Chapter 258 – The Battle for Frontier City Akela (6): Breaking the Limit

Chapter 258

The Battle for Frontier City Akela (6): Breaking the Limit

Date : Day 18 of Firstthaw 1024 Aethellgard Concord Year.

Through the crimson haze, Hyoren saw it coming.

The shockwave rolled across the plain in a perfect ring, rippling through the dust, flattening everything in its path. It swept outward from the heart of the goblin army faster than any horse could run.

He planted his feet.

The wind hit first. It was a wall of hot, dust-choked air that slammed into his chest and whipped the white banner sideways. Then the tremor surged up through his boots and rattled his teeth, knocking goblins off their feet all around him. Then the sound: the tearing shriek from the sky, and beneath it the deep, earth-splitting roar that seemed to go on and on.

All along the battlefield, the defenders braced. Shields were raised against the wind, and knees bent against the shaking ground. They did it without stopping their weapons, still cutting, still thrusting, even as the earth heaved under them.

Hyoren's grin widened.

He was still swinging. Dawn Breaker tore through a goblin's neck. Étendard Sacré du Lys punched through another's chest. Around him, the goblins hadn't so much as faltered. Their kin at the back had just been obliterated, and still they charged, eyes blank and fixed forward, driven by the Chieftain's Leadership Aura.

He laughed under his breath as he cut them down.

An orbital kinetic bombardment… Rods from God…

For a moment, through the haze and the blood and the roar of battle, his mind drifted somewhere far away. A small room on Earth. A glowing screen. Late nights playing games and reading novels long after he should have been asleep, where tungsten rods fell from satellites and wiped cities off the map.

A weapon that only existed in science fiction… made possible with magic…

He remembered the day Arianna had joined Freedom Party, three months ago. She had listed her spells for him, proud and precise, and when she'd described Earth Hammer, something had clicked in the back of his mind. A mass of rock. Summoned in the sky. Driven downward by force. Every parameter adjustable.

He'd felt the potential right away.

But he'd shelved it. There had always been something more urgent: the dungeon, Riverville Town, the Voided Covenant, a hundred problems in front of him. And testing a tactical spell like that wasn't something he could easily do. Where would he even find a target?

Now he had one. Thousands of them, actually.

I'm glad it worked as intended…

He chuckled inwardly, remembering Arianna's face on the wall as he'd explained it. Her light-blue eyes had grown wider and wider. Her cheeks had flushed, her hands had trembled, and she'd been practically bouncing on her toes, in the middle of a battle, with thousands of goblins charging below. 

When he'd finished, she'd stared at him for a long moment. And once it had sunk in, the thing that burst out of her hadn't even been about the battle.

“Why didn't you tell me sooner, Leader!?”

His grin stretched wider.

A Branch Magic spell that's accurate... Fast to deploy… And with no duplicate array to warn the enemy what's about to fall on them…

Then his grin faltered, just a little.

That's a silent tactical strike… exactly like the original Rods from God…

He understood what that meant. Every army in Kresneger would want to know how it was done. And they could learn it far too easily. Earth Hammer was an established spell, taught in academies and known to every Earth mage worth the name. The modification was just a handful of adjusted parameters. Anyone who understood the principle could copy it.

A spell like that in the wrong hands, aimed at a city instead of a goblin horde…

I need to talk to Arianna... She can't spread the modification carelessly…

Even in the middle of battle, even behind the crimson haze of Berserker, Hyoren understood that much. Then he pushed the thought aside and drove his spear through the next goblin.

Out on the plain, the mushroom cloud was beginning to break apart. The dust thinned, drifting toward the river in long gray veils, and the devastation slowly emerged from beneath it.

At ground zero, there was nothing. The crater was raw and smoking, its floor scoured clean. No bodies, no weapons, no trace that anything had ever stood there.

The area around it was a different story.

Rings of destruction spread out from the crater, wider than Hyoren had expected. Flattened earth. Scattered rubble. And goblins, hundreds upon hundreds of them, lying broken and still in a vast circle, cut down by stone and shockwave where they'd stood.

One by one, the people around him began to see it.

