Chapter 26

  Lily let out a sigh of relief as the goblins fled from the walls and the kobolds scattered downhill into the forest.

  She knew Meztili’s ritual spell was coming, but if they took any more casualties, they would have had to surrender. Those psycho goblins that took the front wall were particularly terrifying. Lily nearly had to step in herself to push them back.

  The only reason she had yet to do anything was because of Team 2’s Paris. Bridgit had alerted them to Paris’s cloaking ability, and they expected a surprise attack to come at some point. Lily’s role was to preserve her mana and counter Paris’ predicted ambush. To that end, Lily’s shadow was currently connected to all the shadows cast by the fort walls.

  How Bridgit knew about this threat, however, she did not say.

  Like a spider’s web, anything that breached the threshold of her shadows would alert Lily immediately, and she would restrict the trespasser immediately. If those goblins had continued their advance, she would have had no choice but to focus her web on them, leaving the flanks unsecured.

  “Any sign of her?”

  Meztili spoke to Lily. She had to remain stationary in the spell circle she had drawn to keep her ritual active. Thus, a surprise attack on her was naturally their biggest concern right now.

  “Not a peep,” Lily responded. “Guy was on the northern flank, but the southern side didn’t seem to have a leader.”

  “What about Bridgit?”

  “That idiot ran off. I can still hear her making a ruckus out there.”

  Meztili tilted her head to listen, but was unable to pick up any such noise. Lily, however, could clearly hear the unpleasant grunts and curses as the princess fought her lone battle with the beast. They had been gradually moving further and further away from the battlefield.

  “What now?”

  Lily asked as she surveyed their remaining forces.

  Some skeletons were destroyed completely, and a few imps were so badly brutalised that their bodies couldn’t be reanimated. However, with the addition of the goblin and kobold corpses, their numbers remained the same in the end.

  All the undead soldiers would be much more effective now as well, leaving Team 1 in a powerful position and primed to counterattack.

  At least, in theory.

  The reality was that all the empowered undead would turn to dust within 30 minutes, and Meztili would be unable to do anything in the meantime. This was the downside to such a powerful spell. And with Bridgit separated from them, their actual standing was much worse than it appeared.

  “Our previous tactic…fuuu… is the only option.”

  Meztili breathed deeply as she kept her mana circulating.

  “We can fire…much faster… make a missile please...Lily…”

  She tried to keep her words as short as possible. Luckily, Lily understood where she was going with this.

  Just like before, she went to the previous sigil Meztili had made and created an orb of shadow. Immediately after, a swarm of undead imps poured spell after spell into it.

  They filled it in just two minutes, and their mana capacity was refilled in moments. An undead spellcaster was a terrifying thing.

  Lily fired it into the air, aiming for the southern flank first, then immediately got started on the next attack.

  Like this, shadowy explosions of flame and lightning surrounded the fort. Lily could see goblins and kobolds running out from the cover of the trees to avoid the blasts, only to meet the relentless attacks of their skeletal army.

  She grinned at their desperate attempts to stay alive. Even if they beat back the skeletons, the imps remain safe behind the walls. All they need to come out on top is to kill enough vermin, and then the imps will be declared the only faction fit enough to rule.

  Then, as if ice had been pressed to the nape of her neck, she felt a jolt run down her spine. Her shadow web had picked up an intruder. Lily grinned, ready to counter the predictable ambush from the hidden foe.

  Except the foe wasn’t hidden.

  And it wasn’t a lone therian girl as expected.

  “Oh hell! Eeeeek!”

  Lily squealed, her face went pale, and she ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

  “Lily! Where are you going!?”

  Meztili panicked but could only turn on the spot to see what Lily was so afraid of.

  Long, hairy legs reached up and curled over the walls. They pulled with them a large striped body and a head of many eyes—a massive spider, larger than a warhorse, was rushing towards her, completely uninhibited by the fortifications.

  Meztili didn’t consider herself squeamish when it came to spiders. But that only applied to ones that couldn’t eat her alive.

  She reflexively commanded all of her skeletons to return, leaving the frontline unoccupied.

  The closest ones did luckily manage to make it over in time to intercept the attack.

  “Bless.”

  Fwoom!

