As soon as I gave Markus my confirmation, I called my goblin friends, Izz and Grer, to spring from behind and kill the forest ants. They killed eight ants simultaneously at every swing of their fist and sharpened stick, making their kill count more than the soldiers.
Markus and his platoon then dash forward and strike their blades at the napes of the ants rising from their nests. Some soldiers that have an aptitude for ice immediately cast an area of effect spell to eliminate the ant's abodes.
I, who stands at the centre, find my way towards the exorbitant height of an ant emerging at the back lines.
"There she is," I commented at the figure slowly creeping on the surface.
The antenna, shaped like a knife, undulates all over the ground, hitting both trees and the workers. Its mound first appears in front of me, gnawing over the piled dirt stuck between its head. Her body, scarlet and grey as ever, brings chills in my spine, making me want to run away.
However, because of the effects of the passive skill, [unrivalled], I stand my ground and wield my hand, preparing an arcane strike. Soon, showers of liquid gradually gather towards my hands, ready to discharge at any moment. After waiting for the ultimate moment, I aim my water ball directly at the mount of the ant, hitting her with extreme speed and precision.
As the water bullet lands on its target, the Queen ant emits a fiery wall of flame in front, blocking the simple spell. As I witness the entire scene, my past trauma haunts me yet again.
Fire. One of the crudest and popular basic yet powerful elements seen back in my world. A mage must be capable of mastering the embers as their first spell, but that theory does not apply to me.
The same red blaze had killed my parents and turned them into dust. I have neither seen their body nor the origin that the fire had come from.
Seeing the ant capable of producing flames sent me back from the ground, nearly pissing my goblin cloth. I could do nothing but stare at her ominous presence, letting alone a fireball coming at my way.
"Dodge!" I yelled inside my head, hitting my legs with the force of what's left inside of me.
But, alas, my body did not respond.
I closed my eyes and accepted my fate, knowing that I cannot defeat the fire who murdered my family.
"Three, two, one…"
I counted the time and expected my defeat, but only heard a loud but confident voice on my fore.
"Barricade!"
Grer's voice reverberates through the woods as he shouts out a spell meant to create a formidable wall. Suddenly, a panel made with dirt, stones, and soil rises beneath our feet and obstructs the circular ember.
A cheerful hurrah accompanied the event after completely occluding the attack of the Queen ant.
"Are you alright?" Grer utters while offering his hand for me to grab hold.
I welcome his actions whilst giving him my gratitude for saving my life. Grer nods his head in acknowledgement and asks me to stay focused amidst the battlefield.
It was dumb for me to space out, let alone frightened within the clash. My phobia will get the better of me if I would take caution, and worse, it may kill the rest of the people with me.
"That was pathetic of me," I said while casting another set of water bullets in the ready. "Thank you, my friend, for showing up for me."
I knew that this alternative world is the reality that I must live on. There is also a possibility, says the deity himself, that I can meet with my family once I have accomplished his given missions. But, for now, we need to deal with this Queen and her armies while saving the two ladies behind.
Pushing off my fear aside, I hurdled my orb and fired once more at the insect's eyes, adding more pressure and power to my spell. I do not understand how arcane manifests inside of me, but it feels like second nature to cast spells using my head. All I need to do is to virtualise the size, velocity, angle, and the properties of the spell and cast them as if it was nothing.
The second that the water ball hits the target, two nimble workers rush to our flanks, enclosing us with their normal size fireballs.
I, who already expected this occurrence, twirls the rain of water and consume the blazing sphere in an instant. In a result, a thick mist enveloped our surroundings, creating a more arduous environment.
However, somehow, I could uncomplicatedly see through the fog with the clear shadows of my enemies.
"Can you see them?" I throw a question to my friend, Grer, who is coincidentally running in my direction.
"I couldn't! But I see you. " He replies while swaying his wooden stick from back and forth.
"Izz Izz and the others alright?" I remember Therese and Clare running away from the scene together with some elite guards.
"She is with them," Grer answered while tapping my shoulder, affirming my position.
After having a good grip on our situation, I motion Grer to follow my lead. Simultaneously, the sky blue screen pops up on my head, showing me I unlocked a new skill during the process.
-Unlocked Skill
[Mystify]-Creates a thick fog that disrupts the sense of sight of living organisms. {Arcane consumption 5} The mist lasts for three thousand six hundred seconds {one hour}.
-Unlocked Skill
[Mystify]-Passive skill. Negative effects of mists will not affect you and your party.
After a while, Grer states that his vision slowly reverts to normal. He also mentions that he feels extra lithe, unlike from before. I explain the situation to him and tell him I have an arcane that negates negative effects such as fear and debuffs.
