Hello people, and welcome back to Goblin Slayer: The Team Year 2...well...I hope this was worth the wait folks, I really do.

Review: I take it you agree with Cambion's ideology Engineer?

Technically, Fighter isn't wrong; being lucky is one thing, but doing what you're supposed to do because you know better is another.

I said it before, I'll say it again:the only reason that disgrace of a pilot episode happened was to show how messed up the goblins are, and in a pretty hamfisted way to boot. There's no excuse for those people not having even half the level of smarts Rangers possessed. Yes, he knew what was what from the smart, but that's only because he's a mentally-sound human being, simple as that. I do admit this story itself is supposed to be a tribute to those three, especially Fighter herself...but there really is no excuse for it to be necessary.

On that note: I don't get why Fighter's fate gets literally all the attention and the other two get jack squat. Bottom line: that pilot episode deserves every ounce of hatred it got. I understand the point was to make you hate the goblins, and feel bad for them...but like most sane people, I don't want that in a series; who intentionally spends time on something that makes them feel bad? There's too much b.s. in this world as it is. Well, I for one say "forget it"; I will not add to that proverbial cesspool; this is a story that's supposed to make the reader want to spend time on it, and I sincerely hope I everyone reading this far has enjoyed themselves. And for those of you who can look past that mess of a pilot episode...well, I applaud your ability to look past it, but also question how it works.

As for this story? Well, has a husband who treats her as well as he can, in as many ways as he can, an infant daughter who's likely going to grow up to be as lovely and fierce as her mother, is close enough to not one, but multiple women to the point where they're practically sisters, is likely going to be an aunt when Warrior and Wizard have their own kid(s) and even has a manor to live in while filthy, stinking rich. So even if I don't have a sequel to this, which I legitimately doubt this time...I've paid her and the rest of the team for that matter, more than enough tribute.

O.k. now, sorry but I had to get that off my chest. Now that the rant's over, and without further ado, let's get on with the rest of the siege...and the boss fight.


Some rhea skirmishers moved the entire battlefield while using an invisibility spell, and it was the same thing everywhere: goblins and the united army exchanging magic attacks, arrows, bolts, bullets, and even bombs. Heavy infantry clashing with hobs, and even agile light infantry dancing circles around champions. Some assaults on either side succeeded, and others failed, but the areas where the World Spawns and undead behemoths were needed no looking into to see what havoc was being wreaked there...not that the little men were stupid enough to go there. Eventually, they got to another area no one checked out yet, and saw goblins running and screaming in terror as some shoot magic and various projectiles behind them.

"What's their deal?" A female rhea asked.

"Looks like our boys are kicking some serious ass." A male rhea said.

"I don't think so. No advance parties came this far. Must be something else going on." Another female rhea said, and they all mustered up the gall to press on, and they couldn't see anymore goblins thanks to the rocks blocking their view, but they all heard the gunfire, enraged yells, and dying screams, as well as the sound of flesh being sliced through. Eventually, they got to an outpost on the edge of the battlefield, and saw dozens of goblins retreating into it while others shot at the attackers...who were also goblins.

"What the-? Why are they fighting each other?" the male rhea asked.

"Guys? There's something off about those goblins." A female rhea said.

"What do you mean?" The male rhea asked.

"Some of them were grievously wounded and didn't seem to care." The female rhea said.

"O.k...that's pretty creepy. We should get back to the others and let them know what's going on..." The second female rhea said.


"...then some goblins that were serious injured showed up and went after them." A female rhea said as Hero and GS' teams were finishing a light snack.

"That's the Elder Revenant's handiwork. He can raise the dead and have them fight for him." Sword Saint said.

"Is he the one who brought us those gigantic undead things?" The male rhea asked.

"Yes he is." Hero said.

"Then why do we bother? Let him sort this mess out!" The male rhea said.

"It's not that simple. He might be insanely powerful, but his magic itself has limits, and even though his body doesn't...he'll get captured or trapped eventually." Sage said.

"Right, we saw it happened earlier with our own eyes. Granted it took alot of effort, but...this is the goblins' homeland; they'll think of something." Sword Saint said.

"Right. Goblins aren't bright, but they're not fools either." GS said.

"You haven't said that in a while Orcbolg." H.E. Druid said.

"I know." GS said.

"It's kind of funny having goblins on our side for a change, especially undead ones." D.R. said.

"Indeed. It is not unlike the siege of your farm home Sir Goblin Slayer." Lizard Priest said.

"Good point..." Cow Girl said somberly.

"I do apologize for bringing up any bad memories." Lizard Priest said.

"It's alright. We're here to make sure it wasn't for nothing." Cow Girl said.

"Is everyone read to get back out there?" Priestess asked and they all stood up.

