Chapter 355 - The Goblin Horde and the Frost Elf (Patreon)

Zeke stepped through the gate, appearing a moment later before the tower. Wind and mana swirled, bearing with it jagged shards of ice that, if he hadn’t been in his armored form, would have easily cut through the natural defenses of his endurance.

“I think you’re overestimating that ice,” Eveline said. “You would have been fine. Probably.”

Perhaps she was right. His endurance had continued to progress, so it was possible that his perception was a little skewed. In truth, he’d had few chances to truly test his limits. Certainly, he’d fought – and barely survived against – extraordinarily powerful creatures. However, he still hadn’t established a baseline of his body’s capabilities. Then again, with his stats constantly changing as he gained levels, any information he managed to accrue would soon be outdated.

“Yes – such a terrible problem to have,” Eveline said, having regained a little of her sarcastic nature. “I weep for you.”

Zeke didn’t respond. Instead, he looked out across the tundra and saw nothing but a wall of wind, ice, and snow. The blizzard had fully descended upon them. Fortunately, the tower’s aura seemed capable of shielding them from the worst of it, though even its vaunted power was insufficient to completely protect the army suddenly appearing by Zeke’s side. Even as kobolds and other warriors materialized before the gate, Zeke squinted in an effort to see the goblins he knew were within the blizzard.

And when he saw the opposing army, he let out a groan of frustration.

There weren’t just a few hundred of the creatures. Instead, there were thousands of them, each one blue-skinned, ugly, and with spindly limbs. They all had weapons of ice, but were nearly naked, save for a few strips of leather meant to function as loincloths. However, Zeke’s frustration had nothing to do with the goblins. Instead, his annoyance came at the sight of the other creatures within that army.

He recognized the shard wolves, many of whom bore goblins upon their broad, crystalline backs. But there were other creatures he’d never seen before. Giant golems of jagged ice, a few white-furred humanoid giants that he suspected were yetis, and a handful of blue-and-white, airborne serpents, their forms twisting in the air with every gust of wind were the most prominent, but there were plenty of other monsters among the horde that defied description.

“This might be a problem,” said Eveline. “For this many…there must be someone powerful behind them.”

Zeke couldn’t help but agree. He wasn’t nearly as experienced as Eveline – she had hundreds, if not thousands of years behind her – but even he could recognize the dangers arrayed before his disparate army. However, it didn’t seem to matter very much. They had come for blood, so even if he wanted to avoid a fight, peace didn’t seem to be in the cards.

After a few seconds, the army had completely assembled. Jasper approached, looking nervous, and said, “Please do not judge me, friend. My singing voice has never been…more than acceptable.”

“So long as your skill protects us, I don’t think anyone’s going to care if you can carry a tune or not,” Zeke said.

Jasper just shook his head and mumbled something about wishing that everyone shared that attitude. In any case, they quickly decided to keep him on the backlines where he would be sheltered from the brunt of the enemy’s attacks. Because without his skill – assuming it worked the way it was supposed to work – they would be doomed. Some of the more powerful warriors would survive the icy aura, but most would soon succumb.

Meanwhile, the kobold spiritweavers had already begun a ritual meant to protect their people. According to Silik, it wouldn’t work on anyone but kobolds, but for them, it would function as second layer of armor. Finally, most of the former slaves were readying themselves for the coming battle, enacting skills and pacing back and forth until they could unleash their powers.

“Such a ragtag group,” Eveline remarked. “But I suppose everyone likes an underdog.”

Zeke couldn’t really disagree with her assessment of his army. They could all be fierce combatants, but they each had weaknesses as well. The former slaves still hadn’t completely recovered from their captivity. Many of them had been slaves for decades, and as such, their skills had atrophied. They were all working to change that, but doing so would take time. AS such, they could only bring a sliver of their customary power to bear.

