Chapter 29: Stormforged Reckoning
Gurkk and Azure faced each other, their eyes locked in a fierce gaze as the tension thickened like a storm waiting to break. The, previously strewn with debris, had been forcibly cleared by their earlier clashes, resulting in a circular arena encircled by shattered stone and overturned earth, a silent testament to the devastation their battle had already wrought.
Eamon and Aric stood at a distance, outmatched and drained. Their mana reserves were spent, and their bodies worn. All they could do now was watch as titans clashed before them, each strike shaping the very course of the battle.
Gurkk shifted his gaze to his axe, its once-sharp edge chipped and worn from the relentless exchanges. He clicked his tongue in irritation. "Tch. Looks like this one's done for." With a grunt, he tossed the axe aside. It struck the ground with a heavy thud, momentarily embedding itself upright before the fractured blade shattered like brittle glass.
For a brief moment, Gurkk's eyes lingered on the broken weapon, his expression unreadable. It had been his trusted companion in countless battles. He had planned to restore it once this war was over, but now, seeing it in such a state, he knew it was beyond saving. He exhaled sharply before gripping the pristine white spear at his side, twirling it between his hands with practised ease.
A slow smirk curled his lips. "Guess I'll be calling this one my new partner. Seems fitting."
Across from him, Azure remained motionless, his expression calm, calculating. He observed every motion, every shift in stance, letting the scene play out while formulating his next move. He knew little of Gurkk beyond his skill as a warrior and the dangerous aura he radiated. Rushing in without a plan would be a mistake.
Gurkk made the first move. His grip tightened around the spear as he poured raw mana into it, fire blooming along the weapon's length. He levelled the tip at Azure and muttered, "Let's see how you deal with this."
A blazing projectile erupted from the spear's point, cutting through the air with searing intensity. But Azure had never taken his eyes off his opponent. He sidestepped fluidly, the attack missing him by a hair's breadth. Gurkk's brow furrowed slightly, but he didn't hesitate. He followed up with a rapid barrage of lesser fire spells, each faster than the last.
Azure dodged each one with calculated movements, his sword flashing as he deflected some outright, slicing through the flames as if they were mere illusions. Sparks scattered with every parry, yet his expression remained unchanged.
He exhaled, tightening his grip on his blade. "I need to disarm him first."
Closing the distance, Azure weaved between the oncoming attacks, each step bringing him closer. Gurkk noticed his approach and immediately shifted tactics. He coated his spear with a layer of fire mana, the flames clinging to the weapon like molten armour. Then, with a mighty swing, he brought it down toward Azure.
The clash of steel and spear sent a shockwave rippling outward, mist billowing from the contact point as the flames rapidly turned to steam. Each exchange echoed through the battlefield, the rhythm of their duel relentless. The flames Gurkk conjured struggled to hold their form, constantly dissipating in the oppressing mist from the force of Azure's counterattacks.
Azure narrowed his eyes. His first plan had partially failed -- he hadn't disarmed Gurkk. But that was only step one. He had already accounted for this contingency.
As their weapons clashed again Azure subtly shifted the magic encasing his blade. The fire was persistent, but the wind? Wind could carve through anything. He let the spell take hold, air spiralling around his weapon, sharpening its edge to a deadly degree. If he had combined it with water, the effect would have been even greater, but for now, this would do.
Gurkk's spear flared violently, its flames raging in defiance, but before he could exploit the growing intensity, Azure's blade found its mark. With a single stroke, the spear split in two.
For a moment, the battlefield was silent.
Then, a sharp crack echoed as Azure's weapon fractured. The heat from Gurkk's flames had taken its toll, weakening the sword's structure. Tiny fissures spread along the steel until, with a final snap, the blade crumbled apart.
Both warriors were now weaponless.
Yet Gurkk did not let go of the broken spear pieces. Instead, he grinned, mana surging into the fragmented halves as he hurled them toward Azure with deadly force. "Take this!"
Azure's instincts kicked in. He pushed off the ground, wind magic propelling him backwards in a controlled retreat. The spear fragments shot past him, embedding themselves into the ground where he had stood just moments ago. He landed smoothly, skidding to a halt as he dispersed the last embers of his momentum.
