God… I can feel you… on the battlefield when I bathe in the blood of my enemies. When I drink their life essence and drain them of everything they are… Oh God, I am sorry for doubting you… This war… I'll make this world a place you can look upon!

The gobelins attacked with a ferocity Kai had never seen before. Their figures became clearer as they stepped into the light. Large armor donned their small bodies, they wielded daggers, bows, swords, lances, spears, and halberds. Both the armor and weapons were covered in dried blood and bits of flesh. Their sadistic smiles reminded Kai of their ambush. They were only five at the time, and he was exhausted. The coppery taste of their awful blood still lingered on Kai's lips, making him gag and remember the way they had almost killed him.

Anger flared up within him as he warned the others, however, it was far too late. Jinchevs stepped forward and struck the nearest gobelins, two of which happened to be red. They died instantly, their bodies turning into particles that flew toward the rest of the assailants.

Their muscles increased in size, as did they, but not enough to make the armor donning them explode. Kai noticed that the amount by which they grew wasn't as much as before. So it's proportional to how many particles they absorb. He made a mental note and slashed down upon an empowered purple goblin. The shining, mana empowered blade of his silver sword pierced through its armor and cut at its heart.

Kai didn't wait for it to explode, however. He grabbed its head with as much ferocity as he did fear and threw it toward the approaching group.

Yasa and Lutha watched Kai's ruthlessness with insecurity and shock from the gobelin's sudden transformation. They followed the purple gobelin's flying body as it turned red, which then exploded amidst the group of approaching green, red, and purple enemies.

The green ones died first, and three sets of particles flew out toward their comrades, amplifying their strength. Out of the few purple ones that got touched, the nearest one took the explosion head-on, dying and exploding instantly.

The small chain reaction stopped after that, though, as the rest of the purple gobelins became stronger and more resilient than before. The blood and gore, accompanied by their increased size, made the gobelins look even more menacing than before, but that didn't stop the group from attacking.

Kai noticed the few red gobelins sitting in the back, murmuring under their breath. Mages?! He thought, sensing the disruptions of mana in the environment. Are they using outside mana exclusively? How is that possible?! However, he didn't have time to think about it as the sharp tip of an arrow whistled through the air.

It passed him as he dodged, and a grunt of pain echoed within his ears soon after. The arrow hit one of the green gobelins rushing them from the other side, its resulting particles empowering its allies. Was that intentional?

Kai pulled out his wand and summoned a dozen fireballs to surround him and slashed in a crescent shape at the same time. His attack was blocked by a green gobelin who wore a mocking expression on his face. Kai grunted and willed all of the fireballs to move, shooting straight at the creature's belly.

Taken by surprise, it oinked in pain as it shot backward, dying in a blazing fire that only lasted a few seconds. Its charred corpse exploded into particles that then got absorbed by the surrounding gobelins.

Another three lumps of particles appeared within the corners of his eyes, which empowered the other gobelins. Why do they keep killing them in bulk?! Kai cried inwardly, unable to understand why they would ignore his commands. However, one look at the burly man's expression answered all his questions.

Maniac… Jinchevs wore a sadistic smile from ear to ear, and his constricted pupils gave him a weird, creepy appearance. Kai realized that the man was crazier than he thought, and loved to battle too much. His naked muscles were covered in blood and guts, and his sword slashed with such ferocity that even the gobelins turned apprehensive.

However, not enough for them to stop their attack. Kai's attention was more focused on the red one's chanting, and he noticed that Lutha was the same.

The man's fighting style was definitely unorthodox, as threads of light shot out from the rings on his finger. With a pull they wrapped around a gobelin, and with another said gobelin's body fell to the ground, sliced into pieces. The image made Kai gag, but he couldn't deny how effective his methods were.

Onyx, try to sneak behind and take out the red ones. He communicated with the Obborik through their bond as he summoned another dozen fireballs.

Yes, brower. Onyx replied as he sped through the forest. Kai wasn't eager to find out what sort of surprises the red gobelins had in store for them.

The more they killed, the stronger the enemy got, though, as most of them were green. Kai noticed something weird, though. No matter how many they killed, more came to take their place. There were no corpses to speak of, as the green ones disappeared and the purple ones exploded, so it was hard to keep count.

He wasn't the only one who noticed that, though, but it was hard for them to care too much about it, given the gobelin's unrelenting nature.

The flow of mana in their surroundings changed all of a sudden, and Kai's heart raced, thinking that the red goblins' spell was finished. However, a wave of relief washed over him upon receiving Onyx's thoughts.

Got one, tastes bad.

He glanced toward the back and noticed a white shadow sneaking through the enemy lines, picking off one red gobelin after another. Good job, boy.

Lutha's expression also changed upon noticing the same thing, but his ruthlessness only increased.

…

After fifteen minutes of nonstop fighting, the group's strength began to weaken, and the gobelins only became stronger. The purple ones grew to a greater size, and the few green ones that weren't killed did the same. Horns began growing out of their heads and fangs out of their mouths, and the armor on their bodies snapped as their size increased.

