With his water-imbued sword, Alex slashed forward, straight down in front of him. He swung down and then up again. Summoning two water rifts straight into the dark fire wave that was coming at him.
The first water rift cut through the dark fire with a hissing whistle; water boiled and roiled. It pushed forward thanks to Alex’s space magic that enhanced his rifts. His second rift followed close behind. When the first petered out, the second came in and finished the job, clearing a path for Alex. It even had enough power left to hit the general, though it didn't do much to its barrier.
Path cleared, he dashed forward again when he landed, switched his sword's imbue to wind, and swung at the general's barrier. It didn’t cut through, but it did bite into the shield, weakening it. He slashed out multiple times, gripping his sword with two hands, trying to break through the goblin's barrier. He needed to break it before the next attack came.
But he didn’t.
Before Alex could shatter the shield, the general attacked again. This time, the spell felt a lot different, more similar to curse magic than fire. The curse mana gathered around the goblin as it laughed at him for being unable to break the barrier.
The general withdrew the wand from its hip, and the curse mana converged into it. Alex could feel the gathering black of the mana, its hunger, as it was absorbed into the wand. When it had finished, he pointed it into the air and fired a massive ball of darkness.
It flew forty feet into the air and hung there. The black ball of mana roiled, twisted, and spun. It looked like a black sun hanging in the air… A bolt of black mana came from the ball and shot towards Alex. It came fast, too fast; even with wind enhancement on, he could barely dodge it. And right when he did, another came after.
"Run, little weakling, run.” The general said, still laughing, with a twisted smile.
Alex did; he ran. Fast.
The bolts from the floating orb were lightning-quick, and the energy they gave off was something Alex wanted to avoid. He dodged, ducked, dipped, dived, and dodged again. His dodgeball coach would be proud of him.
It wasn’t enough, though.
The bolts were too fast; they rained down all around him. It wouldn’t be long before one got him. He wove through the area, dodging bolt after bolt, while he tried to come up with a plan.
Fuck it.
He turned and ran toward the general, causing a look of confusion to cross its face. Alex didn’t give the old goblin time to respond; lunging forward, he stabbed his wind-wreathed sword into the goblin's barrier. He had aimed for one of the areas he had weakened before.
The blade pierced the barrier, shattering it. No momentum left in his lunging stab, he planted his foot and spun, bringing the sword around with him. The general tried to block the wide slash with its staff, but Alex had his full strength behind it.
His sword didn’t harm the staff, but it pushed it hard, straight into the general's body. The top of the staff broke his nose, the blood dripping down his face, and his eyes filled with anger.
Fire magic poured out of Alex as he summoned fireballs to assault the goblin before it could recover. Back in melee range of the general, he brought his sword up to deliver a strike, but the goblin had cast another spell.
Another dark fire nova erupted in a wave out of the goblin mage, its fire radiating heat, the darkness giving off a different kind of feeling. Earth Magic poured out of Alex as he crouched low and pushed off the ground. An earth pillar lifted with him. It threw him farther into the air when he jumped, high above the ground. He looked down on the world as he slashed out with his sword, sending two wind rifts at the general.
The cursed sun was still shooting its dark mana at him, and during the highest arc of his jump, one finally hit him in the side. It didn’t move him; the impact was light. But he felt the insidious mana.
Alex ignored it and focused.
Falling back to the earth, he aimed his descent toward the rifts he’d launched, following them to their target.
Descending fast, the wind whipped through his hair and tore at his clothes, his eyes thin slits to protect them. When the first wind rift hit, he heard the impact and the scream of surprise from the goblin. But with the second rift, Alex listened to a different sound, a sound of glass shattering. It had been barely audible through the wind whipping past his ears, but he was certain he had heard it.
That was the general's barrier. Did it break again?
Shit, no time to think.
Unsure what else to do, he added earth mana to his sword, as he did with Zhiva—the unique kobold boss. With the added weight, it threw off Alex's angle, as the sword became heavy. He held the weapon behind him, high in the air as he fell, putting the weight on his back and making him fall faster. He channeled more stone into the blade, increasing the weight even more. Using wind mana, he slightly corrected his trajectory, pushing him back on track.
Stone was heavy and dull usually, so he sharpened it. Alex then added wind mana to it, enveloping the stone blade in wind, which would increase its cutting potential. Before impact, he also activated his Power Strike. He didn’t use the skill as often as he should.
He fell fast, all his preparations only taking a second. The sword was now heavy with stone, wrapped in wind mana, enhanced with Power Strike, and increased speed from the fall. He hoped it would be enough to finish this.
It was.
When he was a foot from the shaman, he twisted his hips in the air and brought his arms down. The blade was a blur, and Alex almost dislocated his own shoulders from swinging it so fast and with so much force.
When the weapon hit the general, it felt no resistance. It cleanly cut through. His previous wind rift had already shattered the barrier, so it was all goblin flesh now. That goblin was now in two pieces. He bisected the general from shoulder to hip, cutting diagonally across its body.
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When Alex hit the ground directly after, it hurt a lot. He rolled and splattered across the muddy terrain. Had the ground been hard, he might have broken several bones or his neck. But as it was, the mud softened the fall.
***
Morgan was still firing arrows into the goblins.
I thought I’d kill the general. Found this camp, tried to kill it with an arrow from the forest, but the puta had a damn shield on. Got lucky they knocked me out instead of killing me.
And now… these people. They’re so strong. How?
They’re only one level higher than me, but I don’t think I could fight any of them, except the healer. And that dude who's always shouting the orders, what the fuck is he? He’s doing some insane shit, while I’m shooting arrows.
