How To Use Console Commands

Chapter 13

The doors to the war room burst open and Faoster Goblincaller stormed in flanked by his personal guard. His greatest generals and, of course, his two remaining Speakers surrounded the large table where a map of the sprawling city had been marked with the dark towers of the Black Halo Alliance and where major encampments were positioned. He wasted no time and didn't even bother taking his seat. The Listener slammed his hands against the table.

A nervous silence hung around the room. Everyone could feel the tension in the air. The appearance of these towers, the assault of the Dark Lord and the subsequent fall of the Goblin Knight had worn on all of them. There was unrest in the streets. More so now that every previous subjugated goblin began showing signs of rebellion. With a Goblin King in such close proximity, more than a few of them were sneaking away from their former masters and fleeing to join the Black Halo Alliance. Now, the armies of Gobhood couldn't even rely on the one thing that made them so versatile; their ability to summon goblins.

"I don't want excuses," snarled the Listener. "I want plans. What is our current situation?"

His generals began listing off events that had occurred. Scouts reported that any that had been trapped within the warzone or anywhere beyond Faoster's Wall were now captured and being shipped out of the city itself. It was an unprecedented move but apparently camps were being set up where the captives were being provided food, shelter and medical attention. Where the Black Halo Alliance was generating all of these resources to not only take care of their own army but also the millions that were being shipped out of Gobhood was baffling.

"There is word of feasts being held in our very streets in the honor of the Dark Lord," a general said shakily. "Our people find themselves in dire straits and we find ourselves forced to ration our supplies. People who are accustomed to getting as much food as they want are suddenly left wanting. They see the celebrations on the streets and smell the food being cooked and are thinking of defecting..."

The greatest threat apart from the Dark Lord himself was the presence of these 'Tower of Dominance'. The Towers erected some sort of powerful field in a vast area that immediately weakened anyone not aligned with the Black Halo Alliance. Soldiers reported physically being incapable of carrying their own equipment. Where the fields overlapped, they became so weak that they had to shed their armor and barely could hold onto their weapons. The Alliance could basically stampede across the streets unimpeded so long as they were under the umbrella of the Tower. Reports came that the Dark Lord himself would appear in key sections of the city and drop the Tower out of nowhere.

"Once a Tower is generated, the Alliance focuses all its attention to getting to said tower," reported another general. "They know the moment they conquer it, they immediately have the advantage in the immediate area."

"Why don't our troops just destroy it, then?" demanded Aldurin, clearly frustrated himself.

"Because more often than not, the Dark Lord himself is protecting it."

Faoster frowned deeply, creasing his youthful features. "So this 'Dark Lord' is that kind of leader, eh? A warrior-king who would stand at the front lines alongside his own army and against his foes. Confident in his own power." He tented his fingers, drumming them against one another in thought. "Logical tacticians would dictate that we lure him into our territory and ambush him. Kill him in front of his own troops. That would demoralize their advance and get rid of him in one blow."

The Listener of Goblins rested his hand on the table. "But we have the traitor Hagden to worry about. Ambushing the Dark Lord would take up all of our resources and the best men. Hagden would sense that and strike at our weaknesses. No. The best way to deal with him is to hunker down and steel our defenses. He clearly fears Orphan or else he would not be charging through our streets like a lunatic. Our first priority should be to deal with the traitor. I have an inkling that neither he nor the Dark Lord are working in concert with one another."

"How can you be so sure?" demanded a general. "They are both pulling Gobhood apart!"

"Hagden has always been an opportunist. He has likely been planning this for a while. You also heard what he said at the wall. He had sent the Dark Lord to Kalastraad hoping that both Daronllier and Aldurin would dispose of him but it seemed that they missed one another." Faoster's eyes narrowed at the two named Speakers. He still had his doubts about the entire scenario but there was no evidence to prove otherwise. "Whether or not he planned the coup now or simply was waiting for the next opportunity doesn't matter. We need to eliminate him as he stands behind the front lines and is sabotaging our efforts to defend ourselves."

"What do you propose, Lord Listener?"

Faoster closed his eyes and pondered.

A small smile touched his lips.

"Hagden hates goblins. I say we lead him to the biggest goblin of them all."

******

The sound of soldiers shouting, weapons clanking and armor being polished and worn woke Payton. It felt a little like cheating that he had retired back to the safety of Avergreen when he had finished celebrating that night while most of the army remained on the front lines. Sleeping in a comfortable bed with a hunky rhino after some passionate lovemaking was just the perfect way to cap off a successful skirmish. Tartarius did seem like he needed the release. Some of the more injured troops had been transported back to the town alongside him to be treated by Gustav and healed with Payton's abilities.

Now, it was time to return to the front lines.

The wolf yawned softly and stretched, pushing his arms above his head and letting his claws scrape against the headboard a little.

I wonder if I have to cut my claws...

He glanced over to his left where Tartarius was slumbering quietly facing him. It came as a surprise that the rhino didn't snore despite his bulk and the presence of that horn. The rough, hide-like skin of his close friend could be somewhat abrasive especially in the throes of passion but those bulging muscles provided excellent handholds. Though he had some fun tracing those glowing runes with his tongue last night and finding out which parts of that skin were sensitive. As it turns out, the rhino was surprisingly ticklish.

It sparked his curiosity why, despite the fact that he had slept with Tartarius twice now, their relationship status was still technically in the 'Neutral' phase.

He must be holding onto a lot. I guess it's a little harder to build relationships with Grigori than others in this world.

A big, strong, green hand suddenly curled around his waist, pulling him back against the strong, hairy chest of Ghorrend. The orc leaned towards his neck and gently nuzzled him.

"Let's the horny bastard sleep a little longer," mumbled the orc with a devilish grin.

"He won't stay asleep for much longer with that thing poking me," Payton chuckled softly, swatting his tail against Ghorrend's erect cock.

"Follow me then."

Despite his immense size, Ghorrend quietly shuffled out from under the sheets. The bed heaved with the sudden movement of his weight but Tartarius didn't wake. A quick look at his status indicated he was still very much asleep. No snoring but a deep sleeper, it seemed. Payton quietly followed Ghorrend off the bed and followed the naked orc into the adjacent bathroom. Payton shut the door behind them to avoid as much noise as possible and Ghorrend took that as a sign to switch on the shower.

They hopped into the stall, letting the warm waters wash over them. Ghorrend almost immediately reached out, raking his thick fingers through Payton's fur both as a sign of affection and to make sure the water could get deep into his undercoating.

"I have been thinking about our future," admitted the orc.

Payton froze up.

Uh-oh... This is the part in the romcom when I either asked when we're going to get married or if I want kids...

"Do you know much about the other Listeners under Orphan?"

Oh... Phew... Though still.

"I actually don't," Payton admitted, turning his back to the orc so that Ghorrend could gently massage the waters into his back. "What are they like?"

"I've only heard rumors. It's not like we're ever really allowed to leave the Province without explicit permission. Ichika might be able to provide more information but from what I remember, Orphan has three Listeners under his command."

Apart from Faoster, Orphan had Horamus Maul the Listener of Bears. His territory was the one next to Faoster's Province to the north. Unlike Faoster who settled in a city, apparently Horamus Maul preferred a nomadic lifestyle. Smaller villages dotted the land and Maul had an enormous warband of sorts that traveled from village to village, providing their services where they could. They would stay in the village for a week or more and then leave, not to return for months or even years at a time. The villagers were left to make do with what supplies they were given by the warband until the next time Maul came around.

The last Listener was the one closest to Orphan, Khaldan Deadheart the Listener of the Dead. Perhaps the one true necromancer in all of Lexcia, Khaldan ruled the city around Orphan's palace, protecting him.

"We'll have to go through all of the Listeners to eventually get to Orphan," said Ghorrend. "Then, of course, we'd have to repeat the process to eventually get to Inferiorix."

Payton tilted his head slightly to the side. "I don't know if that'll even be necessary. Inferiorix wants us to gather fifty million people to place in his Ark and then we kill him to end the world. I don't see us having to fight every Listener and Reader to meet that goal. I'm not even sure if we should follow Inferiorix's plan. Fifty million people is a lot but the number of people that'd die for our actions just doesn't seem worth it."

