Pantheon Online

293  Vurfin the Juggernaut

Zanth stared at the back of the departing dwarf king with fury. 'How can an NPC be this powerful? My miracle should've saved my hero!' He cursed as he turned his attention to the unmoving army. 'Damn it!'

He had used his version of the Avatar spell he had created that cloaked his existence, and his divine power from everyone. Even the most devout among his followers. Only a god on the same Tier as him could see through it. However, that worked against him right now, as he couldn't drive the army forward.

'Damn it! I'll have to use a stronger miracle!' Zanth activated the spell, but this time he targeted half the bridge ahead that held Bargrux's troops. His DP drained to fuel the spell, and he felt it activate. But nothing happened. Several seconds had to pass before the bridge rumbled.

"What the hell?" Zanth screamed as half the left half of the bridge behind him collapsed into the chasm, taking a huge chunk of his dwarven army with it!

"Whew! That was close." A voice said as Zanth felt a hand on his shoulder!

His eyes went wide as he turned to look at the player smiling brightly at the deaths of his people. 'Where did he come from?' Zanth shivered as he felt uneasy in the presence of this player.

"Who are you?" Zanth asked with a shakey voice.

"Someone fortunate enough to not have been noticed, I guess?"

Zanth frowned in confusion before he yelped in surprise! A massive amount of force struck his back and flung him over the side of the bridge! He twisted in the air in time to see Bargrux grinning, his hammer in hand. 'What just happened?'

"Ah, we won't be seeing him for a while. It'll take time to get from the depths back up here." Bargrux grunted happily. "I did get him, right?"

"Yes," Midas chuckled as he cocked an eyebrow at the dwarf. "Though, I didn't expect you to intervene."

Midas stared at the hammer as he tried to figure out if it were the weapon of his demigod status that allowed Bargrux to attack a god. 'I'll need to allocate more funds into the research of weaponry and anything that looks promising for weaponising NPCs against players.'

He made a mental note to report this incident to Exile and Mikari. 'Maybe they can make sense of it.' He sighed as he glanced around. It was clear the enemy army wouldn't advance on this part of the chasm for some time. Bargrux had shattered their motivation before they could do anything.

"Ah, this'll be boring for a while," Bargrux complained as he watched the battle raging around them. "And it's too late for me to join one of the other defences. I don't suppose?" Midas remained expressionless as Bargrux glanced at him. "I'll ask Claymore if he can help you out with a bridge. However, I'd be happier if you stayed here. I wouldn't be surprised if more heroes and gods came this way."

Bargrux hesitated for a moment before bursting out in laughter. "You're right! I should stay here if I want to be entertained. Besides, it wouldn't be fair for me to break up the fights for the others. It's been too long since they got to shake the rust off."

"What about your dwarves that helped with the Sommerdan invasion?"

"Ah, that doesn't count. It was barely a skirmish. Especially for those of us who missed the fight with the Sommerdan main force." Bargrux sighed as though he truly regretted missing that.

Midas shook his head slowly as he studied the dwarf king. 'I can't tell if this is a quirk of their race, or the king is unhinged.' He groaned as he cast a miracle that caused several dwarves on a nearby bridge to topple over, causing a domino effect. The screams of those pushed over the edge haunted the chasm for several seconds.

"Target the enemies on that bridge!" Clay demanded as he walked among the siege weapons.

The crew glanced at him awkwardly as they stroked their beards. An older dwarf sighed as he spoke up.

"I don't know who you think you are, but there are fewer enemies there. We're better off maintaining our current targets."

Clay glowered at the dwarf as he rounded on him. The old dwarf couldn't explain it, but he felt indescribably threatened when this strange dwarf focused on him. Suddenly, Clay produced a metal badge bearing Bargrux's seal.

"Forgive me!" The old dwarf stammered as he lowered his head. A drop of sweat appeared on his nose, having run down his face. "But, even if you bear the King's authority, I spoke the truth."

"Enemy heroes are approaching those barricades," Clay growled as the old dwarf paled. "And the mountain tells me something far worse is headed in that direction."

The old dwarf gulped as he vigorously bellowed orders for the siege weapons to change their targets. Clay watched the entire process as a deep frown settled on his face. In reality, it had been his divine beast that warned him. However, her description had been vague. The siege weapons twanged as metallic bolts fired down on the points Clay had pointed to. He watched as several heroes intercepted them, preventing his plan from coming to fruition.

Clay cursed as his eyes narrowed. 'That's too many heroes for pathways they should have little interest in! What are they up to?'  It was true there were fewer troops on those paths, but that was because they didn't lead to the tunnels that led to Bargrux's kingdom.

