The path through the northern frontier broke against the oncoming wall of the impossibly large golden stone fortress. The four friends stood before an iron reinforced gateway, their eyes fixed upon the large iron reinforced barrier of the entrance. Guardians blocked the opening. Three large rhino-men loomed before the opening, their mandibles twitching at the smell of the intruders. They raised large rusty polearms to finish what their employer had begun
"Ready stance!" Mark shouted as he prepared to charge the oncoming wave. He didn't wait, and threw himself at the oncoming guardians. He Sprint, increasing his movement speed by thirty percent as he drew his midnight black Abyssal Fang. The first guardian brought his polearm down upon Mark, only to find the dark green energy channeled into the blade
"Heavy Strike!"
Blue lightning leapt from Mark's blade and slammed into the rhino-man's midsection, forcing the beast to his knees upon the dirt.
Meanwhile, a second guardian lunged at Mark's side, his polearm coming up to slam into the man's gut. Mark's Danger Sense screamed a warning, his spine stiffening as the blow came. He sidestepped just in time
"Minor Cleave!" Mark roared as he spun to bring his iron tipped spear around in a wide arc. The crescent like wave of physical force slammed into the second guardian's neck, splattering blood across the dusty courtyard and reducing the health of the beast to zero. The third guardian raged, his blade coming up in a wide slash to finish Mark, but the man and his party simply moved as one. Using the Tactical Stand-up technique to full effect, the group of friends twisted in the mud as the three guardians finished their attack. A final burst of technique ended the rhino-men's lives, their bodies dissipating into the air as ghosts.
Suddenly, a bell like chime rang in Mark's ears. A translucent blue orb of light appeared in their vision.
[Gateway Guardians Defeated]
Enemy Slain: Rhino-men Guardians x3 - Party Reward: 10 Golden Coins (Distributed)
"Ten gold coins," Mark murmured as he watched the coins appear then vanish into his tactical pouch. "The system rewards the efficiency, but don't lower your guard yet." With that said, the group of four turned their attention to the massive mansion behind the open gate. The thick iron doors groaned as they opened fully, revealing the massive structure within. What the friends saw and heard chilled them to the bone.
The air within the courtyard was thick, almost constricting with the heat of it. In the middle of the courtyard, surrounded by a ring of fires, stood a Jinn twelve feet tall. His build was compact, his shoulders broad, blocking the view of the other fires beyond the man. His skin was a strange color, with an almost dark energy running through it. He stood before a large flaming furnace, roaring with laughter.
Further in, at various points, dozens of slaves toiled, feeding the fires with whatever fuel they could find, their pale faces mottled with the black soot of the flames.
The laughing of the dark lord ceased as he turned his head toward the new arrivals. His eyes were the color of burning embers, his face twisted in an unpleasant sneer.
"Your deaths bring you here, mortals," the Jinn growled in a flat, determined voice. "You talk of victories because you killed the simple beasts at my gate? You are not strong enough to fight with me. You are nothing but ash upon the wind."
It was all the warning Mark needed. The Jinn had moved, his giant stone like fist slamming into the ground. BOOM! A shockwave of concussive force erupted from the impact, sending the four friends flying. They landed heavily in the dirt, the air being forced from their lungs as their health bars blinked dangerously.
Mark landed on his back, his eyes wide as he looked up at the monstrous figure of the Jinn. The realization suddenly struck him with a sickening finality. The Jinn was stronger then any of them had ever expected.
A Desperate Engagement
"Get up!" Mark choked as he forced himself to his feet. "Don't lie there!"
The four fighters pushed themselves off the ground in unison, gripping their weapons tightly. Mark found himself staring at the Jinn as he gripped his own Abyssal Fang in one hand and his iron tipped spear in the other.
"We strike together!" Mark snarled as he activated his Command Presence ability, marking the area before him for a quick tactical analysis. "Find the gaps in his armor!"
They launched themselves at the dark lord at once. Mark closed in fast, leaping over the broken stone in three long strides. He reached the Jinn's side and threw himself up and over the man's shoulder. Landing behind him, Mark gripped his short blade with both hands, forcing all his mana into it
"Heavy Strike!" he roared as he came down upon the Jinn's back. The Jinn was fast, his fist slamming into the flat of Mark's blade with surprising speed. The force sent him flying, the physical blow exploding a shockwave of force from the impact. It sent the other three fighters sprawling on their backs in the dirt as well. Mark landed on his hands and knees, the breath being forced from his lungs.
Each time the four tried to strike at the Jinn, their attacks found his armor. Every time they tried to maneuver in, the dark lord's blows sent them tumbling back. Mark's Danger Sense flared as he realized they weren't fighting a brute with a simple mind
[SYSTEM SCAN COMPLETE]
Target: The Grand Jinn (Dark Lord of the Hearth)
Class Type: Tactical Class Elite
Warning: Target possesses absolute environmental and vibrational awareness. Current carapace and defense ratings are optimal. Standard physical strikes are being actively countered.
Mark's stomach turned as he read the system message. Tactical class meant the enemy was using his abilities to read them, to predict their attacks. It meant the fights were going to be much harder
It was all the Jinn needed to finish them off. He raised his massive fist and slammed it down upon the nearest pile of stones. Another shockwave erupted, sending the four fighters flying again. They landed in a heap, their health bars blinking dangerously. Sweat trickled down the sides of their faces, their mana being drained away by the sheer force of the impact. They stood, bruised and bleeding, before the grinning dark lord. The realization slowly dawned upon Mark that they may not be able to survive this fight. They were so close to the goal line, to Cassie, but there was no way to tell if they would live to see their final escape. They were terrified of failing Cassie, of disappointing her, of being unable to save the one who had saved them so many times over. If they lost, there would be no second chance, no double cascade of golden light to save their hides.
ns216.73.217.123da2
and then Add to home screen.