≪ You have gained 1 EXP! ≫
≪ You have gained 1 EXP! ≫
≪ You have gained 1 EXP! ≫
It was wild, daring, and precisely the maneuver Adam had learned from a couple of spars with Flint the Fanatic: to seize an opponent from an unfavorable stance and then disrupt their equilibrium.
Employing tactics such as targeting the eyes and blinding the Gigant with debris was characteristic of the underdog strategies Adam favored, but the outcome, cleverly devised and perfectly executed, crushed the entire Gobzkin vanguard: two colossal figures descending together upon the savage horde.
The two sides failed to process what had just happened simultaneously. Lord Kaimu, most of all, had been planning to advise Adam not to use the bending rune to form an earthen golem again, as it was both energy-consuming and ineffective, yet the strategy Adam pulled left him staring in utter silence.
A cloud of dust rose to the sky, covering the street, as the Golem completely crumbled under the weight of the Gigant, with only the large feet of the Gobzkin remaining motionless where it fell.
"HAHA! DID YOU SEE THAT? ADAM-KUN DID A SUPLEX NO JUTSU!"
Only Kave's frenzied cry snapped Lord Kaimu out of his shock, now aware that even among humans, some were unhinged.
"Get your shit together! He's in the middle of enemy territory. We need to go!" Beside Kave, Megan loaded the last mortar shell into the barrel, letting it burst, before reaching for the blazer rifle tossed aside.
Kave also grabbed his sword, which looked similar to Lord Kaimu's, and a pistol before rushing down the stairs after her, now that there were no more mortar shells to use. As for Lord Kaimu, he remained on the roof, watching with interest as the humans rallied from all their defensive positions, converging at the gate of the factory, executing the second plan.
Many of them started taking up defensive positions, but the area where the Golem and the Gobzkin fell was still covered by dust, and Adam was still over there, so until he appeared, nobody could fire recklessly.
But then, the tide of green savages appeared, charging in bursts from beyond the dust cloud. Some of the defenders even started firing, but the Venuxian soldiers held still, all their breath held, and all their eyes searching for Adam, judging by Sharp's scanning with his scope and Buzz with his drone.
"He's coming!" The two of them spoke simultaneously, causing Lord Kaimu to perk up his head on alert.
Usually, the first thing to expect would be Adam Clay running back from the Gobzkin, but what was totally unexpected was that the Gobzkin were running from Adam Clay.
How?
From how it looked, the Gobs, who were running around and had just been shot, were originally running from something big, which turned out to be a large sphere of dirt rolling around blindly with a mind of its own, crushing every Gob in its wake.
The situation tensed immediately as the earthen sphere took a crash course towards the Alfari shield wall, whose warriors stepped ahead and aimed their spears to intercept it, but immediately, Sergeant Elena Skarn jumped off the squad car and ran towards them.
"Open the way for him! It is Justiciar Clay!" She shouted and looked back at Lord Kaimu, knowing that he was the only one who could order those troops.
The Elden Lord's eyes widened and immediately made a gesture with his hand, causing his house guard to lift their spears, yet they focused their shield wards to where the sphere was going to hit, and after a couple of seconds, the earthen sphere clashed against the wards and crumbled right away; from it, two figures fell to the ground, heavily covered in earth and dirt, one moving while the other was unconscious.
"Cough! Cough!"
Adam shot up, his eyes opening, dirt covering them, a pistol in hand, aimed around, in case he was surrounded by Gobs, but as he looked around, he saw himself near the shield wall.
He holstered the gun and shook the dust off his head, then turned around and dug his fingers in the dirt, clawing at the other figure and fishing it out.
"Sir!"
Elena rushed past the Alfari wards, followed by Kave and Megan, as they all ran to Adam, who was taking off his coat and covering the figure on the ground with it, before lifting the figure up and running back with his people behind the wards.
"And you have the nerve to call me crazy, you absolute madman!" Kave was excited out of his mind, barely restraining himself from spouting nonsense Japanese.
"Commander! This was… " Elena said, trying not to shout at Adam.
"Reckless… cough! I know." Adam said, still coughing dirt.
"Brave!" Elena said, clearly praising him, "You prevented a disaster."
Adam smiled but didn't reply as he reached the side of the squad car and put the person he was carrying on the ground, allowing everyone to finally look at her.
It was an Alfari, the woman who had been chained to the front of the Gobzkin Gigant, Kahori's sister, Samara.
Adam stood up as he detected signs of life from her, faint movement and breathing, though the Alfari's lidless eyes seemed to change color when they went unconscious.
He looked up and met eyes with Lord Kaimu, who was looking down from the edge of the roof. The two allies exchanged a nod before Lord Kaimu moved his Serai with a hand signal to a spot near Samara.
A hatch beneath the Serai opened, and two figures descended from above, each holding a rope. One was dressed in white, and the other in blue. The one in blue was Kahori, who ran towards her sister on the ground, crying, "Muji!" She then turned to Adam, activated her rune, and said, "Benefactor! Thank you!"
