Chapter 018:

Anton awoke unusually early today, the first rays of sunlight waking him from the most pleasant sleep he had in a while. His whole body felt light. Even his mind felt quite clear, more than it had been in some considerable time.

He tried to move but there was a tremendous weight on his right arm and chest.

Verona's disheveled head poked out of the fur covers and rested on his shoulder, her right hand resting on the center of his chest. Her right leg was over his own and slowly moved back and forth. His right hand was gently cupping a soft butt cheek while her large breasts were pushing into his side.

Through his skin he could tell that they were both completely naked, her warm and soft skin felt pleasant against his own.

That was quite a night, wasn't it?

Despite the exertion of mana and strength she used at the mountain, she still had considerable amount of energy to burn off before she finally submitted.

While he did not think of himself as some sort of sex god, as some of his friend on Earth described themselves, he was still fairly confident that he knew what he was doing.

Seeing her calm sleeping face, compared to the red, panting and lust-filled face, brought back memories of last night. Knowing that he had brought her to several powerful orgasms on their first night together, watching her shudder uncontrollably and swear repeatedly in a barely audible whisper, had made him feel powerful.

Not to be outdone, Verona had a similar effect on Anton. If he was completely honest, he did not expect her to very good for her first time. He was wrong. While she did not have any experience, she made up for with it in energy and enthusiasm, bringing Anton to the brink more times than he expected.

The thought of teaching her some things made him feel a little excited.

Verona murmured something and began rubbing her head into his arm. Her whole body moved as she slowly woke. She turned on her back and stretched her arms out, nearly hitting Anton in the face. They fell softly onto the pillows as she turned to look at him.

“Mmm. Good morning Anton.” She pulled herself up and kissed him lightly on the lips. “That was...an interesting night.”

She took her leg off Anton, he could feel her stretch it them out through the covers.

“Ugh, my crotch feels really sore.”

Anton was about to say something when she placed her finger on his lips.

“I take it back though, it was an amazing night. No wonder people do this as often as they can.”

They both laughed as she curled back into his arm. She brought her right hand onto his chest and sought out his left hand. As they entwined, he pulled her in closer.

“It felt great for me to Ver.”

Her smile widened to its usual ridiculous grin. Knowing that she had made him feel good brought her no small amount of happiness.

“Looks like we still haven't been attacked yet.” he said, “They would have gotten us, right?”

Verona chuckled as she rapped her fingers on his chest.

“We were making a bit of noise last night.”

Anton sighed. He knew that there were other people in this building. If they were that loud, and as it seemed this would be a regular occurrence, they would need to get a spare house for themselves.

He did not look forward to seeing Bertram and Sybil's faces when he saw them next.

They lay in silence for minutes, simply enjoying each-others company. Eventually, Anton broke the pleasant silence.

“Actually Ver, there is something I want to talk with you about.”

Moving her head so it would be more comfortable, she said nothing as she stared at his face.

“It's kind of related to what we just did. You know what happens if we do that enough?”

She nodded.

“Yeah. I'll have a child, if we do that when it's...the right time.”

“So, you know about that.”

“Yeah.” Verona patted her hand on his chest. “Happens about once every twenty to thirty days. I'll admit...Sam also asked about that. Mine was a few days before you arrived, so we still have some time before that.”

Anton took a deep breath.

“I bring it up because, and this is going to sound shitty, but...I don't want kids just yet.”

Verona frowned a little.

“This is because of what you see every night, isn't it.”

He was about to answer when she cut him off.

“I understand, you don't need to explain. You could have done it a little more delicately.”

Anton smiled awkwardly.

“I really didn't know to say it that way. But there's something else.”

Verona raised herself up onto her elbows, moving so that her chin lay on his chest and she could look at him.

“What now?”

“I probably should have told you, or someone this, but...I haven't lost my memory.”

She moved so that her whole naked body rested on-top his, her soft yet firm build pushing into his.

Anton tried very hard to focus on what he had to say instead of the naked woman infront of him.

“From the first day I was here, I've known everything I did in my old world.”

Verona nodded and smiled.

“I knew that something was different about you. You use odd words and talk about things that none of us have any idea about.”

She freed a hand and pinched his nose hard.

“You should have just said that in the beginning. At the very least, me.”

Anton nodded in agreement.

“I just thought it would be safer for me. Someone that knows nothing could be a lot less threatening than someone who's spouting what you could only call crazy. I don't think anyone would have believed me.”

Verona opened her mouth, but shut it and rested her head back on his chest.

“I suppose. So, let's start again. You already know quite a bit about me, so why don't you start from the beginning.”

She clasped both hands and moved them underneath her head, she wasn't about to let it go.

Anton took a deep breath and began.

---[]---

Anton had given her a brief overview of his life, glossing over the bad and embarrassing things. Verona had listened without saying anything, lying completely still on his chest. Some times he had to check that she was still listening as she stayed so quiet and motionless.

When he got to his 'death' and then his resurrection to this world, her interest spiked. Hearing that he had been contacted by three gods made her quite jealous. She pouted cutely as she only had one power, not that it was anything to be coughed at.

“And that brings us up to now basically. After getting thrown out of their dimension...or world if you will, I woke up in a barn when the Yellow Goblins were attacking. Then I used my magic for the first and second time, fell unconscious and woke up in this bed. I think you were already stalking me by the end of that day.”

