Chapter 251 – A Learning Foe

Chapter 251

A Learning Foe

Date : Day 17 of Firstthaw 1024 Aethellgard Concord Year.

Freedom Party watched as the two natural disasters devoured the goblins alive.

The flood rolled on across the plain, churning and roaring. Wave after wave poured over the edges of Arianna's chasm in thundering brown waterfalls. The fissure drank it in, filling slowly from the bottom up, until the jagged stone spikes along its walls stood half-submerged in dark, swirling water.

Then, at last, the flood began to recede.

The water drew back across the grassland. It left behind a plain of mud, flattened grass, broken weapons and countless goblin corpses, tangled together wherever the current had dropped them.

Hyoren looked at the chasm and chuckled inwardly.

It might become a lake someday…

The rushing water had carved a rough channel from the riverbank to the fissure, a muddy gash connecting the two. The chasm itself had to be twenty to thirty meters wide, and a hundred to a hundred and fifty meters long. It was now a jagged, flooded pit bristling with stone.

Akela's newest landmark. Courtesy of Freedom Party…

Around The Sailer, the river had begun to recover as well. The water level that Elsylua had drained crept steadily back up the banks as the current from upstream rushed in to refill it. The churning surface settled. The rough, familiar rhythm of the river returned.

But Freedom Party's awe was short-lived.

Hyoren's eyes swept the northern bank, and his expression hardened.

Thousands of goblins had died. But thousands more remained.

Beyond the mud and the corpses, the third of the army that had turned toward the river was already regrouping. Fresh goblins poured forward from the rear, climbing over the bodies of their dead without hesitation. Their snarling rose again. Rusted blades lifted. And they surged toward the riverbank.

Further west, the remaining two-thirds of the horde still marched on toward Akela City, as though nothing had happened at all.

The Leadership Aura… They don't even mourn. They just keep coming…

Above the river, Elsylua still floated beside the boat. Water flowed endlessly through her elegant form, but no more waves rose at her command. The flood was over.

Hyoren turned quickly toward the bow.

"Oria! Can you use Flash Flood again?"

Oria's grip on the Azure Wand tightened. Her shoulders were rising and falling with each breath, and sweat beaded along her brow.

"That took almost all of my Aethell! I can use it one more time, but not yet. Just like Arianna, I need about an hour before I can cast it again!"

She reached into the pouch at her waist and pulled out a small bottle of sparkling blue liquid. She uncorked it with her teeth and downed half of it in a single gulp.

Hyoren nodded.

"Understood! Then prioritize resting!"

Oria lowered the bottle and shook her head firmly. Her silver hair swayed.

"No! I still have enough left for smaller spells! I can keep fighting!"

Hyoren tightened his grip on Dawn Breaker. For a moment he looked at her, at the stubborn set of her small jaw and the fire in her sapphire eyes.

"Alright! Help where you can. But your priority is saving enough for another Flash Flood!"

Oria finished the rest of the potion and gave a sharp nod.

Hyoren turned his attention to Arianna.

She was in a very different state.

The crimson-haired mage stood at the bow with Quadraflux Weaver planted against the deck. She was leaning on it. Her forehead was drenched in sweat, and she kept dabbing at it with a purple handkerchief, but more beads formed as quickly as she wiped them away. As Hyoren watched, she swayed slightly on her feet before catching herself against her staff.

Her Aethell reserve isn't as large as Oria's… Or maybe Earth Fissure simply costs far more.

His eyes moved between the two casters.

But that's not the only difference.

Oria looked tired, but steady. Arianna looked drained in a way that went deeper than her Aethell.

Arianna built and cast Earth Fissure entirely herself. Every rune. Every calculation. All of it carried by her own mind. But Oria delegated the calculations to her spirit. Elsylua carries the mental burden for her.

A wry smile crossed his face.

What an absurd spell. A water spirit that only consumes Aethell and doesn't strain the caster's mind at all…

He raised his voice.

"Arianna! Drink your Magic Potions and rest! Leave the rest to us!"

Arianna lowered her handkerchief. She straightened as best she could and gave him a graceful nod. Even exhausted, her composure held.

"Understood, Leader."

She turned and made her way toward the cabin, steadying herself on her staff with every step. At the door, she paused and looked back at the northern bank for a moment. Then she stepped inside. Through the small window, Hyoren saw her sink onto the bench and reach for a blue bottle.

Hyoren turned to face the rest of his party.