Adam didn't reply and only watched as the other one, seemingly from the Healer caste, held up a runic artifact against Samara, enveloping her in a cocoon of light, and transported her back to the Serai by simply holding the ropes.
Adam exchanged a look with Lord Kaimu, then turned back, raising his left arm with the runic artifact on it, a rune glowing in golden light.
"Everyone! To me!" He called, and his voice boomed with power, "I want gunners on the flanks and melee in the center. Watch for flanking! The enemy is numerous, but they have lost momentum. This is our moment! Stay behind the Alfari warriors and support them. Don't let them get overwhelmed."
The fifty-something students who had survived the fight against the initial raids all gathered as he ordered them, few in number but brave and desperate. Still, with Adam's great ability, which felled a Gobzkin Gigant, there was hope and a feeling that survival would be possible.
≪ Your [Charm] has improved! (IV → V) ≫
"Right on time." Adam's charm finally leveled up for the first time after awakening, a skill so essential to a sorcerer like him, making it easier to control the power of the runes.
Adam knew it! Fights are where the System thrives, and if he manages this fight right, not only he, but everyone else will grow stronger, if only they survive.
That, of course, wouldn't be a concern if not for the Gobzkin Prince finally emerging from the settling dust cloud, standing atop the body of the fallen Gigant. Slowly, the ranks of Gobzkin appeared around and atop the fallen Gigant, staring at the rallying force of survivors now following their leader, who seemed to take this matter seriously.
Elena and the other Wartopians all took up crucial defensive positions as Adam stepped to the front, right behind the Alfari wards, staring without fear at the enemy leader, whose face would invoke childhood traumas and night horrors in people who had never experienced them.
The Gobzkin Prince snorted with a vicious sneer, not taking the bald apes, whom he always saw as weak and pathetic, seriously. He just nudged the Gigant beneath his feet with the end of its Kanabo club, causing the giant Gobzkin to twitch and its arms to move.
"Dammit!"
"It… didn't die?"
"Holy shit!"
Doubt found its way easily in the ranks, so Adam jumped onto the squad car right behind him and spoke up, his voice echoing widely, as he figured out how to subtly manipulate the air around him:
"Those fuckers are big! But when they face someone their own size, they are just green and dumb. Stand big, and don't let…"
But just as he was boosting morale, the Gobzkin Prince decided he wouldn't give the humans more chances, squatting and jumping ahead into a crazed charge, his Kanabo club raised high as he aimed to get rid of Adam first.
Adam caught this movement in time, as the Gobzkin Prince jumped past the Alfari shield wall, his only instinct was to immediately raise an earthen barrier by sliding part of the ground up, hoping to stop the flash-like Ogni.
Having his path blocked, Prince Skad immediately hit whatever was in his way with such force that it obliterated the chunk of earth that came to meet him, splitting it in half.
The force of his incredible swing sent tremors on the ground and devastated the squad car Adam was standing on, but Adam himself was nowhere to be seen.
The ranks of the humans were now threatened by the most powerful Gobzkin in the horde, right at their center. Before they could even aim and fire, Adam joined the chunks of earth the Prince hit, trying to corner him with them, revealing himself to have jumped ahead rather than backward, hiding behind the bit of earth that had just been hit.
Prince Skad didn't appreciate being enveloped by earth and shrugged it off with a simple yet powerful jolt. He faced Adam, who was now closer to him than before, and stepped forward, aiming to bash him to death.
Yet as soon as the Gobzkin Prince took his first step and was about to throw a swing, Adam immediately manipulated the earth beneath the Prince's feet and twisted it, completely ruining the attack's footwork and causing the Prince to stumble. Prince Skad became annoyed for a moment and stomped the ground with vigor, relinquishing Adam's control over the earth beneath him with brute force.
"Argh!"
Adam never experienced losing control in that abrupt way ever before and was about to try and attack the Prince with spikes this time; however, Prince Skad took a strong step and was now able to get Adam within his reach.
But right then and there, a graceful figure moved seamlessly between the survivors, drawing his great saber with an artistic side-flip leap, as if he were dancing in the air.
The great saber and the Kanabo club clashed right before Adam's eyes, and now Lord Kaimu stood between him and certain doom.
"I'll leave the big one to you," Kaimu said, not lifting his eyes from the Gobzkin Prince before exchanging an angered look with his enemy.
"Ogni Skad." Lord Kaimu spoke as Adam left, clearly familiar with the Gobzkin Prince he was facing.
Adam frowned at the Gobzkin Prince being addressed by name, though he had no time to dwell on it, as he immediately rushed off to stop the Gobzkin Gigant that was beginning to stand up.
"Afde… Kaimu!" And to the surprise of those who were too busy to take note of what was going on, the Gobzkin Prince spoke, also familiar with his enemy.
A clash of bitter rivals was about to ensue.
✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧
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