Clay's thoughts raced to understand the enemy's plan. They had placed troops there to use them as reserve forces that would attack when he created new pathways. For the most part, they would support the various battles with the crossbows they had been armed with.

'It doesn't make sense unless they want to place ranged troops there. But that doesn't look like their intention.' Clay growled in frustration as he stared at the heroes who continued to protect the normal troops from the siege projectiles.

Suddenly, the entire mountain seemed to quake beneath their feet! Clay widened his stance to keep his balance as the enemy army let out a tremendous roar. A howl from Skovi drew Clay's attention deeper into the chasm. There, charging up the pathways that led to the enemy heroes were creatures that explained everything.

"By my beard!" The old dwarf next to him exclaimed. "Mountain Giants!"

Clay grunted as he stared at their rocky skin and thirty feet of height. 'If those things reach the barricades we're done for!'

"Target those giants!" Clay roared in frustration at the crews who had paused their assault to check they weren't imagining things. "What are you waiting for? Does my beard need to turn grey before you get on with it?"

The dwarves suddenly remembered where they were and furiously worked the siege weapons. Clay's gaze swept the giants as he waited for the first bolts to be fired. In that brief moment, he realised they were reshaping the bridges as they ran to be wide enough to hold them.

Twang!

The first bolt was loosed, but Clay's shoulders slumped as it bounced harmlessly off the leading giant. 'Damn it! This is too much! Maybe if Bargrux was over there he could deal with them.'

[Master, shall I assist?]

Clay's frown deepened as his divine beast established a connection with him. He clenched his jaw as he studied the situation. 'It's the only play we have. Destroy them, Vurfin!' n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Suddenly, a gaping hole appeared in the mountain as a new bridge was formed to link with the one the giants travelled on. A large boar with six barbed tusks charged from the new tunnel, which sealed over behind her.

Skalla snarled from a distance away as she watched the giant boar collide with the mountain giant. The latter had reached out and grabbed her foremost tusks to absorb the impact of her charge. 'Damn that boar! Charging in without giving it any thought! She's a damn brute!'

19:53

Skalla made a mental note to scold Vurfin when the battle was over. The ability the boar had used to grow in size spent Clay's divine energy to maintain. Skalla didn't want to imagine the burden Vurfin had placed on her god to grow to that size!

'At last!' Vurfin declared with glee as she raced towards the giants. Her hooves pounded against the stone as her body rapidly grew in size! By the time she reached the first giant, she had grown to twenty feet in size!

Skalla snarled from a distance away as she watched the giant boar collide with the mountain giant. The latter had reached out and grabbed her foremost tusks to absorb the impact of her charge. 'Damn that boar! Charging in without giving it any thought! She's a damn brute!'

Skalla made a mental note to scold Vurfin when the battle was over. The ability the boar had used to grow in size spent Clay's divine energy to maintain. Skalla didn't want to imagine the burden Vurfin had placed on her god to grow to that size!

Vurfin shook her head violently in an attempt to lift the giant from his feet if he refused to let go. Yet the giant remained firm. 'Hmph! So you think I'll be that easy?' Vurfin's body and tusks were suddenly covered in thick dwarven armour, greatly increasing her weight in the process.

That was when the second giant arrived and threw a large stony fist at her head! Vurfin grunted as she tilted her head to meet the blow head-on!

The giant roared as its fist cracked when the blow landed! Vurfin chuckled as she stamped her hooves, causing the morphed stone beneath the second giant to open up and drop it into the chasm below!

The first giant roared as he attempted to drag her toward the hole she had created. However, she was too heavy for him to do it alone. 'Let's play!' Vurfin snorted as the giant stared at her with a shocked expression.

Vurfin had suddenly shrunk to her original size and took off along a wave of earth she created as she ran to build up momentum. She took a sharp turn as she targeted the giant again. 'Juggernaut!'

Vurfin suddenly charged with the speed and force of a meteor! The giant panicked as she disappeared from his view! Suddenly, he didn't feel so good. A quick look down at his chest revealed a large hole. One that was so large, his torso could no longer support the rest of his upper body!

Vurfin grunted as she landed on another of her earthen waves and shrunk down again. At the last moment, she had enlarged herself to create a powerful impact. 'That's two down!'

Yeah, so as I wrote more chapters for The Limitless Beyonder I realised while I enjoyed the premise behind it, I wasn't happy with the plot. So I've scrapped it. I decided I wanted something darker. Something with a bit of mystery with twists and turns nobody will see coming. So I've published the first chapter of a story I've been sitting on for a while. Check out Tainted Crown for an Urban Evolution System story where everyone gets a System!

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