"Yes we are Your Grace." Hero said with a smirk.


Hero's team went out to the frontlines, tearing through any goblins champions, or paladins in their way, and when they reached the front, they spotted Elder Revenant standing on a small hill with a legion of undead goblins tearing into another legion...with champions on each side sweeping aside the living and undead goblins alike. Eventually, only the living champions were left standing and they swept aside the undead goblins. They then retreated when the battle was over. Elder Revenant then hit one of them with a beam that made it decay to the bone, horrifying the others, making several vomit from the stench, and above all, letting them know the fight was far from over.

The champions then grabbed huge chunks of rock and threw them at their undead opponent, and each rock was sliced in half by his two-handed scythe the moment it got close enough; even the small bits of rubble hitting his eyeballs didn't bother him. The champions then charged at Elder Revenant, only for him to charge at them with twice the speed, and before any of them knew it, their legs were sliced apart, their guts were ripped out, their backs and throats were sliced open, and their heads were cut off.

Next thing he knew, a champion hurled a massive barrel at him, and he didn't even bother moving before he sliced into the barrel...which as it turned out was filled with tar. He then spotted a small group of goblins who were all laughing at him...and a shaman hurled a lightning bolt at the tar, setting it ablaze as the goblins all burst out laughing. The lack of any screaming must've been strange to them, because they stopped laughing and looked at each other in confusion. They then exclaimed as Elder Revenant walked out of the burning tar, and even though he was covered from head to toe in fire, which would normally make a person scream their lungs out in pure agony...he didn't even care; his black and blood-red flesh returning to normal only added to the goblins' terror. Even his hair and clothing reconstituted.

Terror which was completely justified since their undead foes unleashed a plume of ash and bones fragments out of his body that flew right at the goblins, muffling their dying screams as they were either torn to shreds, or their lungs were filled with the ash. Some goblins were filled with so much ash they literally popped. The shamans who survived tried pelting him with lightning, but either the ash was in the way, the shamans were too frantic to aim correctly, or their lightning didn't hurt them anymore than the burning tar did. Elder Revenant then recalled the ash, cut open a portal and jumped through it, leaving the shamans frantically looking around. They then heard a slicing sound, and a few pebbles hit the ground before they looked up and saw the rock formation above them was coming down on top of them, and it crushed them flat as soon as they let out their final scream.

"Spineless creatures..." Elder Revenant groaned before absorbing all of the souls into his hand as Hero's team approached.

"Are you alright?" Hero asked.

"He can't feel pain remember?" Sage said.

"It's still polite to ask." Hero said.

"A better question is how much power do you have left?" Sword Saint asked.

"Not enough, I will need to summon the Death God...and soon." Elder Revenant said thoughtfully.


Elsewhere, some human footmen were forming a wall of shields and spears as goblins and especially hobs poured down on them. At first, they were doing pretty well, with the hobs being pierced until they were dead, and some elves throwing their spears at the hobs to even the odds even more, and cutting down the goblins that get too close. A platoon of dwarf engineers arrived to deal with more hobs and a champion with the cannon they brought, and the first shot crippled the champion, and stunned the hobs, which gave the humans a chance to advance and finish off the hobs by cutting their legs, and spearing their heads, necks, or chests. The champion got up just in time to see it's friends get slaughtered, and then stood up to smash a squad of troops with it's club...only for the dwarves to avenge their fellows troops with a second cannonball to it's face.

Some elf light cavalry rode across the battlefield to jam their lances into the goblins that weren't strong enough to take them on, and some hobs ambushed them, and the elves had just enough time to form up and charge them...with both sides taking losses, with the elves on the losing end. Most of them had their horses crippled, killed, or finished off, and the ones on foot ditched their lances for one or two swords and danced around the hobs until they could hit a weak spot, or make one themselves. A platoon of human archers then arrived to distract the hobs, and the elves finished the job by climbing up the hobs and cutting the backs of their necks, or cutting their legs and chopping at the hob's heads until they died.

A platoon of dwarf gunmen were holding off a group of goblins archers and shamans, and the rocks they took cover behind did it's job, but the dwarves still lost a man every now and then, mostly due to them being staggered or injured, with a goblin occasionally getting lucky and hitting a neck. One goblin did just that, and celebrated...before getting riddled with bullets. A paladin then arrived, and the dwarves' bullets bounced off of it's armor, and especially it's shield, forcing them to retreat, only for the archers to seize the moment and loose arrows aplenty at them, with most being crippled, and their fellow dwarves stayed to go back and get them, but only a few could be saved with the rest of the goblins closing in and finishing off the unlucky ones as they were butchered alive.