"What choice do we have?"

He shook his head. "I honestly don't know. I suppose we have to find some way to stop the Readers from abusing their power and somehow free Inferiorix from his burden without destroying the world in its entirety."

"That's your goal, then?"

And maybe return to my world? I don't know...

"As it stands, yeah. I can't imagine going up against every Reader. No matter how strong we get, we're all still heavily outnumbered. If all the Readers decided to turn on us at once..."

Ghorrend wrapped his arms around Payton and pulled him close, the back of the wolf's head resting between the valley of the orc's pecs. "It's something that can wait for later, I suppose. I just wanted to reassure you that I will be by your side every step of the way."

Payton laughed softly and reached behind him, gently rubbing his fingers along Ghorrend's thick thighs. "You've gone soft, Ghorrend."

"What are you talking about? I am as hard as steel." For emphasis, he ground his still very-erect cock along Payton's butt crack, sliding against the wolf's tail.

"You know what I meant."

The orc leaned down and gently kissed Payton's cheek. "You have that effect on me, Payton. You brought me out of the pit of misery and blood. I can never thank you enough. I would do anything for you." He drew his long, flexible tongue along Payton's neck, causing the wolf's eyelids to flutter.

"Hrmf... Marry me..."

Ghorrend cocked one eyebrow at him. "Really?"

Payton's eyes widened and he immediately pulled away from the orc. "Uhm... Forget it... I'm still partially asleep."

The orc chuckled softly and grinned at him. "Come now. Surely the Dark Lord can take the very cock that he made."

Wait... huh?

"What are you talking about?"

He got a confused look in return. "What are you talking about?"

Payton pointed at the orc. "You're talking about penetrating me. What did you think I was talking about?"

"The same thing?" offered the orc lamely. "I thought 'marry' was some slang in your world involving anal penetration." He held up his hands, intertwining the fingers. "You know? Because 'marry' means to merge and if I were in you, we would be 'merging' into one as my cock throbs inside of you so we would be 'married'?"

Oh... Oh fuck.

He could have collapsed into a puddle of relief at that moment. "Oh... No. Sorry. Marriage in my world is this weird uh..." He struggled for a way to describe what holy matrimony was in a world without monogamy or organized religion. "... I guess you could call it a sort of contractual commitment between two people that they will be faithful to one another exclusively from the moment they exchange vows until death."

Ghorrend shrugged absently. "I see nothing wrong with that. We should get married!"

Payton's cheeks began to burn. "Uh... I should mention that it's traditionally set to the point where you are also sexually exclusive to one another. You don't get to sleep with anyone else."

There, Ghorrend frowned. "Really? That sounds... incredibly boring." Then it was his turn to blush. "Not that I would not mind sharing my body with you exclusively from now until the end of time but..."

"You've just got a new lease on life and want to see what's out there," Payton finished, not sure if he was talking about himself or Ghorrend. "I get it. Plus, I honestly like the system here in Lexcia more. There are consequences to breaking the bonds of marriage."

"There... are...?"

Mentally grinning evilly, Payton said, "Oh yeah. If you break your vow, you're inflicted with a terrible curse. The aggrieved party gets half of all your assets. And I mean half of everything. They get one of your testicles. You get to pick which but they get that. You're mostly left destitute as a result. Heavens help you if you have kids as part of the marriage as well."

Ghorrend immediately covered his nuts. "That sounds... incredibly horrific. Why would anyone ever want to enter such an arrangement?"

"Because they love one another?" Payton answered with a shrug. "Honestly, it almost sounds like there are more consequences if you break marriage than if you enter it. I mean, the arrangement is very public. Family and even random bystanders might ridicule you for your failures to maintain the marriage. Sometimes, you lose all your hair, are inflicted with all sorts of infectious diseases and what's worse is that you literally lose years off your life."

"Your world sounds horrible with this curse of marriage!"

Holy fuck, this is fun.

"You're right," Payton said thoughtfully. "Perhaps that's the solution against the Readers. Perhaps I should propose marriage to them and force them to break their part of the vow thereby forcing them to surrender part of their power and assets to me."

Ghorrend lost the look of horror on his features and began to seriously consider the suggestion. "That is not a bad idea. Perhaps once we conquer this land, we can enter into a pact with Orphan not to invade us and we will not invade them. Then we trick him into invading us and that will break the pact in our favor! We could win the war without ever losing a man!"

Okay, this joke has gone on too far.

"Someone doesn't like the concept of marriage."

Both men immediately jumped and turned in shock as the golden-robed Inferiorix stood a few feet away, leaning casually against the sink with a pleasant smile on his features.

"What the hell!?" Payton cried. He threw his gaze around, desperately looking for something to hide his raging-semi. Seeing nothing, he merely hid his lower half behind the much bigger and much thicker Ghorrend.

"What are you doing here!?" barked the orc, not at all ashamed of his nudity.

"I came to check on how you guys were doing with invading Gobhood," answered the Godmage with a smile. "I heard and felt the death of the Goblin Knight." Inferiorix pointed at his neck. "Hurt like hell right here. Been such a long time that I've felt any sort of pain that I actually came."

Okay... Weird but...

"You get hurt if we kill a Speaker?" he asked.

"Yep. Remember, the concept of Speakers, Listeners and Readers all came from me. They're linked to me. When one dies, I feel it." The Godmage waved absently at him. "I don't mind. It means that you're winning." He clapped his hands excitedly. "Anyway, I get your point about fighting all the Readers. You're still way outnumbered and if they band together, even your considerable powers as a Dark Lord will be squished. Remember, Readers are originally meant to be the heroes that kill the Dark Lord and at this stage, all of them have a full party and are fully powered up. They're destined to kill you. Message heard. I'll have to come up with some way to either keep them busy or deprive them of power." He gave Payton a light salute. "Leave it to me."

Really? He's going to do that for us?

"What are you planning?" Ghorrend demanded.

"I honestly don't know yet," said Inferiorix with a bright grin. "That's honestly half the fun! I love not knowing!" He crossed his arms and frowned. "Which reminds me... what was the other thing that I came here to tell you...? Not knowing isn't the same thing as forgetting because I knew it before but now I don't and that's so frustrating!"

Then the Godmage snapped his fingers. "Oh! That's right! Orphan is on his way back. He's going to be here in five days."

Payton's heart immediately plummeted. "Oh shit... Does he know about what's going on here?"

"Probably not yet but you can bet he's going to pass by some towns and they're going to start spreading the news that Gobhood is apparently under attack. I don't know how he'll react. He might summon a dragon or something and ride it all the way here or he might take his sweet time. Point is..."

Inferiorix's features grew grave.

"You need to hurry up."

******

The new day was greeted with some fresh blood. Hagden Hoblood was so excited about starting a new day bringing Gobhood closer and closer to destruction and making every goblin extinct that he had started well before dawn. He summoned over sixty moderately-leveled goblins and had set them loose on the streets of the Lush Markets, his own district. The troops loyal to him had moved on to the Greenworks and the Verdant Gardens, even going so far as to get to Faoster's Wall and doing what they can to sabotage the defenders. But he took pleasure in sending the goblins into the dark streets of the markets and watching them loot, ravage and kill anyone foolish enough to stay.

Faoster had naturally attempted to send some troops to bring order to the district but they soon met Hagden and quickly became bloody smears on his massive hammer, Hordebreaker. It was a good day and every moment that passed gave him this itching anticipation as it brought him closer and closer to victory. Soon, Orphan would arrive at Gobhood and there was no doubt in his mind that the Reader would destroy Faoster and the goblins the Listener cherished so much.

"Finally, this social experiment will come to a fucking end."

The sound of battle soon began. The Black Halo Alliance had started their attack. Even with the far superior numbers of Faoster's men, the Dark Lord's surprise tactics and sheer power quickly overwhelmed them.

Hagden climbed a clock tower in what had been a square for the markets and watched as whole sections of Faoster's Wall crumbled, merely flaking off into clouds of particles. Faoster was no longer holding back and had authorized the use of siege weaponry even though his own city would soon be caught in the crossfire.

