Protect my allies
POV Damien
Looking towards the campfire i could see they were nervous, i'm surprised they're not panicking after having their entire party killed without ever seein anything other than shadows moving. I'd probably soil myself if they weren't my own soldiers.
I could see the leader conversing with his last remaining party members, I was too far away to hear what they said but i could see the other men nod as they seemingly acknowledged what i could only assume were some form of plan. They all reached into the campfire and grabbed a few pieces of flaming wood each before throwing them outwards. I must admit the leader has some intelligence, the logs they threw caused the grass and bushes to light ablaze effectively lighting up a larger area than the campfire did previously. All of the beastkin have been taken away from the camp so my previous strategy of hit and run with them as distraction is off the table.
'Guess it's time for an all-out battle, you guys ready?' I look to my right and see Gobi and Fenris both nod, time for me to be a simple mana supply i guess. 'Go ahead, i trust you two to take command in this battle.'
As soon as i gave my permission i saw the other goblins and wolves form a circle around the illuminated area, when they had the last 3 mercenaries completely surrounded the carnage began. Or it would have been carnage had the shadow soldiers been flesh and blood in the first place, i saw my soldiers charge in at odd angles that placed them in the blind zones whenever the mercenaries focused in on a single direction. The leader wielded a big two-handed battleaxe while the other two had a shield and shortsword each, their reaction speed and instincts enabled them to shield bash the wolves everytime they attempted to bite their limbs.
[-2 MP]
[-2 MP]
[-2 MP]
[-2 MP]
[-2 MP]
...
I could see the leader and his last comrades dominating the battle, for every 8 MP i lost they only received small cuts and bruises. If i hadn't gotten the Blackheart skill i would have probably resorted to tiring them out by waiting rather than a frontal assault, but my MP is still on an acceptable level.
[MP 445/520]
The leader was still going strong even after 15 minutes of constant battle, but i could see his comrades slowly falling behind and their combat abilities falling because of the accumulating wounds. After 10 more minutes and another 50 mana points the first one fell to a goblins knife stuck in his throat. All the bleeding wounds must have weakened his reaction speed and strength as he didn't have the strength to block Fenris from biting down on left arm, or it might just be that Fenris is stronger than the other wolves which would make sense.
[Alex lvl 12 has been slain]
[50% EXP gained]
Seeing their comrade collapse while clutching his throat and getting dragged away had to be uncomfortable and frightening as the remaining two huddled up, they now stood back to back guarding eachothers blind zones. Luckily it seems that Gobi and Fenris know how to adapt to situations as they focused the weaker guy while distracting the leader, this seemingly worked as it only took 5 more minutes before the weaker guy died.
[Lenny lvl 12 has been slain]
[50% EXP gained]
[Level up!]
[Gobi has reached lvl 8]
[Goblin has reached lvl 7] X9
[Fenris has reached lvl 8]
[Wolf has reached lvl 7] x7
Now there is only one left, but he's also the most troublesome of the bunch. 'Inspect'
[Skill: Inspect has reached lvl 4]
[Earl lvl 17]
[Condition: Tired, wounded]
[Stats:]
[Strength: 30]
[Perception: 16]
[Agility: 14]
[Endurance: 26]
[Vitality: 24]
[Intelligence: 14]
[Charisma: 15]
[Luck: 11]
'What a beast, he's got more than 3 times my strength, and except for agility and intelligence he has my stats doubled. Strangely i have higher luck than him, does that mean he had negative luck when he was born? Or perhaps it is that others don't get a point in luck when they level up, I should look into this later.' It was clear that the leader was the leader for a reason, should probably give him some form of respect by using his name.
Earl was without a doubt the most impressive guy i have ever seen, his combat sense and skills make him a frightening fighter. Makes me glad that i abandoned the plan of trying to wound him while they were protecting me, he probably would have snapped my entire body like a twig. It's kind of sad to see such a fighter die, but when you think about it it's his own fault. He himself made the decision to attempt to enslave the beastkin village, and the way he approved of my made up stories tells me that he's not a good man.
The fighting continued but thanks to the level up my mana supply was filled to the brim so i should have enough, atleast i hope so. This is litterally a siege where Earl is the castle and we're the enemy army, i just hope my mana supply is enough to deal with him.
