Overwhelming Firepower

Robert, who was dealing with the Goblin Heroes with glee, felt a change in the flow of mana. While dodging a Goblin Hero’s attack, he looked upward and saw Lucen flying in the air.

Robert, whose thoughts were always moving fast, quickly dismissed the thought that Lucen was using the sixth circle spell flight. Of course, Lucen wouldn’t be able to use the third circle spell float either, seeing as Lucen was just a first circle mage.

Robert then saw Lucen using those new types of guns, different from the revolvers he usually summoned using his unique magic to shoot out bullets that explode.

When he saw Lucen’s body being propelled forward from the push made by the explosions, Robert smiled his manic smile as he understood what Lucen had done to fly without using the sixth circle spell flight.

’In fact, the way he’s moving in the air is a little faster and the maneuverability is better than the flight spell the old man showed me once before... Still, as expected of the person I acknowledge, to walk forward to the future with me. Using controlled explosions to push yourself in a certain direction. How interesting.’

Robert licked his lips behind the bird beak mask. He then saw something even more incredible, right after.

Robert dodged the incoming slash of a goblin hero, and then he took out a spyglass hidden in his coat. He looked at Lucen, who had now created a different type of gun using his unique magic.

Robert then looked in the direction Lucen was aiming at, and he saw the Goblin Mage that had been building up mana for a while. It was at the very moment that Robert saw the Goblin Mage’s head explode and its body limp to the ground.

”Hahaha! To hit something that far with his unique magic. Incredible!” So many ideas were now flowing in Robert’s mind. ”Damn it! I can’t wait to try them all out!” He then shifted his attention back to the Goblin Heroes that were running towards him.

”For me to do that, all of you need to disappear now. Play time is over; it’s time to end this experiment.” For the first time since he entered the battlefield, Robert was now emitting killing intent.

***

The second the Goblin King saw the death of the Goblin Mage, he roared. The Goblin King’s roar split the night, a guttural bellow that rattled the very stones of the fortress. Snow and dust shook loose from the battlements, tumbling down like ash.

The Goblin Gladiators shrieked with wild laughter, smashing their weapons against their own chests before hammering toward the walls.

The Goblin Heroes bared jagged teeth in grim smiles; their honor now demanded they challenge the human who attacked one of their leaders from such a distance without any ounce of honor.

The Goblin General simply sneered; he did not really care about the death of the Goblin Mage. His army of lesser goblins kept surging forward in perfect waves, bodies piling high near the fortress breach. Each one that fell was simply fodder for the next to climb upon.

The battlefield shifted from chaos to calamity. Every goblin now pressed harder, faster, crazier than before, as though the death of the mage had ignited some deeper madness.

The Goblin King, who had finished roaring, looked at the retreating Lucen and engraved his face into his memory.

That young human had disgraced him by killing the Mage beside him and not attacking him; it was as if Lucen was telling the Goblin King that he could kill him at any time.

Of course, the real reason Lucen retreated after sniping the Goblin Mage and not continuing to snipe at the Goblin General and the Goblin King was because his mana reserves were about to reach zero, so he needed to recharge first.

***

Vardon and Thalos watched as Lucen completed the mission given to him in such a ridiculous way.

To think a young man who just a year ago was considered talentless was able to replicate a sixth-circle spell using his unique magic and creativity.

”Heh, the young lord is turning out to be a truly incredible individual.” Thalos chuckled as he looked at Lucen, who was in the air.

”Which is to be expected of a Thornehart,” Vardon replied with a tiny curl on his lips.

”I can’t deny that.” Thalos shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. It was then that Lucen returned; he was feeling a little tired as he had exhausted a lot of mana.

”I have completed the mission, Father.”

”Indeed, you have,” Vardon said, voice steady. A faint smile tugged at the Iron Duke’s lips, but his eyes narrowed, catching the subtle stagger in his son’s stance. He grabbed hold of Lucen’s hand and felt that his mana had depleted rapidly. ”Someone bring me a mana potion.”