"See how little you care for your own people, Faoster?" chuckled the Greensmith. "You are so shallow. So long as you can call it a victory in the end, you will still consider yourself a savior. No matter the cost to your own soul and integrity."

There was a thunderous boom some distance away and one of those mysterious towers appeared somewhere deep within his own territory. That was curious. He would have expected the Alliance to go after the Greenworks first as that was the very core pillar that was holding up the defenders. Poor Daronllier was probably working himself to the bone to feed all the soldiers that remained loyal to Faoster. If that fell, if the Head Chef died, then Faoster's defenders would crumble. They would all die under Orphan's righteous fire but morale would drop significantly.

"So why attack me?" he wondered aloud.

Perhaps they were just starting for the easiest section to strike first. Faoster would likely have defended the Greenworks as much as possible given the critical service it provided. With the Dark Lord's current tactics of appearing behind enemy lines to summon those towers and then waiting for one of his own to activate it, it would have been foolish to start immediately at the more well-defended district. It would take hours for the Dark Alliance to make its way to the tower.

In that way, it made sense that the tower was positioned in the Lush Markets as the area of influence of the towers would eventually creep over to the Greenworks and soften them up.

"You must have a sharp tactician in your party, Dark Lord," Hagden applauded quietly. "Faoster, despite all his years, was never much of a tactician himself. He relied on Nevaught for that."

The sounds of fighting grew louder Metal clashing against metal accompanied by the screams of men as they fell in battle. Near the tower, he watched as an enormous sword just sprang out of nowhere and came crashing down upon the district. There was a loud crash as the blade smashed through homes and cleaved through the streets.

Hagden giggled. "Merciless."

It took some time before the tower began to activate. Faoster's troops had grown wise to the Dark Lord's tactics and had likely started devoting entire teams to either destroy the tower or prevent it from activating. Of course, the Dark Lord's presence might deter some but not all. Blue lightning arced from the crystal atop the white tower, setting small fires around the district. The thunderous boom that followed afterward reached Hagden.

It was time to move.

He climbed back down the clock tower and made his way in the opposite direction of the tower. It took a few minutes before a second eruption of energy announced another tower in his district. They were definitely inching towards the Greenworks.

Gobhood was structured in such a way that both the Lush Markets and Greenworks sat beside one another, acting as another wall of districts between them and the Verdant Gardens. The Gardens was the last district and contained Faoster's own castle. In theory, the Alliance could make a beeline from the Markets straight to the Gardens but they would open themselves to being flanked by the troops in the Greenworks.

Drawing a picture in his mind, Hagden could see the Alliance troops moving from east to west, conquering the Markets and moving into the Greenworks while other Alliance reinforcements moved up from the Flourishing Walls into the Greenworks as well. They would attack from two sides, forcing the troops there to spread their defences thin. It was smart. If Faoster still had a tactician amongst his team, he would have been wise to send troops down from the Gardens to attack the weaker eastern flank, striking at the towers that were behind the advancing front.

But that wasn't Faoster. He likely threw the majority of his forces to the Greenworks and the wall.

Tactics didn't matter against the overwhelming power of the Dark Lord.

Hagden had to laugh at himself.

"I swear," he admitted, "if I could be his fucking priest with how much faith I have in him!"

His laughter died in his throat, however, when he heard the loud footfalls of goblins approaching him. There was no mistaking that sound. He had devoted his entire life to memorizing every part of a goblin even if they were Level 100 and dressed in fancy armor.

The sight of the approaching column of goblins caused his eyes wide boggle and that insane grin to split across his features.

"Oh... Well isn't this a treat," he laughed softly.

Leading the advancing army was perhaps the tallest and most regal goblin he had ever seen.

"Kalastraad," he exclaimed. Logic dictated that he should flee. There had to be at least three dozen Level 100 goblins beside the former-Speaker. Even with all his power, he was grossly outnumbered and outgunned.

But how could he resist the sight of what had to be the most amazing specimen of a goblin?

Kalastraad stopped in his tracks, reaching for the bright, glowing, green sword he had drawn when the battle first started. "Hagden. It's been a while."

The Greensmith turned towards the man, unable to keep himself from twitching with excitement. "It has. What happened to you?"

"The Dark Lord happened. He gave me the choice of returning to my human form or becoming a goblin."

A flash of confusion momentarily weakened the grin across Hagden's face. "And you chose that filthy, green form? Why?" Then he laughed softly. "Oh. Of course. Horde Strength. Now you benefit from all the goblins in your rule. And when the Goblin Knight died, those stinking, little, green men will be compelled to join your ranks. Ingenious."

"It wasn't that."

"What? Then why would you purposefully choose that form?"

For a moment, Kalastraad was silent. "I was like you for the longest time, Hagden. I hated goblins with every fiber of my being. But then I got to know them. I realized that they were more than just the rampaging, pillaging beasts we made them out to be. We were wrong about them. I lived partially fused to one for hundreds of years and my very soul joined them. Now my body merely matches it."

Hagden's nose wrinkled in disgust. "That's just foul."

"I'm not here to argue my life choice with you, Hagden," replied Kalastraad. "Lay down your arms. Surrender to the Dark Lord and you will live."

The Greensmith gave his maddened smile. "But why would I ever do that when there is a big, fat goblin right in front of me to kill?"

"Do not make me kill you, Greensmith!" bellowed Kalastraad, lifting his sword at the blacksmith. The goblins around him immediately readied their weapons in perfect unison.

"It may have been a while since we've personally interacted, Kalastraad," laughed Hagden maniacally. "But even you must remember that I simply cannot let any goblin I see live! Not even you!"

******

_ _

_ _

'It seems that Faoster has blocked off the more direct paths to the Greenworks,' Kalastraad reported. 'Drawing his forces to your towers hasn't stopped him from keeping my team from the one place keeping his defenders well-fed.'

Another one of Durandal's brilliant tactics. By now, it became evident to Faoster that their targets should be the Tower of Dominance. But when all of their attention was drawn to the Tower, that meant that a smaller team consisting of a former-Speaker could quietly sneak through the streets and make their way to the Greenworks. What Faoster failed to realize was that even though Payton could teleport himself and his team anywhere, he didn't have to summon a Tower wherever he appeared.

So the moment he destroyed several sections of walls from Faoster's Wall, he brought himself, his team and Kalastraad along with some goblins behind enemy lines. There, they split up. Kalastraad went to look for a way into the Greenworks while Payton went as far as possible from Kalastraad and summoned a Tower. The Alliance would then make their way to the Tower while Kalastraad sabotaged the Greenworks.

'Keep looking for a way,' Durandal insisted. 'We'll try and make our way to you as soon as possible. Might be a while though. We are fairly far from the rest of the army.'

Being in the middle of enemy territory with a giant tower announcing their presence was not necessarily the smartest of tactics but Payton recognized the necessity of it. Within moments of summoning the Tower, he already heard Faoster's troops approaching. Tartarius, newly refreshed, launched several Arrow Rains into the sky. This quickly formed a makeshift palisade of ballista bolts around the tower, offering some degree of protection.

"There they are!" exclaimed one of the approaching soldiers. "Keep your distance! Attack the Tower!"

Durandal snorted softly, drawing his blades. "They're learning."

Fireballs and other magical projectiles flung from the soldiers' hands, peppering the side of the Tower. Perhaps after a whole day, they might cause the edifice to collapse.

"Not fast enough," Payton responded, lifting a paw into the air. "Titan Blade."

The titanic version of Goblinfall appeared above him and with a simple swipe, the blade came crashing down on the soldiers.

"Did... Did you just name your attack?" Durandal accused.

Payton's cheeks burned. "N - No! I... uh..."

The boar laughed softly and nudged him with an elbow. "No. It is adorable. Fitting really. Giving names to your abilities makes it more easily recognizable."

"Is that really a good thing?"

"Of course. For our allies, it's easier to simply shout 'Titan Blade is coming' as opposed to 'That move where the Dark Lord summons a giant sword is coming'. For enemies, it strikes fear the moment they hear it."

Payton gave his bodyguard a sidelong glance. "You're just making that up."

"I'm serious," answered the boar. "We are forging history here. Even should we lose, we should make every move we make memorable."