Sweat covered Yasa and Kai, while Lutha downed a blue potion to regenerate some mana. Only Jinchevs seemed to grow stronger the more he killed, and the more he killed, the livelier he got. Kai saw something in his eyes that made him shiver, though he could only guess why.

Wounds covered his body, either from swords, arrows, or claws, but he didn't care, and his regeneration speed made it so he couldn't bleed out. Yasa's armor also saw signs of damage underneath all the gore, and Kai's meager clothes were torn, turned into rags.

Onyx kept hunting down any red gobelins that appeared, however, the other ones realized what he was doing and began guarding them.

From the original two dozen gobelins, they must have killed more than three times that. The darkness made it so they couldn't see where they came from, or how many there were. However, Kai had a feeling that some of the particles from the green gobelins went toward the ones hiding.

The reason for that was that each new gobelin was stronger than the last one, and in turn harder to kill. While he was impressed by their tactics, he dreaded them and thanked his lucky stars that he had only confronted five before.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

While no words were spoken, they knew that they couldn't last this onslaught. Their clothes and armor were covered in blood and sweat, their muscles grew more and more tired, and their mana reserves dwindled.

Kai noticed some black spots appearing on the purple gobelins, who had already transformed from their previously small shape to monsters as tall as Jinchevs. If they were allowed to reach the form that Kai fought before, he knew that very little could penetrate their tough shell. He couldn't allow that to happen, but at the same time, he had no idea how to stop them.

If they didn't kill the green gobelins, their number would become too much for them to handle, and while they did kill them, the strength of the overall army would also grow. They had to take care of as many of them as possible, all at once.

"Lutha!" Kai yelled through gritted teeth, his mouth dry. "Do you know any large-scale attack spells?"

The man shook his head as he pulled, his hands trembling as he took down another three gobelins. "I don't."

"Any barriers? Strong ones."

"I know one, but it takes time to cast," He gasped as he tugged again. "I'm not sure we can afford it."

"Prepare for it, I'll give you an opening!" Kai yelled and cast a spell with his wand, raising the ground around Lutha and giving him protection. With the man out of the picture, though, the pressure on the rest increased exponentially.

"Are you sure?!" He yelled, but took out a couple of transparent and yellow crystals from his storage rings.

"I am!"

Onyx, help us in the center, forget the red ones. He commanded at the same time, and the Obborik immediately joined him. He barked and shot wind spells as fast as he could, pushing back the approaching monster army. Onyx's wind magic was much stronger than Kai could cast at the moment, and it would only grow stronger. An Obborik's magic was to be feared, especially an adult's. He knew that much about them.

However, it wasn't quite enough.

Onyx, stop holding back!

"Awooo!!" The Obborik grew in size and towered over both gobelins and humans. His spells also grew and became fiercer, now creating veritable winds that threw their enemies flying. The attacks cut their bodies and peeled off their flesh, with some weaker ones dying instantly.

As usual, though, the never-ending army kept advancing, returning stronger with each wave.

Mana rotated around them, pulled by Lutha's spell. "How long will that take?" Kai asked after taking out another two gobelins.

"Depends on how strong you need it," Lutha replied, sweat dripping down his forehead.

After a few seconds of consideration and another dead gobelin, Kai said. "As strong as you can make it. Only big enough for all of us."

Lutha murmured under his breath as he gathered mana and paused after a moment. "Five minutes or so."

"Alright." Kai nodded and swung down on another gobelin. Five minutes wasn't a long time by any means; however, on the battlefield, five minutes could dictate whether someone lived or died. Kai chose to take the bet, however, and kept on defending to the best of his ability.

Suddenly, a purple gobelin with most of its body covered with black skin charged past all the rest. It appeared in front of Yasa within seconds, however, she was caught in a clash with another two green, mutated ones. By the time she realized it was too late, the large black monster swung its fist.

Kai quickly cut down the enemy before him and told Onyx to cover for him, then enhanced his speed and almost blipped in front of Yasa, standing between her and the monster. His right hand clenched into a fist, he pulled back and shot with fire covering it. The explosive force created a hole inside the monster's abdomen, and its eyes rolled back as its guts spilled out.

The black shell quickly turned red, and Kai panicked, without thinking of the consequences. If that thing exploded so close to them, they would all be dead.

However, just as it was about to, Jinchevs kicked it between the legs, and it shot upward like a rocket. Without thinking, Kai rose to the earth above them with a fast wave of his wand. The corpse exploded mid-air, showering the gobelins with guts and blood, and shooting bone shrapnel everywhere.

The party was protected by Kai's quick thinking, but the force of the explosion shot some sharper pieces of bone right through the hastily made ceiling. Some of them hit nothing, while some hit them. All of them but Jinchevs groaned in pain, and one of the crystals that Lutha used to cast the spell exploded into pieces.

