blacksmithoftheapocalypse

1222. if you know what I know that I know

<Ding! Your creation has defeated a legend. +1 Level of Existence.>

<Ding! Your creation has defeated a legend. +1 Level of Existence.>

<Ding! Your creation has defeated a legend. +1 Level of Existence.>

Seth was momentarily distracted by the notification blare in his head. He had already heard this same notification earlier today. Compared to the painful grind of the past weeks, when he arduously waited for the point of Power of Existence to col...

1221. Hell Gates

---Delta---

The Bishop and the bird were clashing in the airs above Delta. One side crackling with lightning, the other filled with holy vengeance. They had crushed Krista's Shield. They had overturned the Holy Domain. They had killed the members of his order.

Turnus, Cupido, Numitor, Tatius... he had technically raised those boys with his own hands. His fist clenched the shaft of his two-handed mace staff. Yet, after all they did, he was still unable to even...

1220. Charging Forward

Cromwel stared at the scene that just happened in the sky. Maybe he was the only one who truly knew what just occurred, apart from the Tower Master. The dragon had actually suffered a combined attack which resulted in his downfall.

The scientist had no intention to belittle the power of the colossus, but the reason the attack managed to even severe the wind, laid in a purple lightning that struck the wing bone only moments before.

Since he was outclassed on t...

1219. Threads of the Sun

“Blast them, Kalzemir!” Natina ordered the skeleton dragon. Bending back the neck, the giant skeleton released a pitch-black breath straight down into the valley. The valley below was pure chaos and apart from the legend, even her own undead would probably suffer.

But it was worth it. The soldiers were already as good as gone and the undead could be replenished. She didn’t dare to hope to kill one of the horsemen, but the abyss breath should have been enough to take out...

1218. Man’s Big Stick

Natina gasped in shock when she registered the damage Kalzemir suffered despite her legion buff. How could that happen? Kalzemir was immune to weapon damage and his bones negated 85% of any incoming damage!

Unless… the image of the weapon the golem used flashed in her mind. It was gigantic, but barely more than a crude piece of wood, that grew kind of straight. In that case, even if it was grown from high-quality material, could it be the system did not recognize it as a we...

1217. Auras Galore

Her confidence was blown away in an instant. The death energy emitted by that hand could have ended her here and now. All her ambitions would have ended just like this. The horseman of death had no weapon because he didn't need it.

Just the touch was enough to kill someone. The hand had been blocked by a legendary shield, but Natina didn't need <Appraisal> to see the item's durability dropping quickly. She couldn't face this creature. Although it was not as frightening ...

1216. City Deployment

"Don't just disregard me.” Piotr, the legendary lich reminded them of his existence, as he stabbed his staff into the ground. Rushing out from the tip of his staff were lines of magic, shining a bright blue. They covered the whole valley, swallowing the undead and surrounding mountains in their light.

“City Deployment” the rotten skeleton exclaimed, the sparse, long beard hair waving in the wind of his power, as he showed why one should never underestimate a wizard with...

1215. Get out of here

It felt as if everything had halted. The burning zombies stopped attacking, and the soldier, who had run for the gate stood still. Natina's heard her own ragged breathing. It was as if the world had halted for just a moment, to listen.

“Down from the sky. Into the fight.” a voice erupted into the silence of this still world. it was a quiet voice in a language Natina didn't know, yet understood the meaning of. Her gaze trailed to the skies above, in the direction of Delta....

1214. Not Cromwel's Forte

---Outside of Delta---

“Who would have thought this would be all I end up doing?” Cromwel thought in derision, setting up the last part of a wide formation, surrounding a valley in the vicinity of Delta. At the bottom of the valley, the remnants of Spatia's army were camping, at the edge of a massive gate.

This was Natina's camp, they had set up after their odyssey. With plans constantly changing, Cromwel had not expected they would end up returning here ...

1213. The Jungle

Soti was finally recovering from the disease status, thanks to the support of the various priests from the raid party. Although she felt ill, she roughly knew the situation. The bard was gone and the massive beasts were currently held back by the parties that regained their ability to act.

Demus faced the legendary bird and Jarvan was hunting the Minotaur. The bishop didn't need help but if she could take down the Minotaur's support, the flying centipede, and the Imugi...

