BOOOM!

The Mana bullet hit the right side of the Silvery Lone Wolf, where it dug a hole as big as a fist. Blood came gushing out, drenching the fur of the beast.

Silvery Lone Wolf lost 12.234 HP!

Silvery Lone Wolf received the Malus Serious Bleeding.

Effects: until Serious Bleeding is removed, you lose 150 HP per second.

ROAAAAAR!

The Boss let out a furious roar, but the battle was already decided. There was no other possible outcome.

However, thanks to Bloodthirst, the Silvery Lone Wolf had just entered the Berserk mode. Now it would have been impossible to contain it if not killing it.

The atmosphere grew tenser.

Helial did not lose his cool. On the contrary, he kept looking at the wolf coldly, while covering Curse of the Demon with Flame of the Qilin. The white tongues of fire were in stark contrast to the pitch black Longsword. It was both fascinating and enigmatic.

Snowflake squinted: “The little bastard has won, mpf mpf, this Supreme Cat would have done a better job, but it was not too lousy, not lousy at all”, Snowflake yawned and stretched.

The cat looked again at the tunic almost ripped in half. He sniffed the air. Besides wolf blood, he could smell a hint of human blood on the tunic, but gentler than that of a man. A girl perhaps?

…

And this should be a Boss?

Shithead, hurry up and kill it. I’m bored to death…

…

The huge enemy had already lost the use of a leg. Its health was probably only around 10%, but this was the moment were it would be most dangerous. Helial knew well that a wounded beast can be a fearsome enemy, but he kept calm.

“Let’s see if you’ll like to play with your claws now. Next time, shove them up your ass”, growled Helial, in an expressionless voice that seemed to come directly from hell.

The air all around started crackling, while the flames on Curse of the Demon became more intense.

…

Tainted with the flame of a Lame Dragon…

…

It was not Helial’s first time facing a wolf or a creature much stronger than himself, it was also not the first time a monster made him furious. Helial could tolerate many things, but everything that had to do with Lumia was taboo. It was his twisted scale.

And everyone knew that touching a Dragon’s twisted scales could have terrible consequences.

The Boss vomited blood on the ground, then looked up again, fixing his eyes into those of Helial. Its maw was shut, bloody saliva trickling down in scarlet rivulets. Blue and Crimson, their eyes had met again in an ethereal battle.

Anyway, the boy should really hurry up. Every second spent waiting might be fatal… Anything could happen any second now. Snowflake was completely engrossed, caught up in the exchange of looks that seemed like a battle.

Helial wiped the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand.

He could feel the wounds burning in his chest. It was as if his flesh were on fire, while Body of the Qilin was slowly regenerating the wound he had suffered.

The corners of Helial’s mouth trembled with rage: he was still too weak. If he had not had that Skill, he would have been killed by the Boss in just a few minutes.

He reached for his chest and mopped up the blood, then with an abrupt gesture, he swung the hand to the side. Crimson droplets splattered the rocks near him.

He grasped Curse of the Demon with two hands, ready to finish the monster. It was risky to delay the matter further; it could have turned into a dangerous situation…

Helial was about to take a step forward.

Sniff sniff

“What?”

Snowflake sniffed the air and spun around, as if he had smelled something.

…

Things are getting interesting.

…

Snowflake’s eyes fell on a helpless girl with fair, almost white hair. She was standing at the entrance of the Dungeon hall, exactly behind the wolf, only a few dozen yards from it, grasping a piece of cloth covered in mysterious runes.

Snowflake’s whiskers quivered, as if he had just understood something… he turned towards Helial.

Helial was in shock. Why is she here?! Shit! Shit! SHIT!

He darted towards the Silvery Lone Wolf as fast as he could. The beast turned around, unaware of why the boy was causing such a commotion.

The bloodshot eyes of the wild beast locked with the meek eyes of Lumia, who almost got scared.

The Silvery Lone Wolf was standing exactly in the middle between Helial and Lumia.

“RUN!” shouted Helial.

The Boss grinned mischievously. It was doomed, but it would make sure that the boy paid dearly for defeating him.

He dashed towards Lumia with his mouth wide open. Unfortunately, Snowflake was standing even farther away, not far from Helial at the other end of the room. He could not have reached Lumia in time, not even at full speed.

The little one is done for…

***

At the outpost

Skill Activated:

Ascending Lightning

Vidio swept the Staff upwards, generating a terifying explosion that turned to dust a dozen Goblins in front of him. Then he spun around gracefully, twirling the Staff.

Skill Activated:

Heavenly Thunderbolt

A giant shockwave wiped away the other enemies standing behind him, throwing them ten yards back.

Pausan was looking from a distance how the battle progressed, his arms folded.

“Commander, are you sure it’s a good idea to throw that Master into that bloodbath all on his own?” asked an official.

Pausan frowned, while Vidio was going deeper and deeper into the Goblin lines.

Lightning Mana Affinity, ideal for battle. All the same, that Master looks so meek and yellow-bellied. Why did he throw himself in the battle without even looking back?, he thought. His answer, though, was very different: “If I didn’t manage to kill him, that douche won’t die that easily. The Goblin Commander is only in the Third Phase Late grade; that filthy Master should be able to handle him. I suppose…”

“What?”

