So while a skeleton knight would be the ideal combatant for battling an army of rock golems, the skeleton knight would no doubt be overwhelmed and overpowered by the seemingly unending force of the rock golems crashing on him, their relentless advance echoing like thunder across the battlefield. And while he would be able to take two or five down, the process of taking them down would be laborious and slow because he would be constantly weaving between the rock golems, wary of them falling on him as they could come crashing down with immense weight and devastating punches. He would be wary of countering their strength or their weight, knowing that one misstep could shatter his brittle bones. Next, he would also be trying to parry countless attacks at the same time, his shield rattling under the pressure, and constantly keeping his distance from the enemy golem he was battling because if he drew too close the golem might draw power from the atmosphere and increase its strength at will, becoming an unstoppable juggernaut. Nevertheless, the skeleton knight would have to accept the grim reality that no matter how hard he tried he couldn't win. Sure, taking two or five golems down per second was remarkable—it took diligence, precision, and even perfection for an ordinary skeleton knight to make such an impact. However, compared to the thousands of golems crashing down on him and the growing number of golems that would surround him like an ocean of stone army, he would soon discover that the decision had been made for him immediately he started battling the golems to pave a way out of the courtyard, and that he had a blind fate as his destruction was only a matter of time.
Sure, an ordinary skeleton knight might meet his end that way. However, if he were as crafty as an assassin and as immutable and impregnable as a paladin or berserker, he might have better odds of survival, weaving through the chaos with cunning precision and enduring blows with unyielding resilience. Yet based on Diego's assessment, only those of extraordinary caliber would be able to make it out of the wave of seemingly unending rock golems before they face the main and final adversary - the sand-woman.
Next, Diego wondered how a skeleton lich would fare. Sure, the liches seemed like the pinnacle of power—masters of energy, manipulators of cursed essence, and wielders of forbidden arts. Even most of Diego's family members, both adoptive brothers and sisters, were liches, their reputations carved into legend. However, while the path seemed incredible and possibly the best path to follow—as one shot from a lich could end an opponent before they even attacked—they carried a fatal flaw. They consumed immense amounts of energy to wield such extraordinary powers, for to manipulate energy required sacrificing one's own reserves to bend the energy hidden within the atmosphere or to create constructs that fed endlessly on the reserves of energy of their summoner. That is why most liches followed three main paths.
First were the transmuters, those who could channel the energy within to transform into monstrous forms that greatly enhanced their abilities, towering figures of raw destruction.
Second were the sorcerers, who manipulated the energy around them, weaving constructs that fought on their behalf or engraving runic sorcery into weapons, puppets, or enchanted items that pulsed with eerie vitality.
Lastly were the masters of chaos: the chaos liches, feared and revered alike. In the world of Darkovia, there was no belief in traditional magic; instead, they believed that through study and manipulation of energies one could ascend into a form capable of wielding elemental powers. Since these powers were unnatural and not aligned with the world's natural order, they were believed to be born of chaos, and thus called chaotic power. The strongest version of a skeleton lich was one who could master and manipulate their energies to form chaos, bending it without destroying themselves or their allies, and turning it into a decisive force in battle. One chaos lich alone could bring a war to salvation or annihilate an army in a heartbeat, their presence reshaping the battlefield into a theater of despair.
So Diego decided, ranging from the three liches, who among them would be able to take down the rock golems and defeat the sand woman in combat. He noted that as for the transmuter, they would no doubt bash their way into the fight, taking the brunt of the golems' attacks and caring little when the creatures manipulated their weight to deal more damage on the monster's body. Yet just as a drop of water dripping repeatedly could shatter a rock, so too would the repeated attacks of the rock golems—seemingly insignificant blows piling into relentless waves—eventually take their toll. What appeared like small stones striking a boulder would, when multiplied by thousands, penetrate and break down even the monstrous figure of a transmuter. Thus, while the transmuter might take down many in the army of rock golems with sheer physical might, raw power alone was not enough to overcome the endless tide of energy and face the next adversary awaiting in the shadows.
Next was the sorcerer. While a sorcerer may seem powerful, capable of manipulating the energy within to enhance an item or even breathe life into a puppet, in truth there was little difference between a sorcerer and a weak soul being when stripped of weapons. Sure, a sorcerer could amplify a weapon or imbue strength into an artifact, but what if there was no item to enhance? Then he would be like a fish without gills—unable to survive in the very element he was born to master. Just as a fish dies in water without gills, so too would a sorcerer perish in battle without a weapon or item to channel his craft.
And while they could summon and control puppets, not all sorcerers were gifted with this rare ability, and even those who possessed it seldom relied on puppets as their primary force. Instead, puppets were reserved as an "ace in the hole," a hidden card to support their survival when the tide of battle turned against them. Yet when faced with thousands of rock golems charging forward with the unstoppable force of a stampede, their bodies reinforced by runes that magnified both strength and weight, the sorcerer's fate was sealed. Without a weapon, annihilation was certain; with a weapon, defeat was merely delayed, for the odds were no better than a fragile skeleton knight standing alone against an army of stone.
Thus, just as the transmuter, the sorcerer had no chance of victory against the relentless golems, nor against the cunning of the sand‑woman. Their fragile arts would crumble before they could inflict meaningful damage. This meant the battle could not be won through brute combat prowess or raw strength alone—it demanded strategy, speed, foresight, adaptability, and of course immense power. And which rank of soul beings embodied all these qualities if not the masters of chaos - the chaos lich and apprentice soul vampires like Diego.