Clash 4

"Fck, where did this lizard come from?" Mike shouted in fear as he clumsily dodged the attacks of the Lizardman Ambist. While he was desperately evading, another Lizardman Ambist sneaked up behind him.

"Watch out!" a nearby mage yelled, smashing his staff into the sneaking Lizardman.

"Thank you, sir," Mike said, narrowly avoiding another strike.

"I'm just a mage apprentice like you, Just call me Gostave," the mage replied.

"Thank you, Gostave," Mike said.

"Mike, run! Something's coming your way!" Emily shouted while fighting a level 6 Ambist.

Mike heard Emily and instinctively ducked, pulling Gostave down with him.

Sensing danger, Mike didn't hesitate, he dragged Gostave, and they both leaped off the rampart to the ground below.

Just as they jumped, an explosion erupted, enveloping the spot where they had just been.

While in the air, the shockwave pushed them down, speeding their descent.

Mike slammed into the ground face-first, while Gostave managed to roll upon landing, reducing most of the impact.

Gostave was the first to regain his composure and looked up.

Gostave's face went pale. The city wall was breached, and hundreds of Lizardman Ambist poured through.

"That was close. Are you okay, Gostave?" Mike asked, shaking his head and wiping dust from his hair.

"…" Gostave remained silent.

Uneasy by the lack of response, Mike looked at Gostave and saw his pale face.

Seeing Gostave's expression, he immediately smacked Gostave's head to snap him out of his stupor.

"Agh!" Gostave yelped.

Gostave regained his senses, quickly stood up, grabbed Mike by the collar, and started running, dragging him along.

Mike quickly used his wits and coated his feet with low-quality ice magic, making it easier for Gostave to drag him.

Gostave sprinted away from the city wall, with Mike being dragged, facing the Lizardman Ambist.

Mike was drenched in cold sweat, seeing the sea of Lizardman Ambist flooding through the breach wall.

Fear gripped him. Mike slapped his face to calm down before launching his assault on the Lizardman Ambist.

"Fireball!" he shouted as flames shot from his hands.

The fireball hit the Lizardman Ambist and exploded, engulfing several of them.

The explosion raged for a few seconds before subsiding, revealing unharmed Lizardman Ambists who all turned their red glowing eyes to Mike and Gostave.

"Eck!" Mike shrieked like a frightened child.

"Ah! Don't do that! I almost tripped!" Gostave scolded.

"We're doomed! Run faster!" Mike urged.

Hearing Mike's desperate and fearful voice, Gostave looked back, and his pace quickened even more.

Behind the duo, over a hundred Lizardman Ambists were in pursuit.

Gostave pushed his legs to the limit, reaching his maximum speed, but it wasn't enough to shake off the Lizardman Ambist.

"We need to cut down their numbers. Do you have any magic powerful enough to kill them?" Gostave asked.

"I don't. I only know two level 2 Fire Magic spells and one level 3 Dust Magic," Mike replied.

"That's enough! Use the level 3!" Gostave urged.

"?" Mike hesitated.

"I know it's crazy, but trust me. I'll explain later," Gostave said.

"Okay," Mike agreed.

Mike gathered his magic in his hands and chanted.

"Quick Dust!"

The ground shook, and a crack appeared, turning the solid ground to dust instantly.

Mike's spell spread quickly, transforming the ground in a 30-meter radius into a small desert.

"Vacuum Wind!" Gostave used the strongest wind magic in his arsenal to blow the sand up.

A cloud of dust rose, covering almost an entire street.

Gostave didn't waste time, he dragged Mike into a broken house and hid in a large wine barrel, just big enough for two people.

"So, your plan is a smokescreen?" Mike whispered, careful not to make noise. They were in darkness, submerged in wine, hiding from the dozen Lizardman Ambists searching for them.

Gostave nodded.

"But why a wine barrel? Isn't there a better hiding place? My nose is hurting from the alcohol," Mike complained.

"This is the best place, it neutralizes the Lizardman Ambist's strong sense of smell. And would you prefer the sewers or this barrel?" Gostave countered.

"Okay, okay. I won't argue," Mike said.

Gostave lifted the wooden lid slightly to peek out.

Dozens of Lizardman Ambist roamed the house, sniffing around. Slowly, Gostave closed the lid again.

"How's it looking?" Mike asked.

"It's bad. We're surrounded. We might be stuck here for hours, maybe a day," Gostave replied.

Mike sighed at the grim news.

Boom! Tad!

A devastating earthquake shook the entire continent, bringing disaster to all countries. Many structures collapsed. Valleys suddenly emerged huge sinkholes swallowed entire regions, and mountains fractured. The ocean retreated, revealing coral reefs, and a hundred-meter tsunami was rapidly approaching the coast, threatening to wash everything away. Volcanoes erupted, spewing magma and ash that blanketed the sky. Hundreds of millions had died, and panic engulfed the continent.

The apocalypse had descended to the continent, sparing only the 14 major cities capable enough to defend themselves from this disaster.

Oblivious to what was happening outside, Gostave and Mike faced their life-threatening predicament inside the wine barrel.

The wine moves frantically, like ocean waves hitting a shore, drenching Gostave and Mike, nearly drowning them multiple times.

The two struggled desperately to stay afloat.

The earthquake continued for two minutes before ceasing.

Tad!

The barrel's lid was forcefully opened, flying off and landing with a thud.

Two men emerged from the huge wine barrel, one looked like a delinquent, and the other like a timid boy.

"Cough! Cough! Hahaha, we survived! In your face, Death! I'm not meeting you today!" Gostave laughed.

"Gostave, quiet down! The Lizardman Ambist might hear us," Mike warned.

Gostave waved dismissively. "Look around, Mike. Do you think those weakened Lizardman would dare stay here? They'll only meet their doom."

Mike followed Gostave's words and looked around. His face paled the more he saw. The west district had already been in ruins from the first horde offensive, but now it was unrecognizable as a city.

"What happened? Did the Lizardmen do this?" Mike asked.

"No, blame it on the earthquake," Gostave answered.

"Here, catch!" Gostave tossed a glass bottle to Mike.

Mike reflexively caught it.

"There should be a well over there," Gostave pointed.

"Got it. Watch my back. I've got a bad feeling," Mike said.

Gostave's face went pale hearing this.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, rushing over and carrying Mike like a sack of potatoes.

"Hey, why are we running?" Mike protested.

"Just shut up and watch behind us," Gostave said.

Mike was confused but complied, keeping watch.

The ruins they'd stood on before burst open, revealing 12 Lizardman Ambist beneath.

Seeing this, Mike was terrified. "Run faster! Run faster, dammit!"

"Give me a buffing potion, idiot!" Gostave yelled.

The two mages were being chased again by a small group of Lizardman Ambist. They desperately flee the hungry pursuers.