For a chaos lich to take down a horde of rock golems barreling forward and unleashing their relentless attacks on the solitary figure, the lich must first conjure an environment perfectly attuned to the volatile chaos element he commanded, shaping the battlefield into a crucible of disorder and unpredictability which he only could control in order to obey his whims and yield a fruitful result. Next, he had to strategize with meticulous precision, weighing whether a devastating one‑shot strike could obliterate the entire formation before the golems had any chance to retaliate, or whether a calculated dismantling of the front lines—the sides and middle that anchored their advance—would topple the entire structure like a collapsing fortress. Yet every move carried consequences: a single overwhelming blast would annihilate the rock golems once and for all but leave the lich drained, vulnerable, and nearly powerless, while a slower, more surgical assault would scatter their ranks, disrupt coordination, and buy precious time to recover energy. The advantage of restraint was clear—he could regroup, conserve reserves, and prepare his next devastating maneuver—but the disadvantage was equally perilous, for the slowed advance still meant enduring their brutal counterattacks, and any miscalculation in his strategy could result in grievous injury or even total destruction.
Lastly, he had to view battling the army of rock golems as a war, and in war one must use every resource to his advantage. In the same battle, the chaos lich had to exploit every possible tool, and among the most coveted resources were enchanted gems storing power and abilities beyond the reach of the average lich. These gems, worn as jewelry—necklaces, rings, or even crowns—were painstakingly crafted to channel devastating energies, and when invoked in combat they could alter the tide of battle dramatically. Yet their brilliance carried a grim flaw: many of the most potent crystals were single‑use, shattering into dust once their power was unleashed, never to be reclaimed. Others, though weaker, offered repeated use but only within strict temporal limits, often lasting a minute or five before fading. With such resources, combined with a carefully chosen battlefield, strategic maneuvers, mastery of chaos manipulation, and cursed energy as fuel, a chaos lich could conceivably overcome even another chaos lich of formidable renown, such as the sand‑woman, by weaving destruction and endurance into a relentless symphony of war.
To Diego, although the sand‑woman manipulated puppets like the rock golems and her attacks mostly comprised of building constructs, something a sorcerer might do with deceptive flair, Diego wasn't fooled by the cunning misdirection she spread openly like wildfire. The sand‑woman was, without doubt, a chaos lich wielding the element of earth. Even in the way she attacked—her plan, her strategy, and the resources she employed—she fought in the unmistakable manner of a chaos lich. If it had been a sorcerer battling Diego, the sorcerer would have relied heavily on a weapon or enchanted item, contrary to the sand‑woman, whose only item was discarded at the very start of the battle. Next was the way she commanded her minions, used her constructs, and chose their forms. Her constructs, like the rock golems, were sent out to die, not to protect her, serving instead as obstacles to slow and exhaust the enemy. She did not entrust her life to them but used them as expendable pawns, blocking approaches and creating openings for flanking maneuvers or sudden strikes from behind—tactics most sorcerers would rarely employ. A sorcerer would focus on direct combat, fighting like a seasoned knight with an enhanced weapon, while his puppets circled to wound or distract. Where the sand‑woman raised walls, bland and ordinary barriers, a sorcerer would conjure automated constructs, intricate and relentless, designed to fight independently.
The most decisive difference, the undeniable giveaway that convinced Diego she was a chaos lich, was her reliance on every resource available, especially the gems and necklaces around her neck. Even when the battle began and she cast off her robes, she deliberately kept the necklaces on, prepared to channel their latent abilities at the critical moment. While a sorcerer could also use gems, most preferred weapons they could enhance in real time, dismissing crystals as weak, mysterious, or unreliable. Not all sorcerers could even harness crystal power, so they often deemed it unworthy. The sand‑woman, however, leaned on the crystals with practiced confidence, wielding them as though they had long been her trusted companions. When her life was threatened, she did not reach for a weapon; she relied first on herself and second on the crystals, a hallmark of a chaos lich's mindset.
Generally, enemies of equal level have a higher chance of victory against one another than foes of differing levels. Thus, if a chaos lich fought the sand‑woman, it was highly likely the lich would prevail, for they shared the same level of power and the same ruthless way of thinking when facing adversity. Yet even among equals, victory was never guaranteed—chaos liches were unpredictable, and not all would triumph against one another.