He lifted his gaze back to Gurkk. The goblin leader was already preparing his next move. The real battle had only just begun.
Until now, Grukk had only relied on fire magic to counter Azure's attacks, but fire was not the only element at his disposal. He could wield fire, wind, and earth, and, more impressively, he could combine them simultaneously. This was the same devastating technique used on Eamon and Aric, and it nearly obliterated them.
"Grr… Time to get serious."
With a growl, Grukk wreathed himself in an armour of raging flames, fueled by wind magic, causing the inferno around him to surge even higher. Spells of such complexity were rare, even among high-ranking goblins. Something was off. The level of proficiency he displayed in mana arts was almost unnatural.
The sheer intensity of the heat melted the ground beneath him into molten slag, a deadly advantage. Manipulating the liquefied earth with fatal precision, moulding it into crude yet effective shields and hurled fiery projectiles toward Azure. The battlefield itself was turning into a death trap.
Azure, ever nimble, weaved through the onslaught, using wind magic to enhance his movements. But even he could feel it. -- the lack of domain advantage was hindering him. His spells, normally sharp and precise, were dulled in the face of Grukk's overwhelming firestorm.
Yet this wasn't the first time he had fought under such conditions. Many had tried to force him into a disadvantage before, crafting elaborate traps and overwhelming him with superior numbers. And each time, he had triumphed. There was a reason, he wore the title of commander under the Crafer Banner.
Still, his situation was dire. His greatest countermeasure spells had been engraved on the blade he had lost. He had anticipated some damage, perhaps a few chips, but for the entire weapon to shatter? That was unexpected. His sword had been meticulously crafted from the finest materials, engineered to endure the harshest magical conditions, yet it was destroyed. It was a testament to Grukk's sheer power.
He could grab a discarded weapon from the battlefield or borrow one from Aric or Eamon, but that would be pointless without the necessary runes inscribed on them. There was no time to forge a new enchanted blade.
No, there was only one way forward. A confrontation -- with a newly conjured Spell was the only way out as relying on his wind attribute spells would only yield a stalemate at best. The spell had to be simple yet potent enough to deal the right amount of damage. It had to be simple because if his mind faltered even slightly the spell could get undone miss fire and the lack of precision would mean more mana being spent with each increasing level of complexity.
Grukk smirked. "Looks like I have you cornered."
In an instant, he closed the distance. Azure barely had time to react. Until now, the goblin had relied mostly on mid-to-long-range attacks, countering Azure's melee strikes rather than engaging in direct close combat. Most of the confrontations so far were provoked by Azure and his guess in this case would have been correct but the goblin commander crafty and ruthless as usual was also paying for his plans just like Azure did. Azure had misjudged his opponent and fell for his trap.
The attack connected. A fiery, smouldering punch struck Azure's abdomen, sending shockwaves through his body. Had not been for his armour, reinforced with wind and water magic, the impact would have shattered him. Nonetheless, he was hurled across the scorched battlefield skidding to a halt.
Grukk chuckled darkly. "you keep flying and jumping back as usual. Looks like I'll have to hunt you down."
The words triggered something in Azure. Not anger, not frustration -- just a memory. A distant recollection of the past, of a hunt of his own. Years ago, he had tracked a dragon near an active volcanic region. The surrounding area and the term 'Hunt' were sufficient to evoke memories from his past. It had been a battle unparalleled by any other, during that conflict, something extraordinary had been observed.
"Yes… I can use that," he muttered, his mind racing.
But he needed water.
Grukk had, unknowingly, given him everything else -- the molten battlefield, the extreme heat, the environmental conditions necessary to make it work. All that was missing was a source of water. He could summon it, but in this domain, where fire reigned supreme, would consume nearly all of his remaining mana.
He clenched his fists. "If I do this, I won't get a second chance. And to top it all off I am trying it for the first time. Hope it works or I am surely done for."
Steadying himself, he took a slow breath, bracing for the final phase of his plan. The battle was far from over.
Azure cast a wide-area cooling spell around Grukk's vicinity. Initially, the effect was subtle -- barely perceptible -- droplets forming in the air -- but as the temperature shift took hold condensation began to accelerate. Droplets thickened, shimmering like scattered pearls before merging into a swirling veil of moisture.
