The Mighty Four was proving that their reputation was rightfully earned. Even when fighting alongside such devastating powers as King Thrym, Yugal, and the summoned legendary beasts, they were clearly in the realm of heroes.

Rust’s axe passed through multiple foes with every sweeping strike, blasting aside readied defenses and spraying blood in wide arcs like a mad painter’s brush.

Norris moved without a bit of wasted effort. He was more of a one on one type of fighter but nevertheless left foe after foe clutching mortal wounds in his wake.

Luna arced from one cluster of enemies to the next. Her strikes left lightning scorched flesh and blasted her victims into one another, causing widespread chaos.

The most effective member by far was Delia. The disorganized throngs of barbarians were utterly helpless against her terrible arsenal of spells. Waves of force knocked many over the edge of the mountain. Globs of acid melted warriors into puddles of foul goo, and explosive fireballs rained from her palm in a seemingly limitless stream.

The battle was quickly becoming a rout. Thrym and Yugal spearheaded the giant vanguard, moving with purpose and leaving no survivors. They were soon joined by the heavily armored dwarves, adding a surprising synergy. It turns out people don’t tend to look down when facing a wall of giants. The dwarves went unnoticed, chopping into barbarian knees and bellies with half guilty shrugs.

Then in the blink of an eye, everything changed. A ripple of cold air washed over the mountain top. All eyes reflexively turned to the source of the fearsome aura. Three meters of blood red spiked metal approached at a leisurely walk. The few remaining barbarians suddenly disengaged, scattering to the edges of the caldera with many jumping straight over the edge.

“That must be General Orkas.” Tuara muttered to a nodding Kitha. “Zoggoth. Kill him.”

The mighty bear spirit leaped forward without hesitation, closing the fifty meter gap in a moment. Orkas stopped and held his arms out wide in invitation. A great paw flashed across and hit the general with the sound of a gong. The force reverberating from the strike made many of the allied forces flinch and cover their ears. When the bear shifted for another strike, every onlooker gasped. The general was totally unscathed. Four swipes and a crushing bite followed.

“This... is good. This... is damage!” Orkas’ voice was thick with excitement.

“He’s getting bigger!” One of the dwarven fighters shouted. It was true, Orkas was now at least a head taller and more imposing than before.

“Help him Kukulkana!” Kitha ordered the great serpent.

“In my own name of Kukulkana, Mother of Dreams, let the enemies of my master know desp-.” The incantation was abruptly cut off as Kukulkana’s huge python head was driven to the ground and pierced by a ghostly black spear from the sky.

“Do not... interrupt.” Orkas’ voice warned evenly as he took several more brutal attacks from Zoggoth.

Kukulkana writhed in agony, and those near her had to leap away to avoid the destructive death throes. Her head was pinned firmly by the deadly weapon that was sunk several feet into the mountain stone.

“Kukulkana, you are released!” Kitha acted quickly and the serpent gratefully escaped back to her own plane to heal. Kitha was suddenly weak from exhaustion, drained of all Soul Energy by the lengthy summon.

“That... seems to be all you have.” Orkas sounded disappointed.

In a motion that only the most perceptive could follow, the general stepped in and under Zoggoth’s snapping maw. A strangled groan could be heard from the bear as a red gauntleted hand clamped around the spirit beasts windpipe. Orkas’ other hand planted into Zoggoth’s belly, and the bear was lifted from the ground over Orkas’ helm.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Before anyone could even react to the unbelievable scene Orkas leaped straight up, taking the mythical beast along for the ride. Their ascent halted more than forty meters in the air. Orkas turned in the air as they began to fall, aligning Zoggoth’s head to impact the stone.

“Begone Zoggoth!” Tuara managed to scream at the last instant before the bear would have been driven into the stone. Like Kitha, Tuara staggered from the instant and surprising loss of Soul Energy.

Suddenly holding nothing, Orkas landed lightly and stayed in a crouch for a moment.

“You... dare to spoil my kill?” The general was furious.

Almost none present could even bring their bodies to move in the face of the seething malice rolling off the general in oppressive waves. Almost none.

“Now!” Norris yelled out to his comrades whom had been subtly getting into position during the past moments.

Rust, empowered by an enhancement potion and several spells from Delia surged forward. In his current state he was easily in the S class in terms of power.

Orkas turned and instantly knew he shouldn’t simply absorb the blow as he had against the bear. There were others that could be considered strong here? Interesting. He raised an arm to deflect the axe, but grunted in surprise as a fist cloaked in lightning hit him square between the shoulder blades. Impossible. He hadn’t sensed her movement. The stagger caused him to take Rust’s axe at an unfavorable angle and the blade bit into his armored forearm and was only stopped by a bone. The attack had done damage but that was only part of the plan.