"You honestly don't think we'd lose, do you?"

"I will make sure we do not." The boar then gave him a wink before charging forward with a bellowing cry, blades drawn. He clashed with the soldiers, Axter and Ravenus right beside him.

Tartarius padded up next to Payton, loading his ballista. "He so wants to do you."

Payton blushed, his fur frizzing out. "W - What? Dude..."

"We're basically in an isekai, right?" laughed the rhino, bumping him with a shoulder. "Everyone in your party wants to do you. It's only natural. I say you lean into it! God knows, I enjoyed it." He stuck out a tongue, only making Payton blush all the more. "And from what I hear, you had some fun with Ghorrend in the showers this morning."

His tail fluffed out and he jerked away in shock. "Y - you heard that!? We thought you were asleep!"

Why are we having this discussion in the middle of a battle!?

"I was until you started screaming," laughed the rhino. "Did he finally stick that big dick up your ass? I can't wait to ride that green meat!"

"No! We didn't do anything like that! Inferiorix popped in!"

"Ooooh. Kinky."

Payton, his cheeks practically afire, did his best to shove Tartarius but he was still much smaller and physically weaker than the rhino who was literally carrying around a ballista. "Shut up! It wasn't like that! He just appeared out of nowhere and started mouthing off about how Orphan will be here any day now!"

"Oh. So Inferiorix Interruptus."

Oh god...

"Master?" Axter shouted from the front lines, bearing a gash across his arm. "If you wouldn't mind."

"Whatever..." Payton sighed to Tartarius. He triggered his Group Heal marco, immediately restoring his friends. "Guys! Blade Barrage!"

His party immediately knew to dodge aside as a barrage of swords came flying over Payton's shoulder. Tartarius unleashed his own Piercing Shot, tearing through the soldiers as they desperately tried to reach the Tower. He looked past the current line of warrior and was slightly dismayed that there were hundreds of them pouring down the street. Even the sight of their crushed allies and the crater his Titan Blade made in the street did nothing to deter them.

Okay... Let's try this.

SpawnItem.

As the Gobhood defenders were just starting to make their way towards them, a wall of black and green shields appeared in front of Payton. Many of them stopped when they realized that this was the very same shield that the Goblin Knight once wielded.

SetSize.

The shields tripled in size immediately, rising to just two storeys tall.

SetLoc.

On his command, the shields surged forward like a stampede of enormous, steel elephants. They slammed into the charging warriors, immediately pushing them back against their comrades, upending the gravel beneath them.

Delete.

A moment later, the shields flaked off into nothingness, leaving the soldiers stunned. But they were quickly getting to their feet. He had to admire their spirit. Even against insurmountable odds, they were fighting for their home. Just like how against all odds, he was fighting to save Gobhood from itself.

"I wish there was some way to get them to stop fighting without killing them."

Tartarius snickered softly as he loaded his ballista again. "Too bad we don't have someone with a really high charisma that could just seduce them to set aside their dignity and ideals for a sweet fuck."

I wonder if Axter...? Naw.

A shout from his left heralded the approach of another battalion of Gobhood soldiers.

Damn... They're going to surround us.

'We've got a problem,' Ghorrend announced. 'There are so many Gobhood soldiers making their way to your right now that we can barely make our way through!'

Crap...

'Where are you?' Durandal asked.

'A few blocks over. Directly facing the wall.'

The boar glanced over his shoulder at Payton, a twinkle in his eyes.

'What do you think, Dark Lord? Care to give these people a show?'

It took him a moment to realise exactly what his bodyguard was hinting at. When it dawned on him, he smiled back at the boar and lifted a paw in the direction Faoster's Wall.

Delete.

The buildings that flocked his view of the Wall immediately turned black and was blown by an unfelt wind. Beyond was just another structure so...

Delete. Delete. Delete.

One by one, he obliterated the structures. The soldiers watched this in amazement as he effectively carved a new street through the district.

'There! We see you!'

Ghorrend came charging down the newly made path accompanied by his own battalion. The Gobhood defenders made to intercept them but Axter quickly summoned icy walls that barred their path. The orc grinned brightly as he pushed the Commander forward. The Tower hummed and spewed blue lightning in all directions. Fear struck the Gobhood defenders. By now, they knew exactly what effect the Tower of Dominance had and they turned to flee. Most of them couldn't get far enough before the Tower's domain took effect. Many of them collapsed where they stood, unable to carry the weight of their own armor or wield their weapons.

'One Tower down,' Payton announced. 'How are you tracking, Kalastraad? Any closer to the Greenworks?'

'A little closer but Faoster seems to have desperately set up these barricades. They are everywhere with little sense to them. These streets are a maze.'

'Keep at it. We're moving to the next location.'

Leaving the defence of the Tower with Ghorrend and the reinforcements that came with it, Payton and his personal guard immediately moved to the next location, dashing through the streets unopposed. Even when they approached some Gobhood soldiers, they were left unmolested. The warriors fell to their knees, bowing their heads and unable to rise thanks to effect of the Tower. This made it much easier for Ghorrend's team to shackle them, strip them of their weapons and armor and restrain them.

It took some time to finally reach the designated location. This one was still within the area of effect of the first Tower but around the edges of the sphere of influence. Ghorrend and his Commander Squad would be able to make it to them much quicker now.

SpawnItem.

A Tower of Dominance sprung up in front of them. Battalions of Gobhood soldiers hunted them down. Durandal had perfectly calculated the best place to put each of the Towers so even the most powerful of defenders were forced to strip off their armor just to be able to get close to them.

Since each Commander wasn't actually a powerful Governor like Ghorrend or Kalastraad, the Towers couldn't enforce incredibly powerful rules like the one that Kalastraad had created over the Wastes. However, there was one rule that they had all agreed would be of great benefit to them all.

Carry weight.

Each Tower of Dominance enforced an incredible penalty on the carry weight of any non-Black Halo Alliance member within its influence. This meant that Gobhood soldiers suddenly could no longer wield their own weapons or armor. It didn't completely nullify their use but it practically made them immobile unless they stripped off their equipment. Even then, that severely reduced their combat effectiveness.

Durandal's idea, of course.

I don't think I've shown Durandal how much I appreciate his tactical genius.

'Wait...' came Kalastraad's surprised announcement. 'Is that...' There was a pause. 'It is.'

"What's going on, Kalastraad?' Payton asked.

'It's... the Greensmith.'

Payton exchanged glances with his party.

'Do not engage!' Durandal exclaimed. 'We're coming to you!'

'No! Defend that Tower. I can handle Kalastraad.'

'Don't be a hero!' Durandal's face was scrunched up in exertion and fear.

'I've sat idly long enough. I need to do this.'

'No! Kalastraad!'

A mute icon appeared beside the former-Speaker's name in the Guild Chat. He had shut off all chat towards him. Payton debated rushing after him. Kalastraad has the strength of a Speaker but had been idle for a long while. This was his first true outing since his transformation and though he had time to train in his new body, was it enough to combat a conniving Speaker like Hagden Hoblood?

Boom!

The distant explosion made him freeze.

"That has to be them," he breathed.

"We've got company!" Tartarius roared. Gobhood soldiers, stripped down to just the bare minimum of equipment, were charging. "Let's make quick work of these bastards and go help Kalastraad!"

But we can't leave the Tower undefended... Fuck... Ghorr, please get here quickly!

The next thirty-or-so minutes seemed to last forever. Explosions continued to erupt several blocks away. Each one was both a question of whether or not Kalastraad was safe and a confirmation that the battle was ongoing. When he saw Ghorrend rushing towards them with a Commander waving a banner, his heart leapt to his throat. He didn't wait to see the Tower synchronized and rushed towards the explosions alongside the rest of his group. The deafening boom of the Tower's domain coming into effect swept over them just as they rounded the corner.

His eyes widened in horror.

Goblins lay dead in front of him, bodies ripped to shreds or burnt to a crisp. Buildings around them were charred and shattered, some even continuing to burn. At the far end of the street, Kalastraad knelt, barely propping himself up on his sword. In front of him was Hagden Hoblood...

... and Aldurin Xandel... the Emerald Mage.

