Charge

Incessant muttering filled the air.

“Chaewon.”

“Kill.”

“Chaewon,” Joy repeated.

“Kill. Kill. Kill.”

“Chaewon!”

“What.”

Chaewon stared at Joy, brows furrowed, irritation scrunched all over her face. The corner of her lips had been bitten till it leaked blood, but she did not stop.

“Are you able to fight?”

Chaewon relaxed and smiled, bumping her jagged brass knuckles together.

“Why not?”

“You look very… angry.”

“Am I not supposed to be?”

“Well… I’m just worried that you’ll lose composure and—never mind. If you’re going to participate in this raid, Derrick’s and my orders are absolute. You got me?”

“Sure. On one condition though.”

“What is it?”

“I get the last hit on that fucker.”

Joy shook her head and sighed.

“No promises.”

Joy turned around and hollered for the rest to gather.

“I’ll brief everyone on the plan.”

She summoned her tome and conjured her own holograph of the camp’s layout, enlarging it for all to see.

"Now. There are only three possible entry points. Right from the front and the two sides. The back is entirely blocked by the valley’s walls, so that’s off the list. The flanks are too exposed. We'll breach through the front.”

She pointed to the centre of the camp.

“Once we’re in, I need someone to cause chaos from here and draw attention.”

“Why don’t we just focus on charging and annihilating all the enemies?” Chaewon asked.

“We have no information on their numbers, their exact capabilities,” Joy said. “Rushing in recklessly will just lead to pointless sacrifices.”

“Correct,” Robert added. “As I said earlier, I was only able to spot the goblins on the perimeter. Based on extrapolation, the most I can say would be an estimated three hundred goblins?”

“There are about seven hundred goblins.”

Everyone turned and looked at Voidborn.

“Four abnormal signatures. Two are overwhelmingly strong.”

Voidborn walked back from the cliff’s edge, crouching down.

“Two abnormal signatures are located at these locations.”

He circled his finger around the two ends of the camp.

“The strongest two are here.”

He pointed to the back of the enemy camp where the miasma fog was the densest.

“The rest are all easy fodder.”

“Are you certain?” Joy asked.

“Yes, I can se—”

“Yes,” Derrick interrupted. “I managed to send a drone to scan the area just now.”

“Then that changes the plan quite a bit.”

“Give me some time to think. Also, if you guys have any more wonderful things up your sleeve, it would be the best to let me know right now. It would really help save time and increase the chances of succeeding.”

Everyone nodded.

Jimin dragged Voidborn to the side.

“Hey, I don’t know about you, but please keep your ability to see emotions a secret. Mom and dad said to never let anyone you don’t trust find out.”

“Why?”

“They said it’s dangerous and it’s to protect me. So, keep it a secret, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Gather up!” Derrick called.

“The plan has changed quite a bit,” Joy said. “Perhaps I think it would be best for us to introduce ourselves first.”

Derrick nodded and raised his hand.

“I’ll start. Derrick Yoo, Machinist Union. Mechanist Rebirth 3, Machinist.”

He pointed to the rest of his team.

“Rei, Scholar Rebirth 2, Scribe. Voidborn, Savage Rebirth 1, Savage.”

Jimin gave a small half-bow and smiled.

“Yoo Jimin, beautiful daughter of the Yoo Family head. I am skilled with the dagger.”

Murmurs of doubt and skepticism filled the air.

“Be quiet,” Joy said. “Derrick has vouched for his team’s strength, and they did survive an ambush by the shaman last night.”

Only then did the murmurs die down.

“I’ll start with myself,” she said, raising her hand. “Joy. Spellbound’s Wordwraiths. Scholar Rebirth 3, Archivist.”

She gestured to her team.

“My team are all Rebirth 2 Scholars, similar to the beautiful and talented Rei.”

“Joy-unnie~” Rei blushed, but she smiled even wider.

“Robert specialises in scouting and stealth with his light spells. He dabbles with wind spells as well.”

She pointed to a slender middle-aged blonde woman dressed in an eccentric lightning-patterned pyjamas.

“Senia, she specialises in lightning.”

The lady grinned and stuck her tongue out, raising her fist with the index and pinky fingers in a rock-music gesture.

“That’s errr...”

Joy pointed to the last person, a burly young man that wore thick black glasses and a top hat. She trails off, face visibly blanking.

“Dylan.” The man bowed and introduced himself. “Please excuse our leader. Her brain blanks out occasionally.”

Derrick nodded.

“I’m your water guy.”

The rest turned to look at Chaewon.

“Chaewon,” she growled. “Empire Suppression Unit 4. Savage Rebirth 2, Berserker. I punch and kick.”

“Great. Now that the introductions are out of the way, I’ll begin assigning roles.”

“Dylan and Senia will be a pair. They will focus on the goblin minions with their lighting and water spells, which are complementary.”

