The coordinated volley of the Vanguard struck the undead horde surrounding the Lumina Chapel like the wrath of a freezing god.
Thousands of hyper-compressed azure beams violently erased the sea of rotting flesh directly pressing against the flickering golden barrier.
The sudden absolute drop in temperature completely froze the atmosphere. It snapped the decaying bodies into brittle bloody icicles before shattering them into dust.
The surviving Paladins collapsed in sheer exhaustion on the chapel steps. Their heavy golden greatswords slipped from their bloody gauntlets.
They stared in absolute stunned horror at the perfectly synchronized blue army marching out of the rotting treeline.
Paladin Commander Brandon leaned heavily against a stone pillar. He was a heavily scarred veteran bleeding profusely from a deep cut in his chest plate.
He tracked the approach of Lucifer. Lucifer walked with terrifying casual confidence. The pulsing red Carnage Core illuminated his path. The imposing celestial presence of the Fallen Valkyrie followed closely behind him.
"In the name of the Light," Brandon coughed and spat a glob of dark blood onto the stone. "Who are you?"
Lucifer did not answer. His gaze was locked precisely on the heavily swelling diseased earth located exactly fifty yards directly in front of the chapel doors.
The soil literally boiled and bubbled violently as a massive suffocating wave of pure toxic black mana flooded the clearing.
"The Zone Boss," Lucifer stated flatly. His grip tightened on his broadsword.
"Boss?" Brandon choked out. He was completely unfamiliar with the system terminology that had just integrated with reality.
"Get your men inside the chapel, Commander," Lucifer ordered without looking back. "Unless you want to drown in acid."
The ground violently exploded.
A geyser of black mud and rotting bone erupted high into the green fog. A terrifying grotesque colossus dragged itself forcefully onto the surface from the crater.
It was the Plague Abomination. The monster stood a full thirty feet tall. It was not a single creature. It was a horrifying stitched amalgamation of hundreds of rotting corpses aggressively fused together by dark magic.
Its massive tree-trunk-sized arms ended in jagged rusty iron hooks. Its chest cavity was completely open to reveal a violently glowing green acidic core. It actively dripped highly corrosive bile onto the earth and instantly melted the stone beneath it.
The Abomination threw its head back. Its head was a cluster of screaming human skulls. It unleashed a deafening sonic roar that visibly cracked the stained-glass windows of the chapel.
[Zone Boss Engaged: The Plague Abomination (Level 25 - Elite)]
[Warning: Highly corrosive aura. Physical contact results in instant tissue necrosis.]
The Paladins on the steps utterly broke. The sheer terrifying scale and the suffocating pressure of the aura of the Boss shattered their hardened faith. They scrambled backward and desperately dragged their wounded into the chapel. They frantically attempted to barricade the heavy wooden doors.
Lucifer did not retreat. He simply rolled his shoulders.
"Vanguard! Disperse the firing line!" Lucifer roared. "Target the lower joints! Keep it off-balance!"
The five thousand Elven snipers immediately scattered to execute perfect tactical evasion. They surrounded the massive crater in a wide fluid circle. They rapidly fired concentrated absolute zero beams directly at the massive stitched kneecaps of the Abomination.
The Abomination roared in fury as the freezing magic struck its legs. The ice rapidly spread across its rotting flesh to violently slow its movement. The sheer size of the monster and the immense heat of its acidic core constantly melted the ice almost as fast as it formed.
It swung its massive iron-hooked arm in a devastating horizontal arc toward the nearest cluster of snipers.
Elara intercepted.
The Valkyrie launched herself into the air. Her metallic gray wings carried her directly into the path of the massive hook. She did not try to block the multi-ton strike. She instead drove her silver gauntlets directly into the side of the rusted iron. She utilized her celestial strength to violently deflect the trajectory strictly upward.
The heavy hook completely missed the snipers. It smashed brutally into the forest canopy and completely severed three massive oak trees.
"Lucifer! The core!" Elara shouted mentally and dove out of the way as the Abomination spewed a geyser of highly corrosive green acid from its chest cavity.
"I see it," Lucifer replied.
He activated the Zephyr's Grace Emblem. The world slowed to an absolute crawl. He did not run away from the monster. He ran directly at it.
