Chapter 17: The Clash of Earth and Steel

After reaching the target, Garic dismounted his horse and approached Vorag, his massive hammer resting across his shoulder, gleaming in the dying light of day. Time felt as if it stood still as their gazes met. The fate of the unknown crafter soldiers was far from over; Garic Thunderstrike, the vanquisher of Celestia, had made his entrance. He surveyed the lay of the land, noting his comrades lying on the ground.  He drew closer to Vorag, his rage intensified, yet his face was as serene as a still pond, sharply contrasting with the fierce aura he emanated.

From Vorag’s perspective, time seemed to stand still, each moment dragging as events played out in slow motion. When they finally stood face to face, Garic towered over Vorag, who remained half-kneeling on the ground, his men in a similar state behind him.

“I have half a mind to negotiate right now, not after travelling so far without rest and fighting another set of goblins is not exactly the thing I am looking forward to,” Garic spoke in a rude yet calm tone, staring directly at Vorag as his troops moved to surround Vorag and his goblin cohorts. Meanwhile, a few skilled in medical first aid began tending to the wounded, with Elowen taking charge at the forefront of all the troops.

“Then what do you propose, human?” Vorag muttered in a rather calm tone, careful not to falter. The previous assault, though decisive and catastrophic, had been effective solely because Vorag and his troops were taken by surprise. At least that's what Vorag thought. But Vorag, mindful and cunning as he was, wasn’t willing to test that hypothesis with the current odds. "I wouldn't want to test these odds," he muttered before speaking aloud in his crude guttural accent.

“How about we retreat, and you take your men back? Seems fair enough to me. What do you think, human?” Vorag spoke is a wager.

Garic stood in the centre of the battlefield, attentively listening to the Goblin brute while observing something unusual that he possessed. Ideally, anyone in charge would have consented to the terms, but the scene before him altered the circumstances entirely. Garic was on the verge of agreement when simultaneously voicing his thoughts and observing the clue altered his decision. He cut himself off mid-sentence. He changed his mind; capturing this goblin alive would answer many questions swirling in his mind.

“I’ve changed my mind. Your men, perhaps, can go. However you... you will stay right here.”

Vorag, who had already turned his back when he got a hint that the Human standing in front of him would agree was showing his back walking towards his men eagerly planning his retreat and the next plan of action, but as he heard the next phrase from garics mouth he froze mid-step. For Vorag, being apprehended was unthinkable. His prominent status within the clan meant that getting caught would bring nothing but disgrace. Without a second thought, he lunged at Garic, his slow and sluggish movements suddenly became fast and difficult to read. Meanwhile, Garic who was well versed in Goblin Psychology was already prepared for something like that to happen.

As Vorag came close, he made a downward strike, fully charged with his magical aura, using his crude, mace-shaped club—the same weapon he had used against Clarissa in the earlier confrontation.

"What do you take me for, a human?" he uttered, his attack striking Garic. The cunning and calculated demeanour he once possessed had vanished, leaving only raw savagery behind.

Garic, far from being outmatched, effortlessly parried with his formidable hammer, delivering a mirrored upward strike imbued with the essences of lightning, wind, and earth. The collision of their weapons sent a resonant hum and a shockwave of wind radiating across the battlefield, emanating from the epicentre of their clashing arms. An overconfident smirk played on Garic's face as he retorted, "Don't know. Let's find out, shall we?"

Both combatants engaged in fierce close-quarters combat, each blow infused with their unique auras, deliberately avoiding a ranged confrontation for their reasons. The atmosphere was tense; some of the forces stayed on guard while others busied themselves tending to the wounded, dragging them out of the potential combat radius. Meanwhile, the goblins, or more accurately, hobgoblins, remained motionless, torn between retreating and fighting. Their hesitation proved fatal as it left them frozen in place.

The battle between Garic and Vorag continued as they clashed with their mighty weapons and auras. Blow after blow landed, with neither side giving ground. The combatants from both factions resorted to rudimentary assaults, relying heavily on sheer physical force and unrefined magical auras rather than intricate spellwork, despite possessing the capability for such advanced casting.

As both realized this was going nowhere, Vorag decided to show his true colours, getting serious. He let out an echoing roar, his aura expanding in all directions. The earth trembled, seemingly in answer to his summons; jagged rocks and boulders burst forth from the soil, scattering in every direction. One by one with increasing intensity as time flung by he hurled them towards Garic. Garic avoided most of them skillfully, striking down those he couldn’t with his hammer, which oozed with magical aura.

“You’re not the only one who can use earth attribute spells, you know,” Garic shouted, his voice reaching Vorag’s ears like a harsh taunt. Meanwhile, Garic was meticulously gathering the correct concentration of Mana, poised to unleash a spell from his arsenal of magic. Observing Garic's defensive posture and remembering the previous taunt, Vorag deduced that a magical assault was likely being planned. He had to intervene before it was too late. Spurred by the taunt, Vorag lunged at Garic, intent on disrupting his spellcasting. "I have to stop him," he murmured, heading straight for Garic. But it was too late; Garic, like most Helvetian mages, was a sorcerer, and sorcerers do not require a longer casting time, unlike wizards. Because sorcerers rarely used chants to cast spells, they mostly relied on magical items to reduce their casting time or to enhance specific aspects of their spells to achieve a greater effect. In this case, the tool was the hammer in Garic's possession. Garic had been refining his aura into earth attribute magic while dodging the boulders hurled by Vorag since their earlier confrontation. Now, his aura was charged; all he needed to do was cast it into a spell, which he did after making a loud taunt at Vorag. Garic poured his aura into his enchanted magic hammer using it as a catalyst, delivering a massive downward strike near Vorag.