"We better hurry," I insisted and locate the Queen's position and strategise a plan to face her head-on. I also mention that we need to grab the Queen's attention and lure her away from the battlefront to minimise the casualties.
"I will use ranged attacks while you sneak her from behind and find an opportunity to strike," I instruct Grer, and he simply agrees.
Moving to our aim, we swiftly sprint towards the largest ant and witness the terrifying scene.
We were already too late to drag the Queen away from the battlefield. It split each of the soldiers who have faced the overwhelming monster into half, if not, died for getting squashed. By chance, the survivors we see are all curling on the corner, crippled and unwilling to move from their post. Markus and I could not blame them for their actions, as our feet can nearly stand the strength of the army of ants before us.
"This Queen is too strong," Markus, who exhibited immense power, complains about the difference of strength. Despite the fog ruining his senses, they cannot fool his eyesight as he continues to slash the mighty insect.
I checked my status and tried inviting Markus to join my party, but my efforts were in vain. The screen tells me that there are only a few people that I can include in my party-specifically, four members.
Advancing to our plan, Grer and I rush into their aid and aggro the attention of the boss monster.
Looking at my arcane, I can roughly cast them more water balls, which was my limit.
Grer, on the other hand, deals with the rest of the worker ants while pussyfooting his way at the Ant Queen's side.
"Markus, once we kill the Queen, the worker ants cannot fight us head-on!" I shouted on the top of my voice and reached out to Markus. In spite of living in this world for a few days, the Queen Ant is the leader amongst their colony. Once the Queen gets killed, so will the rest of the workers. They need to replace the Queen ant that they have lost. Thus, retreating to where they belong.
Somehow, Markus places his trust in my decisions and zooms in between Grer and me. With the last arcane remaining in our arsenal, we will finally end this war.
The soldiers continue to sustain the fiery blasts that the Queen Ant emits, forcing themselves to conjure protective barriers and ice simultaneously. While watching their magic, I mimic their movements and attempt creating an ice element of my own.
"Freezing temperature of the water is ice!" A sense of glee escapes my mouth as I witness a successful icicle shard appearing on my hand.
The length of my snowy spear reaches for about the size of a ruler, reaching about twelve centimetres of its proportions. The tip could, at least, impale silver, judging by its texture and hardness.
However, there was only one thing to find out; and it needs practical results to confirm it!
"Incoming!" I warn everyone to move out of the way to the hasten the popsicle hustling across the transparent mist.
As soon as the cold bar hits its head, without delay, the Queen immediately perishes. Even Markus, who was about to jolt out from his ground, could not believe his eyes from the superior strength of a single, basic, and simple spell that I just copied a while ago.
Confused, I fired once a more single icicle spear for good measures, but my efforts ended up futile.
"It's already dead!" says the grumpy Grer who was eager to butt heads against the robust insect.
The workers, as expected, slowly realise their situation and withdraw from the battle. Nobody on their side could organise their attacks, and the death of their Queen dissolved their morale as a group of insects.
At long last we won the battle. Cheers of the brave knights who fought their way with us raise their bastard swords. Everyone is merry, and the mortality is few.
We found five of the elite knights dead on the soil, torn into half while others had their faces distorted. If not for their plate armours, then Markus cannot identify their faces.
Markus' attendant scribbled down in his notebook the statistics and what had happened during the event; including us goblins, helping their stand.
Markus then turns his head over to my side and greets me enthusiastically as Grer and I defeat Queen Ant.
Moments later, the two prominent ladies appear on the rear, accompanied by the elite knights and Izz.
They were all bathed with the same occult blood, dyed with the colour of scarlet and obsidian stains. But they did their part and protected the two women, considering the amount of bloodshed within their hands.
Upon seeing our faces, Izz runs forth towards our fore and embraces us with the last energy she has left. The moment our bodies collide on the ground, a deafening snore echoes in my ears.
"There goes the two of them," I commented while gently placing their dozing bodies on the riled up leaves.
Therese and Clare offer a helping hand and good cuddle with the rest of the injured team.
"Lake," Markus calls out my name and flashes me an old man's smile on his face.
I return his grin and slightly lower my head. In public, they must have advised everyone to show respect to the King-especially with these soldiers around.
However, Markus' hand rummages inside his belt and offers me a pendant of some sort for me to wear.
On his palm, there is a crest with a lion's face engraved on the stone. The details of the animal felt too real for me to discern and majestic at the same time. I turn my eyes and face him, astonish on what to do or reply.
"I hereby announce you as my loyal knight and Viscount to the Kingdom of Felis!"