"Captain Vizel there seems to be a stampede of low-tier monsters"
"Do we have any information regarding the source of this stampede?" Vizel asked looking at Hank.
Hank shook his head.
"No Captain, we have no idea where they came from nor where they headed to."
"All we know is that there is a large amount of monsters running towards Bergen."
From what I can tell they are moving quickly and without hesitation.
They seem to be heading straight for the center of town.
"I suggest that we move faster, we may not have much time until they reach Bergen."
"If we hurry, maybe we won't have to fight too many of them."
"Right you're right, let's get moving!" Lucian ordered and the group moved swiftly.
"Keep alert, and watch out for traps. If you spot a trap warn everyone else." Lucian warned the others.
'this doesn't seem to be a coincidence as soon as we leave for Bergen we find ourselves running into a stampede. Could this be a setup?..' Lucian wondered.
"Let's move to the forest 150 meters ahead of us and set a trap there we should be able to lure them into the woods instead of having to deal with them directly.
"We need to dig some holes so we can Separate the monsters from each other and slow down the stampede.
"Why do we have to separate the monsters? Won't that slow down our movement as well?" A soldier questioned.
"It might but I think we'll have fewer casualties this way. Plus, we can use the traps to kill off the stragglers of the group.
"Good point, let's split up and start digging."
***
'These guys sure are quick to react. Wonder if they know something we don't?' Lucian thought.
'Maybe, but I doubt it since it seems like everything is happening at once. And besides, if they did, wouldn't they have told us already?
'That's true. Well, either way, I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens next.'
Lucian smiled wryly as he watched the soldiers work.
'Well, whatever the reason behind all this chaos, I hope it turns out alright.'
Let's get back to work we need holes dug before sundown.
He turned to the rest of the team and nodded.
"Alright Everyone, let's keep working. We still have a lot of work to do before tonight."
"Thank you, Sir, we appreciate the help."
One of the soldiers bowed respectfully.
"Don't mention it, just doing my job. Now, get back to work.
Lucian planned to stop the monsters from advancing by digging makeshift holes that were 20 feet deep with wooden pikes stuck into them.
The wood would act as a barrier between the monsters and the people.
The pike's purpose was to slow down the creatures enough for the humans to catch up to them.
Once they reached the hole, the monster would become trapped and unable to advance further.
While the monsters couldn't move forward, the soldiers would be able to attack from behind them.
Hopefully, this tactic will allow the army to surround the beasts without taking losses.
***
A few hours later, Lucian stood in front of the troops.
"Okay, we've managed to dig quite a number of these holes, now all we have to do is fill them with wooden pikes so that the monsters won't be able to pass through them."
"Shouldn't we have used metal pikes?" One of the soldiers questioned.
"No, these pikes are sturdy enough, we can't just throw away our weapons and fight barehanded."
The soldiers looked surprised. They had assumed that all their equipment was expendable during a battle. But after hearing Lucian's reasoning, they realized that the commander's strategy made sense.
They started collecting pikes and placing them into the holes until all the monsters were surrounded by them.
At nightfall, the soldiers lined up along the edge of the forest waiting for the monsters to come their way.
Soon enough, the marching feet of the monsters echoed across the land they could be heard from miles away.
"Everyone take cover! We will wait till they pass the traps then take 'them out!"
All the men took cover behind trees and bushes. The monsters consisted of hundreds of Niktosh's they were wolf-like creatures that had 2 horns sticking out of their heads, a long snout, and sharp claws on all four feet.
These creatures were fast, agile, and deadly.
Lucian pulled out his great sword holding it with his two hands.
"Ready? Let's go!"
His group ran towards the line of monsters. As soon as they got close, the soldiers attacked the monsters with gusto.
Lucian swung his sword at the creature's neck, severing it clean off. The monster's body hit the ground hard.
"Go on!" Lucian shouted.
Another soldier did the same thing, cutting open a monster's chest.
The beast died instantly.
"Keep attacking!" Lucian ordered.
He noticed that there weren't too many of the "niktoshs" left and that the rest were being taken care of by the other soldiers.
"Alright, let's keep moving."
Lucian and his men advanced deeper into the forest. After a short while, they finally caught sight of a huge mountain ahead of them.
"Only target the ones that have left the stampede and are isolated."
The soldiers nodded and focused their attention on the lone wolves.
"Let's kill them quickly before they realize what happened."
Lucian charged at the nearest wolf with his sword held high above his head. Swinging his sword down aiming for the wolf that separated from the stampede.
