Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

The ringing of bells woke Seth up. It was the alarm of the city. There were only another 30 minutes until sunrise. It was the signal for the soldiers to assemble and the citizens to hide in the shelters.

Seth wore his armor and robe before stepping outside. Streams of people were hurrying past him to the shelter entrances. Then tension was almost tangible in the atmosphere of the city. He met Ellie who also exited her room and they walked to the city wall where the team planned to assemble.

The air was thick with the nervousness and fear of the soldiers, who did their best to stay still in frightened anticipation of what was to come. The time of sunrise came and- Seth was not sure what he had expected. It was not this.

There was no dawn. No slowly rising sun or rays that greeted the morning.

Night switched to doomsday without any warning. The world in the distance turned into shades of red as the blood sun suddenly illuminated the world with ferocious intensity. Any other color that dared to sprout past the field of clouds was burned away.

Even the thick clouds above their head were not enough to completely block the solar wrath. The dark city was submerged into a red hue, with crimson rays, like spotlights breaking, through the cloud cover above.

Seth had no doubt, that this aligned with the very definition of judgment day. The soldiers on the wall were plunged into maroon highlights and shadows the color of dried blood. Gripping their weapons tight, they stared at the horizon.

Soon came the sound. The crushing of waves? The rumbling of thunder? No, crimson dust clouds appeared at the horizon, rushing at the citadel of darkness that was resisting the Sun God's "blessing".

Too far to make out with normal eyes, the blacksmith could make out the flood of monstrous flesh flooding across the plain, filling the horizon. He almost regretted wearing the Eye of Argos today, the sight he suffered was horrible.

Under the cursing light of the blood sun, there was no individual monster in this stampede. The flesh on their bones kept melting under the god's power and reassembling with other creatures, as they ran towards their destination. It was really a wave of raving, liquid bodies that poured towards them.

"Are you okay? You look pale Seth." Ellie asked from the side.

Seth could only nod slightly, as he watched the horror unfold. He wasn't good with this kind of body horror but managed thanks to <Calm Reaction> cushioning the impact.

"Ellie, I believe you should add some more slimes to the moat. This might get very ugly.

The wave entered the shadows of the cloud field. At first, there was no change, but as they got closer and the power of the blood sun weakened, the undulation came to a hold. Still far outside of a normal person's range of sight, Amalgamations solidified from the raving mass of meat and bones.

Their skins were like molten wax and covered in the cancerous lumps that acted as armor. The army rushing toward the city had no small fries. Each amalgamation was of massive size, with the smallest being comparable if not stronger, than the field boss they met.

However, the first move was not theirs, and not from the soldiers of the walls. As they were close enough to be seen with the regular eye, they had also entered the range of the black clouds.

The thunder of the stampede that had tortured their ears and shaken their heart, was suddenly drowned out by the rumble of the clouds above. As if provoked, real thunder reared its head and bright flashes of light illuminated the darkness.

Lightning thick as houses started raining down, covering the world in blinding light and ear-shattering roars. Looking up, Seth found Misto Pheles and a similar-looking Demon at the balcony of a guard tower.

It almost seemed like a dance, as the older demon moves and Pheles mirrored his movements. Every time there was a slight pause in their movements, lightning struck, and thunder drowned the world.

Wherever their attacks hit, they only left craters of scorched earth behind. Nothing remained of the monsters they hit. The clouds were not just protection from the sun, but also the foundation of this first line of defense.

The second would have been a field of traps, but the city had lacked the manpower to fix it in time. Under the bombardment of lightning, the Amalgamations reached the outer barrier, where the cloud's fire intensified before finally dying down.

Looking towards the tower, Seth saw the two demons gasping for breath. That was probably it for now. It was obvious, they couldn't keep up that bombardment for long. Still, the biggest amalgamations had been mowed down by the lightning, leaving the terrifying enemy army with maybe half its original strength.

When the lightning died down, the magician took aim at the beasts, that were occupied with breaking the outer barrier. Flashy spells started raining down at the defenseless foes. The people of Akhaz tried their best to kill as many as they could because everyone knew: The barrier was only here to buy time.

However, their time was shorter than expected. From far behind the frontline, came a giant beast. Head and shoulders far above the rest of the Amalgamations, a giant mammoth came charging at the barrier.

It had come late and managed to evade the lightning rain, that had reaped anything comparable in size and strength. Trampling over its allies that were left, it crashed into the barrier. It held for a moment, a short moment of hope, before immediately shattering.

In shock, they watched the barrier break way too early. On the wall, Seth heard the commanders scream orders and the soldiered hurriedly got into position. The magicians in the towers did their best to thin out the herd, as the archers joined with their arrows and skills.

Seth couldn't help but recognize, that these people were a lot stronger in general, than their counterparts on Urth. Not level-wise or class-wise. It was only a short distraction, as he did not have the time to split his focus in this kind of situation.

He made the recorder look away, before joining the archers. It had been a while since he used his bow. But it was not the same bow as before. After gaining the ability, Seth had strengthened and refined the <Vengeful Soul> of the bow.

Its name changed to Mind Reaper, and besides the chance to cause damage to the opponent's soul, it gained the active skill "Life Reaper". An unaimed arrow would automatically aim for the best possible target to achieve an immediate kill.

It was no guaranteed kill, but every minute when the cooldown was over, Seth could simply shoot an arrow that would at least cause tremendous damage. Since the arrows were provided, the blacksmith began to display his skill in rapidly firing low-quality arrows.

The next line of defense, after the outer barrier was broken, was the secondary barrier, followed by the moat and the main barrier that protected the city wall. As the Amalgamations made their way to the secondary barrier, everyone furiously aimed at the giant mammoth.

If this thing managed to reach the barrier, it would be gone just as quickly as the outer one. Under the combined fire of the magic towers and archers, the mammoth was obliterated. It was almost overkill.

Their relief, however, was of short duration.

Nobody knew how, or why, but when the wave finally reached the secondary barrier right outside the moat, it shattered almost instantly.

They could only watch in disbelief as the army of monsters, ranging between 6-10 meters in height, started jumping into the moat to reach their last line of defense!

--------------------------------

Mind Reaper

Unique

Damage: 750

Durability: 2600

1. Arrows shot with this bow show great malice and will aim to hit vital points.

2. Inflicted wounds will: Cause terrifying pain, Won't heal naturally but start decaying, Have a high chance of infection and poisoning.

3. 60% Chance to cause mind disruption on hit (Effects: Stun/Confusion/Terror)

5. 20% Chance to cause Mind Decay on hit

6. 10% Chance to cause Soul Decay

7. Active Skill: Life Reaper

A terrifying weapon made by the devious hands of Journeyman Smith. A bow possessed by a malicious will to hurt its benefactor's enemies and torment them. If someone other tries to use this bow they will be hit by the Curse of Decay in body and mind.

Usage Requirements: Seth Smith, 90 Strength>