"Just as planned! Jackey, Elise, Oria! We thin their numbers a little more before we retreat!"

He looked toward the stern.

"Holley! Be ready to move on my signal!"

Holley's hands never left the controls.

"Aye, Mister Hyoren!"

On the cabin roof, Elise shifted her footing. Her arrow was still nocked, the string still drawn back to her cheek.

"Ready, Hyoren."

At the northern railing, Jackey raised both axes high. His tabby tail spiraled behind him.

"Always ready, Big Bro!"

At the bow, Oria said nothing. She only gave a small nod. But beside the boat, the tether between her and Elsylua flared with blue light, and the water spirit turned to face the northern bank.

Hyoren turned back toward the horde.

The goblins had reached the river.

They didn't stop at the water's edge. They threw themselves into it. Dozens at a time, then hundreds, splashing into the current with their weapons clenched in their teeth or raised above their heads. Some were swept away at once. Others clawed their way forward, snarling, half-swimming and half-thrashing toward the boat that had brought disaster down on their army.

The river began to fill with green bodies.

Hyoren tightened his grip on both his weapons. Dawn Breaker in his right hand. Étendard Sacré du Lys on his left. Above him, the white banner snapped in the wind, and the black Aetovacus soared.

"Everyone! Attack!"

***

Hyoren watched the goblins in the water.

They were struggling. The current was strong here, and the river had swallowed the first few dozen almost the moment they plunged in. Small green bodies spun away downstream, limbs flailing, rusted weapons slipping from their fingers.

But the rest didn't care.

They kept throwing themselves in. Rank after rank of them, clawing over one another, kicking and thrashing toward The Sailer. Some clung to floating corpses to keep their heads above water. Others clenched their blades between their teeth and paddled like dogs.

The Chieftain ordered them to attack... So they attack… Even if there were a wall of fire in front of them, they would charge straight into it…

He raised Dawn Breaker.

I don't need buffs or curses right now… What I need is area damage…

He pointed the sword's tip at the densest knot of swimming goblins. Dark Aethell flowed down his arm and into the mithril blade. The runic engravings along its length shimmered, and a small orb of darkness gathered at its tip.

"Shadow Bloom."

The orb blossomed.

WHOOSH!

A fan of dark energy swept out over the water. It washed across the swimming goblins like a shadow passing over the river.

The goblins caught inside it shrieked. Several went limp at once and sank. Others survived, but the Dark Magic had torn into them, and the Blind curse took hold. They thrashed wildly, clawing at their eyes, swimming in circles, colliding with one another. The current did the rest. One by one, the blinded and wounded goblins were dragged under and swept away downstream.

Hyoren lowered his sword and assessed the result.

Less than twenty. Not much against an army…

He felt the familiar drain on his Aethell. It barely dented his reserve. The Amulet of Magic Power rested warm against his chest.

When I first learned this spell, five casts in a real fight was my limit… Now I can cast it more frequently… Slowly, but surely. We only need to hold out until Oria and Arianna recover…

On the deck beside him, Jackey was practically vibrating with excitement. His tabby tail spun in circles.

He drew back his left arm and flicked his wrist.

"Precision Throw!"

The Blackmaw Tomahawk left his hand.

SWOOSH!

The black axe spun end over end across the river, a dark blur against the glittering water.

SCREEECK!

It buried itself in the chest of a Goblin Fighter standing on the northern bank. The goblin toppled backward into the mud.

Jackey grinned and held out his empty left hand.

"Return!"

The tomahawk vanished from the corpse. In the same instant, it reappeared in Jackey's grip, its handle slapping solidly into his palm.

He didn't wait. He flicked his wrist again.

"Precision Throw!"

SWOOSH! SCREEECK!

The axe split the skull of a Goblin Warrior standing at the water's edge. It had been snarling and shoving the smaller goblins into the river, driving them forward. Now it fell face-first into the shallows and didn't move.

Jackey threw his head back and laughed.

"WOHOO! Ranged whacking is still whacking! This is FUN!"

His ears perked high. His tail spiraled wildly behind him.

"Return!"

The tomahawk snapped back into his hand. He scanned the bank, picked out a broader figure among the smaller goblins, and threw again.

Between casts, Hyoren chuckled despite himself.

That Jackey… He is having fun…

He glanced up at the cabin roof.

Elise had become a force of nature.