She laughed and buried her face underneath the cover.

“I told you before it wasn't stalking!”

He pulled himself up, bringing Verona with him.

“Then what was it?”

“...closely following you?”

“That's stalking.”

She smiled and rapped her fingers on his chest.

“That's...crazy. How have you not lost your mind?” she looked genuinely concerned.

“I don't know. Perhaps that there's nothing really back there that I miss. Except a shower, and even being away from the tech is doing me some good.”

Verona raised an eyebrow, not understanding what he meant by tech.

“I'll explain what tech is later.”

She smiled and looked out the window.

“I would like to see your world. Even if for just for a moment. It sounds quite interesting. Do you think we would have met?”

“I think we would. There's no way I could have missed you.”

They both laughed, Verona playfully kicking her legs into the air underneath the covers.

“It's probably time to get up, isn't it?”

“Yeah. Where are our clothes anyway?”

She groaned as she threw off the covers.

Every piece of clothing had been thrown around the room. In the throes of their passion, it had been a very low priority as to where they landed.

They both slipped out of the bed and picked up their clothes, some awkward laughs as they bumped into each-other.

“Hey, do we have any spare time, to...you know?”

Verona pointed her head in the direction of the bed.

Anton smiled as he pulled on his pants. “While that sounds like an enticing idea, we need to be completely alert for this.”

She pouted a little as she continued to get dressed.

“Later tonight then?” Verona asked.

“Absolutely.”

Anton put his shirt on and brought her in for a kiss.

Keeping hope for the future would make them both work much harder.

As he tussled her hair, she walked over and leant over the chair and looked at his drawings.

“So, these are things from your world, right?” she asked, looking back at him for confirmation.

“Yeah.” he picked up the sheets of paper. “These, if we can get them to work properly, would probably make us one the most powerful groups in the world.”

“Really? How?” her exasperation and shock was clear on her face. “Is it some sort of magic? No, it can't be. You said there's no such thing as magic on your world. So, these are metal things like that 'bus' you were in when you died?”

“Sort of.” Anton said, proud of her reasoning. “It'll make anyone who uses it very strong. It's what I hope to use to defeat the demons.”

She looked over the images, frowning as she could not understand what they were.

“Later, explain to me what these things are and what they do. I'm starving, so where did-.”

Tremendous clanging of metal, coming from the north, stopped her. They both ran to the window, seeing armed villagers running past towards the plaza.

“Looks like our fun time is over for now Ver.”

She grabbed her new spear, jumped over the bed and ran to the door.

“Let's grab some food on the way out. I can't fight properly if I'm hungry.”

“Hold up, your armor.”

Verona skidded to a halt, quickly running back to her side. She waved Anton over to help, the armor quickly assembled.

“Just one last thing.” She pulled him down for a deep kiss, her face reddening in response.

“A little luck goes a long way.” Anton said as he tussled her hair.

He knew they would need everything they could get.

---[]---

Outside, it was a scene of pure chaos. People ran left and right, while everyone with weapons and armor ran towards the north.

“Are they here?” Verona asked with her mouth full of bread.

She had grabbed as much food as she could in her free hand, most of eat was bread but quite a bit of it was meat. Anton had some as well, though Verona seemed to want to take his first.

“Anton! Verona! There you are.” Jeff pushed his way through the crowd, with several armed villagers behind him. They wore the new weapons, all looking quite proud of their new gear. In total there were sixty of these new weapons, each handed to a willing and happy villager. The metal was not strong enough to break steel in two but it would cause some serious damage.

Eight shields had been recovered as well, handed to the biggest and strongest villagers. They would bear the brunt of the assault.

“What's happening?” Anton asked.

“A scout just returned, an army of the Yellow Goblins is starting to move. They're already at the fourth ridge.”

“Right. We'll head to the wall and get ready.” Anton told him.

Jeff nodded. “Someone find Avery and send him to the gate. We'll meet him there.”

The armed villagers nodded and separated into the crowd. Sam found her way through, calling to Jeff. As she approached the she started waving madly towards Verona who was hesitant to return the wave.

“Hey, you both look a lot livelier.” she said as she hugged Jeff, keeping an arm around his waist. “So...have you done it yet?”

Being asked so directly caused his heart to skip a beat as he felt his face heat up. Out of his peripheries, he could see Verona starting to turn red as she looked awkwardly at Anton.

Jeff looked confused, between Anton and Sam.

“Wait, I thought you two were already having sex.” Jeff looked to Sam who shook her head. “Oh, a few days ago Dad came to your door and heard moaning and other noises, so we left both of you alone. So I thought...”

That would explain why they weren't mad at me for being late to the council meetings.

“No dear,” Sam hugged Jeff, “I thought they were as well. I got it out of Verona that they weren't and gave her a little push.”

She scanned them both up and down. “Though, it seems that it worked wonders on both of you. Anton looks completely refreshed, and Verona's basically glowing. It was that good, huh?”

Verona whimpered as her face turned scarlet. Hearing such things being openly spoken about was too much for her. She turned her face into Anton's hip and covered her ears with his hand.

“Come on Sam, be nice to her.” Anton tried to comfort Verona as best he could. “We need to get moving anyway.”

Sam reluctantly gave up her line of inquiry, though she had a look on her face like she would not give up on it. She kissed Jeff on the cheek.