"Fuck..." Payton whispered.

Aldurin caught sight of them and scowled. He said something to Hagden and spread his arms, beginning a spell.

"Kalastraad!" Payton roared and immediately invoked SetLoc. He and he alone vanished, reappearing next to the downed goblin. He reached out -

... only for a big, hairy hand to seize his throat and lift him off the ground.

"Now, now," laughed Hagden. "None of that." He threw Payton back, the wolf crashing to the ground and feeling pain for the first time in what seemed like forever. Gritting his fangs, Payton scrambled to his feet as a bright, green light encased the three Speakers.

"No!" he cried.

Then they were gone...

... or at least Aldurin and Kalastraad were.

Hagden seemed equally as surprised when he remained standing in the middle of the street. The Greensmith turned around, a bemused smile on his face as he looked up at the Verdant Gardens in the distance. "Well..." chuckled the Greensmith, placing a hand on his hip. "Who would have guessed that I would be betrayed?"

"It's more than you deserve," Payton snarled, switching on God Mode. "What the hell happened here!? Where did Aldurin take Kalastraad!?"

Hagden turned back to face him with a lazy stare. "I imagine he's been taken to Aldurin's laboratory. There is a secret passage at the top of his tower that leads to it. I'm sure he'll be preoccupied with his forlorn love for the time being. That puts him out of the battle. Should give you enough time to raid the Greenworks and for me to dismantle the last defenses of -"

"No!" Payton roared, making a swiping gesture through the air. "I've had enough of your machinations, Hagden!" He summoned Goblinfall into his paws just as the rest of his party joined him. "This ends now."

The Greensmith regarded him with an incredulous stare. "Surely you must see the folly in this. I am your ally. If you kill me, you lose a good advantage against Faoster. If you chase me, Daronllier will only become more fortified in the Greenworks. You have nothing to gain for killing me."

"I'll gain an immense sense of satisfaction seeing your smug face caved in!" Payton roared. "Is that why you fought Kalastraad? Just to make a deal with Aldurin to take him away so that he won't be there to defend Faoster!?"

"It wasn't the original plan, I admit," replied Hagden with a shrug. "But when opportunity comes knocking, who am I to say no? Surely you see the tactical merit in it all? You may sacrifice one former-Speaker but save hundreds of lives by leaving Faoster with one less Speaker. With me on your side, he would be down to one. You could practically walk into his palace if you kill Daronllier now. I would even gladly stand by your side when we confront him."

Logically... he's right. If I go after Daronllier and end him, Faoster won't have a single Speaker to back him up and I'd technically have Hagden. We'd have the advantage in terms of power...

... but do I really want power like that?

Payton straightened, unable to ease the snarl on his muzzle. "If I just turned a blind eye and willingly sacrificed my people to an enemy's ploys just because it gave me a shortcut to my goals, I'd be no better than you or Faoster."

There was a flash of anger in Hagden's eyes. "I am nothing like Faoster! I am not some soft, malleable metal like gold! I am cold, hard steel! I will not bend! I will stick to my convictions!"

Is that really he's major beef with Faoster? That Faoster went to enslave goblins instead of kill them?

The Speaker shook his head, his snarl turning into an easy smile. "This is foolish. We seek the same thing. Why should we fight?"

"We do not seek the same thing," Payton growled. "You just want to kill all goblins. Kalastraad included! I'm going to save them all!"

Hagden rolled his eyes. "If only you knew how much like Faoster you sound right now. The deluded fool thinks himself the savior of goblinkind and mankind at the same time. That he is some divine 'bridge' between the two races. All he's done is force both species to be dependent on one another."

Hagden waved one hand to the left and then switched it to the right. “The humans of Gobhood are dependent on the goblins for survival while the goblins can only exist at the whims of the humans. Without the Goblin Knight to enforce some his subjugation on the goblins, most people are incapable of doing anything for themselves."

The Greensmith let out a mad, bitter laugh. "If you could see how they're cowering behind their walls. Millions of people incapable of even doing something as simple as cleaning their own bathrooms or preparing their own meals! They are flooding poor Daronllier with requests for food because none of them know how to cook for themselves without goblins! Half of the fighting capabilities of the army has been effectively eliminated because they don't know how to take care of their own armor or even how to dress themselves! They're all useless!"

He threw his head back, shouting at the sky. "Is this the world you envisioned, Faoster!? Is this what you wanted for your people!?"

He's got a point... but he's also completely insane.

"I am not in the wrong," Hagden reasoned. "The goblin race was dead long before any of this began. Long before you came to this world. All Faoster is doing is making their corpses dance for him. He might as well have been the rumored Kalastraad that resurrected the goblins as undead and had them serve him. I am putting this world back on the right path!"

His mad eyes went wide as he fixed them on Payton. "And you will not stop me! Even if I have to kill you and burn your corpse to ash so that your army will continue to fight, I will!" He swung the enormous, bloody hammer he was wielding over his shoulder. The shaft of the weapon was as tall as he was with the dark grey hammerhead as big as his torso. The insane grin on his features split through his thick, bushy beard.

"Now tell me again how you plan to save both goblins and humans."

Payton and his party readied their weapons, the Dark Lord summoning Goblinfall into his paws. Hagden lifted his free hand into the air facing the gathered group. He was clutching a scroll and he immediately unfurled it. The rune circle of Gobhood appeared. Before Payton could react, about ten goblins had appeared in front of Hagden in a burst of green light.

Wait... Why is he summoning? He can't control them with the Goblin Knight dead.

There was a sadistic glint in Hagden's eyes. As the goblins were just coming to realize they were free, that huge hammer came crashing down. Three of them had no chance to scream as they were reduced into a mushy, black paste of blood, organs and bones. Payton flinched in horror.

What the...?

With three more quick swipes, Hagden destroyed the remaining goblins.

"I've spent so long being called the Greensmith," laughed the maniac, peeling off an unidentified organ from the face of his hammer. "Crafting all of the arms and armor of Gobhood while maintaining all of its infrastructure. Faoster throttled so much of my capabilities when he listened to the Goblin Knight that few actually my specialty is crafting things out of goblins."

Oh shit!

A dark green light erupted from the black blood that surrounded Hagden. Crushed bone, squashed organs and the inky, black blood swirled and erupted into dizzying spirals around him. The gore reformed into the shape of two enormous, black and green cannons while the mouth of each cannon shaped like a screaming goblin's head. The metal itself seemed to be infused with the screaming souls of the dead as it undulated and pulsed like flesh, the faces of goblins warping the metal from within before being pulled back into the black iron. Between the cannons was a large, spiked wall that hid Hagden from view.

"Come, Dark Lord!" bellowed Hagden. "Let us see how well you stand against my creations when they are allowed to realize their greatest potential!"

Boom! Boom!

Strong arms seized Payton by the waist and pulled him behind one of the buildings. Bright, green smoke and scintillating emerald energies erupted from the cannons. A flaming, pea-coloured projectiles with the vague outline of a pointed goblin's raced down the street, wreathing anything close in a bright, green flame.

Durandal set down Payton, once again drawing his swords. Tartarius, Axter and Ravenus had ducked behind a building on the opposite side of the street.

'We need to get around him!' Ravenus exclaimed. 'Leave it to me. I can sneak -'

"Do you honestly think I defeated Kalastraad and his little goblin army just by myself?" laughed the Greensmith. "I have been preparing for this day for hundreds of years. This entire district is mine! I won't let a little willfulness bring an end to all my ambitions!"

'What does he mean by that...?' Axter asked.

A sense of alarm radiated from Ravenus. 'Traps! These alleys are trapped!'

Payton turned deeper into the alley just as a series of clicks sounded in the darkness. He immediately pushed Durandal behind him, activating God Mode and spreading his arms wide. Arrows with what appeared to be firecrackers attached to them came screaming towards him. Even though he knew it wouldn't hurt him, his heart still skipped a beat when the projectiles slammed into his body and exploded. The blasts were still deafening and his vision became clouded by smoke, dust and fire. Embers flittered into his nostrils, reminding him that while God Mode protected him from direct harm, indirect harm like suffocation or being frozen in place was still very much on the table.

Durandal was forced to retreat...