The kobolds, by contrast, were at the peak of their own abilities. However, their weaknesses had to do with their near-sapience. Some had passed that ephemeral mark, but even they were driven more by instinct than rational thought. Normally, that wouldn’t affect their combat potential, but the issue was exacerbated by two things. In most situations, they relied on swarm tactics, with the juvenile kobolds as part of the battle plan. The little monsters were capable of overwhelming more powerful opponents with the weight of sheer numbers, and though many would be killed in such an endeavor, it was still a valid strategy. But Zeke had forbidden them from sending the juveniles into a fight. Part of that was due to the fact that they were little more than children, and as such, Zeke couldn’t stomach the notion of using them in a battle. But it was also because, in this instance, they’d never survive the atmosphere.

Which brought Zeke to the second issue with the kobolds. Before following Zeke to the surface, none of them had ever set foot aboveground. So, even in calm weather, they were hamstrung by unfamiliarity. Some, like the rangers, had adjusted, but even they were only functioning at a fraction of their real potential. The rest were more affected, and it wasn’t uncommon to find a centurion staring up at the sky in fear.

All of that coalesced into one simple and unavoidable fact: Zeke’s army was not at its best. And perhaps it never would be. Some of the issues – like the former slaves’ atrophied skills – might never be righted. And the kobolds – as a people – may never achieve sapience. It was a depressing thought, but one he had little choice but to acknowledge.

Whatever the case, the situation wasn’t going to change just because he and his army weren’t ready to meet the challenge before them. After all, it wasn’t as if the horde arrayed across the tundra hadn’t assembled for no reason. The goblins and their allies were there for blood.

“At least they’re just goblins,” said one of the nearby former slaves. He was a slim elf who was missing an arm. Still, he held a slim sword in his other hand while an expression of determination decorated his gaunt face.

Another of the slaves remarked, “There are a bunch of those ice wolves, too.”

“We beat those before,” said yet another. “We’ll be ‘em again. Plus, these are smaller.”

“And the yetis?”

“Lord Ezekiel’ll take care of ‘em.”

“That has a nice ring to it,” Eveline said as Zeke stopped listening to the conversations around him. “Lord Ezekiel. It has more gravitas than just ‘Zeke,’ don’t you think?”

Zeke tried not to groan, but he didn’t respond – not even in his thoughts. He’d gotten better about keeping those to himself, but Eveline had more access to his mind than ever before. Certainly, he had the power to force her out, but he wasn’t willing to kill the former demoness just because he found the situation a little uncomfortable.

“Awww – you like me! You really like me!” she exclaimed, somehow conveying that she was clapping her nonexistent hands.

“Don’t read too much into it,” he responded. “Just because I don’t want to kill you doesn’t mean I like having you in there. So, watch yourself.”

“Big words for a guy who let a demoness live in his brain,” she needled.

Zeke just shook his head. She knew his innermost thoughts, and so, she was well aware of how far she could push him without consequences. And a few sarcastic comments were insufficient to get him to that point. So, he ignored them and focused on the impending battle.

The goblins still hadn’t moved any closer. Perhaps the tower’s defenses prevented – or at least dissuaded – it. Or maybe they were more intelligent than they seemed.

After a few moments, a clear voice cut through the wind, saying, “Oh, that is a beautiful tower. Surrender it to me, and I may yet let you live.”

After having let the skill lapse while taking Pudge to the Crimson Springs, Zeke re-embraced [Triune Colossus], enveloping himself in the skill. He grew, both in terms of height and breadth, until he towered over even the massive kobold centurions. Then, harnessing his strength, he bellowed, “Funny. I was going to say the same thing to you. Give me your natural treasure, and we’ll be on our way.”

He had no idea who he was talking to – she still hadn’t shown herself – but it didn’t take a genius to infer that she was the goblins’ leader. Perhaps she was some evolved version of the creatures – a one-in-a-million result of a host of random circumstances that had allowed to exceed her birth. Or maybe she was just some opportunistic outsider who’d recognized the value of having a goblin army at her disposal. Either way, it didn’t much matter to Zeke’s plans. All that really mattered was that she was the one in control.

A melodic laugh rang across the tundra, somehow subduing the sound of the howling wind. Then, the goblin’s leader said, “Oh, such impudence! How amusing! Perhaps you can be my new champion. You’re certainly more aesthetically pleasing than these ugly goblins. Ugh. But a girl has to take what she can get, right? I’m sure you can understand that, what with your little band of lizard-people.”

