As Thorian led his party towards the besieged village, a storm of anticipation swelled within him, forcing him to wrestle with an instinctive urge to immediately plunge into the fray.
Nox, just try to survive for as long as you can. I am coming.
However, such impulsiveness was a path to ruin. It would be reckless to toss caution to the wind and leap headlong into the lions' den to rescue his ally. Such an act would merely result in a higher death toll amongst his own.
So, with a measured calm, Thorian began to execute his strategy. His initial command was for as many kobolds as possible to establish soul bonds with the direwolves. Fifteen of them successfully became riders, the majority being warriors, with the exceptions of Aqua and a swift assassin, whom Thorian had dubbed Alacritas.
"If we charge head-on, our strength might suffice to secure victory," Thorian elaborated. "But I don't desire a mere win. I want a flawless victory, with as little of us dying. Even a thousand of their lives do not equate to the value of a single one of ours."
“What should we do then, King?” Ventus inquired, perched atop his immense direwolf. “Do you have a plan in mind?”
"We will lay an ambush," Thorian elucidated. "Once we lure them into the forest, we can leverage our superior speed and the concealment of the trees for hit-and-run tactics. The terrain will deprive them of any defensive advantage."
"Your insight remains as profound as ever," Vigil remarked. "But where shall we stage our ambush?"
"We'll establish multiple ambush sites," Thorian expanded. "Each of the six units from the two platoons will position themselves in a specific area of the forest."
“Isn’t it better if we all stand together?” Ventus asked, his brow furrowing. “There is strength in number.”
"No, that would be detrimental," Vigil countered. "If we all cluster in the same area, they could simply hurl a barrage of fireballs in our general direction. We would be ensnared in a deadly inferno. While our king might survive, many would not."
"Indeed," Thorian agreed, nodding. "Our dispersion is essential to make us less of a target. It plays into our nimbleness and adaptability."
With a strategy formulated, Thorian waited for Forlune and Aqua to rally the rest of his troops. After half an hour, the orcs, along with the kobolds and kobloids of the first platoon, regrouped with them.
According to the plan, Thorian strategically stationed each unit at various points within the forest. Some were positioned closer to the northern and southern gates, rather than the eastern gate where he resided. As for the citizens and the crippled direwolves, Thorian stationed them farther back, away from the danger of the battlefield.
With his warriors dispersed throughout the forest, waiting in ambush, Thorian rode Harald and ascended the hill, accompanied by Ventus and Aqua. From their elevated vantage point, he could see the village teeming with humans. Those camped on the pile of monster corpses outside alone numbered in the dozens.
Amongst them were men and women of all ages. A woman with a usually gentle face was now armed with a blood-stained axe, a wild expression contorting her features. The level of barbarity on display, even from those who had witnessed their entire world collapse around them, was bewildering.
These are just normal citizens, Thorian raised an eyebrow. I thought it would be William’s men.
Despite them being mere citizens, thoughts of mercy never grazed Thorian's mind. They had dared to show hostility and had slain his people; such reckless individuals were destined only for death.
"Shall we extend them a small greeting?" Thorian proposed to his companions, his voice barely above a whisper.
Grasping his intention, Ventus flashed a grin. “If it’s of the violent kind, I am all for it, King.”
The wind and water magi readied their most potent spells, while Thorian stood on the brink of the cliff. His gaze bore into the heart of his ravaged village.
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“My name is Thorian!” His voice resonated like a thunderclap, arresting the attention of all humans near or upon the wall. “And I am the lord of this village!”
No sooner had his words echoed than Ventus and Aqua unleashed their spell. The Triple Jet Stream struck first, claiming three lives instantaneously. The Gale Slash followed, leaving even greater havoc in its wake. The slicing winds tore through the crowd, cleaving limbs and rending flesh. The corpses of humans joined the pile of monsters below in a gruesome cascade.
The clamor stirred by Thorian and his troops prompted an increasing number of humans to spill from the fractured wall. Some endeavored to direct their spells at the kobolds, but their reach failed to ascend to the cliff's summit.
"Do it again!" Thorian commanded, and the pair complied. With humans surging towards the wall like a horde of ants, their spells found a mark wherever they were cast.
Yet, even as their comrades fell by the dozens at their side, the humans pressed on, a peculiar frenzy fueling their momentum. Even from a distance, Thorian could discern their chants of "Kill! Kill!"
After several more volleys of spells, the human force had advanced perilously close. Thorian pivoted, and together with the three kobolds, they sped down the hill on their direwolves.
Eyeing the humans rushing from their right beneath the cliff, Thorian glanced at Ventus. "Let's incinerate them."
Understanding his intent, Ventus invoked his Wind Gust spell, unleashing it upon the approaching human throng. Thorian promptly followed with a fireball, fusing the two spells into a colossal wave of flames.
As the fierce conflagration consumed the charging humans, a notification materialized before Thorian.
Corrupted Soul Extinguished
System Check
Quest Contribution Accepted
Corrupted Soul?
Thorian's brow knitted together at the vaguely familiar term. He was aware that certain classes or monsters could corrupt souls under specific conditions, but neither of these possibilities seemed plausible at the moment. Such potent entities could not exist so early into the apocalypse.
Wait, I recall hearing something of the sort… As thoughts raced through Thorian's mind, he recalled a forbidden quest, one that he had heard whispers about a decade ago. Did someone accept the “Soul Reaver” quest? But that happened in the capital...
Thorian sensed that something was amiss, but he could not afford the luxury of deep contemplation at the moment. He had a war to win.
As the trio reached the foot of the hill, the frenzied humans charged through the fiery onslaught and lunged towards them. The moment their gazes met, the human magi invoked their spells and hurled them towards the kobolds with unwavering resolve.
Naturally, the trio didn't pause to observe. The staggering speed of the direwolves allowed them to evade the spells, using trees as cover for their retreat.
"Ease up a bit. Let them gain some ground," Thorian instructed.
Upon receiving his command, Harald and the other two direwolves modulated their speed, maintaining a pace fast enough to elude the humans, yet not so swift as to lose them entirely.
As the minutes ticked away, the crowd of frenzied men and women swelled in number. By Thorian's estimation, they were nearly one hundred and fifty strong.
Good, now is the time.
As if on cue, the earth magus, Saxum, unleashed his newly acquired spell: Earth Tremor. The ground beneath them shook and rumbled with the spell's casting, causing the front line of men and women to lose their footing and tumble. Those following tripped over the fallen bodies like a chain of dominos, bringing the entire group to a standstill.
Seizing the opportunity, the trio halted. Much like before, Thorian and Ventus launched their combined spell while Aqua sent his skills cascading one after another.
Simultaneously, Saxum's unit sprang forth from behind the trees, ambushing the stunned human group. The priest bestowed blessings upon the warriors, while Aqua fortified them with his Watershield.
The evolved warriors surged forward, axes at the ready. The largest of the brown kobold variants enveloped their bodies in rock armor, augmenting their defenses even further before diving into the fray. The magi, on the other hand, lent their support to the warriors with long-range firepower.
While the kobolds engaged the humans with unbridled ferocity, Thorian was careful to direct their combined spell far from Saxum's warrior unit. As the brown kobold ravaged through the human ranks from the right, Thorian and Ventus seared those on the left, leaving the humans with no escape routes.
Thorian couldn't suppress a grin as the toll of human casualties increased by dozens with each spell cast. The more he slew, the greater the rewards he would reap.
However, even as Saxum's ambushed group dwindled, more humans charged out of the trees towards them. Soon, Thorian could discern hundreds of ill-equipped, frenzied men and women forming an encirclement around him.