The Transcendent Godslayer

Sensing the converging auras of foreigners drawing closer to their location, the kobolds immediately pieced the situation together.

The oddity of Kallen who was also a foreigner and even more of an enigma to them, due to his power and his ability to fight at such a level without emanating even the faintest trace of dynamis, finally made sense to them, in its own way.

They witnessed how the other foreigners surged forward with reckless abandon, bulldozing through the hordes of beasts. Blood sprayed and drifted into the air like mist, severed body parts flying through the air amidst the roars and screeches of the dying creatures.

The kobolds immediately guessed that Kallen was a genius from the outside world, and his retainers, had come to protect him.

With this level of importance placed on him, they couldn't help but wonder just what kind of windfall they could potentially get by killing him.

Their eyes flashed with greed as they came to this conclusion in their hearts. Seeing that time was running out, they last decided to fight in earnest, finally becoming serious.

The fastest to react amongst them, loosed an arrow from his crossbow, tracking Kallen's movements and predicting his next position. The arrow tore through the air, its spinning head bending the wind to its trajectory.

But to their shock and horror, one of their own juniors stumbled directly into its path, Kallen rounding behind his back in the same motion. That instant, the young kobold's skull burst apart, his head exploding in a grotesque spray.

The archer who fired froze in stunned disbelief, while the others turned on him in rage and accusation.

Although Kallen's value had shot up in their eyes, and they were all greedy to bag the kill on him, they didn't believe one would act at the cost of their young.

Slowly, the shock turned to anger, and they were about to turn their backs on Kallen, and rip the said Kobold into shreds.

Yet there were two of them who seemed to have not reacted to what had happened, or had been quicker to recover, and did not hesitate. They released their arrows in unison, certain this time they would finish the boy off.

But again, the impossible happened. This time, before their arrows fully left the bow, Kallen had already moved forward, pulling the other young kobold to him with surprising force, and then slipping behind him.

The first arrow obliterated the youth's shoulder and chest, the second following instantly, blowing open his torso completely.

The sight made the elders tremble with shock, then fury. If the first one could be mistaken for a fluke, this second time, they knew it was Kallen using their youngs for meat shields, using their own hands to kill their youngs.

Snarls and guttural howls tore from their throats as their eyes went blood-red, rage and guilt burning through them like wildfire. No longer holding back, they drew their bows again, this time unleashing arrows infused with their ascendant skills.

A rain of death screamed through the air, faster than the blink of an eye, only to be intercepted at the last second.

A towering green figure dropped into the fray, landing in front of Kallen. His massive frame rippled with muscle, dynamis raging around him like a storm.

With his impact, the earth surged upward, rising into a colossal pillar that shielded both him and Kallen from the descending arrows.

BOOM! CRACK!

The pillar shuddered violently, bits of it, exploding under the onslaught. Cracks webbed across its surface as chunks of stone and dirt were blasted away.

Each time the fractures appeared, they sealed themselves instantly, but the larger pieces that were ripped free couldn't be replaced as easily and quickly.

The barrage quickly overwhelmed the defense, and the earth pillar detonated into dust and debris.

The orc staggered back, gritting his teeth as an arrow pierced deep into his thigh. With a guttural growl, he wrenched it out, blood running down his leg.

Slamming his foot to the ground, he summoned another wall of earth. A circle of glowing runes flashed beneath him, and the ground erupted upward, forming a fresh pillar just as another wave of arrows crashed down.

Meanwhile, several kobolds who didn't follow an archers' Ascension path, leapt from the tree branches, blades drawn, rushing the orc at terrifying speed.

While they used arrows and were very proficient in it, many of them were not archers as recognized by the Existential Compendium, in the sense that, their skill set, did not match those of an archer.

Archery however, as well as usage of other weaponry, was something that was ingrained into their bones from young age, due to the nature of their habitat, so they could hunt beasts.

This time, they had only used it as a formality, helping their youths to make things harder for Kallen, by forcing him to constantly be on edge, and accumulate injuries until one of them successfully killed him.

At the same time, the orc's companions finally burst free from the waves of beasts, rushing to clash head-on with the charging kobolds.

The forest exploded into chaos, as they finally cashed, one side fueled by rage and indignation, the other driven by the simple command to capture and protect a single boy.

And as the battle raged, the boy at the center of it all had already vanished.

They all seemed to have also forgotten the last kobold youth, whom Kallen had injured previously with his bladed chain.

And the youth in question, hid behind a tree as he watched everything unfold.

He had rested behind a tree after receiving such a big injury. Although the wound was not very deep, the gash was long and burned with intense pain, blood soaking his fur.

He had originally wanted to come here and apply a paste to soothe his wounds, but had instead watched as his friends were killed off by his own elders.

Quickly the youth stood up and ran away, heading to their village to report the matter. In a few seconds, he came to the foot of a small hill in the forest upon which their village rested.

Suddenly, a chain whooped around his neck and grew taut, constricting his breathing in one fell swoop as his eyes widened, blood pulling down his neck from the serrated links biting viciously into them.

In one violent pull, the chain was yanked back into the forest, the momentum dragging his body with it while his head looped into the air.