“Guess my reputation precedes me!” The Black Disaster dashed towards Piercestriker as he was the closest one at the front. The two spearsmen (or erm spear-Orc and spear-Goblin) collided with each other, both matching the others attacking speed.
Piercestriker went for a strike towards the shoulders of the Black Disaster, but the Black Orc Lord General slipped in a downward chop forcing Piercestriker to evade, making his attack too weak to do any damage to the other’s armour.
Unlike the Black Disaster who was not only fully armoured but was even further enhanced through magical runes shining through from his body, all Jin’s goblins had was protective leather. The quality of it may have been higher than any run-of-the-mill leather armour, however it was no match to their enemy’s armor. Yet, Jin didn’t leave his monsters in a totally vulnerable situation. Those leather armours had various inscriptions applied to them. They were mainly of a supportive nature such as an increase in speed and agility.
Jin initially wanted them to be fast. Hit Fast, Kill Fast and Run Fast was the idea for this particular mission. He knew that there was bound to be trouble, but he never expected that they would encounter a surprise ambush by one of the strongest of the Orc Race so soon according to the the goblins.
“Shit, I should not have used my cultivation powers…” Slashreaver regretted using them earlier on, thinking that it was vital to save Princess Starfire. At the same time, it allowed him to demonstrate how powerful he had become. A vital difference between the goblin and the human cultivators were that the goblins could not use their maximum cultivation powers more than once a day. They could still use the skills they learnt, but the power of the supposed technique wouldn’t be the same. Perhaps, that was the tradeoff for being so versatile as compared to humans learning only one particular style.
“Do not blame yourself. If I were in your position, I would have done the same. Besides, you have never been the strongest amongst all of us and Princess knew that. Can’t be helped that you wanted to show off to impress and express your love for her.” Ripcaller teased as he remained vigilant and noticed something incoming from the side of the walls. Even Slashreaver got distracted and wanted to strike at that thing until they all identified it as a magpie flying upwards.
“Master Jin has sent us as reinforcements. Mr Hot and Ms Cold at your disposal!” The Magpie transmitted her message to the two of them.
“GO! I will keep him busy!” Piercestriker yelled as he fell back to take a breather. He did not turn his head back nor allow himself to be distracted by the arrival of Mr Hot and Ms Cold because… he couldn’t afford to.
“Hmm, Youngling you do show promise but you are at least a decade too early to be my match. You’re overestimating yourself, thinking that you can handle me!” Nubwort spoke through his helmet with a muffled voice.
“Heh, I have yet to show you some tricks which I picked up after my disappearance. You could say that I have gone through some training especially for you!” Piercestriker kept his spear steady while keeping his breathing in pace.
“Very well. Let’s go Slashreaver.” Ripcaller understood that there was a history between the Black Disaster and Piercestriker’s family. Slashreaver unhooked his Gearbox gauntlet and it turned back into a box which he threw towards Piercestriker. “Bro. Right Arm. Raise it up.” Piercestriker raised his hand while his eyes were still onto the Black Disaster’s Halberd. Slashreaver’s Gearbox hit Piercestriker’s right arm and immediately attached itself to him.
“Don’t you dare get defeated. We expect to see him captured by the System!” Slashreaver tried to motivate his friend as he sat on Mr Hot while Ripcaller was on Ms Cold. The Ants crawled over the castle walls once more, heading downwards and towards the tall windows of the Throne Hall.
“Ready?” The Black Disaster asked in a reasonably impatient tone.
“Didn’t know you were the kind to be nice enough to wait.” Piercestriker sidestepped before dashing.
“Well I do have my moments. After all, this will be the last time your friends will see you in one piece. But don’t worry they will join you soon enough!” Suddenly, fire emerged from a rune on his Halberd that coursed through the entire weapon. Subsequently, his gauntlets were also on fire. Yet, Nobwurt wielded it without any fear even though the intense burning temperature should be hurting his hands.
Nobwurt was used to it. He was cursed with the inability to feel anything. His sensory nerves were dysfunctional and only in battle could he be able to feel his heart beating, urging him for more slaughter. He earnt his name from massacring dozens if not hundreds of foes during the war in one night. Thus, rumours spread like wildfire and he got recognised and feared as a natural disaster.
This particular natural disaster struck Piercestriker’s family when they least expected it. Piercestriker, his older brother and his father were the only ones that survived the onslaught of the Black Disaster. The trio of father and sons had decided to go for a mountain hike while the rest of the clan was in a large but relatively modest wooden cabin in the nearby forest at the borders of Gob Gob Kingdom. Unfortunately, Nubwort was feeling bored that particular day and went on a hunt to hurt some animals. Following his prey, he accidentally ended up in that exact forest.
Then, he helped himself to the delicious platter presented to him on a shiny plate. The Black Disaster effortlessly killed the entirety of the Piercestriker’s family the moment they picked up arms to defend themselves against the Orc. The fight was ultimately one sided, but the thrill of fighting the trained goblins of the Spear General made him go wild into a blood frenzy and he ended up killing each and every one of them cleanly.