A knight rushed over with a vial in hand, bowing his head. Vardon uncorked it and pressed it into Lucen’s grip.

”Drink,” he ordered.

Lucen looked at the thing that was being given to him. He had seen this item in many other games, and also quite a few times in Robert’s lab, but this was the first time he was going to try to drink such a thing.

Lucen took the vial and, under the watchful eye of his Father and Sir Thalos, he drank the mana potion. Surprisingly, the mana potion tasted like an energy drink, which made Lucen feel a little nostalgic, and like an energy drink, the second he finished drinking, he felt energetic.

”Now we need to prepare for a long siege.” Once Vardon was sure that Lucen had finished drinking the mana potion, he looked at the battlefield and spoke.

Even though they had killed hundreds of goblins and only suffered a few losses. With a few injuries and fewer deaths, but in Vardon’s eyes, things weren’t getting better.

They had killed hundreds by now, but there was still no end in sight for the horde of goblins running towards them, intent on killing them all.

”Someone get that wall fixed already!” Vardon commanded, making a few soldiers scatter to find the tools needed to fix the wall.

***

The sun rising over the battlefield didn’t bring relief; it only revealed how many goblin corpses had piled before the walls, a grotesque carpet of green and red.

The stench of blood and smoke was so thick it clung to every breath, to every scrap of cloth and armor.

Despite attacking the entire night, the wave of goblins continued to rush at them. It was like they had endless stamina as they kept on shrieking and attacking. The gap in the wall had been fixed, but the endless wave of goblins was affecting morale.

Still, after the initial frenzy they showed after the Goblin Mage died, the wave became less aggressive. The firing Thunderspears were able to keep the lesser goblins and hobgoblins at a distance.

The Goblin Heroes no longer charged forward and seem to be waiting for something. As for the Gobling Gladiators, there weren’t many of them in the first place, and only a few remained.

Of course, there were some people like Robert and Thrall who remained unaffected; in fact, Robert was now asking Lucen a few questions about what he did to make himself fly. On the other hand, Thrall was having the time of his life as he shot down another goblin.

In fact, Thrall wanted to dive into the wave of goblins and start punching, kicking, and shooting. Unfortunately, Harlik had stopped him on numerous occasions.

***

Lucen, who was resting a bit, trying to regain some more stamina and mana before once again going back to the battlefield, watched as Robert was trying to fly the same way he did.

Unfortunately, for Robert, even with using mana to enhance his body, it was not good enough. As he controlled his mana to make a small explosion with his hands, his hands nearly bent from recoil, so he was indeed able to fly a little from that.

Also, even though he got hurt and failed to reproduce a similar result to Lucen’s flight, he was not discouraged; in fact, he was even more excited.

”If my body isn’t able to withstand the force, then I need to make something like a medium that won’t break from that force. Similar to Lucen’s unique magic.”

Robert started mumbling to himself again, his mind already sketching out designs only he could understand.

Lucen closed his eyes, breathing deeply as the mana potion’s heat spread through his veins, slowly easing the hollow ache inside him.

For a brief moment, the fortress felt almost steady. Arrows clattered harmlessly against shields. The boom of Thunderspears rolled like distant thunder. Even the cries of the goblins sounded farther away.

It was then that something happened. A silence spread across the battlefield, eerie in its suddenness.

The goblins stopped shrieking. Even the waves of lesser ones seemed to pause, their claws digging into the mountain of corpses instead of climbing higher.

Lucen’s eyes snapped open. The skill battle instinct was sending an alarm in his mind. He looked over the battlefield.

Across the field, the Goblin King had finally risen from his throne of stone and bone. His massive frame loomed over the army, muscles bulging like coiled chains, eyes burning with hatred and challenge.

The ground quaked as he stepped forward, dragging a colossal jagged sword that screeched against the frozen earth.

”It looks like the real game is about to begin,” Lucen spoke under his breath.