"Their Classers are in the side tunnels! There are dozens of them!" The twins were barely understandable over the chaos of the battle. His own otters screams beat into his skull as their Soul Sickness took hold. An instant later, their screams ceased.
From Gi's experience with Soul Sickness after his attack on the Glassborn Prisms, he understood exactly what they were feeling right now and how useless they'd be in a fight. With the field also limiting their attributes, they were losing any advantage that they could get from their skills.
Soul Orb lost to Possession Flower's [Entropy Field]. Current Soul Orbs: 205
More would continue to join them unless he did something.
"My Squad! To me!" Gi shouted. "Kumo! To me!"
Without hesitating, the four Inquistors who were in his Squad gathered around him. A moment later, Kumo and her three Hunters were there as well.
"We need to take their Classers down. Push to the left side and I'll take the right. If you find their Progenitor, come find me. I'm not sure if it's the Progenitor doing this or their Classers, but whoever it is needs to die."
Kumo grinned. "Then let's get to killing, Boss."
Tiria was standing behind the wall of Templar, her Healers having pulled those suffering from Soul Sickness back. Unfortunately, more than half of the Healers had been struck by it. She caught his eye, having heard his plan.
"I'll hold the line. Get us out of this mess."
He wanted to activate [Concealing Light], but there were too many bodies both dead and locked in combat for him to actually sneak. Instead, he shouldered his way through a gap after a Squad of Hunters dashed backwards from their current assault.
He quickly summoned his all-white otters and blew a path wide open with a burst from all of them. He mentally gave the order for his summons to keep the path clear and then dove forward himself. His Fighting Style wasn't good for a forward pushing style especially with his attributes restricted, he had to rely heavily on just being stronger than their jobbies. That gap wasn't as large as he wanted.
An internal check on his Aether stores made him curse. He was already down a little over halfway. It was regenerating, but he'd need all he could get for the fight with the Classers.
"Help my summons," Gi told his Squad as he also mentally instructed them not to use any more active skills. The Inquisitors didn't say anything but they stopped holding back their Aether and let their [Divine Bolt]s fly.
It only took a few moments for them to make it to the first side cavern. A quick glance from their new perspective showed that there were at least four other caverns across the way, but he couldn't see Kumo from the wave of goblins still crashing against his clan.
Seeing the clan struggle, Gi hurried inside the cavern. Like the main entranceway, it was low and vines with pink flowers layered the top. His Squad didn't need any commands telling them to take down the flowers overhead. Their blasts of light illuminated even further than the glowing blue mushrooms and he saw the first sign of his enemy.
The Classers main bodies were only a little taller than the regular goblins, but where their enlarged brain was, a stem pushed out and upward into a enlarged flower with wickedly sharp teeth. Each of them wielded two short swords in their goblin fists and had on leather armor.
This was the difference between themselves and a clan that had been around longer. More jobbies, more Classers, and better equipment. There had been a certain amount of arrogance in attacking them directly head on, but it wasn't completely unfounded.
The three Classers charged and Gi sent out a triple burst of [Divine Bolt]. The Classers weren't as agile as he normally was, but they'd evened the playing field with their [Entropy Field] ability that continued to drain him of Soul Orbs. All three of them dodged the blasts and closed in.
The first to arrive charged forward with its twin swords at the same time its maw struck down from above. The Classers maw crashed into the stone floor as Gi pivoted around the strike. In the opening that Gi had left, its main body darted forward with a quick double slash.
Gi unsummoned two of his otters and brought one of them out with two maces right in front of him, blocking the twin strike. He lined up over his summon's shoulder to blast that Classer away, but he was too slow. The Classer's flowery maw dropped from above, embedding itself into his back and he felt the drain kick in.
Before Gi could respond, its main body slashed forward again, darting around his summon and cutting into his side. It was a relatively weak attack, but with his Vitality down, it bled much more than it should. He placed one hand on the flower's stalk when a [Divine Bolt] blasted it into pieces.
"I got you, Boss!" One his Squad said before returning to fighting the few dozen jobbies that remained in the side tunnel.
The original Classer had killed his summon and its maces dropped to the floor. As the last one charged at him as well, Gi sprinted towards the first, blasting out a [Divine Bolt] from his hand. It dodged even at the short range, but it gave Gi enough time to scoop up one of the maces and resummon another otter to do the same.
He'd need to pull most of his summons into this battle if he wanted to win. He'd just have to trust his Squad to survive a few moments without them.
The first and second leapt towards him at the same time and this time Gi activated [Celerity]. He transformed into light and reappeared on the other side of them. His mace crashed into the main body of the first Classer, sending it sprawling whereas the other reoriented back to him.
Its maw lanced down towards him and Gi hopped back to dodge. Like its usual strategy, the main body was already running forward to cut him. Gi summoned two otters to his side in a blink and each of them fired off a [Divine Ire] one on each side of it. It jumped into the air spinning sideways to avoid the trap, but another summon appeared beneath it and finished it off before it could land.
