(Book 2 Complete!) Tales of the Endless Empire [LitRPG Apocalypse]

Explosions rocked the chamber every time their skills collided.

Elias was no slouch and proved to be a capable fighter. Now at full power, he pressed the attack, clearly aiming to kill Thalion. He unleashed multiple miasma-based skills simultaneously, all of them incredibly powerful. Before, he had primarily relied on blades and a shield, but now he conjured shockwaves, explosions, miasma beams, and more. His arsenal was wide, but against Thalion, it still wasn't enough.

Thanks to his title, Thalion could discern which attack was most dangerous, even without direct sight. He was actively engaging the lich with his abilities, but he wasn't the only predator in the chamber. A far more ferocious one lurked below. The Sanguis Impera, which had begun charging up its blood thorns to increase their accuracy. Its vines glowed with crimson energy, as if coated in blood like a second skin, likely a measure to increase their durability and strength.

Elias had figured out a way to damage the plants slightly by detonating released miasma clouds. The resulting explosions were quite potent and managed to tear apart several vines. Unfortunately for Elias, he didn't have the luxury of flooding the chamber with miasma due to Thalion's relentless pursuit. The Sanguis Impera also released a bloody mist that pushed the miasma clouds back, making it impossible for Elias to maintain both offense and defense simultaneously.

Thalion kept up the chase, deliberately keeping Elias distracted so the Sanguis Impera could continue building pressure. The real issue for Elias was his lack of equipment. If he had possessed even a single item capable of blocking Thalion's sword, the battle might have gone differently. But now, he had no choice but to dodge and hope to land a decisive hit.

Thalion either dodged or blocked his spells with the Blade of the Blooded Templar, which was perfectly suited for dealing with pure mana based attacks. It even absorbed some of the energy, restoring Thalion's mana. Not that he needed it, but it was a nice bonus. Elias was clearly skilled in spellcasting, but Thalion doubted this was his typical fighting style. He suspected that Elias normally used a staff or weapon for mid-range combat. But against Thalion it wouldn't have changed much.

As the battle dragged on, Elias became more desperate, pumping increasingly more power into his spells, hoping for a lucky hit to turn the tide. But against Thalion, that was wishful thinking. The fact that the lich could even channel so much power was impressive in itself, though ultimately ineffective. Thalion was too consistent, his mana pool nowhere near empty. His massive regeneration rate giving him a huge advantage. Even against stronger foes, he could always stall until they burned out.

In this case, however, he didn't want to kill his opponent. He wanted to capture him. That would be difficult for most, but Thalion had the tools. The Sanguis Impera could drain an enemy's resources, meaning once caught, Elias would be helpless. Any mana or stamina he regenerated would be immediately siphoned away. In theory, the Sanguis Impera could also heal the captive if its vines caused too much damage while growing into the body.

Elias was weakening by the second. He hurled blades and explosions in every direction, but nothing helped. Thalion was never in danger, and the vines regrew too fast. Elias even failed to blast open the blocked corridor entrance, as Thalion was always there to intercept him.

So far, Elias had managed to avoid serious hits, suffering only minor scratches, but the longer the battle continued, the harder it became to dodge the lightning-fast blood thorns of the Sanguis Impera. After half an hour, one finally struck him, piercing his arm and embedding itself halfway through. The brutal spikes almost tore the limb from its socket. Elias tried to cut the blood thorn off with a skill, but it was no use. The vines were already growing inside him, feeding on his energy. Occasionally, the vines even burst through his skin as they thickened. Of course, Elias tried to resist, but he had no chance.

The Sanguis Impera alone might have been enough to overpower him, but with Thalion supporting it, there was simply no hope. Surprisingly, it took over thirty seconds before Elias could no longer move, his mana completly drained. He fell from the sky like a rock, only to be caught by the vines below. They ensnared him completely as the Sanguis Impera spun a cocoon of red vines around the lich.

"Yes! Good job, mate!" Thalion shouted with elation, clapping one of the vines at his side like a companion.

