Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Lucius watched as the camp burned in front of him. This one had a few spread out buildings so he had to take care to catch all of them on fire. He also made sure to burn the supplies that had been left behind so that there was absolutely nothing usable by the goblins if they arrived.

He thought about suggesting that the same be done for the other camp, but decided not to say anything in case it started another argument. He truly could not understand what the problem was, his solutions were efficient and effective and that was all that mattered.

After a few hours the flames began to die down. The charred remnants were still putting off an intense heat, and likely would for a few days unless it suddenly rains. Lucius was also thankful that there was quite a sizable empty space between the buildings and the actual tree line, so there was very little risk of a forest fire.

Lucius continued to wait in his position in the trees outside of the second camp for a few more hours until night finally fell. Goblins could not see well normally, so there was very little chance of them falling asleep at night. However, he maintained his position in the tree and used rope to tie himself in place so he would not fall in his sleep

*****

When Lucius woke the next morning, there was still a bit of smoke rising from the camp. The morning dew had little impact on the coals burning in the ashes, but it was present nonetheless.

It took him about a minute to pack things back into his pack and reposition a little further away from the village to try and pick up on goblins. However, before he could get too far, he heard a series of bird calls from who he assumed was Simon's party.

"Well, looks like Zira gets to be the lucky duck. Time to move." Lucius mumbled.

He leapt through the treetops forgoing any attempts at remaining stealthy and choosing speed instead. It was not long before he felt a surge of mana in the surrounding area, something he had gained additional sensitivity for after his breakthrough and using his Thunder Magic.

It could be any of their party that uses magic, but it could also be the two remaining Witch Doctors.

When he arrived on the battlefield, he saw a pair of goblins rushing up behind Zira who seemed to have gotten herself surrounded. Like Rena had predicted, with the loss of a third of their estimated fighting force, the numbers present appeared to be the remainder of their strength.

"[Tempestas: Lightning Charge], [Forsaken Arts: Goring Rush]"

He shot forward like a literal bolt of lightning while he split the Art between both of his hands and added a spin to his attack. Spinning around in air like when he had fought the old man, Lucius found himself almost instantly behind Zira with the two goblins desperately trying to gasp for air through the new holes in their throats.

"Thanks." Zira said before retreating.

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Lucius saw that an additional five goblins were bearing down on him. "[Tempestas: Lightning Bolt]" The sky darkened momentarily and thunder rumbled, before the space between him and the five goblins suddenly flashed white with light.

He had already jumped out of the path of the spell and averted his eyes from the flash. The goblins were unable to scream from the pain of their eyes being seared by the bright light because the attack itself had electrocuted them instantly.

Zira and Lucius quickly joined the rest of the party line who were facing off against a few dozen more goblins and some Hobgoblins.

Like before, their weapons had an eerie, purple glow. Once he saw this, Lucius glanced about the battlefield for signs of the Witch Doctors.

"The far back line! Circle around, fight them off somehow you too! No matter what, don't let the Shaman escape when things turn south for him!" Simon barked.

Knowing it was the right thing, he listened to the young man and wheeled around from his advance. Zira followed him as they darted deeper into the woods, but still keeping in occasional sight of the battlefield.

The goblins were angrily shouting in their primitive language, likely cursing and threatening their allies, but no one could understand what the idiots were saying anyway, so it did not really matter.

A group of seven goblins were hanging several hundred feet back into the woods, just out of sight of the battle. With his senses though, Lucius had no trouble pinpointing their location. Among the group were four Hobgoblins, Two Witch Doctors, and the Shaman.

One Witch Doctor's staff was glowing with the same purple as the weapons of the other goblins, indicating it was concentrating on the curse or poison spell. The other one's staff had a pale blue glow that matched a magical bubble surrounding the Shaman. Meanwhile, the Shaman's staff had a yellow-ish glow that matched a yellow glow around the four Hobgoblins.

"Great." Lucius whispered to Zira. "Alright, looks like the Shaman is clever like Rena said. They are stacking protections and effects on each other. I think the Shaman is using a strengthening spell on his Hobs there, and they are protecting the Witch Doctor that is enhancing weapons and making the protective sphere around the boss."

"So, plans?" Zira whispered back. Her eyes were locked on the group ahead of them and was clearly trying to formulate a plan of her own.

"I have an attack that can take out the Witch Doctors in one go…but I will be out of mana for magic for the rest of the fight, and that will slow me down. Since I would still have mana for the Arts; I won't suffer deprivation…but it won't be good." Lucius answered.

"Can you take out at least one Witch Doctor with a normal attack?"

"Of course, but getting back out will be another problem. I can't guarantee I will be quick enough to get out before those enhanced Hobs turn on me."

Zira sighed. "Alright, another enhancement spell it is. Here you go, [Lux: Enhance Speed]."

Lucius felt lighter on his feet from the spell and with this, he could probably pull it off. He would not be able to stay in the battle, but it would likely get him back out. Though it would not remove the risk entirely.

"[Tempestas: Lightning Charge], [Forsaken Arts: Mutilation]"

The lightning that surrounded his body this time was tinged red thanks to his Mutilation Art. Zira looked at him strangely because she had never seen red-colored mana from an Art before.

There was no time to answer her question, so Lucius simply charged the goblins. His target was the Witch Doctor implementing the curse effect on the enemy's weapons. His thought process was that if the barrier was dispelled over the Shaman, it would increase his chances of running.

A boy, clad in dark, leather armor and jet-black hair seemed to materialize in front of the poor goblin. His eyes glowed with opposing silver and gold light. To the goblin, Lucius must have seemed like a nightmare come to life.

His machete made three strikes in quick succession. The first slashed upwards and removed one arm, the second came down on the other arm, then the final slashed up the monster's chest with enough force to lift its body into the air.

Lucius felt the spells wearing off, so he quickly made a few additional strikes across the back of the knee of two of the Hobgoblins before he vanished with a loud crack. The blitz attack had surprised them enough that he thought he might actually have gotten away with it without Zira's boost, but it was better safe than sorry.

Zira jumped as Lucius appeared in front of her the way he had the enemies.

"Dammit, don't do that."

"Sorry. What now?"

"Explosives seem like the best option. The rest of the party is bogged down by those other goblins and Hobgoblins, but your choice to hit the Witch Doctor enhancing the weapons should speed that up." Zira advised.

"Explosives? What is that?"

Zira pulled out a small, black crystal. "This is a special crystal mined on the outskirts of Aedrider. It absorbs mana, and when it reaches capacity, it makes a large explosion like a powerful fire spell. It's hard to find, but I think we need to use it. You and I cannot wait too long, nor can we fight those four Hobs alone."

"Do it."

Zira nodded and began to forcibly push mana inside the crystal. The black slowly turned gray, then began to glow white. In a few moments the sounds of glass being stepped on seemed to come from the small object.

Zira quickly stepped into view of the goblins and lobbed the crystal at them. Lucius watched as it landed between the two he had cut behind the knees. A second later there was a loud sound like an entire storm worth of thunder going off at the same time. There was also an intense flash of heat and light.

He had to shield his eyes after not expecting a reaction like that. Zira seemed to know what was going to happen and it was then he realized he was a little stupid. She did say it was like a high-level fire spell. Of course it would be bright.