Mikey and Joneson were the main profiteers of this battle. In a flash of black light, the levitating duo cried out as a mist of Death Energy was absorbed into their bodies.
The amount the Bone Dragon contained was far greater than even 10 other Adept undead together. They felt so good that they couldn't help but roar with excitement and glee.
Darius simply watched them with a bitter smile. The other fighters paused blankly once they saw the corpse of the Bone Dragon. There was obvious disbelief on their faces, and they couldn't be blamed for it.
This was the very same monster that had terrorized them for over a week, forcing them to pool resources together. No matter how they had tackled it, it had seemed like an insurmountable wall that would always prevent them from achieving their goal.
Now that it lay in a pathetic heap, many did not even know what to do. Shout out in celebration? Cry that their dead teammates had been avenged? Mock it for being so weak?
Eventually, all eyes lay on the two champions of this fight, the two vampires. More precisely on their forms, as their actual bodies were surrounded by all the blackish mist hovering around them, and the occasional shouts of pleasure.
This left the various parties even more confused. The priests especially looked worn down after they had finished their long cast during the battle earlier. They had invested great amounts of mana and power into a mass buffing spell called Wings of Light.
This had allowed the various combatants here to manifest angel-like wings made of light that allowed them to fly. Otherwise, how would the living have dealt with the airborne Bone Dragon?
Not everyone could be like those two monstrous vampires whose Intellect had crossed into the master-stage, giving them elementary psychic abilities like Apportation (psychic blink), Transvection (psychic flying), and Telekinesis.
Even though everyone looked drained, the number of human resources retained by the end of the fight was still encouraging. While many Journeymen had died, a loss that would be felt by their respective factions, none of the core Adepts had perished, which was the most important.
Gunner left his position and returned to Darius' side, humbly standing behind the old soul. The young 'Adept' himself clapped and got the attention of the various fellows around.
"Now that we have cleared the final obstacle, it is time to siege the Necropolis of Marasmus. We have already decided the order and means of attack, so what I would like to ask now is whether we continue on after a short rest or wait until the next day?"
Darius' question was quite prudent. If they took a short rest and continued on, they would be able to carry their momentum forward and increase their fighting power greatly.
However, the downside would be that they would not be fully rested and might make mistakes in the final battle. However, if they waited until tomorrow, they would lose their momentum, though the fighters would be much more chipper.
Both choices had their merits and demerits, so the various powerhouses agonized over it for a while before deciding to continue on as they were. Darius nodded to the priests, who began casting light spells to clear the blight in a small area around them.
Once done, they were the first to collapse in need of rest, and Darius maintained the clearing of the blight with his remaining Purification Potions. At this time, he was silently thinking about his next steps forward.
Of course, he had many schemes and plans, but the question was, would they work? He had no way to tell, and he could only try his best once the siege of Marasmus began.
Darius tried to collect the corpse of the Bone Dragon into his Inventory because, let's be honest, after he became a Journeyman and his CP increased, he would have a hundred uses for the materials here.
Unfortunately, something seemed to prevent him from doing so, the system even going as far as to inform him that this item could not be collected.
Frustrated, Darius let the matter go.
The party rested for over 6 hours before the main fighting force, the priests, reported that they could go on. It should be noted that the number of coalitions that had fought to hire them had been truly scary.
Darius only knew that the current strongest coalition had managed to win the bid, but he had deliberately avoided seeking out Darla to find out the exact price they had paid to hire these fellows as he feared it might give him a heart attack.
Once the confirmation was made, the various parties moved out at their own pace towards the Necropolis 8 kilometers away from the northern side of the battlefield.
In a matter of a few minutes and after crossing a few withered forests, they saw the Necropolis floating above a lake of greenish liquid that occasionally had spirits evaporating from within, continuously screeching in high pitched tones.
The screams of the damned were enough to upset everyone there regardless of their power, making their faces pale.
Those with Mind Power felt their tendrils slap away some form of curse that came with those screams, while the others either drank their Purifications Potions - or in the case of the priests - used spells to alleviate their conditions and protect themselves.
Only Mikey and Joneson seemed unbothered by this, and it wasn't just due to their power, but their racial affiliation. They had experienced it when they had come here for reconnaissance, but this place felt really good to be around.
It was a shame they needed to destroy it someway somehow, but the words of their boss was law to them. However, they stood back with Darius and Gunner, opting to spectate for now.
After all, Darius had joined no coalitions. He was likely the only party with no allies, so he would technically be the last to go up. This wasn't a problem because Darius had no intention of playing by the rules he himself set up.
His only goal was to get the First Resurrection Stone and book it. Whatever dissatisfaction or problems that came after could be solved easily once he was a Journeyman.
Failure here because he wanted to be a 'nice' guy would lead to death, so he could be forgiven if he had no good intentions at all.
At this moment, a robed undead at the Adept stage appeared at the pinnacle of the stairs leading to the mausoleum at the top of the Necropolis, his greenish eyes burning with hate and disdain.