Fits' thin blade never stopped moving. Out of pure instinct, he cut down two goblins in a single stroke. But his eyes had locked onto the plain, and his face had gone pale beneath his red spiky hair.

"What… was that?"

A few steps away, Jigor stood over an Iron-rank adventurer who had frozen mid-swing at the sight. The dwarf blocked a goblin's axe with his shield on reflex, then stared past it at the crater, his braided beard trembling.

"By Gravok's beard…"

Killa's scythe kept sweeping out of sheer habit, cutting down a goblin without her even looking at it. Her black eyes were wide and her drooping ears had gone rigid.

"The goblins… they're just… gone!"

And Jackey was laughing.

When the shockwave hit, his tabby cat ears had flattened against his head and his tail had puffed out to twice its size. He'd dug his feet into the mud and braced, eyes squeezed shut against the wind. But the moment the roar faded and he saw the crater, his ears shot straight back up.

He knew exactly who had done that.

"WOHOO!"

He whirled around, swinging both axes in a wide arc that took down three goblins at once, and threw his head back with a howl of delight.

"That's Arianna's spell! The best spell ever! BOOM! And the skulkers are GONE! HAHAHA!"

His tail spiraled wildly behind him. He turned and jabbed the Bloody Axe toward the city wall, toward a tiny figure in a purple robe and wide-brimmed hat standing at the battlements.

"Did you see that, Big Bro!? That's MY Arianna! HAHAHA!"

Even as a goblin lunged at him, he cut it down without looking, still grinning from ear to ear. He waved the Blackmaw Tomahawk at the wall in big, sweeping arcs, as if she could possibly see him from that far away.

"ARIANNA! YOU'RE AMAZING!"

Hyoren glanced along the line.

On the right flank, Captain Yugold stood with his sword half-raised. His usually composed face was frozen in disbelief. Around him, his knights' spears still thrust between their shields, but every helmet was turned toward the crater.

On the left, Fiona had planted her greatsword in a goblin's chest and simply left it there for a moment. She stared at the devastation, and then a slow, fierce, proud grin spread across her face. That was her daughter. That was Akela.

Jigor shoved the goblin in front of him back with his shield and turned toward Hyoren, his eyes still wide beneath his bushy brows.

"Oi, lad! What in Gravok's name was that!? I thought Dennis's Infernal Constellation was absurd, but whatever the young lady just did is even more absurd!"

Hyoren didn't stop swinging. Dawn Breaker carved through another goblin as he turned his head, steam and dark mist curling off his crimson-streaked body, his grin still wild.

He chose his words carefully.

A partial truth… Enough to satisfy them… Not enough to spread the method…

He slashed another goblin before continuing.

"That was Arianna's new spell. I came up with it, Jigor."

He grinned wider.

"I call it Rod of God. A stake of stone that delivers divine punishment to evil. Haha!"

Jigor's eyes went even wider.

The dwarf had never been especially pious. He drank too much, swore too much and rarely set foot in a temple. But like every dwarf, he still carried Gravok in his heart: God of Earth and Fire, patron of the dwarven people. 

But a stake of stone falling from the heavens to smash the earth apart was enough for him to feel its majesty.

"By Gravok's beard…" 

His voice dropped to an awed whisper. 

"So it's Gravok's Divine Punishment!"

He thrust his hammer high into the air, and his voice boomed out across the battlefield.

"The goblins have been punished by Gravok's Divine Stake! The gods are with us, everyone! WE ARE BLESSED!"

For a heartbeat, the second wall was silent.

Then it exploded into cheers.

"GRAVOK'S STAKE!"

"THE GODS ARE WITH US!"

"PUSH! PUSH THEM BACK!"

The roar swept down the line from the center to both flanks. Even the knights on the right shouted along, slamming their spears against their shields. The Templar Knights among them worshipped Luminara above all. But none of them would deny the power of the other gods, not after what they'd just witnessed.

Jackey threw both axes up and joined in at the top of his lungs.

"GRAVOK AND ARIANNA! BOTH AWESOME! WOHOO!"

Hyoren chuckled.