The river wind tugged at her silver ponytail and sent it streaming behind her. Her feet were planted firmly on the roof. And her hands moved without pause, almost without thought. Draw from the quiver. Nock. Pull. Release. Again. And again.

The Moonveil Bow glowed a soft green in her hands. Through his Magic Eyes, Hyoren could see wind Aethell spiraling along her arrows. Enchant Magic. The wind would carry them straighter. Farther. Faster.

Her emerald eyes narrowed on a figure far beyond the riverbank, standing atop a corpse-strewn rise. A Goblin Archer. It was barking orders at the squad around it, pointing its crude bow toward the river.

"Charge Wind Arrow."

She released.

SWOOSH!

An emerald streak tore across the river. It cleared the bank, the shallows and the mud, and kept going.

SQUELCH!

The Goblin Archer jerked backward. It collapsed with an arrow through its throat. The squad around it faltered, milling in confusion, until they simply resumed charging without direction.

Elise was already nocking her next arrow. Her gaze shifted a little to the left. A Goblin Shaman stood behind a cluster of fighters, its crooked staff raised, a sickly glow beginning to form around the goblins nearby.

"Charge Wind Arrow."

SWOOSH! SQUELCH!

The arrow punched through the Shaman's skull mid-chant. The glow around the fighters guttered and died.

Hyoren watched her for a heartbeat between casts.

A sniper picking off commanders before they can even give orders... Perfect, Elise...

His gaze moved to the ship’s bow.

The tether between Oria and Elsylua flared with blue light.

Oria pointed the Azure Wand across the river.

"Elsylua! Hydro Pump, at will! Target every Goblin Warrior and every tight formation you see!"

The spirit didn't answer. She simply glided forward over the surface of the river and raised one flowing hand.

Beneath her palm, the river rose. A massive sphere of water swelled upward from the surface, churning and spinning.

Then—a torrent of water blasted out of the sphere. 

VROOOSH!

It shot across the river in a single concentrated stream, like water from a hose, but with enough force to bore through solid stone.

SPLOOSH!

It struck the nearest Goblin Warrior squarely in the chest. The blast punched straight through it and tore into the goblins behind. Three of them were hurled backward through the mud, broken and still.

Elsylua turned and raised her hand toward another target.

VROOOSH! SPLOOSH!

A pack of Goblin Fighters scrambling down the riverbank was blasted off its feet. Bodies tumbled into the shallows and didn't get up.

Meanwhile, Oria didn't stop either. While her spirit fought on its own, she raised the Azure Wand and began casting her own spells.

"Aqua Cutter."

A massive crescent blade of water formed at the tip of her wand.

WHOOSH!

It sliced through the air across the river and passed clean through a cluster of goblins wading out from the bank.

SQUELCH!

Several goblins were cut in half. Their upper bodies slid into the water. The current carried them away.

Oria swung her wand toward another target. A Goblin Lord in mismatched plate was charging straight into the river, roaring and waving a notched sword, driving the goblins around it toward The Sailer.

"Water Gun."

A small sphere of compressed water formed at the tip of her wand.

SWOOSH! SQUELCH!

The bullet of water struck the Goblin Lord between the eyes. Its head snapped back. It staggered once, then pitched forward into the river and sank.

Hyoren smiled.

Oria and Elsylua… It's like watching two casters fighting side by side…

One of them needs no concentration at all… A Water Spirit, huh… What an absurd spell… Every Branch Magic I’ve seen is absurd in its own way… Haha…

The river had become a slaughterhouse.

Bodies drifted downstream in a slow green tide. The water around the northern bank had turned murky with blood. Goblin corpses piled up along the shallows, and still more goblins clambered over them and threw themselves in.

Some of them were getting closer.

A Goblin Warrior had made it. Using the floating corpses of its kin as stepping stones, it had crossed most of the river. Now it surged out of the water beside the hull, grabbed the railing with one clawed hand, and hauled itself halfway up the side of the boat, snarling.

Jackey's golden eyes lit up.

"FINALLY!"

The Bloody Axe came down in a single brutal arc.

SCREEECK!

The Goblin Warrior's head split open. Its grip on the railing slackened, and it dropped back into the river without a sound.

Jackey twirled the Bloody Axe once and grinned from ear to ear.

"Guarding AND whacking! Best day ever! HAHAHA!"

Hyoren shook his head with a wry smile. Then he raised Dawn Breaker again and found another cluster of swimming goblins.

