Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Chapter 44

"Can’t have you warning everyone just yet," Vegeta said pleasantly. "Where’s the fun in that?"

But the damage was done. Other goblins had seen the second goblin fell. Shouts of alarm rang out across the settlement.

"Intruder! Intruder at the eastern gate!"

"Someone get Chieftain Urgak!"

"Where’s Lyra?!"

Warriors rushed toward the commotion, weapons drawn. The first group to reach Vegeta consisted of five goblin fighters, all regular goblins who’d been training under Grimnir’s instruction.

They charged bravely, spears raised, shouting battle cries meant to intimidate.

Vegeta sighed. "Brave but stupid. That’s goblins for you."

His shadow exploded outward in all directions.

Tendrils of darkness shot through the air like vipers, faster than the eye could follow. They wrapped around the charging goblins, lifting them off the ground. The goblins struggled, tried to cut through the shadow constructs with their weapons, but the blades passed through darkness without effect.

"Lesson one," Vegeta said, his voice taking on a lecturing tone. "Physical attacks don’t work on shadows. They’re not solid matter. They’re absence of light given form."

He clenched his fist.

The shadow tendrils tightened, crushing the goblins in their grip. Bones cracked. Blood sprayed. Within seconds, five bodies dropped to the ground, lifeless.

"Lesson two," Vegeta continued, stepping over the corpses without a second glance. "Don’t fight enemies you can’t understand. You never stood a chance."

More warriors arrived. This time, a mix of Hobgoblins and orc warriors. Ten fighters total, led by Torn, one of the Hobgoblins Satou had named.

"Formation!" Torn shouted. "Surround him! Don’t let him focus on any single target!"

The warriors spread out, encircling Vegeta. It was a sound tactic, one that Grimnir had drilled into them repeatedly. Deny the enemy the ability to engage targets one at a time.

Vegeta looked around at the circle of warriors and smiled. "Oh, you’ve had some training. How cute."

"Attack!" Torn commanded.

All ten warriors charged simultaneously from different angles. Spears thrust forward, axes swung, swords slashed. A coordinated assault meant to overwhelm through sheer numbers and timing.

Vegeta didn’t move.

His shadow did.

The darkness beneath his feet erupted upward like a geyser, forming a dome of solid shadow around him. Every weapon struck the dome and bounced off harmlessly, the shadow absorbing the impacts without even rippling.

"Lesson three," Vegeta’s voice echoed from within the dome. "Numbers don’t matter when you can’t touch your target."

The dome exploded outward.

Shadow spikes burst from every point on the sphere’s surface, expanding in all directions like a deadly sphere of spears. The warriors barely had time to realize what was happening before the spikes impaled them.

Torn managed to raise his shield, the spike glancing off the metal surface, but the force of the blow sent him flying backward. He crashed into a building wall hard enough to crack the earth-formed stone.

The other nine weren’t as lucky. Shadow spikes pierced through armor, through flesh, through bone. Most died instantly. Two survived long enough to scream before the shadows withdrew, leaving them to bleed out on the ground.

Torn struggled to his feet, his shield arm broken, blood streaming from a dozen cuts. But he didn’t run. Couldn’t run. This was his home. These were his people.

"You want more?" Vegeta asked, genuinely curious. "You can barely stand. You saw what I just did to ten of your comrades. And you still want to fight?"

"I won’t let you destroy what we’ve built," Torn gasped, raising his weapon with his good arm.

Vegeta tilted his head, studying the wounded Hobgoblin. "Loyalty. Courage. Determination. You’d have made a decent soldier in another life." He shrugged. "But you’re a monster. And monsters die."

A shadow blade materialized in Vegeta’s hand. He moved forward with supernatural speed, and Torn’s head separated from his body before he could react.

By now, the entire settlement was mobilized. Urgak emerged from the training grounds, his massive form radiating fury. Behind him came twenty orc warriors and fifteen Hobgoblins, every fighter the settlement had left.

Lyra ran from the construction site, her bow already in hand, a quiver of arrows on her back.

They all stopped when they saw the carnage. Bodies everywhere. Blood staining the earth. Buildings damaged. And in the center of it all, a young man standing calmly, shadows swirling around him like tamed beasts.

"You," Urgak’s voice rumbled with barely contained rage. "You did this."

"I did," Vegeta confirmed cheerfully. "And I’m not done yet. You must be the famous orc chieftain who evolved into a High Orc. Urgak, right? I’ve heard about you. Apparently, you’re supposed to be impressive."

Urgak’s single hand clenched around his war axe. "Warriors! Formation Beta! Mages, support from the rear! Archers, find high ground!"

The fighters moved immediately, years of training taking over despite their fear. The orcs formed the front line, their superior strength and armor making them the best choice for direct engagement. The Hobgoblins filled gaps and provided mobile support. Archers scrambled to rooftops.

It was the most organized defense the settlement could muster.

Vegeta watched with genuine interest. "Oh, you actually know tactics. This might be fun after all."

"Fire!" Lyra shouted from her position.

Twenty arrows filled the air, all aimed at Vegeta from different angles. The archers had trained for this, practiced coordinating their shots to eliminate escape routes.

Vegeta’s shadow rose up like a wall, catching every arrow. The projectiles stuck in the shadow like it was solid wood, then slowly sank into the darkness and disappeared.

"Arrows won’t work," Vegeta said. "What else you got?"

"Charge!" Urgak roared.

The orc warriors rushed forward, their heavy footfalls shaking the ground. They moved in a wedge formation, Urgak at the tip, designed to punch through enemy lines with overwhelming force.

Vegeta’s eyes lit up with excitement. "Now we’re talking!"

He met the charge head-on.

His shadow split into dozens of tendrils that shot forward like spears. The orcs raised their shields, the shadow constructs slamming into metal with tremendous force. Several shields cracked under the impact.