The melee fighters kept the Wyverns attacking on ground level at bay as the casters wreaked havoc from the entrance chamber. Occasionally a Wyvern would break through from above, but AyAyRon and the hawkies were on them within seconds. The group’s formation held and they were able to keep the battle going their way with the horde of enemies bottlenecked outside the building, not unlike the six waves preceding it.
With their defensive line holding strong, The Band of the Hawk was able to methodically take out the Wyverns at their front doors - but Garath knew it was nothing like the previous waves had been. Because Sharon and the healers worked in concert with Athios, Todoroken, and a few others holding off aerial attacks from the entrance, the Health of all those fighting outside filled just as quickly as the Wyverns could bring it down with their teeth, talons, barbed tails, and lightning AoE attacks.
Garath did take note of the fact that every one of the healer’s Mana bars were already under half and dropping precipitously as they lit up the main hall with a myriad of different colors to send healing and fortifying spells into the battle ahead. The number of Wyverns descending on them didn't seem to slow down at all. If anything, Garath felt as though the swarm of Wyverns attacking their stronghold was actually just attracting more Wyverns. Half an hour into the seventh wave there were still hundreds, if not thousands of the flying reptiles circling above and, with almost the entire city already dead, they likely wouldn't be able to find another target for miles.
Garath continued firing off Death Bolts as rapidly as he could. He was making a noticeable impact, but it wasn't enough for him. He wanted... needed to spill more Wyvern blood.
The Raid leader, in his slight and nimble form, dashed out from below the raging battle of forked lightning, blazing fire, fangs, swords, and shields. He sprinted up the lowered wing of a Wyvern that was crawling on all fours into the fray with its mouth open, readying another lightning attack. Once on the creature's long serpentine neck, Garath found that his little claws were unable to penetrate the thick black scales and he lost footing. As he fell, feline instinct took over and his spine twisted while his hips and shoulders rotated mid air to land on his feet. The Wyvern he had been attempting to traverse looked down at the white house cat at its feet, dismissed it, and then resumed its barrage on Gary's raised shield as the bearded man approached.
From just below the hissing, drooling mouth of the massive reptile, Garath released the instant cast of Blight - infecting three of the nearby creatures with its dark purple energy. From the same position, Garath channeled his Mana and waited for the Wyvern to open its mouth and once again send streaks of lighting at Gary. As soon as the Wyvern’s fangs parted, Garath released a Death Bolt directly into its gaping maw. The Wyvern roared in pain and its long neck whipped back from the impact.
Apparently the wide open target was too tempting for Garath’s Fel Hound to resist. Leaving its previous target, the hound leaped to sink its teeth into the shocked Wyvern's unprotected neck. Off-balance already from the unexpected bolt of Death energy fired into its open mouth, the Wyvern fell to the ground as the Hound barreled into it. The hound sunk its teeth into the Wyvern, tearing this way and that as they wrestled on the asphalt.
Streaks of electricity rained down from the sky and into the demonic canine's back, searing the meat between its shoulders. The Hound, already low on Health, flashed neon and evaporated into the ether.
Garath paid it no mind and worked to finish the Wyvern craning its neck and pushing its wings awkwardly into the ground, desperately trying to get off of its back. Three Death Bolts in rapid succession did the job, each blast of the Death energy taking large chunks from the Wyvern’s displayed Health bar. The last point of Health in its pathetic, broken form was drained away by the damage Blight was still inflicting. The struggling Wyvern flashed neon and Garath bathed in exaltation as the Exp flowed into him. From the corner of his eye, his combat log let him know just how much power slaying one of these winged reptiles would provide.
Begin Combat Log:
[17:03:05.1] You have slain Level 17 Wyvern.
[17:03:05.1] You have been awarded 2,850 Experience for slaying Level 17 Wyvern.
End Combat Log.
Garath cooed from the massive Experience gain even as a dozen or more Wyverns flooded in. He took off at a sprint toward a group of five of the beasts that had just landed down on the basketball court nearest to the building. Once amidst the party of Wyverns and they, in turn, were all within the range of his Blight, Garath released the instant cast of deep purple energy and infected them with its poison debuff.
They all turned on him and lunged at his slight form. With his heightened reflexes in feline form, Garath dodged the evil-looking fangs of an oncoming Wyvern that clamped down on nothing but air before skidding to a stop, face first on the asphalt. The fluffy Necrologist jumped onto the beast's head and ran up its scaled neck, placing each foot carefully to avoid losing footing on the dense scales this time.
A flash of light from his left caught Garath’s attention and some heinous, poorly designed form of instinct took over. At that moment, Garath was finally able to