They then joined the human archers, and what was left of the elf cavalry as they were surrounded by goblins on all sides. The united forces stood their ground with their wounded in the middle, and looked at each other occasionally, seeing the fear and indecision in their faces before resolving to take as many goblins with them as they could. The moment the goblins were done laughing at their doomed prey and began their charge...Holy Light blinded them, Holy Smite vaporized half a wave of them, the troops' injuries were healed, and they got an empowerment, all in one fluid motion.

Next thing the troops knew, Priestess herself was dancing through the goblins masses, craving through their numbers like a living scythe as her still-shining staff continued to blind them. Her entrance, on top of the miracles she used inspired the troops as they charged into the remaining goblins hordes who were still taking a mauling from the Sword Maiden's successor. Even the hobs were no match for Priestess as her holy blade followed it's wielder's wish to sever goblin heads from their torsos, extract their entrails, or remove limbs.

The troops she saved covered every inch of ground she herself didn't as the goblins regained their vision, only to scream in fear as bullets, arrows, axes, maces, blades, and other weapons silenced them. The few goblins and hobs that got a chance to fight back were swarmed by the lighter troops and picked apart, while the smaller goblins were simply smashed aside. Once the massacre was over, the troops looked around, at each other, then let out a scream of victory before Priestess composed herself, and then smiled as the troops she saved knelt before her like she was their goddess.


Back at camp, Summoner and his sister were busy summoning elementals to join the war effort, and it was mostly water elementals to help heal injured troops, and stone elementals to help rebuild and supply the lost siege engines, and help make new ones. Inspector of course stayed with them to keep them empowered as Abbot kept a lookout for any threats...and it's a good thing he did. Inspector screamed in panic as a group of goblins de-cloaked and pounced at her, only for Abbot to dash over to her and bash the goblins away with his staff. Inspector stood there frozen in fear as she tried to catch her breath, and the summoner siblings looked at the goblins Abbot struck...but none of them moved, let alone stood up.

"You should probably leave and compose yourself my child. I will take over for now." Abbot said and Inspector finally composed herself.

"But... what about...?" She trailed off.

"You did everything you can, now go consult with the Supreme; you could use more miracles, and so could they." Abbot said.

"O.k..." Inspector whispered before leaving.

"Inspector..." Summoner said softly as he watched his shaken wife walk away.

"She'll be fine; she just needs some time alone, and if she does need you, you'll be there like always. Right?" Female Summoner asked and Summoner nodded. They then got back to work summoning elementals to help the war effort.


The same rheas from earlier continued to monitor the battlefield and bring word to the officers to coordinate assaults on different positions accordingly. On one scouting trip however, the rheas were ambushed by goblins and every time they tried to run, more goblins appeared and their shorts swords wouldn't do any good against their armor, but it was better than nothing.

"Hey guess what?" Cow Girl said as she tapped a goblin on the shoulder, and it turned around..before taking a shotgun blast to the face. Another goblin tried to pounce at her, only for her to put her gun in the way and push it into the other one, and then cocked her shotgun and shot both dead in one blast.

"Thanks for that..." The male rhea said..while looking her over.

"You're quite welcome, now I suggest you get your butts out of here before things get nastier." Cow Girl said.

"But...what about you?" A female rhea asked.

"I can handle this..." Cow Girl said proudly, and the rheas looked at each other before running off. GS then walked out of a ravine covered in goblins blood. "You're late."

"Sorry." GS said.

"I'm just kidding." Cow Girl said softly.

"Sorry." GS said.

"Let's just go kill more goblins..." Cow Girl deadpanned.


R.W. and A.C. were up ahead holding off a wave of goblins with R.W. doing most of the fighting with his wife empowering him, and using Holy Smite on occasion. Eventually, a goblin paladin showed up, and the goblins made way for it. R.W. then shared a look with A.C. who braced for action with him. The paladin then charged at them, and they returned the favor, and split off at the last moment to hit it from both sides, but nothing happens; A.C.'s mace, and even R.W.'s empowerment doesn't phase it's armor. The paladin then clashed with both of the two at the same times, and the fight was a complete stalemate; neither the paladin nor the couple it was fighting gained any ground despite each of them trying multiple tricks. Logically, R.W. kept in front most of the time thanks to Empower making him more durable, with A.C. taking moments to swing her mace at their foe, but it's shield did it's job perfectly.

Eventually, a few goblins snuck up behind them and yanked. A.C' off her feet, and her scream distracted R.W. long enough for the paladin to bash him across the face with it's shield. He then saw A.C. scream and thrash around as the goblins tried to tear her clothes off...and he forgot about the paladin entirely and charged at the goblins slicing through every one he could reach in a frenzy. Eventually, the goblins laid dead, but he empowerment wore off, and A.C. was too disturbed by the fact the goblins nearly raped her to defend herself anymore as the paladin closed in for the kill. R.W. then looked at the paladin, and tried to get up...but he was too tired. A.C. then looked hands with him, and then the paladin turned it's head to see GS and Cow Girl approach.

