Ukur sat on the ground as he tended to his apprentice, Shmeija, who had been healed sufficiently, but not to the best degree. He couldn't afford to give him a full treatment when they were in the middle of a war - even if there was currently a ceasefire.
He gazed at Vijak who wore a look of disdain and triumph, no bits of mercy traceable on his visage.
The situation had devolved into this and he couldn't do anything about it. The goblins that were dead on the ground, killed by arrows, swords, poison or all of the above made him grimace and wonder if what he had done years ago had been worth it in the end.
Was trying to flee from the short-lived and doomed nature of the goblin existence a bad thing? Was fighting for a better life in this forest, in this world, the wrong thing to do?
It became apparent to Ukur that his face reflected his sorrow when Vijak answered to it.
"You believe that goblins are a cursed existence, right? You used to babble on and on about it ever since we were back in the swamp. Which do you feel more strongly about? That we are a bigger threat to ourselves, or that because we are all very low on the food chain, we are destined to be swallowed up by something stronger?"
This question did not impede Ukur's thoughts from reaching dark places. Yet, he already had an answer for it.
"Both are equally true. As someone who has lived both lives in and out of the swamp, I can safely say it's a miracle that I'm still alive right now. However, I'd still make the choice to flee from that hell and into this one any day."
Vijak narrowed his eyes.
"Aren't people like you who go on to steal what belongs to others the very disease that makes the swamp such a terrible place?" he asked with a deep frown.
Ukur did not respond, his gaze hovering over his apprentice.
"Don't pretend to be righteous! At the end of it all, we are all born selfish! Whether you do something vile for yourself or your clan, you still leave someone in a worse position! That's nature! You're not the hero who left to save his clan, you're the goblin who sacrificed a hundred lives for another hundred! Just like me! Just like all of us!" Vijak suddenly burst, saliva spraying from his mouth as he screeched.
Ukur once again did not reply. He merely kept looking at Shmeija who began to open his eyes.
The goblin saw his master's face and recalled what had happened prior to his loss of consciousness.
"Master... you were right... I should... have been... patient," he said with a bitter expression.
Ukur merely grimaced.
Vijak stood, his expression ferocious. He disregarded the thought of waiting for his goblins to return and decided to end this long feud right here.
He had waited for so long.
For revenge.
And it burned at his soul to see his enemy pretend as though he was going out for a just cause.
As though Vijak was the villain.
The Black Scorn Clan leader gathered his mana and prepared to finish Ukur once and for all.
"Let's end it! Like it has always been! Goblin on goblin!"
Ukur looked at Vijak, realising that there was no way he was avoiding this fight. The hazy figure of an old goblin appeared, hovering above him as he prepared to fight as well.
The resolve from both sides was thick and radiant in the night.
However, something even more radiant appeared.
It emerged unannounced.
Unexpected.
Unwelcome.
A lean pillar of orange fire sprang within the forest outside the goblin settlement. Its light was quite bright, highlighting everything with its overbearing luminance.
The trees hindered some of its grandeur from reaching Ukur, Vijak and the others who were almost a hundred meters away and down the slope in the ravine, but each of them felt something that made them lose their will to fight.
A vast amount of mana!
The pillar of fire that was in the shape of a slit, suddenly flickered as if it was going to fizzle out, repeating the cycle multiple times while the goblins held their breaths.
Then...
It shone bright and expanded outwards with immolating beauty.
A grand, fiery blast that erased the vegetation wherever it passed without any resistance.
The fire spread outwards in a massive circular radius that moved at quick speed!
Ukur saw the trees, grass and even the ground disappear as the fire approached. He breathed out an exasperated sigh and felt strength leaving his body.
Vijak also had a similar feeling. The light of rage in his eyes died down before the unrelenting might of the truly powerful existence that had brought down unwarranted, undeserved judgement.
He looked at Ukur and wore a grimace before he had his last thought.
'You were right in the end... A cursed existence.'
The expanding radius of scorching flame descended down the slope and went on to sweep the remnants of the goblin settlement, ending the lives of the goblins that watched on hopelessly.
Master and apprentice.
Enemy and friend.
No one was spared.
The fire devoured the water in the river next to the settlement before it stopped spreading and then, it died down immediately.
Only billows of smoke and a dark land with spots of crackling orange remained.
From where the fire had originated, a lone, human figure stood, heaving as he then knelt on the ground from exhaustion and pain.
***
Shirota was winning.
The boar and its rider were suffering wound after wound from his constant and careful movements as well as sword strikes!
He swung his sword to remove the blood, his eyes focusing on the panting Gu'Smashka who was grunting while wielding his battle-axe.
The weapon had done him no good against such an opponent and the reason he was even standing right now was because he had a tenacious build.
The boar was grunting and snorting, anger brimming within its body in the form of a flickering, red energy. Gashes and wounds were all over its body, staining its hide.
It was frustrated after having failed to get the agile and smart Shirota with its skill, [Dead End].
Now, its mana had run out and it didn't have its strongest and only weapon against a Tier 2 opponent.
Shirota maintained caution.
As a Mist Swordsman, he had an advantage anywhere a potent source of moisture could be found. This was why he had been so overbearing during the fight in the goblin settlement.
He was usually confident even without a source of water nearby as he could absorb moisture from the air with his First River Dance and coalesce it around his blade for added damage.
Moisture was not quite as prevalent here, unfortunately, therefore he had been quite careful with his moves and now they had paid off.
He was confident he could finish off Gu'Smashka as well as the remaining orcs that had shockingly been able to overpower the goblins despite being outnumbered.
Whatever. These goblins weren't really his allies so he didn't care.
The death of Tikika was more reassuring to him than his life.
A bright flash of light suddenly spawned from where he and the other goblins had come from.
Shirota and all the other creatures turned and marvelled at the phenomenon, watching the bright light turn into a fire that burned fiercely and expansively before dying down abruptly.
Shirota's heart skipped a beat.
'Ukur... Shmeija!' he thought before he sheathed his saber and raced in that direction, hope propelling his body.
Gu'Smashka breathed out as he lay down his axe. In his mind, what was happening there could either be really good for him and his orcs or really bad.
Whichever the case, he didn't want to know or stay behind to find out.