“Derrick will take care of ranged with his gadgets.”

“Voidborn and Chaewon will be at the front lines, drawing aggro.”

She paused.

"Ordinarily I wouldn't place a Rebirth 1 there."

Her gaze shifted toward Voidborn.

"But after hearing yesterday's report, I don't think normal standards apply to Mr Voidborn."

“What about us?” Rei asked, gesturing to herself and Jimin.

“Lady Yoo will stay at the back with Robert and protect Senia and Dylan while they cast.”

“As for you, you’re with me,” Joy turned to Rei and smiled. “We’ll go boom.”

Rei clenched her fist in excitement.

“What’s the attack plan?” Voidborn asked.

“Rei and I will start with a bang,” Joy said. “The rest will create an opening for Derrick to set up his fortress within the camp.”

“Then?” Chaewon asked.

“Then you improvise.”

“What!?” Jimin exclaimed. “That’s the plan?”

“Okay,” Voidborn nodded.

“And you’re going along with it?”

“It’s easier for us to coordinate since we have many things up our sleeves,” Derrick said. “Joy has put us in groupings that have the highest synergies without a need for detailed planning.”

“Correct,” Joy said. “There’s not much known about the enemy abilities, so the plan mostly focuses on clearing the minions, and that’s it.”

She continued explaining.

“Rei and I will attack the back of the camp during our first strike so that the enemy will surge inwards to check. That will allow the rest of you to storm the gates.”

“Well, that makes sense,” Jimin said, furrowing her brows in contemplation.

“Of course, we’re hoping to kill off those with strong energy signals that Voidborn has identified, but let’s just assume that it will fail.”

“Gunrage will be our safe zone,” Derrick said. “I have made some fortifications to it last night, so Jimin, you can play with some of my toys there.”

“Cool~”

“Alright. We start in ten.”

“You alright?” Joy looked at Rei and asked.

“Yeah, just excited since it's our first time working together.”

“Trust yourself,” Joy said. “You’ll do fine. Just follow my lead.”

Derrick looked at Jimin.

“You stay in Gunrage later on. No matter what, you do not come out.”

“Okay, okay. Relax,” Jimin said.

“Don't just ‘okay’ me and make sure you keep yourself safe. I’m already agreeing to this raid because of you so don't you make me regret my decision.”

Jimin nodded silently.

“You guys ready?” Derrick asked.

The raid team nodded.

“One thing,” Joy interrupted, turning to Chaewon. “What do we do with them?”

She pointed to the six corpses on display.

“… Burn them. Give them a proper send off.”

“Got it.”

Joy summoned her tome.

“On our cue, we start the operation.”

The rest took their positions.

The Scholars summoned their tomes.

Derrick summoned a pair of boots with wheels that looked like roller blades.

Chaewon knocked her knuckles against each other, sending sparks out.

Voidborn drew his invisible sword.

“Rei,” Joy called. “Begin.”

Rei nodded and closed her eyes. Her tome opened, the pages flipping rapidly before settling on an open page.

Joy mimicked her actions, except she didn’t close her eyes.

An orb appeared above her head, swelling into the familiar golden-orange light that he had seen during the fight with the bugbear at the town.

It was subtle, but he noticed that the swelling was a little faster than before.

Rei’s eyes opened, flashing red.

A reddish glow seeped from the book, and the golden orange light above her expanded rapidly, filling the space above her like a miniature sun.

This time, she clasped her two hands together and thrusted them outwards.

The enormous flaming orb collapsed into a white bead of light and shot forward, flying up over the camp’s tall wooden walls in a parabolic arc.

The white light glided through the air, barely noticeable under the noon’s bright sun.

Her hands trembled, as if she were trying to maintain and prevent the condensed energy from collapsing.

Her eyes narrowed.

“Incinerate.”

A deafening explosion rocked the valleys. The ground shook and the mountains trembled. Screeches filled the air as the goblins within the camp panicked, confused as to what had struck them.

Right as the page from Rei’s tome tore off and turned to dust, Joy waved her hand.

“Flame Fall.”

Countless blazing spears appeared above the camp, each the size of a ballista bolt. Their flaming sharp tips pointed downwards.

Joy swung her palm downwards.

They descended.

The flaming spears shot downwards, piercing into the purple miasma like burning rain.

“Woah…”

Jimin watched with her mouth open wide, marvelling at the tip of flames flickering and dancing above the high wall.

Voidborn ran forward the moment the spears descended.

It was time to fight.

“He has good instincts,” Joy muttered to herself, watching as the rest followed a few seconds late, running towards the camp.

The camp’s defences had thinned significantly as the goblins rushed to put out the fire within, leaving only nothing but basic sentry lookouts.

But that was easily taken care off.

Derrick had already scattered his Beam units in advance. Red glowed and condensed on the orbs as they spread out towards the corners.