"Shit!" He yelled, and Kai immediately realised that they needed more time now.

Fatigue washed over him, though, as his muscles wanted to give out. He still had plenty of mana, but the simple spells he knew weren't strong enough to do anything to those evolved monsters.

He bit down on his lower lip and decided to use them anyway, as any little thing counted at that point. "Avert your eyes!" He yelled and threw a few bright flashes of light at the sky, blinding the enemies.

Simultaneously, two dozen fireballs appeared at his side, and a much larger one at the tip of his wand. He shot the smaller ones toward the nearest enemies, and after a second shot, the larger one in the middle of a large group.

The explosion caused several of them to be wounded, but not to die. Kai grits his teeth and repeats the process. Onyx shot his wind attacks at the same time, though his barks became less powerful with each passing minute.

Yasa's muscles screamed in pain as her attacks became nothing more than wild thrusts, meanwhile, Jinchevs showed no signs of exhaustion. However, the growing number of strong gobelins made him push back, and the wounds covering his body more than doubled. Despite his apparently infinite reserves, Kai could tell he was also reaching his limit.

"How much… longer?" Kai barked as he cast another fire spell.

"Two minutes, just two more minutes!" Lutha said through heavy breaths.

Kai stopped using his mana and began using his sword once again. However, he stored the silver sword away in favor of using the purple one. His father's sword was sharper and conducted mana better, but Kai realised it took a bigger toll on his physical strength. Regardless, he had no choice and decided that he might as well experiment.

Since he used it last time to kill the gobelins threatening to take his life, Kai didn't really get the chance to make use of its weird powers.

Breathing deeply, he let go of it while injecting mana into it. The sword floated briefly but wavered. Kai bit his lower lip and grabbed it, sent even more mana into it, then shot it at an approaching green gobelin. The violet sword flew right into its skill, killing it instantly. The thing's energy got absorbed by the rest, and the sword returned to him, then flew toward another one once again.

Kai guided it with mana and his thoughts, though he felt that he couldn't fully control it. It definitely has a mind of its own…

Just as he was about to get the hang of it, though, Lutha's voice awoke him. "It's done, I can put up the barrier whenever you want!"

Kai nodded, recalled the purple sword, and stored it away, much to its disapproval. Taking out the wand, he replaced all six crystals with fire ones and began sending mana into them. He also started casting a spell at the same time, the one spell he knew would do the most damage, and the spell that took him the longest to cast.

Double Phoenix Destruction did nothing against Hydeoshi, but he was a highly trained human. These gobelins don't use magic, so I can only hope it will be strong enough to destroy their skin.

Onyx once again covered for him while he cast the spell, though fatigue washed over him and everyone else. This restless battle took a toll on them, and he had to end it quickly.

He sent more and more mana into the crystals, making them shine with a scorching light. As he moved around and chanted the convoluted spell, two small balls of fire - one yellowy orange and one as dark as the night sky - appeared by his side. Within moments, they grew bigger than the largest gobelin, and in another second, they towered over the trees.

As they did, their shape began to morph into two blurry birds made out of fire. Their figures were indistinct and lacked details, but the wings and beaks made it clear they were birds. Those were the shapes they had when Kai fought Hydeoshi; however, right now, he felt that they weren't enough.

He clutched the wand with both hands and sent even more mana into it. The crystals shimmered with a bright light, and the heat radiating from the birds made some of the gobelins back away. Some didn't, though, and it was up to the exhausted Yasa, Onyx, and Jinchevs to defend him.

As moments passed, the birds' details grew more distinct. Their wings were now a full part instead of a blurry mess. They were covered in feathers, as were their head and bodies. After another moment passed, the details on their faces became sharper. Two large eyes filled with a fiery fury glared at the approaching gobelins, and after a second, their wings unfurled.

Fire dripped down their large bodies, scorching the land beneath. Their size grew past the forest, their details became lifelike, and the light they radiated replaced the sun for several miles.

"Now!" Kai screamed as the birds screeched, their heavenly voice reverberating through the sky. Lutha put up the barrier and watched as the two phoenixes shot toward the sky.

A bright light enveloped the group, but it paled in comparison to the crimson and shadowy birds illuminating the dark sky. Their size was hard to discern, but Lutha guessed they could cover all of Bevit with their wingspan. He gulped and looked at the tired guy with nervousness, and feared that his barrier wouldn't be enough to stop what was about to happen.

The two phoenixes descended with a speed impossible to be seen by the human eye, becoming two blurry streaks of death falling upon the forest.

Kai gulped and fed them even more mana, and the fire crystals on his wand shattered. He fell to his knees but pulled out a few light crystals and created as many barriers as he could.

Then, they fell upon them. For a moment, all sound faded and disappeared. The light dimmed, and the group's surroundings disappeared into an ocean of flames, a tapestry smeared with black, yellow, and orange engulfing them entirely.

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