Rust twisted his axe with all his might, forcing Orkas’ arm up just slightly, exposing the gap in the general’s armpit. Like the rolling strike of a viper, Norris’ flawless thrust sent the tip of his fine sword deep into the general’s body.

During this time, Delia had also not been idle. Without batting an eye, she sliced her palm with a ceremonial dagger as a horrid incantation sped from her lips.

“In the name of Nariocta, The Bride Betrayed, let the venom of sea snail and wyvern infest these wounds that they may never heal. King Slayer!” At those words Norris’ blade turned dark green, and sulfur smelling smoke poured from the wound.

Orkas dropped to one knee and growled out something incomprehensible.

The attack was so perfect in its coordination and execution that everyone truly believed the general was defeated.

“It... hurts.” The words did not match the tone. The beastly voice sounded genuinely thrilled.

Rust tried to yank his axe away, but a third hand on the axe handle appeared and held the weapon in place. Rust was yanked forward violently by his own weapon, and a steel helmet was there to meet him. His nose flattened and he felt the bones of his face shatter as darkness overtook him.

“I will save his body for you.” Orkas seemed to be talking to himself.

Norris drove his sword deeper and twisted the blade, desperately seeking something vital. A panic was beginning to take root in him. Nothing should have survived that attack, but Orkas was returning to his feet. Noxious poison began pumping from the wound, and Norris felt his sword being pushed out with it. Was this magic? No...

“He’s just using muscle control and his own energy to force the poison and my blade out of his body...” Norris could not believe his own words.

Luna struck again, but a sudden lateral movement removed Orkas from the punch’s path and yanked Norris in his place. Thanks to her incredible control she pulled most of the force from the strike but the lightning from her fist arced ahead of the blow, causing Norris to go stiff and a lightning shaped burn to appear on his face and neck.

A backhand aimed for Luna’s skull barely grazed her as she attempted to dodge. Even being lightly hit sent her flying and spinning to land several meters away unconscious.

A sword weakly struck Orkas in the side. The swordsman still struggled with one eye seared shut and the flesh on his face blistered. His friend did not need this body, so Orkas raised a hand to finish the soldier off.

Then Orkas was sliding backward. Something had hit him very hard just now. He felt his ribs knitting back into place and repairing themselves. Two broken and dislocated ribs. He focused on his latest foe. It was a red haired giant. The interesting one... Yugal.

Yugal could hear Delia casting behind him and stopped her.

“Save your power, mage. All of you need to retreat now. Kitha, Tuara... please help get as many people to the dwarven gates as possible. They may offer sanctuary. We must regroup until lord Gray returns.”

“Nephew! I would stay and fight with you.” Thrym strode up next to Yugal as Orkas regained his composure. “This foe is beyond you alone.”

“You are too important uncle. Get them to safety. I will hold the general here.” Yugal refuted Thrym.

“Lord Gray returns?” Orkas chuckled. “Your leader is dead. Lord Typhon has consumed your lord as I will consume you.”

“Go!” Yugal roared, and his rarely used Royalty skill had the giants and dwarves suddenly sprinting toward the lip of the mountain. “Protect them.” He added to the handful of unaffected ones near him.

A huge hand rested briefly on Yugal’s shoulder. With a squeeze, Thrym turned and followed his people down the mountain. The limp bodies of Rust, Norris, and Luna suddenly floated into the air as Delia’s telekinesis spell took them. With a thankful nod, she and the rest of The Mighty Four faded from view with invisibility.

“There... is no escape.” Orkas suddenly moved with terrible speed to run down the retreating forces.

Yugal’s club swung down in front of the general’s eyes, splitting the stone with a shower of rocks and dirt. Orkas let out a surprised grunt as he stopped and leaped back.

“A... mere A rank monster?” Orkas had felt an unusual amount of danger just then.

Yugal did not answer, he merely returned to his position guarding the retreat of his people.

The Red Knight could feel the bloodlust bubbling up, and knew he was about to lose all control of Orkas. So much for saving Yugal’s body as a new vessel.

Orkas took a closer look at Yugal, focusing past his own battle lust. There was something off here. This giant was very dangerous. Orkas pulled his attention from the escaping prey and squared up with the unsettling giant.

“Orkas... The Destroyer.” The general offered his name, a respect he hadn’t payed in decades.

“Yugal, Prince of Clan Borbas and servant of lord Gray.”

Orkas charged, and Yugal exhaled deeply.