That was right. Nobwort did not inflict any wounds to any of them, instead they all shared the same fate. A decapitation with his halberd the very moment they had an opening, presenting him with the chance to execute. When the Spear General of Gob Gob Kingdom returned with his sons, they all swore revenge against the one responsible. Eventually, they discovered that the culprit was Nubwort when a few days later a condolence letter had arrived written in blood by the Orc. The insanity caused by that letter was head numbing for the older brother who decided to duel with Nubwort as proposed in the letter.
Piercestriker was knocked unconscious on the day of the fight by his own father and the King forbade the Spear General to make a move, effectively placing him under house arrest. The older brother was the only one who answered the call of battle and he was defeated in under ten seconds. His body was given back, yet without his head on it. Instead, the servants and soldiers passed on that it was burnt into ashes by the Black Disaster himself.
Even nowadays, Piercestriker regretted that he did not send his brother off and was unable to assist him against the Black Disaster. He was aware that even if he went, he would have been more of a liability, and he would have most likely returned just as his brother. Nevertheless, the guilt for failing to follow him accompanied him every day.
“This time, I will take revenge for my entire family!” Piercestriker shouted as he released his cultivation, similar to Slashreaver seven goblin-ish silhouettes merged with various animals were shown above him.
“What is this? Some monkey show? If you want to be fancy, I shall accompany you.” The Black Disaster activated more of his runes and the flame on his halberd spread onto his arms and to his torso. Now the flame turned slightly black but not as dark like Master Jin’s version and it was colder rather than hot.
There and then, Piercestriker started to distinguish some faces of goblins seemingly screaming their last death throes from the flames burning the armour and he realised that they looked like the clan members that he lost. “My Halberd holds the souls of the departed. The cleaner the kill, the more powerful the boost I get in return. This is why I aim for a clean head execution. Since you are out for revenge you will soon reunite with your loved ones! Now I shall use the powers of the souls of your departed family against you! How does it feel to be cursed by your lost ones?!” Nubwort smirked as he aimed his halberd at Piercestriker.
“I will release you all. I promise. I have trained all this while just for this opportunity!” Piercestriker eyes burnt with revenge and endless fury from his heart which fuelled his cultivation even more.
Both of them released a mighty warcry as they once again clashed with each other releasing their most powerful techniques.
—————
The goblin captain who was barely alive was brought towards Starfire and she treated his wounds with multiple cure light wounds spell which allowed him to at least breath normally for now. There were internal injuries which Starfire was unable to heal because she was not a full fledged healer. She knew a few easy to learn healing spells for first aid purposes.
Even her shield barrier was supposedly a simple protective spell which usually does not have the power to prevent the entry of the Orcs. It was with the power of the blue magpie on her shoulder that it was enhanced multiple times to the point where it only allowed her allies to enter.
“What kind of little bird familiar is this to contain so much mana in it? What kind of secret master did the three of them encounter?” Starfire was still in awe by Jin’s powers and his companions as she saw black flames spewing out of his hand to incinerate the opponents.
“What are you waiting for? Get going to the Throne Hall quick! I will follow behind!” Jin shouted as he lifted up his Silent Cape to the side like a mage in style. Starfire acknowledged and commanded the goblin guard remnants to follow her into the inner corridors that will eventually lead them to the Throne Hall.
On his left hand, Jin conjured a ball of white ice engulfed in black flames and threw it up to the sky. After which, he immediately changed his Bam and Boo into a two handed Warhammer. This was the first time he used such a form of his Bam and Boo since Jin always loved the slicing power and versatility of the katana.
With the Panda Rolling technique, he managed to jump up high and fast enough to be slightly above the white ice ball of black flames into the sky. Some of the Orcs tried to retaliate by throwing nearby rubble and shooting arrows at Jin but he was too high for those to reach him. “Boom Bitches! Arghh I forgot that these orcs fighters are males.” Jin rolled his eyes a little as he slammed the Warhammer onto the white ice ball.
A sound similar to a volcanic eruption pierced the ears of the orcs when the Warhammer slammed onto the white ice ball. It shattered on impact, causing dozens of pieces of white shard infused with black flames to rain on them. Some of the orcs tried to take cover under their shields and bucklers, but they did not know that when the ice shards came into contact with their shields or body armour, it would explode once more.
Thus, it was like a rain of explosions falling upon them and none could hide unless they ran out of the courtyard. However, the shards did not just fall on them but onto the walls of the castle too, causing it to drop rubbles and large pieces of debris onto the orcs.
“Oops… Guess I went a bit overboard with this new concept.” Jin was being kept afloat by the numerous magpies flying right beside him. It was with their help that the technique Jin performed was amplified many times over, increasing the destructive power of the white ice ball in black flames.
“User, that skill is unique enough to be specially named if you wish.” The System noted.
“I cannot be bothered at this moment,” Jin said as the magpies gently dropped him down while the area was still being burnt with black flames and orcs were being torched alive. (And eventually kidnapped by the System *cough* captured *cough*.)
“Let’s get going,” Jin said to the tens of magpies and they followed willingly behind him like a swarm waiting to devour the next orc group.