1 hour, that's how long it took for the wounds to slow him down. I lost 300 MP to make a single man weakened enough to have an advantage over him, a single man! 'I take back my previous words, this guy isn't a beast, he's a monster. He literally took on a small army by himself and only now does he visibly slow down.' If i was a higher lvl i would have definitively added him to my army, but i have no way to lvl up 9 times fast enough to get him.
"You damn demon beast! You enjoy watching me fight your army while you hide?!" He screamed out before panting hard, obviously tired from the constant threat to his life. It's understandable as he has had to be on guard for almost 1,5 hour now.
'Come on dude give me a break, you expect me to fight someone that makes me look like a newborn? That would've just been stupid of me, no way i'm moving from this spot.' Some might call me a coward but honestly, i have zero training, basically no combat experience and my equipment isn't much to speak of with my coat only being there for comfort not protection.
As he received no reply i saw him chuckling as he strangely enough threw away his axe, then he sat down on his knees. 'Stay away from him for now, he might be planning something.' I don't know why but i got a bad feeling about his actions.
Suddenly a red glowing aura started covering his body, this has to be a skill or a spell. 'Attack him, don't let him use that skill. Don't think about the mana cost just do it or we might all die here if it is what i think it is.' All my soldiers charged at him wolves with their claws and goblins with their daggers and spears, in response all Earl did was show a wide grin.
"If i'm going to die then you're coming with me! You have to be close to command there creatures so this will probably hurt for you. The spell can't be cancelled now, even if i wanted to." He started laughing like a mad man, even when Gobi sliced his throat he didn't stop smiling and laughing. The laughing turned to gargles as blood pured out of his throat.
Meanwhile i started sprinting towards the beastkin, with no idea of how big the range of his attack was. All i could do was leave this in the hands of my soldiers and hope both me and the beastkin were out of range. It was quite an optimistic thought that i could escape from harm, and i realized that as a massive explosion of flames erupted from behind me.
The first thing i felt was the shockwave accompanied by a searing heat, my body launched forwards making me lose my balance and eating the dirt. Notifications continuously rang in my ears and covered my entire vision before a second explosion arrived. The second explosion was twice as strong as the previous one and sent me tumbling through the forest at breakneck speed, i could feel my bones break each time i hit the ground and bounced off it.
'Am i seriously going to die from a kamikaze spell, i would have felt better dying from falling with the direwolf. That was atleast a badass way to go.' I felt my consciousness slowly fading from the multiple hits to the head, i felt no new strength, no healing me to peak shape. That could only mean that bastard Earl was still alive even after blowing himself to kingdom come, he's a proper monster alright. If not then it might not have counted as me or my soldiers killing him, thus not giving any EXP.
*crack* That was all i heard as my body slammed into a tree, if i hadn't already broken all the bones in my body i was certain it happened now. I Slid down to the ground as if someone had trown a wet towel to the wall and let it slide down to the ground. My eyelids felt heavy, extremely heavy. I couldn't breathe properly. *cough* *cough* Coughing up blood all over myself is probably a dead giveaway that i had some serious injuries, i don't even want to check my status, i can instinctively feel that i am slowly dying.
"Damien!""Big bro!" Shouting could be heard from my left, looking over i could see Liam and Alice running over to me. Behind them followed the other villagers and my two goblin shadow soldiers. 'Atleast they're safe, guess this is what could be called a noble sacrifice. If only i had gotten the EXP from killing Earl i probably would've survived, no who am i kidding. Getting a single point in my endurance wouldn't have reduced my injuries, and if i had gotten the kill i would have been healed while tumbling. Through that i might have lessened my injuries but the last hit to the trunk of the tree would still destroy my body.
With a last ditch effort i gave one command to my soldiers if they were still there. 'If Earl is still alive, kill him. It might save our lives.' After that i just gazed upon the poeple i saved, Liam and Alice ran straight up sitting down next to me.
"Big sis we have to heal him, he can't die now that he saved all of us!"
"I know that you idiot! Just look at his injuries, he's going to die at this rate unless we use magic but we don't have any healers." She seemed to be a little bit too sad for someone i thought hated me, guess no one can resist loving a hero. I chuckled a little which i immediately regret as i felt pain all over my body.
Liam had tears forming in his eyes, he turned to the other villagers and shouted. "Chief do something! Damien is going to die!" He was obviously hoping for their village chief to pull a miracle, but he just shook his head.
