The area of that damn spell is too big! Even though most of those hit were goblins, we still lost 17 soldiers... in an instant, Robert lost almost half of what was left of his troops. If any of these bastards reach the center of the village, we'll be evaporated. Robert seems to understand this point, as he leads the rest of his soldiers on an assault against the shaman.
I level up twice in this battle, receiving 4 attribute points, which I put two into magic, and one into agility and stamina. I activate my speed aura and leave the wolves to invest against the shaman. My increased speed and change of direction takes the riders by surprise, and one who was between me and the shaman ends up being cut in half along with his wolf.
[You killed a goblin rider level 07. You killed a giant wolf level 04]
[You leveled up]
I once again increase my strength and agility. My arm moves like a whip as I cut down anything that gets in my way. Robert and his men are intercepted by goblin riders, and the shaman begins to cast rays of fire from his staff, not caring who he hits.
Once I get close enough, my aura begins to affect the soldiers, giving them a much-needed boost to balance the battle. Robert advanced fearlessly in a shower of firebolts, smashing goblins and wolves with his electric hammer, breaking through the encirclement and coming face to face with the shaman.
One of the blind slaves begins to scream, its body illuminated by flaming runes. Smoke emanates from the creature as its agony intensifies, pincer-like arms emerge from its stumps and a long, trailing tail appears on its back, ending in a curved stinger. Extra limbs pierce the goblin's abdomen, turning into two extra pairs of legs.
Robert begins to tackle the mutated creature, which is still screaming in agony. I dive into the middle of the goblin riders, killing one more of them and wounding one of the wolves. I break through the encirclement after some effort and see Robert being beaten by the mutant... I ignore him and look for the shaman, who seems to be retreating. Curiously, the number of slaves has dropped considerably, leaving only three...
The steed reacts to my thought before it takes shape, firing furiously after the shaman. The sword in my hands glows in a pale light as it begins to change, and in less than a second it turns into a long spear.
The shaman turns towards me, and I see one of the slaves fall with a scream caught in his throat. The shaman's hands light up in a yellowish glow and a torrent of flames is thrown in my direction.
I activate the arcane shield, creating a protective barrier in front of us. I feel the scorching heat licking at my face and see the fragile barrier beginning to shatter.
The barrier drains my mana reserves and shatters, I feel the touch of fire on my body and then just the wind...
[You killed a goblin shaman level 13]
The shaman was pierced at the same time as the barrier shattered. His body was dragged until it was detached from the spear.
I hold the reins while the steed stops and turns towards the battle. Robert continues to suffer at the hands of the mutant, and his soldiers have been reduced to less than ten.
I aim at the mutant and charge... but something catches my steed, and I'm thrown to the ground. I hit my head on the ground and roll a few times before stopping.
[health: 20%]
The pain is so bad that I'm starting to see stars, and I may have lost consciousness for a few seconds, but I'm not sure...
I get up with difficulty and start looking for my weapon. Somewhere behind me, my steed neighs and nickers. A quick glance reveals that he's been caught in incandescent chains, and it won't be long before he's destroyed.
I'd be sad if I didn't have bigger problems to worry about. I retrieve the spear, just in time to see the hideous slaves with empty eye sockets approaching. I transform the spear back into the shape of a sword and position myself defensively.
Two shamans and their slaves stand around me, some of the slaves beginning to transform into the scorpion mutants from before. Chains move like metal snakes, creating a wide circle. The shamans are far from the slaves and far from each other...
"Why the hell are you so cautious? I'm not even that dangerous..." I mumble amidst the screams of agony. I take advantage of the few seconds I have to position myself correctly and choose my targets.
The black fire goes out, replaced by a pale silver glow. At the same time, the mutants finish their transformation.
The creatures advance, but a wave of silver light expands when I activate my sword's ability. Dozens of swords of light are created, falling like rain on the enemies. Unfortunately, they don't do any damage, but they do trap enemies for 3 seconds.
