The swordsman went falling face-first to the floor. But Karna did not pay attention to that. He saw the war axe coming at him. He raised his sword to block it, bracing for the impact.
But when it came, he moved.
Not his feet or his body. He moved his sword. A subtle movement, almost like chambering. Except to redirect the swing.
The axe came striking the ground. The floor cracked open as the large man was knocked off balance. Karna saw an opening. He stabbed for the man’s throat—
But was pulled back. Yanked off his feet by the swordsman, still on the ground.
The swordsman grappled with the Goblin, as he tried to escape. And although Goblins were not weak, this man was strong and knew what he was doing. He held Karna down as the Lieutenant lifted his axe again. This time, to finish the job.
Karna felt his heart racing. But he could not do anything. He was powerless. Too… weak. Just like he feared he would be. He closed his eyes as the axe came swinging down, waiting for his death to come. But it never came.
The Goblin heard a yelp. A shout of surprise. And when he opened his eyes, he saw the large man on the ground. Covered in magical bindings.
"Don’t come any closer or—"
Karna heard the swordsman behind him speaking, but he was cut off. An arrow struck the man in the shoulder, forcing him to let go of the Goblin. Karna saw a flash of light, and stumbled away from the man.
The snare caught the swordsman too, wrapping around his waist, forcing his arms to his side, and keeping him on the floor, completely immobilized.
"Karna, you’re alive!" a young voice exclaimed.
The Goblin stared as the little girl ran towards him, followed by Ihsan and two others. He recognized the Goblins as some of the ones he sent to open the gates for the Commander. He blinked as Melas hugged him.
"How did you…?"
"We came in from the other side where there’s less fighting so we could sneak around and find you," Melas explained. She smiled, her silver eyes reflecting his shocked expression. "I’m so glad we found you."
Karna shifted his feet uncomfortably. "But… why?" he asked.
"Because I was worried about you. I heard what happened— you shouldn’t have stayed."
"I had to. If I did not, they would have surrounded us all. Ruined the Dark Acolyte’s plan…"he trailed off. "I had to stay. To protect my men. My people. But—"
The Goblin’s eyes wandered off. Towards the two small bodies lying amongst the dead. He spoke somberly.
"...they died anyways."
"No," Melas said in a slightly annoyed tone. Then her voice changed into something more solemn. More kind. "You saved them."
And even Karna had to smile a little at that. But the smile quickly faded. Because he saw movement in the background. A loud grunt.
The Lieutenant was pushing with all his might. His arms stretched outwards, as the snare tried to hold him down. But it was not the strongest spell. And the large man was strong.
He tore off the magical bindings. Raising his war axe as he did. "You little shit. I’ll crush you!" he screamed as he swung the massive weapon down.
Karna shoved Melas to the side, as the weapon came crashing down at the both of them. The Goblin reached for a sword as the girl raised an arm. But they were too slow. The man was already winding up for another swing—
Then he exploded.
He didn’t blow up into a thousand pieces. But something detonated on his back. A small explosion, enough to have blown off a body part if it struck a joint. The man collapsed, dead.
Ihsan lowered his bow and grinned. "Idiot forgot about us."
Karna got up to his feet, still slightly disoriented. But he had to say it. He pointed accusingly at the other Goblin. "When did you learn that spell?!"
Ihsan shrugged.
"Melas taught me it."
Melas paused. "...I did?"
***
Victor leisurely strolled through the battlefield. Past all the fighting, and all the death around him. Into the halls of Fort Conon.
He was not a Necromancer. He did not specialize in death magic. So he could only reanimate a handful of the corpses at most.
So he ignored it.
And he ignored the fighting too. They were winning. Of course they were winning. Victor himself had concocted this plan. Their victory was expected from the moment he arrived in the Free Lands. By now, most of the soldiers were surrendering or dead. Most of them.
"Ah, yes. And I believe this is where the Captain’s been. Not in the frontlines, of course. Not in a defensive battle. But that is standard tactics. Surprising of course, since the Captain is…"
He swung the door open, and was met by an explosion.
Fire bloomed all around him, but he walked through it unscathed. The magic circle dissipated along with the barrier he cast to protect himself as he shook his head.
"Unfortunate. If I were not a Pyromancer, maybe you would’ve caught me off guard. That’s an interesting tool. But it appears it has a recharge time, no?" the young man spoke smugly into the room.
The Captain— a young woman— lowered her gauntlet. The mana crystal on it discolored. She tossed it aside, and picked up her sword.
"You. Bastard, what do you want?" she snarled at him.
"It’s quite obvious at this point, is it not? Why do you even feel the need to ask." Victor sighed as he raised his staff. "This fort. Everything in it. It all belongs to the Dark Crusaders now. To me."
The Captain charged him as magic circles formed around him. Ice spikes