1212. Calm Mountain, Scary Mountain

“Young friend, just surrender yourself. I don't wish to harm you any further,” the old man said in a warm friendly voice, completely contradicting the vicious fighting style he had shown so far. Vermar was looking at him, panting heavily.

Blood flowing from a deep cut on his forehead drenched his fur and blocked the vision in his right eye. The only sensation he felt from his right arm was pain. Shivers ran down his spine when he looked at it. The limb was completely twis...

1211. Under Pressure

“Off, off with their heads~ Dance, dance 'til you're dead ~ Heads will roll~ Heads will roll~ Heads will roll! On the floor.”

The sound of drumming echoed, as the roots started attacking the barrier again. They didn't have the time to be shocked for long, as the song became faster and stronger, prompting the tree to restart its attacks, adding new enemies to the roaster of dangers they had to face.

The golden giant, the titan, and the absurdity were rushi...

1210. Off with their heads

The wolf saw it all happening. His planned reinforcements were apprehended, the gates closed, and the legendary parties combined. Yet, he couldn't intervene. At first, he didn't want to be caught up in a fight against the Tree at one of the two new gates.

Seeing how there was nothing he could really do to turn the situation for the troops at the gate, he decided to join his colleagues in raiding the tree. Although he was not specialized in fighting against massive creatures, ...

1209. Legends Unite

---Outside Delta---

“Hey, Ceres? Are you still fighting the Hydra?” were the first words coming from the communication orb, leaving the parrot of doom a little confused. Wasn't Seth supposed to be working or something?

The eagle was currently with Rayki and the Faer, who, fortunately for them, managed to reach Blotches in time to save the questing beast's life. It wasn't completely safe, yet, but with the constant support of magic, music, and potions, Blo...

1208. Unexpected Situation

---Delta---

Vermar observed his work from a safe distance, standing on the rooftop of one of the giant blocky buildings. It still felt a little crazy to him, that cities could look like this, but he had to concentrate on his work.

The two portals he had set up, using the sets of gate stones the previous teams failed to use, were almost ready. Originally, they, the teams of legends, were supposed to secure the landing zone for the armies on this side, but thin...

1207. Half-assed Echo

---15 Minutes earlier---

To Improve Forgebrand's Golem Formation was not a sudden idea. Seth had actually worked off and on on it, whenever he had time. The first step had been the Faer Formation, the circle that was able to create a living body for a deceased soul, given a foundation.

However, this was the result he had worked on and off on since around the time he began selling Golems to Arget Nore. The problem with the Faer was that the creation of a body ...

1206. Ready

---Minas Mar--

For hours Seth had worked on a formation and he was just putting the finishing touches to the carving at the center of a workshop-adjacent room. With a strained sigh, he lifted the engraving tool to wipe away his sweat and look at his work when the door flew open and a hectic cat girl stormed in.

“M-Mina?! Why are you almost breaking my door? ” the blacksmith cried out in surprise. The thought of the amount of work that could have been ruin...

1205. The Source?

---Bottom of the Sigmaen Sea---

~What is that?~ the blacksmith asked the stag, still stuck to his back.

“T-The source of the Nuckelavee, sir!”

What they were looking at was what looked like the entrance to the shell of a mollusk that stuck out of a rock cliff at the bottom of the sea. Inside the shell was a disturbingly meat-colored entrance, which was currently shut tightly.

This had nothing equestrian at all! How was th...

1204. Quick Trip

---2 days earlier, Minas Mar---

“Idyllin Mo, I need you to take me somewhere, “ the blacksmith approached the space magician, he felt a little sorry for the mage, who had been putting his utmost into buying time over the past two weeks, covertly teleporting people, beasts and golems into the way of Spatia. He looked horribly tired, but Seth needed a soul, an equestrian soul to be specific.

Sandra Irving, who was running the shop while Tano'Mol was still a...

1203. Lumbering?

---Above Delta---

“Those damn old bastards!” she cursed. Her fists clenched so hard, she could hear the metal of her gauntlets creaking. A slumbering ember, the hidden fire of hatred and ambition flared up, far greater than her indignation toward the blacksmith.

The moment she saw gates growing in places surrounding the Guardian Tree, Natina knew that she was betrayed. Seeing how they used something as precious as the gate stone, she instinctively knew th...