... back out into the open and the cannons' line of fire.

Damnit! That's exactly what he wanted!

"Fire!" Hagden roared.

Those cannons went off against. Payton turned in time to see his entire party forced back out into the open by the traps. Axter threw his paws into the air, conjuring a wall of ice in time before the flaming projectiles slammed into them. The impact of the blow was still so powerful that the barrier immediately shattered and flung the four Grigori off their feet, sending them crashing to the ground. Payton used his group heal macro, healing all injuries but still leaving the four of them out in the open.

'Payton!' Durandal cried through the Guild Chat. 'Teleport me into the air!'

'What!?'

'Do it!'

Without a second thought, Payton immediately invoked SetLoc on Durandal but adjusting the Y Axis coordinates to send the boar high into the air. He charged out into the open, standing over his recovering party and immediately invoked Blade Barrage. His swords merely bounced off Hagden's black barrier.

"Your weapons may be unique but they are still only Level 10!" taunted the Greensmith.

'Titan Blade!' demanded Durandal.

Completely trusting the master tactician, Payton invoked the massive sword, summoning it above his head and bringing it down crashing upon Hagden. The Greensmith barely flinched when the sword smacked against the barrier, getting caught against the wall without ever touching the ground. The sword vanished, a faint dent on the dark wall made from goblin offal.

The Greensmith clucked his tongue. "Size doesn't matter."

"It does if it conceals a secret attack!" Durandal roared.

Payton had barely seen when Durandal, having been high in the air at the time, had clung onto the edge of the enormous blade and rode it all the way down. The sheer enormity of the sword had barred Hagden's view of the boar racing across the edge and leaping off it to land beyond the barrier.

"What!?" cried the Greensmith and there was a clash of metal.

While distracted, Payton immediately tried to get the references for the walls and cannons.

Delete!

The weapons and cannons blackened, flaking off into a black flurry. While still a Speaker, Hagden was no warrior. Durandal's relentless double-bladed attacks pushed the Greensmith back. Axter flung his paws forward. Icy blue hands sprang up from the ground and seized the hairy Speaker's ankles. Hagden realized his defenses had been stripped away and yet he did not lose his smile.

He pushed back Durandal with his hammer and produced another scroll. With a shout, several goblins appeared in front of him. They were different however. These had what appeared to be sticks of dynamite strapped to their chests, all fuses lit.

"Druandal!" Payton cried and immediately recalled his party members behind him.

BOOM!

The goblins exploded, black blood and singed green flesh splattered in all directions. Tartarius moved in front of Payton to protect him from the fleshy shrapnel.

Durandal wiped a speck of black blood off his cheek and let out a disgusted snort. "This madman has no regard for the lives of the goblins. He'll use them however he sees fit. All because he feels scorned that Faoster took a different route to ruling. He's also a coward."

As the cloud of smoke and ash cleared, Hagden was revealed dashing down the street, retreating from them.

"He's hoping we will choose to go after Kalastraad instead of him," continued the boar. "Or perhaps go straight for the Head Chef. Either way, the way down the street is likely trapped. To try and deter us from chasing him down. We have a choice before us."

"We can't just let him go," snarled Tartarius. "He'll be a problem later on and he's the one that defeated Kalastraad!"

"But we can't just leave Kalastraad in the Emerald Mage's care for a minute longer either!" Ravenus protested. "You heard what he does to goblins he captures and Kalastraad is a goblin now!"

"The kid is right," rumbled the rhino, ruffling his black hair. "Not to mention that the bastard is totally infatuated with Kalastraad anyway so who knows what he's going to do. But still, if we just leave Hagden to run off like that, he'll turn on us quicker than a 'roided-up bull that just had his balls squeezed."

That's true... Though I don't know how a 'roided-up bull' having it's balls squeezed would react, I get the imagery.

Axter cupped his chin and absently stroked his mane. "He is an opportunist by heart but this entire time, we have been playing to his tune." The chimera lifted a clawed finger. "We turned around on our way to Gobhood because he coerced us with the destruction of Avergreen. We went to Kalastraad because he gave us the opportunity. Perhaps it's time we danced to our own tune for once?"

"But what about Kalastraad!?" Ravenus cried.

They all make good points. I can't just leave Kalastraad alone. But at the same time, it sounds like going after him is exactly what Hagden wants.

Payton shook his head. "We'll just have to make getting rid of the Greensmith quick. Get ready. This is going to be very hectic."

"But -" Ravenus began.

He turned towards the bat and gave him a gentle smile. "Trust me on this, Rav. We'll get rid of Hagden once and for all and then we'll do everything we can to rescue Kalastraad. In fact, I've already got an idea on exactly how to do that."

He friend looked worried for a moment then steeled himself. "Alright. I trust you."

"Thanks, Rav."

He turned towards the retreating Hagden who was about fifty yards away.

SetLoc!

Darkness surrounded him and within the same second, he was suddenly in front of Hagden.

Blade Barrage!

Two instances of Goblinfall sprang up over his shoulder and immediately shot forward at the Greensmith. There was a flash of annoyance on the Speaker's face before he swung his immense hammer, swatting the blades aside.

"You are a fool!" Hoblood roared.

Explosive arrows sprang up from some hidden mechanism in the street, slamming into Payton. The explosions were deafening and clouded his vision with smoke and ash but it did little more than provide a distraction. He sensed Hagden shoot past him.

SetLoc!

Just as the Greensmith erupted past the cloud of smoke, he had to immediately halt and duck. Durandal was suddenly there, swinging his massive greatsword horizontally. Hagden's desperate feet-first dive lost him a few precious seconds, enough for Durandal to swing his longsword at the Greensmith. The blade made contact, grazing across the Speaker's back. The top quality leather armor absorbed all of the damage, leaving Hagden unharmed.

SetLoc!

Hagden's attention was pulled towards the instance when he had been physically struck. He was far too late to notice Tartarius appearing above him, body completely horizontal and his ballista bolt glowing red with the aura of a Piercing Shot.

THWACK!

The powerful blow slammed right into Hagden's gut. The bolt shattered, the Speaker's armor once again absorbing the majority of the blow but it was the blow from point blank range that had the most effect. Hagden's retreat was suddenly stalled. A small crater appeared around him from the mere impact. Gritting his teeth, the Greensmith unfurled a scroll and immediately summoned several kamikaze goblins around him.

BOOM!

The tiny green creatures immediate exploded into fire, black blood and smoke.

SetLoc!

Hagden was just getting to his feet and charging past his own smokescreen when an icy spear slammed into his back, sending him hurtling forward. His face crashed against the cobblestone street, his beard offering little protection against the friction. A glance over his shoulder revealed the Axter was still far behind him, near where he had left the party initially. The Chimera Grigori summoned another long, icy spear and hurled it at him. It would never reach him. Until, that is, the Dark Lord seemed to summon it. The long, blue projectile vanished from midair and immediately reappeared a few feet away from the Greensmith. Hagden barely had enough time to roll over to his side to avoid being skewered again. No doubt he wouldn't be damaged by the attack but his armor was not as durable as the Goblin Knight's. If these Grigori managed to take down that living tank, he couldn't afford many more hits.

With a snarl, the Greensmith rolled onto his back and thrust his hands forward. The blood and bones of the recently exploded goblins coalesced into a large, black wall right in front of him, blocking him away from the Payton.

SetLoc!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three arrows smacked into Hagden's shoulders, barely offering a tickle but made him tilt his head back to see where they had come from. Ravenus came sweeping in, shouldering his bow and drawing a dagger in one smooth movement. That blade came slicing across Hagden's face. The Greensmith barely felt the cut against his chin but his eyes widened when a large portion of his beard fell away.

"Why are you all so persistent!?" he bellowed, scrambling to his feet. Secret compartments unfolded from beneath Ravenus to reveal a pit filled with spikes. The bat's eyes widened and just as he tumbled to his doom, he immediately vanished. The wall behind Hagden began to dissolve, flying off into black flakes. Ravenus was revealed right beside the Dark Lord flanked by his three other guards.

Hagden clutched his hammer tightly in fury. "Have none of you ever been betrayed? Are you not driven to pursue your ideals? Surely you must see why I must do this!"

