Darius had used those five years to learn many spells, yet only a few of them were wide-area and dealt sufficient damage in this situation.
As for Gunner, he was having a blast using his newly learned skills as well as the old ones.
For the first time since he had acquired it, the half-giant used his Omega Blow. He floated into the air as greenish Earth Energy exploded around him, forming a palpable aura that suppressed many to their knees.
He then stretched out his right hand then closed it, opening it the next moment to reveal a small greenish ball of energy that glowed vibrantly. The moment Gunner released, it grew in size with every inch it crossed until it was about as large as football.
When it exploded against its target, the Journeyman undead exploded at once, leaving nothing behind. It was an instant kill from Gunner, and he followed up by using his Eraser Cannon.
He bellowed with might, thrusting his hand forward with an open palm, greenish energy coalescing into a bright beam that lanced towards his targets below. When it struck, it exploded and covered an area of 10 metes, turning 70% of undead within that range to ash.
The only survivors were peak Journeyman and Adept undead, yet they were not doing so good at the moment. Gunner lost the effect of levitation due to his skill elapsing, so he returned to the ground and spread his right arm out to the side.
Earthen Lariat!
His entire right arm shone with the greenish energy that had come to be a nightmare for these undead, and the fellow grinned toothily as he charged out so fast that he left an afterimage of himself.
The next moment he had smashed into a Skeleton King that was defending itself, his arm connecting with its jaw and neck, separating the two.
The rest of the bony body was blown to bits, instantly ending the life of this undead. The large lad was still not done and he pulled over a random undead with his Soldering Gauntlets and used the Earthen Punch combo to end its life.
While Gunner was clearing the undead slowly but surely, Darius was proving his value as the designated damage dealer of their group as he practically carpet-bombed the area, clearing undead by the double digits each second.
One minute in, he alone had cleared almost 1,000 of the undead army! Up till now, Gunner had only cleared at most 50 of them, so the gap was quite big. Then again, Gunner wasn't meant to be doing damage, but tanking the foes to allow Darius to do his job.
As such, he would occasionally use his Engage skill to attract nearby aggro for his master to clear out. He had no fear of striking Gunner thanks to the Supreme System's Anti-Friendly Fire, so he could blast away as he wanted.
By the time another half minute elapsed, the undead were left with only ashes on the field, Darius and Gunner regrouped beside Xela as they gazed at the Vampire Lord who was still up there, studying the barrier, seemingly without a care for his minions.
Darius turned to Xela. "How's your mana doing?"
Xela smiled beautifully. "Well, it's draining very slowly because he isn't damaging the ward. If he keeps it like this, I should be able to hold him for about 30 minutes."
Darius smiled bitterly. "I don't think that's possible. There are likely two reasons why he has lost interest in the battle and is focused on studying your ward."
Darius pointed to Darm. "The first must be that he has never seen something like this, as I'm guessing he hasn't had the chance to interact with a Chosen one of your Divine Light."
"Secondly, if he can decipher your ward, he'll be able to find a way to break it without much effort and also prevent himself from ever being affected by such a thing again."
When Xela heard this, her heart chilled and she immediately canceled the ward. The released Darm looked around in confusion for a moment, clearly he had been lost in deep comprehension just a moment ago.
He then turned to Xela with a frown. "Elven vermin, quickly cast that barrier again so I may inspect it!"
Xela ignored him and took out her bow again, firing the arrow right in between the brows of the Vampire Lord. This time however, he caught the arrow that re-appeared in his fist, gazing at Xela darkly.
"Did you not hear me, filth? I, Lord Darm, order you to cast that spell once more!"
Xela still ignored him and received the Arrow of Artemis that inevitably returned to her hand through space after Darm caught it, greatly surprising the Vampire Lord. Xela then shot it out once more at the same target, making Darm scoff with disdain.
"Did you not hear me, mongrel? I said- Arrrgh… Ughhaha!"
Darius had raised his staff and cast Convert Vampire, which Darm had no way to defend against, making the undead scream out in pain. Then his broken defense allowed the arrow to strike between his brows once more, doubling his agony.
Gunner raised his hand and cast Omega Blow, the ball of greenish energy blasting Darm away by more than a few meters. Xela recollected her arrow, Gunner lowered his fist and Darius tapped the butt of his staff against the ground.
Darm gathered himself and gazed at the trio with hate in his eyes.
"Very good! Exemplary job! I am impressed!" He laughed coldly.
He then raised a finger and cut a deep wound on his extended left arm. The blood slowly dripped from the sky and landed on the ground, each drop morphing and gathering into the form of a Blood Warrior.
Darm created 100 of them, and each one had 30% of his total stats, albeit based on his currently weakened state. This gave each Blood Warrior the average stats of a high-tier Adept almost reaching the beginning of a human Master stage opponent.
It didn't end here, as Darm sealed up his wound and created a portal of blood behind his created warriors before roaring with might.
"My Thralls, come forth and fight for your master!"
