The troll didn’t make a sound as the bright blue hellfire engulfed the creature’s massive body. As the rain continued to fall around Argonok, the dense droplets of water evaporated into skin-scorching steam as several of his human comrades backed away from the oncoming fireball.
The Fireguard braced himself once again as he eagerly awaited the crumbling monsters form to slam into him. His weapon always in the ready position as its master chuckled to himself in a maddened fashion.
“Let’s go!” Argonok bashed a closed gauntlet against his metallic chest as the troll’s blackened and charred body slammed into him, sending a cloud of ash in every direction.
Those caught within the oppressive black cloud of ash coughed violently as they breathed in the particles came from the one-time powerful monster.
Within the midst of the impenetrable wall of dust came a similar hiss compared to the first, and another wave of flame erupted from its blackened depths without delay. Shrieks of tortured horror assaulted the ears of the nearby combatants as the overly eager Fireguard took his first step forward on a day that was assuredly to be a long one.
“Ashun! Ashun! Ashun!,” Argonok cried out one of the names of the many demonic masters that lorded over his people as the hypnotic flames of Tor Nu’uk engulfed more of the expedition’s enemies.
For the goblins with quick enough minds and even faster feet, the black suit of armor was a demon of pure destruction as they rushed to avoid another wave of demon fire. Many of the unfortunate creatures that were either too slow or frozen in fear were engulfed in the deadly blue light as its flames licked at the air, feeding itself on the meaty corpses of the grey-skinned beasts that dared to stand in the way of its powerful wielder.
The grey-skinned tide of wretched creatures split open, allowing the seemingly unstoppable metallic demon to move without hindrance. To Argonok, who continued to spray the powerful flames as he moved forward, such a cowardly act from the invaders was of no consequence to the Fireguard as he was well aware of the fact that the primitive army held no threat to his safety and wellbeing.
Eventually, the halberd spat out the last reserves of the demonic fire, and the weapons flames sputtered out in a miserable cough.
“That’s it then,” The Fireguard announced to himself as he took one last step forward before basking in the destruction he had helped to create.
All around him stood thick black pillars of smoke as fire quickly began to spread throughout the encampment. Argonok took in a deep breath as the potent smell of sulfur, burnt wood as well as the pleasant scent of burnt flesh mixed in the air around him. At least he assumed that was what the battle smelled like as the unstoppable Fireguard had long lost the sense of smell since starting his new life as a demon-forged suit of armor.
Unaware that the fire-creating dwarf had run out of fuel, Argonok’s enemies continued to give him a wide berth. They didn’t dare to approach such a powerful foe when all that lay before them was certain death.
“What sort of battle is this,” Argonok yelled out to those around him as he slammed the butt of his weapon into the ground. His voice carried in the wind, forcing several of the more curious creatures to turn their heads towards the motionless Fireguard. “I should be swarming in bodies! Where’s your will to fight and die?”
A heavy clang rang out throughout the nearby area as Argonok pounded his fists against his chest.
Goblins, both on foot and on the back of vicious wargs, kept a wary eye towards the metal dwarf as they continued to swarm around him and rush towards their less deadly adversaries. A brave few might have accepted the Fireguards challenge, but the cowardly nature of their nearby brethren kept those with even the toughest of steeled nerves and dedicated minds from offering up their necks. These brave souls were of the preference for the powerful enemy to tire himself out upon a mountain of corpses and deliver that fateful blow instead of being the first to die in a long line of unremembered names.
Argonok let out a frustrated growl as it became all but clear that none would offer themselves up to the challenge, yet that frustration was short-lived when a pair of massive and powerfully built trolls stepped into his sight.
The two creatures towered over the metallic Fireguard as Argonok bounced the halberd in his hands, spinning the weapon in the air with each bounce. “Well,” Argonok rolled his shoulders as he moved towards the trolls who remained oblivious to his presence. “It’s a start, but at least it’s a good one.”
One of the trolls, covered in rock embedded scales and infested with oozing warts of green and black puss, eventually noticed the approaching Fireguard and slapped the back of its left hand against the spike laden belly of its companion.
The other troll looked towards its disgusting compatriot with its massive, singular eye as drool dripped down from its chin and onto the rusted metal pole that served as its weapon. The creatures’ single eye was undoubtedly a result of countless years of inbreeding throughout numerous generations.
Argonok continued to step towards two creatures as they conversed with one another in their guttural language, mere grunts, and obnoxious hoots were all that the Fireguard heard from the pair as the two seemingly argued with one another. It didn’t take long for the monstrous pair to end their inane ramblings and turn their attention towards the approaching metallic statue.
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Argonok, who remained nearly twenty feet away from the trolls, pointed his weapon straight into the air and planted the butt of the shaft deep into the soft earth. “It’ll be too easy if I go and use this on the whole lot of you,” The Fireguard proclaimed in a mocking tone as he beckoned for the pair of mutated monsters to come at him. “I’ve been killing goblins for just a little bit longer than I like. So why don’t the two of you come at me and help me change up the type of beasts that I can claim on my long list of victims.”
As Argonok’s voice echoed around them, heinous and vicious laughter echoed out from deep within the belly of his armor. The Fireguard joined in and echoed the jovial mood of the laughter’s owner; the cursed dwarf had grown accustomed to hearing the voice of the demon that had been melded with his soul all those years ago. Yet it was rare for the creature of chaos to find humor in anything.