He didn't correct anyone. If the defenders wanted to believe a god had struck down their enemies, then let them. It kept the spell's true nature hidden, and it set their morale on fire. That was worth more than the truth right now.

And as the cheers still rang out—a thin streak of fire flickered high in the sky again. 

The second Rod of God struck deep inside the goblin army, far beyond the first.

Another dome of earth burst apart. Another ring of shockwave rippled across the plain, and another storm of stone tore outward through the goblins packed around the impact. 

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!

A second mushroom cloud climbed into the sky, boiling and spreading, towering over the battlefield beside the first.

The cheers died in everyone's throats.

On the second wall, on the city wall, across the entire plain, everyone simply watched in awe.

***

The second mushroom cloud slowly broke apart.

It drifted toward the river in long gray veils, joining the remains of the first, and the devastation beneath it emerged. A second crater, smoking and raw. A second vast ring of broken ground and scattered green bodies, farther back in the horde than the first.

Hyoren's eyes swept across both while his sword kept moving.

The first Rod of God took about fourteen hundred…

He cut down a goblin and studied the second ring.

The second one, less... Maybe twelve hundred. They spread out a little more after the first one hit…

He drove his spear through another goblin's chest.

But that's still twenty-six hundred goblins gone...

He swung Dawn Breaker in a wide arc, scattering three more, and looked out across the plain. The sea of green that had filled it all morning had been torn open in two places. Gaps yawned through the horde. For the first time, he could see stretches of open, churned earth between the squads.

Under four thousand now…

The corner of his mouth lifted into a smirk.

The plan was to start Phase Four at five thousand… but I held off... The Chieftain is more troublesome than an ordinary commander… Under four thousand, though… that's safe enough…

He swung his sword again. Another goblin fell.

But under four thousand… That's safe enough for us to begin.

He raised his voice, and the Berserker-strengthened roar carried across the entire battlefield.

"EVERYONE! PHASE FOUR!"

He thrust Étendard Sacré du Lys high into the air. The white banner snapped open in the wind, and Aetovacus soared black against it.

"CHARGE!!"

The comm tool in his ear crackled to life almost at once. Fiona's voice came through, breathless and fierce.

"Finally! It's time! Lead the charge, Hyoren. We'll follow you!"

Yugold's crisp voice came a heartbeat later.

"The knights will follow the charge, field commander."

Then Baron Guts. His voice was rough and tired, but steady.

"I'll use my last Hellfire of the day to open the path for you."

All around Hyoren, the defenders were coming alive.

Two Rods of God had fallen from the sky before their eyes. And now, after hours of being pushed back, of slipping in gore and watching their comrades carried away on stretchers, they would finally get to attack. The fatigue in their faces gave way to something hungrier. Swords were raised. Shields were hefted. A low, growing rumble of anticipation spread along the second wall.

Jackey was practically vibrating. His tabby cat tail spiraled so fast it was a blur, and he spun the Blackmaw Tomahawk in his fingers, grinning from ear to ear.

"Charge! We're charging! HAHA! Finally, Big Bro!"

Killa shifted her scythe into both hands. Her black eyes were sharp, and her drooping ears had perked forward. Jigor slammed his hammer against his glowing shield with a loud clang. Fits rolled his shoulders, and golden light flared along his thin greatsword.

Every one of them was ready to follow him. To drive a wedge into the goblin army, split it apart, and push all the way through to the one commanding it—the Goblin Chieftain.

Before he charged, Hyoren took one last look at his forces.

He looked left.

The adventurers' morale was burning bright, but their bodies told a different story. There had been well over a hundred of them on the frontline at dawn. Now barely half were still standing. Many of the wounded who'd been carried back had never returned.

But the ones who were left were the veterans. Seasoned Bronze ranks who had survived years of caravan roads and monster hunts, the steadiest fighters Akela had. 

Battered, bloody and exhausted, and still on their feet, their weapons raised. At their front stood Fiona, greatsword over her shoulder, grinning like a wolf that had finally caught the scent.

A few steps from her, Ronald stood like a wall. His dented shield was smeared with gore, and his shoulders sagged with an exhaustion he couldn't hide. He'd ridden all night harassing the goblin camp, and then he'd stood on this line since dawn without giving an inch. Yet his voice stayed calm as he steadied the adventurers around him, the way it always did.

