Chapter Sixty-Two: Sacrifice

SIXTY-TWO

“He’s overloaded. There’s no way he can control that much power, Moira whispered as Taoya stood between them and the general. Power shot off of him, bolts of pure energy that grounded out in furrows of earth. Even with all of the power flying off of him, he was a beacon of power as he stood before the horde officer.

“A challenge?” The officer asked with a raspy laugh. It lowered the naginata so the long blade edge pointed at Taoya and began to circle. The shielding stayed around him though.

“We need to kill those shamans,” Roan said, but Darren was already ahead of him. The man had ghosted along the side of the walls and was circling far around the two champions, trying to get behind the caster goblins. Two others had broken in the other direction and were running to get around the fight.

“I hate this,” Moira said, eyes darting between all the figures. Roan had to trust that Darren and his chosen were going to get to the shamans and that Taoya could last long enough to see this through.

“I admire your bravery, champion. But I shall kill you, eat your heart and claim your strength!” the officer continued to taunt as it circled. Taoya hadn’t moved, just tracked the officer as it slowly got behind him.

“Why isn’t he moving?” Roan whispered.

“Conserving his captured momentum. This won’t last long once the shielding is gone,” Moira said, sounding certain. Darren and the other two were now racing parallel to the fight, a hundred yards on either side. Bolts still flew at the shields every now and then, keeping all the shamans locked into the fight.

The officer lunged and Roan had to admit the mob was fast. It was nothing more than a blur of leather and steel as the naginata swiped down at Taoya, to split him shoulder to hip. Taoya disappeared.

“What?” Roan muttered as he looked around and then finally up. Taoya had jumped a clear ten feet straight up instantly, holding himself in mid-air for a second before he fell like a cannonball.

The officer leapt away as a massive blast of force launched itself in every direction, picking up dirt and bodies and throwing them everywhere. Roan ducked down, pulling Moira with him as debris, body parts, and shattered obsidian knives bounced off the walls. A few others hadn’t been as fast and they now cried out in pain as they dealt with shrapnel injuries.

“Damnit,” Moira hissed, moving in an army crawl toward the wounded, bandages appearing in her hand as she worked closer to them. Taoya had landed in the same exact spot he’d started in, but the horde officer had been blown away, rolling and coming to his feet smoothly. One of his shields had broken in that exchange, but a moment later it was back.

“Four shamans. One guards the other three while those three layer shields over the higher officer,” Roan observed. If Taoya leapt and killed the shamans, then the officer would have free range on the survivors or Taoya’s back. It would take at least two attacks to kill the four of them and leave the officer vulnerable, one to break the shield then an AoE attack to kill them.

“That officer is too fast and we’re too weak. He’d fillet us all before Taoya got back to defend us,” Roan said to himself. That he was too weak, again, grated on him. Even at full strength he doubted he’d be fast enough to fight this officer, even if Taoya was too much for it.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Darren had reached the edge of the forest and was turning inward to angle behind the four shamans, running as fast as he could. Right behind him came the other two. They’d be there in a matter of moments, but Roan worried it’d take too long. When Taoya turned his head, Roan could see the stains of blood leaking from his nose, eyes, and ears.