————
The Black Disaster feinted his halberd strike to the head and aimed for the groin of Piercestriker instead of the legs because he was shorter than a normal orc. Yet, Piercestriker managed to parry the strike towards his groin area with the pole of his spear and immediately aimed for Nubwort’s head.
However, that was also a feint which Nubwort did not hesitate to try and block mainly because the angle the spear was coming in from Piercestriker’s small build would allow it to aim for the small opening Nubwort has in his helmet. The defensive block gave Piercestriker a chance and opportunity to go for a lower torso strike instead especially when his gearbox gauntlets gave him more control over his spear.
Nevertheless, Piercestriker did not wish to give Nubwort a chance to parry so he aimed slightly lower nearly to his groin and lower limbs as another feint so that he could aim for the torso area where it seems that his armour was the thinnest. “Hmmph. Double feint. I am not stupid.” The Black Disaster thought to himself as he could foresee the movement of Piercestriker’s spear from the years of experiencing fighting life and death situations.
Nubwort pretended to go for the feint though he was prepared to parry the torso strike when Piercestriker went for it. Piercestriker thought the feint was successful, but Nubwort parried effortlessly which he later switched to the offensive and went for a thrust to Piercestriker’s chest, mainly for the heart.
Piercestriker sensed the immense bloodl.u.s.t from the Black Disaster and quickly went for the defensive especially when the halberd can slash if it is unable to strike. Piercestriker had to be wary of the possible angles of attack which Nubwort can employ, but there was no time and instinct kicked in by redirecting the halberd with his spear to the left and out of range of his body.
“Caught you,” Nubwort whispered as he used the redirection of his halberd as momentum to go for a head blow with a high strike. If Ripcaller was here, the opening caused by the redirection of spears between them was so large that he could quickly slip in three arrows.
“Shit!” Piercestriker panicked a little and he quickly raised his spear up to block the attack. Unfortunately, he did not know that the slash from the halberd was infused with magical energy that it nearly broke his spear into two.
Piercestriker quickly fell back and took a glance at the condition of his spear. “Boss will be so mad that I nearly broke his equipment. Maybe not as mad as the System.” He smirked to himself as he released the Gearbox on his left arm and placed it on the spear. The gearbox parts immediately wrapped itself around the simple looking spear and its appearance changed drastically. Parts of the Gearbox reinforced the nearly broken part of the pole of the spear and several metallic edges were magnetically hovering around the spear.
“Hahaha, I did not expect this at all!” Piercestriker looked at the all new Gearbox enforced spear and looked at Nubwort. “I do not have much strength left, might as well use the full extent of my cultivation.” Piercestriker thought to himself as he burst out all of the chi he had been containing within him.
One prominent silhouette that appeared so shiny above him was the Stag Silhouette. Piercestriker had learnt the most from Jia Ying the Sanguine Stag Cultivator. “I will be borrowing one of your techniques Big Sister.” Piercestriker always regarded Jia Ying as a mentor when it comes to spear techniques. Her tenacity for perfection in her spear techniques made him respect her deeply. Not to mention, she even gave pointers casually to Piercestriker when it came to duelling between each other during the Goblin Forest Instance or the Random Arena Instance. Whenever he improved, Jia Ying would already be five steps ahead of him.
In short, the two of them continuously improved despite being just a monster and cultivator in a dungeon instance.
“Heh, tired already? That is not unexpected. In fact, for a goblin, you lasted quite long.” Nubwort’s burning armour had a fatigue effect on his enemies and the scorching temperatures made it unbearable for extended fights against the Black Disaster. Upon seeing that the little goblin was pinning his hopes for the last strike, Nubwort decided to entertain him too by absorbing all of the spectral dark flames into his spear.
“The Puzzled Spear of the Stag!!!” Piercestriker shouted as he charged towards Nubwort with all his might and the Black Disaster responded the same.
“Shouting some bombastic names of skills like amateurs,” Nubwort smirked as he could clearly see it was just a straight thrust. Even though there was some sort of magical energy that he never saw before, the Black Disaster believed that it could not beat his magic devouring Halberd.
Suddenly, the Gearbox Spear turned its thrust like a lightning wrapping around a conductor, causing multiple spears to branch out from the main spear and stabbed through the armour of the Black Disaster. In the meantime, Piercestriker used his empty left hand to forcefully block the incoming halberd with whatever Chi he had left in his body.
The pain of Piercestriker’s muscles ripping out from the straight halberd attack and bones splintered out of his arms were killing him in the inside, but there was a glistening smile on his face. His Gearbox Spear struck true. One of the branches of the Gearbox spear managed to penetrate the helmet and through his neck. There were other parts of the Gearbox spear hitting all the other vital organs of the Black Disaster and only blood could see sipping out of his armour.
In less than a minute, the towering black armour fell down and subsequently disappeared into thin air just like the other black orcs that were killed by the Goblin Trio. What was left was a mystic rune that was kept in a pouch.
“Mom…Brother…I won against it…” Piercestriker teared up as he suddenly felt a void dwelling in his heart yet at the same time a sense of accomplishment.