Hyoren looked right.

The knights and Templar Knights were in far better shape. Their square shields were still locked, their formation still whole. Fewer than twenty of them had fallen or been carried away.

But there had been fewer of them to begin with. Every empty space in their ranks hurt more.

He looked at the center, at the people around him.

Jackey. Killa. Jigor. Fits and the rest of Shining Force. The ones whose eyes were burning brightest. The ones who would drive deepest into the goblin army with him.

Then he glanced back at the city wall.

On the watchtower, Elise was still loosing arrow after arrow, every green streak finding a Shaman or an Archer before it could reach the line. Below her, Arianna was swaying slightly on her feet, one hand braced against the battlements. She couldn't cast any more Branch Magic, not today. But she was still sending smaller spells down onto the charging squads, a Fire Javelin here, a Stone Bullet there, chipping away at what was left.

Oria was still casting, her Azure Wand sweeping blades of water across the plain. Out on the river, Elsylua fired Hydro Pump after Hydro Pump. The two of them had turned their full attention to the goblin archer squads posted along the riverbank, picking them apart one by one.

At the center of the wall, Baron Guts stood with his red-orb staff readied. He was waiting until his Aethell was enough to cast the second Hellfire. Dennis and Reinora were pale as ghosts, leaning on the battlements. But every so often, whenever a little of their Aethell crept back, they sent another spell sailing out over the plain.

Finally, Hyoren looked forward.

And there, beyond the thinned and broken horde, he finally saw it.

The Goblin Chieftain.

With so many goblins gone, nothing blocked his view anymore. It stood atop the hill, larger than any goblin around it, and it had begun to move. Slowly, deliberately, it was descending the slope.

It carried no visible weapon. No sword, no axe, no spear. Only a huge horn strapped across its back, the horn that had been directing this whole army all day.

It really is a commander type…

Around it moved its entourage. Goblin Shamans with crooked staves. Goblin Lords with jagged blades. Goblin Archers with bows already strung. The elites the Chieftain had been keeping back all battle, protecting itself while it sent everyone else to die.

Hyoren's grip tightened on both his weapons.

Found you…

He charged.

"UWOOOOOOH! FOLLOW ME!"

He raised his left arm, Étendard Sacré du Lys still clenched in that hand.

"Shield Form."

Umbral Phalanx was strapped to his left Gauntlet of Enduring, not held in his hand. That meant he could grip the spear and bear the shield on the same arm. He poured Aethell into it, and the slender black leaf along his forearm fanned open, its plates spreading with a metallic sheen until a kite-shaped shield covered his left side.

He lowered his posture, angled the shield forward and ran.

"Shield Bash!"

THUD!

The first goblin in his path didn't even have time to scream. The shield struck it with the full weight of a Berserker-fueled charge, and it was simply flattened, its body crumpling beneath the impact and vanishing under his boots.

THUD!

A second goblin went down. Then a third, tumbling end over end into the goblins behind it.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

He plowed forward like a battering ram. Goblins were hurled aside, knocked off their feet, crushed under the shield and trampled into the mud. Those that managed to strike him only made it worse for themselves. Mist Dispersion flared with every blow, hurling a fifth of the force back into the goblins pressed around him, staggering them, loosening their footing, making them that much easier to bowl over.

Every few strides, Dawn Breaker lashed out from his right hand, cutting down any goblin that tried to slip in from the side.

Above him, the white banner streamed out behind the spearhead, snapping in the wind as he charged deeper and deeper into the horde.

***

Jackey was cutting down goblins left and right.

The Bloody Axe split a goblin's skull. The Blackmaw Tomahawk hooked another by the throat and ripped it aside. He whacked skulkers on the right, whacked skulkers on the left, and laughed through the blood spattering his face.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the white banner surge forward.

Big Bro is charging!

Jackey's tabby cat ears shot straight up. His golden eyes locked onto the crimson-streaked figure plowing into the horde, the banner streaming above him like a flag on a warship.