  A figure lunged forward from the back of the spider and swung an axe in a wide arc, cleaving through three skeletons at once with a flash of light.

  A minor setback, but fortunately, the bulk of the skeletal guard had arrived and were leaping at the spider.

  “Skrreee hee hee kikikkachoo!”

  The psychotic screechings of goblin voices accompanied a whole swarm of spiders, each as large as the first. They flooded over the wall, and with a combination of leaping attacks from the spiders and arrows shot by the goblin riders, many of the remaining living imps were torn apart.

  Meztili’s undead imps should have been able to put up a fight, but the axe-wielding leader had shifted to shooting arrows with remarkable speed.

  “Bless. Bless. Bless. Bless. Bless.”

  He kept repeating the word with each shot, and each arrow burst into light as they struck down any and all support that could have turned the situation around. The speed he was moving at beggared belief, and the smaller spider latched to his chest only made the scene more bizarre.

  As the larger spider pinned her to the ground and rendered her spell useless, Meztili could only utter three words.

  “I give up.”

  ***

  Lily’s heart was racing. So she’s scared of spiders, so what? Anybody with a lick of sense would be doing the same thing right now!

  And what would she have been able to do anyway? They were way too quick, and there were so many! At best, she would have restricted two or three of their movements, but then she would just be wrapped in a web and savoured as the sensual snack she was.

  Screw this! Who cares who rules some bug-infested forest anyway?

  She had no real destination at this point, but she knew her legs would give out from fear if she stopped running. So run she did.

  All the way into a heavily armoured goblin covered in blood.

  He turned to face her, and Lily saw an even more horrifying sight. Beneath that chestplate, even more spider legs were poking out.

  In fact, the same could be said for all the goblins who now surrounded her.

  “Noooo! Stay away from me!”

  Her shadow stretched out and became three-dimensional. It resembled a demonic bear and was prepared to swipe at the goblins before her.

  “Eh? Skee itch.”

  The armoured goblin pointed a stick at her, and a burst of red and orange light lit up their surroundings right before the shadow could finish forming. The shadow lost its form and the bear vanished as if it was never there.

  “...Huh?”

  She froze. Why did her spell not work?

  Again, she tried to form a series of spikes from the surrounding shadows to pierce the goblins through their chests.

  “Kihihihi. Biddy gip!”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  A different goblin pulled out another normal-looking stick. With another flash of light, the shadow magic was disrupted yet again.

  She could feel tears forming in her eyes. The goblins stepped closer, each one revealing numerous sticks tied around their waists.

  She let out a high-pitched scream and broke down into tears.

  ***

  Meztili’s spell was cancelled, and the remaining living imps had been herded into the centre of the fort. I looked down at her from my giant wolf spider and confirmed Lily had definitely fled out of fear, and not as some kind of trick to catch me off guard.

  “Is this all of them?”

  I asked her as I nodded to the imps.

  “Yes. There are some rogues living alone, but these are the only ones who joined us.”

  “Hmm…”

  I dismounted and ran my hand through my faithful mount’s prickly hair. My mounted goblin squad ran amok, enjoying the feeling of climbing high and leaping through the air from the back of their new friends.

  “...How did you do it?”

  Meztili asked, her voice ripe with resignation. Her face was hidden, but she was clearly facing the large spider next to me.

  “You fought a Druid in a forest. Didn’t you expect me to use the natives?”

  I gave a non-answer, and she didn’t push the matter. I wasn’t lying, but it’s not as if I really ran around taming spiders all day. No, I had run straight back to Arach and asked for a breed that would be best for this role. After that, all I had to do was get some willing goblins on their backs and go wild.

  In fact, the main problem was that every goblin wanted one, and I had to waste time holding a rock-paper-scissors tournament to determine the lucky winners.

  During the fight, we originally planned to strike shortly after Fleur and Guy. Unfortunately, Bridgit and Axel’s tussle had somehow circled all the way around to our position. We had to move away to avoid being spotted and find another moment to strike. Had she raised the alarm, I would have had to deal with a focused defence before stopping Meztili's magic.

  I couldn’t believe my luck when all the skeletons rushed out to pursue our fighters instead of remaining with their master. And Lily being so weak to a few fluffy spiders was yet another stroke of fortune in our favour. In the end, I didn't have to fight her at all.