“I'll help lead the defense with the rest of the villagers. You boys and girls stay safe, okay?” She looked straight at Anton. “You've got someone to look after now.”

Anton smiled as she walked through the chaotic central plaza.

All three started to walk towards the northern wall. Jeff slowed down and walked along his left side while Verona was on his right.

Jeff leaned in after checking that Verona could not hear.

“So...you two weren't together?” Anton saw a very sly smile on his face.

“No. Did you all think we were?”

Jeff nodded. “Yeah. Anyway, after this is over, All of us; You, me, Verona, Sam, Jonathan, Zac and Avery. All of us should get together and have a serious drinking session. Zac has a lot more of those barrels of alcohol than he lets on. Has Verona drunk before?”

Anton shrugged. He had no idea how she would handle her drink.

“I've actually had some before.” Verona chipped in as she leaned forward. “I didn't feel too good.”

“We won't be getting staggering drunk.”

Jeff looked a little disappointed.

“You guys can. We won't be. We have other things we would like to do tonight as well.”

They both laughed as Verona turned red again. She punched him hard in the side, he pulled her in close and she started to laugh as well.

Despite their laughing, the fear and anticipation was palpable in the air. When they arrived at the gate nearly every villager soldier had arrived and were helping with the final pieces of the wall.

Wood was being used to raise the height in the hope it would help.

Other villagers were using their new weapons to sharpen sticks of wood. They looked like they were crude javelins.

“Jeff?” Anton asked, “Are they making Javelins?”

“Yeah. That way they can fight them at range without bows. Hearing what Verona did in the caves got me thinking.”

“It wasn't fun there.” Anton remembered the faces of the women, Verona held his hand as she could tell what he was thinking about.

“Anyway, got quite a few. Probably a hundred or so here. We'll keep doing it until we can see them coming over the hill.”

Jeff's attention was brought to the south. Anton saw a villager approaching carrying a large cloth bag, just like the one he had taken to the mountain. He stopped when he reached them.

“Chief Bertram told me to bring you these. Said you would need them.”

He gave the bag to Anton and headed off to a part of the wall. Inside were a dozen Karak fruit.

“Remind me to thank your dad later.”

Jeff looked inside and nodded.

“I think you'll be needing that.”

He brought them to the side of the gate and onto a raised platform. These had been extended along the entire wall, as far as Anton could see, so they could fight the Yellow Goblins more effectively.

Anton and Jeff looked northward, though Verona was slightly too short. She took a short run at the wall and jumped, her feet digging into the cracks and using her hands to grip onto the top.

“How many?” Anton asked, fearing the answer.

“If the scout was right, and I fear she is, around six to seven thousand.” Jeff replied flatly.

Anton felt his heart drop, Verona literally dropped off the wall.

“How?” she asked, “We should have killed more than that!”

“There must have just been so many that it didn't matter how many we killed. Or, there were parts of the cave that did not get smoked out.” Anton took a deep breath. “Either way, this is what we have to deal with.”

Verona kicked at the wooden platform.

“Jeff, we'll get our preparations ready. How about you see to the rest of the soldiers.”

Jeff nodded, turning around and waving to Avery. He had thirty archers with him, all looking quite pleased. They probably did not know how many were approaching.

As Jeff ran off, his attention turned back to Verona. She would need his blood.

He held out his hand, Verona nodding in understanding. She used her new spear to form a small cut, drew up the blood and put it into her vials, stopping when two were full.

They looked towards the mountain. The smoke had almost completely disappeared, only wisps rising into the morning sunlight. They both waited in silence, waiting for the yellow mass to appear.

---[]---

Half an hour later, they arrived. A great yellow tide flowed over the ridge and onto the still scorched plains. They walked in a slow and calculated fashion. Anton could feel their hatred, even from such distance.

He tried his best but could not properly count them all, guessing there were about seven to eight thousand.

“Um. Anton?” Verona asked, she had found a box to stand on. “How can we possibly fight that many.”

He smiled. “Those flame pillars I used before. I've been practicing getting better control over my mana, and I use a bit less now. So I should be able to use quite a few. Also got a few more tricks to try out.”

Verona seemed a little more relieved as she turned back to watch the goblins approach. The other villagers were watching the north as well, he expected more fear from them but they stood almost resolute.

Perhaps they had decided that they would go out with some dignity. If the next part goes well, that may not be necessary.

Anton stepped forward and leant against the wall.

When I used the flame pillar, the mana was like a large ring that felt like fire. It was so large that it nearly drained it all out of me. I also don't know how the 'tethering' of mana works, though I think it can be done with the rings. What would happen if I had a dozen rings all linked together, or the same but with lightning? I'll give both a go. Though my range is probably a bit over a hundred meters, well before their archer range.

With a tentative plan in his mind, he waited for them to reach the distance where he could use his magic.

Out the side of his eye he saw Jeff running towards him.

“Well,” Jeff said as he stopped next to him, “What's the plan?”

Anton nodded. “It depends how they attack. If it's one big clump, I'll use my magic just like last time. If it's waves, we might be in trouble.”

The goblins continued their march, getting closer and closer. They stopped at four hundred meters away, far enough to prevent Anton from using his magic.

Even from this distance he could see the goblins at the front were virtually naked. They wore nothing apart from their loincloths, armed with wooden clubs and spears. There would be easily six thousand of those.