That only left the one he'd hit with his mace alive. It had gotten back to its feet, but one of its arms couldn't hold its sword anymore. Gi returned two of his summons back to help his Squad as he charged at the remaining Classer. He knew the weakness of a single arm very well.
It launched its main head down at him again, but Gi had grown used to the strategy. He spun to the side and when the main body attacked with its sword, Gi dodged back. There was an opening directly after its two attacks and Gi let out a burst of [Divine Ire].
It dodged to the left, but that just put it closer to two of his summons which blasted it apart in a torrent of light. He'd gotten ten Soul Orbs from each of them, but that had just helped with the timer that this battle had on it.
Freed up, his summons poured over the rest of the jobbies in the cavern and ended them, freeing up his Squad who had all managed to survive but were gasping for air. As jobbies, they were probably feeling the restrictions on their Vitality heavily.
He'd need to send them back. He understood the Classers general attack pattern now so he should be able to manage on his own.
"Attend me," Gi said and his Squad hurried over. "I need you to bind my wound. One of them immediately pulled out a roll of bandages from her [Expanded Pocket] and the others pulled off his robe as she started to wrap it.
"That was amazing, Boss," one of the others said. "You took out three Classers like it was nothing."
"Their unique skills took some time to figure out, but they are weak like we thought. I'll need you to head back to the main group. Your Aether is used up and you're tired from the drain."
"But Boss don't you need our help?"
"I can take them from here. You did good."
The otter asking beamed with pride. The one wrapping his wound tied it off and stepped back as the others placed his robe back on. "Protect our Elites when you're back there. Even they will struggle in this environment."
"Yes, sir!" The three of them gave the sign of the Mother, bowing low and then hurried out of the cavern. Gi rushed after them, taking stock of his reserves. His Aether was down to maybe a third, but the break was helping. His Soul Orb stock was still high and his wounded side wasn't a danger. Last, he'd just ticked back to two [Celerity] charges.
He stepped back into the chaos of the main cavern. The swarm of reinforcements had ended, but his clan's Aether was low and with their physical traits lowered, they weren't able to defeat the jobbies fast enough. If it weren't for his Healer and Templar, they might have been overrun already.
"Hold!," Tiria shouted. "We buy the time Boss needs! HOLD!"
Gi looked toward the next cavern to see five more Classers stepping out. Looking at each side cavern in turn, they must have communicated somehow as Classers stood at the entrance to each one.
There were a total of seventeen of them now in the main cavern not including the Progenitor, but their Progenitor was there. Where the other goblins had slight physiques, the Progenitor was muscular and strong. The two swords that rested in its fists were etched with runes and had a slight glow that Gi assumed meant they were enchanted.
The most unique part of the Progenitor was that instead of a single stalk and flower, it had three of them. Each of them let out growls and snapped their petals with wicked teeth.
Kumo was at the entrance to the other side cavern. She didn't look injured, but she was down a Hunter from her group. They didn't have any time nor numbers nor even better attributes on their side.
What they did have for the moment was distance.
Gi immediately brought his full six summons out and felt a heavy draw on his Aether as seven globes of [Divine Ire] shot across the cavern. Let's see you dodge an explosion, Gi thought.
The Classers scattered from his sudden artillery, but there was only so much time. Shrapnel of light spiked through their ranks and four notifications told him that it was worth the effort. Another handful had been wounded, but they were all angry.
Again with some unheard command, their remaining group all charged directly towards him including the Progenitor. Gi was surrounded only by the bodies of dead goblins and vines on all sides. For now, he was alone.
Gi released another wave of [Divine Ire], but he'd had to shoot it behind them to keep himself out of range so it only managed to finish off a couple that he'd wounded in the first barrage.
As his enemies grew closer and closer, Gi tried to decide how to approach it. Could I run my summons directly into them and fire off a [Divine Ire] before they die? The timing would be tight bu-
A strange light spread throughout the entire cavern. It spread over him like a cool river with the light from the sky-ocean laying across its surface. The Classers stumbled a little during their charge as that same light enveloped them except Gi could see the tiniest sizzle appear on the petals of the flowers.
It was the twins' [Omniscience] domain. They'd waited to activate it until the enemy's Classers had made their appearance! Its chief function was simply to have a greater vision within their Domain range. However, it also had a very minor damage over time ability.
Now, Gi's clan wasn't the only one on a timer.
The slight stumble didn't deter them and the slow damage from [Omniscience] only increased their need to attack Gi. With his summons, he sprinted towards them as well, trying to focus on his timing.
Four of the Classers launched themselves forward similar to how the jobbies normally fought, maw first. It had surprised Gi and he'd only managed for two of his summons to fire off [Divine Ire] before they were immediately snuffed out.
The progenitor charged right for him, all three heads shooting down at Gi from different angles. He activated [Celerity] and appeared behind the Progenitor. Spinning, Gi launched off a burst of light of his own, but the Progenitor crossed his swords and blocked the attack without taking any damage.
That was... not good.
Another maw launched forward at Gi and he dodged backwards. Right at that moment, phantom maces started to pummel the side of the other Classers. The bludgeoning weapons weren't great against this spongy enemy, but the misty versions seemed even more effective. Five of the Classers peeled off to engage Kumo and her two remaining hunters while the other three moved to flank Gi.