"Follow Big Bro!"

He didn't wait for anyone. He didn't look at the line or check his flanks. He didn't think at all. He just ran.

His boots tore through the mud and blood. He threw himself into the gap Hyoren had left behind, both axes swinging. The Bloody Axe hacked down a Goblin Fighter that lunged across his path. The Blackmaw Tomahawk caught a Goblin Warrior in the ribs. He didn't stop to finish either of them. He just kept going, shoving through, cutting everything within reach.

The goblins hit back.

A rusted blade raked across his thigh. A club cracked against his shoulder. A spear point grazed his ribs and left a burning line beneath his leather armor. Then another cut, and another. Blood soaked through the red-and-white scales of his Illusion Viper armor, some of it goblin blood, more and more of it his own.

He barely noticed. His eyes locked into his Big Bro.

Behind him, Killa was running as hard as her short legs could carry her. Her huge black scythe swept in wide arcs on either side, reaping the goblins that kept closing in around Jackey from behind. She cleared one ring of them, and another closed in. She cleared that one too, breathing harder with every swing.

A little farther back, Jigor was barreling forward behind his glowing shield, his braided beard whipping as he ran. Fits and his party pressed in beside him. All of them were fighting to keep up.

Killa gritted her teeth and hissed through them.

"Jackey! Slow down! We can't keep up!"

Jackey didn't look back. He didn't even turn his head.

"Shut up, Killa! I have to follow Big Bro's lead!"

Killa's scythe swung again. Three goblins lunging at Jackey's back crumpled into the mud.

"At least be careful! You're piling up wounds!"

The Cat-clan Beastkin gritted his teeth.

She was right. He could feel it. The sting of every cut had started to blur into one dull, spreading ache. His arms were getting heavy. His breath was coming harder.

But ahead of him, Hyoren kept charging.

He was the tip of the spear, the point of the wedge driving into the goblin army. He slammed his shield forward, not to block but to bulldoze, a juggernaut wrapped in dark mist and crimson steam. Goblins were knocked aside like toys. Each impact sent them stumbling and sprawling in his wake. Those that struck back only staggered their own kin, the force of their blows hurled back by the Mist Dispersion.

And with every step, he was getting farther away.

I can't keep up with Big Bro!

Jackey's mind raced.

Hyoren's Berserker charge was incredible. Nothing could stop it. But it was a double-edged sword. He kept pushing deeper and deeper, trying to drive the wedge all the way through. 

And everyone behind him—Fits, Jigor, Killa, the rest of the party, Jackey himself—was falling behind. They were trying with everything they had. But the gap kept slowly widening.

If it keeps going like this, Big Bro will end up alone in the middle of the horde.

That thought drove Jackey even harder. He threw caution away completely and charged even more recklessly than before.

A green streak flashed past him and dropped a Goblin Shaman closing in on Hyoren's flank. A Fire Javelin streaked down from the city wall and pinned a goblin trying to slip behind him. Elise's arrows. Arianna's spells. They were watching over Big Bro from the wall, killing the goblins that tried to surround him.

But it wasn't enough. There were too many.

I have to catch up and protect Big Bro!

His jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached.

He's always protected us! Every time! Now it's my turn!

He swung his axes left and right, hacking through every goblin in his way.

Behind him, Killa was gasping for breath. Her scythe kept sweeping, kept clearing the goblins that tried to cut him off. She was falling behind too, but she hadn't stopped. Not even once.

Jackey shot a quick glance back over his shoulder.

The Ox-clan Beastkin's white-and-black hair was plastered to her face with sweat and blood. Her small horns were scraped and dirty. Her drooping ears hung low with exhaustion. But her black eyes were fixed on his back, and she kept swinging.

She's really working hard…

Something twisted in his chest.

I'll thank her properly… after the battle.

He didn't want to forgive her. Not yet. Maybe not ever. What she'd done still hurt, and he wasn't ready to let that go. He didn't want to reconcile.

But in this battle, she had saved him again and again. And every time, she had looked at him with that same earnest, desperate expression. She really was trying to change.

He shook his head hard, his tabby cat ears flapping.