"Shadow Bloom!"

WHOOSH!

The dark wave rolled across the river once more.

And so Freedom Party fought.

Hyoren swept the dense packs of weaker goblins with Shadow Bloom, carefully counting every cast. Jackey's tomahawk flew again and again, felling the Fighters and Warriors who pushed the others forward. From the cabin roof, Elise's emerald streaks found every commander who dared raise a staff or a voice. At the bow, Oria and Elsylua poured water across the riverbank, the spirit blasting apart the strongest goblins while her caster cut down everything in between.

Inside the cabin, Arianna sat with her eyes closed and a Magic Potion in her hand, her breathing slow and steady.

And at the stern, Holley kept The Sailer perfectly still against the current, his eyes darting between the river and Hyoren's back.

Waiting for the signal.

***

Half an hour passed—but it felt like an eternity for Freedom Party.

The river had turned dark. Blood clouded the water around The Sailer in thick, murky swirls, and the smell of it hung heavy in the air. Goblin corpses drifted everywhere. Many were carried away downstream in a slow, grisly procession. But many more had snagged on rocks or tangled together in the shallows, piling up along the northern bank until they formed crude, floating mounds.

And the goblins were using them.

They clambered across the bodies of their own dead like stepping stones, leaping from corpse to corpse, closing the distance to the boat with every wave. More and more of them were reaching the hull.

A Goblin Fighter heaved itself up over the railing on the port side, snarling. Hyoren's left arm snapped up. 

CLANG!

The spearhead of his Étendard Sacré du Lys caught its rusted blade.

SQUELCH!

Then Dawn Breaker flashed once. The goblin fell back into the river.

Two more scrambled up near the stern. Jackey was already there.

SCREEECK! SCREEECK!

The Bloody Axe and the Blackmaw Tomahawk struck almost at once, and both goblins tumbled back into the water.

Jackey spun around, grinning, his chest heaving.

"Big Bro! I keep whacking them! But they keep coming!"

Hyoren kicked another goblin away from the railing. His eyes swept across the river. The floating mounds of corpses were growing. Every minute, the bridge of bodies stretched a little closer.

We're dealing with them for now. But sooner or later, we'll be overwhelmed.

He took a breath and ran through the numbers.

Earth Fissure and Flash Flood together wiped out around nineteen hundred to two thousand goblins... And since then, we've cut down another hundred or two…

His eyes flicked up to the cabin roof, then to the bow.

Elise and Oria especially… They've killed so many commanders that this part of the army is barely being led anymore…

He tightened his grip on Dawn Breaker.

Our job here is done... It's time to retreat…

He raised his voice above the snarling horde.

"Everyone! Retreat!"

The deck exploded into motion.

"Holley! Turn us around! Now!"

Holley's hands flew across the controls.

"Aye, Mister Hyoren!"

The magic engine at the stern roared. The Sailer lurched, then swung hard, its bow sweeping away from the northern bank. Water sprayed across the deck as the boat came about.

Freedom Party unleashed one final barrage.

Hyoren pointed Dawn Breaker at the nearest mound of corpses, where a dozen goblins were gathering for a leap.

"Shadow Bloom!"

WHOOSH!

The dark wave swept them off the bodies and into the current.

Jackey drew back his left arm.

"Precision Throw!"

SWOOSH! SCREEECK!

The Blackmaw Tomahawk split a Goblin Warrior's skull mid-leap. Jackey held out his hand, grinning.

"Return!"

On the cabin roof, Elise drew and loosed an arrow.

“Double Wind Shot.”

SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Two emerald streaks tore across the river. On the bank, a Goblin Shaman and a Goblin Archer collapsed at almost the same moment. Elise lowered her bow and dropped into a crouch on the roof, an arrow still nocked, her eyes never leaving the bank.

Beside the boat, Elsylua raised her hand one last time.

VROOOSH! SPLOOSH!

A final Hydro Pump blasted apart the largest mound of floating corpses. The goblins standing atop it vanished into the churning water. Then the spirit turned and glided after The Sailer, skimming across the surface of the river beside the hull.

The Sailer surged forward and left the battlefield behind.

Hyoren, Jackey and Oria stood at the stern and watched it shrink into the distance.

The murky water. The floating dead. The mounds of corpses snagged along the shallows. Goblins were still throwing themselves into the river behind them, swimming after the boat in a frenzy, but the current and The Sailer's speed carried Freedom Party away far faster than any goblin could swim.

