*Gwaaaaaar!*
Niara and Darian had only moved a few meters toward the target when, out of nowhere, the Risen Chief fighting a summoner let out a crazed roar and charged.
Both of them widened their eyes.
'Getting closer? Great idea, Darian.' That was the only thing that crossed his mind.
**RUMBLE!**
An explosion made the whole ground shake, but the worst part was the terrifying shockwave blasting through the air.
They both got hit and thrown backwards. Niara crossed her arms over her chest, using everything she had to shield her tiny partner clinging to her.
After the impact, they hit the ground and got dragged almost ten meters, leaving a deep trench behind.
Luckily, the blast was strong enough to even push the miasma and nearby Risen away.
Once the dust settled, Niara slowly stood up, a bit shaky, surrounded by a white aura healing her. All her scales had shattered, along with nearly every bone in her body — but as long as Darian still had power and she didn't die instantly, she'd rise again.
She focused on the little creature and saw that he was totally fine, letting out a sigh of relief. Technically, a Spiritual Guardian with a ring always had a weaker body than the summoner. As they evolve, that flips — but she couldn't help but wonder if she really needed to protect him.
Meanwhile, Darian gave her an awkward wave. They had to get close enough so he could sense the mark on the person — that was the only way. But rushing it like that could've gotten both of them killed.
Now wasn't the time to mope, and he quickly focused on where they were. They'd been thrown all the way back to the deeper part of the second row.
The inside of the Abyssal Nest looked like a massive bridge. The far northern end, where the front line stood, was the side of the bridge where new enemies were constantly pouring in, replacing the ones who'd already died inside.
A huge number of weak Risen were spawning nonstop, with a smaller amount of Risen Chiefs trickling in. The front line was where the few Risen Commanders were being blocked.
Risen Commanders had power around the level of five or six rings. Darian and Niara were already a hair away from death just being one line behind — getting closer to those things would be suicide. They had to handle things from where they were.
Luckily, the area was huge, and Darian and Niara had been tossed into a spot that was temporarily cut off from the chaos.
All the other rows were holding their positions at the start of the battle. The first objective was to wipe out all the enemies already inside the Nest. After that, the next step was to push forward and keep killing the new ones coming from the north.
As they advanced and kept clearing the way, eventually the whole Nest would be almost empty. Then it was just up to the first row to make one big push, kill everything near the entrance, and wipe out the Nest completely.
The strategy was simple, and it had proven pretty effective in the past. But the current situation was a mess — and they had way less time than before. Every hour, stronger and stronger Risen Commanders were entering the Nest.
Eventually, the terrifying Risen Generals — equivalent to seven or eight rings — would show up. And when that happened, it was game over.
That's why everything had to be done in at most a day... but Darian was sure the traitors would act way before that. After all, with every hour that passed, summoners and their Spiritual Guardians were dying off. They just waited a bit — until only the weak ones had died — and then they'd strike.
Right then, Darian, still deep in thought, looked down at the ground and the trench they'd made... and noticed something weird.
There were crystals poking out of the trench, coming up from underground. Tons of them, all shapes and sizes, glowing in a strange hue — some deep purple, others lighter.
He was surprised by how many there were, and in the darker ones, he could feel a faint trace of miasma.
'What are these?' he asked.
Niara looked at the crystals and replied, unfazed:
"Those are Abyssal Crystals. A rare treasure, only the Academy and summoners can get them with any kind of ease. They show up on very specific planets, the kind filled with strong natural energy. Those planets give birth to crystals full of life. And when they're attacked en masse by the Risen, the miasma invades everything — and that's when the Abyssal Crystals start forming underground."
"They hold a bit of the power of both Life and Death, but not for long. If the Academy folks don't kill off all the invading Risen fast enough, the crystals lose their Life energy and get fully corrupted. And just like anything else that comes from the Risen, you can't take them with you."
"When things are handled in time, summoners use Earth Crystals — which are sold by the Academy — to track and mine everything quickly. This planet we're on fits that case, but everything here's already dead. Any planet invaded by the Risen turns into a desert in just a few hours... life never comes back."
She finished with a sigh. She knew all this because she'd seen tons of corrupted planets before — and had fought against some weaker Risen in the past.
Darian got it. In regular invasions, you could mine a certain amount of those crystals — but in an Abyssal Nest, the amount multiplied several times over.
"Wait... Earth Crystals? We bought a bunch of those at the Academy."
Darian remembered that when they sold their weapons to prepare for entering the Nest, they spent everything on useful stuff available at the Academy.
He wasn't sure if any of it would actually be useful, but it was better to have a few options on hand. He'd bought all kinds of random things — one of them being the Earth Crystals. They caught his attention because they were supposed to help locate and mine valuable materials.
Unfortunately, using them to mine now didn't make any sense. They were standing in front of a treasure, but they had no choice but to leave it behind.
*Slash!*
Suddenly, a sharp sound tore through the air, making both of them nearly jump. Right after, an angry roar echoed out.
The sounds were coming from far away. But even something small was already a threat to them right now.
Darian focused, trying to sense through karma where the enemy was. He quickly realized there were four powerful presences — but it wasn't four strong Risen. It was just one. The other three had karma way higher than that Risen!
He could clearly sense three Spiritual Guardians. Their summoners were nearby too, but at that level of power, the summoners didn't really compare to their partners — they were just a liability and had to be protected.
Their karma was only a bit above normal. But their Spiritual Guardians… those were monsters.
"I'm sure of it — we just found a few bastards," Darian said, sounding excited.
Niara focused too, feeling the vibrations from the distant hits. "I feel it too. They're kinda weak… I think they've only got two rings. Their raw power feels just a bit stronger than Zaoh's."