Joseph leaped off the wind sphere, his body arcing through the air as he launched himself at the shaman.
His sword flashed in the moonlight, its blade biting deep into the magic circle protecting the shaman.
Clang!
The sound of steel meeting magical energy echoed through the air, the force of the impact sending Joseph stumbling backward.
As the shaman raised its staff, its tip glowing with malevolent energy, Jessica fired an arrow with fire trailing at its tip.
The arrow soared through the air, its flames burning bright as it struck the shaman's barrier.
BOOM!
The arrow exploded upon contact, the force of the blast sending Joseph flying backward.
He landed hard on one of the pillars, Grant's wind magic dissipating as he struggled to regain his footing.
Lucas gently dropped Katherine onto the pillar, her eyes locked onto the shaman with a fierce intensity.
Lucas then flew towards the shaman, his body surrounded by a halo of flames.
Whoosh!
The sound of his passage was like a comet streaking through the air, his flames burning bright.
This was a skill he had mastered under the tutelage of Zahara, who had taught him how to harness the power of fire to defy gravity.
At first, Lucas had struggled to control the flames, but with time and practice, he had grown accustomed to the sensation of flying.
As he flew towards the shaman, Lucas conjured lightning and fire on his fingertips, the crackling energy arcing through the air.
Crackle!
He shaped the fire and lightning combination into a bow, the plasma energy pulsing with power.
The surface of the bow rippled like the surface of a pond, its tip glowing with an intense, blinding light.
Lucas then shaped the plasma in his fingertips into an arrow shape, its tip glowing with an intense, blinding light.
With a swift motion, Lucas nocked the plasma arrow into his plasma bow, taking aim at the shaman.
Twang!
The plasma arrow launched at transonic speed, its passage marked by a trail of ionized air.
BOOM!
The plasma arrow hit the shaman's barrier, resulting in a massive explosion that shook the air.
When the smoke cleared, the shaman's barrier was cracked, its surface fractured like the shell of a broken egg.
Pieces of the barrier fell off, crashing to the ground with a loud Clatter!
The shaman's eyes narrowed, its face twisted in a snarl as it glared at Lucas and the others.
Determined not to give the shaman time to reconstruct its barrier, Lucas and Joseph charged forward, their blades at the ready. Lucas' sword was engulfed in flames, the fire crackling and spitting as he moved.
Joseph's sword, on the other hand, shone with a brilliant light, that pulsed with energy.
Viona joined the charge, her massive great sword slicing through the air with a deadly whoosh.
Jessica and Katherine stood back, their bows at the ready. They nocked their arrows, the strings creaking with tension as they fired at the shaman.
Thwip! Thwip!
The arrows shot through the air, their tips glowing with a fierce light.
Lucas and Joseph slashed at the shaman, their blades biting deep into the air.
The shaman barely avoided the attacks, its eyes darting back and forth as it searched for an opening. But just as it thought it was safe, the arrows struck.
BOOM!
The explosion was massive, the force of the blast sending Lucas and Joseph flying backward. They landed hard on the ground, their bodies rolling across the dusty earth.
As the smoke cleared, the shaman came into view. The explosion had badly injured it, but it was far from dead.
Before the blast, it had cast defensive magic on its own body, protecting it from the worst of the damage.
The shaman's eyes blazed with anger and annoyance as it raised its staff into the air.
A transparent magic circle with purplish runes etched on it hovered above the staff, pulsing with dark energy.
The shaman chanted and yelled, its voice echoing across the battlefield. "Vocatis Golem!"
Rrrrrumble...
The ground began to shake, the earth trembling as two massive monstrosities rose from the depths.
The golems were enormous, their bodies crafted from rough-hewn stone.
They stood at least seven meters tall, their eyes glowing with an otherworldly energy.
The air around them seemed to distort, as if reality itself was bending to accommodate their massive presence.
The shaman pointed its staff at Lucas and the others, its eyes blazing with malevolent intent. "Kill them all!" it yelled, its voice echoing across the battlefield.
The golems stirred, their massive bodies lumbering forward as they prepared to attack.
The golems moved, their massive feet pounding the earth and causing the ground to shake with each step.
The sound was like thunder, a low rumbling noise that seemed to grow louder with each passing moment.
Rrrrrumble...
The golems then chucked their hands into the earth, their fingers digging deep into the dirt and rock.
With a massive heave, they lifted a chunk of the earth and hurled it at the pillars and the ground where Lucas and Joseph were standing.
BOOM!
The boulder crashed to the ground, sending shards of rock flying in all directions.
The sound of the impact echoed through the night air, a deafening crash that seemed to shake the very foundations of the earth.
Lucas used lightning to launch himself out of the blast radius, his body a blur as he soared through the air.
Zzzap!
Joseph, on the other hand, immediately leaped into the air, his body arcing over the boulder as it connected with the ground.
Thud!
But the other goblins and even some soldiers who had been in range were not so lucky.
They were turned into paste, their bodies crushed beneath the massive boulder. Squelch!
The darkness seemed to swallow the sound of their screams, leaving only an eerie silence in its wake.
Viona then appeared before one of the golems, her great sword flashing in the faint moonlight.
She slashed at the golem with a mighty blow, the sword slicing clean through the arm of the golem.
Crack!
The golem's arm fell to the ground, but it immediately regrew, the new arm sprouting from the stump like a twisted, nightmarish miracle.
"Shit," Lucas thought inwardly, his eyes widening in surprise. This shaman was stronger than the average goblin shaman.
So far, it had been using spells that frankly, it shouldn't even have had access to, being a goblin and all.
Lucas then conjured fire and lightning, turning it into plasma as he rushed towards one of the golems.
The plasma glowed with an otherworldly energy, casting an eerie light on the surrounding landscape.
He immediately hurled the plasma at the golem's chest area, but a barrier covered it, inciting an explosion.
BOOM!
Lucas gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with frustration as he gazed at the golem, its massive body still standing despite the plasma blast.
The darkness of the night seemed to press in around him, the shadows cast by the moonlight twisting into grotesque forms on the ground.
He then looked up at the shaman, its eyes glowing with malevolent energy as it floated carefree, its staff weaving intricate patterns in the air.
The sound of clashing steel and the hum of magic filled the air as Jessica, Grant, and Katherine launched a fierce assault on the shaman, but it blocked their attacks with ease.
Clang! Clang!
"Eyes here, kid," Viona said, her voice low and urgent. "We have to take down the golems first, before we can help them."
She paused, her eyes flicking up towards the shaman, a look of concern etched on her face.
Then she turned back to Lucas, her gaze intense. "Can you use that plasma magic again?"
Lucas nodded, his mind racing with the implications. 'Shit. I'm running out of mana. I'm already down to just half of my total amount.' He thought inwardly, his heart sinking with the realization.
Meanwhile, Joseph and Viona had already begun fighting the golems, their movements swift and deadly.
Joseph raised his hands, and a burst of light energy erupted from his fingertips. A dozen light swords materialized, their blades shining with a pure, crystalline light.
Whoosh!
The light swords shot towards the golems, slicing through their massive bodies with ease.
The golems' bodies scattered, their stone limbs flying in all directions, briefly revealing a glowing red gem at their core.
But before the gem could be targeted, the golems' bodies began to regenerate, their stone limbs reassembling with a loud Clatter!
However, Joseph had been waiting for this moment. With a swift motion, he reached out and grabbed the one of the golem's stone core, crushing it in his hand with a loud Crunch!
The golem's body froze, its regeneration halted, as Joseph stood victorious, the red gem still glowing brightly in his hand.