The goblins froze in unison; their crude weapons halted mid-swing. Bones 1 deftly sidestepped, his skeletal frame moving with uncanny agility.
"Strike now, Bones 1!" I commanded, and the Red Death ignited in his hands, a blazing red flame enveloping the weapon. With a swift motion, Bones 1 sliced through a goblin, blood spraying into the air as the creature crumpled to the ground.
[Bones 1 has dealt a ninth consecutive hit without taking damage. The Red Death has recovered 2 points of durability damage. Potency increase +9 total: +45. Bones 1 deals 51 damage. Double overkill. +2 death boons.]
As Bones 1 froze, my other minions unleashed a coordinated barrage of spells. Otto initiated with his Brain Blast, a surge of psychic energy that staggered Goblin Warrior 1, dealing 3 points of damage.
Bone 2 aimed at Goblin Warrior 2, his attack a critical hit, dealing a devastating 10 points. Bone 3 followed with a Necrotic Bolt, dark energy crackling from his fingertips. The bolt struck Goblin Warrior 2, adding 6 points of necrotic damage.
Squawk, our avian storm mage, cast Lightning Strike, the air around him crackling with electricity. The bolt of lightning struck Goblin Warrior 2 with a critical hit, dealing a massive 16 points of damage and reducing him to ashes.
Squawk 3 immediately followed with another Lightning Strike, this time targeting Goblin Warrior 3. The lightning hit with slightly less force but still dealt a solid 6 points of damage.
Otto 2, undeterred, cast another Mind Blast, his psychic powers overwhelming Goblin Warrior 1's defenses. The attack was a critical hit, and the sheer mental force inflicted 8 points of damage. Otto 3 joined in, her Mind Blast dealing an additional 3 points of damage, bringing Goblin Warrior 1 to its knees and finishing him off.
With Goblin Warriors 1 and 2 eliminated, our focus shifted entirely to Goblin Warrior 3. Bones 1, recovering from his momentary freeze, lunged forward with the Red Death, the weapon's necrotic energy flaring to life. His strikes, fueled by the flames of the Red Death, sliced through the goblin's armor, reducing him to a lifeless heap in seconds.
The battlefield was silent, the goblin threat entirely eradicated by the relentless fury of our combined efforts. But the respite was brief as the second wave approached. The summoner goblins were out of range of my pets, but we didn’t attack them anyway as I needed organic material to summon the Aerlyntium.
Even though the next wave got their turn, they froze within inches of us, failing to attack. I grinned. There were six monsters this round, increasing by one monster each round. My summoning spell finished just in time, and I had three bulky flame dogs ready to take agro and kill indiscriminately.
The second round went even smoother than the first. Bones 1 unleashed his physical elemental attack, the Red Death, obliterating another goblin in a single, devastating swing. The sheer power of the Red Death was astonishing, leaving nothing but a charred husk in its wake.
[Bones 1 has dealt a tenth consecutive hit without taking damage. The Red Death has recovered 2 points of durability damage. Potency increase +10 total: +55. Bones 1 deals 64 damage. Triple overkill. +3 death boons.]
As Bones 1 froze in place, the rest of our party unleashed a new set of spells. Otto initiated with his elemental ranged attack, Mind Flare. A wave of psychic fire engulfed Goblin Warrior 1, dealing 4 points of damage.
Bone 2 followed with his physical normal damage attack, Skeletal Smash. The powerful blow dealt 8 points of damage to Goblin Warrior 2. Bone 3 then cast a non-elemental ranged magic attack, Dark Spike. The piercing Coaldealt 5 points of damage to Goblin Warrior 2.
Squawk, not to be outdone, cast a physical elemental attack, Thunder Peck. His beak crackled with electricity as he struck Goblin Warrior 3, dealing 7 points of damage. Squawk 3 followed with his non-elemental ranged magic attack, Air Slash, dealing 4 points of damage to Goblin Warrior 3.
Otto 2, undeterred, cast a physical elemental attack, Psi-Blade. His psychic blade struck Goblin Warrior 1, dealing 6 points of damage. Otto 3 then cast a ranged elemental attack, Soul Burn. The ethereal fire dealt 5 points of damage to Goblin Warrior 1, finishing it off.
The combined assault left Goblin Warriors 1 and 2 eliminated. Our focus shifted entirely to Goblin Warrior 3. Bones 1, recovering from his momentary freeze, lunged forward with the Red Death, the weapon's necrotic energy flaring to life. His strikes, fueled by the flames of the Red Death, sliced through the goblin's armor, reducing him to a lifeless heap in seconds.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
As the battlefield quieted, we prepared for the third wave of goblins. Time froze as my flame dogs formed a protective circle around Bones 1. The wave of seven goblins froze in front of us, unable to attack.
With my Flame dogs ready, I no longer worried about Bones 1 taking damage. Coal 1 guarded Bones 1 while the rest of the group took out the mobs. Group B dispatched one mob, Group C another, and I used my staff twice on a goblin killing it.