“Those ones at the front will be used as a meat-shield, absorbing everything we can throw at them while keeping their stronger soldiers unharmed.”

As they looked deeper into the horde, they could see the grey and silvery shine of iron and steel armor through the hordes. About a thousand wore some sort of metal armor. It did not look like they were completely covered, some just having a helmet, or a chest piece or arm-guards. Everywhere else was covered by something that looked like leather.

Right at the back he could see something green. It was a little larger than the others but Anton had no doubt as to what it was.

“And you see that one in green at the back? That's their boss. Their commander. If we can take him out the others may break or at least become disorganized.”

Verona smiled.

“Unfortunately,” Anton continued, “He's wearing that green armor, Bosciycium, so most of our weapons won't do much. If someone comes against it make sure that they get someone that can take it down, you or myself. It's flesh can still burn and your blood could get into the gaps.”

Jeff nodded, grabbing a few nearby villagers and telling them to pass on the message. They ran away at great speed.

Nothing happened on either side as the minutes dragged out. He kept his eyes on either side of the army, waiting for them to spread out. But they did not. While they fanned out a little, they kept mostly together.

Are they trying to prove a point? That they can just overwhelm us? Or are you not capable of more complex plans?

“Verona, time to get ready.”

She nodded as the blood red light enveloped her marks and eyes.

A tremendous cry rang out through the air, the leader goblin raising itself above the others. It swung its weapon, a mace, around and around, screeching louder each time. The other goblins cried out as well and ran. The unarmored goblins ran first, followed by the armored goblins walking slowly behind.

So, meat-shield it is. I half expected something a bit better. They most not really care for their lesser comrades.

“Archers!” Jeff yelled as loudly as he could, “Fire at will! Everyone else get ready. Anton, we need you to take out as many as you can, we'll do our part.”

Jeff backed off and ran towards the east. Anton took a glance that way, noticing there were fewer villagers there.

Anton closed his eyes and held out his hands, focusing his control.

Forming the rings without the gods help was a little difficult but he managed to create five that he tethered, just like with the mana balls. One ring was in the center and the other four were around it, each connected to each-other by a large thread of mana.

Just like before, he imagined the flaming pillars, not knowing what other types he could do with this form relating to fire.

The tethering made the bombs' explosion so much larger. What will these do?

He opened his eyes, still keeping the mana under control. The goblins were quick runners, they had almost reached the marker lines. They had just started to spread out, Anton wanted them not to go any further.

With a tremendous push, he threw the tethered mana rings into the right half of the approaching horde. He did not understand what he had to do next, so he released his control. Nearly half his mana had disappeared in one burst taking his breath away. Verona moved to support him as he nearly stumbled.

She leant him against the wall, watching for the magic. Nothing happened. The quiver of bows being released filled the air as a volley of arrows flew forth.

“Where-” Verona managed to say before stopping and grabbing his hand.

The entire ground on the right side glowed brighter and brighter. The goblins on the right and those behind them stopped and looked towards the ground.

Flames burst out of the ground, incinerating a thousand goblins in the blinding light. But the flames did not stop. They continued to grow upwards and outwards, quickly becoming a pillar fifty meters wide and over a hundred tall.

The heat was unbelievable. Even with the wall in between them he felt the heat on his face and hands. Goblins either side blackened and died. Halfway along the line they still suffered, halting their charge as they ran into each-other to escape the heat. He had no idea how many just died, but it would be probably be in the thousands.

“Well, that was impressive.” Verona said. “Still quite a few-”

She was cut off again as the ground glowed so bright they had to cover their eyes just to see. The ground rumbled and quaked as the light vanished.

Four rings burned their way into the scorched grass even as the central flame pillar continued to roar. They were the same relative distance away from the central pillar as the rings of mana had been. Flames burst from these, higher than the first and out like water bursting out from under pressure.

“Get down!” Anton yelled, quickly traveling down the line as villagers threw themselves to the safety of the wall.

The heat was unbelievable, the air drifting through the wall turned hot in under a second. Flames shot through the sky above them.

Christ, I should have tried with a little less power in it. It should have done the trick though.

The flames started to die down, Anton raising himself to look.

Where the four rings once were, now there were four equally large craters. Their blackened and smoothed surface still sizzled and smoked with the smouldering remains of the Yellow Goblins. The heat had been enough to melt the dirt and sand into glass. Rocks glowed a dull red while the grass for over a hundred meters was rendered black from the heat

Only a third of the first wave of the unarmored Yellow Goblins were still alive and some of those had severe burns. Those few that were unharmed were frozen in fear. They looked to each-other and backwards, towards their boss.

The armored soldiers were doing it equally bad, the entire front row had been horribly burned, only those with shield had been spared while the rest lay dead on the scorched grass.

The goblin commander appeared to be swaying, probably not able to understand what had just happened. He may not have even believed the survivors when they came back burned. Now, he must have been truly regretting his choice.

“That was fucking amazing!” Verona said as she looked over as well, kissing him on the cheek. “There's probably less than half remaining.”

“Let's change that.” Anton said as he raised his hands again.

“You can't be serious.” She said concerned, “You must have used nearly all your mana for that.”

“About half actually.”

Verona's mouth nearly fell off in surprise.

“And I also used something I call 'tethering'.”

“You've got to teach me how to do that!”

He tussled her hair.

“I don't know how your magic works, but I'll give it a shot later.”

