James stared wide-eyed at the Chief, who had somehow survived the devastating explosion. He had to admit that, given the force of the blast and the subsequent heat of the flames, it should have been enough to kill him. Yet the Chief remained alive, emerging from it stronger than before. This time, James was certain no tricks or magic could save him.
He had sustained significant damage from the last hit, with several broken bones in his ribs, legs, and shoulder. Honestly, he was lucky to be alive and still breathing.
With the last ounce of his strength, he channeled mana into his strongest spell, one he had named Serpent Shackles. Ethereal orange snakes burst from his fingers, wrapping around the Chief's enraged form before shattering like broken glass as the magic fizzled out.
Whatever form the Chief was using made him immune to James's trump card, an immobilization and draining spell.
Out of options and unable to move, he lay on the ground, ready for death, lamenting his miserable second life and cursing the damn god who had turned him into a goblin.
The Chief charged relentlessly, barehanded and naked, relying on the raw power of his muscles and his enhanced strength to fight his opponent. Every step cracked the ground beneath his feet as he closed the distance.
Just before he could trample his foe, a whip lashed out and wrapped around the opponent's leg, yanking him violently out of the Chief's path. The sudden force sent the opponent skidding across the dirt in a spray of debris, landing at the hooves of a massive, intimidating horse.
The Chief followed the whip's line and found a knight in shining armor at the other end, riding a steed that stood taller than he did. The knight's posture was steady and unyielding, utterly unfazed by the Chief's rage.
Furious at having his ritual combat interrupted and seeing his opponent knocked out and incapacitated, the Chief turned his wrath on the intruder and charged with a savage battle cry.
"Graaa!"
Before he could get close, a hollow metallic club swung toward him, began to spin, and erupted in a furious fiery roar, followed by a relentless barrage of pebbles. They barely hurt, but the constant bombardment slowed him down, forcing him to use his full strength just to approach his quarry.
Relying on his battle instincts, he dodged side to side while slowly closing the distance on the knight. Unfortunately, with each step he took, the knight's horse backed away in equal measure, making it seem as if he would never reach his new opponent.
He tried jumping high, but it only made him an easier target and pushed him back. He attempted to dodge between the trees, but he couldn't close the gap fast enough. Enraged more than ever, he threw all caution to the wind, shielded his eyes with an arm, and charged blindly while tracing the source of the pebbles raining down on him.
Meanwhile, the rest of the goblins erupted in rage upon realizing intruders were disrupting the ritual combat. They charged at the knight recklessly, swarming him from all sides.
Suddenly, globs of oil began raining down across the entire goblin village from a woman in red with fiery wings, holding a large open book from which pages flew, bursting into oil. She flew over the encampment, bombarding it relentlessly before releasing a bolt of fire that ignited the thick layer of oil covering everything, engulfing the village in flames.
The weaker goblins panicked and scattered, while those experienced in combat retaliated with whatever they could grab, stones, spears, knives, and even burning wood were hurled at the flying red woman.
The stronger goblins ignored the flames at their feet and began forming ranks. They charged the knight who was distracting their Chief, moving with determination and resolve.
Unfortunately for them, another flying woman in white with white wings rained down sharp pebbles from above. The pebbles were thrown with such force that they easily broke the skin and drew blood. A few might not have been deadly, but she was launching hundreds at a time, killing them in droves.
In the distance, a thick fog began to form, creating a mist that blocked sight, sound, and smell. It was largely ignored, until a giant creature erupted from within, smashing into the weaker goblins with terrifying force.
It was almost three times taller than them, with thick limbs and a heavy frame, a monstrous creature of power that terrified the surrounding goblins.
It reached for the other Chief, the one who had almost lost to the main Chief, before dragging him into the quiet mist. Terrified, the goblins scrambled to the other side of the village, braving the flames as they ran for their lives.
'How's it going, Ely?' Bastion asked, maintaining his distance from the Chief while keeping him in sight.
'Seraphina has used her grimoire to set the village on fire with Grease, Ariel has broken up the main force of the goblin army and scattered them into cover, Lilia has begun healing James in her mist, and I have finished regaining my mana with potions,' Elyra reported through telepathy.
'Good,' Bastion replied. 'Help Ariel finish off the stronger goblins in the village, and keep me posted. I'll try to drag the Chief away from the village and wear down its stamina while you girls focus on taking out the retaliating goblins. Don't bother chasing them, just let them run for their lives.'
'Yes, Master.'
Bastion stopped wasting bullets and turned his diamond steed west, toward the Kingdom of Brilliance, before sprinting away. This gave the Chief the opportunity to close in, moving with bursts of tremendous speed.
He raced toward Bastion in a deadly charge, promising death if he managed to catch up, ignoring everything around him. With a powerful kick, he surged forward and closed the distance in a second, his hand coming within a foot of Bastion.