There were a few flashes of caution and uncertainty in the eyes of those around the Dark Lord. Even Payton felt somewhat hesitant at the question. In his short, dull life, he had never been exposed to something so dramatic as being betrayed because someone he trusted pivoted into a totally different direction.

All things considered, my life was really vanilla...

"Yes," Durandal said suddenly, surprising the rest of the party. "I thought I was accepted if not respected. For years I believed that my actions alone made me worthy despite my appearance. Then, one man died and suddenly, everyone turned against me. I lived alongside these people for years - fought with them, defended them - but it was all just a lie!"

Payton glanced from face to face. No one else knew that Durandal had been part of Inferiorix's Army. At least as far as he knew. As best as he could tell, everyone believed the four-armed boar had lived as a blacksmith in a village only to be sold at a moment's notice when the Black Halo arrived. Both stories somewhat fit.

"You see!?" Hagden exclaimed, retreating a step. "Your man understands my motivations!"

"That's where you're wrong," snapped the boar sternly. "I have been betrayed. I am driven to pursue my ideals but that doesn't mean I must doggedly cling onto my ideals and think myself infallible." Durandal pointed his long greatsword at the smith. "I was proven wrong. I tried living in a world of humans believing myself to be one of them. If I wasn't capable of adapting, I'd be a groveling pup begging at my human master's table for scraps like that fool, Verinas!"

Tartarius took offense to that and muttered a soft, 'Hey, lay off the kid' but offered nothing more.

"I saw my mistake!" Durandal continued. "I changed! I stopped deluding myself that I was accepted by humans and now stand with my fellow Grigori! I haven't forgotten the kindness some humans have shown me and that stays my hand from slaughtering you all but I know where I stand!"

The warrior boar readied his swords, muzzle curled up in a snarl. "If you're too stubborn to see that you were wrong, to understand that Faoster turned away from your genocidal path and begrudge him for it, then that is your fault. Not his. Don't blame others for your own failings."

Hagden's mad eyes widened and his face turned bright red. "You think I am to blame for Faoster's foolishness?"

"Didn't Faoster's path bring hundreds of years of prosperity to Gobhood?"

"Fool! That prosperity came at the cost of humanity's soul!" shouted the Greensmith. "Gobhood is now utterly dependent on goblins!" He let out a loud, frustrated cry, clutching the side of his head. "Why can't anyone see that!?" His nails dug into his skull, drawing blood. With a bloodied finger, he pointed at Payton. "How can anyone not see this weakness? How can you not acknowledge this!? Your very campaign is based entirely on the dismantling this empire by exploiting this weakness!"

Payton stared at the Greensmith with pity in his eyes. "You're not getting what Durandal is saying."

Hagden's snarl faded slightly. "What?"

"Durandal is actively working to better the situation. He isn't going out seeking to destroy mankind entirely."

At least I hope not...

"Yeah, he was wronged but he's standing beside me to make this a world where humans, goblins and Grigori can live together. He's changed. He's let the experience change him instead of pining over going back to the way things were. Times change, Hagden. If, after nearly five hundred years you don't change with them, it's not the system that's a problem. It's you."

At the same time, if the system doesn't change after five hundred years, there's an even bigger problem.

The Greensmith scoffed at him, waving his hammer through the air as if swatting away his speech. "Cute sentiments but have you ever heard of the term 'if it's not broken, don't fix it?' I am not broken. The system is! I will not change if I am in the right!"

With a roar, he slammed his hammer into the ground. The head of his immense weapon opened, splitting wide to reveal dozens of scrolls that quickly splitting out onto the floor around him. Hagden pulled his hammer back, revealing that the tip was actually a spear while the head was a massive, steel compartment for all the compressed scrolls. Dozens of Gobhood rune circles immediately sprang up around him with goblins spawning within seconds, each of them possessing bombs connected to them.

"Get down!" Durandal shouted, immediately grabbing Payton and hurling him to the ground.

BOOM!

A single titanic explosion rocked the street. Axter was the only one remaining standing, holding up his paws and maintaining an enormous, icy wall in front of them. Shrapnel, fire and smoke battered the wall, causing it to crack and splinter. Payton wiggled out from underneath Durandal's grip and placed his own paws against the wall.

"SetDurability!" he shouted.

The cracks in the icy wall immediately closed over even as the rapidfire explosions continued to rock the street. Every time the barrier started crumble or melt, Payton invoked the command and repaired the damage. An eternity passed before he was finally able to drop his arms and the last explosion shattered the surrounding buildings but left the barrier intact. He pulled his paws away from the icy wall, grimacing as his fingers had gone numb from the chill.

Axter gently took his wrists and pulled a stopper on a healing potion. The blue-maned chimera gently applied the red liquid into his palms and then rubbed it into his pawpads. The warm fluids felt nice along with the gently rotations of the chimera's thumb and fingers.

The crackling of bone, sloshing of blood and squirming of organs brought interrupted the moment of serenity. A quake shook the ground. The smoke was brushed aside by an enormous, black, metal arm.

"Holy shit..." Tartarius mumbled, rising to his feet. "The fucker went full-on-kaiju on us!"

An enormous contraption filled with winding gold cogs, shimmering black plate and twisting dark gears unfurled in front of them. Six immense limbs, each vaguely shaped like a hand loomed over the district, each one erupting from a large, spherical construct with the motif of a goblin's skull marking its core. The two upper arms each ended with mammoth cannons the size of the cannons that Hagden had first summoned. The two arms beneath it swept across the houses flanking the streets, smashing brick and tiles with ease. Both of them had the full array of fingers and thumbs. The bottom two held up the entire construct like legs even though, like the second arms, ended with fully functional hands.

"Meet Koboldemussensterben!" shouted Hagden from where he stood between the grinning skull of the central goblin head. "I had hoped to unleash this upon Faoster when the time came but you've forced my hand!"

One of the upper arms twisted around, aiming its cannon straight at Faoster's distance castle.

"You hear that, Great Listener of Goblins! I'm coming for you now!"

The cannon burst with energy, unleashing a bright, green fireball in the shape of a goblin head straight at Faoster's castle. The projectile smashed into one of the castle's walls, immediately creating a modest explosion and sending plumes of smoke into the air.

"Now," boomed Hagden, turning his attention back to the party. "If you will not cooperate. Prepare to die!"

"Scatter!" Durandal cried.

Ravenus dove for the nearest alleyway, Tartarius right behind him. Axter summoned an icy wall right beneath himself, the momentum of the erupting ice sending him into the sky where he could easily spread his wings. Durandal lurched forward and grabbed Payton who immediately used SetLoc to send them to a nearby rooftop.

Hagden's maniacal laughter erupted from within the core of the monstrosity. The two upper arms immediately began sending fiery projectiles in all directions. The blasts from the barrage shattered buildings and sent flaming debris in all directions, quickly starting fires. The two middle arms flung their fists into nearby buildings, smashing stone structures as easily as one would crush a leaf.

"He's not holding back!" Durandal snarled, both out loud and through the chat. "We need to stop him before he hurts anyone!"

'Why bother?' Tartarius countered. 'Look. The crazy fucker is turning around and heading towards Faoster's palace. I say we let him. If he smashes his way through and manages to weaken Faoster in the process, we'll be in a better position than before. Hell, even if he wins, I bet the fight against Faoster will have taken a lot out of him to the point we can just roll over him!'

Ravenus immediately sent disproving emojis through the chat, the first instance of emojis being used. 'No!'

"I'm with Rav," Payton said, again both aloud and in the chat. "There's thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people between us and Faoster. Probably even more behind Faoster's palace itself. None of them deserve Hagden's wrath. We need to stop him before they get killed."

'Awww. I guess I see where you're comin' from, boss. Can't recruit the people if they're dead! Fine. What's the plan?'

Axter began raining down icy projectiles from above but they looked little more than little drizzles of rain against the enormous, black mechanism.

'This thing is heavily protected both magically and physically,' exclaimed the flying chimera. 'I don't know how we can penetrate its armour.'