"About time you two decided to show up!" A.C. snapped as the paladin tried to finish her off, only for the paladin to get it's sword-arm shot by Cow Girl.

"Hey! We're your opponents now. You already beat them." She said, and the paladin charged at them...then Cow Girl pulled her space sword and just like that, the paladin was hacked in two.

"That makes 843..." GS said before approaching the couple still on the ground and gave them a life potion. "Drink this. You both could use it."

"Thanks..." R.W. whispered before downing some, and alternating with A.C. until they could stood up properly, giving each other a hand as needed, with Cow Girl smiling at their subtle display of love.

"I suggest you get off the frontlines for now." GS said.

"You don't have to tell us twice. I've had enough excitement for one time." A.C. said.

"This siege isn't over, but...point taken." R.W. said as they walked off.

"Let's join up with the others." GS said.

"Right." Cow Girl said firmly.


Back at camp, the siege force finally got some trebuchets up and running, hurling massive rocks provided by the summoned stone elementals, and even masses of flammable items like tar-covered hay, set ablaze by a fire elemental. Some officers even looked out through scopes to see where the shots landed, and coordinated the siege forces accordingly, and the goblins paid quite a bit for it. Reinforcements coming from beyond the frontlines were either smashed to a paste because of the artillery, or were too scared to continue and fled back to where they came from.

Eventually, Inspector went into a hospital...and her heart sank like a rock. Soldiers with injuries of all kinds laid out in droves all across the inside of the building, from minor but still excruciating burns, to major gashes in their torsos, to missing limbs, and even eyes, noses, and ears. She then recalled that she had the miracle of Heal, and left to get ahold of herself. She then went back inside and used Heal on the most serious cases she saw that weren't being taken care of. Suddenly...it dawned on her: some troops weren't being cared for because they were going to die anyway, and others that did need help and could survive weren't just the top priority, they were the only priority.

That realization combined with the nightmare she was constantly witnessing was too much as she left the hospital, power walked back to her tent and buried her face into her hands. She wept for what could've easily been ten minutes before finally getting it out of her system, and took out a flask of holy water. She then sighed before downing some, and went back into the hospital, and thanks to the holy water she drank...several troops who were either dying, or crippled, were able to stand on their own two feet again. Granted it took her a few tries for some of them, but it still worked. When she was done, she and the rest of the doctors and priests were switched out with another group, as some healed troops went out to get some well-earned rest. Eventually, Inspector sat down on a bench, and then Summoner showed up, much to her relief.

"There you are." Summoner said, and then Inspector got up and approached him before throwing her arms around his waist, much to his surprise. "What's wrong sweetheart?"

"Just hold me..." Inspector whispered, and Summoner held her as close as he could. He then felt the priestess in his arms shake with grief, and shift against him desperate for the affection he gladly gave to her. Over the course of the next minute, Summoner felt the tension and grief leave Inspector's mind and body as she inhaled one deep, calming breath after another., especially when Summoner ran his hand through her hair over and over. She then shifted against her husband and tightened her hold on him. Eventually, she pulled away and felt her husband dry her moistened cheeks, which earned him a small smile from her as she returned to her normal self..

"May I ask what you're doing in a hospital?" Summoner asked and Inspector sighed.

"It's just...I wanted to help, if not you, then someone. So I came here and..." She trailed off.

"You helped heal the troops and got more than what you paid for." Summoner said seriously.

"I've been in hospitals before; I knew what I would see but...not on this scale." Inspector said.

"And you still saved multiple lives. You should be proud." Summoner said.

"I am...but at first, it was too much for me; I don't recall ever crying that much before." Inspector said and Summoner tightened his hold on her.

"For what's it worth...I probably would've had the same luck, if not worse luck." He said.

"I can imagine. That's why I love you so much." Inspector said before pulling away, and Summoner then gave her a series of kisses so gentle they tugged her heartstrings. She then pressed herself into him, as he tightened his hold on her lower back to deepen their kiss. Inspector then broke the last kiss and snuggled into his shoulder again.

"Are you alright now?" Summoner asked.

"I think so." Inspector whispered.

"Good..." Summoner said.

"Wait, why are you in here instead of out there summoning?" Inspector asked.

"We ran out of summon stones, and my sister is much better than me at making them, so while she does that, I'll stay with you until you're back in top form." Summoner said.

"Thanks." Inspector said softly before Summoner held her closer.