"No one in our village has an aptitude for healing magic, i'm sorry Liam but there is nothing we can do to save our rescuer." I looked over towards him and the villagers, surprisingly there were a few of them that had sad expressions. Still the majority of them looked upon me with disgust, can't blame them considering what happened to them.
Well i can't say it doesn't hurt my feelings to save them only to be met with disgust, but atleast Liam and Alice seem to be grateful, the rest doesn't really matter. "I'm sorry Damien." Surprisingly Alice had some words to say while i'm on my deathbed, i expected something from Liam but guess he let his siter talk.
"When you first found me i was rude and might have said some hurtful things." Does she really think i'm that sensitive that i can't handle a few insults? I can't really talk so i won't be able to tell her anything, but i can smile atleast even though it hurts. She seemed to have gotten my message, i hope atleast.
Then it came.
[Earl lvl 17 has been slain]
[100% EXP gained]
[Level up!]
[Gobi has reached lvl 9]
[Goblin has reached lvl 8] X9
[Fenris has reached lvl 9]
[Wolf has reached lvl 8] X7
Now this might have made me very happy if i hadn't been so severely injured, seems there were limits to the level up healing. I could feel my bones moving and relocating themselves while the rest of my body was healing slowly. If i wasen't already in immense pain i certainly was now, my eyes shot open and tears began pouring out. I started violently coughing and it just so happens that i was facing Alice right now. Blood splattered onto her face as I started writhing around in pain, i couldn't even register what happened around me as i experienced a sensory overload. This lasted for a few seconds before i lost conciousness.
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POV Liam
*cough**cough* I could see Damien started coughing violently and writhing in what i assume is agony.
"What the actual f*ck Damien! Here i'm apologizing and you cough blood in my face you damn bastard!" My sister was fuming, i know she has a problem apologizing because of her pride but to get rewarded for it with blood and saliva all over her face doesn't exactly help.
The other villagers seemed to find the situation a bit funny, atleast those that didn't seem to care that Damien was dying. I could see him writhing around before his eyes rolled back and he suddenly stopped moving, but then something strange happened. His body was healing at a visible rate, i could see his broken nose straighten itself with a snap and the cuts on his face closing.
"Chief! I-I think he's healing by himself!" I couldn't hide the excitement along with the confusion i felt, the chief ran over and started looking over his body.
"Amazing! His body is healing itself while he is unconscious, the writhing must have been caused by the pain he felt while it was happening. I have never heard of anything like this, the only thing in the same league is the regeneration of the trolls." The chief seemed extremely excited, can't blame him as he always did like learning new things from visitors that came to our village.
He was about to check under his clothes when suddenly a large shadow covered us, followed by a loud growl. Looking up i could see Fenris standing threateningly behind the chief, i seem to have gotten used to his size as my reaction was pretty calm. The chief on the other hand panicked and started crawling away pale from fear. Fenris then laid down next to Damien while more wolves appeared from his shadow before surrounding them, and keeping anyone other than me and my sister at a distance from their master.
"Chief stay away for a bit, they are his subordinates and only want to protect him." He nodded to my words although still pale and seemingly having trouble standing up with his legs shaking. I then turned towards Fenris.
"Fenris i think he's going to be fine, but i also think he would've like if some of you search the remains of the camp for loot and other things he might like." After telling him my opinion i saw another shadow appear in the form of a muscular goblin, i knew this was Gobi. He merely nodded at me before leaving with the other goblins and heading back towards the camp. Don't think they will allow anyone to move Damien so i guess we have to wait until he wakes up, being near him is probably the safest place in this forest currently.
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POV Damien
I open my eyes slowly, head hurts, body feels weak. Yup i survived, i really got to stop getting this injured. I feel a lot of weight on my legs and when i look down i only see darkness, i try to move them. As i start my attempt the dakness moves and i suddenly see a huge tongue approaching my face, before i have time to react i already know that Fenris won't let me go before he's had his fill of affection.
"Fenris i'm okay, i won't do that again so you don't have to be worried." Chuckling i start petting him while trying to make him calm down, suddenly i hear a pair of shouts from behind Fenris.
"Damien!""Damien!" Fenris suprisingly let's me go and i can see Liam and Alice approach.
"Hey guys sorry to sca-" I'm rudely interrupted by a fist hitting my face, knocking it to the side.
"What was that for you annoying b*tch?! I was literally at death's door just moments ago." I turn around only to be surprised to see tear drops in her eyes. 'Ahh if i remember correctly i might have coughed a mouthful of blood in her face while she was having an emotional moment, might have deserved that one.'