They sailed downstream. With the current at their back, The Sailer flew.

To the north, the riverbank slid past. And along it, the other two-thirds of the goblin army were still marching west toward Akela, a vast green column stretching across the grassland beneath its towering cloud of dust. Thousands upon thousands of goblins, moving in the same direction as the boat. Not one of them looked toward the river.

Hyoren watched them pass.

The ones who tried to reach us will give up soon... Once they realize they can't catch the boat, they'll rejoin the march toward Akela…

He turned toward the stern.

"Holley! Keep going downstream! Get us well ahead of their vanguard. We'll wait there until Arianna and Oria recover their Aethell. Full speed!"

Holley grinned and pushed the controls forward.

"Aye, Mister Hyoren! Full speed ahead!"

The engine roared louder. The Sailer cut through the water, riding the current, and left the marching army behind.

They passed the column. Then its front ranks. Then the scattered vanguard. Gradually, the cloud of dust fell farther and farther behind them, until it was only a faint brown smudge on the horizon. Then, finally, it disappeared entirely.

We got plenty of distance... At their marching pace, the vanguard should reach this stretch in about an hour…

At the stern, Holley eased off the controls. The Sailer slowed, drifted toward the southern bank, and came to rest near a stand of tall reeds. Holley dropped anchor with a splash and a rattle of chain.

The engine fell silent.

For the first time in what felt like hours, Freedom Party let out a breath.

The quiet was almost strange. Only the rush of the river. The rustle of reeds. No snarling. No clash of steel. No screaming.

Hyoren slid Dawn Breaker back into its pure white sheath. He raised his left hand, and Aethell flowed into his ring. Étendard Sacré du Lys shimmered and vanished into the Ring of Arsenal. 

He rolled his shoulders. They ached. He hadn't noticed until now.

"Everyone. We have a respite. About an hour. Let's rest."

Jackey slid both axes back onto his hips. He stretched his arms high above his head until his back cracked.

"Rest after whacking is the best!"

His stomach let out a loud, long growl.

Jackey froze. Then he grinned sheepishly and rubbed his belly.

"And now I'm starving! HAHA!"

Everyone laughed.

Elise climbed down from the cabin roof and slung the Moonveil Bow across her back. She tucked a loose strand of silver hair behind her pointed ear.

"Lunch sounds nice. Vina packed lunch for all of us, after all."

Jackey's ears shot straight up. He thrust both fists into the air.

"YES! Lunch! LUNCH!"

The cabin door creaked open. Arianna stepped out onto the deck. Her complexion had improved considerably, and she no longer leaned on Quadraflux Weaver for support. Only a faint dampness at her temples remained. She lightly adjusted the brim of her hat.

"Ohoho. Something to fill our stomachs would be most appreciated."

Hyoren smiled and turned toward the stern.

"Holley! Come eat with us!"

Holley looked up, surprised, then grinned and climbed down from the helm.

"Don't mind if I do, Mister Hyoren!"

Hyoren reached into his storage bag and pulled out the cloth-wrapped bundle from Vina. He handed it to Elise, who began unwrapping it on top of a crate. Rice balls wrapped in leaves. Slices of roast meat. Even a few pieces of fruit tucked carefully in the corner.

As Elise began handing out portions, Hyoren noticed Oria.

The small elf stood a little apart from the others, near the bow. She was watching them with a soft, warm expression, her hands loosely folded around the Azure Wand. Beside her, Elsylua hovered just above the water. One flowing hand rested lightly on her caster's shoulder.

Hyoren smiled at her.

"Oria, you don't have to stand over there like an outsider. Come here. Sit with us."

Arianna turned and gave a graceful nod.

"Please, Lady Oria. Do join us."

Elise glanced up from the food. A mischievous smile slowly spread across her face.

"Oh, leave her be. The recluse pipsqueak doesn't know how to socialize. Fufufu."

Oria's ears turned red. She shot Elise a furious glare.

"Shut up, Cow Tits!"

Then she let out a long sigh and walked over, the Azure Wand tucked under her arm.

"Fine. I didn't want to intrude on your party's moment... But if you all insist…"

Elise held out a rice ball and a few slices of roast. Her smile only widened.

"Can you be honest for a while, Pipsqueak?"

Oria snatched the food out of her hands.

"I said shut up, Cow Tits!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

Hyoren raised his hand, still smiling.