The Niktosh dodged by side-stepping to the left. The Nibarely missing the tip of his blade.
Before it could recover, Lucian jumped forward swinging his sword. His great sword pierced through the wolf's torso causing it to fall to the ground.
Thud… thud… thud
Marching of the stampede of niktoshs could be heard echoing throughout the woods.
The soldiers stopped fighting and took cover behind trees and bushes.
"Hahahaha I'm so dead!" One soldier laughed.
"Don't worry, we're not done yet. Just hold on a little longer."
A loud roar shook the air as several dozen monsters appeared in front of the soldiers.
"Oh, crap..." one soldier cried.
"Well, looks like we won't be getting out of this alive…" Another soldier muttered.
One of the soldiers grabbed a bow and shot an arrow at a nearby monster. The monster's skin exploded covering its entire body in flames.
"That should do it."
"Good work," Lucian said to the soldier who fired the arrow.
I guess it's time to test out some magic… is magic heretical? Well, I'll deal with the consequences when we get out of here.
Lucian pulled his great sword back and held it horizontally pointing it upwards ready for use. He closed his eyes and concentrated.
Let's disguise this as Aura or whatever they consider a swordsman's will that's been put onto a sword… That's what people call it anyway.
The sword changed form as he poured his mana onto the blade to make it happen. The sword grew bigger and started glowing with a bright purple light.
Suddenly the weapon was covered by a black aura. It looked similar to what people used to describe a sorcerer's power. With streaks of black strands
Suddenly, the weapon was covered by black strands. It looked similar to what people used to describe as sorcerer's power, with streaks of black strands connecting all parts of the weapon together.
The sword itself appeared more beautiful than any he had ever seen before, it was perfectly shaped like a dragon had been trapped within it with sharp edges of gold, and scales of purple and black that glimmered in the sunlight. The sword had become even more powerful than before as it absorbed all of Lucian's mana.
A large black orb materialized at the hilt of the blade, the sword then began to glow with an intense light that lit up the entire area and sent shadows scattering.
A wave of darkness seemed to come from nowhere and enveloped the sword completely. Then Lucian felt something like electricity go through his body like an electric shock as his body began to heat up rapidly.
Lucian could feel his mana being drawn from his mana core. The mana poured into the blade. He felt the sword begin to change into a new form as it turned into a pure Blackened blade that shined brightly with cracks on the blade as if someone had tried to carve it with diamond.
The crack lines spread throughout the weapon until it looked like it was made from obsidian crystal. It was still glowing brightly, almost brighter than before now as if it were absorbing every photon of light within the area.
"What the hell…" One of the soldiers whispered.
I just need to live who cares about honour. Lucian thought well moving forward.
Lucian moved forward charging towards a monster that was running away from the stampede. It raised its hands in swiped its claws down toward him. But Lucian was faster, he lunged at the monster and thrust his black blade into its heart, cutting it into two halves.
"Cough... cough..." blood came out of Lucian's mouth, " just one attack with mana coating the blade did that to me I should try not to overdo it. Lucian thought while trying to lower the amount of magical energy that was coating his blade by returning it to his Circularly cores.
What remained of the mana that was on the blade was Minuscule compared to what Lucian had on it a second ago,
The blade slowly returned to its normal colour of grey, Lucian's mana was barely on the blade what remained of the mana that was on the blade was Minuscule compared to what Lucian just had on his blade a second ago.
Small black strings started to float off the entirety of the blade and disappear as the heat faded away leaving a normal-looking blade as it was before, the only difference that the great sword had between a normal blade was that it had a black-like strings of mana that was covering the blade from end to end.
"This will do just fine for now. Lucian said to himself as he turned around to face a group of niktoshs that were heading straight for him and his soldiers.
"Come on, move already…" a soldier said as he tried to run through the horde of monsters.
He got trampled by one of the monsters that was too large to pass through.
"Shit!"
"Run! Move!" Lucian yelled at his men to move and escape from the horde as fast as they could.
"Move! Run!" Lucian repeated as he ran away from the horde. The soldiers followed Lucian's lead while running as fast as they could.
They reached a small hilltop and looked out into the forest.
"We made it!"
"Thank god! Now we're safe!"
"Don't let your guard down yet!" Lucian yelled out to them as more monsters came chasing after his army.
The monsters quickly surrounded the group and charged towards them.
"Goddammit! They're coming from everywhere!"