Verona smiled and nodded, turning her attention north.

Anton held out his hands, this time forming a single ring.

Time to give the lightning a go.

Stratos had not given him too much help, but he had a thought of what it could do. This time he formed the image of lightning raining down from the sky. He fired the ring out, pointing it downwards, hovering well above the remnants of the first wave of goblins.

They were still in a state of panic and refused to move forward, even as their leader started screaming at them. Anton released control.

Just like before, nothing happened for a few seconds. Verona glanced at him but Anton kept looking outwards. He was curious as to what would happen.

Above their heads lightning crackled and flashed in a circle, about the same size as the fire rings and as high as the flame pillars had reached.

The goblins looked up, confused at the sound and light coming from above them. Within the flying ring tiny blueish-purple lights grew, dozens of them. They were hypnotized by the lights, like deer caught in headlights.

The lights pulsed larger then collapsed to a point. A bolt erupted and arced wildly towards the ground, striking a stunned goblin in the face. Its head and chest exploded, showering its comrades with its blood.

Tens of bolts flew down, striking their victims. Sounds of exploding bodies resounded in the air followed by cheers from the villagers.

Those that survived the first barrage looked up and ran as they saw more lights within the circle. The bolts chased the survivors, some missing now as they ran back to the others, but stopped when they ran further than forty five degrees away from the center of the ring. The bolts continued to fire but could not hit. Anton swore he saw relief on their deformed faces but it was to be short lived.

Now, there were a little over a thousand unarmored Yellow Goblins remaining, and most of those looked tired or injured.

Anton leant against the wall to recover his breath, watching and waiting.

The lightning ring flickered out of existence, the only evidence of its existence were the exploded and charred corpses that lay underneath it.

The commander strode through a parting crowd to the front and stopped. There was something eerie about it, the way that Anton felt that it was looking straight at him.

It raised its right hand, the eerie feeling becoming more and more intense. A white glow started to form around its hands, condensing into two small balls.

“How can that use magic?” Verona asked. Anton was equally stunned, he had no idea if monsters could use magic, but it would explain why the Thumpers had some magic resistant flesh.

Words from the first scouting mission came back.

“' Goblin species can be controlled and form true settlements if they are intimidated by a more superior being, anything that can inspire fear'”...A fellow Goblin with magic would certainly terrify me. Guess we've figured out how they've been coordinated then.

The commander pulled his arm back then threw the white balls, straight towards them. Anton grabbed Verona, who was already moving away, and ran away from the point of impact. Away from the gate.

They hit the gate a few seconds after being thrown, striking the wooden supports and hinges, blowing them to pieces. The Obsidian Tower stone was so heavy that the gate tore apart the wood holding it together.

The gate groaned and broke in two, one half landing inside and one outside. More importantly, it cleared the way for the Yellow Goblins to pour through.

Why didn't you do that at the start?

Anton stopped, letting Verona down, and looked over the wall. He saw why. The commander hunched over, quickly carried back into the safety of their ranks.

“Bastard!” Anton heard someone yell. It was Jeff, running towards him while keeping his head down. “All that work, gone.”

“He can't use it often by the looks of things.” Anton explained. “Get ready for another attack.”

Jeff nodded and ran back to his position. “Everyone! Get ready! Get your Javelins and be ready to throw them. They'll be attacking soon!”

All along the wall villagers pulled out the makeshift Javelins and rested them on the wall, ready to strike.

The goblins had not waited, having already broken into a run. They were already almost at the one hundred meter markers, those which were not destroyed by the flame pillars. The goblins ran well away around the craters, like they could burst into flames again.

“You okay Anton?” Verona asked.

“Yeah. I've used almost all my mana. Now, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to step in.”

She grinned, the marks glowing brighter. This was the chance for her vengeance and they both knew it. He grabbed a Karak fruit and started to eat it.

“If they make it through the gate in numbers, it's all over. I want you to head to the side of the gate and use your magic to attack everything that tries to get through, even over the top. Just don't expose yourself, they still probably have some archers.”

She nodded, bringing up her blood and forming spears. With a final quick kiss, she moved the edge of the gate, keeping the stone between her and the goblins.

Anton cleared his throat and yelled. “Everyone with a full shield, to the north gate. Now!”

Commotion came from all around, villagers wielding the new shields ran to the gate and formed a line. The shields were almost their full height. He heard the order carried down along the wall, singling out Jeff's voice amongst the crowd.

They planted the shields base onto the ground, between the two separated pieces of gate, and crouched behind to protect their heads.

Avery appeared with five other archers and a dozen spear soldiers, all wearing the new armor.

“Hold this position.” He yelled in his calm and cold voice.

Anton took out another Karak fruit and took a large bite, some mana quickly returning to him. He took his position at the wall near the gate and formed six small lightning bombs. these took very little mana and he did not want to use up what little he had left on grandiose magic like before.

As the goblins made it to the hundred meter mark, the arrows flew forth again. The armored goblins crouched low, letting the unarmored goblins take the blows. As they died, they were crushed into the scorched earth, some being picked up by the armored goblins and used them as a shield. He could see that some were still alive as they were picked up, kicking and thrashing as their bodies quickly became pincushions.

They must have been the lowest class of the goblins to have their lives thrown away so easily.

Their charge was desperate, quickly coming to the fifty meter mark. At this distance they could use their archers. Several tried to stop and bring out their bows, but the momentum of the horde crashed into and pushed them forward.