He moved faster than the primitive stitched nervous system of the Abomination could possibly track. Lucifer darted through the torrential rain of highly corrosive acid. The deadly droplets hung suspended in the air around him. He reached the massive frozen left leg of the beast and used the jagged ice crystals as footholds.
He ran vertically straight up the leg of the monster.
The Abomination twitched as it felt the physical disturbance. It raised its massive right hand to crush the tiny insect scaling its body.
"Vanguard! Suppress the right arm!" Lucifer ordered through the comms.
A blinding unified volley of five thousand sniper shots violently slammed strictly into the right shoulder socket of the Abomination. The sheer concentrated kinetic force and the massive influx of absolute zero temperature completely shattered the rotting tendons. The massive arm froze entirely solid and violently snapped completely off under its own weight. It crashed heavily onto the ground below.
Lucifer reached the massive open chest cavity of the monster. The heat radiating from the glowing green core was suffocating. It threatened to melt the skin directly off his face.
He did not hesitate. He forcefully channeled his completely multiplied mana pool directly into his cheap steel broadsword. The blade shrieked and glowed blindingly white as it violently struggled to contain the massive magical pressure.
Lucifer leaped off the rotting ribcage and suspended himself directly in the air. He was perfectly aligned with the acidic core.
He swung the overloaded blade with every ounce of his multiplied fifteen Vigor.
The steel sword struck the glowing green core and instantly shattered into a thousand pieces from the sheer kinetic impact. The massive multiplied mana wave successfully transferred perfectly into the target.
The core of the Abomination violently cracked. A blinding searing flash of pure green light erupted from the chest of the beast. Lucifer kicked off the collapsing ribcage and activated his emblem to instantly teleport fifty yards backward before the explosion could consume him.
The Abomination let out one final unified shriek from its cluster of skulls. The core completely detonated. The resulting explosion violently shredded the massive colossus from the inside out. Raining chunks of burning rotting flesh and boiling acid splattered heavily across the entire clearing.
Lucifer landed smoothly next to Elara completely unharmed. The Carnage Core at his waist violently pulsed as it greedily devoured the massive dense cloud of elite death energy currently hanging in the air.
[Zone Boss Defeated: The Plague Abomination.]
[Ding! Apex Multiplier triggered on Elite Boss Experience!]
[Host has reached Level 25!]
The golden light of leveling up violently washed over Lucifer. It fully repaired his minor fatigue and expanded his mana pool to terrifying new depths. He exhaled a long breath and ignored the terrified awe-struck stares of the surviving Paladins slowly peeking out from behind the chapel doors.
Lucifer walked calmly toward the smoking acidic crater where the Abomination had died. A small heavily oxidized silver ring sat completely untouched by the acid amidst the bubbling green bile and charred bone.
He reached down and picked it up.
[Item Acquired: Ring of the Plague Bearer (Tier-C)]
[Description: Increases mana regeneration by 5%. Grants minor resistance to toxic environments.]
It was a standard mediocre boss drop. It was useful for a low-level acolyte but entirely insufficient for a Warlord planning to fight gods.
Lucifer closed his fist tightly around the ring.
"Multiplier. Override item parameters," Lucifer commanded smoothly.
[Ding! Divine Talent: 'Apex Multiplier' triggered on specific category 'Artifact Enhancement!']
[Multiplying internal mana capacity, regeneration rate, and elemental resistance 10,000x!]
The dull oxidized silver violently burned away. The metal instantly transmuted in the palm of Lucifer. It morphed rapidly into flawless bands of intertwined glowing sapphire and pure platinum. The ring pulsed with an incredibly dense heavy endless oceanic pressure.
[Artifact Upgraded: Arcane Wellspring Ring (Mythic Tier)]
[Passive Effect: Grants absolute, infinite mana regeneration. User's magical reserves can never be fully depleted. Grants immunity to all non-divine toxic and magical corruption.]
Lucifer slid the mythic ring onto his right index finger. The natural exhausting physical toll of commanding a five-thousand-man magical army completely vanished instantly. He felt like he was standing directly underneath an endless waterfall of pure restorative celestial energy. He could cast maximum-tier spells infinitely without ever suffering mana burn.
He turned away from the crater and faced the heavily damaged Lumina Chapel.