  I pull out three Signal wands and fire them all at once into the sky. I remove the Visceranid carefully, its legs delicately sliding out from my flesh. Usually, this would leave eight open wounds on the body, but I quickly downed one of Fleur's potions to prevent that. My wounds closed up quickly, and only some minor bleeding persisted.

  Shortly after I was done, the Chamite class was reunited. Barring those who were eliminated earlier, of course.

  Fleur and Guy were the first to come in. Their forces looked beaten up, and they had definitely taken some losses, but it wasn’t anything too drastic.

  Next came Axel, who was carrying Bridgit like a sack of potatoes. Her eyes were open, but only the whites were visible.

  “Took you long enough. Do you know how hard it is to pretend to be having a hard time against weaklings?”

  He scoffed and dumped her on the ground without a shred of respect for her dignity.

  Next came Oliver, who had been waiting with Soot a safe distance away. His role was to signal if a drastic change in plan was required. This did not end up being needed, so he could only watch and try to calm his nerves.

  Finally, Gotrut joined us, dragging a sobbing girl behind him. She was petite, but it still spoke to Gotrut’s brute strength that he could pull her along with such ease, given the height difference between a goblin and a human.

  She looked borderline traumatised by… whatever had happened. I’d look into it later. Right now, we need to finish things up here.

  “Well, Gotrut, here they are, what’s the plan?”

  I gestured to the imps, who were cowering from the centre of a group of spear-wielding goblins and kobolds.

  “You decide.”

  He seemed to have a lot of trust towards me now.

  “Ahhh… I still can’t believe we lost to the goblins of all things!”

  Guy had his hands behind his head as he kicked a rock and vented.

  “I, too, am surprised. But is this not the best outcome?”

  Meztili responded to him. She had been sitting on a step and massaging her head ever since she surrendered. Likely feeling anaemic from using so much magic.

  “I guess that’s true. I never thought we’d be going the alliance route, but here we are.”

  Guy allowed himself to smile.

  “What are you two talking about?”

  I interrupt this moment before they can go on with their misunderstanding.

  “The imps must die.”

  I nod to Gotrut, and without missing a beat, he bellows his command.

  “Put them down!”

  Spears are thrust, and flesh is skewered. Those that don’t die immediately are stabbed again until their movements cease. Any that try to fly away are unceremoniously shot down by Fleur, who maintains a stoic expression all the while.

  “Stop! Rex, stop them! What the hell is wrong with you!? They're not a threat anymore!”

  Guy pulls his spear out but stops when Axel wordlessly stands over him.

  “Uh…urgh… I can’t watch this…”

  Oliver runs away, unable to bear the merciless scene playing out before him.

  This was no longer a fight for survival. This was an execution.

  As the last imp breathed its last breath and a kobold club shattered its skull, only silence reigned over the forest.

  The reactions were varied in intensity and nature. Guy looked furious with me. I had no doubt he would attack me if Axel weren’t protecting me. Oliver, even upon his return, would not meet my eyes. Fleur and Meztili appeared to be indifferent to the events. And Axel…

  Axel was the only person I had confided in. He was the only one who knew that I would do this no matter what. Even if we lost and the imps were the only force remaining, I would have returned at a later date and exterminated them.

  Why? Because the idea that this was a contest between teams was always false. All that mattered was preventing the chaos caused by the feuding tribes from spreading. Imps are magical beings from another realm, they are not born to exist in our plane for long, much less in a permanent sense. I don’t know how these ones came to be here, but I did know they do not belong.

  Under no circumstances would there be stability so long as they existed here. Even if the goblins and kobolds surrendered to them, they would just be toyed with and ultimately killed for little to no reason.

  Maybe a powerful wizard could force them to behave, but why gamble on such an unlikely scenario? Why not just cut the cancer out before it can spread?

  But there was another reason I had told Axel this had to happen.

  “Kahahaha! We win! Blood Thunderers rule this land!”

  Gotrut cheered as he tore the wings from an imp corpse and ripped his gauntlets off. He dug his fingers into the body and approached the closest kobold.

  Two goblins held them by the arms and pushed them to the ground. He looked up at Gotrut with fearful eyes.

