The Minotaur let out a roar as it swung its war axe in all possible directions, trying to get rid of the Goblins that attacked it from all sides. It was enraged and bulldozed its way through the horde, mercilessly crushing several of the Goblins under its feet while using its large left hand and the war axe in its right to tear them apart.
The sound of bones crunching and the shrill cries of the Goblins dying at the beast’s hands made Xavier feel relieved that he did not get caught in the Minotaur’s clutches. He was panting a little, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand while observing the massacre.
The Goblins were enraged as well and possibly lost their common sense for they were throwing themselves at the mighty monster without a care about their survival. All they wanted was to kill the giant brute that dared to barge into their home.
Not that Xavier felt the slightest pity for them.
He ducked just in time as a broken door of a car was flung through the air. It was easy to tell that the Minotaur was far from happy.
Using its strength, the Minotaur began tossing and smashing the cars like toys, trampling them under its hooves to bury as many Goblins under its feet as it could.
Had Xavier been a second late, his neck would have been severed. He looked back to see the car door crash upon a wall a few feet behind him and crumble to pieces. Luckily, his reflexes had improved. Everything was going according to his plan.
While the Minotaur and the Goblins were busy, the hunters and the rest of his team charged towards the Goblins, ensuring that the Infected were following them. Driven by the smell of blood and death, the Infected followed blindly oblivious to the trap waiting for them.
The hunters jumped aside swiftly when they were almost about to run into the Goblins and the Infected walked into the battle, reaching out their bony hands to rip out the flesh of the Goblins that were too busy fighting the Minotaur.
Around three to four Goblins died at the hands of the Infected before the rest realized that a new threat had arrived. In that confusion, a couple more got trampled by the Minotaur that the Infected began feasting on.
To add to the chaos, Leyla nocked ordinary arrows including several quivers filled with bad quality arrows they’d looted from the Goblin Archers earlier, and began firing them, one after another. She aimed at those goblins and Infected that attempted to flee the battlefield. All of them had to die!
Leyla and the hunters charged into one of the larger building complexes located near the roundabout. They barged inside and blocked the entrance with some furniture. That was not enough to hold back all Goblins and Infected that pursued them, but it was enough to give them an advantage.
Mark and Walter remained near the entrance to pierce their blades through the narrow gaps between the haphazardly stacked pieces of furniture. They reaped the lives of those who dared to attempt barging into the house.
In less than five minutes, the entrance was blocked by a pile of Goblin corpses. Some Goblins attempted to enter the house through the windows near the kitchen and the living room but two more hunters blocked their advances.
They had the advantage of height and superior strength, thereby allowing them to slaughter the ordinary Goblins swiftly. After five minutes, the Goblins had rallied together to fight against the Inferior Infected to obliterate the threat coming from them first before they could deal with the humans.
Simultaneously, the Goblin Warriors and other evolved Goblins moved to the Minotaur, whose war-axe cut through all enemies like a hot knife through butter. Leyla and the other hunters, who’d moved to the second floor, had long since opened the windows and positioned themselves behind them to start hunting their enemies.
Leyla used up several quivers of bad-quality arrows to strike the Goblin Archers whereas the hunters used their hunting rifles and ammunition to hunt down the Goblin Warriors.
They could have aimed at the Minotaur as well, but the monstrosity was currently on their side. No. That was not entirely true, but one thing certainly was- The Minotaur was far stronger than the Goblin Warriors and it acted as an exceptionally powerful Berserker with even better means to lure the strongest Goblins to itself.
“I can’t see Xavier. Where the hell is he? The Minotaur didn’t catch him, right??” Mark asked, the worry in his voice apparent when he reached the second floor. He failed to find his son and his heart skipped a beat.
“Why did I allow this kid to charge into the forest all by himself? I should have gone with him!” He cursed himself, only for Leyla to point in a direction, “Xavier is currently moving alongside the shades. The fading sunlight allows him to stalk the prey closer to the Monster Gate without any monster attacking him. I…however, do not know how he escaped the Minotaur’s clutches. Xavier charged into the masses of Goblin Warriors one moment with the Minotaur charging at him and in the next moment he disappeared.”
Xavier had not expected the chase and the subsequent fight to be over that quickly. It felt like the moment when he had been observing the sunset calmly had passed centuries ago but in reality, it had not even been half an hour. He successfully managed to lure the Minotaur from the forest to the main street in no time.
The last traces of sunlight disappeared as the pale white sky began to slowly dye itself light blue like a sponge absorbing ink. The ink grew progressively darker and soon the light blue color was replaced with a darker shade. The moon slowly peeked out of the clouds and stars began to dimly glow. It was not too dark but given that half of the streetlamps were not functioning properly, the source of light was scarce.
Amidst the flickering light of one streetlamp, Xavier could make out the location of the Monster Gate from a distance. That was also partially possible because the Gate itself was glowing from within, emanating an eerie light that brought promise of impending doom.