He rolled to the right, but the Progenitor appeared there and Gi was forced to use [Celerity] to dodge the slashes from his enchanted swords. Gi loosed a burst of [Divine Ire], but all it did was provide him a brief reprieve and pull more from his slowly dwindling reserves.
He wanted to activate [Concealing Light], but it consumed more Aether to activate that than anything else. He'd have to finish the fight with a mace if it came to that and he wasn't confident against the Possession Flowers with just his mace Skill.
"INCOMING!" Samba's voice rang throughout the cavern, easily cutting through the din of goblins and monsters fighting. Gi spared a moment to look around at what fresh new hell was waiting for him, but instead, he saw Tiria and Tala both flying through the air towards him after Samba had thrown them one after the other.
His enemies had also hesitated to see how the fight was changing, but Gi was the first to act. He let off a [Divine Ire] into one of the Classers in front of him that was just a little slow on the dodge. A bolt of light embedded itself in the hip of its main body and that goblin fell over, effectively out of the fight.
Tiria flung a mace made out of water towards the enemy Progenitor before she crashed to the ground. Her decreased attributes made it a heavy landing, but she readied her shield. Tala had landed near Kumo and the two of them were fighting the remains of the Classers on that side of the fight.
"Feels like we're fighting Yom all over again," Tiria said with a grim appearance.
"Better than fighting Ferra ourselves," Gi replied and the thought of Ferra gave him an idea. Would something similar work here...? "Hold the Progenitor off."
Tiria flung another [Waterborn Weapon] at the Progenitor and used a shield bash to expertly knock one of his maws into another. Her shield training with Jalx had clearly paid off.
Gi didn't have time to focus on her as the two remaining Classers had reoriented on him. When thinking of his resources in a fight, he normally only considered two - Aether and Stamina, but he did have a third.
As they ran towards him, ready to cut him with their swords, Gi leapt upwards, angling his body sideways directly into the two waiting maws of the Classers. Their petals wrapped around his body and their sharp teeth sunk deep into his legs, shoulders, and back, but his arm was free and he was out of range of their swords. He grit his teeth, but with his Heart of Crossroads, this level of pain was nothing.
He dropped a [Divine Ire] directly on top of their heads. Two bolts obliterated the one that held his torso and the final one cut through the arm of the last Classer before embedding itself in the goblin's thigh.
In pain, the flower's maw opened, releasing Gi as its main body screamed in pain. He dropped down just to the goblin's side, but it tried to spin and hit him with its sword. Gi stepped inside, choking off its attack with his chest before reaching forward and ripping out its throat.
"Help!" Tiria shouted. The Progenitor was attacking her in a frenzy. All three heads were smashing down into her shield and she was having to hold it with both arms as the leader stalked forward, enchanted swords at the ready.
He took two steps to close the difference and the goblin turned its eyes to him. Gi activated a recently renewed charge of [Celerity] and appeared directly behind the Progenitor. It spun immediately and Gi ducked under its first attack, before latching onto the Progenitor with his good arm and both feet almost like hugging an old friend.
The handles of both his swords smashed into Gi's back and one of the flowers closed around his leg and he felt his attributes drain even further, but he only needed the one second to charge.
He released an explosion of light into the Progenitor's back. Gore exploded out of it and the light shrapnels pierced through his chest and into Gi's. All three flowers atop the Progenitor went wild at the damage to its main body and the goblin stumbled backwards.
Gi fell down landing on his back. His chest and back were a mess of gore from both his enemy's and his own flesh. [Divine Ire] had just a few more seconds on its cooldown and the Progenitor wasn't dead yet. Gi tried to struggle to his feet, but with his weakened Vitality, the damage was too great.
"End it!" Gi yelled and Tiria activated [Charge] and then her own [Commander] ability, no longer trying to preserve any Aether. She and her clone batted the heads of the Progenitor that tried to fight back even as its main body was twitching in death.
Gi finally stumbled to his feet to finish The Progenitor off and the twins were suddenly there behind him.
"Danna... sends her regards." The twins fired off a spiraling beam of light that obliterated one of the flowers. That gave Tiria the opening she needed to smash a second into a pink and green paste. Gi's [Divine Ire] came off cooldown and he hobbled forward to fire off a final blast of light.
A few shrieks from retreating goblins was the only sound that echoed around the cavern. With the Progenitor's death, its [Entropy Field] had finally fallen and the restored Vitality helped Gi stand a little taller. They were surrounded by close to two thousand bodies of both plants and goblins, but those weren't the only dead.
Kumo's Squad had been reduced to only a single Hunter and even from the other side of the cavern, he could see unmoving furry bodies near the line of dead. Gi collapsed back to the ground, trying to catch his breath.
"HEALERS!" Tiria yelled. "If you have even an ounce of Aether, start using it! I need someone over here for the Boss."
The Healers started moving at her orders and Gi looked back over to Kumo who despite the losses in her Squad seemed barely injured.
"Kumo. Kill any survivors."