What was a phylactery? A phylactery is also known as a life vessel in other media but in essence it is a trinket that holds the soul and mana of a lich. It is sometimes in shapes of a cube or in accessories depending on the lich's decision.
Another inconvenience for the players to overcome. Adrian was at his wits end on how to conquer another hurdle. Thankfully, a bit of good news is that his hits are weakening the death knight due to the Netheros Bane. The weakened status of the death knight helped the players overcome the level gap.
"Five more minutes!" Adrian said to himself.
Adrian really wanted to use his skills but the status ailment on him was not making it happen. The good thing is that the top guild members increased their ferocity. The Lich was only able to shoot mana orbs due to the amount of attacks it is shielding itself.
The lich health was now decreasing every minute due to the barrage of attacks it is getting. The death knight was also in the same situation as it was now being dealth with heavy attacks to keep it pinned down. The death knight's behavior changed as it no longer killed those in front of it. The death knight was doing its utmost to reach the lich.
It even started crawling bit by bit even when it's pinned down.
"Two minutes left" Adrian thought to himself.
It was not long until the lich had 50% of its life remaining while the death knight still had 60% of its health. The death knight was tanking all the hits it is taking with its enormous defense while the lich was only using barriers since it has shabby defenses. The damage on the lich sometimes gets five digits if lucky but it was all due to its low health pool compared to the death knight.
The reason that the top guild players becoming fiercer is that they received a tip from their higher ups in other fortresses. The higher ups told them that the longer the battles draws out then the less likely chance for them to succeed. This was definitely true for larger fortresses as there was greater numbers of death knights and liches.
The error that some did is that they diligently farmed the minions summon because of the points but that also led to their ruin. The liches created more powerful undead every hour or so. It did not take long for the greedy players to get flooded. If Adrian did not proactively thinned the horde then the same would have happened to Alabaster Fortress.
Majority of the small scale fortresses like the Alabaster Fortress was already destroyed. The developers planned for this as it would immediately tell the world of the threat that the undead poses. Of course not all of the small fortresses were destroyed because there are some talented players protecting them.
Adrian and the players attacking the death knight are purposely knocking it back as they sensed its unusual behavior. The players are not curious enough of what might happen if the two undead become close. The players are getting their momentum up to speed but something drastic happened.
When the death knight's health dropped to the 50% mark, the death knight released a great shockwave that blew all the players in the vicinity by a few meters. It took a few seconds before the players regained their footing but it was enough for the death knight. The death knight lunged itself towards the lich.
The tankers that are responsible for the lich diverted their attention to the charging death knight. The tankers all blocked its path but they were all blown away by the force. The death knight used a charging skill and all those that blocked its way were knocked back a few feet.
When the lich and death knight were in close proximity of each other, both their auras flared up. The presence of the two undead became stronger that the players near them felt like suffocating. Adrian though was looking at the debuff timer as only a few seconds were left. System notifications popped up for every player fighting the two undead.
[The Death Knight Zigra and the Lich Wekka has activated one of the effects of their Destiny Chain.]
[The stats of the Death Knight Zigra and the Lich Wekka will temporarily be doubled for one hour.]
When the two undead became strong, the first person they set their sights on was Adrian. It seems the two undead did not forget that there was a demon in their midst. The Lich once again pointed his finger towards Adrian and started chanting. Adrian on the other hand was already drinking a mana potion to restore his mana quickly.
Adrian then realized that the lich was doing its "Finger of Undeath" movement again. Adrian could no longer tolerate getting hit by that as it would surely kill him. The others tried to stop the lich from casting but the death knight stood on their way like a mountain. In just one swing, the death knight could knockback the melee players charging towards the lich.
"Seriously! I guess there is only one choice left." Adrian muttered.
Adrian's face became serious and he uttered the words, "Netheros Domain".
The dark mist that was enveloping the field was shrouded by a mist that had gray, white and black smoke. The players who saw this thought it was just a new version of the lich's skill but one player thought different. Due to her companion whispering words to her ear, she managed to know who created the mist.
"Watch closely Cersei. The boy will show you the meaning of absolute might!" Vepar said sneakily.
Unlike the Dark Mist of the lich, Netheros Domain covered even the sky above them. The players suddenly got a foreboding feeling that they should not be there. Cersei who was observing Adrian thought she saw horns and wings on Adrian for a moment. She thought it was an illusion but it was due to Vepar sharing his view for a split second to her.
The death knight and lich looked like they were shaking. The players who saw this did not believe this as undead do not know fear. The players thought it was just a property of the mist and thought it was an illusion. In the end, truth was stranger than fiction. Adrian had a notification that was different from the first time he used this skill.
[Those who defile the rules of the dead cannot muster their might in the realm of Absolute Death.]
The lich and death knight shivered inside the domain. The double stat boost that they used was not helping in their predicament. For the first time in their unholy life, the death knight and lich could feel fear. The two undead are probably the first to experience what it means to feel fear. Not just normal fear but absolute fear. Their very existence was against being inside the domain.
The lich then held its necklace that has a blue skull attached to it with shaking bony hands. The lich then crushed the skull and an enormous amount of mana burst that even the players could feel it without a special skill. The burst of mana was accompanied by a flash of blue light. The players thought that the lich was preparing its final skill to wipe them all out.
The flash of light subsided. When the players looked at the place where the two undead were, they were shocked. The two undead vanished from their location. The players checked their system logs but there was no notification that the two were killed. The most shocking was the announcement that showed up after a few seconds.
[The Death Knight Zigra and the Lich Wekka has retreated.]
[The defense of Alabaster fortress has been successful.]
[The players who participated in this event will gain bonus rewards in accordance to their contribution.]
Adrian then looked at his system notification.
[You have successfully repelled the undead attacking Alabaster Fortress.]
[Your current individual rank is First.]
[You have received 200% experience points. Due to your experience multiplier it is increased to 1200% experience points.]
[You have received the Fortress Protector title.]
[You can trade your contribution points for items and other things at the Alabaster Fortress Exchange Booths.]
[You have leveled up]
[Sirius has leveled up.]
[Kanlaon has leveled up.]
[Saena has leveled up.]
Adrian decided to ignore the notification because it was all level up notifications. The one notification he was excited about was the quest to protect the fortress.
[The quest Protect Alabaster Fortress has been completed. Please head towards the Church of Life building located near the fortress to get your reward.]
[The Blessing of the Universe buff has subsided. You no longer have two times experience boost.]
"It was a good thing that my best friend has influence in the church. They give better rewards than the fortress chief guard." Adrian thought.
Adrian then regrouped with his party members. He told them that he got good experience and a nice title. The other player though are still dumbfounded about the situation. The thoughts on their minds was, "It's over already? But what about the two high ranking undead?!"