fall.
Fortunately, Eldran's original mission had been reconnaissance.
His return to the Bastion was pure coincidence—but several Specters assigned to carry intelligence had come with him.
The moment he realized the Wonder was under attack, Eldran sent them through the Portal to call for reinforcements.
He only had to hold until help arrived.
Or so he believed.
The reality was worse.
Lilith was not in her Territory.
The Specters emerged from Frostbound Bastion's Portal and tried to report the attack, only to learn from the other undead that their Lord was away.
The Bastion could fall at any moment.
Fortunately, Specters possessed enough intelligence to adapt.
If Lilith couldn't be reached, they would seek out the highest-ranking undead available.
Only three such commanders existed.
Eldran was already fighting.
Varkhul was on assignment elsewhere.
That left Morwen.
But Morwen was off investigating the Goblins on Lilith's orders and hadn't yet returned.
Finding her would take time.
Whether Eldran could survive that long was anyone's guess.
Then one Specter offered another possibility.
"Our Lord may be at the Territory within the Verdant Forest. Search there."
It immediately returned to its own assignment.
The Specter tasked with requesting aid flew through the Portal without hesitation and entered Bonnie's Territory.
Lilith wasn't there.
Bonnie was.
More importantly, Varkhul stood beside her.
Red light flashed across the Portal as Bonnie and Varkhul crossed into Lilith's Territory.
With Varkhul taking command, the nearby undead mobilized at once. They poured through the Portal toward Frostbound Bastion in force.
"You will remain here," Varkhul told Bonnie. "If the situation changes again, you can relay word to our Lord."
Bonnie nodded.
The undead had temporarily lost contact with Lilith. Bonnie was the only one present who could message her directly.
Varkhul stepped through the Portal.
A Spectral Dragon soon swept in from the south and transformed in midair.
Morwen landed beside Bonnie.
One look at the activity around the Portal told her most of the story.
"Overlord Varkhul has already gone to reinforce them?"
Bonnie nodded.
"Please remain here, Lady Bonnie."
Morwen plunged into the Portal, a large force of Specters streaming after her.
Bonnie watched the undead pour through behind their commanders.
Once she realized all three of Lilith's Hero Units had converged on Frostbound Bastion, she understood how serious the attack must be.
What happened in the Frostlands?
Her thoughts went to Elowen and the crushing presence of an Elite.
Did they run into an Elite too?
Fear tightened her chest.
All she could do was warn Lilith.
...
Outside Frostbound Bastion, Eldran had reached his limit.
His armor was in pieces. Cracks webbed his greatsword, and his aura had grown dangerously unstable.
Only his Deathfire had let him resist the corrosive power in Simon's blood.
Without it, Simon would have destroyed body and soul long ago.
Simon, meanwhile, was losing his patience.
He had spent far too long trying to kill an undead four tiers beneath him.
"You're like a damn cockroach!"
He unleashed the full power of his bloodline.
Crimson energy gathered around one claw until the attack warped the air around it.
Simon was certain the strike would finish the battered Eldran.
Even Eldran braced for death.
Then he sensed reinforcements entering the battlefield.
Eldran activated Sacrifice.
Elsewhere on the field, several lesser undead crumpled as their power surged into him.
His ruined body regenerated at impossible speed.
Shattered armor reformed.
The cracks across his greatsword sealed.
In an instant, Eldran stood restored to his peak.
Simon's eyes went wide.
"What?"
Before he could make sense of it, attacks came from both flanks.
Danger.
Simon twisted in midair.
One claw caught Varkhul's katana.
The other snagged the spectral chain Morwen had hurled at him.
Simon lashed out at Varkhul, trying to drive him off.
Varkhul slipped past the blow.
He wove around Simon with lethal precision, opening several wounds across the werewolf's body before Simon could even turn.
Then Simon understood.
Morwen's chain was slowing him.
He tried to redirect his attack toward her.
Too late.
Eldran's greatsword came down from behind, wreathed in Deathfire.
A clean hit would have crushed Simon.
He dodged.
Which was exactly what Eldran wanted.
The sword had been a feint.
Bone Magic erupted beneath Simon's feet.
Dozens of jagged spikes burst from the frozen ground and impaled him from every direction.
More of Morwen's chains followed, coiling around his limbs and spreading soul-freezing frost through his body.
Varkhul struck in the same instant.
His katana flashed toward Simon's neck.
He meant to take the werewolf's head in a single stroke.