Free Web NovelChapter 28: Power Of Arrays
Shadowy figures moved silently through the wind swept forest, carefully following the familiar route that led toward the northern side of the goblin camp. The towering trees swayed endlessly overhead while branches scraped against one another, allowing the constant rustling of leaves to swallow whatever little noise the kobolds made as they advanced. The deeper they ventured into the forest, the more oppressive the darkness became until even one another’s outlines began fading into little more than moving shadows.
Although Tud’or had never openly admitted that he believed Ka’z’s warning, neither had he ignored it. Long before the main force began advancing, he had quietly dispatched the colony’s finest scout, Ne’ki, alongside her dire weasel. The pair moved nearly a hundred meters ahead of everyone else, their sole purpose being to uncover whatever dangers might lie in wait.
Meanwhile, the remaining dire weasels had been released in different directions, silently weaving through the undergrowth to watch the flanks and rear in case the goblins attempted an ambush. The main body itself advanced in a wide formation, every kobold keeping several meters apart from the next while remaining low beneath bushes and dense foliage so that even if one warrior was spotted, the entire force would not be exposed at once.
Their advance was disciplined.
The only sounds accompanying them were the endless sighs of the forest itself.
Nearly half an hour passed before the pace finally slowed. Judging by the route Ka’z had memorized earlier that day, they were now roughly five hundred meters from the goblin camp.
Tud’or silently raised one hand and the entire formation stopped immediately.
The warriors crouched low among the bushes while Ne’ki’s dire weasel quietly sniffed the surrounding ground. Even Tud’or lowered himself until one ear nearly touched the earth.
Nothing.
No sounds of footsteps or distant marching.
Nothing.
His brows slowly furrowed.
The camp should have been close enough that patrols would already be moving through the surrounding forest.
Yet there was nothing.
Beyond the trees, the faint orange glow of campfires illuminated the night sky while thin trails of smoke drifted upward through the canopy. It was obvious the goblins were still there.
"Are they really this careless?" Ka’to whispered, unable to hide the skepticism in his voice.
La’to smirked.
"And Ka’z was worried something would go wrong."
A few nearby warriors quietly chuckled.
"I’ll never let him forget this."
Several others suppressed light laughter.
Then...
"Ah..."
The scream barely had time to form before it was violently cut short. Immediately afterward came the deafening rumble of shifting earth.
Everyone’s expressions changed.
Tud’or moved first.
Without hesitation, he burst through the bushes with the others following closely behind.
Thud!
Every kobold froze. Before them lay an enormous circular formation carved directly into the forest floor.
Countless strange symbols glowed with a soft emerald light as lines connected them into an intricate pattern unlike anything any kobold present had ever witnessed. The entire circle pulsed rhythmically as mana flowed through each rune before disappearing beneath the surrounding earth.
At its center Ne’ki hung suspended nearly two feet above the ground. Dozens of stone spikes had erupted upward through her body.
One pierced straight through her shoulder. Another impaled her abdomen. Three more protruded from her legs. The largest had burst upward beneath her jaw before exiting through the top of her skull, explaining why her scream had ended almost as quickly as it began.
Blood streamed endlessly down the jagged pillars of stone before dripping onto the glowing runes below. Her body twitched weakly and fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
Her eyes remained wide open. Not from fear but unbearable agony.
Beside her, her dire weasel lay completely motionless, its tiny body pierced clean through the chest.
Death had come instantly for it but somehow everyone felt the weasel was more fortunate than it’s master.
In that moment the kobolds almost envied the beast.
Nobody spoke because nobody understood what they were looking at.
How had magic been cast without someone present?
How could the earth itself attack them?
This... This was heretical magic!
Tong’a’s warning about human runes echoed inside several minds. Because it was deemed evil no one has bothered to learn more about it so none of them possessed even the slightest understanding of arrays.
Behind the front line, Ru’k stood rooted to the spot. His hands trembled uncontrollably. Beside him, even Tu’ka’s normally lifeless eyes had widened ever so slightly.
Neither had ever watched an adult die like this. The horrifying image carved itself permanently into their memories.
Buzz.
The mana leaking from the array spread across the ground. The runes scattered around the region suddenly flared brighter.
One after another more circles awakened. Emerald, crimson and azure lights erupted beneath nearby bushes, others illuminated farther behind them. While some were directly beneath places the kobolds stood.
The first array had been set to be triggered by physical contact while the others required mana. As long as the first gets triggered, the mana ripples from it would automatically trigger the others!
"Shit!" someone screamed.
The forest exploded with emerald light.
Every kobold instinctively leapt backward as dozens of hidden arrays awakened together, their glowing runes spreading through the darkness like stars appearing beneath the forest floor.
Ka’z’s warning suddenly echoed inside every warrior’s mind.
...
Far to the south of the goblin camp, Lan’ka’s group had made considerably better progress. Their advance had been swift.
They had encountered nothing unusual, yet.
Only after Ka’z had insisted repeatedly did Lan’ka reluctantly allow him to accompany La’te, the team’s scout, several meters ahead of the main formation.
Ka’z had further instructed Za’r to stay close to Lan’ka and she obediently agreed. Now the two scouts carefully crept through dense undergrowth while the others waited several dozen meters behind.
Pa!
La’te suddenly blinked in confusion. Ka’z’s hand had firmly grabbed her wrist and she instinctively stopped.
"Is there a problem?" she asked quietly.
Behind them, the rest of the group immediately froze.
Za’r watched the scene from several meters away. Her cheeks instantly puffed and a faint blush spread across her face.
She narrowed her eyes at La’te with unconcealed jealousy but neither scout noticed.
Ka’z’s golden draconic eyes remained completely fixed upon the forest ahead.
His pupils slowly narrowed.
Through ordinary vision there was nothing ahead. But through Dragon Eyes the forest looked entirely different.
Thin streams of mana flowed beneath the soil.
At several points, tiny fragments of mana crystal rested at the centers of elaborate patterns carved beneath the leaves. The runes themselves had been hidden beneath loose dirt.
"There is something ahead..." Ka’z whispered.
His voice gradually trailed off.
"I think it’s a magic array."
The words stunned everyone.
"A magic... array?" La’te repeated in confusion.
This was probably the first time she was hearing the word. Regardless she looked ahead but she saw nothing.
She was about to dismiss Ka’z’s strange claim. But then...
BOOOOM!!
The earth violently shook beneath everyone’s feet and a tremendous explosion erupted somewhere far to the north.
Almost immediately another followed.
BOOM!
Then another.
BOOOOM!!
The night echoed with terrified screams, painful cries and collapsing earth. The distant sounds were almost swallowed beneath the explosions themselves.
Every face immediately turned north.
Ding!
[Kobolds Lost: 3]
[Hunters Lost: 0]
Buzz!
Ka’z’s knees gave way and he collapsed onto the forest floor. His breathing stopped.
Three...
Three had died.
Around him, every kobold stared toward the northern forest as shock overtook their faces.
Then new sounds emerged. Dozens of goblin voices and weapons clattering sounds filled the air. Orders being barked throughout the camp could be heard.
The explosions had done more than killing a few kobolds, they had awakened the entire enemy camp.
Their element of surprise was gone.
Lan’ka’s face darkened. The raid had barely begun. Already everything had gone wrong.
Only then did the true meaning behind the system’s warning finally strike Ka’z. His fists slowly clenched.
How could he have forgotten?
The goblins possessed knowledge of runes. Of course that knowledge naturally extended to arrays.
Even primitive arrays would be effective against weak kobolds.