“Javelins! Now!” he heard Jeff yell.

In the few seconds it took the villagers to get their weapons the goblins had traveled even further, now about forty meters away.

The first javelins started to fly from the wall once the goblins reached twenty meters, their size making them easy to see compared to an arrow. While they were not accurate, the goblins were incredibly bunched together. Nearly all of them found some sort of target, some even hitting and killing the armored goblins. Some pierced their heads, chests and arms, all going down without a cry, quickly crushed underneath the feet of the other goblins.

Anton threw the lightning bombs as best he could, summoning another as each struck the head of their target. This brought him considerable attention, the goblins abandoning their assault on the other parts of the wall and brought the rough one thousand four hundred surviving goblins straight towards the gate. They had watched as their fellows, hated or not, were burned and shocked to death and could see the man responsible.

Throwing everything, including themselves, into the attack, they collided with the shield bearers. they and the villagers groaned under the weight and force of the attack.

The goblins tried to force their hands and weapons through the shields and spears, slathering and screaming from their mouths in an uncontrollable rage.

When the villagers refused to budge, the goblins started to climb on-top one another and over the shields.

Blood spears pierced their heads and throats, their blood joining and multiplying the spears.

Verona practically glowed as she hung back, directing the spears with her hand. With a flick of her wrist, the spears dove through the goblins near the gate. Seeing her brutal magic, using the life of their comrades to kill them, caused fear to ripple through their army.

Anton continued to fling the lightning bombs as he saw the Commander raise himself above the crowd again. He screeched something, but it was not just the usual scream. With his mace he pointed either side of the gate, screeching the same thing for each side.

Is he telling them to just go over the wall? Most people are coming to reinforce the gate area.

His thoughts were correct, to a degree. Two thirds gave up their attack on the gate, half of that attacking the either side of the wall.

With so few defenders away from the gate, those few were quickly forced back and were being overwhelmed. The villagers started to fall down, desperately trying to hold off the killing blow.

Shit, what now? I can't move Verona, this whole section could collapse. They're terrified of her as well. We'll just have to try and hold them off.

“Everyone, Spread out back along the wall.” Anton yelled. Some villagers responded but there were too few of them.

Anton devoured another Karak fruit as he summoned a dozen lightning bombs, flinging and replacing them as the armored goblins started to surge over the wall. As one fell dead, another two leapt over. He had no idea how the other side was faring, he could only hope that his presence would draw their attention.

There's no end to this. They must run out eventually.

To the west of the gate, he saw a dozen villagers giving up their positions and retreating into the village. The goblins turned towards him and charged, their weapons raised high. He threw lightning bombs at them but his attention was diverted for a crucial second.

A goblin climbed over the wall and jumped at him. He saw it out the corner of his eye, summoned another lightning bomb and flung it. More started spilling over, while there were still more coming over the breach further down. Over a dozen were charging at him from both sides. He was being forced back as the goblins drew closer.

I can't make the lightning bombs quick enough and I don't have enough mana. The fire-bombs might just make them run around until they die. I need help.

Just as he was about to call for Verona's help a cheer rang rang throughout the air, coming from behind him. The goblins stopped for a second and glanced up. They twitched forward before they lunged at him again.

“Stop them!” some from behind him yelled. Pitch-fork and hammer wielding villagers ran past him, crashing into and striking the goblins.

He knew these villagers. They were the ones that stayed behind. Over a hundred villagers ran around him. Young, sick and old, wielded farming and forging weapons as best they could, smashed into the goblins. The goblins were not prepared for such a thing and were pushed back to the wall.

“Come on, get it together.” Arms supported Anton and handed him a Karak fruit. It was Sam and Jonathan wielding a spear and forging hammer respectively.

“Why are you here?” he asked between bites on the fruit.

“We are not going to let those we care about get killed so we can live.” Jonathan said, resting the hammer of his shoulder.

“Better that we meet the gods together.” Sam said, hugging him lightly.

“Wait, where's Zac, Bertram and Sybil?”

Jonathan pointed to the other side of the gate. The unmistakable silhouette of Zac, brandishing a large hammer, burst through the goblins sending them flying either side. Behind him were several other villagers, including Bertram, Sybil and over a dozen elderly villagers. They did not wield much, but when a goblin leapt over the wall at them they struck it with a cooking pot. The goblin was stunned momentarily, allowing the other villagers to attack.

The reinforcements had turned the tide in their favor, but Anton knew it would not last. They were not soldiers and the actual soldiers were tired and wounded.

“How many are left?” Jonathan asked.

Anton had no idea. There should be less than a thousand, but they could still over-run them. There was their commander to worry about as well.

“Their aren't too many, but their commander can use magic.” Anton summoned a lightning bomb and threw it at another goblin climbing over the wall. “We need to kill him...brutality. It may make them break.”

They fought there way to the wall, Sam and Jonathan stopping the goblins from climbing over.

He looked over and saw the commander, he was almost fifty meters away.

My lightning bombs cannot go that far, but my lightning bolts and fireballs can. Time to end this.

He summoned a lightning bolt and fired it at the commander. It struck the armor, the lightning arcing away and hitting some standing nearby. They twitched and died, but left the commander alive.

How? Wait, there was that metal that was meant to amplify or stop magic... Gliyrhil, I think. Is he wearing it underneath?