This had gone far smoother than he had expected. The fact that Elias dared to descend here without a spatial ring or weapons had been an incredible stroke of luck. The only question now was whether Thalion could capitalize on it. Extracting a bloodline from a lich might be even harder than the elf's bloodline skill, but that didn't matter. His excitement was unquenchable, they had won the war. It was finally over.

The undead and Ankhet were defeated. Only the surface vampires remained, but none of them posed a real threat. The only one who might match him was the female elf, but after defeating the vampiress, Ankhet, and now Elias, Thalion had no doubt he could take her on too.

The biggest obstacle would be the escape token. There was no way she would risk entering the catacombs again. And once the elves learned of Ankhet's death, they probably wouldn't dare fight him at all. The final day of the tutorial might actually be… relaxing.

Not that Thalion would relax. Since the battle with Ankhet, he'd been driven to an almost insane degree. He was more determined than ever to reach godhood and become as powerful as possible. He still remembered the small girl from Kael's base. If he had been too weak, her future would have been cut short too. That memory gave him an extra push.

Now, with Elias secured, Thalion could fly up again and hunt down more vampires.
It was time to show them what true horror looked like.

<--

Kaldrek was exhausted.

The last few hours had been brutal, and he still couldn't believe that Thalion was dead. The man had been incredibly powerful and had never shown fear, even when fighting elite vampires. Hearing that he had faced the strongest vampiress alone, taking an enormous risk just to make things easier for his fighters, was something truly rare these days. Most leaders acted the opposite way, showing no concern if their warriors died, as long as it made them stronger.

Thalion was different. He genuinely gave everyone in his city an opportunity and never looked down on them, unlike most leaders in the tutorial. Almost everyone from Kael's camp had joined their base, and Kaldrek still felt furious when he thought about how Kael had managed his own camp. The weak had been forced to gather materials all day long, as they weren't even allowed to hunt. Not even in small groups. Likely, Kael had forbidden it to avoid losing credits when they died, while he took all the resources they collected.

It was the typical system: the strong kept stepping on the weak to maintain their advantage. Kael had claimed he didn't want to do it that way, but said it was necessary for survival. That excuse only fueled Kaldrek's anger.

Things were different here. They had also sent people to gather materials, though that had stopped once they reached the fifth stage, as the beasts had become too dangerous and they were now at war with the undead. Their current focus was on hunting and leveling. What mattered most to Kaldrek was that their system rewarded effort, regardless of someone's level. The more someone contributed, the more advantages they received.

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For example, a single day of gathering herbs or resources earned them the right to join a strong hunting party the next day, gaining valuable experience and levels by fighting tougher monsters. That's why they had managed to collect so many materials in the first place. People liked that system. Everyone wanted to grow stronger.

The benefits for the hunters were clear too: the more they helped weaker survivors level up, the greater their access to blacksmiths and alchemists became. Most couldn't afford legendary items from the system shop anymore, as prices had become extremely high. That made a good blacksmith vital for getting proper gear. And including one weaker member in a hunting party didn't make much difference, costing only a small amount of experience. That's why most were happy to bring along someone less experienced.

It had even gone so far that Kaldrek and Maike had to step in, placing limits on hunting groups: only one weaker member was allowed per trip, or two under special circumstances. They'd made the rule after some teams started bringing four to ten weaker survivors just to gain faster access to better items. Kaldrek and Maike wouldn't have minded much, except the death rate had also started rising.

He thought their system was tough but fair, something they had built together with care. Now, with the war against the undead, adjustments had to be made, which made sense. They couldn't allow weaker survivors to wander alone through the jungle with vampires still on the loose.

Now, the weaker ones helped alchemists and smiths or took on other tasks. There were still some training parties to level them up, but not many. Most of the fighters had joined the catacomb assault. Those left to train the weak were the ones not participating in the war effort.

Well… that was over now too.

They would barricade themselves inside Thalion's massive base and pray the remaining vampires and Ankhet couldn't break through the shields. The moment they received word of the outcome, they ordered every smith to produce ammunition for the defensive weapons. If the defenses ran out of firepower, it would be over and there were still two weeks left in the tutorial.