"I also wanted to get you to see if you'd like to see a waterfall I found a while ago." He said and Inspector huffed in amusement.

"You liar." She said.

"You still smiled." Summoner said.

"And I needed it...thank you." Inspector said softly.

"Of course." Summoner said before kissing her forehead. "You know, normally I'd take you into Limbo, but...now's obviously not the time."

"Right..." Inspector whispered.

"Would you like to go back to Water Town?" Summoner asked.

"No, I had a moment of weakness, but I can handle this. Besides...you still need your sexy priestess." Inspector said and smiled brightly as Summoner gently caressed her face.

"And I always will." He whispered before kissing her as sweetly as before.


Meanwhile, the whole team stood in their respective places staring at the monstrous behemoth Cambion turned into, as he stared at them one by one. Eventually, Wizard got a grip, and unleashed a charged-up Mana Bolt at Cambion, who casually backhanded the orb of energy aside, tearing up the forest even more than it already was. Fighter then charged him, and even though she got in over a dozen strikes in less than a second, Cambion wasn't fazed.

Warrior then unleashed a storm of bolts from his crossbow that all bounced off Cambion's armored skin. He then grabbed Fighter by the face and threw her at Warrior, knocking them both into the wall. Ranger meanwhile dug two chains into the ground, and slingshot himself past Cambion and had the chain tie Cambion up. The smoke coming off of Cambion's body revealed that the chain was silver, but it still made no difference as Cambion broke out of the chain not five seconds after, then glared and hissed at Ranger.

"Ah fuck..." Ranger groaned before Cambion grabbed him by the face, slammed him into the ground, and threw him through the woods, shattering several trees in the process, the last of which fall right on top of Ranger. Fighter meanwhile, got off of Warrior, who grew his hammer into it's two-handed form, and threw the hammer at Cambion like a javelin, with the head bashing into Cambion's armor hard enough to crack it and stagger him. Wizard then unleashed a barrage of Mana Bolts one by one that depleted her magicka pool, but staggered Cambion over and over until he finally went down.

Ranger then came back with his heavy armor morphed and watched the whole thing happen. He then sees Wizard down a magicka-restore potion, then retreat into the woods just far enough so Cambion doesn't have a chance to see her use a gateway scroll to teleport out of there...but Ranger knew her more than well enough to know she had a plan. Cambion then woke up, and Warrior himself started shaking as Cambion stood up.

"For crying out loud, how much can this guy take?" Warrior asked.

"Did you really think he'd go down after getting hit once?" Fighter asked.

"No but still." Warrior said, and Cambion's armor repaired itself.

"You there, man with the hammer. That power belonged to the Storm Mage didn't it?" Cambion asked.

"What if it did?" Warrior asked.

"Then I will take you down first..." Cambion said seriously, and Warrior's fearful stare soften into an amused grin. "I fail to see the joke..."

"Do you seriously think we'd show you everything we had all at once? Well, I've got news for you, you're not the only one who's been holding back this whole times; there are things you haven't seen yet. So you say you don't see the joke? You are the joke!" Warrior said and Cambion glared at him before Warrior unleashes a bolt of lightning from his hammer, that Cambion counters with Hell energy without trouble. Ranger then unloaded a storm of bullets into Cambion's back, but one of his new wings shields him, and the other wind shields him from Fighter's explosive arrows.

Warrior then stops shooting lightning as Cambion unleashes a bolt of Hell energy at Ranger who blocks the attack with a greatsword. Ranger then attached another greatsword to a chain that came out of his back, and used the chain to hit Cambion with it, which Cambion ducks under. Once he did, Fighter took advantage of his moment of weakness by grabbing him from behind, and piledriving him into the ground behind her, and then threw him into the air with her legs as Ranger's greatsword came back around to hit Cambion in the face hard enough to spin him in mid-air.

Warrior then charged in and smashed his hammer into Cambion's chest hard enough to send him flying into the opposite side of the pit they were fighting in hard enough to upturn the earth even more than it already was. Wizard then returned just in time to see Ranger re-absorb his weapon, and call down a meteor to crush the entire area Cambion was in.

"Did that do it?" Warrior asked...and then a tentacle with a spike on the end pierces him through the chest from behind, shocking the whole team, and Cambion appears through a Hell Rift on the floor behind Warrior.

"You cannot hit what isn't there, and even if you had...I'm offended you think that would have harmed me." Cambion said before roughly flicking Warrior's body away. "Now...which of you should I take down next?" Next thing they knew, Warrior's dropped hammer floated up and bashed Cambion in the face hard enough to crack his armor as it came back to Warrior who caught his hammer and slowly stood up. "How can you still move?"

