EFate: An MMO Story Chapter 112: Eric's Plan

Eyeing each other warily, the militia and the goblins exchanged glances as Grimarok pulled Owin's sword from his mount's eye. Tossing it aside like a piece of useless sc.r.a.p metal, Grimarok closed the worg's good eye before bowing deeply to his faithful mount. Once finished with this, he turned towards the remaining militia, who had regrouped a small ways away, just in front of Owin's still form.
"All of you shall die today. That has already been decided. However, for the crime of killing my mount, I shall extend your suffering. You'd best all try your hardest to die honourably on the field of battle. For any of those who don't, shall be kept by me as pets," Grimarok said threateningly, his voice a guttural growl that seemed to claw at the ears of those who listened.
"We're so screwed," Griffin muttered.
Eric swore, finding it hard to disagree with Griffin's pessimistic a.s.sessment of the battle. The fight was not going well, they were down to less than half of the number they'd started with, the others lying either dead or crippled in the dirt, slowly being covered with ashes as the fires continued to rage around them. Behind them, the sounds of battle indicated that Alistair's unit still lived, though whether or not their were still enough to mount a proper defense, or if they were just the sounds of the goblins cleaning up the last few survivors, Eric did not know.
At this rate, they were going to lose. They would all perish, each and every one of them, and their mission would be a failure. Wracking his brain for a solution, Eric began to ponder retreating. Surely staying when all hope was lost was the worst idea. If some of them could survive, that was better than all of them dying, right?
No, Eric shook his head. Hadn't he vowed to never lose again? Even if the situation seemed hopeless, there had to be some path to victory, right? Fate was a game after all, there was no way the developers would include quests that were impossible.
Casting around for a solution, Eric locked eyes with Jun, who'd appeared behind their formation at some point, his quiver more than half empty from the fighting. Seeing Jun, a plan started to form in Eric's mind. It wasn't necessarily a good plan, but it was the best he could come up with on such short notice and under such stressful conditions.
"The snake," Eric mouthed.
Jun nodded. "Alistair?" he mouthed back.
It was Eric's turn to nod. Jerking his head towards Astrid, the two shared a moment of wordless communication before Eric turned away, leaving Jun to his devices as Eric stared hard at Grimarok.
"Surrender now, and perhaps I'll consider granting you all the mercy of a quick death," Grimarok uttered, his harsh voice grating at the ears of the militia.
Seeing some of the militia members wavering, Eric stepped forward.
"As if we'd listen to the words of a backstabbing coward like yourself. Attacking from behind like a common thief - no wonder your mount let itself get killed. Anything's better than being under a spineless mongrel like yourself," cried Eric, striding forward to the front of the militia.
Seeing him, Grimarok's eyes lit up in recognition.
"Ah, well if it isn't the sneaky little thief I killed in the forest. I'm surprised you can talk of honour when you snuck around like a common thief before dying beneath my blade. I suppose that's the best thing about you otherworlders though, we get to kill you twice," Grimarok sneered, running a finger along the edge of his b.l.o.o.d.y sabre.
"Hmph, it's you who's going to die, Grimarok. You and all your goblin subordinates. Surrender now, and we may grant you the mercy of a quick death," Eric replied, throwing Grimarok's words back at him.
"You would decline my mercy? That's fine, I will enjoy killing you, little half-elf," Grimarok growled. "All forces, charge the invaders! Show them what it means to enter a goblin's home."
With a ferocious battle cry, the goblins charged, their clawed feet kicking up ashes and dirt as they neared the militia.
"Buy me some time. I need to fight Grimarok alone," said Eric, turning to the rest of the militia.
"Can you win?" Mark asked carefully. His robes were torn and bloodied, and a long gash ran the length of his right arm, preventing him from using his mace properly.
"I can," Eric nodded with conviction. "Just keep the goblins from overwhelming me."
"Alright, we'll do our best," Mark replied, echoed by Ryan, Griffin, and the other surviving militia members.
With a battle cry of their own, the militia met the goblins charge, as the fighting resumed, even more vicious than before.
Stunning a goblin with a pommel strike, Eric stabbed his athame into its neck, dispatching it and locking eyes with Grimarok, as he moved towards the enormous hobgoblin.
"Hmph, so you do have some guts after all, little thief," Grimarok uttered. "No matter, you shall die like the rest."
"It's you who's going to die today, Grimarok," Eric replied, activating Das.h.i.+ng Cut as the goblins between them cleared a path for the two fighters, allowing their leader to move towards the overconfident half-elf.
With an agile movement, Eric's blade flashed through the air, his falchion slas.h.i.+ng accurately towards Grimarok's forearm as he arrived in front of the enormous hobgoblin. Raising his s.h.i.+eld, Grimarok blocked Eric's strike, launching a slash of his own at the half-elf, who dodged to the side, the sabre whistling harmlessly past as Eric stabbed his athame into Grimarok's leg.
