The plan I had going into this fight was simple. As soon as it started, I’d turn invisible, take out both combatants with arrows to the legs, and use my speed boots to zip in and tie them up with the masking tape I had in my inventory. It was a quick, efficient solution. One that would have ended things before they even began.

  But as someone once wisely said, no plan survives the first punch to the face. Or in this case, the first glitter bomb.

  I was just about to nock an arrow when Faisal’s crossbow fired. The bolt shot straight at me, and for a split second, I noticed his aim seemed off. It was too high. I knew him as a crack shot, so this wasn’t like him at all.

  Just as Linda closed the gap, landing a solid right hook to Faisal’s face, the crossbow bolt exploded above me. I braced for the impact, already preparing to hit the healing potion in my hotlist to counter the pain of an explosion.

  But instead of an explosion of shrapnel, I was hit by a massive burst of glitter, multicolored sparkles filling the air and coating me from head to toe. I raised my free hand, horrified, and saw I was now outlined in sticky, tacky glitter.

  I hadn’t taken any damage, but there was no point to my [Invisibility] now. I stashed the trench coat back into my inventory, turning visible once again. I shook my head, trying to get as much glitter off as I could, but I knew it was over. There was no way I was getting rid of this mess.

  From the stands, I heard someone shout, “Holy shit!”

  I raised my bow, aiming for Faisal’s legs, determined to incapacitate him. But Linda wasn’t finished. She raised her hand, and three [Magic Missiles] shot toward me in perfect arcs.

  I barely had time to activate my [Shield Gauntlet]. The missiles exploded on contact, throwing me back and knocking the wind out of me. My health bar dropped into the yellow. What the hell? Linda had always come across as a pure fighter, using those heavy gauntlets. I had no idea she was a spellcaster.

  We’d all been wrong. She was a Magus. Just like Shaheerah.

  Fuck.

  I activated a healing potion as I pushed myself up and aimed again. Linda was still hammering down on Faisal, who was lying on the ground, shield raised, sparks flying with every punch from Linda’s gauntlets.

  I loosed the arrow and watched it sail toward her. But Linda was faster than I expected. She dived over Faisal and rolled behind him, my arrow bouncing off his active shield uselessly.

  Motherfucker.

  I’m starting to understand why Linda was by Rajan’s side. She was quick, sharp, and damn dangerous.

  The roar of the crowd shook me from my thoughts and snapped me into action. I didn’t have time to hesitate. I activated my [Boots of the Speeding Garrick] and charged forward, swinging my bow like a club. But just as I reached them, a puddle of oil spread out across the field.

  The black, viscous liquid was slick as hell, and I found myself slipping. My feet slid out from under me, and I crashed into Faisal and Linda, both still on the ground. The wind got knocked out of me once again, and I heard Faisal groan beside me.

  Linda, relentless as ever, crawled through the slick, her hands coming down on both Faisal and me with brutal force. My health bar flashed red, and I knew I had to act fast. I raised my hand and cast [Shockwave II], sending a shockwave of energy toward Linda. She was blasted into the air, soaring across the field.

  Before I could catch my breath, I turned and aimed the spell at Faisal, who was still reeling on the ground. He was sent sliding across the field, crashing into an advertisement board near the touchlines.

  The impact of the spell had cleared the oil slick from the field, leaving the ground solid again. We all took a moment to catch our breath, heal, and push ourselves to our feet.

  As if on cue, Faisal and I started launching arrows and crossbow bolts at Linda from opposite ends of the field. But she had cast something that created five copies of herself. Her movements mirrored across all of them as she floated upward, hands raised to the sky.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  I had a split second to recognize it as [Mirror Image] before one of my arrows finally found its mark, sinking into the real Linda’s thigh.

  But before she even dropped, the sky darkened, and flashes of lightning crackled overhead. In an instant, I was hit. Lightning from above and a crossbow bolt in my stomach at the same time.

  Pain exploded through me. I screamed as the electricity surged through my body, the bolt inside me snapping. I activated my healing potions, downing them one after another, fighting to stay conscious. The searing pain made me crumple to the ground, my burnt hair smelling acrid in the air as the potions slowly took effect.