As the third wave approached, I noticed something different. Goblin archers were now protected by a frontline of goblin warriors. The archers nocked their arrows, their eyes gleaming with malevolent intelligence. This round was going to be tougher.
"Prepare yourselves!" I shouted, my voice steady despite the rising tension. The archers had the advantage of range, and the warriors were well-armored, forming an effective shield for their allies.
Bones 1, ever the stalwart, took position at the front, ready to engage. My three flame dogs, Coal 1, Coal 2, and Coal 3, growled in anticipation, their fiery forms flickering with contained energy.
The battle commenced with the goblin warriors charging forward. Bones 1 swung the Red Death, its flames cutting through the air. His strike connected, dealing a heavy blow to the leading warrior.
[Bones 1 has dealt an eleventh consecutive hit without taking damage. The Red Death has recovered 2 points of durability damage. Potency increase +11 total: +66. Bones 1 deals 64 damage. Triple overkill. +3 death boons.]
But the goblin warriors held their ground, and the archers took their shot. Arrows flew through the air, aimed directly at Bones 1.
"Coal 1, intercept!" I commanded, and Coal 1 leaped into the arrow's path. The impact was devastating, and despite his bravery, Coal 1 could not withstand the onslaught. He disintegrated in a burst of flames, his sacrifice not in vain.
The loss of Coal 1 was a blow, but there was no time to mourn. Coal 2 and Coal 3 charged forward, their fiery attacks directed at the goblin warriors. Coal 2 managed to land a hit, dealing 12 points of fire damage to a warrior. However, the second wave of arrows came swiftly.
"Coal 2, look out!" I cried, but it was too late. Another volley of arrows pierced through the air, and Coal 2, too, fell, his flames extinguishing in a final, desperate flare.
I gritted my teeth, frustration mounting. "Squawk, Otto, we need to break through those warriors and take out the archers!"
Otto responded first, casting Mind Flare. The psychic fire engulfed a goblin warrior, dealing 4 points of damage. It wasn’t enough to take him down, but it weakened him. Squawk followed up with Thunder Peck, electricity crackling as he struck the same warrior for 7 points of damage.
Bones 2 and Bones 3 joined the fray. Bones 2 used his bow to attack from range dealing 8 points of damage and killing a warrior.
Bones 3 cast Dark Spike, a non-elemental magic attack that pierced through the warriors' defenses, adding 5 points of damage to an archer as well as the warrior it struck first.
The goblin warriors were weakening, but the archers remained a deadly threat. Another volley of arrows flew, this time aimed at Otto. Otto 2 cast Psi-Blade, deflecting one of the arrows and striking a goblin warrior for 6 points of damage, but taking half his health in damage. Otto 3 followed with Soul Burn, her ethereal fire dealing 5 points of damage and finally taking down one of the warriors.
With a gap in their defense, Squawk 2 seized the opportunity to cast Lightning Strike. The bolt of electricity struck an archer, dealing 10 points of damage. The archer staggered but remained standing.
Bones 1, seeing an opening, lunged forward with the Red Death. His strike, infused with necrotic energy, cleaved through the air and struck a goblin warrior. The warrior fell, reduced to a lifeless heap.
"Keep pushing!" I urged. "Go, Coal 3, take down those archers!"
Coal 3 darted forward, leaping over the warrior blockade, its dark form a blur. It landed on an archer, its fangs sinking into the goblin's flesh. The archer shrieked, and the attack dealt 9 points of damage and disrupted their aim.
The remaining warriors tried to regroup, but our coordinated assault was relentless. Squawk 3 cast Air Slash, the sharp gust cutting through the air and dealing 4 points of damage to an archer. Otto 2 followed with another Mind Blast, the psychic energy overwhelming another archer for 6 points of damage.
Finally, Bones 1 swung the Red Death one last time. The necrotic flames flared brilliantly as he struck down the last goblin warrior, clearing a path to the archers.
The archers, now exposed and without their protectors, faltered. Coal1, Squawk, and Otto launched a final coordinated attack. Coal 3 pounced, Squawk cast Lightning Strike, and Otto unleashed a Brain Blast. The combined force obliterated the remaining archers, leaving their lifeless bodies scattered across the battlefield.
As the dust settled, I took a deep breath, surveying the aftermath. We had lost Coal 1 and Coal 2, but we had prevailed. Bones 1 stood tall, his skeletal form untouched, a testament to the sacrifices made. But I was also starting to feel the early stages of run fatigue. It was probably a bad idea, maybe, but I also trusted my pets to clear the rest of the room, especially since Bones 1 could easily slaughter every goblin.
“Okay guys, listen up.” I said, speaking to my pets. I gave them a battle plan, and let them go. As long as they killed the summoners quickly, the fight would be over soon. “I’m going to take a nap. You all got this.”
Instead of participating, I did just that. I saddled up against the wall and rested my eyes. About five minutes later, Bones 1 nudged me with his skeletal foot.
It took another couple of rounds for the mobs to be successfully cleared out. I figured this out as I went around lugging the corpses into my inventory. I ended up with around 60 corpses. Hopefully, it was enough organic material to summon back my friends.