They were also starting to run out of space. With everyone now on the fifth stage, most survivors were searching for safety. They urgently needed to locate the base's building crystal before the next system shop opened, so they could invest in additional defenses.

The black fortress would likely be abandoned, just like the skyship with the portal. Once everyone had crossed through, they would destroy the portal from their side so the undead couldn't follow. Kaldrek had feared that most people wouldn't make it, but surprisingly, the undead didn't seem interested in hunting them right now. Maybe they wanted the survivors to gather in one place, so they wouldn't have to chase them all over the fifth stage? Kaldrek didn't know, and their future didn't look good.

They still had strong elite fighters backing them, but with Thalion dead, a power vacuum had formed, one no one seemed able to fill. No one had spoken about it yet. They were still secretly evacuating people from the black fortress, trying to stay under the radar. The skyships were landing in the courtyard, hidden from the undead's view, to keep their plan concealed.

Another question weighed heavily: which of the elite warriors could they truly trust? Would Evelyn, Kargul, Josh, Jack, Annie, and Jakob be enough to stop others from trying to seize control of the base? If Kael, Sylas, or Kai managed to sneak in and with so many people living here, that was entirely possible, it could become very dangerous. Then there were Jim and Amalia, still unaccounted for somewhere out there.

They didn't have the luxury of infighting. Not with the undead potentially knocking on their doorstep any minute now.

And that was just the trouble inside the tutorial.

Evelyn had told them more about what would happen in the new world and the knowledge had made Kaldrek's blood run cold. The "new world" simply meant that more gods would get involved, and it would turn into an endless war between powerful factions until one of them managed to conquer the planet. And then there were the System Events. Horrific challenges wrapped in temporal distortion. Anyone participating in one would come out much stronger, but the cost was steep: they had to pay with their longevity.

That meant anyone who wanted to stay in power would have to participate in those events.

And worst of all? These system events were incredibly dangerous, not just because god-chosen champions participated in them, but because the events themselves could be lethal. Some granted participants tokens to escape the event if necessary. Others didn't care at all. The system event would only end once a set number of survivors remained alive.

The most horrifying part: you had no way of knowing which kind you were entering. And once inside, it was too late to turn back.

Their current situation was terrible, and their future looked just as bleak. Maybe they needed to have a real discussion about whether trying to build a similar base in the new world was even possible, or if it might be better for everyone to go their separate ways. After all, they had no fighter in their base who could stand up to a god's chosen. Not a chance.

"Kaldrek, look... something's happening in the undead camp!" Evelyn shouted from atop the black fortress wall.

Panic gripped Kaldrek's heart.

Were the undead preparing for an attack? They hadn't finished evacuating yet. This was bad, very bad. Kaldrek activated his movement skill and leapt up to the top of the wall, eyes locked on the massive undead base that had formed above the catacomb entrance.

What he saw left him stunned.

A blood wraith was wreaking havoc on the vampires, slaughtering them left and right. At one point, it flew in a wide arc along the wall, killing vampires with high-pitched shrieks that echoed all the way to their fortress. The scene reminded him oddly of those podracers from Star Wars.

"This looks a lot like the skill Cathrin used in the catacombs… just way more powerful," Evelyn said, almost as if thinking aloud.

Kaldrek didn't know what to make of what he was witnessing. Was Ankhet just letting this happen? The blood wraith continued to tear through vampires inside the buildings, and then… it vanished. For a moment, they thought it had been destroyed.

But then it reappeared again, after diving under the undead wall.

It flew straight at their base with terrifying speed, its eyes glowing like embers in its skull-like sockets.

"Ready the defenses! Attack incoming!" Kaldrek shouted, both to those below and to the others on the wall.

Now the entire troop was assembled, every one of them braced for impact. They stood ready to face the blood wraith. It had to be one of Ankhet's skills, nothing else made sense.

Kaldrek's thoughts raced in panic, a cold dread creeping through his heart. He drew both swords but struggled to hold them steady.

This was not going to end well.