"Now, now. Let's eat and recover our strength. We still have work to do."

A chorus of agreement answered him. Then they began to eat.

Jackey and Arianna sat side by side on the deck, leaning against the cabin wall. Jackey devoured his rice balls one after another while telling Arianna about every goblin he had whacked, using his hands to act out each throw. Arianna listened with a soft smile, occasionally covering her mouth to laugh. Her deep-purple Royal Mage Robe pooled across the wooden deck around her. For once, she didn't seem to care in the least about noble manners.

Holley sat on an overturned crate nearby, eating quietly. Every so often, his eyes drifted upstream.

At the bow, Hyoren, Elise and Oria sat together. Elsylua hovered silently beside them above the water, her flowing form glittering in the midday light.

Hyoren looked at the water spirit. Then at Oria.

“Is it alright to keep her summoned like this, Oria? Doesn’t it drain you?”

The small elf was mid-bite. She chewed, swallowed, and only then answered.

“It’s fine. As long as she isn’t casting anything, maintaining the tether only costs a trickle of Aethell. My regeneration easily keeps up with it. More than keeps up, actually.”

She reached out toward the spirit. Elsylua lowered one flowing hand to meet hers, and their fingers brushed for a moment—water against skin, cool and gentle.

“Summoning her again would cost far more. I’d have to construct that entire Runic Array sequence from the beginning…”

Elise’s emerald eyes glinted with amusement.

“Or the pipsqueak is just lazy.”

Oria shot her a glare, her cheeks puffing out.

“I’m not! I’m telling the truth!”

Hyoren couldn’t hold back a laugh. Elise giggled behind her hand, and after a moment, even Oria’s glare cracked into a reluctant smile. The three of them laughed together.

After that, they chatted about small things. Vina’s cooking. Oria’s shop. Whether Jackey would ever learn to chew before swallowing.

But every now and then, their conversation would trail off. And their eyes would drift east, toward the place where the dust cloud would soon appear again.

For a little while, Freedom Party simply enjoyed the brief respite.

***

After an hour of rest, Freedom Party prepared to intercept the marching army once more.

The dual suns of Kresneger had begun their slow descent. Their light had turned warmer, stretching the shadows of the reeds long across the water. Holley raised the anchor and brought The Sailer back to the middle of the river, holding it steady against the current.

Then, on the eastern horizon, the brown haze reappeared.

It grew slowly at first—then swelled into the familiar towering cloud, rolling toward them beneath the afternoon sky. The low rumble returned. The distant snarling. The endless clank of rusted metal.

Hyoren rose from the deck and drew Dawn Breaker. He raised his left hand, and the Ring of Arsenal pulsed.

"Spear. Come out."

Étendard Sacré du Lys materialized in his grip. The white banner unfurled in the wind, and once again, the black Aetovacus soared above the deck. Its quiet strength washed over every member of his party.

He turned to face them.

"Listen, everyone. We won't linger this time. Tomorrow's battle is what matters. Once Arianna and Oria release their spells, we watch the results, thin them a little, and then we retreat. No more than that."

Elise nodded from the cabin roof, arrow already nocked. Jackey slammed his axes together with a grin. Arianna lightly adjusted the brim of her hat. Oria only lifted her wand.

They took their positions.

At the bow, Arianna raised Quadraflux Weaver toward the sky and closed her eyes. The transparent brown circle bloomed before her staff, and her left fingertip began to move. 

Earth. Terraforma. Terraforma. 

One rune after another locked into place, the array growing more intricate with each stroke.

Beside her, Oria simply waited.

She had no need to cast again. Elsylua already hovered above the river beside the boat, flowing and patient, the tether between them glowing softly.

Hyoren watched the two casters standing side by side.

That’s the strength of Spirit magic… It can’t match Arianna’s devastation... 

But it’s flexible... And once the spirit is summoned, every spell after that is far cheaper…

By the time the goblin vanguard crested the nearest hills, Arianna's Runic Array was complete. Across the river, its massive twin pulsed upon the plain.

Then Hyoren noticed something.

The horde was not marching the way it had this morning. Its ranks had spread. The tight, crowded columns had loosened into a wide, ragged formation, with gaps between each squad that had not been there before.

His eyes narrowed.

The Chieftain learned… It lost two thousand goblins to two spells in a single morning, so now it's spreading them thin…

A chill ran down his spine.

A Level 35 Archer-born commander… It really does strategize...