Before he could grab hold, Bastion veered sharply to the side, evading the Chief's grasping hand while continuing toward the kingdom. Enraged, the Chief pursued with long dashes and quick bursts, barely closing the distance on his slippery quarry with each attempt.
Bastion raced toward the kingdom for a very simple reason. The Chief was a Rank 3 entity, which meant it shouldn't be allowed within the kingdom's boundaries. There was a very high likelihood that a Rank 4 would be sent to eliminate the Chief upon its entry.
In the future, when the Chief reached Rank 4, there was no doubt he could face off against a Rank 4 opponent. But as a Rank 3, he would easily be overpowered without much trouble.
Also, Bastion wasn't expending much stamina or mana while riding the diamond steed at full speed. This meant he could eventually tire out the Chief even before they reached the kingdom, where Bastion would have the advantage of running him down with his autocannon.
Suddenly, Bastion felt a rush of wind at his back. Assuming it was another attempted grab, he veered to the side as usual when a tree struck him squarely in the chest, knocking him off his mount.
He burst through a few trees before landing harshly against a boulder, assessing the damage.
[Health]: 843/1105
[Mana]: 675/675
'Not too bad and my armor isn't dented this time,' Bastion thought, before noticing a flash of red heading straight toward him.
Quickly, he used his Facility Slot to deploy the defensive room he had used against the basilisks. Though crumpled and damaged, it was more than enough to withstand a hit from a Rank 3.
The Chief landed on the metal container with a crash, denting it heavily. Ignoring the origin and nature of this piece of metal, he began to wail on it relentlessly, denting it further and further.
Enraged, he bolted into the distance, then rushed back while gaining momentum and kicked it with all his might. The metal container flew through the air, shrinking into the distance.
The Chief reveled in his accomplishment for a second, until he noticed that both the metal container and his enemy were far away. With renewed fury, he continued the chase.
Sensing he was airborne, Bastion retrieved the room before taking stock of his location. He was flying through the air and was about to have an intimate moment with the ground. In haste, he summoned his diamond steed, mounted, and then landed in a gallop, sprinting full speed once again toward the kingdom.
A moment later, he felt another rush of pressure at his back, so he turned to the right, focused on his shield, and used Shield Bash, knocking the Chief, who was wielding a tree as a weapon, away before he could complete his swing. While airborne, the Chief couldn't resist the force and was sent flying a considerable distance before resuming the chase.
Their game of cat and mouse continued, with the Chief lobbing boulders or swinging trees at Bastion, while he countered with Shield Bash, Slash, or quick bursts of wind to deflect the uncannily accurate projectiles.
This went on for days and nights without rest, greatly frustrating Bastion. The Chief had been red and enraged for nearly a week, yet showed no sign of relenting. Whatever technique the Chief was using, it kept him in peak fighting condition during this entire time.
Eventually, they reached the border of the kingdom, where Bastion's ultimate plan would finally come to fruition.
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Today officially marks 1 year since the day I started posting my writing, and to celebrate, I'll be releasing an extra chapter, so enjoy.
I started out writing because I got tired of all the stories I read that took the plot in a different direction than what I had expected. Granted, in hindsight, it would have made the story far more boring and predictable, but at the same time, the payoff would have been amazing.
As a consequence of this thought or habit, I would pull away from the computer and start pacing around my room, deep in thought about how I would have written it, how I wanted the story I was reading to go. Some months later, I tried writing with zero prior experience. Fortunately, I had enough of an education to at least be able to write in English properly, although my prose comes off far more technical than necessary since I was used to only using it for technical papers.
Some more months later, I had 125 chapters on an ambitious crossover fanfic with way too much exposition and not enough action. I ended up stopping because I had no idea how to finish it and simply tossed it aside.
Instead, I started writing Pokémon: Bounty Hunter Alex and was quite pleased with how it turned out, but it was a fanfic, not something I could call my own. I then began writing this story, which had been living in my head rent-free while I was working on my very first unreleased fanfic.
It was a story based on the Magus and Wizard worlds, where power was divided into ranks between Apprentice and Rank 10. Rank 4 was already equivalent to demigods, growing wilder with each new rank, and Rank 10 reached omniversal levels of power and existence. At the time, I was also heavily into Isekai, reincarnation, and transmigration stories, so I thought, why not just toss everything together and see what happens. This story was born out of that passion.
Since then, I have managed to finish two books, which is nice, but I have to admit that my initial ideas for it have greatly skewed because of the comments I have received and the many edits and fixes I have made since then. Hopefully, this has improved the story for the better, although I cannot be sure.
You can probably tell from my ranting that my plans for this story are quite grand, so you can expect even more world-building as the story progresses, even if it is only popular on Scri,bble Hu,b and nowhere else. I plan to keep going for myself, considering I already had an ending or a major plot twist in mind when I was theory-crafting this world.
As always, let me know what you think, leave reviews and ratings, and thank you for reading.
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