He didn’t know what to think. He hadn’t exactly had a chance to speak to any of his rescuers, and the only thing he did know for sure was that the healer was hot.
***
Derek was holding back the massive amounts of goblins that were swarming the cages. Since not all the prisoners had yet been freed, he refused to abandon them. He would hold the line as long as they needed him to. He’s done it before; he’ll do it again.
No soldier gets left behind. I’ll make sure of that.
While it's true they weren’t soldiers here, they might as well be, and in Derek’s mind, they were. They fought for their lives every day, and for the lives of those around them. For those back home, he wouldn’t fall here.
None of these goblins challenged him. It was the numbers that were the problem. Hundreds were breaking themselves against Derek’s shield. The only individual threats were the commanders and shamans, and while the shamans weren’t his problem, the commanders were.
With one standing before him, he activated his [Shield Block], catching the heavy blow. Stabbing forward with his sword to counterattack, he used [Power Strike]. He hoped to pierce the commander's leg armor and cripple him.
I can’t do many more [Power Strikes] for a while. The stamina drain is adding up.
***
Rykos enjoyed himself. He looked as if he had bathed in goblin blood and viscera, which was perfect for him. He thrived in combat or on the hunt.
There were goblins in all directions as he sprinted around the perimeter of the cages, killing any of them that got too close with claw or fang. He moved through the goblins, lashing out with claws, cutting, stabbing, and dismembering any he could reach.
Surrounded by goblins at one point, Rykos had to use a skill, one he rarely got a chance to use. Standing in the midst, he arced his head up, face pointed to the sky, and unleashed a fierce howl. A howl only a true predator could create. This skill, [Predator's Howl], stunned all those nearby whom he saw as prey. It was a brief stun, but it was perfect for moments like this.
He resumed the slaughter, [Beastial Fury] active, and intermittently using his Improved [Speed Burst].
***
Sarah was constantly healing someone. It was never-ending. A majority of the prisoners were in rough shape, and she was struggling to keep up. Luckily, there were some support classes among the freed people, but they were low-level and weakened themselves.
I need to do more healing! I don’t have enough for all these people.
Light flooded out from her hands as she healed the man in front of her. His wounds had been minor, but she didn’t feel right letting him go untreated. Some of the wounds on people were too severe, and she wasn’t able to heal things like missing limbs or fingers. She had tried and lamented her inability to regrow a limb; the woman's look had broken her heart.
Between patients, she did her best to keep an eye on her team. She was their only support, and she knew that if one of them got hurt, it was her priority. Without them fighting off the goblins, everyone else would die.
***
Fire flew in all directions as Sam attacked the goblins. Shamans were his primary focus, but he tried to help with the other ranged, or even melee, goblins when he could. The shamans were difficult, though, and they took a lot of his mana and time. It took more effort to get through their barrier than it did for Alex. He had to use his magic, rather than a physical weapon.
He bombarded the shaman with his enhanced [Fireball]s, using their extra power to damage its shield. He had already been secretly flooding the shaman’s area with his smoke-like mana; he now waited for the perfect opportunity to use [Ignite].
That chance came soon after.
Reinforcements had arrived near the shaman, and after he cracked its shield, he ignited his smoke. The area erupted in flames, an explosion knocking anything nearby off its feet. Unsure if the shaman would fully die, he rained down more fireballs on where it had stood.
***
Korgrith smashed through goblins, his [Cleave] skill cutting down groups with ease. The skill increased the chance that targets would be cleaved or broken in two. If he used it during a wide swing, he could decapitate small groups of goblins in one strike.
With [Earthen Armor], reinforcing his defenses, he plowed through the front line and wreaked havoc. His Improved [Shattering Stomp] and [Stone Cascade] combination devastated whole areas of goblins before they could even retaliate.
He lumbered through one group, hooves sinking deep into the muck, axe gripped in both hands, and he used [Charge] to close the distance to a commander. He brought the axe down with a [Power Strike] and sank the edge deep into its neck. Pulling the axe out, he swung down with a flurry of blows.
He grinned as he remembered his axe's effect and the attack speed boost he had. The buff had many stacks from all the kills, his arms a blur, his axe death for them all.
Berserker’s axe of Bloodlust (Rare)
A large two-handed axe imbued with the blood of fallen foes. This axe was created with a Berserker in mind. While wielding this weapon, the user feels a stronger bloodlust than normal, and for each kill they make, the weapon and user grow stronger temporarily through the enemy's blood. Wielder gains 1% attack speed per 10 enemies killed. Last for 10minutes.
+8 Strength +4 Toughness
***
Everyone in the camp, whether they were a former prisoner, a goblin, or a part of the rescue team, turned toward him the moment Alex struck the General. The impact of his wind rifts, his sword cutting through his target, and his body crashing into the ground reverberated throughout the forest. A thunderclap echoed throughout for all to hear.
The camp stood still. No one moved.
“ALEX!” someone shouted. “RYKOS! GET SARAH TO HIM NOW!”
Sarah shook her head, realized the voice had been Derek's. But before she could say or do anything, Rykos had appeared beside her, lifted her, and dashed toward Alex’s impact zone at a blinding speed.
During the sprint, she checked over Rykos, too, making sure he didn’t need healing. His fur matted with blood; it soaked his claws and fangs. He seemed in good condition; the blood wasn’t his, though, save for a few scratches. But she healed him for good measure.
“Thanks,” he breathed out with effort, labored from the fight, and now running at full speed while carrying her.
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