"Alright i'm sorry for coughing that blood on your face, i swear it wasen't intentional." She just stood there and looked at me with what i assume is an angry frown, i'm going from one battle to the other. Liam walked up to me whipered into my ear.
"She is trying to say thank you, but she's really bad at expressing herself without being rude. Just say it's fine and you'll probably get out of this scot free." He looked at me apologetically. 'Did i actually just get punched in the face because she was grateful i saved the villagers? What would happen if i actually made her mad?' I shuddered at the thought then i turned to Alice.
"It's fine, sorry to worry you." At that i slowly stood up, last time Gobi helped me but gotta do it by myself now. 'Actually where is he?' I looked around and all i could see were Fenris and the other wolves, no goblins, not even the two i assigned to guard the beastkin.
"Liam do you know where Gobi and the goblins are?"
"Currently no, but i assume they're over at the campsite scavenging. I told them you might appreciate it if they searched it and brought anything of value." He looked a little nervous while saying it, guess he's afraid i'll be mad he ordered my soldiers without my consent.
"No need to be nervous, i'd probably give the same order if i was able to. Can't really think clearly with every bone in your body moving and mending itself." I pat him on the back to try and ease his nervousness.
"But now that i'm conscious again and we've saved the other villagers i have to ask. What are you guys going to do now? Your village is basically a heap of ash now, and i assume you don't want to stay in this kingdom anymore." He smiled sheepishly while scratching the back of his head.
"Actually we discussed it while you were unconscious and we decided to migrate over to one of the beast kingdoms nearby, the chief and the others are currently discussing which one. Me and Alice actually wanted to ask if you'd like to come with us, the others might not appreciate it in the beginning but i know they'll like you once they know you." He looked up at me clearly hoping i would tag along with them for the journey, i suspect it might be so that they have some protection.
"I'll respectfully decline, i want to travel to Polus since i might regain some of my memories if i go there." I lie through my teeth, truth is i don't want to hang around and constantly receive gazes of disgust. Secondly i want to quickly get to some civilization and sleep on a bed for once, i'm tired of only seeing trees all the time.
He seemed a bit down from getting his offer rejected, since i felt bad i thought i might aswell give them something for protection. "But i don't want to just let you guys wander the forest without any protection, so how about this. I'll send along 3 wolves and 3 goblins so that they can protect you, also i think i can communicate with you through them once they get enough intelligence, and later i'll try to learn teleportation and then i can visit whenever i want. What do you say?"
He stared at me for a bit before asking "But won't they disappear if they get too far away from you? normally summoners and necromancers have to stay nearby for their minions to work." Now that i think about it do i have a range? I remember from the book that they could be on the other side of the planet, but he was also much stronger than i currently am. Worst case scenario the mental link won't work but that can probably be increased later.
"I don't think that's the case for me, you know as well as i do that my soldiers aren't the normal kind. The only thing it will affect is probably the mental link until i get stronger, but until then i can just make them listen to you and Alice's orders."
He seemed to agree with my theory so we decided that i would send 6 soldiers with them for protection, i'm really looking forward to finding out if i can get EXP from them while they're travelling.
When we were finished talking i could see Gobi coming with the other goblins, everyone except Gobi were carrying different kinds of equipment although extremely damaged by the looks of it. Gobi however was carrying a corpse, and once he got close i could confirm it was the lookout we killed. He dropped of the corpse in front of me like a cat that just hunted a mouse and wanted to show it to their owners, and i could already guess why he brought him. The system notification only confirmed it.
[Targets for shadow extraction found: 1]
"Arise"
[Shadow soldier: Human lvl 9 aquired]
After i got the message a human shaped shadown manifested before it started kneeling.
"This humble servant greets his lord" He surprised me by actually talking with a voice similar to the one he had when he was alive, I thought speech was limited by lack of intelligence but perhaps it's just my other soldiers lacking the proper vocal chords. Doesn't matter right now, all in due time.
"I have decided to give you a new name, and you shall act as my right hand man going forward. So stand up...."
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A/N Thought i might try to get some ideas from you guys for the name, i considered naming him Arn but you guys let me know if you have any good ones.
I also feel like my chapters might be getting too long now, i tried holding it barely over 3k but now it's almost 4k. Couldn't help myself from making a cliffhanger. :)