  I needed time, time to heal.

  I cast [Haze], and a thick, blinding fog enveloped me, shrouding my position from the enemies. I forced myself to roll over, just in time for two more bolts to slam into the ground where I had been lying.

  Come on… come on, where are you?

  I gritted my teeth as the bolt inside my stomach was pushed out by the healing potion, the pain slowly easing as my wounds began to close.

  This was not going well.

  I looked up just in time to see more [Magic Missiles] arcing through the air. Two were heading for Faisal, while one was coming straight for me. But I was covered in [Haze]. She couldn’t have line of sight. Wait, oh shit!

  I activated my [Shield Gauntlet] just as the missile hit, exploding on impact and throwing me out of the [Haze] spell’s safety. The impact sent me reeling, and I quickly popped another health potion as I realized too late that [Magic Missiles] doesn’t require line of sight.

  I had to end this. Linda was about to kill us. I’d thought the Temple’s champion would be the most dangerous, but I was wrong. Linda was a beast. If this had been a one-on-one fight, I would’ve died three times over by now.

  I switched to the only [Guided] arrow I had, selected Linda from the HUD, and fired. As the arrow sailed through the air, I switched to a [Buzzsaw] arrow, kneeled, and aimed it at Faisal.

  Both arrows hit almost simultaneously.

  Linda was already airborne, chanting to summon another lightning strike, when the [Guided] arrow found its mark. It pierced through her shoulder blades, and the sickening crack of bone breaking rang out as she slammed to the ground with a heavy thud.

  Faisal was still recovering from the [Magic Missiles] hit, but he managed to raise his crossbow arm in time to block my [Buzzsaw] arrow. It didn’t matter. The head of the arrow transformed into a spinning buzzsaw, slicing through his forearm with ease, severing both the crossbow and his arm. His scream filled the air as he clutched at the stump of his limb.

  I walked over to him as he tried to crawl away. I kicked him onto his back, glancing briefly at Linda. She wasn’t dead, but she was writhing on the ground, taking a healing potion.

  I drew my bow and aimed directly at Faisal’s head. His eyes bulged in pain, but I could see the defiance in them. Once he was gone, it would be between us and the Rebels. The Temple would be out of the fight. Their fate would no longer be theirs to decide.

  I pulled the bowstring back, my hand shaking with the anger I’d built up. And that’s when Marcus came at me from the side, slashing across my chest with his elven blades.

  The impact sent me flying, knocked off balance by the speed and force of the strike. I activated a healing potion mid-air, rolling to the ground before landing next to Linda, who had gotten back to her knees.

  The crowd was silent now. A heavy hush had fallen over the stadium. The energy in the air was palpable, not from any spell, but from the tension that had built up.

  And then someone shouted. The crowd erupted.

  Chaos erupted on the field as everyone surged forward, and the stadium was alive with the sounds of battle. Swords clashed, spells exploded through the air, and the ground rumbled with the footfalls of a thousand warriors.

  I felt myself being carried away and I struggled in the arms of whoever was carrying me, trying to break free. Then I looked up and realized it was Bane. Bane from the Rebels.

  What the hell?

  I patted him on the chest, and he dropped me to the ground, running off to join the fray.

  I quickly opened my party chat and sent a message.

  Chris: Anytime now.

  Shawn was on sentry duty outside the stadium with his battalion, covering the perimeter. I was still healing, my mind racing in confusion as Shawn’s voice boomed in my head. How was I hearing him?

  Then I remembered that skill of his, the one that let him broadcast his voice to anyone within range.

  I tried to make sense of what he was shouting, but then my chat pinged with several notifications. I focused on Shawn’s message first.

  Shawn: It worked. Too fast. Brace. Brace. Brace.

  I could hear him now, his voice crackling in my mind.

  “They’re here! Brace for impact!” He kept shouting the same warning, just as the stadium gates burst open and a horde of monsters flooded into the stadium from all entry points just as winged creatures flew in from above.

  For once, I wasn’t happy that the plan worked.

  I opened a separate chat window.

  Chris: Eric, Eva. Now!