“Why are you asking, Warlock? Are you too much of a coward to face me on the battlefield? Or are you scared that when your army picks on someone who can actually fight back that they’ll turn and run like the cowards they really are?”
Again he chuckled. “I suppose I shouldn’t blame you for your overconfidence,” he said when he stopped laughing. “After all, you’ve never faced a truly powerful opponent. I’d be happy to put you in your place, though, and show all the world what a puny, hopeless little fool you really are. Your Death magic is nothing compared to what we now wield. Bring your army to me like lambs to the slaughter. The great grassy plain outside my tower will be a fitting site for my greatest victory, and will serve as a permanent graveyard for your undead abominations. Yes, we will fight out there, you and I. And everyone will see my true worth.”
“I’ll see you on the battlefield in two days, Warlock,” I said. “Any last words?”
He shook his head. “You make me laugh, God of Nothing. I’ll almost regret killing you. Now, get out of my sight.”
“With pleasure.” I gave him a low, swooping bow that dripped with sarcasm.
I walked out of the tower, half expecting him to launch a lightning bolt into my back, but it didn’t come. Talon picked me up with her claws, and we flew away. I smiled as we soared over the mountaintops. I was looking forward to this battle, and I couldn’t wait to finally summon my Death Titan.
I’d taken a calculated gamble with this one; it depended upon my ability to use the Dragon Sword to combine my powers with Rami-Xayon’s and create a superstorm, one that would drench the plain outside the Warlock’s tower with torrential rain over the course of the two days leading up to the battle. Then I would not only be able to smash the Warlock’s army with the Death Titan I was planning to unleash, I’d also hit him with a secret weapon that was just as powerful. There was a bowl in the plain, which, if filled with water, would be perfect for my strategy.
I flew straight back to the village, where my party members were eagerly awaiting my return. The smile on my face as Talon and I landed told them everything.
“He’s agreed to it?” Rami-Xayon asked.
“He has,” I answered. “The battle will be in two days, on the plain by his tower. There’s something else. I think the Warlock is in league with the Blood God, so we should expect some surprises.”
My eyes roamed across the faces of everyone gathered, and none seemed surprised.
“You all knew?” I asked.
“We thought you knew,” Anna-Lucielle said.
“It was so obvious once you vanquished the Warlock from the Emperor’s body, I never thought to say anything,” Layna said.
“Can someone explain?” I asked.
Isu sighed. “The Hooded Man was obviously not a single man, but many men. Certainly, the actual man who has troubled you of late was also here, but there were that many sightings that there had to be more than one person dressed in similar garb. And for so many men killing young maidens to go unpunished? Either the Emperor or the Warlock was protecting these people.”
I nodded, understanding now. “And the Emperor was obviously not allied with the Blood God, so it had to be the Warlock.” I smiled at my women. “Well, I’m glad we’re all on the same page now. Now, tell me, how many corpses have you guys managed to gather?”
“Around a hundred so far, but there are thousands more around here,” Anna-Lucielle said.
“I was forbidden from eating any,” Layna said, shooting Elyse a venomous glare. “Even those who were still alive but wounded, who could not be gathered for your purposes.”
“Elyse did the right thing,” I said. “You can’t eat any of the villagers. No humans. Well, maybe some of our enemies.”
“Your undead swordsman and spearman, as well as the Emperor’s Yengish warriors arrived here earlier, and they started digging too.” Yumo was covered in a thick layer of dirt, and maybe a bit of gore, too. It didn’t make her look any less beautiful. Well, maybe a little less.
I nodded. “My army should get here tomorrow, and my undead troops can dig plenty of corpses up in half a day. I’m hoping that there’ll be enough corpses for each soldier to carry one. Then, the day after that, we march to the Warlock’s tower and kick his fucking ass. First though, Rami-Xayon, I’m going to need your help. I need a superstorm; two days of the most torrential rain we can dump on that plain. There’s another thing, and it’s going to require the strongest tornado you’ve ever conjured, combined with every ounce of Death power I can muster. Let’s get on that superstorm first, though.”
I took the Dragon Sword and Rami-Xayon to an empty hut in the village, where we wouldn’t be disturbed.
“The first thing we need to do is to locate water sources to turn into rain,” Rami-Xayon said.
“Don’t worry, I made a mental note of all the water sources near the Warlock’s tower when Talon and I flew over the region,” I said. “There are a couple lakes, rivers, dams, streams. Plenty of water. All we have to do is move it.”
“Easier said than done, but I’ll do my best.”
“With this sword,” I said, holding the Dragon Sword aloft, “it might turn out to be just as easily done as said, with my Death power bolstering your Wind power.”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
Rami-Xayon held my left hand to create a link between us as she worked the storm magic, while I channeled Death energy from the depths of the earth beneath me through my body and spirit. As it had when I’d created my Ice tornado shield in the fight against the lizard monsters, the Dragon Sword conjured up glowing, semi-transparent orbs of different-colored energy before me.
