Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Assault (II)

"Cathair Taibhse! They were hiding under our noses!" an elf cursed.

That was the place where Goldmi had chased the kidnappers of a dryad. Although, she had only been on the outskirts, she hadn't approached the secret base.

"How can it be!? The place was supposed to be cursed! We've checked it every year, and the curse was genuine, it hasn't changed. It's impossible to fake it," another elf was incredulous.

"I can only think of one possibility. He created the curse himself a long time ago, long before we knew about him. So, it was his, and he could control it," another elf proposed.

"Maybe, he managed to overpower whoever put it there," a fourth elf suggested.

"It could also be," the third acknowledged.

They felt insulted, cheated, humiliated. That base had been under their jungle, in a place that was supposed to be impossible. The owner had been playing with them, hiding in plain sight. It was insulting.

"Is there any trace of him?" the leprechaun asked.

"There're traces of blood in the explosion, but I dare say that he's survived. I'm afraid he's escaped. At least, we can confirm that it's him. It was his blood," a strange being reported resignedly.

No hands came out of his arms, but rather thin tentacles. These were very sensitive, and could detect the finest trace of whatever he was looking for.

"Damn it, again..." the leprechaun cursed.

"At least, this time, it'll be difficult for him to recover. We'll comb the entire area to see if we find anything," a draconian assured.

"Be careful. There're surely more traps. That rat is treacherous and vile," the leprechaun warned.

"No insulting!" a rat-woman who was next to them protested.

"Sorry, Ritla, it wasn't about you," the leprechaun apologized.

"Hmmmph!" she puffed and turned her back on him, offended.

As they were speaking, they were still maintaining powerful spells to prevent disaster. The huge self-destruct circles were being dismantled bit by bit, and only those spells were preventing everything from exploding.

The chaotic mana had initially prevented it, but now they needed other means. Luckily, they were prepared. Unfortunately, that knowledge had come at a very, very high price in the past. Many had died attacking one of the bases, many years ago.

In fact, the assailants had now emergency evacuation systems prepared, in addition to powerful protective barriers. Whatever the traps were, they weren't going to let it happen again.

If all went well, and they could secure the place, the investigation teams would stay there for months, and would try to unravel all the mysteries. What they didn't know was that what they would discover would be even more grim and cruel than they had imagined. Not even the bloody and unexpected death of the defenders, or the sacrifice of the non-combatants who had been found dead in a room, was comparable to the atrocities committed in that place.

They hadn't had the opportunity to search the previous base. This time, they would have it.

"What did Merlin say?" Smashy asked, in front of his brother's defiant smile.

"That guy... He said that he didn't want to compete against us to see who could kill the most losts," Crushy explained.

"Oh? Doesn't he dare?" Her sister was surprised.

"The braggart said it was too easy!" he exclaimed, half indignant half amused.

"Ha, ha, ha! We could make a good barbarian out of him!" she laughed.

"Yes, we're a good influence! Ha, ha!" her brother laughed too.

"Have you finished yet?" one of the chiefs asked, somewhat irritated.

"When do we start?" another wanted to know, anxious.

"When they give the signal," Smashy explained for the umpteenth time.

"That one?" another of the chiefs pointed out.

"That's it! Ha, ha! It's clobbering time.!" Crushy exclaimed.

"You always have to say the same sentence. You know, you're no longer a child reading cartoon papers from those whatever four," her sister sighed.

"They're not cartoon papers, they are comics! Of The Fantastic Four!" he exclaimed, indignant. They were precious memories of his childhood in another world.

"Yes, yes, whatever," she said, as she walked in front. "Let's go! Forward!"

Her brother looked at her, frowning. He wanted to continue arguing, but Smashy had given him no choice. He could only go and lead his own tribe, they had to advance as well.

Without a doubt, it was an impressive scene. Hundreds of muscular barbarians, brandishing their weapons, displaying their auras, advancing shoulder to shoulder.

They soon entered the miasma area, and soon after the first corrupted trees were found. Without hesitation, they attacked them. Their mission was to destroy everything in their path, until their enemies appeared.

The rumble of their footsteps was intimidating, but not only that. The vibrations they produced were enough to attack any being lurking beneath the surface. Not in vain, in the lands of the barbarians, there were dangerous worms several meters long that could attack from underground. Therefore, they had developed techniques to combat them.

As for air strikes, they were also prepared. All barbarians carried bows and arrows on their backs. In their lands, there were also dangerous aerial enemies.

The exception was two visitor siblings, whose ranged weapons were stored in their inventory. They walked in the center of their respective tribes, surrounded by her husbands and his wives.

The barbarians looked towards the dark Lost Forest with determination. They had to attract the attention of their enemies, and kill a few.

The barbarians weren't alone. Next to them, a battalion of dwarfs advanced in formation. They looked at the barbarians with a certain suspicion, or rather with rivalry.

"Those fucking big guys think they're better! We're going to show them how fucking lethal we dwarfs are! Advance!" the dwarf commander ordered, thus challenging the barbarians.

To tell the truth, the two races got along quite well. They weren't neighbors, so there wasn't any territorial disputes. Besides, whenever they had met on that battlefield, they had fought side by side. Both considered each other trusted allies. Although, that didn't mean there wasn't some rivalry, as it demonstrated the song that the dwarfs were singing.

"The damned barbarians kill one!" the left wing of the dwarfs intoned.

"The damned barbarians kill one!" the right wing repeated.

"We fucking dwarfs killed ten!!" the rest of the dwarfs sang.

"We fucking dwarfs killed ten!!" the left and right wing repeated at the same time.

"The damned barbarians kill ten!" the left wing intoned again.

"The damned barbarians kill ten!"

"We fucking dwarfs killed a hundred!!"

"We fucking dwarfs killed a hundred!!"

"Those fucking dwarfs know how to provoke us," Crushy raised an eyebrow. He couldn't help but smile after seeing the defiant expression of his people.

"Ha, ha! It was to be expected!" her sister laughed.

It was evident how the other barbarians looked at the dwarfs, and murmured among themselves. Without a doubt, they were going to redouble their efforts. When the battle ended, they would settle accounts with the dwarfs. Probably, they would do it while sharing beer and bragging about their exploits.