From the very morning, it became clear even to the most brainless novice that Irchin had discovered Lurion Takul's camp last night. But for some reason, he hadn't merged our forces with his warriors.
It turned out that the place where we had turned back and headed to the ravine to set up camp was no more than three hundred paces from our target. Even back then, at night, I thought it was very strange. To turn a squad around for no reason. And in the morning, I noticed our old tracks, and it was easy to compare the distance traveled to the extinguished fire in the Lurion's abandoned camp. I had a trained eye for this kind of thing.
The next morning, the old Decurion unexpectedly started to limp particularly badly and hold back the overall speed of movement. But he didn't ask for healing, which seemed very strange and suspicious. Around noon, when everyone was literally languishing with impatience in these dangerous forests to join a stronger senior officer, a harsh punishment was dealt to the most impatient one. Moresh didn't just hit hard; he did it brutally. And again, no order was given to heal him. Elos coughed up blood for several hours in a row, but he did it very quietly. Afraid that the next blow would come from the Decurion himself.
The tension in our squad was palpable; everyone literally felt how close Lurion Takul's warriors and he himself were to us. I didn't share the general hopes of the recruits about a serious reinforcement after the two groups merged. The recruits probably still had trouble with math. But I knew perfectly well that there were now about 22 goblins in the Lurion's squad. And that's not much more than our number. And considering that our old Decurion was most likely much stronger in combat than even Lurion Takul, it was a huge question of who needed whom more. Did we need them, or did they need us?
And then, towards evening, when our warriors were anxiously peering into the surrounding thicket, screams suddenly tore through the intoxicating silence of the forest. Irchin immediately broke into a run, as if he hadn't been limping all day long. The entire squad followed him at a run. The cries of foreign commands grew louder. No one had had time to understand anything yet when the Decurion gestured for everyone to stop. A moment of hesitation, and we started to move perpendicular to our goal. He was leading us away from the main battle.
It was already very dark, and it was practically impossible to see anything beyond 50 paces. And Irchin ran, not even noticing it. How I began to envy his techno-magical armor at such moments. And that little servant of the abyss, Tatalem So, swore that no one had given him this junk, and that he himself had taken it from a latrine. And the most offensive thing was that I believed that nonsense. Instead of thinking for myself. And his conjectures that the old Decurion had lost his mind and was illegally improving his skills... And again, I wasn't smart enough to look at the situation critically. After all, who said that he ever fought or shot a bow worse? He was merely realizing his recently increased body attributes. And we, not noticing the obvious things, were making plans for what we would write in our report and even imagining where we would spend the bonus.
It was frankly embarrassing to admit that Tatalem So and I didn't have the brains to pay attention to the fact that Irchin was openly demonstrating his combat capabilities, without fearing anyone. After all, what could all this mean? Only that I didn't want to notice the obvious things, listening to the stories of this young and snotty Tatalem So. And what was even more offensive was that even Chikir, with his meager intellect, had figured out such a simple truth. And indeed, what was the big secret? The techno-magical armor was simply functional, and to avoid jealousy from other officers, they said that it was completely out of commission. Of course, it wasn't as expensive and powerful a model as our Centurion Otsev wore, but still.
That was the whole secret, the entire cunning plan of the old Decurion. How stupid. And if someone from the family found out about this, I would be disgraced. And that poison… What was wrong with me? Irchin slit Tatalem So's throat, and he screamed almost every night, waking up from nightmares. And he dreamed of the most terrible monster in the world, our Decurion. But me, what did he do to me? Nothing. Nothing worth getting into all this trouble for. I should be kissing his feet that he agreed to a wergild for my life. After all, experience can still be earned, but you can't just buy a life.
The first thing I would do when I returned from the mission was go to the bank and transfer the wergild for my life to the old Decurion. I didn't want to walk around the city constantly looking over my shoulder, waiting for a sudden attack from that monster. And my guards, assigned by the family, had a modest level of 5 and 6, which made them absolutely useless in a fight with such a mighty monster as Irchin.
After all, in the city, there would be no punishment for my death. And who would be able to catch him in the act? In addition, it seemed to me that even the walls of my house would not be able to stop the revenge of the old malicious Decurion. It's not worth angering Irchin; if you give him your word, it's better to keep it; it will be cheaper. It would be better to demand compensation from Tatalem So, as his poison turned out to be useless. At least I would be able to talk to him in a civilized manner, without the fear that he would hold a deadly grudge against me. And in about six months, slit my throat right in my bed.
Exactly, when I return from the mission, I'll ask for a transfer. To the Nurgles with these adventures. Enough of tempting fate. Let them assign another young mage to the old Decurion's squad, a perfect match for that upstart Tatalem So.
While I was lost in my thoughts, we had covered about 1000 paces, changing direction several times. Suddenly, Irchin froze.
