I winced at his words. He was right, but it was for Tama's sake I didn't say it out loud. Which brought back the idea she let on less than she knew.
The rest of the trip was made in silence until we climbed over a ridge and saw the smoke rising in the distance of the setting sun.
There were hundreds of smoke trails. They went as far as the eye could see. I turned to Tera. Her face had drained of color and she had paused petting Tama, who had fallen asleep in her arms.
I looked to David, hoping to see some confidence, but even he looked distraught. "What the actual..." He cut off his own words, unable to finish his sentence at the number of trails in front of us.
My tail wrapped around my leg and squeezed. I closed and opened my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things before I subtly began stepping backwards. This wasn't a quest, this was a suicide mission.
I turned and jumped over the ridge, landing flawlessly. I only made it a few steps before I looked up and stopped dead in my tracks. A large contingent of goblins, all on what appeared to be wargs, were standing in front of me. Some holding spears, others polearms, all of them rusted or old.
I swallowed, taking a step back. The sun was almost set and their shadows could almost reach me, distorting their figures in the night.
All rational thoughts left my mind. I summoned a ball of foxfire, uncaring if I revealed my kitsune heritage, and lobbed it at the nearest goblin, hoping to make them dodge.
Instead, the goblin batted the flame with his spear, causing it to burst, killing the goblin in an instant. I went to move only to see another goblin had already replaced the first. My tail stiffened and my ears flew back. We were going to die.
I summoned earth armor all over my body and removed wind resistance from my body as best I could. If I could just get...
Before I could finish my thought, the goblin riders charged me. I panicked and lobbed another foxfire bolt at them. The ball of fae fire exploded, this time killing two of them. They were replaced before the ball had even finished dissipating. Fear began to consume me even further and my eyes began to shift purple. Tears fell from my cheeks as I tried and failed to resist the void. I felt control of my body slipping and knew it was all over.
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"Nya! Don't touch Saki! She is Tama's friend!" came a familiar voice, flying over the ridge at an unimaginable speed as a purple blur. She almost seemed to vanish as she hit the ground. What happened next I couldn't see. One moment the goblins were about to impale me, the next they were all dead, wargs included. More began to take their place, only to fall to the ground dead before steps could be taken.
A few of the goblins tried stabbing their weapons forward in a fearful attempt to hit her, but to no avail. A few moments was all it took and over fifty wargs and their riders lay dead on the ground. It wasn't enough though… they were endless. Wave after wave came over the ridge.
I heard Tera's shout as she landed behind me. "Get in formation, protect the newbies!" A fireball shot past me, exploding and incinerating a few goblins. Before I could react, someone yanked me away.
I heard a loud crashing sound. I looked over to see David, his whole body covered in molten earth. Every swing killed at least ten or fifteen goblins. Yet still they came, their bodies almost creating a blockade in the now almost pitch dark.
I thought as I tried to regain control of my senses. After Tama had appeared, the void had receded. But I was still panicking. The odds were heavily against us and I didn't see a way out.
I summoned more foxfire balls and launched them at any enemy I could see. At first, I held my own, but as the minutes dragged on, my mana drained. Desperate, I resorted to firing earth spikes. Less powerful, barely enough to wound. If aimed right, I could disable body parts or outright remove them.
I fell to my knees as I panted, my stamina and mana both entirely gone, my vision blurred. I regained some energy and looked at the state of the battle.
Tera had multiple wounds and they had her backed up against the ridge wall. David's defenses were formidable, but they had mostly broken down and he was now pausing between swings.
The only person seemingly unaffected was Tama, who was a whirlwind of goblin death. Every second, dozens of goblins died. She didn't even seem tired, but I wouldn't know since she hadn't slowed down even once.
Whenever the goblins got close to me, Tama would kill them. She seemed to be trying for Tera and David as well, but after a while the numbers became too great for even her to keep up.
I closed my eyes as a spear was pointed inches from my face. "No, Saki!" Tama screamed. I awaited my death... but it didn't come. After a moment, I opened my eyes. The spear was still pointed at me, but it wasn't coming any closer. Instead, a blur of movement, then blinding pain. The world tilted sideways, my body no longer mine. Voices faded. Darkness swallowed me whole.
What would you primarily classify this series as so far?