With precise control over wind currents, Azure guided the accumulating water, weaving it through the battlefield. All the while, he remained on the move, nimbly evading Grukk's relentless attacks. Each swing of the goblin commander's molten fists sent waves of searing heat rippling outward, but Azure pressed on, laying the groundwork for his counterattack.
Then, in one decisive moment, he unleashed it.
A torrential cascade of water surged from all directions, crashing into Grukk like a tidal wave. Steam exploded outward in violent bursts as the scalding air instantly vaporized the deluge, but Azure did not relent. Again and again, he summoned water, hammering it into Grukk's surroundings, forcing the rapid cycling of heat and cold. The battlefield transformed into a raging storm of vapour, swirling debris, and elemental chaos.
Grukk snarled, attempting to escape the storm's grasp with raw speed and magic, but his molten armour betrayed him. The rapid cooling caused fractures to spiderweb across its surface, and as he reignited the metal with fresh fire mana, the constant cycle of expansion and contraction took its toll. Cracks deepened. The very armour that shielded him had become a prison of his own making.
The maelstrom Azure conjured was not just for show. The dust and impurities in the heated air began to coalesce at high velocity, shattering into finer particles as they churned within the tempest. This ceaseless friction gave rise to something far more dangerous -- a building static charge, crawling through the storm like a slumbering beast awakening.
Then, with a blinding flash, it struck.
A deafening crack shattered the battlefield as lightning bolts carved a jagged path through the swirling storm, irresistibly drawn to their sole escape route—Grukk.
The surge tore through his fire armour, piercing his enchanted metal plating. The goblin leader let out a guttural roar, his body convulsing as the electricity coursed through him. His fire spells flickered, then died out entirely, exposing his now-brittle armour and vulnerable flesh. What remained of the molten shards, cooled by Azure's relentless assault, turned into jagged blades of stone and dust, whipping through the air like knives. They carved into Grukk's form, biting deep.
The once-white mist turned crimson.
Azure held the storm for a moment longer, ensuring the last embers of Grukk's fire had truly died. Then, with an exhausted breath, he dispelled the barrier. The battlefield fell eerily silent, save for the soft patter of dissipating red Vapoir mixed with a haze of Gushing Smoky steam. The acrid stench of blood was evident.
Grukk lay still, his massive form unmoving amidst the scorched and battered terrain.
Azure stumbled slightly, feeling the toll of his efforts weighing heavily upon him. His mana reserves were dangerously low. He had gambled everything on this final play, and now, seeing the aftermath, he was struck by the sheer devastation. He hadn't expected it would work this well. "Good thing it did though because if it didn't I don't know What Might have happened. It was a gamble a fluke but it worked. I'll add this to my Collection of Spells for sure." Azure murmured to himself.
Footsteps crunched over the charred ground. Eamon and Aric approached cautiously, their expressions a mix of awe and concern.
"What in the name of the gods was that?" Aric breathed, staring at the wreckage.
Azure exhaled sharply, shaking his head. "Volcanic lightning," he murmured. "A rare phenomenon. I witnessed it once, years ago, during a hunt near an active volcano by sheer chance. When I inquired about it, one of the researchers working for the Crafters, accompanying me elucidated the phenomenon. When ash clouds rise and friction builds, lightning is born. Just like the one within a storm." He gestured toward the now-fading traces of his spell. "I replicated the effect and forced the storm to its charge. But to tell you the truth, I did not know whether it would work. And it takes a great deal of mana to cast. But it seems it was all worth the risk."
Eamon let out a low whistle. "Damn. And here I thought we'd seen all your tricks, Commander."
Azure smirked, though exhaustion dulled its usual sharpness. "Let's hope I don't have to pull that one off again soon."
They all turned their gazes back toward Grukk's fallen form, the weight of the battle still lingering in the air. Victory had been claimed -- but the stragglers remained.
Michael hurried towards Arc, overwhelmed with concern. "I should have checked on him earlier. He's not a child anymore, but still..."
Snivrack and his men spotted Michael but didn't engage. One subordinate asked, "Sir, should we confront him?"
Snivrack replied, "Just look at his mana pull—do you want to die? We need to check on our comrades first." After Michael passed, they continued on their way.
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