  “Blood brother bleed with us! Blood brother draws blood with us! Blood brother marked by blood!”

  Gotrut applied the imp’s blood in haphazard patterns along the kobold’s face and shoulders.

  The Spider Biters began doing the same to each kobold, and by the end of it, they were all roaring in celebration and looting everything they could find in the imp’s base. They weren't goblins and kobolds anymore. They were the Blood Thunderers.

  “It really went just as you said.”

  Axel put a large hand on my shoulder and stood beside me.

  “I never doubted it,” I respond confidently. “Conquering a mutual threat is the best way to bring people together. Their alliance should be strong from here on out, seeing as they have a lot to offer one another.”

  “Still, was it worth the hit to your reputation? Guy’s pissed and Oliver's shit-scared of you.”

  “Yes.”

  My response was immediate and resolute.

  “It’s worth it. I don’t care about winning for the IMA or the feelings of those who don't understand the world. I only wanted to return things to how they should be, and I have.”

  “I don’t know about all that…” Axel started. I could feel him sizing me up. “But strategically speaking, it was a smart move. Not everybody can be made to get along. Sometimes you just gotta break the eggs and make that omelette, right?”

  It was this attitude that convinced me to bring Axel into my confidence. He had agreed to help me reach this outcome, even if the others resisted. I'm sure he was partly excited to fight the entire class, but at his core, Axel was a true warrior and would do whatever he felt was necessary with remorse. He is a man I could see myself relying on.

  Why Fleur went along with the culling caught my interest, but now wasn’t the time to ask her about her thoughts.

  Our quiet observers had called us.

  A throwing knife with a piece of parchment wrapped around the handle landed before us, and I read it out for all to hear.

  “The test has concluded. Please return to Borderton and await your assessment by the entrance to the academy.”

  With that, our three-way feud was concluded.

  ***

  A goblin goodbye is a simple thing. I told them I was going, they smeared me with blood and forcefully inducted me into their crew, then went back to partying among themselves. I saw the kobolds crying at Guy’s departure and felt relieved when I saw him return their spear. A small fear had formed in me that he might be the kind of petty person who would come back and command the kobolds to rebel just to spite me,

  The walk back to town was uneventful. I felt the eyes of various spiders following me with every step, but Arach did not attempt to directly communicate again.

  The mood was heavy around some members, namely Bridgit, Guy, and Oliver. The others either didn’t care or were excitedly talking about their experiences. Lily, in particular, had bounced back from her spider/goblin-induced depression and happily recounted her time preparing all the traps she never got to use.

  “So like, get this alright? I was gonna plant explosive spells in the shadows of the skeletons, then have them suicide bomb you, cool right? Oh! I also had this setup where I could fly an imp over you, then make a hand pop out from its shadow to strangle you, hahaha!”

  Some might find her annoying. But honestly, she did have some good ideas.

  “Yeah, that is cool. If only you didn’t run away from your new roommates…”

  I smirk at her, and she shudders.

  “No! Veto! Banned! Do not bring any of those abominations to the dorm!”

  She clutched at my sleeve in desperation, but I refused to acknowledge whether I was joking or not.

  Finally, we arrived. Guy and Bridgit broke off from us and power-walked ahead. I suspect the only reason they stuck with the group until now was because they didn’t know the way back on their own.

  We were all going the same way, regardless, I felt like they were just being childish by holding onto this grudge.

  “If it makes you feel better, she’s just pissed at me.”

  Axel laughed alongside me.

  “She’s always pissed at everything from what I’ve seen this past month.”

  “Ha! You’re not wrong there! Still, she’s really pissed right now. She must have realised I was just messing with her in our fight, then she got one-shot right after you signalled us. Hilarious, right?”

  He thumped me on the back, and his laugh drew the confused looks of the townspeople. Even without the noise, we were a motley crew if ever there was one. We were all covered in dirt and blood, and our clothes were a mess. My axe, which lacked a sheath and hung at my side, was visibly covered in gore, and Axel looked like he had jumped into a bonfire.

  “Should we clean up before going back?”

  Axel pulled me into a side hug at my suggestion.

  “I know just the place! You lot come too!”

  At his behest, we were dragged off into town, the cover of night still blanketing the streets.