Chapter 82
Meanwhile, below Baelgin and Rolly, in a vast cavern, hundreds of goblin and dwarven soldiers were preparing themselves for the first large battle in the war.
Bolts, spears and javelins were already flying from both sides, chipping the ramparts.
The Quite-bored Harkon Boomhammer, fully armoured in a silvery mithril armour and equipped with his signature enchanted sword and repeating crossbow, stood on a small platform, staring at the large, green-skinned 5th-tier Ogre, the Great Leader of Grand Goblin Army on the other side of the cavern, who smirked back with both heads. The Ogre was clad in dark plate-mail armour and armed with a menacing black hammer one side was carved into a skull, the other side tapered to a spike.
Harkon was sent there by the Assembly's direct orders. The reason was that if this battle would get out of hand, even Arn-Dul would be affected. He scowled at this reasoning.
The Assembly would have to explain a lot to the citizens of Arn-Dul after he got out of here; this was a trap, specially prepared for him and the local Army of the Abyss. He knew it. Therdreag knew it. His advisors knew it. Even the Dornus' damn captains knew it. Only the poor Baelgin was still oblivious.
Still, orders were orders, and he would not disobey direct orders, but after finishing up with this farce of a 'war', he would get out of here and show the greedy bastards what happens to those who sold his corpse to the Undeads…
Therdreag and Tafur accompanied him, even helping with the enchantments. Tafur was not allowed into the battlefield, but Therdreag let him climb to ramparts and send a few runes at the goblins.
The happy apprentice even levelled up from it as his
He grinned. The Assembly still did not know he was in the 6th-rank of his
Turning to the Undead did not bother; his soul was protected by Paragon Dornus. He unwillingly touched the symbol of Paragons hanging on his neck.
Harkon caught a javelin thrown by some eager goblin with ease. Poison dripped from the tip on the ground and menacingly hissed. He threw it back with incredible power and pinpoint precision, exploding the goblin in gore.
"Sire!" His advisor said next to him, "we're almost ready. Only captain Baelgin and captain Rolly're missin'," he reported.
General Harkon frowned. Baelgin was an integral part of defences. Runemasters were rare, especially in the Army of the Abyss. Luckily, the other three runemasters had already strengthened the walls on their side.
"Send a unit of scouts to search for them. What abo't goblins?"
"They're done with reinforcin' the walls too!"
Harkon nodded. He clapped with enough force to cause all the dwarves to look at him.
"Soldiers!" He roared from his platform. He was not one to give speeches.
That was enough for his army to know.
Steely plates created angled platforms behind the small, enchanted wall.
"Chaaaarge!" Harkon pointed his drawn sword at the goblin's side.
The volleys of spells mixed with enchanted bolts flew from both sides, but harmlessly broke upon the defensive spells that flickered and disappeared into nothingness.
The armies clashed, the second- and third- pathed soldiers charged their skills and spells while the fourth-pathed leaders stood behind, using their miniscule scraps of refined mana to snipe the especially powerful cannon fodders.
The ground shook, but the powerful enchantments and runes held it together.
The Ogre and Harkon with their elite guards observed it both with bored expressions. For them, this was just a beginning, a little taste before the main battle.
They let the younglings gather experience, and let the weak ones die.
The battle continued for an hour, both armies at an impasse. Goblins were many, while Dwarfs were better equipped and their classes provided better skills.
The general shot a challenging look at the Ogre, who nodded with both his heads.
Harkon Boomhammer grinned under the silvery helmet, gripped his crossbow and sword and kicked off the floor, leaving a dent in it, as if it theplatform was not crafted from an enchanted steel.
He overcame hundreds of metres in a mere three seconds.
The Ogre did the same, just a tad slower.
They clashed in the middle of the battlefield, creating a pressure wave from the sheer power of their 'love tap'.
The battling goblins and dwarfs near the point of impact, were thrown away, some of them even with broken bones.
The ground shook even harder and some of the wall and ceiling enchantments shattered under the pressure.
Harkon nor the Ogre went for killing blows. Their fight was more of an exhibition and a spar than a life and death battle.
Harkon kept his true strength hidden, not releasing even a bit of his
They clashed with strikes powerful enough to raze buildings, using only a minimum of their power.
However, even now, Harkon was able to hit the Ogre's armour, tearing it as if it was a mere paper. The Ogre angrily roared. A deeply bloody mist surged from his bulky forearm and converged on his mace.
Harkon frowned and his sword glowed with a silvery light.
They clashed again, but this time the pressure wave was strong enough to smash every single enchantment near them and disrupt the ceiling's integrity.
The weakened ceiling cracked, too fast even for the 5th-tier elites to react.