Chapter 381 A Storm Of Blood (2/2)

Yet as they awaited the attack, Kaleesh's pace suddenly quickened His speed had been inhuman even on the approach, but now, there was an abrupt rush of moveed straight into the ranks of the Blightspawn

In an instant, a fountain of blood gushed forth froht-foot creatures, and it collapsed to the ground a round, another lost an arh the chest

Howls of pain and anger sounded fro into chaos as they turned around to chase the attacker who had cut through their ranks so easily

And as their attention was seized by the first attacker, otten all about the second

Yet Arran was only htspawn readied the over each other as they tried to attack the captain

As he neared the Blightspawn, Arran had a moment to see that the creatures were every bit as ht feet tall, their skin was scarred and burned, stretched thin over grotesque bodies that bulged with unnatural muscle

And then, he was upon thehtspawn died instantly, as Arran swung his giant sword in a devastating strike that tore through both their bodies and armor with equal ease And the third fell just as easily, its skull crushed when its crudely forged helhtspawn ca at Arran immediately He severed the creature's sword arm at the shoulder before it could strike, but itswith such force that he was knocked to the ground

As he hit the ground, a rough steel weapon caed to block it, then cut the attacker's legs off at the knees before juain

But already, more of the creatures attacked, and he was forced to step back Yet even as he retreated, the Blightspawn charged at hi as fast as he could cut them down And even with their bodies torn and rent, they continued to attack, trying to drag hiround

It only took Arran a ht the creatures as if they were hu their lives than defeating their eneht to kill, not to survive

Once h theon, his blood-soaked weapon ripping through all the creatures that cah the group like a ind of blood, leaving only carnage in his wake, the Blightspawn's bodies nition where he passed

Still, they continued to charge hie as they threw themselves upon his sword And as they met their deaths, their blood-red eyes showed not even the slightest trace of fear

Yet now that Arran kne the creatures fought, his advantage was too great for theht be, they lacked skill and insight, their attacks relying only on strength and brutality

Twice, he Sensed Essence building within the Blightspawn, but each time, he cut the creatures down before they could use whatever ic they had

The battle was brief but brutal Less than a minute after the Kaleesh had struck his first blow, the last of the Blightspawn in the group died, its body cleaved from neck to waist by Arran's blade

There was no time to rejoice As Arran killed the last creature, he saw that the second group of Blightspawn had already reached the lance, he saw that the battle was not going well

Theany creature that came near Had their opponents been human, the defense would have been impenetrable

Yet these creatures did not care for their lives, and they charged the line without hesitation, attacking the h their flesh

Just in the few seconds it took Arran to reach the fray, two of the htspahile the other had his throat torn out by a creature that charged up his spear

Enraged by the sight, Arran rushed forward, his blade ripping through his eneet between the htspawn that came before him died instantly, their bodies ruined as he rained down devastating blows upon them But even so, he could not stop all of them And behind him, he heard the screae further, and he attacked the creatures with a bloodlust that exceeded their own, his frenzied blows leaving a trail of devastation where he passed

Yet the Blightspaere too h Arran destroyed any of theic attacks — dense balls of Fire Essence that struck thepower

Arran had no tie All he could do was kill the creatures as fast as he could, tearing through their ranks with the fury of athe battle lasted But then, suddenly, it was over — the last Blightspawn had been slain, and the only sounds that remained were the cries of the wounded mercenaries

Arran turned to his allies immediately, and he was filled with shock when he saw the devastation the battle had wrought

Only half the mercenaries still stood, while the others were either dead or wounded And even those who remained on their feet bore numerous injuries

Before he had a chance to fully take in the disastrous outcome of the battle, the captain's voice sounded

”Leave the dead!” Kaleesh yelled ”Carry the wounded into the village! Now!”

Arran's confusion lasted only a htspawn, less than two miles in the distance And even from here, he could tell that there were at least two hundred of the creatures

There was no time to question the captain's order At once, Arran carefully picked up a wounded nore the roans of pain

The others followed close behind hiates that had failed to protect the villagers