"I told you there are things you haven't seen yet..." Warrior breathed out, as his chest healed, and his armored repaired itself.

"Interesting. I've never seen someone's armor repair itself that quickly, and you're much more resilient than the Storm Mage was." Cambion said and Warrior sighed.

"You are really not helping yourself by telling me that..." He groaned.

"Well,I wish you all luck with aveng-" Cambion shuts up when several spark traps spring and hurl bolts of lightning at him from all sides, which make him spasm and leave small but noticeable scorch marks on his armor.

"Spark traps. What's not to love?" Wizard said proudly before stomping her foot and having several earth spikes pop out of the ground...and break against Cambion's armor. "Figures..." Cambion then empowers himself as the spark traps lose their hold on him, and he unleashes a surge of Hell energy that restores his armor, and composition. He then glances at Wizard opens a Hell Rift, and jams his fist into it...which is followed by Wizard spitting up blood as the fist comes of another Hell Rift just in front of her abdomen.

"O.k. Now I'm pissed!" Warrior exclaimed before charging his whole body with lightning, and the next thing everyone knew, Warrior was right in front of Cambion bashing him across the face with his hammer, with just enough force to make him turn his head and crack one of his horns...which quickly grew back. Cambion then snarled and blocked every one of Warrior's hammer swings with just one hand. Warrior then backed up as Fighter unleashed an explosive arrow that turned into a dozen, but all that did was make Cambion look at her. Warrior then made no less than 20 clones, most of which used their crossbows to pepper Cambion with bolts, which were all blocked with a Protection barrier made of Hell energy.

Wizard then got up to see the chaos, and then saw Warrior's clones pull their hammers and bash into the barrier from every direction, taking turning doing so in the process. Cambion then got tired of the display of futility and unleashed a burst of power that knocked all the clones down, or launched them away. He then flew into the sky, and charged up with Hell energy, but the clones looked at each other, and then stood up, raised their hammers to the sky, and it instantly started clouding up, much to Cambion's surprise. Out of nowhere, he gets pelted with lightning bolts from all sides.

Wizard herself took the opportunity to enter Limbo, and summon a World Spawn...which she then took into the physical world and absorbed power from it before she, and her newly-summoned elemental giant unleashed a massive frost cloud with lightning mixed in, from underneath Cambion to overwhelm the half-demon. He then lets out an ear-splitting roar as he unleashs a burst of Hell Energy violent enough to flatten half of the several-mile-long forest underneath him.

Wizard protected the team with a Reflect spell she poured her heart and soul into, and even then it was barely enough to keep the Hell energy from knocking the wind out of the whole team; even Ranger's heavy armor did little to keep him from taking a major hit. Cambion then did the unthinkable...he came down with an energized armblade...and cut the World Spawn in half down the middle like it was made of paper.

"A World Spawn? I have not seen one of those in some time. I've been itching to destroy one however, so I thank you for the opportunity." Cambion said casually, and the team continued to stare at him in awe. "I do hate to put a dent in your confidence, but if these are the only tricks you have...than you don't have a chance of defeating me."

"How about this?" Wizard asked as she hurled her glaive at Cambion, who opened a Hell Rift, and Wizard noticed the Hell Rift opening next to her and Ranger opened a portal in the place the glaive was going to hit, and Cambion gets hit in the back, even though the glaive bounces off his armor. Once he's distracted however...Wizard unleashed a beam of ice from her hands that frozen Cambion solid...before he breaks out a few seconds later with a look of surprise on his face.

"How did you...?" Cambion trailed off.

"That World Spawn helped in more ways than one." Wizard said proudly.

"I see...so you know how to draw power from your summons. A useful skill indeed." Cambion said seriously, before Wizard uses Levitation to make her glaive attack Cambion from behind over and over, which does little more than distract him as he deflected each hit with casual swipes of his hand. Regardless, the distraction gave her plenty of time, to dash at him and surprisingly, throw a punch at his lower chest, which cracks his armor. The damage does little more than surprise Cambion, and the rest of the team to a lesser extent, but Cambion's surprise left him vulnerable to his back getting sliced several times...by her glaive's liquid silver-coated blade.

Cambion then swatted the glaive away, and blasted Wizard away, and Warrior caught her as they both slide across the ground. Cambion then released his anger by spawning no less than a 20 orbs of Hell energy that all unleash bolts of Hell energy at the team. Wizard however had just enough time to put up a Reflect spell. She then calls her glaive back to her, and makes a clone who tries to absorb the Hell energy into it...big mistake. The glaive then shatters like glass, and the clone gets to work repairing the staff as the Hell energy overwhelms the Reflect spell, and Warrior charges himself up with more lightning and dashes over to attack Cambion with his hammer, but all that does is make Cambion stop Warrior's hammer with his spare hand.