As he narrowed his gaze upon the machine, he was horrified to find that the entire machine appeared to be protected by Hagden's role as a Speaker. This wasn't just some suit of armour or construct that the Greensmith had summoned. It was part of him somehow.

I can't just delete the thing...

Suddenly, Hagden stopped and its two middle arms began waving through the air. Giant Gobhood runes erupted from between his fingers. A swarm of goblins came spilling out of the runes. Given how the machine was at least fifty feet tall, these goblins tumbled to the ground, falling to their deaths. If they didn't die from the impact alone, the sheer weight of their falling comrades was enough to crush them.

What the hell...?

With a laugh, Hagden maneuvered the machine over the two piles of goblins. Its legs crushed the twin piles, spilling black blood in copious amounts all over the street. This blood immediately seeped into the construct, possessed of a dark energy. The cannons on its upper arms seemed revitalized and immediately began firing off projectiles again.

'That's our opening!' Ravenus announced. 'It needs to recharge itself after a bit by summoning more goblins to kill! That's when we strike!'

'We still need to get through its defenses,' Axter warned.

He turned towards Durandal, exchanging glances with the boar. "I think I know a way. Everyone give me and Durandal an opening. We'll handle the rest."

'You got it boss!'

Hagden wreaked havoc for another minute, smashing through his own district and leaving a trail of fire and blood in his wake. When he stopped to summon more goblins to fuel his infernal contraptions, Ravenus, Axter and Tartarius pounced.

Tartarius charged down the street, charging a Piercing Shot and immediately firing it at one of the armoured joints. This ballista bolt didn't get past much of the armour but still caught Hagden's attention.

"Still here?" laughed the Greensmith. "And here I thought you had all given up! Fools!"

The Koboldemussensterben began to turn, giving Payton the opening he needed to teleport both him and Durandal to another rooftop away from the construct's view. Axter swooped in, coming incredibly close to Hagden's cockpit and flung his hands forward. A blast of ice erupted from his fingertips, covering the cockpit's visor in ice. The Speaker showed visible signs of annoyance as he tried to swat at Axter but, blinded as he was, didn't get the nimble spell-casting Chimera. This moment gave Ravenus the time he needed to reach the foot of the construct and hurl a few bombs at the piles of goblins that the machine had summoned. The hungry flames immediately began consuming the goblin materials.

"You think that destroying my goblins will be enough?" barked Hagden. He lifted one of his legs, smashing it directly into the heap. "I have spent hundreds of years perfecting my craft. I know how to craft goblin materials from mere ash if need be!"

Payton, now well behind the construct, glanced over at Durandal. "Ready?"

The boar readied his swords. "Always."

With a nod, Payton lifted a paw directly at the Koboldemussensterben.

"SetLoc!"

Without warning, a Tower of Dominance suddenly appeared right beneath the machine. There was a moment when both massive constructs just seemed to clip into one another, the entities overlapping. Then, physics seemed to take over and the tower's immense frame smashed itself against the back of the machine. Even Carlisle's powerful constructs were no match against a Speaker's ultimate weapon. Still, it was enough to momentarily lift the six-armed monstrosity into the air and catch Hagden by surprise.

"Now!" Payton cried. "SetLoc! ACM!"

His other paw intertwined with Durandal's, both of them vanished and reappeared immediately right above the Koboldemussensterben. Gravity pulled them back down towards the machine. Hagden saw them and even as he began to tumble back to the ground, he swiped at them with his arms. The huge construct's fingers merely passed through the duo as they came hurtling towards Hagden's cockpit.

Got to time this just right!

The moment Payton passed into the cockpit, Durandal right beside him, he immediately deactivated Clipping Mode. Their feet found purchase within the dark bowels of Hagden's machine. The sight of the red tubes leading from the Greensmith confirmed his suspicions.

I can't delete thing thing because it's using his own blood to move it!

Hagden was suspended in some device, metal clamps holding up his arms and legs while hundreds of tubes similar to what had once been injected into Kalastraad to power the Wastes were sticking out of his body.

"Durandal..." began Payton.

"My pleasure!' roared the boar, rushing forward.

Hagden's mad eyes went wide in horror. "No! Stop! You don't understand!"

Durandal didn't waste as second, swinging his greatsword in a sweeping arc and severing many of the tubes, spraying blood in all directions.

"I understand perfectly!" shouted the boar. "You're a stubborn, hateful, prideful relic of the past incapable of change!"

He swung his longsword, severing more tubes. The Koboldemussensterben groaned audibly around them and Hagden screamed in pain.

"You want to destroy everything around you just to prove you're right!"

With one hand, he grabbed a series of tubes and gave them a painful yank. Hagden roared as about twelve of the tubes were ripped right out of his flesh. Even Payton had to wince at that.

"You can't see past your own faults or your own prejudices at the good the other side have done so all you want to do is undo it all! You'll spend all of eternity tearing down everything that Faoster has accomplished!"

"How is that any different from what you're doing!?" bellowed Hagden, teeth grit together. The machine around him began emitting loud, grinding noises, twisting and groaning. Payton could feel them starting to fall. He was losing his balance but Durandal wasn't.

The boar strode forward menacingly, eyes focused. With one swing he broke right through one of the manacles holding up Hagden. With another, the Greensmith fell to the ground. He then grabbed Hagden by the chin, lifting the man so that they were at eye-level with one another.

"We are taking all that is good in Gobhood and making it better," snarled Durandal. "We aren't going around recklessly killing everyone. We're doing what we can to educate people, show them that the Listener's way isn't the only way! If you had just seen what Avergreen had become..."

Durandal shook his head, his eyes never leaving Hagden.

"Goodbye, Hagden Hoblood. General Callister sends his regards."

The Greensmith's eyes widened in realisation.

"Wait -!"

Durandal shoved his longsword right into Hagden's neck, the blade shooting up through the man's thick Adam's Apple and bursting out from behind his skull. Hagden had all of a few minutes while his blood burst from between his lips, unable to speak while simultaneously drowning in his own blood and dying from lack of oxygen to his brain.

The boar pulled the sword from the Speaker and immediately leapt back.

Payton grabbed Durandal and immediately triggered SetLoc.

They were immediately surrounded by the peace and serenity of the space just outside of Avergreen. Durandal was surprised by this and turned to Payton.

"General Callister?" asked the Dark Lord.

The boar's eyes softened and his nodded slowly. "The man who took me, who loved me and taught me. The man who was part of Inferiorix's Army and, at the time, made regular tours across the land. Back then, all the army was used for was to really just remind everyone of Inferiorix's presence and existence. But General Callister did more than that. He righted wrongs. He taught me how to be noble and strong. Instilled the sense of justice in me that I bear now..."

Durandal's hands closed into fists around his blooded blade. "I loved him... and when he died, I hoped to carry on his legacy. But then..."

"The Army just threw you to the wolves and cast you out because you were a Grigori."

The boar nodded gravely. "I bore them no grudges. It was what they were raised to believe and honestly, I had accepted my execution until I met you." He gave Payton a soft smile, one that quickly faded. "But then, I mentioned Callister's name to Hagden and that look in his eyes..."

Payton tilted his head in confusion. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"I never told you how Callister died, did I?" Durandal said with a faint smile.

"You said he was murdered?"

"Assassinated. I began wondering about it when Inferiorix said that he was basically just a figurehead. Callister was probably the last true general of the Army. Someone that constantly reminded everyone of the Godmage. It would make sense why the Listeners would want him dead if, say..."

A plot began unraveling in Payton's mind and his head began spinning.

No way...

"They wanted to push Inferiorix further into the background..." the Dark Lord whispered. "So much so that all the power was left to the Listeners... Inferiorix is still a liability and, in theory, all the Listeners are still under his command. Nothing they do will kill him because nothing under Inferiorix's rule will do him harm. The best they can do is pacify him to the point that he has no power whatsoever..."

"The Army was his last shred of power and Callister was loyal to the Godmage alone," agreed Durandal. "It was only a hunch but when Inferiorix introduced himself to us, I thought back to Callister... to how he was assassinated and the blame placed on me. What if...?"

"There was an overarching plot to kill Callister," Payton finished. "You don't think...?"

The boar Grigori nodded grimly. "Hagden was part of the plot. Perhaps even others."