"Get ready!" Lucian shouted as he readied his great sword.
"Now, fight like a man!"
The monsters attacked the humans as soon as they saw them.
One of the monsters swung its tail at the group. A soldier stepped back to avoid being hit, but the tail still grazed his arm leaving a deep cut. Another soldier rushed to help him and received several blows from the monsters. His shield broke under the pressure and the monster ripped open his chest and bit him in half.
Blood gushed out onto the ground.
A soldier was standing next to the fallen body. He stared blankly at the corpse before turning around and attacking the monster behind him.
"No!" the dead man screamed. "You bastard! You promised me! Don't leave me alone!"
His scream echoed across the battlefield.
Another soldier collapsed beside the dying man.
"Please, someone save me…" the soldier pleaded before passing out.
The monsters continued to charge towards the remaining soldiers.
"Everyone, fall back!" Lucian ordered his soldiers. "Fall back!"
"Where are we supposed to go? There are too many of them!"
"Just keep moving! Fall back!"
"We won't make it!" one of the soldiers cried out.
"Shut up! Keep fighting! Get up! Come on, you bastards, stop giving up! Fight!" Lucian roared as he slashed his sword against one of the monsters.
Lucian sliced the creature's neck with ease, but the monster didn't seem to care much about losing its head.
Instead, it used the severed part of its body to bite Lucian in the stomach, tearing into his flesh and causing blood to flow freely.
"Ahh!"
"Damn it! What a pain!" Lucian cursed as he stumbled backward.
He pulled his blade out from the monster's mouth and stabbed it in the eye socket.
With a loud crunch, the Niktosh finally died.
The rest of the Niktoshs kept charging forward
"Keep running!" Lucian shouted. "Go! Go!" Lucian kept running and swinging his great sword at anything that crossed his path.
The monsters chased after him until there was nothing else to run towards. The group turned around and ran into another mass of monsters. They charged forward, trying to get out of this mess before they were caught in a hopeless situation.
We need to lead all of them out of the forest into a barren land so we can fight the niktoshs since they keep using the forest as cover, I can't use any more magic, I probably put too much mana into my blade earlier without noticing, at most I have 20% of mana that's left in my core.
If I'm lucky I might be able to take out two or three of them but it'll cost me a lot. Lucian thought.
But there are like 50 of them left. Even if I do manage to kill some of them, I doubt I could hold off the rest of them for long.
Lucian took a look at his surroundings.
They had already passed through a forest and reached what appeared to be a wasteland. No trees or grass were growing anywhere. Everything seemed to be covered by a layer of dirt.
"Hey, Vizel" a voice called out to him.
"Who's there?!"
"Over here!"
Vizel walked toward the sound of the voice, and when he saw who it belonged to, he couldn't help but stare in awe.
It was a girl dressed in white robes, her eyes hidden under a pair of goggles. She held a spear in one hand and a large shield in the other. Her face was completely shrouded by the hood she wore.
"Hey we don't have time for this… huff huff… Lucian trying to get the words out of his chest said… I'm heavily injured and there should be 50 more Niktoshs coming here chasing after us can you help us?" Lucian asked.
The girl stopped walking and turned around, looking at Lucian with cold, dead eyes.
"No thanks."
She started heading away, leaving Lucian behind.
"Wait, wait, come on!"
The girl ignored him and kept walking.
"What did you say to me?" Lucian shouted angrily.
"I told you 'no' and that's final!"
The girl continued walking away, disappearing among the rocks.
"Come back!"
"Don't worry, I won't forget what happened."
With that, she vanished from sight.
Lucian stood there dumbfounded, staring into empty space.
Thud… Thud… Thud…
The footsteps of the monsters grew closer and louder.
"Get ready!" Lucian shouted.
A group of monsters jumped into view and Lucian readied himself. The monsters charged forward but were taken out by Lucian's massive great sword.
Lucian swung the great sword, taking off several heads in a single swing. The other monsters took advantage of the openings and rushed forward.
One of the niktoshs lunged at him. Lucian blocked it with his sword. A huge gash appeared across Lucian's shoulder and he let out a grunt.
Where did the rest of the soldiers go? Matter of fact where has Hank been this entire fight? Fuck it I'm using all of the mana I have left.
Lucian remembered a spell perfect for this situation it was a tier 1 spell that uses little mana but has a deadly side effect "Body Enhancement" This wasn't a spell that one could use unless they were prepared for the consequences as after 10 minutes of using this spell.
