Ted hurled another fireball down into the pit. A swarm of damage dealt messages came back, reinforcing just how many of the damned goblins were climbing out of the ground to kill them.
And that was only the ones he’d hit. As they reached the surface, they were spreading out, making AOE spells less and less effective. He pulled on his dwindling mana and readied another fireball. Are you there yet?
Nearly, Luther said.
The dwarven soldiers shuffled closer together, abandoning the edges of the canyon. The central six dwarves kept thrusting down, stopping as many climbing as they could, while the rest held the flanks.
Ted hurled the third fireball down, delivering thousands of damage in a single spell.
Fire magic skill increased 4 → 5!
It wasn’t enough, not even close. They couldn’t stop them all—they had to destroy the tunnel, and fast.
Ted pulled on his mana and weaved a blastbolt in each of his hands, leaving less than a hundred mana left. Fall back! Crescent formation, on me! Yarthpranavalbort!
Oratory skill increased 2 → 3!
He hurled the blastbolts at two of the goblins with less ramshackle armor, dropping them each in a single hit but barely making a dent in their foes.
Luther, how long?
Twelve seconds.
The dwarven soldiers formed a semi-circular wall around Ted, thrusting at the goblins as they gave up ground.
Ted knocked back his last mana potion, mentally cursing their diminishing returns.
60 MP restored!
More and more goblins flooded up, nothing now standing between the depths and the surface. Until they blocked the tunnel, killing enemies would only be a waste of precious mana.
Ted threw together a Protection/Area-Aegis/Armor spell with as much potency as he dared and a twenty-second duration. If that wasn’t enough, they’d all be dead anyway.
The horde of goblins pushed around the side, forcing the dwarves into a tight circle, a mere three spears per quadrant. If this didn’t work, there’d be no escape.
“Minir ki!”
A wave of teal magic emanated out, shielding the dwarves and a handful of the goblins.
That twelve seconds better have been accurate, Luther.
Six seconds.
Trusting Luther was right, Ted weaved a Force/Beam/Telekinesis spell in his hands. He poured mana into the spell, ignoring the now Armored goblins pushing into the spear wall. The dwarves would never yield.
Not until they were dead.
Ted’s chest clenched tight around his pounding heart. Where were those damned reinforcements?
He fired the Telekinesis beam at the statue and lifted it as high above the tunnel as he could. As tempting as smashing the statue down headfirst was, he kept it upright, the flat base pointing down. Blunt force was the goal here, not penetration.
Two goblins, clad in his Armor magic, grappled with one of the dwarves, ripping a hole in the shield wall.
The knot in Ted’s gut twisted. Even if this worked, they were still dead.
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He pushed the statue higher into the air, his mana rapidly approaching zero. Luther…
Now!
The protective magic permeating the square floor vanished. Ted yanked the statue down, adding his spell’s might to that of gravity.
The world shuddered. An almighty bang assaulted Ted’s ears, throwing him off balance.
The stone at the impact point shattered and the statue crashed through, crushing the tunnel beneath. The surrounding ground slumped inward, and the statue embedded itself in the center of the crater, listing slightly, but still upright.
Ted’s fists clenched tight. Even after all that, the statue was pristine. His father’s face stared back at him, mocking him.
All the hundred or more goblins fell silent and still. They glanced at the statue, at the crater, at the now tunnel-less gorge their mages had made. Their mages had been close enough to the tunnel exit to buff them as they came through—close enough to now be crushed to death.
Since when did dungeon spawn hesitate? They had all the numbers they were going to get. It was all downhill from here for the opportunistic little bastards.
The dwarves ejected the goblins from inside the spear wall and reformed it, no doubt happy to take the apparent ceasefire. With barely more than a dozen mana, Ted didn’t mind waiting for reinforcements either.
Still, it didn’t feel right. Why had they stopped? Why were the goblins just standing there, watching, waiting for inevitable death?
It couldn’t be… self-preservation?
A pit formed in Ted’s stomach. Looking between the heavy armor of the dwarven soldiers and the goblin rabble’s dinky little swords and daggers, they were obviously cannon fodder sent to establish a beachhead for the now-dead mages.
It made sense that the runts would hesitate now, but only if they were sentient, and Ted couldn’t believe that, not for a second. There was another reason, there had to be.
Were they awaiting orders that would never come? Or did they just not want to die?
A fireball flashed across Ted’s vision and landed in the midst of the goblins, incinerating every single one it hit.
The ceasefire shattered. The remaining goblins roared and charged—some toward the origin of the fireball, but most swarmed the vulnerable circle of spears right in front of them, lashing out without any semblance of tactics.
Ted drew his bow and opened fire, making use of the angles his relative height provided.
62 piercing damage dealt!
The dwarves held the line, knocking back the goblins that got too close with their hefty shields.
81 piercing damage dealt!
Four goblins pounced on a single dwarf, three of them wearing half-decent metal armor. She cried out as they pulled her to the ground, searching for any opening to shove their nasty knives.
131 piercing damage dealt!
Ted killed the less armored one with an arrow, dropped his bow, and pulled on what little mana he had regenerated. He weaved a rapid firebolt in each hand, starting one just before the other.
More goblins pushed through the gap, swarming the adjacent dwarves, overrunning the spear wall, and collapsing it into a brawl.
“Enkir! Enkir!”
The firebolts incinerated two of the goblins pinning down the soldier. With only one left, she forced her way to her feet, hurled it to the ground, and impaled it on her spear.
A grinning goblin lunged at Ted with its serrated knife. He stepped to the side, too slow to evade the attack.
21 piercing damage received!
Dull pain stabbed at Ted’s side, most of the damaged negated by his Armor effect. An effect that promptly expired.
Shit.
He drew his falchion and stabbed at the goblin’s head, a blow it easily evaded.
It was not so lucky with Luther’s point-blank firebolt.
Thanks.
A dwarf cried out and was cut off mid-scream. Ted glanced around and his gut twisted at the sight of a knife handle protruding from the soldier’s throat.
Ted roared and lunged at the jubilant goblin standing over the corpse, drawing blood with a deep cut across its chest.
The goblin tumbled away, clutching its chest with one hand and lifting a short sword from a fallen comrade with the other. It rose back up, its face contorted in a sneer, and lunged at Ted’s head.
Ted parried thin air. A dull pain thudded against his gut.
178 piercing damage received!
Injury received (Bleeding Heavily)!
Adrenaline surged through every inch of his being. He downed a health potion and swung at the bastard’s neck.
It ducked under the blade, pounced in close, and stabbed again at Ted’s chest.
55 piercing damage received!
HP: 70/225
Ted jumped back and raised his sword into a defensive posture. One more blow might finish him off. Help me!
A firebolt struck the goblin in the face, incinerating it, and dwarven battle cries filled the air.
Blood pounding in his temples—and dripping down his chest—Ted glanced around the battlefield. Left and right, newly arrived dwarven soldiers decapitated goblins with their battle-axes, while Luther threw out firebolt after firebolt.
Ted keeled over and clutched his side. About damned time those reinforcements showed up.
The soldiers worked efficiently, cleaning up the last of the goblins in quick order.
7,594 XP received!
HP: 68/225
The weak Heal effect was fighting a losing battle against Ted’s heavy bleeding, and it would only get worse when the buff expired. Ted needed healing or First Aid, and soon.
He hobbled over to Luther. “How goes the battle?”
Luther paused and his eyes glazed over for a few moments. “The assault has stopped on all gates. The battle is over.”