"Prepare for battle," he hissed. "Don't use magic without a direct order."
And he looked at Tatalem So and me intently. For a moment, it even seemed to me that his eyes were burning with a red fire through the visor of his helmet. Even before this, I didn't really want to break his orders, and now I wouldn't have been able to disobey him at all.
The warriors raised their shields and held out their spears. The second row prepared their bows to shoot. And Moresh watched our backs carefully, in case of a surprise attack from the rear. While I was watching our fighters' preparations, I managed to lose sight of the old Decurion. He seemed to dissolve into the dark evening twilight.
Everyone froze, tensely peering into the impenetrable darkness in front of us. I noticed the movement of Tatalem So's hands and realized that he was about to create a Light Orb. And I already wanted to call out to him, but I was too late. Moresh squeezed his hand until I heard a distinct crunch. The young wizard yelped quietly in pain. And he was about to furiously say something to the veteran goblin. But looking up at him, he choked on the angry rebuke ready to break loose from his tongue. Moresh was holding a dagger in his other hand and brought it to the young mage's eye. At the same time, the experienced warrior's facial expression said that he wouldn't hesitate for a moment and would complete his strike.
It was probably now, at this very moment, that I realized how dangerous our situation was. Since even an ordinary warrior was not afraid of punishment for attacking his own mage. Although, who said he would be punished at all if the offending wizard survived? After all, the absence of an eye would not, by and large, affect the mage's effectiveness and his magic. And the word of a junior officer was far more weighty than even a full mage's. Therefore, as I thought, it was not at all a fact that Moresh would be punished for such arbitrary behavior.
The sounds of a fierce battle that was happening far ahead began to reach my ears. And judging by them, Lurion Takul's platoon was living its last minutes. It was the same platoon that we had all strived to join today, on whose help we had counted so much. And if several experienced mages, along with a whole senior officer, couldn't cope there, then our efforts would be minimal in comparison. And it was scary even to imagine how many creatures it would take to break their resistance.
And then, figures of Nurgle leaders began to appear before my eyes. Yes, in the plural. One, two, four. When I saw the seventh, my hands began to move involuntarily, casting a barrier spell. But a weak poke in the ribs from Uler, who was standing nearby, was enough for me to pull myself together and suppress the fit of primal fear. It was absolutely impossible to tell when Irchin had returned to our ranks and started shooting his bow. It turned out that he had been shooting for a long time, but absorbed in my thoughts and fear, I simply hadn't noticed it.
Due to the night's darkness, we couldn't make out everything that was happening around us. But maybe that was even a good thing. After all, the darkness could be hiding thousands of creatures that had surrounded us. And to be honest, I didn't want to see them. It was enough for me to know that the most experienced Decurion of our Lord knew exactly how to act in this situation.
The Nurgle leader closest to us fell as if mowed down, failing to reach our positions by just 40 paces.
"Fire at the fallen Nurgle leader!" the old Decurion roared.
Arrows broke loose and literally covered the creature's body. Twelve arrows must have inflicted serious damage. I didn't even have time to notice how Irchin was sending one arrow after another. The nearest leader was just starting to get up, and two others fell to the ground right after, thanks to the old Decurion's accurate shots. But luck couldn't be endless, and it became clear that those who were moving at the tail of this procession were almost twice as big as the first ones. And the arrows, even those fired with the enormous force of our Decurion, couldn't seriously harm them.
The gigantic creatures slowed their pace a little, seeing that their future victims were not going to run from them in fear. And my fireball had already been used, and the skill cooldown would only end tomorrow evening. My entire body felt as if it were shackled by the chains of fear, and I couldn't even breathe, from the understanding that we had nothing to counter these creatures with.
The smaller Nurgle leaders—it even sounded strange in relation to such huge and mighty creatures—were already completely covered in arrows and hobbling with difficulty towards us. And their three larger relatives completely ignored the weak shots from the snotty recruits' bows and, with a swift dash, covered the remaining distance to our ranks. Everything that happened took at most five breaths.
"Raise the barriers!" the old Decurion roared furiously.
Fortunately, my reflexes worked against my will, and a moment later, a magical dome separated us from these furious creatures. Three gigantic bodies crashed into my shield, and the energy in my internal reserve dropped sharply. And that cowardly goblin, Tatalem So, was still fumbling, but he finally managed it, and the blows of their claws were now being taken by his magical barrier.
But then the Nurgle leaders finally understood what mistake they had made. Arrows flew almost point-blank into their snouts, and if the recruits couldn't put much force into them, each arrow from our Decurion plunged with simply monstrous force either into a gaping mouth or into eyes wide with fury. But these Nurgle leaders weren't so stupid or drunk with bloodlust that they wouldn't start covering their vulnerable points with their gigantic paws. But at that moment, they also couldn't attack effectively. And that's when I finally saw the level of the largest creature.
Nurgle Leader, Rank E+, Level 17.