If the user no longer has enough mana left they will experience an extreme amount of pain muscle fatigue and the ability to move will be lost for a entire day. Lucian had done some research and knew that even if the user had the necessary mana, their body would start burning itself out until it eventually shut down due to exhaustion.
So I guess this is what happens when you push yourself too much. He was in hell! Every inch of his body felt like it was burning up from within.
This spell would only enhance the speed and strength of the user. 'With the mana I have left I will coat my blade with mana' Lucian thought well pouring his mana into the great sword. Black streaks of mana flowed out of Lucian's sword causing it to glow and turn black with cracks running across the surface.
Lucian swung his great sword down aiming for the neck of a niktosh, his sword made contact with the Niktosh but instead of going through the monster, Lucian's blade was stuck on its skin.
"What the fuck!?" Lucian exclaimed.
The blade didn't even go through
He tried pushing harder but it wouldn't budge.
"Shit! Shit shit, Shit!" Lucian cursed.
He was now unable to defend himself or attack his enemies.
A large group of niktoshs closed in on him, Lucian could barely move.
The Niktoshs circled Lucian waiting for the opportunity to strike, and sure enough one of them attacked Lucian headfirst, Lucian was helpless against the giant monster's charge, he couldn't block or dodge.
Why am I not able to damage these niktoshs they look the same as the other ones
He thought, confused.
They should have been weaker than the others but they aren't. Why do they keep hitting me with such force and how come they don't even have any injuries?
The Niktoshs charged at Lucian's stomach, he had nowhere else to go. It was going to kill him. There was a flash as something collided with the Niktoshs face.
Lucian saw a shadow falling towards him, but before he could see more something grabbed onto him from behind and pulled him away.
"Get off me!" Lucian shouted trying to break free.
The person holding him quickly released Lucian.
"Whoa!"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
A young man stood before Lucian, his eyes looking at Lucian with curiosity.
His short brown hair covered half of his face. His blue eyes were piercing and held intelligence beyond his years. He wore dark clothing and carried two swords on his waist.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"No..." Lucian replied.
"I'm sorry."
"What are you doing here?" The man asked
"I was ordered to go to Berden to investigate as it was said to have been captured… I was tasked by the military to investigate what happened there. There were initially only 100 or so Niktoshs but more of them showed up when we were fighting the stampede..."
Thud thud...
The sound of something being hit was heard
There was a young woman clad in armour with her blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, she wielded a longsword in one hand and a dagger in the other. She had a stern expression on her face.
She appeared to be in a heated battle against several niktoshs.
"I'll take care of that!" The girl ran towards Lucian and swung her greatsword at the Niktoshs face
Her greatsword made contact with a niktosh's cheek and sliced through its eye socket. The monster dropped to its knees with a loud cry.
The girl jumped over the beast and stabbed it in the stomach causing blood to flow out of the wound.
"I don't have time for this," She said well looking at the horde of Niktoshs. Suddenly massive amounts of mana began to gather around her
A bright light shone across her body followed by a flash as White flames began to engulf her, and then suddenly she disappeared as her mana surrounded her body, the niktoshs stopped attacking and backed away from her as they tried to get away from the white fire.
"What's happening?" Lucian looked up and saw the niktosh's that had attacked him earlier fall to the ground
Swoosh
The woman made one horizontal slash. Her blade had red steaks of mana oozing off the blade as it cut through flesh and bone alike slicing every part of the hoard of Niktoshs in half. Sending bits of their remains everywhere.
The ground was littered with their bodies as they fell to their knees and crawled away trying to escape the intense heat that had been cast upon them. The ground was cut in half as she swept her sword through the mass of creatures leaving nothing alive except for a pile of ash.
Her blade was now blood red it wasn't from the blood of the hoard of Niktoshs but the heat from the blade that had melted it from the inside out as if it were molten steel. Her sword had Red flames oozing off of it like lava spewing from a volcano as she moved forward the ground beneath her feet exploded into fragments of dust and debris as her foot landed on top of the remains of her previous enemies.
"What was that?" Lucian asked in awe.
"It is called 'Searing Blade' It allows me to turn my sword into a living flame that is capable of burning everything in its path."
"Wow..." Lucian muttered in amazement.
He noticed that there was smoke billowing from the area she'd destroyed,
"T-take me as your disciple… Lucian said well kneeling on the floor as tears began to fall from his eyes," I want to learn from you! "His voice cracked with emotion.
"…"