“Let’s make it quick now,” Argonok’s voice rolled over the demon’s laughter as he balled his fists closed. “I’ve got a little miss to go and find in this mess.”
As one, the two trolls let out a piercing roar and charged towards the glistening suit of armor.
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Densely packed sparks of light flew across the air as the first troll’s heavy weapon shattered itself across Argonoks helm. The troll stumbled to the Fireguard’s right as the momentum from the creatures pulverizing blow continued unabated.
Unmoved and dent free from the severe blow, Argonok remained quiet as he followed the stumbling movements of his disoriented enemy with a disinterested gaze. The Fireguard let out a bored sigh as he watched the monster trip over itself and fall flat on its face.
Undaunted by the dwarf’s seemingly lack of reaction from its partners blow, the second troll continued to barrel towards the immovable Fireguard and let out a fierce, bellowing roar as he lunged towards the metallic dwarf.
Dumbfounded by what had happened next, the troll stared up into the sky with a blank expression on its face as it too had found itself sprawled on its back as a thick slew of mud seeped into its ears. The monster’s jaw remained half-open, allowing the rain to seep into its throat as its brain slowly wracked itself over what had just occurred.
With a series of quick and expertly guided movements, Argonok had used the trolls' weight and speed to throw the creature over his shoulder and slam the beast down onto the ground.
Heavy footsteps came from the Fireguards mud-covered greaves as Argonok took several prideful steps towards his latest victim, and it wasn’t until the sound of bones snapping like twigs and meaty flesh-tearing itself apart did the cursed dwarf stop and turn around to stare back at what had made such ungodly noises.
The first troll that had stumbled over its own two feet had found the audacity to stand back up and pitifully attempted to help out its monstrous comrade.
“Excuse me,” Argonok held out an open palm to the still stupefied troll as the rain continued to pour down into its open jaw while its companion let out fierce, pain-filled screeches as the shock of its injuries reached back to its brain.
The unfortunate troll's hands had been shattered beyond uselessness, and now the Fireguard had the misfortune of cleaning up the mess that the unsightly pair had created before him.
“Easy there now,” Argonok placed a gentle hand over the creature’s trembling shoulders as the troll continued to tear apart its vocal cords with its pitiful screeching. “Let me help you out with that.”
With his free hand, the Fireguard grabbed ahold of the trolls’ lower jaw and quietly shushed the pitiful creature.
A sickening sound echoed around the pair as muscle and bone were torn asunder as the cruel minded Fireguard pushed down onto the trolls’ lower jaw and yanked it off of the creatures face in a practiced motion.
The troll had no time to react as Argonok slammed his bloodied gauntlet into the creature’s face, pulverizing the strong bone and muscle until nothing was left save for a chunky pink and red soup made out of the trolls facial structure.
“Now then,” Argonok left the trolls lower jaw sticking out of the cavernous hole that he had created and turned his attention back towards the second troll just in time for him to watch it stand back up.
The two combatants roared at one another as they quickly locked hands and began to wrestle the other for supremacy.
Even though the last remaining troll had put on a valiant effort and a brave face, it was no much for the Fireguards unnatural strength, and a look of shock quickly returned to its face as it watched the tiny metallic dwarf slowly bring it down onto its knees.
“It’s over,” Argonoks voice echoed with sinister laughter as he pulled the troll closer to him while simultaneously letting go of the creature's hands and wrapped his fingers around the trolls bulbous head.
With a wordless cry, the troll tried desperately to claw itself free from the dwarf’s sturdy grip, but only managed to render its own fingers into a bloody mess as the Fireguard crushed the troll’s hideous skull within a blink of an eye.
With a loud pop, the troll’s head exploded in a violent shower of gore.
“Not much of a challenge, were ya?” Argonok asked of the troll in a bored manner as he stopped two paces back from the now defeated monster. The dwarf’s blue and red checkered helmet was an unreadable source of contempt for the deceased creature as blood pooled around its shattered skull. “Then again, you’re nothing more than a pile of slop trapped in some miserable backwater mountains.”
Even though it felt like a short brawl to the armor bound dwarf, a lot had changed during the time he had spent dueling the pair of trolls.
Blood and rain seeped into the ground as countless bodies littered the battlefield. Broken weapons, shattered shields, and scattered bones rose out of the earth to meet the continuous downpour of rain. Smoke rose high into the sky as fires ran rampant throughout the encampment, even the distant palisades that should have held no interest to either of the parties involved in the siege had found themselves to be engulfed in fire.
“What a mess,” Argonok said to himself as he continued to scan the burning remains of his surroundings. Goblins, orcs, trolls continued to pour into the encampment, but the invaders gave the gore covered Fireguard a wide berth. Word had quickly spread amongst the grey-skinned army about the lone metallic monster that had gone toe to toe with two lumbering trolls without a single weapon at hand; no one in their right mind would dare to stand against the bloodied victor unless they had a death wish to uphold.
Seeing as he had no choice but to find himself the next source of deadly entertainment, Argonok plucked the halberd from its muddy sheathe and hefted the weapon over his shoulder. The Fireguard did his best at whistling a jolly tune as he strolled towards his next source of deadly entertainment.
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