Xavier’s heart was beating wildly as he had now reached the final step of his plan. If this worked as he hoped, they would successfully destroy the Monster Gate. The way his heart pounded was oddly similar to the sound war drums. With each step that he took, his stomach twisted in a knot. There was a lot riding on this crucial step that would make or break his plan.
I can do this!
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he slowly inched closer to his destination. A quick glance around told him that he had gone undetected so far. The Minotaur and the Goblins were busy tearing at each other, oblivious to the human sneaking into the Goblin community from behind.
Xavier grinned as he slowly placed his hands on the hoods of the cars placed around the settlement as a wall compound and landed on the other side, infiltrating the green-skinned monster's territory with ease.
Gravel crunched under his shoes but the chaotic battle raging in the front was enough to mask the noises he made…or so he thought.
Xavier’s heart skipped a beat when he saw three pairs of glowing eyes the moment he jumped across the wall of cars. If it had been his past self, he would have pissed himself – probably. Fortunately, Xavier had grown a lot stronger and bolder.
He used Dash, Sharpness, and Air Bullet simultaneously, kicking the ground to propel his body toward the two Goblin Warriors and the other Goblin he’d never seen before. Three Air Bullets smashed into their faces, forcing the three monsters to close their eyes for a moment.
By the time they opened their eyes again, ember darts pierced through their eyes. The ember darts penetrated their eyeballs and exploded, splattering their eye sockets in one go.
Xavier appeared in front of the three Goblins and sliced the sharpened katana blade through their necks. The blade went through their skin and flesh without meeting any resistance. Blood splattered through the surroundings and their bodies collapsed to the ground, but the Goblins didn’t scream out in alarm. They were given no time to do so before their lives were snatched from them. That was all Xavier needed.
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“Good job, Glut. You’re the best!” Xavier whispered quietly, pushing himself closer to the corpses to pick up the loot they dropped before pocketing it without bothering to look at what exactly he was stuffing in his pockets. His attention moved onto the Monster Gate and a deep frown appeared on his face.
Everything worked out the way I wanted more or less and now I’m standing in front of you…but how am I going to destroy you?
Nobody knew how to destroy a Monster Gate. Xavier was the first to attempt doing so. That left many questions unanswered. The others presumed that damaging the Monster Gate with physical attacks or Air Bullets would do the trick, but Xavier had a bad feeling about that. Unfortunately, it was not like he had a better idea.
He conjured one Air Bullet after another and released them without hesitation. There was no need to aim properly either. It was basically impossible to miss the Monster Gate due to its size. The Air Bullets burst forth and impacted hard on the Monster Gate – or so Xavier had hoped for. Unfortunately, the truth was different. The Air Bullets disappeared inside the energy pool of the Monster Gate without causing any damage.
The fuck?
Xavier noticed that the Air Bullet didn’t pass through the Monster Gate. Instead they disappeared inside as if it had absorbed them. Did that mean the Air Bullet emerged on the other side of the Gate…on another planet? Xavier had no idea and he didn’t have the luxury to think about it any longer either.
He used Sharpness once again on the ruby katana and sliced at the Monster Gate. Fortunately, the ruby katana didn’t disappear. It stayed with him, yet the attack didn’t seem to cause any damage. But Xavier noticed something interesting.
[9H:19M:01S] left until the Gate is stabilized.
Xavier slashed again
[9H:19M:11S] left until the Gate is stabilized.
He swallowed hard and initiated a series of wild attacks onto the Monster Gate, whereas the corner of his eyes glanced at the countdown in his view every now and then. Half a minute passed before Xavier made some noticeable achievement, but something was still wrong.
[9H:23M:21S] left until the Gate is stabilized.
The countdown increases but the Gate is still stabilizing. How long am I supposed to slash at this monstrosity?
Xavier was getting angry and stepped closer to kick the Monster Gate out of frustration. He had worked so hard only to be thrown a puzzle at the end. He was so annoyed that it took him a moment to realize that his Classless Deck was vibrating. The crystals on the backside of the Classless Deck glowed dimly, attracting Xavier’s interest.
Since he had already wasted his breath while cursing and slashing the Monster Gate with his little blade, Xavier decided to follow his gut feeling. He removed the Classless Deck from the leather belt and held the crystal covered backside closer to the Monster Gate.
[9H:23M:21S] left until the Gate is stabilized.
[9H:23M:20S] left until the Gate is stabilized.
“Why is it not working?” Xavier tugged at his hair, his earlier confidence fizzling out until he noticed that thin threads of the Monster Gate had detached themselves from the main body. The threads shot toward Xavier, who readied himself to fight. He had no idea what was going on, after all. Fortunately enough, the threads didn’t attack him. On the contrary, the threads were sucked inside the Classless Deck. The crystals on the backside of the Deck glowed more vibrantly when that happened and the number of threads detaching from the Monster Gate increased as well.