“Kobolds,” Zeke growled.

“Oh, how delightful. I haven’t had this much fun in ages and ages,” she said. “And what’s that? You have dwarves with you?! What a thoughtful gift!”

At that moment, the few dwarves among the former slaves shifted uncomfortable. Zeke heard a few mutter something about frost elves, which gave him some ideas as to the identity of the speaker. He’d learned some of the history between the two races, so he knew that the frost elves had waged a war on the dwarves that had eventually driven them back to their last bastion, Min Ferilik. Eventually, the dwarves’ desperation had driven them to dabble in demonic powers, which in turn had led to a civil war that had resulted in the death of the king as well as the eventual corruption of the remaining dwarves.

“And don’t forget what happened to poor Fainn,” Eveline pointed out, referring to the dwarven prince who’d somehow ended up bound within the Spear of Desolation and used to fuel someone else’s progression. They still didn’t know who’d created the Spear of bound the dwarf, and Zeke fervently hoped he would never find out. He knew he was powerful, but against someone who could imprison a dwarf of Fainn’s power, he would be little more than a gnat.

“For now,” Eveline said. “Eventually, you’ll be able to crush them beneath your boots.”

Sometimes, Zeke forgot that Eveline had been imprisoned, too. Her soul had been splintered, and her existence had been fundamentally changed. So, she had a bit of a bone to pick with the architect of her own misery.

“You’re overstating it,” she said. “I’m not miserable. In fact, I’m quite content. But when you get the chance, I hope you rip them to pieces. Whoever they are.”

Zeke didn’t answer her request, largely because his own goals didn’t include challenging some being of indeterminate power. Certainly, if he had the chance – and good reason to do so – he would put them down. However, that was far from his main objective. In any case, he had a long way to go before he could manage such a feat.

For now, though, he had a frost elf and her goblin army to deal with. To that end, he raised his voice – with his strength, he could reach a volume that, on Earth, was reserved for the public address systems at sports arenas – and said, “The dwarves are under my protection. Hurt them, and we’ll have issues.”

Of course, those issues were already nigh-unavoidable. After all, she had something he wanted. And while that wasn’t enough for him to go full scorched-earth on a thinking person – monsters were different – the fact that she’d shown up on his doorstep with an army kind of changed things.

“And it’s not because you want whatever natural treasure has fueled her power, right?” Eveline said. “Definitely not. Because it would be incredibly selfish to kill someone just to get their stuff. Almost demonic.”

“Shut up.”

In any case, the frost elf took Zeke’s declaration as a sign to commence the battle, because as soon as he’d uttered those words, the wind rose to a howling crescendo, bearing with it jagged ice shards that could cut through stout armor. At the same time, the goblins surged forward, screaming with murderous glee as they sprinted across the space between the two armies. And the other creatures within the horde followed.

Meanwhile, Jasper took a deep, steadying breath and began to sing. The words were completely foreign to Zeke, but the melody was soothing in a way he couldn’t quite articulate. But even amidst all that, he found that one thought had risen to the forefront of his mind.

If Jasper’s singing voice – which could rival professional singers’ back on Earth – was merely acceptable, what then would the dark elf consider good?

“Oh, you sweet, innocent child,” said Eveline. “I’ve known sirens who could, without using a single skill, drive you to tears with a whisper. If they sang…well, you would explode with devotion.”

That was wholly disturbing, but Zeke didn’t have the time to contemplate the implications of Eveline’s claims. Instead, he braced himself for the arrival of the goblin horde.

Only a few seconds later, a huge shard wolf bearing four screeching goblins reached him. He met their charge with a massive swing of his hammer. He hadn’t used any skills – mostly because he liked to gauge an enemy’s power before he completely committed – but even so, the shard wolf was caught off-balance. The force of the blow was enough to stop its charge cold before sending it rocketing back into its fellows.

But less than an instant later, it was replaced by another enemy.

And thus, the battle of the Ianthian Wastes began.