That's for later! Right now, focus on Big Bro!

He looked forward again.

The gap kept widening.

One meter.

Two meters.

Three.

Slowly but surely, Hyoren was leaving the wedge behind.

Jackey dropped into a low stance and spread both axes wide.

"Whirlwind Slash!"

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

He spun forward like a living blade, both axes whirling around him in a deadly circle as he drove into the goblins between him and Hyoren.

SCREEECK! SCREEECK! SCREEECK!

Goblins fell all around him. Heads flew. Bodies collapsed in his wake. The gap closed, just a little.

Behind him, Killa, Jigor, Fits and the rest surged into the space he'd carved, fighting to hold the wedge together.

But it wasn't enough.

When Jackey's spin finally stopped and he looked up, gasping, Hyoren was still ahead of him. Still charging alone. Already a little farther away than before.

Jackey's ears flattened. He pushed harder. Even more recklessly. He threw himself at the goblins in front of him without any thought for the ones beside or behind him.

"Jackey! Stop! You'll get yourself killed!"

Killa's voice cracked across the din. He didn't listen. He couldn't.

He was desperate.

I'm already using Physical Enhancement… but it's not enough!

His axes rose and fell. His legs burned. His wounds throbbed.

What do I do!? How am I supposed to keep up with Big Bro when he's using his Unique Skill!?

Phase four had only just begun.

And they were already in trouble.

***

Jackey was still trying to catch up.

The wounds kept piling up. A gash along his forearm. A deep cut across his calf that sent a jolt of fire up his leg with every step. Bruises blooming under his armor where clubs and spear shafts had struck. And beneath all of it, exhaustion was creeping in, slow and heavy, pulling at his arms and turning his breath ragged.

Adrenaline pumped through his body to make up for it. His heart hammered. His senses stayed sharp. His legs kept moving.

But there was a limit to everything.

He could feel himself nearing it.

I'm stupid…

The thought came bitter and sudden as he hacked down another goblin.

Big Bro and the others are smart. Big Bro always says "Improvise. Adapt. Overcome." But what am I supposed to do? What do I improvise? What do I adapt? All I know is I have to overcome this and catch up with Big Bro!

Jackey had always been simple-minded. It wasn't that he couldn't think. He just always thought in a straight line. See the enemy, whack the enemy. See Big Bro, follow Big Bro. When the straight line stopped working, he didn't know what else to try.

He wasn't pious either. Many Beastkin worshipped Zalkier, God of Skill, War and Trade, patron of their people, who blessed warriors and merchants alike. Most of the Golden Cat Plateau prayed to him before a hunt or a long journey. But Jackey had never once set foot in his temple. He believed in himself. In his own strength. In his own two arms and the muscles in them.

And right now, his own strength wasn't enough.

He kept striking left and right. Goblins fell. More cuts opened on his body. And the gap between him and the white banner kept slowly widening.

Please…!

He gritted his teeth until his jaw ached.

I have to catch up with Big Bro!

He tried to force everything his body had left into his limbs. He pushed Physical Enhancement as hard as it would go and felt it straining, overheating, like a bowstring drawn past its breaking point.

He knew it had a limit. He knew his body had a limit.

But he wanted to break through it anyway.

Then it happened.

He swung at a goblin in front of him, and when he pulled his axe back, there were goblins everywhere. One on his left. One on his right. Two behind him. One in front, raising a rusted spear at his face.

Five of them, closing in all at once.

Killa was too far behind. So were Jigor and Fits.

"JACKEY!"

"Behind you, cat!"

Killa's scream and Jigor's bellow came at the same time.

Too late. All five goblins lunged together.

And for a single heartbeat, time seemed to slow.

The spear point crept toward his face. A rusted blade arced toward his ribs from the left. A club rose from behind. Jackey could see every notch in their weapons, every drop of spittle on their fangs, every grain of mud hanging in the air.

Then a voice resounded in his mind.

"Adrenaline Rush - Skill Acquired."

Knowledge flooded into his head all at once, as if it had always been there.

