“Die, you bastard!”
It was Gary who yelled this time.
He’d been strangely quiet ever since the battle started, as opposed to earlier battles against the weaker kobolds where he’d been very vocal. Who wasn’t quiet? Everyone was worried about their life all the while as others died instead.
My heart sank as a purple kobold appeared, then another, and another. Twenty. Thirty. Fifty. Hundreds of small gray kobolds appeared out of nowhere next and robbed all hope of having a chance with their arrival.
The kobold boss whirled on the two men, swiping its spear at them. Gary and Kang almost bumped into each other but put up their weapons at the same time and barely managed to deflect the long weapon above their heads. I felt for my gladius, grabbed the hilt, and activated << SPIKE >>.
Damage Notification:
You have inflicted 374 damage to Kobold Lord.
Critical Hit!
You have inflicted 62% Defense Debuff.
Horrendous pain shot up through my arm as I held the sword steady and used the skill. It struck the boss’s elbow and deflected. I let go of the shorter sword and pushed myself up using the nodachi.
<< SLASH >>
The nodachi sang as it shot out and struck the forearm, leaving a red afterglow. A deep gash appeared on the limb, and blood started seeping from the wound, trickling through the shield and falling to the ground.
The boss looked down at its arm and then in front of it where the blood trickled. Its eyes moved between the arm and the blood before they finally settled on me. It opened its mouth and grinned at me as the spear dropped from its hand.
I darted backward, once, twice, three times to create some distance. I gasped for air and tried to focus, but then I saw where I stood. A puddle of blood lay beneath my feet. I closed my eyes for a brief instant as I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists. Why the hell was this happening again? Why was I—?
My train of thought was halted abruptly when two arms grabbed me from behind and Melina leaned into me. She was sobbing and whispering something in my ear when a strange warmth enveloped me. Her skin quickly lost all its warmth, and she almost became ice cold, shaking madly and gasping for air.
“Hey, what the hell are you doing?” I demanded. “Melina!”
I finally managed to pry her hands off me and turned to face her as most of my power returned. Her face was deathly pale and her breath was frosty. That wasn’t good. Her Enma reserve was barely existent.
“E… enough d… death. Kill… it,” she whispered.
“Damn it, woman! What the hell did you do?”
Kang’s cry rang out from behind me. I needed to make a decision, either try to help her or help the others. Beads of sweat ran down my forehead as I knelt next to her and our eyes met.
“Go, p… please.”
I growled and did the only thing I could do. I turned around and sped off as a majestic thunderbolt struck the boss’s head. It stopped moving for a second, but then turned again and lashed out at Scar. The three men hitting the monster from all sides stopped attacking and scattered as a second bolt struck the kobold lord. Every strike sent dozens of the smaller kobolds flying and exploding amidst their kin.
“Mark! Time?” I yelled as I closed the distance with the creature. The nodachi was on my right side, hovering mere inches above the ground.
“Seven seconds and no more ammo!”
“What?” I hissed. “You’re joking, right?”
“This is my last bullet!” Mark yelled. “This thing is huge! Can’t expect me to have infinite ammo!”
I groaned inwardly and bared my teeth at the air around me. “Once you take the shot, go protect the women!”
The three men were fighting for all they were worth, and the last remaining elite was almost down. Good, soon we’d have some more backup. We just needed to last long enough.
Sandro and Scar attacked from one flank while Gary and Kang attacked from the other, but they were being pushed back steadily by the boss’s long reach.
“Use your skills! Now!” I ordered. “Use whatever you got!”
Scar released one last thunderbolt and jumped on the black kobold’s back, gnawing at the nape of his neck as Sandro’s naginata glowed and crashed into the kobold’s side, only to be followed by two more hits. I looked around for my gladius, but I couldn’t see it amidst the dust and debris. Whatever. I’d have to make do with the nodachi.
The kobold tensed its legs and jumped straight into the air. I narrowed my eyes on it to see what it was doing, but it just floated there some hundred feet above the ground.
