Jasper drummed his fingers against his belt, and the army of kobolds were enveloped by the power of his skill. Mana suffused them, speeding their reactions and pushing them to new heights of strength. He hummed, adding a wordless melody to the bass, enhancing their natural regeneration. Finally, the periodical clang of his sword and parrying dagger sent a wave of high-pitched and discordant sound to wash over the battlefield, tearing through the rotting giant’s decaying flesh, weakening it so that Jasper’s allies could bring their own power to bear.

That was his role in the battle, set against a backdrop of an enormous and imposing castle, against a trio of massive flesh giants that towered more than a hundred feet above the army of much smaller kobolds. One of the lizard-men in particular stood taller than all of his subordinates, directing the legion with ruthless precision.

Silik called out one order after the next, and his captains relayed them to their lieutenants, who in turn, passed them on to the rank and file legionnaires. The hulking kobolds surged forward with their interlocking shields. The bulwarks were bound together via dense flows of mana, protecting the front lines against any damage. Even when the flesh giant attacked, bringing its enormous fist down with enough force to flatten a building, the blow was rebuffed by that sturdy shield.

It was a reminder that, for all that they were individually weaker than something like the giant, the kobolds’ numbers could make up for their limitations. The barrier wasn’t infallible. It could be broken. But not so long as the line held firm. And given the nature of the kobolds, they would do just that, and down to the last remaining legionnaire.

The power of the so-called clutch, which was the label the kobolds had given their entire society, was not merely defensive. There was plenty of offense there as well, as characterized by the second line of fighters when they brought their spears to bear. Each one was long – at least a dozen feet of enchanted steel – and incredibly sharp. Against such a monstrously large foe, one stab was insufficient. But when a hundred spears pierced the giant’s leg, everything changed.

The spearmen lashed out, each thrust of their spear like lightning. The weapons stabbed with such rapidity and repetition that Jasper only saw an illuminated blur, followed by a mist of pus and flesh.

But the third line was the real source of damage, as those kobolds – the most powerful among the entire legion – used their strongest skill to send beams of blistering light to burn through the already weakened flesh. The smell of burning and rotted meat filled the air as they cut through the thick limb all the way to the bone.

And then they kept going.

Shield-bearers protected the legion. The spearmen softened the target. And last, the powerful ranged-focused kobolds aimed to finish the task via their powerful skills. It was not a strategy that would win the battle in a few minutes, but one volley after an other pushed the fight in their favor.

They weren’t the only ones fighting, either. Another group surrounded one of the other giants, while a third employed the same strategy against the final guardian. Meanwhile, two more batallions – each group numbering in the thousands – waited in the wings, ready to step in should they be needed.

And finally, there were two more protecting a mobile infirmary manned by the spiritweavers. Between them all raced a number of kobold rangers, who used their tiny but powerful bows to pepper the giants with a multitude of errors. There were also juveniles on the battlefield, dashing between the various groups, bearing messages and helping to remove any kobolds who were injured during the battle.

It was a dazzling display of organization and efficiency, and Jasper couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if the kobolds were allowed to continue their march toward the peak. Already, most were sapient, and the most powerful among them had begun to push past the Eternal Realm’s average levels. What could they accomplish if they kept going? If they kept progressing?

Those thoughts, tinged by fear, anticipation, excitement, and, most of all, anxiety, haunted him as he saw the first giant fall. The kobolds didn’t pounce like the wild monsters they’d once been. Instead, they advanced in an orderly fashion, slowly closing the ring of shields around the fallen creature. But now that they had easy access to the rest of its prone body, the end of the fight was nigh.

The legion ripped through it without mercy or hesitation, scorching and stabbing until, at last, it expired. Jasper felt a wave of kill energy wash over him, pushing him closer to level sixty-five. It was quite an accomplishment, given that, when he’d left home, his family had been convinced that he would never amount to anything. In only fifteen more levels, he would surpass his mother. Fifteen more, and he would approach the peak, which was something only a few of the most powerful women in Tesh, the city where he’d been born.

In the entire empire, only the Blessed Empress herself had reached the peak. Certainly, no male had ever been allowed to climb to those heights.

What would they say when they saw how far Jasper had progressed, and in such a short amount of time? It was bad enough that he’d chosen an disgraceful – in their minds at least – class. But he’d also had the audacity to go into battle? They would be horrified to see what he had become.

Still, Jasper was satisfied with his path. He didn’t revel in battle – not like Zeke – but he wouldn’t shy away from it, either. Regardless, he had long since left the beliefs of his home behind. He’d chosen to travel a different road than most, and after befriending Zeke, he had gone much further than most could have imagined.

And there was a long way yet to go.

To that end, he continued to use his Troubadour’s skills, empowering the kobolds to new heights of power. And they rewarded him by slowly whittling the flesh golems down, felling them with organization, precision, and the power of the clutch. It was both terrifying and impressive, both in equal measure.

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For his part, Jasper never even used his weapons. Against such a foe, he would have just gotten in the way, and for no more reason than to feel like he was doing something. He wouldn’t succumb to such vanity, and so, he remained at a distance, playing his songs while the kobolds did all the dirty work.

And finally, the last flesh giant fell. The kobolds raced into the castle the macabre creatures had protected, then, brought the entire building down. When they broke the enchantment, a powerful wave of mana raced across the city.

Nearby, Silik met with his captains, as well as a group of those special rangers that normally followed Zeke around. Those creatures were a little larger than most of the scouts, and their scales had taken on a black-and-red coloring that marked them as special. Even more, they radiated a different flavor of power than any of the other kobolds.