I lose half a second returning the sword to spear mode, the silver glow envelops my body, and I am transformed into a beam of light that moves at an absurd speed. It takes me a second to reach the first shaman and pierce his head, another second to kill the second shaman. Unfortunately, I'm too far away from the mutants, so I spend the remaining time turning the spear back into a sword.
The mutants are confused at not finding me, and I take the opportunity to spend the new attribute points I gained from killing the shamans, increasing my magic by two points and immediately bringing the steed back. I throw myself over the saddle and it starts to run as if my life depended on it. The mutants doggedly pursue me and I take the opportunity to draw them away from the battle.
I can see that Robert has finally killed his enemy and has reunited with the few survivors, undertaking a desperate retreat. Igor has advanced the defensive line, and he himself has led some soldiers to try to rescue Robert... None of them seem concerned about my fate...
The number of soldiers in my army has dropped to 14. Robert's force was practically annihilated, but he managed to greatly reduce the biggest threats, those being the wolves and the shamans.
By drawing the mutants away from the battle, I end up getting too far away and causing the village's defenders to lose the effect of my heroic ability, which caused the death toll to skyrocket.
After getting far enough away, I start running east and then back north, trying to prevent the mutants from returning to the battle.
It takes me a considerable amount of time to carry out this maneuver, and when I return the battle has become a big mess. The defensive line where I was standing has been broken, and the goblins have invaded the center of the village.
Any semblance of organization was lost, and the remaining defenders huddled around the square.
"How difficult is it for these bastards to hold their ground?" I shout angrily as I throw myself back into the middle of the battle. My presence brings with it the black flames, and with a thought I recruit as many people as I can.
[You've added soldiers to your army 200/200]
'Hmm... Foundation leveled up again?' My mind begins to wander as I cut down the slaves without opposition.
'With the shamans and most of the goblin raiders dead, why haven't these slaves escaped yet?
The humans regain the upper hand in the battle, yet continue to suffer losses. I move quickly through the enemy rearguard, killing dozens of goblins wherever I go. Until I reach the other side of the square, where I see Robert and Igor, as well as a few other soldiers, facing an abnormally large and muscular goblin. Tom is also there, using a spear. My approach puts them under the effect of the speed aura, and with a few more blows, the goblin is killed.
Finally, the goblins seem to slow down and, one by one, begin to flee. I breathe a sigh of relief and let the green tide recede unopposed.
Until two damned shamans appear out of nowhere, their blind slaves falling one by one as the yellowish glow grows rapidly. One of the shamans falls and the sphere of fire turns into a small sun. The last shaman looks at me with a fearsome smile, and his voice seems to echo in my head: "Nargoth is watching us... and he will remember!"
The shaman falls dead, and the small sun explodes in a cloud of fire that engulfs the entire village.
Before the first shaman dies, I begin to transform my sword into another form. In place of the long sword, a war mace appears, which begins to glow brightly.
As the last shaman dies, I fire towards the square, my gun emitting a blinding glow, enveloping all the allies within range in an aura of protection that I hope will be enough.
—---
During the previous dawn.
[Do you want to update this item?]
...
...
"Fuck it. Yes!"
[Scourge of fire (sacred)]
[You are in possession of a sacred item, you must offer it to a deity in order to use its Blessing]
[Rebel Light: The traitorous daughter, mistress of darkness and the stars, offers to bless your weapon]
[Do you accept?]
…
…
I look at the moonlight coming into the room and for a moment it seems to be more intense...
"Well, I've always had a certain fascination with the darkness of night and the stars, I'll give you that."
[Scourge of fire (sacred): A blade created from the bones of a lava giant, immune to fire and resistant to magic. Blessed by the Rebel Light
Transformation: can transform into four different forms, each form has an ability that can be used once per day. The number of uses increases by 01, every ten levels.
Sword form: summons swords of light that paralyze enemies for 3 seconds.
Spear form: transforms the bearer into light and can move instantly for 3 seconds.
Mace Form: creates an aura of protection that grants magic resistance to all allies for 3 seconds.
War hammer form: imbues the hammer with holy fire, which ignores defense and resistance (can be used 3 times a day)