“Hey, what’s it doing?”
“Gathering power,” Scar wheezed. “I’m spent but can still—feel the Enma gathering around him.”
“Everyone! Pull back and spread out. We got a good chance to survive if it targets only one of us!”
Before we could make it far enough, the bastard dropped straight down and sent out a wave of Enma in every direction. The grays and purples exploded in a fine mist of ash and knocked us in every direction. The remaining elite’s shield finally broke, and it staggered, dropped, and fell over dead.
Boom.
The last shot sounded muffled as my ears rang, but the bullet flew straight and cut through the blast wave with ease. At least what remained of it at such a distance.
I got up and shook myself as I ran, grabbing the nodachi’s hilt with both hands. The projectile finally struck and exploded against the shield. It shimmered a bright orange and then turned into a light red.
<< SLASH >>
The nodachi flashed across the same arm I’d struck earlier as I used the last of my Enma. The blade passed through the shield and cut the arm deep. Blood gushed from the wound, and the boss stepped back and just stood there, staring down at it. I was lost for a moment as my mind tried to process what was going on. Why was the creature just standing there?
Scar slammed into the back of its leg and bit down while clawing at the other.
“What are you waiting for?” he hissed in my mind. “Attack the thing!”
Mark was there with his spear. Instead of protecting the women, he started stabbing the wounded arm. The kobold boss put up its good arm to defend against the onslaught of attacks.
“Not today, motherfucker!” Mark cackled as his spear started glowing a bright purple mixed in with streaks of blue.
The spear shot back and darted out, crashing into the monster’s left wrist. Blood spurted all over the spear and Mark’s hands, but he wasn’t done yet. The spear shot back a second time and then slammed into the arm a dozen times before I could even understand what was going on.
Kang and Gary were there again and used their own skills as I hacked at the back of its leg. The black brute wobbled as it tried to protect itself and toppled over onto its side. I looked around for the gladius and finally spotted it near Sandro. I dashed over, grabbed it by the hilt, and ran back. The boss was just about to push itself up again when I jumped on its chest and pulled the gladius back.
The short-sword crackled with all my anguish and hatred as it dropped down against the boss’s neck and pierced the tough skin, then came out on the other side and got stuck in the gravelly ground.
Damage Notification:
You have inflicted 197 damage to Kobold Lord.
Critical Hit!
Its arm and legs flailed around and tried to go for the gladius, but Kang and Gary grabbed the remaining arm and pulled at the limb with all their weight and power. Mark joined in and slammed the tip of his spear through the hand, pinning it to the ground.
The thrashing became weaker and slower as more blood seeped from numerous wounds. I pulled the gladius out and brought it down one last time, driving it into its mouth.
Damage Notification:
You have inflicted 114 damage to Kobold Lord.
You have killed Kobold Lord.
Notification:
HIDDEN QUEST COMPLETED:
Acquire Achievement System
> ACHIEVEMENTS UNLOCKED:
How to kill a Boss? (Level 1): Killed 1/5 Boss rank monster for Level 2
REWARD: +50 Physical Attack, +20 Defense
Rift Owner. (Level 1)
Own 1/5 zones inside the rift for Level 2
REWARD: +200 Health, +50 Enma
Bloodbath! (Level 1)
Kill 500/2500 Monsters in total for Level 2
REWARD: +20 Attack, +10 Enma Attack
The kobold lord finally stopped thrashing around, finally dead. I dropped off the side and lay on my back, staring up at the shimmering dome.
“Viktor!” Melina screamed from the other side of the place.
I turned my head around and smiled as I saw her run toward me. Her hair was loose and danced behind her as she moved. My angel, my life. She’d healed me using her own life power and Enma, and there she was again, still moving. But her face wasn’t one of joy, it was of pure horror.
The dome shimmered behind her just as a third man appeared. Two already stood there, all people I didn’t know. And then another and another. My eyes went wide in horror as I saw the smirks on their faces.
