Free Web NovelChapter 29: Burning The Supplies
La’to’s expression gradually stiffened. The calm confidence that had accompanied her since leaving the colony vanished almost instantly, replaced by visible apprehension. Her gaze slowly drifted toward the seemingly peaceful stretch of forest ahead. The leaves swayed gently beneath the night wind while the bushes remained perfectly still.
Nothing about the scenery appeared threatening, yet the violent explosions echoing through the northern forest had robbed it of every trace of innocence. Whatever response she had intended to give Ka’z caught in her throat before she swallowed nervously.
"You said you saw... something?" she asked quietly.
"Arrays." Ka’z gave a firm nod. "They’re like... prepared magic. I think they’re triggered when something touches them or..." He frowned deeply as he searched through the countless fantasy novels he had devoured on Earth. "...I’m not completely sure, but I also think mana leaking into them can activate them."
His voice lacked confidence.
Truthfully, arrays had never interested him.
Whenever stories drifted toward forging, enchanting, or rune crafting, he had usually skimmed those Chapters in favor of battles and monsters. Everything he knew amounted to little more than vague concepts and assumptions.
"So what do we do about it?" Lan’ka asked, his voice remaining remarkably calm despite the chaos erupting somewhere beyond the trees.
Ka’z hesitated and his golden eyes drifted toward the forest ahead. He could activate the arrays himself and clear a path...
But the instant one activated, every goblin nearby would know intruders had arrived.
On the other hand...
If they left the arrays untouched and the mission failed, those same formations would become death traps during their retreat.
His breathing gradually steadied. The distant sounds of battle reached his ears once again. Goblin war cries echoed through the forest.
He could tell Tud’or’s group was already fighting. Every second wasted here meant another kobold might die.
Resolve hardened inside his eyes.
"Follow exactly where I step," Ka’z ordered immediately. "Do not place your feet anywhere else."
Without waiting for approval, he moved forward.
His Dragon Eyes remained completely focused upon the glowing streams of mana beneath the forest floor. Wherever arrays overlapped, he carefully altered his path, weaving between the invisible formations with painstaking precision. Using Earth Magic, he softened the ground beneath each step so his feet sank deeper than normal, leaving behind unmistakably clear footprints for everyone else to follow.
Nobody questioned him. Lan’ka silently gestured for the others to fall into single file and one by one, they stepped precisely inside Ka’z’s footprints.
Several tense minutes later, the trees finally began thinning. The orange glow of campfires flickered ahead and the rear of the goblin camp came into view.
Four goblin sentries stood guarding a wide fenced enclosure filled with supplies. Each carried a polished short spear unlike anything Ka’z had seen before in this world. The spearheads reflected the dancing firelight without a single visible crack or chip. Compared to the crude stone weapons the goblins had previously wielded, these were genuine military equipment.
Behind the guards stretched neatly organized stockpiles. Bundles of timber. Large sacks overflowing with dried grain. Barrels filled with preserved meat. Medicinal herbs hanging beneath simple shelters. Crates packed with spears, axes, shields and arrows.
Everything had been arranged with remarkable discipline. It looked less like the camp of monsters and more like an organized army.
Ka’z barely had time to process the sight.
Ding!
[Kobolds Lost: 4]
[Hunters Lost: 0]
Buzz!
Another warrior had died.
His mind instantly began calculating. Tud’or’s strike force had started with thirteen. Now only nine ordinary warriors remained alongside Tud’or, Tu’ka and Ru’k. They were fighting nearly twice their numbers.
Every passing second widened the gap.
Pa!
A heavy hand landed upon Ka’z’s shoulder.
Lan’ka stepped past him.
The enormous kobold slowly rolled his shoulders before lowering himself into a runner’s stance.
"I’ll handle this."
Boom!
The ground exploded beneath his feet.
Lan’ka shot forward like a released ballista bolt, his massive frame leaning low while both hands skimmed across the earth.
"Earth Magic: Boulder Rush!"
Mana surged violently through the ground and massive chunks of stone ripped themselves free before flying toward Lan’ka’s body.
One attached to his shoulder. Another locked around his hips. More slammed against his back, legs and chest.
Within seconds the rocks fused together into an enormous rolling sphere nearly six feet across. The transformation never interrupted his momentum, the faster he rolled, the larger the boulder became and the heavier it grew.
The four goblin guards stared in utter disbelief.
"Gwaki?!"
Instinctively they scattered in different directions. Despite carrying spears, every goblin moved with surprising agility, narrowly avoiding the massive boulder.
For a brief moment, it looked as though they had escaped, then the earth moved.
Swoosh!
Ka’z’s pupils contracted as the ground ahead suddenly rose into a smooth curved bank.
Instead of crashing straight ahead, the spinning boulder rolled onto the elevated earth before smoothly changing direction without losing even the slightest momentum.
If anything, it accelerated.
Wack!
Two goblins standing closest together disappeared beneath the spinning mass.
Neither even managed to scream.
The tremendous weight crushed half of each body beneath the rolling stone while the opposite halves burst outward under the unbearable pressure. Flesh, shattered bone and torn organs scattered across the forest floor as blood painted the surrounding grass crimson.
The boulder never slowed.
Another wave of earth surged beneath it. Once again the terrain reshaped itself, banking the rolling mass toward another fleeing goblin. The sentry barely managed three desperate steps.
Crunch!
He vanished beneath the spinning stone.The final guard abandoned all dignity and sprinted blindly toward the camp. Lan’ka simply redirected himself once more and the boulder curved again before slamming squarely into the goblin’s back.
The impact launched him beneath the rolling mass. His body disappeared completely. Only a trail of blood remained.
Several seconds later the enormous sphere finally slowed. Cracks spread across its surface.
Crumble.
The rocks collapsed away piece by piece, revealing Lan’ka standing at the center.
His entire body glistened with sweat.
He bent slightly forward, drawing heavy breaths into his burning lungs.
Maintaining such a dense shell of stone while spinning at tremendous speed placed enormous strain upon both his body and mana. Worse still, enclosed inside solid rock, every rotation trapped more heat around him while denying him fresh air.
Even for someone as powerful as Lan’ka, the technique had strict limits.
Ka’z and Za’r remained frozen where they stood. Neither had ever witnessed Lan’ka fight seriously before.
They had always known his elemental affinities were Earth and Water. Now they understood why he stood only beneath Tud’or in strength.
The sheer precision required to reshape the battlefield while controlling a rolling mass of stone with such accuracy bordered on unbelievable.
Lan’ka looked toward them and his face immediately twisted with irritation.
"You fools!" he roared. "Quit staring and burn the damn supplies! Our friends need us!"
Both youngsters jolted back to reality.
"S... Sorry!"
Without another word, Ka’z and Za’r rushed forward.
Behind them, the ten accompanying warriors immediately sprang into action. Several pulled out bundles of dried hay gathered earlier while others unsheathed crude but well forged iron daggers and short swords prepared specifically for sabotage. A few carried small wooden crates packed with simple shields.
They worked quickly. Hay was scattered over every pile of timber and more was stuffed beneath carts and stacked around barrels of grain. The dry grass spread through the supply yard like a blanket.
Ka’z inhaled deeply as mana gathered within his chest. He leaned forward and a stream of roaring flames erupted from his mouth.
Whoosh!
The fire greedily consumed the hay before spreading to the timber stacks with terrifying speed. Within moments flames climbed several meters into the air as thick black smoke billowed upward toward the night sky.
At that exact moment...
Ding!
[Kobolds Lost: 5]
[Hunters Lost: 0]
Ka’z’s smile disappeared.
Another warrior had fallen.