“We have found five other nodes,” the leader of those rangers said. “We must destroy them, or Ak-toh will fall.”

“So it is,” said Silik. Then, he assigned the various forces, splitting them up so they could cover more ground. Three battalions for each node, with one auxiliary force to fill in the gaps. It was not ideal, but after what Jasper had seen, it would be enough.

For his part, Jasper would remain with the main group. Hopefully, his participation would allow them to complete the task more quickly. However, he knew that the strategy would stretch them thin, though with a thousand-foot-tall undead monster fighting Zeke in the cemetery, they knew they couldn’t afford to play it safe.

He was depending on them.

And no one – including Jasper – could afford to contemplate failure. So, they split up. Hopefully, it would be enough.

* * *

Zeke felt one pulse of mana after another, but he couldn’t afford to concentrate on that. Instead, he was busy trying to stay alive against the undead abomination that was the necromantic vessel. So long as he maintained his focus, he could stay just ahead of it, but it felt a lot like trying to outrun a natural disaster. One wrong move – a single stumble, perhaps – and he would be squashed like a bug.

So, he relied on Eveline to keep count.

Meanwhile, he leaped over huge piles of rubble or slid down the craters created by the creature’s previous attacks. Behind him, the earth erupted into a geyser of dirt and stone as the monstrous giant brought its own power to bear.

“I can’t keep going like this,” he breathed, diving out of the way of yet another stomping attack. The resultant shockwave – and rolling earth that came with it – slapped against his back, pushing him into a roll. His momentum never stopped as he sprang to his feet at a dead sprint that let him narrowly escape yet another stomping attack.

“That’s eight. We only need one more,” Eveline reminded him.

Just then, another wave of mana washed over the city, buffeting Zeke with unparalleled energy. That was the last one, which meant that he could finally go on the offensive. After only a second, the enchantment dimmed to almost nothing, announcing that their restrictive effect was an all-time low.

“We need to give them time to escape,” he said.

“You think they’re going to run away? You don’t know your people very well,” Eveline said. “They’re more likely to try to help.”

“They know the plan.”

“Plans are easily discarded,” she reminded him.

Zeke wanted to argue, but even as he dodged another attack, he knew that any argument he could conjure would fall flat. He knew his people, and the notion that they would abandon him – even under orders to do so – were almost laughable. So, he only had one choice.

He could only hope that it wouldn’t get him and his people killed.

So, with that in mind, Zeke used [Shifting Sands], racing through the earth and erupting almost a quarter of a mile away from the hulking monster. With its size, even that great distance seemed largely inconsequential. But it would have to be enough.

He whipped around and unleashed [Center of Gravity]. His skill wasn’t broad enough to influence the entire monster, but that was never his goal. Instead, he aimed it at the creature’s raised foot. The skill took effect, and the foot shifted. Only a few dozen yards, but enough to throw it off balance.

Because a monster that size – especially one that was no natural creature – would inevitably be clumsy. As such, its fall was expected.

“Should have done that sooner,” Eveline said as the thing tipped over.

Zeke didn’t respond. He knew the strategy would only work once. The necromancer in control of the monster would adjust, meaning that he only had one shot. He’d saved it for when it would matter most.

As the creature fell, Zeke stomped on the ground, and an eruption of hellfire and sundered earth exploded beneath the falling creature. It burned the thing, but it was barely a flesh wound against such a large monster. Hopefully, his next attack would be far more effective.

Zeke harnessed his Will, weaving together his different attunements into his Worldbreaker technique. This time, he allowed much more than a trickle of the power of his path into the braid, and the corrosive might of the Path of Arcane Destruction tore through him, leaving devastation and agony in its wake.

He ignored it.

Instead, he guided it into [Unleash Momentum], and when he let loose the power of a thousand swings, it was laced with sheer obliteration. It erupted from Voromir, riding alongside the projected expression of the weapon’s ability. A crimson hammer, fueled with as much might as Zeke could harness, hit the monster directly in the chin.

It hit with the power of a nuclear bomb, absolutely annihilating the golem’s face. The shockwave threw Zeke backward a few hundred yards, but his titanic body was more than durable enough to withstand that.

Unfortunately, so was the giant amalgamation of necrotic flesh.

It tipped backward, stumbling a few steps before hitting the ground, causing a localized earthquake powerful enough to topple buildings. Any mausoleums that had managed to survive the battle so far were crushed beneath its massive body.

But Zeke knew it was still alive, largely because he hadn’t received any kill energy. More importantly, when the dust settled, he saw the monster stirring.

“You knew this was how it was going to be,” Eveline said in his mind.

“Yeah,” Zeke replied, already preparing himself to unleash his most powerful skill. Before that, he dismissed the gate to his tower. Hopefully, everyone had managed to get inside. Otherwise, there was every chance that his skill would do them in. But he couldn’t worry about that. Not with the stakes as high as they were. So, once his gate was gone, he thrust mana into [Wrath of Annihilation], pushing as much of his Will into the ability as he could manage. It tore its way through his body and mind, fittingly leaving destruction in its wake.

And for the second time that day, Zeke felt the abyssal blackness of true death knocking on the door. He ignored it, infusing his skill with more and more power. He screamed as reality flexed all around him. It shimmered, black bolts of lightning tearing away from his metallic form. Those same bolts were mimicked on his body, spreading across his torso like a spiderweb of pure destruction.

Finally, when he felt on the verge of passing over to the other side of the abyss, he let the gathered power loose.

The moment he did, he realized that he’d made a huge mistake.