“The Green Dragon sends his regards!” The lead man laughed.
Melina stopped and turned around just as the group of men cut into the remaining women without an ounce of regret on their faces. I froze. I wished I could say that I swept in and saved them all, but I didn’t. I couldn’t move from the sheer horror that came over me.
“Stop gawking, you idiot! Do you want her to die?” Scar hissed in my mind. “Give everyone a crystal if you want to live and kill them!”
I felt an intense shiver run down my spine as I picked myself up and grabbed a handful of crystals from the pouch, turned toward the group of remaining men, then threw them their way.
“Absorb them as you run!” I snapped as something took over.
They weren’t listening to me, and I doubt they even heard anything I said as they watched the scene play out. The newcomers were taking their time and even let Sarah run several steps before they gave chase. Scar appeared out of nowhere and jumped into their midst. I clenched my hands around the two crystals and closed my eyes. I wouldn’t make it in time anyway, but if I gave him enough Enma to work with?
A thundering boom resounded in the closed space and was followed by the screams of the dying. My eyes shot open as the crystals cracked and withered in my hands. I grabbed my nodachi and ran past Melina toward the bastards who still stood on their feet. Scar was nowhere to be seen. He must have exploded, using all available Enma to give me the opening. Melina stopped running and turned to follow me. I was just about to snap at her when she stopped next to Sarah and took the baby from her.
“Kill them, Viktor!” she yelled over her shoulder. “Kill them all!”
I would have been the happiest man in this world if the situation were any different, but this was the darkest day of my life. No, of both my lives. I lost everything and everyone. I could feel more movement behind me and then felt the others catch up with me as something pushed me back and stopped me in my tracks. I dropped to my knees as an intense pain gathered within. Why did I stop? Why wasn’t I moving to attack?
I looked down at my arms and my chest. Blood gushed from a gaping wound in my gut. I couldn’t believe what was going on. From where? How did… why? Why wasn’t I able to protect them? Why did this shit keep happening?
I looked up slowly and saw the men flashing past me, and then I noticed him. A short, rail-thin man standing to the side with a sniper rifle in his hands. It was cold. So cold. Power left my body no matter how hard I tried to keep it inside.
I gasped for air as a pair of hands tugged at my arm. The soft hands pulled me over, and then I saw her kneeling next to me. Melina. Tears rolled down her cheeks and landed on my face. Salty tears as cold as ice.
Her hand went for my pouch. I didn’t see what she pulled out before I felt her place two crystals in my hands and close my fingers around them. Her hands pressed down on my gut just as her body was enveloped in bright, green light. A wave of relief washed over me and put me in a state of bliss. All pain was momentarily gone, but I could still feel it. The hole inside my chest, and the bullet burning deep inside me.
I smiled up at her smudged face. All the mascara and eyeliner ran across her cheeks and the corners of her eyes. My head moved on its own, and my eyes roamed the entrance. Gary, Mark, and Kang were the only three left standing on one side, and seven others on the other. I grinned as I saw the little bastard who shot me with the sniper rifle lay in a puddle of blood.
Melina’s hands pulled my head back to face her. She was saying something, but I couldn’t hear anything. Yes, I could read her lips. Her expression turned strange as she saw my eyes widen. Sandro stood above her, holding the naginata in a position to strike.
“I accidentally overheard you telling him to kill me, sis. That wasn’t really nice of you after all I’ve done for you.”
Melina closed her eyes and took in a deep breath. She held me down as I tried to get up, but I was out of it. I had no more power left in me.
“You made my life a living hell, brother.”
“Maybe, but I made it up to you. If you hadn’t asked him to kill me, I wouldn’t have had to get these goons. Idiot. How could you? How could you!”
This was going nowhere. We were losing time, and my people were getting slaughtered with every second! She saw the urgency in my eyes and nodded slightly before she threw herself backward and slammed into Sandro.