With this skill, he could force even more adrenaline into his body. It would mask his exhaustion and drown out his pain so he could keep fighting long after his body should have given out. And afterward, he would have to pay the full price, just like Big Bro's Berserker, only on a smaller scale. It didn't make him stronger the way Berserker did. It just let him last longer on the battlefield.

Jackey's eyes widened in surprise.

But there was no time to think. He reached for the new skill—but before he could use it, the voice rang out again.

"Prerequisites met. Evolving the Skill."

The time almost froze.

There was a pause. Then came another notification.

"Physical Enhancement and Adrenaline Rush have merged."

Another heartbeat passed.

"Limit Overdrive - Skill Acquired."

Jackey's golden eyes went wide.

What…?

The knowledge burned itself into his mind, hotter and fiercer than before.

Limit Overdrive was both skills combined and amplified. It would mask his pain and his exhaustion, just like Adrenaline Rush. But it would also make him stronger like Physical Enhancement. And the more wounds he took and the longer he stayed in battle, the stronger it would make him. Although, when it ended, the bill would come due. Heavier than Adrenaline Rush. Lighter than Big Bro's Berserker. But it would come.

A slow, savage grin spread across his blood-streaked face.

He didn't wait a moment longer.

"LIMIT OVERDRIVE!"

A thin layer of blue Aethell burst over his body, flickering like cold flame across his skin. His muscles tightened, contracting just slightly, and across his arms, his legs and his chest, his wounds pulled shut. They weren't healed. But they were clamped closed by the sheer force of the muscle around them, the bleeding choked off in an instant.

Then the power hit.

It surged through him like a flood. Strength poured into his arms. His reflexes snapped razor-sharp. The pain vanished. The exhaustion vanished. Every heavy, aching part of his body suddenly felt light and burning hot.

Time snapped back to normal.

The five goblins finished their lunge—and Jackey moved.

The Bloody Axe swept left. The goblin there didn't just fall. It was obliterated, torn apart by a swing carrying more than double his usual power. The Blackmaw Tomahawk swept right, and the second goblin went with it. He pivoted, both axes blurring, and the two behind him were gone before their club and blade could land. The last goblin's spear was still in the air when the Bloody Axe split it and its owner in two.

Five goblins. One heartbeat.

Jackey stood in the middle of the spray, chest heaving, blue Aethell flickering across his skin.

His stride, when he took the next step, was faster and steadier than it had ever been. He cut down the next goblin without effort. Then the next. Then three more. Goblins that had taken two or three blows to bring down a minute ago now fell with a single swing.

His grin was back. Wide, fierce and wild.

His golden eyes locked onto the dark-haired man still charging ahead, shield raised, the white banner streaming behind him.

"Now… with this… I can catch up with Big Bro! HAHA"

And Jackey became a whirlwind.

He didn't use Whirlwind Slash. He didn't use any active skill at all. He didn't need to. His arms and axes simply blurred. In a single moment, a whole cluster of goblins was cut apart. Then another. He tore through the horde in a straight line, the gap between him and the white banner shrinking with every step.

Three meters.

Two.

One.

Behind him, Killa stumbled to a halt, staring with her mouth hanging open. Fits nearly missed a parry. Jigor's jaw went slack beneath his braided beard.

"By Gravok's beard… The cat, too…?"

But they recovered quickly. They had to. The two men ahead weren't waiting for anyone.

One was a hulking mass of muscle wreathed in dark mist and crimson steam, bulldozing through the horde behind his shield with the white banner streaming overhead. Right behind him was a tabby Cat-clan Beastkin wrapped in flickering blue, a blur of motion with two axes carving a path through everything in reach.

Jigor raised his hammer high and roared over the battlefield.

"Don't just stand there, you lot! Follow them! Don't let that wedge close! We drive it all the way through, straight to that blasted Chieftain!"

Killa tightened her grip on her scythe and ran. Fits and Shining Force surged after her. Unbreakable Will charged at Jigor's side. Behind them, the adventurers and knights of the second wall poured into the gap.

The wedge drove deeper. Deeper into the goblin army.

And at its very tip, side by side at last, the Berserker and the Cat-clan Beastkin charged on.

Toward the hill.

Toward the Goblin Chieftain.