Drake's eyes were filled with unyielding rage as he leapt at the goblin lord, swinging his sword at its chest.
HEHEHEHE
The goblin giggled and leapt out of the way.
You're a fast one, Nova thought as he made a grabbing gesture in the goblin lord's direction.
"Earth magic: stone wall!"
A wall made of earth burst out of the ground behind the goblin lord while it was still mid-jump.
The goblin slammed into the wall, and Drake made a pulling gesture, sending the stone wall shooting forward, launching the beast in Drake's direction.
Drake swung his blade, aiming at the beast's neck, only for it to shatter on impact.
"Dang it!" Drake hurried and grabbed the beast by its waist, lifting it up and throwing it into some trees to gain distance.
The goblin lord landed on one of the tree branches, his smile widening as he continued to mock Drake.
Drake's anger surged, but not because he was being mocked. His mind was dead set on his brother. The beast had hurt the one he had cared for since they were young, the only bit of family he loved and who loved him back.
"Earth magic: stone dragon armor!"
Rock gauntlets formed around Drake's arms, shaped like giant dragon claws. His legs were covered in pure stone, shaped into dragon hind legs, and four horns formed on the sides of his head.
Drake dug his hind legs into the ground, then dashed forward, his speed increasing tenfold. The goblin lord wasn't able to see his attack coming.
Drake slammed his claws into its chest, breaking some of its ribs, then sent him flying through the forest, tearing down trees as he flew.
"Fire magic: blast breath, rapid fire!"
Drake raised both his stone-covered arms, a red magic circle forming in front. Dozens of fireballs fired in rapid succession, all homing onto the goblin lord.
ERRRRRRRRR
The goblin lord summoned the vortex of black energy once again, absorbing Drake's barrage of fireballs. He used the mana he gained from absorbing Drake's ability to heal his broken ribs.
"So you can absorb spells, huh? No wonder Nova lost to you so easily." Drake dug his feet into the ground once again, preparing to launch an endless assault of physical attacks.
The goblin lord stood up and wiped a drop of blood from its nose using its tongue. The taste of its own blood sent his into a frenzy.
The goblin lord began beating his chest rapidly, screaming and laughing, shaking his head sporadically.
Black flames engulfed the ground surrounding him, slowly forming into common goblins.
By the time the goblin lord finished, he was completely surrounded by an army two hundred goblins strong.
Nova witnessed this. His wounds were far too great for him to help his brother, but even seeing the army in front of him, Nova had complete confidence in Drake's ability. In Nova's mind, no one could beat Drake in hand-to-hand combat, not even an army of goblins.
Drake burst forward, slamming his fist into one of the goblins' skulls, bursting it into pieces, blood splattering the other goblins' faces.
The goblin army surrounded Drake but was far too unskilled to overwhelm him. Drake dodged all their attacks, countered their strikes, and easily smashed through their bodies.
"Earth magic: stone spike forest!"
Dozens of sharp rocks stabbed the remaining goblins, leaving only the goblin lord alive.
The goblin lord began beating its chest again, trying to summon more goblins.
"Earth magic: stone dragon statue!"
Before the black flames could reappear, Drake summoned a stone serpent dragon, commanding it to wrap around the goblin lord and begin crushing it.
CRACK!!!
EEERRRRRRR!!!
The goblin lord's screams echoed through the forest, scaring off the other monsters that were making their way to the battle.
"Earth magic: iron maiden!"
Stone spikes jutted from the dragon's body, stabbing through all the goblin lord's vital organs. Blood splattered everywhere, his body went limp as his final scream left every last monster in the forest hiding in fear.
Now that the monster was dead, Drake didn't waste any time. He grabbed Nova, cradling him in his arm as he dashed back to the mansion.
Nova coughed blood as he spoke. "Wait, what about the goblin lord's mana core? Aren't you going to take it?"
"I'll come back for that later. Right now, your wounds need to be healed." Drake braked as he moved between the trees at high speed.
Nova's wounds were far too deep, but in his mind it wasn't a big deal. Drake, however, could easily see the severity of his wounds. If they didn't get treated quickly, they would be infected.
Drake reached the mansion in seconds. He leapt up the side of the wall, ducking through an open window on the 3rd floor leading to the mansion's infirmary.
He laid Nova on a table. His coughing got worse and his skin went pale.
"Dang it, this looks bad." Drake rushed over to the side cabinet, looking for high healing potions. He sorted through bottles rapidly, only to find none.
"Dang it." Drake grabbed a medium healing potion, a poison heal and resist potion instead. He remembered this trick from Marybell—she once used it to clear up a nasty infection he got after one of his secret dungeon raids.
He poured the poison heal potion into Nova's wounds. Green smoke flooded from the wound as most of the infection was cleared.
Next, he poured the poison resist potion, stopping what little of the infection was left from spreading, and finally, he poured the medium healing potion down Nova's throat.
Green light enveloped him as his wounds were sealed. His skin regained color and his cough stopped. Nova wasn't fully healed, but his condition was stable. All he needed was some time or some healing magic and he would be good as new.
"Ha, thank God." Drake fell back onto the wooden floors. A loud thud echoed through the halls as he lay awake.
The maids in the halls heard the commotion in the infirmary. They entered, seeing Drake laying on the floor and Nova on the table with empty potion bottles beside him.
One of the maids rushed over. "Young Master, are you OK? And what happened to Young Master Nova?"
Drake turned his head towards the maids, sweat running down his face, chest heaving.
"Go get Marrybell fast."
"Alright, sir." The maid dashed through the door to find Marrybell, while the other maids stayed with the boys.
Minutes later, Marrybell arrived in the infirmary, her eyes widened as she saw the two brothers.
"Are you two OK?" she asked as she made her way over to Drake.
"I'm fine, but Nova needs a quick heal." Drake pointed to his brother.
"On it." Marrybell stretched her hands over Nova's body. Spectral green vines wrapped around him, healing him completely.
Marrybell sighed. "He's going to be OK."
A bunch of the servants all stood at the door of the room, wondering what was going on.
Marrybell turned to the crowd, her voice loud with authority. "Everyone, get back to work! The Young Master's parents will be arriving soon. Not a single word of what happened here is to reach them, understood?"
The servants all nodded and scattered to finish preparing for Drake and Nova's parents' arrival.
Marrybell stood over Drake, her eyes filled with concern. "What happened, Young Master?"
Drake lifted himself up, laying his back against the wall. He sighed and began explaining to Marrybell what happened, not missing a single detail.
After Drake finished explaining, she sighed, knelt down on one knee, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I told you carrying Master Nova would be unwise. You should've listened."
Drake chuckled. "Ya, you're right, but that isn't anything new."
He gave a faint smile. Marrybell pinched his cheek playfully, giggling at his expression. "Well, at least you're safe. Now, you need to take a bath and put on something more flattering before your parents get here. I'll get Nova ready in the meantime."
She spoke a little differently, though she didn't realize. It was a little less like a servant and more like a friend a little side of her that occasionally slipped out when talking with Drake.
Drake nodded, then stood to his feet, making his way towards the bathroom down the hall.
A maid waited by the door and bowed as he approached. "I've prepared the bath and laid out fresh clothes for you, Young Master."
Drake returned the bow and thanked her before he entered the bathroom.
Clank.
His armor fell to the ground. He placed his sword by the side of the bath, discarded his clothes, and laid in the bath, the warm water relieving his sore muscles.
"Okay, I can't just laze around all day I need to get ready for my parents' arrival." Drake hurried to finish bathing.
"I wish those two would just stay in the capital or somewhere… and leave me and Nova out of there political games ."