"He missed..." A quick thought flashed through Vorag's mind as his right claw lunged to pierce Garic's armour, dealing significant damage but not reaching any vital areas.

"You think?" Garic replied with a wicked smile as if he could read Vorag's thoughts. However, the strike wasn’t aimed at Vorag; it was the final step to activate Garic’s spell. The hammer hit the ground, and at that exact moment, as Vorag's claws lunged for Garic's vitals, the spell was triggered. A series of earthen spikes and boulders erupted in a radial pattern, creating a wave of moving earth that threw Vorag several feet back. It was as if the ground had turned to water for a brief moment.

“See? I can do it better,” Garic boasted, smirking at Vorag—another taunt that Vorag couldn’t tolerate. "However, I must acknowledge your efforts; you succeeded in causing considerable damage to my armour." Amidst the chaos of the battlefield, Garric engaged in a round of taunting banter with the severely wounded Vorag. However, a sudden distraction amidst the turmoil and Garric's irritating jibes captured Vorag's attention, jolting him back to awareness.

“What is that thing doing here?” he muttered to himself, his mind racing with questions he swiftly dismissed. “Never mind. If I have that, I might win this fight for sure.” Vorag’s gaze shifted to the spear mounted on Garics horse, shining like a beacon of longing. But he concealed his intentions from Garic who was busy delivering taunts at Vorag.

The events unfolded quickly. “Why are you all just standing there like statues? Come forth and aid me!” In a commanding tone, Vorag pointed at Garic and ordered his hobgoblin minions to launch an attack simultaneously. Initially hesitant, they acquiesced and started to charge at Garic from every direction. Vorag also joined the fray, attacking from behind.

"Looks like his annoying speech is finally over," Elowen said as she leaned forward among the crowd of her soldiers to see what Garic was up to. It was then that she noticed what the goblins were doing. Recognizing the unsettling situation, Elowen quickly commanded her men to assist Garic. But before she could give orders, Garic stopped her, asking the men to stay back and watch. Garic, in a moment of bravado, was in the mood to show off. “I haven’t done this in a long, long time,” he said, charging at his opponents, now using only his earth aura. He deflected every goblin's assault swiftly with his hammer. With each swing, the earth echoed the motion of the hammer, amplifying his blows. Vorag also joined the battle, though with concealed motives.

While Garic was busy showing off, Vorag lunged past him taking advantage of the chaos, making a beeline for the horse where the spear was held. Garic noticed it at first but did not realise what the Goblin was up to and didn't bother to prioritize going after him as he was already busy as it was. But in a few seconds, Garic realized what Vorag was after. But it was too late by then; Vorag had already seized it. He poured mana into the spear and began chanting in an unfamiliar Guteral language, raising the weapon high.

“This looks bad,” Garic muttered. Realizing he’d screwed up big time. But he did not falter as he was holding back all this time. He had restrained himself, utilizing only a portion of his strength. Now, unleashing his full power, he infused his hammer with the forces of earth and lightning and brought it down with a thunderous crash. The ground responded violently, spewing forth jagged spikes of raw iron that electrified any hobgoblin not felled by the first strike.

But it was too late; Vorag’s spell was already cast. The silver spear, glowing with a holy White aura, unleashed a beam of pure, unadulterated light when Vorag aimed the Spear directly at Garic. Garic’s life flashed before his eyes as the light approached.

At the last second, Elowen raised a potent barrier of wind and water attribute aura, deflecting most of the beam’s force. As the dust settled the battlefield was surrounded with a fence fog and an aftermath of the two spells colliding which Elowen skillfully deflected using one of her Wind attribute spells. “Next time, don’t expect me to save your sorry ass from your screw-ups. Finish it quickly! Will you.” she shouted in a rather harsh tone.

“One glance at the lady, and you wouldn’t believe those words came from her,” Garic thought, chuckling. Regaining his footing, he shouted back, “Yes, Mom. Thanks for the help,” his tone sarcastic but light-hearted.

The soldiers, tense moments before, broke into laughter before quickly resuming their guard after noticing the evil glair of their Female Knight captain. Meanwhile, Vorag realized his trump card had failed and was not responding to him a second time. He discarded the spear, as it had become too hot from all that excess heat, which left burn marks on his dominant palm. He lunged at Garic with his club, hoping for a last-ditch opening. But Garic was ready.

“Okay, playtime’s over,” Garic muttered, lifting his hammer and releasing a hint of green aura. A column of air descended from above, pinning down Vorag in place. Garic channelled the earth and wind elements into his hammer, forging shackles of earth and metal that rendered Vorag immobile. Meanwhile, a pillar of air pressed him firmly to the ground, growing incrementally stronger as Garic gradually increased the mana flow into his hammer. Blood began to start spilling from every emphasis of Vorags body.

“And lastly—”

“I thought you wanted him alive! Besides, he’s already passed out,” Elowen called out from afar.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Garic replied, cancelling his spell and releasing the wind aura. Vorag by then has passed out completely zapped of any magical energy or strength to fight back. “Take him away,” he told his men, finally allowing himself to collapse onto the ground, staring up at the darkening sky, utterly exhausted.

“I wonder how Commander Sebeth is doing right now.”

To be continued...

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