This information immediately made me feel worse; my knees literally began to buckle under the weight of unbearable fear. I had unconsciously imagined him to be no higher than Level 10. And that already seemed almost insurmountable for our squad. But the barriers were intact, and Irchin, moving along the very edge of the protective dome, constantly changed the direction of his attacks and drove arrows at unexpected angles into the vulnerable points of these seemingly invulnerable monsters. Our fighters' attempts to harm the creatures also contributed to the effort and distracted the giant Nurgles' attention.
Fortunately, the smaller relatives who ran at the very beginning never reached us, freezing nearby, stuck with arrows. At this pace, maybe half a minute passed, and finally, the huge Nurgle leaders couldn't take it anymore, deciding to retreat. And they stopped their ridiculous attempts to both defend and attack. Roaring furiously, they rushed away from the barrier. All the goblins synchronously exhaled with relief. No one believed that these crazed monsters would retreat. And it was beyond reason to imagine that such creatures could be killed. But the joy and enthusiasm didn't last long. After running behind the nearest trees, they pulled out the arrows that were bothering them and rushed back towards us. Intending to use a ramming strike to weaken the already energy-depleted magical barrier.
"Leur, lightning on the central one!" the old Decurion roared without turning around.
There wasn't much energy left in my internal reserve, but I noted it with a corner of my mind. At that moment, I myself was releasing a lightning bolt at the giant Nurgle leader. A bright flash momentarily illuminated the entire forest. The huge creature stumbled and tumbled to the ground, scattering clumps of wet mud around it. And that was enough for the two remaining ones to hesitate for a moment and slow down their furious rush. The one on the right took an arrow in the eye, almost to its full depth, and with an enraged roar, it stopped in place and tried to pull it out of its head with its huge claws. It was unbelievable. Could it be that its brain wasn't hit and that nothing was threatening its life but pain? The giant on the left instantly assessed the changed situation. It turned around and started to run. And we had nothing to stop it, no matter how much we wanted to.
"Leur, lightning on the fleeing Nurgle!" the Decurion roared, already leaving the magical barrier that was protecting us.
My hands did everything necessary again, while my brain couldn't fully comprehend what was happening before my eyes. The lightning bolt hit the cowardly Nurgle leader right in the back of its head, and it comically, if you didn't forget how dangerous this creature was, waved its paws and fell into the mud. I didn't have time to be happy about the good hit. As I realized that the largest monster was already getting up and was about to pounce on Irchin. But something incomprehensible and insane happened in the night's darkness.
Instead of cutting the creature with his huge cleaver, the old Decurion dodged two sweeping blows from the giant's paws, and in response, he closed in and seemed to hit the Nurgle leader's thigh with his palm. Of course, in the pitch-black darkness, an even more absurd vision could have appeared. But even in such a terrifying situation, this left me in a stupor. Leaping to a safe distance, he rushed to the Nurgle leader who had tried to escape. It was just starting to lift its head. The picture was surreal. One creature was chasing our Decurion, and he, meanwhile, was running toward another, no less dangerous monster.
There, the outlines of the silhouettes began to blur even more, and it was no longer possible to make out the scene clearly. Irchin was clearly faster and managed to attack the Nurgle leader that hadn't gotten to its feet yet. After a series of strikes, he dashed to the third giant, who was still trying to pull the arrow out of its skull, all while continuing to bellow a thunderous roar. And that's when I understood why the one wounded in the eye was so enraged; it turned out that its other eye was also damaged, not as badly, but I didn't think it could see properly at all now. Like a clap of thunder from a clear sky, the Decurion's command rang out; I was so mesmerized by what was happening that I almost missed it.
"Tatalem So," Irchin roared, "lightning on my target!"
The old Decurion commanded, already running up to the Nurgle leader with an arrow in its eye socket. A flash and a blood-curdling roar went silent. The creature fell to one knee but didn't lose consciousness for a moment. Even such a small delay was enough for our commander to attack the throat of this wounded giant with his cleaver. The distance did not allow me to make out the resulting damage. And the old Decurion was already hiding behind its back and disappeared from my field of vision.
The soldiers of our squad did not stop shooting their bows at everything that moved. One breath passed, then another, and another. And the three giants, swaying a little, disappeared from our field of vision into the night's darkness, roaring furiously, trying to catch up with the old Decurion.
Everyone froze, not knowing what to do next. Joy tried to rise from the depths of my soul. After all, we were alive. We survived, despite such a monstrous opponent. But the understanding that these creatures had simply left didn't allow me to shout with joy. Because at any moment they could appear with the Decurion's body in their paws and start tearing him apart before our eyes.
But one minute passed, then another, and nothing happened. We, still not blinking, peered into the darkness of the night that surrounded us. And some thought was tormenting me, but I couldn't grasp it. Something had escaped my attention, something very important.