1202. Stone Gates

“Fafi, nooo!” echoed in the sky and moments later the undead manning the walls vanished around Garroun. Only the adventurers and golems sparsely spread were left to defend. Well, and the huge tree that was doing all the work.

The commander and his men had been quite useless for the past few minutes since the tree appeared and began to defend the city faster than the hordes of zombies could replenish. However, he was concerned about Evee, the necromancer who originally sum...

1201. Whip Tongue

Natina used <Whip Tongue of Kali> a few more times, before she realized, that she could beat the tree like this. Kalzemir's decaying breath also showed only a temporary effect. As for Diromold, the Koor Worm couldn't show his potential unless the barrier fell.

Natina's strategy hinged on two factors. The first was her divine skill. Kali represented death, but unlike other gods of death who reigned over something like a realm of the dead, Kali represented the cycle of li...

1200. Betrayal from the Off

When Garroun heard Minas Mar talk about the Guardian Tree, he pictured the World Tree in his mind. A holy plant and an incarnation of the pure life force of nature. It had incredible healing and purification properties. Often it had the ability to create a protective barrier or enchantment around the forest it grew to protect itself and its followers.

What he thought was that the Guardian Tree would have a similar defensive power. A shield, and illusion barrier maybe. Maybe a...

1199. Diromold

“Fuck...” Cromwel didn't hold back with his vocabulary when the Guardian Tree suddenly blinked into existence and single-handedly stabilized Delta's defense. The floating peaks had become the tree's accessories and the threatening breath of the Skeleton Dragon had a hard time just damaging the crown.

Even the swarm of beasts that was threatening to storm Delta from the sky, had swallowed and dispersed by the growing foliage. The golden giant was also able to get himself t...

1198. Rise of the Guardian Tree

The Palpatating Spear clashed with a pitch-black shield in mid-air. It looked like a knight in dreadful armor, but Azul could smell the reek of undeath from the creature. Arcs were licking across the shield, but Azul was unable to push the undead knight back.

During their trip, the former leader of the Chimeras had managed to step on the path to legends and reached lv.117 before her return. Right now she was lv.125, but she was unable to gain the upper hand after several exch...

1197. Just don't die on me

--Valley of Broken Mountains---

Hellion had hoped to break off its head, with strikes to the base of the skull, but he quickly realized that the only thing about to break was his fist. Meanwhile, he was flung around wildly, being slammed against a mountain cliff, by the dragon who tried to get him off.

Finally, he lost his hold when the skeleton hit him against the cliff at a weird angle. His leg slipped and the maw of the dragon opened wild, releasing the br...

1196. Subordinate. Friend? Pet.

Another one to see the full extent of the change in the battle was Ceres, who returned to a mountain engulfed in purple light. Natina Durnham had finally stepped up personally. It wasn't just the big guns that had received the purple light. All the undead surrounding the walls of Delta were torches of purple fire.

All the undead in the air were burning in their master’s power and frantically tried to enter a hole in the barrier. That wasn't all. From the foot of the mountai...

1195. Purple Bloom(2)

---Above Delta---

The skies above raged a chaotic battle. Asterion was a spinning top, turning into a disc of death with the Sacrilegious Labrys in his hands. Although Puffles and Tatzel were keeping the necromancer busy with a massive back and forth of great magics, the hordes of creatures pouring out from Piotr and the portal above were sheer unending.

There were so many that even Iego and Puffles' periodical ringing of the bells barely helped alleviate the...

1194. Purple Bloom

“Urgh!” Mike groaned when the rhino finally managed to smack him with its head. Despite his skills and equipment, he was unable to overcome the 50-level difference in their levels. Just like with legends, depending on the path they took the difference in power could differ vastly.

The difference between single levels was much greater beyond lv.100 and even before the ascension, the specialization could stretch that difference even further. It may sound like an excuse, but...

1193. The eagle!

“This little-” Ceres thought annoyed. The storm and sky were filled with almost invisibly sticky threads that kept clinging to his body. They had traveled up the whirlwind he created himself and the elemental had a slightly hard time moving, as he was being quickly covered in spider silk.

The storm elemental had already tried wind and lightning to rid himself of the messy stuff, but it proved to be difficult. The thread was able to draw and divert lightning attacks, while...