Zid moved through the murky swamp. Two brown spiders flanked him in the front, their multiple eyes scanning the shadows, while two more followed silently from behind.
He was retracing his steps, heading back towards the place where he had his encounter with the Elf whelp yesterday.
CRUNCH!
A sudden sound from behind made him spin around, his hand instinctively glowing with a green light.
He saw one of his rear guard spiders, frozen in place, its leg planted on a dry, broken branch.
"You stupid creature!" Zid hissed. "No noise! Just watch! Is that so difficult?"
The creature simply stared back at him with its cluster of unblinking eyes.
Zid let out a sigh of frustration, the anger at his father mixing with his current fear. "Damned old man," he muttered and pressed on.
Finally, he arrived at the large, tree he had scrambled up to escape that elf.
He looked down at the corpse of the goblin who had been his mind controlled shield, its body already starting to bloat in the damp heat.
"At least these fools are more useful than these spiders," he grumbled.
Then, as he stared at the goblin, he noticed something odd. Its ears... were missing. He knelt, leaning in for a closer look.
The memory of Aurelion surfaced in his mind. "Did that whelp do this?"
He moved further into the clearing, his eyes finding the other corpses. They were all the same. No ears.
Zid's brows furrowed in confusion as he stared at the mutilated body. "Could it be..." he began to mutter, a dawning realization in his mind.
Just as the thought was about to form, the spiders beside him hissed, their bodies tensing, their legs raising into a defensive posture.
Zid snapped his head up. And he saw him.
Leaning casually against a nearby tree, arms crossed over his chest, was Elf whelp.
Aurelion's face was a full of amusement as he looked at Zid.
"I was searching for you everywhere," he said, his voice casual, as if they were old acquaintances. "And I find you, wandering all alone in this dark, dangerous swamp."
He pushed himself off the tree, taking a slow step forward. "I was wondering where you'd go. And you really came back here."
The smirk on his face grew.
"Were you looking for me, by any chance?"
Zid opened his mouth, a panicked stutter forming on his lips. "Were you followi—"
Aurelion's expression changed from amusement to ice cold seriousness in an instant, cutting Zid off.
"You know what? I don't care," he said flatly. "The last piece of my ear collection is on your head."
His golden eyes locked onto Zid's. "I'm giving you a chance, Zid."
The goblin flinched, tensing further at the sound of his own name.
"Offer me your ears, and I'll grant you your head," Aurelion continued. "Otherwise, I'll just take them from your corpse."
For a moment, Zid's eyes darted to the side, calculating an escape. But Aurelion was now positioned directly in the path he had used to flee before. He was trapped.
Zid gestured at the spiders flanking him. "They're poisonous," he threatened. "Their venom is stronger than mine. Leave me and live."
Aurelion began to smirk again.
"Before you threaten someone," he said, "you should first wipe that pathetic look off your face." His smirk vanished. "And with that, I assume you've chosen the hard way."
He straightened up from his casual lean and started to walk forward.
Zid commanded his spiders, positioning all four of them in a defensive line between himself and Aurelion as he slowly backed away.
Then, Aurelion accelerated. He dropped into a low crouch and sprinted towards them.
Zid quickly shot green tendrils of energy from his hands into the spiders. All four of them spat globs of shimmering, toxic green venom at the charging Elf.
"Four attacks from a single direction," Aurelion thought. "If he'd used them to surround me, it would have been far more dangerous. He's either luring me into a bigger trap... or he's just a coward."
He increased his speed, zig zagging left and right with impressive agility, the venomous projectiles splashing harmlessly into the mud behind him.
Zid stared in bewilderment at Aurelion. "What is that?" he stammered.
"Don't be so curious, Zid," Aurelion said, a cold smile touching his lips. "You have bigger problems." He began to close the distance.
"Protect me!" Zid shrieked, and his four spider guards moved to charge Aurelion.
Aurelion stopped dead in his tracks, his free hand extended towards the oncoming spiders.
They faltered at his sudden stillness, their charge momentarily broken. In that instant, the Libra Seal on Aurelion's left palm flared to life, and a concussive blast of golden energy erupted outwards.
"Don't be afraid! Attack!" Zid screamed.
The spiders, recovering, lunged forward again, meeting the golden wave head on.
This time, the impact sent them staggering back, hissing in pain as the potent energy seared their carapaces.
"When I project it through the spear, I have to restrain it to avoid damaging the weapon," Aurelion thought, analyzing the result. "But when it comes directly from my hand, amplified by the Seal, I can make it far more… savage."
He glanced at the disoriented spiders, then lunged at the one closest to him, plunging his spear through its head with a sharp thrust. "It's short ranged, but the damage potential is much higher. And I can damage and disorient all of them at once."
"How?" Zid yelled, his voice cracking with a disbelief. "Your last attack was weak!"
Aurelion looked at Zid. "I told you not to be so curious," he said, pulling his spear free. "You have bigger problems."
"Bite his spear!" Zid commanded, and as Aurelion was retracting his weapon, two of the remaining spiders lunged, their fangs sinking deep into the wooden shaft.
At the same time, Zid conjured a sickly green ball of energy and hurled it at Aurelion.
Aurelion unable to pull his spear free from the spiders jaws. He looked at the incoming projectile and raised his left hand again.
"Don't let go!" Zid screamed.
A golden explosion from Aurelion's palm collided with Zid's green energy.
The impact threw up a cloud of dust. Seizing the opportunity, Aurelion channeled his lightning manipulation through the spear.
The spiders attached to it convulsed violently, shrieking in agony as electricity coursed through their bodies, forcing them to release their grip.