Fighter then joins the fray and Cambion unleashes the Hell energy orbs right at her, and thanks to her opened chakras, she could predict where the orbs would strike, and when she finally reaches him, Cambion dashes to the other side of the area, and Wizard finishes repairing her glaive as Cambion dashes towards her, and then gets her glaive jammed into his gut and slammed into the ground. Wizard then backs up as she drains more power out of the remains of the World Spawn, and Cambion looks around to see Warrior, Fighter, and now Wizard preparing to fight him all at once as he unfolds in his wings and morphs his energized armblades.

Warrior then charged up his armor with lightning, and his sword with it's holy energy, and unleashed a flurry of energy waves at Cambion, who blocked all of them with only one arm, and Fighter engaged Cambion up close form behind, and danced around his attempts to slash, stab, or kick her as Warrior engaged him from every angle Fighter wasn't already covering. Cambion continued to hold off the two as they rushed around the pit trying to get the best angle, but thanks to Cambion's impossible speed and reflexes and Warrior and Fighter's teamwork, neither side got anywhere. Occasionally, Wizard placed a trap in their path, and her two teammates backed off to keep from getting shocked by the trap, especially when Wizard unleashed a Mana Bolt on one occasion.

Cambion then counterattacked by slicing through the Mana Bolt, and then morphed an armblade into his regular arm, and stretched it out to punch Wizard...only for her to side-step it and slice through his arm at the same time. Warrior then smirked with pride, before getting his head back in the fight, morphing his hammer, and attacked Cambion from behind, only for his hammer to get blocked by Cambion's unfolded wing, grabbed by the face, and slammed into Fighter. Wizard then unleashed another Mana Bolt at Cambion who dashed to the side, and Fighter and Warrior had just enough time to get out of the way, but were still caught in the edge of the blast radius.

Ranger then spent the next several minutes watching his teammates and their foe do similar things for the better part of several minutes. From Fighter throwing a barrage of punches, slashes, and kicks at Cambion, only for them to be blocked with one arm, to him dashing away from the whole group, and landing several slashes, Hell energy sparks, and regular punches, to him growing dozens of small tentacles out of his entire body and spinning fast enough to cause a small tornado that stops a barrage of arrows, bolts, and fireballs from his three foes, and their clones.

Ranger thought about what he could do to even the odds; three opponents attacking at the same time is already dangerous enough for them considering how many times Cambion was good at making his opponents hit each other, and using most of his miracles was out of the question since Immolation, Implosion, and especially Pestilence were not safe to use around allies. There was only one option left...

Meanwhile, Cambion swiped at Fighter's legs, and she jumped right over him, then he bashed her to the side with the flat of his blade, sliced a stone elemental in half as it burst out of the ground, flew around as a few ice elementals chased him and shot ice spikes at him, and Warrior cut him off with a hammer swing, only for Cambion to fly over him and avoid getting hit as an ice elemental takes the hit instead. Warrior was so ashamed that he forgot to cover himself as Cambion kicked him in the back with both feet hard to send him rolling across the ground.

Wizard then used a Paralyze spell to slow Cambion down, and even though he took a direct hit, he was still fast enough to keep pace with Fighter who charged at him while shooting arrows at him that were easily dodged or swatted away like flies. When she finally reached him, he landed and then ducked under a stab to his neck...and he grabbed her by the throat, flew up and kicked her back to the ground hard enough to shatter it. Fighter opened her eyes to see her half-demon foe standing with his feet on either side of her, and tried to move, but couldn't. Wizard then tried to shot another Mana Bolt...but she was out of spells. Warrior himself was still out cold, and Fighter's chakras couldn't open. Her fears turned into despair as Cambion morphed an armblade, and she saw him prepare to impale her before closing her eyes.

Next thing everyone knew, Ranger was shouting to the heavens, and letting off the unmistakable blood-red aura that resembled a forest fire that was powerful enough to cause an earthquake. Cambion instantly snapped his head to see Ranger's display of power, and watched the whole thing with his interest piqued immensely. When Ranger was done his eyes' sclera were blood red, his teeth were bard with fury, and his aura was more controlled.

"Cambion...this ends now!" Ranger growled.


On the frontlines of the siege in the Deadlands, a mixed group of light and heavy infantry were holding off a group of hobs, on an open battlefield. The whole fight was a stalemate to boot. The hobs had a hard time hitting their smaller opponents, and the heavy infantry charge in and knock the hobs down before the light infantry finish them off. Some hobs were quickly avenged by goblins returning the favor, shamans blasting the troops with lightning and even a goblin champion showing up and making the troops regroup further back...only for some to get blasted in the back.

