Chương 78: Book 2 Chapter Fourteen: Siege Relief

FOURTEEN Fire washed over the ground that Roan had just been occupying. He threw himself forward in another roll as the shaman's scream of rage mingled with the battle. A goblin drew too close, eager to whet its blade on his blood. Roan swatted it out of the way with his warhammer as he rose smoothly to his feet. The shaman decided to forgo offense for defense and a shield of fire sprang up around it. Roan ignored the shaman and began to slaughter its guards.

Without the element of surprise the goblins were easy prey for him and within moments all five remaining goblin guards were dead.

"Issue with turtling up. Eventually you have to come out. That or remain useless," Roan said casually to the mob. He circled the creature and used the movement to spy on how everyone else was faring. Moira and Darren had darted through the hole in the attacking horde with speed. Darren was a nightmare with a sword, knowing where everything was at all times, he seemed to also know where they'd be. He'd begin an attack and a goblin or troll would just seem to walk into it." Lacks power to kill though.

A skilled precision fighter, regardless." Moira just followed in his wake, her spear flashing now and then to finish anything that got too close to them. They hit the ladder and Darren ran up it without using his hands, still wielding his sword as he cut apart goblins. They landed on the ramparts and tossed the ladder to the ground before disappearing. Harris was further off, fighting another shaman and having managed to somehow break its shield.

Whatever his bloodline was, it was strong enough to break the shield, or fast enough to get into the shaman's face before the shield came up. Taoya had disappeared. How the mountain of a man could manage to make himself disappear was a mystery he'd have to explore later. He'd be waiting for a hob if it showed up and that was all the reassurance Roan needed.

"Come on, drop the shield and let's get this over with. I have other horde monsters to kill," Roan taunted the shaman which hadn't moved a step. Its head tracked him as well as it could, twisting this way and that. The fire was beginning to wane, flicker here and there as if it was running out of mana." Careful of a trap. But be ready to strike." There was a predatory edge to his thoughts as he lifted the warhammer, ready to get into the ranks of the trolls and start breaking them.

They might regenerate, but his methods of breaking them had been rewarding him well. The fire flickered again and Roan lunged. He let the warhammer slide free of his hand and sail across the space between him and the shaman. Light flared as the shield rose up again and the hammer was deflected to the side, but the shield burst with a pop of sparks. Roan scooped up a goblin's dagger off the ground and threw it with casual ease. The little things weren't well balanced, but with how close he was, it didn't matter.

The obsidian blade sank into the shaman's chest. It blinked at him slowly, looking down at the knife handle sticking out from its bony sternum. Roan stepped forward and snapped the handle off, jerking the blade sideways and opening the wound up. Blood gushed up and over the shaman's raggedy clothes as its knees folded and it sank to the ground. If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Told you, one way or another," Roan said as he took the shaman's casting stick from it and pushed it to the ground. Harris had finished his shaman off and this side of the battlefield was now clear of the casters. Bolts of magically fueled fire still launched from the other sides of the village, but the main thrust had been gutted.

"Still no hob!" Roan shouted over toward Harris who nodded before bending over and wiping his blade off. The movement saved his life as a glaive swiped through the air at neck height. Harris was skilled, throwing himself to the side instantly as the hob materialized out of the darkness.

"Bout time," Roan grumbled as he reached down and picked up his warhammer in his offhand. Harris had managed to get to his feet as the hob fell upon him, the long polearm dancing in a blur. Sparks rose from where Harris parried, but it was apparent he was outmatched. Roan ran toward them, tossing the shaman's staff off to the side as he grabbed the long handled hammer in both hands. He wouldn't get there soon enough, Harris was already staggering as he foolishly tried to block an overhead blow rather than parry it.

The hob leaned in sensing the kill, the entirety of its attention focused on Harris. Lightning blasted outward as Taoya arrived, his hand burst through the hob's chest, clutching the creature's heart. A force moved out from around Taoya's arm and the hob's body exploded in a wave of gore that didn't touch Taoya. Harris was coated in blood, bone, and various organs though.

"Sorry about that, bit more power to it than I thought," Taoya said with a rueful smile. Roan slowed down as the big man looked at the heart and grimaced.

"The last one kept talking about eating our hearts, thought it might be a clue. I'm not eating this though," Taoya said with a grimace, tossing the pulped organ off to the side and waving his hand back and forth to get the blood off.

"Could have been a warning about mana cores? More powerful creatures could have them?" Roan said as he turned back to the battle. Their entire section was collapsing now that the shamans were dead. The trolls were too dumb to take command and without the covering fire, mobs and defenders had risen back up to the top of the walls and were throwing the goblins back.

"That's a good thought. They didn't have one though. Maybe the shamans do though?" Taoya mused as he looked over at the dead bodies. He winced and looked down at his hand.

"I really need a better way of killing those guys," he muttered.

"Yeah. With less splatter preferably," Harris muttered. He was busy trying to wipe his face clear of the black blood and whatever else had coated him.

"My bad man. Needed to end it quick before he split you in two. You good?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Bit humbled by how much stronger it is than I am. We need to prioritize mana cores as soon as possible," Harris said.

"Mana cores and not your bloodline?" Roan asked. As a recent recipient of a bloodline, he was curious why it was Harris wanted the mana core over his own bloodline strengthening.

"Need a proper body tempering before I try to strengthen my bloodline. A mana core will help with that," Harris explained. Taoya grunted in agreement.

"Alright, I'm good. Let's keep hob hunting," Harris said.

"We'll rotate around the edge. It's good credits, that's for sure," Roan said, throwing his hammer over his shoulder.

"You're all so bloodthirsty," Taoya said with a laugh, but he cracked his knuckles and started jogging around the edge of the forest toward the closest knot of shamans.