Zid tried to peer through the settling dust, and then a figure emerged.
It was Aurelion, his spear now free and crackling with golden light, its tip pointed directly at Zid's face.
"This is the end for any pathetic fool who doesn't know what his opponent is capable of," Aurelion thought.
As Zid tried to lean back in terror, the spearhead advanced, aiming for his forehead.
CLİNG!!!
Just as the spear was about to plunge into Zid's skull, a knife cloaked in dark brown energy intercepted it, deflecting the spear's trajectory at the last second.
The spearhead grazed Zid's temple, and Zid collapsed backward with a pained grunt.
Aurelion's brows furrowed as he stared at the knife that had struck his weapon.
He looked up towards the direction it was thrown from and saw several silhouettes moving among the trees.
His eyes narrowed. "They were watching me without me noticing? How could I not notice such a thing? What if they had thrown that knife at me?" he thought, a surge of cold wrath at his own oversight rising within him.
"Unacceptable! Weakness! How could I not notice!" His nose start twitching, and then he forced himself to calm down.
"Not now. I must be calm. But first…" His gaze fell on the dazed Zid on the ground. "…I must complete my collection." He took a step towards the goblin, raising his spear.
In that instant, he saw one of the shadows in the trees break cover, moving towards him with incredible speed.
Aurelion immediately changed his target, spinning to face the oncoming dark skinned goblin and thrusting his spear forward.
The spear lanced out in a flawless execution of the Single Strike Technique, but the goblin ducked under it at the last moment. The spearhead only managed to rip the goblin's cloak as it moved, positioning itself between Aurelion and Zid.
"This one is strong," Aurelion thought. As he thinks, four more goblins dropped from the trees, beginning to circle him.
"SKULK!" Zid shrieked from the ground. "Kill him! Kill that filth!"
"Be quiet," Skulk hissed, never taking his eyes off Aurelion.
Zid flinched, his eyes darting between Aurelion and the Skulk.
"I have been ordered to capture you alive," Skulk said to Aurelion "Surrender, and there will be less pain."
"So that's it," Aurelion thought, a angry smile touching his lips. "Zid was the bait. A trap."
Skulk glanced at Zid. "That's right," he confirmed. "He was the bait." He turned back to Aurelion. "Now surrender. And suffer less."
"I underestimated you," Aurelion said. "I truly underestimated you."
He let out a soft, mirthless laugh. "I'll have to reveal a few things, then." He raised his left hand, and the Libra Seal on his palm began to glow.
"Skulk, run!" Zid screamed. Skulk took a few steps back, bringing his two daggers up before his face in a defensive guard, the blades glowing with the same dark brown energy as he took his stance.
But what erupted from Aurelion's hand was not lightning.
It was water.
A gushing torrent of it, as if from an unseen tap.
As Skulk tensed his guard, the water splashed against him, harmlessly scattering into the air. It also drenched Zid, who was still clutching his bleeding head on the ground.
Zid stared at Aurelion in utter confusion. "What is he plotting now?"
The other goblins began to laugh at the seemingly useless display.
"Whatever you're trying," Skulk rasped, "stop this nonsense." He began to walk forward with firm steps.
Aurelion plunged the butt of his spear into the muddy earth. He raised both his hands, and the Seals on both palms now glowed with a intense light.
Skulk halted his advance and Aurelion slammed both palms onto the wet ground beneath him.
An explosion of white blue sparks erupted from his hands, spreading through the water soaked earth in an instant.
The other goblins and the three remaining injured spiders were surprised as the electricity coursed through water.
Skulk and Zid were hit full on.
Skulk dropped to his knees, his body shuddering, but he managed to keep his daggers up, his eyes locked on Aurelion.
Aurelion snatched his spear from the ground and lunged forward. His first instinct was to target Skulk, but he knew the he could likely block the attack.
Instead, he veered towards Zid, who was writhing on the ground.
As Zid tried to scramble away in terror, Aurelion plunged his spear into his head.
The moment Aurelion's spear found its mark, he spun around, his left hand casting wide arcs of water into the area around him.
In that brief confusion, Skulk managed to push himself back to his feet and retreat, creating distance from Aurelion.
Aurelion, now breathing a little harder, turned his gaze to the remaining goblins. With a fluid motion, he drew the knife from his belt and quickly sliced the ears from Zid's head.
He held them up for the others to see.
"He owed me a pair of ears," he announced. "And I've just collected on his debt to me. If you don't wish to owe me a debt of your own, get lost."
Skulk stared at Zid's lifeless body for a few seconds, then his dark eyes snapped to Aurelion. "You killed the Chief's son," he rasped. "As useless as he was, the Chieftain won't be angry with me even if I kill you now." He raised his left hand.
Two goblins in the back immediately drew their bows, aiming at Aurelion. A pair of arrows flew through the air.
Aurelion sidestepped with a swift movement. But the archers were already drawing their strings again, another volley on its way.
He darted behind a nearby tree for cover. "I was forced to use my energy inefficiently," he thought. "I might be able to handle this one," he glanced towards Skulk, "but there are too many of them, and they are all following his command."
He clicked his tongue. "They trapped me this time. I have to retreat."
He turned to flee, but as he pushed off the ground, he felt a sudden gust of wind at his back.
He spun around, bringing his spear up just in time to block the twin daggers of Skulk, who had closed the distance with terrifying speed.
Sparks flew as the metal clashed.
As he held Skulk's daggers at bay with the shaft of his spear, the goblin spoke, his voice a low, deadly promise.
"You can't escape me," Skulk hissed. "You die today."