But it was too late to change anything now. The goblins poured across the glowing array without slowing. Hyoren raised Dawn Breaker high, then swung it down.

"Arianna! Oria! Now!"

Arianna's eyes snapped open.

"Earth Fissure!"

CRAAAAACK!

The plain tore open for the second time that day. Shockwaves heaved the earth skyward. A new chasm split the grassland, and jagged spikes of stone erupted along its edges. Goblins vanished into the depths or hung impaled upon the rock.

But this time, the devastation swallowed fewer of them. Where the morning's fissure had torn through packed ranks, this one carved through the scattered gaps between squads.

Maybe eight hundred. Less than this morning…

As the dust began to settle, the tether between Oria and Elsylua blazed.

Oria shouted.

"Elsylua! Flash Flood!"

The river stilled. Drained. Rose. A towering wall of water climbed beside The Sailer and crashed onto the northern bank. It surged into the fresh chasm and roared across the plain—and this time, the spread-out formation worked against the goblins. There was no dense mass to slow the water. The flood raced across the open ground unchecked, sweeping up squad after scattered squad and dragging them into the churning brown current.

When it receded, the plain had been scarred and drowned for the second time that day.

Then came the answer.

From the hills beyond the flood, a dark cloud rose into the sky—arrows.

Dozens. Then a hundred. A squad of Goblin Archers had formed up on high ground, out of reach of the flood, and loosed a volley straight at the boat.

“Arrows!”

Before Hyoren could finish shouting, Arianna forced herself upright.

She had been leaning on Quadraflux Weaver ever since the second Earth Fissure, her face pale and drenched with sweat. But her reserve wasn’t empty. There was still enough left for a few smaller spells—and if she didn’t cast one now, all of them would end up as pincushions.

She thrust her staff toward the sky. The four colors inside its orb swirled together into a brilliant white.

“Wind Barrier.”

Quadraflux Weaver flashed.

Above The Sailer, the air itself twisted. A violent turbulence of wind erupted across the sky in a broad dome, roaring and spiraling between the boat and the falling arrows.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The arrows struck the barrier and lost all their force. The wind caught them and flung them upward, spinning end over end, before they tumbled and dropped harmlessly into the river one after another.

Arianna lowered her staff, breathing hard. She planted it against the deck to steady herself.

Hyoren grimaced, his eyes fixed on the hillside where the archers stood.

The Goblin Chieftain truly is learning... Spreading its formation… Placing archers on high ground out of the flood’s reach… We can’t stay here long…

He tightened his grip on both weapons and raised his voice.

“Everyone! We won’t linger! Do what you can… then we leave! Holley, be ready to run for Akela at full speed!”

At the stern, Holley’s hands were already on the controls.

“Aye, Mister Hyoren!”

Atop the cabin, Elise was already drawing.

“Charge Wind Arrow.”

SWOOSH. SQUELCH!

The emerald streak tore across the river and up the hillside. The Goblin Archer at the center of the formation, the one that had barked the order to fire, collapsed.

She nocked again without pause.

“Charge Wind Arrow.”

SWOOSH. SQUELCH!

A second commander fell. The archers on the hill broke into confusion—and for now, no second volley came.

For a few minutes more, Freedom Party fought.

Hyoren’s Shadow Bloom swept clusters of goblins off the floating corpses. Jackey’s Blackmaw Tomahawk flew and returned, flew and returned, felling every Warrior that tried to drive the others into the river. Elsylua’s Hydro Pump blasted apart the strongest packs, while Oria’s Aqua Cutter carved through the rest.

Then Hyoren lowered his sword and glanced back toward the hill.

We should leave before they regroup for a second volley... And Arianna and Oria need to be at their best tomorrow… Nothing we gain here is worth exhausting them...

He turned toward the stern.

"Holley! Retreat! Take us home!"

Holley's grin flashed.

"Aye, Mister Hyoren!"

The engine roared. The Sailer swung about and surged downstream, riding the current west. Elsylua glided alongside the hull. Behind them, the second scar smoked upon the plain, and the scattered goblins shrieked uselessly at the water.

Hyoren looked back at the dark cloud of dust still rolling west.

A Chieftain that adapts after a single defeat…

His grip tightened on the white spear.

Tomorrow won't be easy…

The Sailer sped west toward Akela once again—carrying Freedom Party home ahead of an army that was still fifteen thousand strong in name, but far fewer in number.