He grunted and dropped on his ass. She struggled to get up and fell over me. Her hand landed on the nodachi’s hilt. She tried to lift it, but it was too heavy for her. Sandro got to his feet and ran past us, the damned coward. He didn’t even have the guts to finish us off.
I pushed her off me and grabbed the nodachi from her hand as the rage came spilling out. I was weak, barely standing, but I needed to do it. I needed to get up and help them.
My legs felt like someone had poured lead inside my shoes and forced me to run. It was so hard to move, but I bit through as I held my free hand over the hole in my guts. The incredible amount of Enma in this place was just enough for my intestines to stay inside. A small barrier formed where the three-inch hole was and served as a second skin.
The enemy group charged the three again, but as luck would have it, all three men had weapons with longer range. To their bad luck, they hadn’t seen the interplay between Sandro and us. The traitor scum threw himself at Gary, causing the man to stumble. His guandao slipped from his hand, but I was moving. Knowing I wouldn’t make it, I pulled the nodachi from my pouch and threw it at Sandro. The damn blade twisted around in midair and hit his side with the pummel, sending him stumbling over his feet and dropping face-first onto the bloody gravel.
“Fucking bastard!” he hissed as I stepped up to end him, but one of the attackers swung his katana at me.
I deflected the blow and pulled back, but I couldn’t use a skill. I was out of Enma. Shit! I swung using whatever power I had in my arms and slammed against his katana. The nodachi was far heavier, and as the blades met, the katana slammed backward and the nodachi’s edge dug deep into his face.
I kicked out and pulled the sword free. The remaining six lunged at us without any fear for their lives. They knew if they lost another man, we’d be equally matched. At least in numbers.
Two each attacked us in pairs. The large, burly man in front of me pulled back his spear, and I knew instinctively what he was going to do.
I grabbed my gladius from the ground and threw it at him, the sword flying like a hissing snake. The gladius forced him to cancel his attack and defend. I pulled the nodachi over my shoulder and swung it in a downward arc, slashing through the spear and man alike. Mark finished off both of his opponents with the flurry attack skill, and then there were only three.
“You’re all fucking done for!” Sandro hissed.
I glanced over to the bastard and saw him drink some sort of potion. His body glow
ed yellow and green, and then he disappeared through the domed wall.
“Damned snake!” I growled and pulled the sword back over my head, readying myself to attack.
“Stop, please!” the man cried and threw his sword aside.
“Why? You killed our women and children!”
My voice was as cold as steel and as vile as could be. I swung the sword and sliced through his back and neck where he sat on the ground. Kang was struggling. Both his opponents were stronger and more skilled than ours had been.
“Kang, let me at him!” Mark hissed as he lunged the spear at the left man’s throat. He blocked, stepped back, and closed the distance with Mark, but Kang kicked him in the side and sent him to the ground. Gary lunged at the second man, who was about to attack Kang from behind, tackling him to the ground.
“No, Gary!” I snapped. “Don’t kill him! We need one of them alive!”
“He killed my wife!” the large man cried. “I saw it with my own eyes!”
I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “Please hold on. You’ll get to do much worse to him if we don’t get the information we need.” I leaned in closer so only he could hear me and whispered, “I just need some information, then you can kill him, alright?”
Gary’s meaty fist slammed down against the man’s nose. It cracked, and blood spurted from his nostrils, covering his mouth and neck. I made a show of pulling him off the downed man and shoved him aside.
“Gary, vent your anger on that other guy along with Kang! Dismember him, and only then kill him!”
His eyebrows rose in shock, and he was about to protest, but then a feral grin slipped up his face. The tears were still there, but at least he’d get some revenge.
“Why not? It’s a new world and I owe them as much,” he sneered.
“Mark, I want you here.”
He ran up to me and pulled the Green Dragon bastard upright and seated him while holding both arms behind his back.
Beginner Quest: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 1) Page 29