It laughed, pointing it's mace to Anton. Anton did not miss the expressions of the goblins around the commander. They were afraid, some looked like they wanted to run, but he kept them in line.

If their leader could be killed...Fine, let's try the fireball.

The fireball sailed through the air, the commander having time to react as the fireball moved considerably slower. He picked up an armored goblin infront of him and used it to absorb the hit.

The goblins screamed in pain as the flames consumed his body, the commander staying still. He held the still burning goblin up as a shield.

I don't have enough in me to do another flame pillar without passing out, maybe even killing myself. If it fails to kill it...then I'm out and we could all die.

“Well, that sucks.” Sam said, thumping her hand on the wall. Another goblin crawled over the top, quickly smashed back down by a blow to the head from Jonathan's hammer.

“We need to kill him.” Jonathan said angrily. He looked down to Avery and the archers, Anton following. They had run out of arrows and were using knifes and swords to fight them back, already looking quite injured and tired.

Anton saw Verona at the side, still fighting and seemingly unharmed. He knew how her magic seemed to terrify the goblins. There was not much choice.

“Verona!?”

“Yes!?” she yelled back, thrusting her spear over the shields at a goblin clambering over.

“How are you feeling? Truthfully.” he asked as he ran to her.

“Okay. I haven't used that much magic.”

Anton handed her a Karak fruit, which she heartily devoured.

“We need to finish this, and quickly. I hate to ask this of you...but I need you to kill their commander.”

From their position, they could see the green armor of the commander, only thirty odd meters between them. He still held the burned goblin as a shield.

“I'll follow and use as much mana as I can to clear a path.”

She looked out through the crowd and nodded.

“I would use another flame pillar if I could without fainting-” Anton was cut off by Verona.

“I can do this.” she said as she grabbed another Karak fruit from Anton, who ate another himself. “Even I can see that lots of people are going to die if I don't.”

Anton kissed her on her forehead, turning his attention to the soldiers holding the gate. There were nearly three dozen soldiers there, not including the reinforcements or shield bearers.

“Avery!”

He stabbed a goblin, trying to climb over the shields, in the face and looked to Anton.

“Kind of busy here!” he yelled, the usual calmness in his voice gone.

“Get ready to push forward. We'll support Verona and kill their commander.” Anton summoned ten lightning bombs, throwing them at the goblins assaulting the shields.

Those behind recoiled, allowing the shield-bearers and those behind to charge forward.

“Verona. Good luck.”

She nodded, ran up the back of a surprised shield bearer and leapt into the fray.

---[]---

Verona landed with a thud on top of the goblins corpses, their blood squishing through her feet.

The fire within her raged as she brought up five large blood spears. There was far more blood around her that she could control, but it would have drained her mana incredibly quickly.

The Karak fruit had recovered quite a bit of her mana, though she had lied to Anton as to how much mana she actually used. Keeping everything as minimal as she could, she felt like she had two thirds of her mana left and was moderately tired. She knew that Anton would not have let her go out in her current state.

He's done so much...I can't let him die while I can still do something.

Her height was something that she had always hated about herself, and today was no different. The others had to bend over to fight properly, for her they were almost the right height to strike. However, with all their weapons swinging about it was difficult to see their commander properly.

She knew there was only a few moments before they would surge forward attack again, and she knew at her current mastery of magic she could not kill them all before being killed herself. Searching desperately she found something.

Directly infront of her, about seventy feet away, some smoke rose into the air.

I heard Anton using his fire magic. That's where the fireball that Anton threw hit. That's where their commander is.

As she threw the spears forward, skewering the goblins infront, lightning bombs and wooden spears flew past her head. With a glance back she saw Anton and the others behind the shields charging behind her.

Ripping the spears out of the dead goblins she spun them around and around her body, forming a continuous circle of death.

She ran forward, her new spear held in both hands. Every step was soft with the corpses of the slain and eviscerated goblins. Against her hardened blood their armor was weak and full of openings. When a blood spear did collide with a piece of armor that did not break the tip shattered, Verona took control of the fragments and forced them into its flesh. Everything was becoming more natural.

A bloody path flowed behind her, as the other villagers followed her. Lightning bombs flew forwards, a dozen flying at once, killing the last goblins infront of the commander.

Now, up close, he looked tough. A steel mace in one hand, a burnt corpse in the other as a shield, his green armor damaged and scarred, just like the deformed face underneath its helmet. There were very few gaps to it's skin, the only one straight through it's visor.

You're the one that killed everyone I loved, just so you could raise an army?

“You're going to die here, runt!” she yelled. The villagers had followed close but they could not help, they were having enough trouble keeping the goblins off her back. Bangs and crackles rang through the air letting her know that Anton and the others was still fighting.

She threw the blood spears straight at the commander, ignoring everything else around her, and ran at him. The commander moved it's charred shield infront, collecting four of the five spears. The fifth spear smashed into its mace wielding arm, the blood shattering into tiny fragments.

It laughed, in its screeching language, but stopped when it saw Verona still running towards him. Dropping the corpse shield, it raised its mace with both hands to strike, failing to notice the blood fragments floating around its head.

Gotcha'

A slight burst of mana and the shards flew straight through the gaps in its helmet. The goblin commander howled in pain, clutching at its bleeding face and eyes. Other goblins nearby backed away, seeing their leader injured.