Letting out a low roar, Grimarok slammed his s.h.i.+eld into Eric's face, causing him to stumble backwards as Grimarok pursued. Ducking underneath a heavy slash, Eric quickly threw himself into a roll, rolling to the side to avoid another s.h.i.+eld bash as Grimarok advanced.
Raising his leg, Eric kicked downwards, preventing Grimarok's leg sweep as his booted foot slammed into the hobgoblin's s.h.i.+n. With a pained look, Grimarok took a step backward, leaning backwards to avoid taking a slash to the throat from Eric's falchion.
As all this was happening, the battle raged on around the two combatants. The militia fought desperately, each doing their best to stay alive as the goblins poured forth, throwing themselves in endless waves towards the beleaguered militia. Not a single militia member remained free of injury. Although the healers were doing their best, some injuries were impossible to fully heal. Tanix had somehow survived the loss of his arm and now cast Flaming Spheres into the ranks of goblins with his remaining hand, adding to the smoke and ash that filled the air. Griffin had taken several sabres to the body, but still remained standing, as Mark desperately cast healing spells on whoever needed them the most, doing his best to keep everyone's health above zero.
With a primal roar, Grimarok used a skill, his blade dyeing itself a crimson red as it descended towards Eric at a ferocious speed. Paling, Eric dodged backwards, avoiding the brunt of the blow even as his healthbar diminished drastically.
He has way too much power in every single strike. Even a single skill could kill me if it connects, Eric thought grimly as he twirled the Quickwind Dagger between his fingers. If he wanted to win, he needed to do so soon. While the militia was still just barely holding out, there was a limit to how far adrenaline and fear could take them. Once the first fighters started to collapse, the rest would soon follow.
Steeling his resolve, Eric stared towards Grimarok. The hulking hobgoblin had taken a few solid hits so far, on top of the small amounts of damage Owin's squad had managed to inflict upon him. However, his healthbar was still overwhelmingly healthy, with more than forty percent remaining. In comparison, Eric's own was down to twenty percent. At this percent, Grimarok wouldn't even need a skill to kill, a single hit from that enormous sabre would do the job.
Exhaling slowly, Eric pictured his path to victory in his mind, the steps he'd need to take clearly unfolding in front of him as he pictured Grimarok dead at his feet. Twirling the athame between his fingers one last time, Eric flipped the athame into his right hand, tossing the falchion to his left hand as he looked Grimarok in the eye.
Wordlessly, the two fighters rushed towards each other, one a slight, slender half-elf wearing leather armour, and the other a hulking brute of a hobgoblin, looking more like a walking tank than a living being.
As Eric dashed forward, runes appeared beneath his right hand at a dizzying pace, rune after rune appearing with a pale glow. As Grimarok approached, his sabre began to glow once more with that crimson light, as he brought it down in a brutal, diagonal slash.
Twisting his body, Eric jumped up and over the strike, launching himself towards the hobgoblin. Grabbing Grimarok's s.h.i.+eld, Eric used it as leverage, propelling himself over the hobgoblin as he continued to cast.
Reaching the apex of his jump, Eric buried his falchion in Grimarok's neck, the blade digging deeply into the hobgoblin's left shoulder and causing him to let out a roar of pain. Using the sword as a handhold, Eric pivoted, leaving his falchion deep inside the hobgoblin as he twisted around and over the hobgoblin's right side.
With a feral roar, Grimarok turned, delivering a fearsome backhand behind him as the half-elf landed, his athame still moving as he drew more runes in the air in front of him. Not stopping his movement, Eric slid under the fist, using his left hand as a support as he turned his momentum into a legsweep, his leg hooking Grimarok's own.
Thrown off balance by his backhand, Grimarok fell, cras.h.i.+ng heavily to one knee. With a growl, Grimarok pushed off the ground, a fell, crimson glow enveloping his sabre as he sent a rising diagonal slash towards Eric.
However, Eric was ready for it. Remaining low to the ground, Eric leaned backwards, as Grimarok's sabre soared overhead, shaving hairs from his beard as it pa.s.sed by.
Quick as lightning, Eric bounded forwards, his athame rising like a viper from the gra.s.s as it streaked towards Grimarok's exposed throat. With a vicious cry, Eric lodged his dagger in Grimarok's jaw, his adrenaline pounding as he stared into the eyes of the hobgoblin, who for the first time this fight, showed fear.
"Goodbye," Eric whispered, casting the spell he'd been preparing for the last few seconds.
With a roar of wind, Grimarok's head disappeared in a hail of wind and blood, Eric's spell literally decapitating the fearsome hobgoblin. As a rain of gore showered the goblins behind where Grimarok's now headless body stood, Eric withdrew his dagger, watching as Grimarok's body raised its sword as if to strike.
Remaining in the ready stance for another two seconds, Grimarok's enormous body shuddered briefly, before finally toppling to the ground with a might crash.