A massive hand slammed towards the rushing wave of goblins. Lucius's Earth Golem displayed its power as it dealt with the goblins chasing its creator and his companion.
Its body covered with goblins trying to climb a top of it. As they tried their best to claw through the Earthen Giant.
As the goblins wrestled with the Earth Golem, some of their kind charged towards Lucius and his running companions.
Just as they neared the band of men, Earth puppets rose from the ground. Turning their hands of dirt and stones into sharp blades. Their nimble figures makes swift work of the goblins rushing towards the band of warriors.
The warriors led by the axe wielding Barov ran as they surrounded Lucius, as the Earth Magician rode behind an Earth Puppet.
His staff kept waving in the air as he kept chanting to summon more of his Earth Creation.
Javelins, Axes, Arrows, and Bolts, various projectile launched by the men towards the small creatures. Trying their best to delay the feral creatures as much as possible.
In this distant open field near the edge of the Great Forest of Pluma, Lucius and his company face an unrelenting attack of the goblins. From tens to now hundreds, they ran as they fight.
Not stopping for a moment of rest for fear that such delay will lead to them being overwhelmed by the numerically superior goblin hoard.
To survive, they must rush towards one of the settlement. By then, Lucius can cast a spell for the ground below them to sink. Leaving them below the surface of the Earth. From there, either through his magic or magical creation will he began to dig a tunnel for them towards the direction of the closes' settlement.
"Gaaaaah!" A goblin fell as one of the warriors threw a dagger to its throat.
"Shield up! Smash through them!" Barov slowed down and allowed his shield-wielding men to take point.
*BANG!* The goblins slammed head first towards the shields of the men. Disoriented and weak, they didn't realize the danger they were in.
The warriors raised their blades and axes as they lunged at their stupefied foes.
They hack and slashed their enemies as they pass by them, not stopping to confirm whether they were dead or alive.
"Earth Golem!" With a wave of his staff, Lucius as he rode on the back of his creation summoned another one of his creation.
A giant hand rose from the Earth, grabbing the goblins it is close to, chucking the goblins it grabbed away as a semblance of a body slowly formed.
A cloud of dust now in the air. The vision of both the men and the goblins hindered.
In spite of this, the Earthen Creations wreaked havoc on the goblins. At this moment of respite, the Earth Mage matched the speed of captain of his companions.
"Barov, how far are we to Hatr?" Exhaustion can be felt from the voice of Lucius, weary of casting spells.
"At our pace it'll take us a half a day… but I fear the closer we get to Hatr the more resistance we will face. By then it may take us longer… if we reach Hatr that is… " Barov, the ever stalwart man, answered Lucius as he hurled his axe once more to deal with an incoming goblin.
"…" Lucius falls into silence, this journey to find the former residence of Lady Anastasia, Lord Prewell's mother, turned into this.
From the Great Forest of Pluma to the hinterland of Zalsac, groups of goblins are seen converging in the direction where Hatr is located.
A targeted attack of the goblin race towards the race of man, towards the land of these people.
"With the number of goblins wreaking havoc in Zalsac, no doubt the Baron has already taken notice." Barov, continued as he throws his remaining javelin at a goblin about to attack one of the warriors from behind.
"Hatr…" The Earth Mage held his staff tighter considering the number of goblins they faced, a worried expression appeared on Lucius face.
The garrison of Hatr is different from him and his companions. They were just ordinary people who were either volunteered or were conscripted to defend the settlement.
Their strength and energy is limited. Without urgent support they may lose morale or even worse, be defeated. At that point… Hatr may fall.
"For now, we should focus on ourselves instead of worrying about the settlement. Hatr, is a walled settlement, unless the goblins are capable of mobilizing a shaman or a group of bronze level knight goblins, then it'll take a while before it is breached.
Focus, on our survival first, Sir Lucius." With a pat on the back, Barov once more rushed to the front. His men are fighting with their all, as their deputy he should not be missing.
With wide strides, he reached his shield-wielding men, just when a goblin was about to grab on his warrior's head. Barov appeared beside his warrior, his hand clenched in a fist as it landed into the goblins nose.
The feral creature recoiled as his hand holding the shield began to lose its grip. Its body about to fall to the ground at the same time, the warrior whose shield it grabbed swung his axe at the goblin.
"Okay…" The exhausted Earth Mage uttered in silence as he observed Barov and warriors in action. Their changes cause a small flash in his eyes.
Beyond the knowledge of the two, small transparent films are forming around them.
'Yes, survive this first, as for the other things. I'll think of those later. Protecting these warriors is of highest priority at the moment.
They are the 'seeds' Lord Prewell discovered in Zalsac. If it weren't for their potential and Lancel's talent, they wouldn't have taken them to the Great Forest.
With Lancel's tutelage, these seeds will soon germinate. As for what they'll germinate into… only time will tell.'
__________________________________________
-Istvan Pov-
"YAAAAAAH!" "Eeekkk!"
My spear splintered as it collided with a goblin. Its body was pushed away as I grabbed the one-handed axe by my waist. Swinging it to the goblin just behind the one I slayed a moment ago.
My body, it feels very light. Despite the long journey and constant fighting, my body remains light and strong. At first, I thought it was all an illusion, but now…
As I look around, I can see it. A faint film covering me, and those around me.
*BANG* I looked towards the source of the banging sound.
Soon I was met by an unbelievable sight, Captain Barov, his fist smacking a goblin in the face. No, not just that, a small film with a bronze tint appeared in that short moment around the part of his fist that landed.
I'm flabbergasted as I realize what's going on. Those transparent films around us, those are the so-called energy.
A requirement to become a Knight.
*Swallowing*
As I slashed my one-handed axe to an incoming goblin, I looked around once more.
All of us, except Sir Lucius… have that film…
All of us handpicked by Lord Prewell and Ser Lancel…
All of us are qualified knight…
A chill goes through my spine. Zalsac a barony, only have very few knights in all its history. To this day, only Sir Ecish is the only known knight from the previous generation.
And now… thirty-three warriors, including myself, at this moment possess that same characteristic that one may call a knight squire.
'Hmmmm' I touched my face as I felt something odd.
The moment I placed my hands in my face I knew it. I know why it felt odd.
'Ahhhh… I'm grinning. That's why it felt off.' My mouth curled from ear to ear.
I can already imagine how I look, my teeth shining as I deal with these goblins. My shining figure like Ser Lancel when he dealt with that bear a while ago.
'HAHAHAHA'
'I, ISTAV the son of Tim the Farmer and Ola the Cook, will have the chance to become a Knight.'
Serving Zalsac together with Sir Ecish, Ser Lance, Ser Wiegraf and Sir Lucius. Me and my thirty-two companions will…
My eyes widened as a thought flashed by my mind. Thirty-Three of us handpicked by Lord Prewell. That means from the very beginning the Lord knows of these or expected these to happen.
'How great! Lord Prewell how great! As expected of the Master of Zalsac. The Lord that was able to attract Ser Lancel, Ser Wiegraf and Sir Lucius to serve him. Lord's reputation of having eyes of judgement is true.'
I grabbed a fist sized stone as I took aim and threw it at a rushing goblin. Its head burst as its innards spread around it.