Zzing.

Four lifeless bodies dropped and tumbled down the barrier, their heads crashing onto the ground with cracks that were drowned by the screeching from within the camp.

“Leave the gates to me,” Derrick said, scattering his Bomb cubes.

Missiles propelled forward and smashed into the wooden doors, blasting them to bits.

Without waiting for the smoke to clear, Voidborn leapt through, dashing into the camp.

Chaewon stopped outside the camp, taking in the sight of her comrades.

“Flare.”

Joy snapped her fingers and a magic diagram appeared below the pierced bodies, engulfing the bodies in red-hot flames.

“Rest in peace,” Joy muttered, placing her hand on Chaewon’s shoulder, before running past the gates.

“Don’t let their deaths go to waste,” Jimin said, stopping beside her.

Chaewon turned and looked at Jimin.

Tears welled in her eyes.

She gripped her fist tight.

It was time for payback.

She nodded and smashed her fists together with a solid metal clink, then charged into the camp.

She was flabbergasted as she emerged from the smoke.

There was already massacre.

Flames decorated the far end of the camp, eating away at the vines she presumed the shaman had summoned to block Rei’s and Joy’s first strike.

Flaming spears punctured through the thick vine canopy that had formed, spewing greedy flames that spread across its top endlessly, drinking away at the vegetation like it was water.

Rei’s spell had also dealt considerable damage, decorating the centre with a large crater. However, vines surged up quickly to repair the hole.

As expected, their spells weren't enough.

“Can you keep up?” Derrick said, running past her.

He stopped at about twenty steps away and closed his eyes. In an instant, the ground rumbled and Gunrage appeared.

However, it looked slightly different.

There was a platform at the back of the building.

Jimin ran onto the platform and pushed a button. With a whirr, the platform rose and elevated, lifting Jimin to the roof.

She climbed off and turned to look at Chaewon.

“Chaewon!” Jimin yelled. “Go get them.”

Chaewon nodded and ran to the front, joining Voidborn as they both rushed deep into the camp, disappearing from sight.

Watching Chaewon run away, Jimin turned and ran to the other side of the roof, settling into a seat that was attached to a large contraption facing the front.

"It's time for my turn."

She cracked her knuckles.

"Derrick finally gave me permission to play with the expensive toys."

She picked up a handheld console and pressed a button.

Whirr.

A silverish metallic dome encased and enveloped her. Turrets rose into existence from her sides, ready to fire.

Red laser beams pierced through the air.

Goblin minions fell one after another, holes punched through their bodies as the trigger-happy Yoo Family daughter went on a firing spree.

“Jimin!” Derrick hollered, summoning his Tear and Teeth units. “Please use the Aim-Assist function and not kill us?!”

“What? Where? Ohhh…”

Derrick looked back at the battlefield. The shots were no longer inaccurate, each red beam penetrating a goblin’s brain.

Sandwiched with threats from both ends, the confused goblins screeched in panic, not knowing what to do.

Then—

Every single one of their eyes glowed red.
Their screeching stopped.
Their movements halted.

Even as their own kind were being killed left and right, they did nothing but stared blankly at the air.

“What the fuck’s happening?” Senia asked.

Dylan stood beside her and shook his head.

“I don't—”

They moved.

The goblins turned.

Slowly.

Half turned towards the flaming vine shelter, the other half towards Gunrage.

They were expressionless.

Then they smiled.

With a frenzied cry, both halves split like a wave, surging in opposite directions.

“Incoming!” Derrick shouted.

Tear turrets shot out blue beams rapidly, mowing down goblins with its gatling guns.

Teeth skittered through the ground, chomping goblin feet as they weaved deep into the enemy lines.

But that was not enough.

The chaotic goblin camp had now become an organised army, flooding their enemies with overwhelming numbers.

“Shit,” Derrick cursed. “I’m going to deploy my shredders!”

“No,” Senia said. “Save your energy. Leave it to us.”

Dylan nodded and turned to the front, facing the impending green tsunami that was meters away from impact.

He raised his hand and pressed his palm outwards, his tome flipping in the process.

“Surge.”

Water exploded from the earth.

Not streams.
Not fountains.

A wall.

A roaring tidal wave burst from the ground and swept across the battlefield, crashing into the charging goblins.

Hundreds were knocked off their feet instantly.

Mud, water and screaming bodies mixed together into a chaotic flood.

“Thundercloud.”

As if she had been waiting, Senia snapped her fingers.

At that exact moment, a pale yellow glow surged out if her tome.

Derrick look at the sky.

It had started to turn dark.

A gloomy grey cloud started to form above the goblins.

Dampened light flashed within the growing grey mass.

“Strike.”

Senia cut her palm downwards in a quick slicing-like motion.

Silence.

Then the entire battlefield lit up.

Screams filled the air.