Boom!

But the general’s answer was cut short by an explosion in the Goblin ranks. Right were Vidio was standing, a group of Goblin had just been blown up, as if electrocuted.

Vidio felt his eyes burning. Kid… Hold on, please.

The Mystical Jade Tablet was giving off a slight heat, feeling warm against Vidio’s chest. He had chosen not to keep it inside the Interspace Ring, to not miss any changes. Once the war was over, he would start looking for Helial. He would have known where to look for him, following the brightness of the tablet. After all, the boy could not have gone that far.

Vidio kept on butchering every Goblin with shocking fierceness. He had lived in Floralivory City for years and, as much as he hated that isolated and forsaken town, Vidio had left there a piece of himself. Now he could go back to the Capital, but the warm smiles of the tavern wenches, the weekly meeting with the boy and all the stories he had told him… It all seemed to have been wiped away by that ridiculous war. A useless conflict that had not given the Goblins any benefits, but had given them fear.

It seemed such an easy victory. There was something completely rotten in that whole business. It could not be that easy to win a war. What sense did it make attacking Floralivory City? And why attacking the outpost? Why?

Pausan had shivers running down his spine. He feared a catastrophe any moment now. His Parstan instincts told him that something was off…

And then suddenly…

The air seemed to freeze, the sky went dark and everything stayed still, like in a picture, as if all the colors had been washed off from the world.

What was happening?

In the middle of the Goblin army, Vidio felt a huge pressure crush him, making it impossible to breathe. It was not the first time he had experienced something like that: the first time had been in the Congregation when…

An Immortal!

He looked up, trying to make out the source of all the commotion.

A middle-aged man with a muscular body and an unyielding gaze descended from the heavens. His slightly greenish skin was enough to recognize his race.

Shit, was likely to be the thought that flashed in everyone’s mind.

Everyone stood still, not daring to move.

The unyielding gaze swept guiltily on its men.

“This folly end now. Go back home”, a handful of words, but a tone that did not take no for an answer.

A crown of golden leaves was the symbol of the Immortal. It was him, Caesar …

The Immortal King of all Goblins!

What was such a big shot doing there in their stupid battle?

Caesar regarded the Goblin ranks with a furrowed brow.

“Damn you… How many brothers have you killed for a stupid game?” he whispered.

He lowered his head and muttered a couple of words with his eyes closed. He stretched his arms in front of him and rays of light descended from the sky, shining on everyone there.

You recovered 10.000 HP! All Maluses have been removed!

Everyone present saw the same two notification windows. Men or Goblins, all had been healed.

Caesar descended slowly and everyone held their breath. He landed in front of Pausan.

“Hello Commander. I hope you’ll give me face and stop the fighting. I think you did not suffer many losses, did you?”

Pausan stood there frozen for a few seconds, while the king stared at him, expressionless.

“Alrigh-”

“King!” shouted a Goblin. Everyone froze and Pausan was cut off in the middle of speaking. Caesar scowled and turned around to see who had dared interrupt that moment.

A burly Goblin was approaching. He was covered in wounds from head to toe and his eyes shone with a murderous Aura.

“They’ve butchered us, we died by the thousands. How can we end it like this? Why don’t you kill them all?!”

Caesar coughed, but to everyone it seemed as though the sky was falling down, with a deafening boom. The shockwave threw the Goblin Commander on his ass.

“I take full responsibility for everything. If you need to be mad at someone for your brothers’ death, blame me.” Caesar turned to the other Goblins and went on in a serious tone: “Brothers, I know you have suffered for my foolishness! Forgive me, let’s go home. Your king will escort you in person and, once home, you will be handsomely rewarded!”

The Goblin looked at one another. Some rejoiced, but most of them sulked in silence. Their king was there, but not to bring justice…

The corners of Pausan’s mouth slowly raised in a smile. Although an Immortal, that Goblin could not afford to offend the entire Nation.

But then everything froze.

Caesar turned suddenly around. He had sensed Pausan’s scorn. He gazed intensely at him, one eyebrow raised, and said: “Do you really believe I am scared? What a shame…”

Puff

Pausan vanished in a bloody mist, without a single sound.

The blood seeped through the earth. The men were standing there, their mouth gaping. The Goblin had killed their Commander just for smiling!

Caesar looked at the outpost, reached out one hand with the palm open. He flexed his fingers in a fist.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM

The outpost was destroyed in a few seconds, crushed by an invisible pressure. The fortifications had not lasted one second against that terrifying attack. The power of an Immortal could not be comprehended, only experienced.

Caesar reached out with the other hand, and…

Skill Activated:

War God Steel Palm

Half of the army got crushed by a giant palm that seemed to belong to some majestic and unattainable god. It had the same strength and resilience of steel, and had worked like a meat grinder. Desperation flooded the ranks of men. However, it looked like the king had scaled down his power on purpose, otherwise they would have all died in an instant.

Caesar had killed all the strongest men and now there were only a couple of real warriors left, besides some talented recruits. Now it was time to give his man a chance to quench their thirst for blood.

“Butcher them”, was Caesar’s categorical order to his men, who answered with a cheer.

“Caesar! Caesar! Caesar!”