However as she tried to push them further in, her control felt weak and could not apply much force.

My magic might not be enough to kill you, but I still have my spear!

Not completely blinded, it swung its mace down as soon as it could reach Verona. Digging her foot into the bloody ground and crouching low, she swung her spear from the ground up, towards the mace.

She excepted it to deflect the hit, but it was far better.

The crystal tip dug into the metal shaft and carved a chunk of metal free, but she was still in its path. The strength of the swing carried the weakened mace down, the spikes of the mace scarping through her leather wrist armor and into her skin. She barely felt the pain of her wounded arm, focusing her new rage and aggression at the commander.

He was stunned. As he tried to raise the weapon it broke in two, only a stump of steel left in its hand.

She twisted and spun around, taking a step forward and bringing the spear tip near its feet. With all her strength, she cut up along its center. The green metal was tough, but not very thick. It cut through its groin through to its upper chest, the spear coming free and into the air.

It screamed and howled, dropping the remains of the mace and clutching at its groin. Blood gushed out as the commander staggered and tried to make some distance.

The goblins surrounding were panicking, already some at the back were starting to flee while the rest no longer had the same energy .

So this is what Anton was talking about.

The blood pouring out of its wound was under her control the moment it left its armor. She split the puddle into two, forming two solid spikes and shot them at the commander's waist, where the broken chest plate met its legs.

Again, the blood crystals shot through and lodged themselves into the flesh, the control becoming tenuous as best the deeper it drove. She could still feel them but could not control it well once it came close to its armor. The lack of control did not extend that far, allowing her to continue to feed new blood into the crystal spikes and force them deeper.

It howled in pain but could not wrench itself free.

With the commander immobilized she thrust her spear at its head. A look of utter terror overcame its mutilated and bloody face, but she felt nothing of the sort. The tip carved through the face plate and into its face.

Its body went limp and tried to fall backwards but the crystals and her spear kept it upright. The sense of relief and satisfaction was still lacking.

I still can't move the blood...it must be something that it's wearing....Have they run away yet?

The loud bang of a lightning bomb near her side told her it was still going. While the goblins near her were terrified and starting to run, most seemed unaware that their commander was dead.

Okay, Think! I need to let the goblins see what I've done...

She retracted her spear and spun around, bringing the edge onto it's neck and severing it clean off. As she lept up and caught it, she impaled it on her spear and held it high above her as she climbed on top of the commander.

“OIIII!!! EVERYONE!!”

The entire battlefield went silent, not even Anton threw his lightning bombs. Everyone one and everything look at Verona.

Now she was nervous, but she carried on regardless.

Raising the spear above her head, she yelled out: “This! This is your leader! Your God!”

The goblins spoke rapidly amongst themselves, while the villagers remained still and continued to keep their .

“Run!!” She summoned what was left of her strength, a little less than a third left, and brought up a dozen spears. Most of the goblins recoiled, seeing the same thing that killed their commander being created over and over. Many started to run and screamed, causing a chain reaction amongst the others.

Taking a gamble, she doubled the number of spears. It was difficult to control, but she threw them straight at the closest goblins.

As she brought them back screams echoed throughout the horde. It was short and high pitched, more like a squeak.

They ran like a demon was coming for them. In a sense, one was. As they ran past, she threw spears at them randomly, to remind them what was going to happen.

While she had been fighting, Anton and the others had killed many goblins, many more than she had thought possible.

She guessed that there were four hundred or so remaining.

“Four hundred...out of eight thousand.” she muttered, her body rapidly loosing its strength. “We did alright.”

She waited until the goblins had almost made it to the first ridge before stepping off the commanders body and letting her powers completely go. There was nothing left within her.

Blood liquefied and splashed around and onto her, not that she cared. The commanders body, no longer supported, fell backwards and landed with a deep and heavy thud onto the bloody ground.

Something in the back of her mind, a knot, released.

It was dead, the leader of the thing that she hated most, the thing that took her family away.

As she fell on her knees, her eyes filled with tears as she began to cry, She was not sure whether it was relief or something else, but she did not want to stop. The spear fell away to the side as her body went limp.

“Verona!” Anton yelled as he ran towards her. He, like the other villagers, was covered in cuts and blood. The others looked a little worse but not by much.

He skidded along the wet ground, knelt down and roughly grabbed her head, checking her for wounds. When he found none that were serious he pulled her closed and hugged her tight.

“That was the bravest thing I've ever seen someone do.” he said as he stroked her hair. “I'm sorry I even asked you to do that. I thought you were going to die.”

She turned and looked at his face. He was tired, just like she knew how she looked.

As she opened her mouth she knew that she could not explain how she felt. Instead, she used her remaining strength to wrap her arms around his neck. He smiled, holding her tight in return.

With a strange but pleasant warmth filling her heart, inside she made a promise.

I will protect this with all my breath and my life. My new life. My new family.

-----------------

Hello again,

The Yellow Goblins have been beaten back, with shock and awe tactics and a few bluffs. I didn't want a fight that lasted several chapters, I hope i did alright.

With the Yellow Goblins, I wanted to show that these aren't mindless creatures, they know when they are in trouble and will try and run if they're in trouble. I think i conveyed that.

Two more Chapters two go for this arc. Next one needs a bit of work in the planning stages, so it might be a little slow to get going.

Anyway, thanks for reading!