A thick ray of lightning descended onto the drenched goblins with a booming thunderclap, blasting everything nearby into black smithereens.

Their flesh turned into carbonised char, and the entirety of their body crumbling into black bits.

But that was not all.

The remnant lightning shocks spread outwards, coursing across the wet goblins as the shocks exploded through the water.

Every puddle.
Every droplet.
Every soaked goblin became a conductor.

Thousands of yellow-white arcs erupted across the valley.

Bodies convulsed.
Muscles locked.
Eyes rolled backwards.

The goblin charge collapsed instantly as if a God had casted heavenly judgement unto them.

“Woah…”

Jimin slowly lowered her console.

"Okay."

She looked at her turret.

Then at the smoking field of goblin corpses.

Then back at her turret.

"I suddenly feel so lame."

Jimin picked up her console again and sighed, before resuming her firing.

“I wished I could cast cool spells freely…”

The combination attack by Senia and Dylan had taken out more than half of the incoming wave.

“We can't do it anymore though,” Senia said, a page tearing off her tome and turning to dust. “Anymore and the sparks will spread forward, shocking indiscriminately, regardless if they’re friend or foe.”

“Got it,” Joy said. “We’ll leave the remaining goblins to you guys.”

Derrick nodded.

“Rei, you're up.”

Rei nodded and closed her eyes, waving her hand.

“Carpet of Flames.”

Her tome glowed red as she pushed her palm outwards, sending vibrant flames that surged forward.

“Why are you using fire on a wet ground?” Dylan asked.

“Shhh,” Joy hushed. “Let her concentrate.”

Rei opened her eyes and slowly closed her fist.

The flames instantly shrunk and dimmed, turning the ground into glowing embers.

Steam filled the air as water was burned into its gaseous state, the ground drying in mere seconds.

Then the fire disappeared.

Rei released her spell.

The ground was dry.

“So she was drying the ground,” Senia said, nodding her head in approval. “That's a good counter to our combo.”

With no more water, the lightning could no longer spread, fading away into thin air.

They could now run in.

“Robert. Rei. You're with me.”

The two of them nodded and left, following after Joy who had already ran past the thinning goblin wave, into the depths of the camp.

When Rei caught up, her jaw dropped.

“What the fuck is going on?” she exclaimed.

“Shit,” Joy cursed, already waving her hand. “I shouldn't have let them gone forward alone.”

Around Voidborn and Chaewon were countless dead goblins, piled up into mini hills.

But that was not the main concern.

Hundreds of goblins stood to the sides atop roofs and in front of their huts, watching the two humans chip away at their numbers slowly.

There was never more than fifty goblins encircling the two.

Every slash split a goblin.
The next one jumped in.

Every punch made a headless goblin.
The next one took its place.

The goblins whittled down Voidborn and Chaewon’s stamina, cuts and bruises already spread all over their skins.

“Leader, look.”

Robert pointed to the back.

The fire eating away at the vines had already been snuffed out by newer vines, and the flame spears had long been crushed into nothing but glowing embers.

Right below the vine shelter held two thrones.

Two monsters sat on them.

On the left was the familiar sniveling cowardice shaman.
On the right was a hobgoblin, a curved, jagged sword sitting by its throne menacingly.

“Welcome,” the shaman spoke.

“You can speak?” Joy asked, her tome flashing red.

“Little,” the shaman cackled. “No. Stupid.”

The shaman raised its finger and pointed to the towering vine like structures to the side.

Standing on it was a goblin archer, holding on to a crossbow.

The shaman snapped its fingers.

A bolt was sent flying.

It shot into the ground beside Robert, knocking him off balance as it blasted the soil into dust.

“I-I’m fine,” Robert stammered, picking himself up from the impact.

“That crossbow is imbued with a Rebirth stone!” Chaewon shouted as she punched a gaping hole through an incoming goblin’s heart.

“What do you want?” Joy said, narrowing her eyes at the shaman.

“Leave."

“Will you leave the villagers and humans alone if we leave today?”

Rei looked at Voidborn and Chaewon.

They were still fighting goblins.

“No,” the shaman sniggered. “Humans. Food. Playthings. Toys.”

“Why?”

“Get ready,” Joy whispered to the two. “Duck downwards ten seconds.”

A weak breeze brushed past the still air.

“Humans. Weak. Fun. Tear. Apart.”

The shaman cackled in amusement, and the surrounding goblins all followed suit.

“Then you leave us no choice. Die.”

Joy’s eyes flashed green.

“Duck down!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

A gust ripped through the air.

Voidborn and Chaewon dropped to the ground instantly, pressing their bodies flat on the soil.

“Wind Slice.”

The cackling and screeching goblins dropped silent.

Voidborn looked up.

All remaining three hundred over goblin minions were split in half, their upper torsos flopped to the front as if they were bowing for mercy.

INFOGRAPHIC