The threads grew thicker and the velocity at which the Classless Deck devoured everything accelerated further.
[9H:26M:21S] left until the Gate is stabilized.
[9H:29M:21S] left until the Gate is stabilized.
…
[10H:01M:59S] left until the Gate is stabilized.
The countdown increased rapidly!
Xavier swallowed his saliva, trying to process what was going on. The Classless Deck was his rescue. He had no idea what was happening to the threads that were absorbed, or the tremendous energy the Deck absorbed but that was not important right now. All that mattered was that the countdown increased rapidly. It was much faster than a mindless hack n slash.
The tendrils expanded and swirled rapidly around the Classless Deck. Xavier focused on the Deck and licked his dry lips in satisfaction. Unfortunately, he did not receive the luxury of experimenting ways to destroy the Monster Gate in solidarity. Some Goblin Archers standing on top of the wall of vehicles found the corpses of their brethren and raised the alarm. Xavier released several Air Bullets to kill them the moment he noticed them. It was his bad luck that their death didn’t silence them immediately. They fell down from the vehicle wall and smashed onto other Goblins, who sounded the alarm as well.
[13H:42M:12S] left until the Gate is stabilized.
“This is going to be a little bit difficult,” Xavier mumbled to his little friend. Glut chirped loudly and flapped his wings in response. The Ember Sparrow released several embers to burn down the ordinary Goblins that attempted to return to the inner area of the Goblin Community. Meanwhile, Xavier fastened the Classless Deck back to his belt and began to pave his way through the inner area of the Goblin Community, slaughtering everyone in his sight.
The energy threads of the Monster Gate weren’t cut even after Xavier distanced himself a little. The crystals on the back of the Classless Deck continued to devour the threads of the Monster Gate. It was good that it worked out this way because it allowed Xavier to move around unrestrained.
He activated Dash, and Sharpness before manifesting several Air Bullets. His tactic against the Goblin Warriors he faced was pretty simple. The Air Bullets smashed into their faces, forcing them to instinctively close their eyes for a moment. Xavier then changed his position with quick strides whereas Glut manifested embers, or ember darts. The former consumed less energy and required less time to conjure, yet it was enough to further restrain the Goblin Warriors.
They didn’t have to lose their eyesight to have their necks sliced through in a swift motion.
Goblin Warrior has been slain. +1 Soul Essence
Goblin Warrior has been slain. +1 Soul Essence
Goblin has been slain.
…
…
[19H:01M:59S] left until the Gate is stabilized.
Xavier didn’t break out into a sweat, but his heart felt heavy and his stomach was in knots. Obliterating the Goblin Warriors and the Goblins within the encirclement of cars was not that difficult anymore. He was strong enough to deal with them easily with Glut’s support. However, the thunderous sounds from outside worried him. The Minotaur had already barged through the wall of vehicles once before returning to thrash the Goblins and Goblin Warriors that continued to swarm at it like vengeful bees.
For a moment, he wondered if it had been a mistake to bring the Minotaur to this place. But that worry dispersed quickly. The Minotaur was their best shot to destroy the Monster Gate as swiftly as possible.
[27H:01M:59S] left until the Gate is stabilized.
Suddenly the eerie glow of the Monster Gate transformed as he felt the air around it prickle with energy. He heard faint crackling sounds as something about the Monster Gate seemed to change. At first, he felt overjoyed thinking that his efforts were finally bearing fruit but then he felt the Gate hum in a low sound. Xavier took a step forward to inspect it closely, wondering what was going on. The Monster Gate began to vibrate, slowly at first and then the intensity increased a little.
The dark and inky blue color of the Monster Gate slowly began to change. It turned a pale shade of red at first and slowly grew darker, turning almost crimson. It was a no-brainer that anything crimson was dangerous. Consequently, Xavier’s grip on his katana tightened as he planted his feet firmly on the ground.
He had no idea what to expect but he had certainly not been looking forward to being met with more Goblins. And they were not just two or three but almost twenty five in number. The small horde of the pesky monsters popped out of the Monster Gate but he quickly noticed that they were not ordinary Goblins. All of them were Goblin Warriors except one that seemed to be a Goblin Shaman.
Just like the rest of the lot, it was green and hideous as well but instead of weapons it was wielding a large wooden staff. Its small, stocky body was covered in a long velvety robe while a red colored headband with a variety of feathers sticking out of it sat on its uneven head. Its eyes glared at Xavier as it led its small battalion towards the trespassing human. It raised its wrinkled hand in the air, pointing the tip of its staff at Xavier and muttered something.
Xavier raised an eyebrow when he saw the batch of monsters emerging from the Monster Gate but he didn’t panic. Instead, he smiled faintly.
Is that the Gate’s last defense? Well, it should be fine as long as…
Xavier was not even able to finish his thought as a thunderbolt came flying toward his head. His smile froze at once.
Destroying the Monster Gate was not going to be that easy.