Eventually, more goblins arrived, and the goblins mercilessly butchered some of the dying troops, and started laughing at the rest of the heavily-outnumbered troops who could only watch in horror. Once the goblins charged at them, they were greeted by a Mana Bolt, and a flock of bird familiars that added their own sparks to the mix as a whole group of goblins were vaporized, and others were stunned and eventually pecked to death. When the dust settled, the champion rushed into the fray, only for Heavy Warrior to ambush it from the side and tackle it to the ground as Female Knight engaged the shamans with her blessed shield taking one lightning bolt after another.

The troops then watched as Heavy Warrior stood there with his greatsword in front of him, ready to challenge the hulking goblin opposite him. Once the champion stood up, it rushed at H.W. and the two clashed their respective swords together over and over as the troops continued shouting taunts at the champion, and cheering for H.W. In the end, the champion tried to cut H.W. in half, only for it's swing to crave up the ground as H.W. moved back. He then charged at the champion, cut off one of it's legs, and then jammed his greatsword into the champion's heart as the troops cheered even louder.

H.W. then went to check on his wife who were spinning around, beheading goblins with her sword, and sending them flying with shield bashes. Several shamans and archers blasted and shot at her, but her shield held fast as her blessed sword continued craving through the goblins around her. Female Knight then unleashed a Holy Smite that vaporized the shamans as an armored hob charged at her. Just as H.W. was on the brink of charging himself, Female Knight charged at the hob and rammed into it with enough force to stop it cold, before flipping it right over her, and finishing it off by jamming her sword into it's face.

"That's one strong woman." Wizard's brother said as he approached H.W. from behind.

"Now you know why we were together so long." He said as he plunged his sword into the ground. "Nice save with the Mana Bolt by the way."

"Don't forget the birds." Rhea Fighter said.

"And the birds..." H.W. said.

"The troops are fine by the way, thanks to me." Rhea Fighter seriously.

"Of course they are." Female Knight said before she rejoined the group. A loud cracking sound echoing through the battlefield got their attention, and they saw the two summoned World Spawns trashing a goblin outpost by themselves.

"Damn, those two are really going at it." Wizard's brother said with a raised eyebrow.

"Nice to see your eyes are still working right." Female Knight said.

"Very funny." Wizard's brother deadpanned.

"Well, the goblins here are dealt with, let's go see what's up with the rest of the troops." H.W. said.

"Lead the way honey." Female Knight said casually as they left Rhea Fighter and Wizard's brother behind. He then looked into the distance at the citadel they have yet to reach and sighed.

"I hope my sister and company are alright." He said.

"They'll be fine, they have a Platinum Rank with them." Rhea Fighter said.

"We have a Platinum Rank with us, what's your point?" Wizard's brother asked.

"Nevermind. Speaking of whom, where is she?" Rhea Fighter asked.

"Who knows; probably pulling someone out of a furnace." Wizard's brother said.

"Right, they don't call her the Hero for nothing. Also...do you think we should have gone with Ranger's team?" Rhea Fighter asked.

"Hell no! He creamed us last time, and we don't have the...what's the word? Synergy between us that they have. We'd probably just slow them down." Wizard's brother said seriously.

"Still, we could even the odds at least a little bit, but then again...they need us here." Rhea Fighter said, and then Wizard's brother facepalmed.

"I'm such an idiot! The summoner siblings made them, so...why can't I?" He said before he reached into his bag to get some summons stones...but there weren't any. "Dammit, I'll need to make some more."

"I'll watch your back." Rhea Fighter said...before she turned to see a big surprise coming their way. "Two more World Spawns?! Ouch..."

"Hey, in a case like this, you can never have too many World Spawns." Wizard's brother said seriously...before they felt the ground shake and their eyes widened as they turned around. Some goblin champions showed up and hurled large spears at them, which Rhea Fighter countered by jumping and swatting them like flies. "I hope you got this; we're not getting help anytime soon.

He then got to work as Rhea Fighter charged up her sword and sliced through several more thrown spears without even hitting them. The champions then grabbed some boulders and threw them instead, which made Rhea Fighter put her sword away, open her chakras, and punch them all to pieces without touching them physically...again. The champions then gave up on throwing things and charged, but before anyone could throw a strike, Wizard's brother finished summoning a World Spawn, and the champions stared at the towering elemental as it looked down at them like they were ants. The champions then turned around and ran before the World Spawn shot giant ice spikes out of it's fingers tips and impaled each one through the heart.


In the middle of the battlefield, GS craved his way through dozens of goblins as he rushed to reunited with D.R. and H.E. Druid who were shooting down a wave of goblins trying to climb up the wall they were on. When GS finally reached them, he dropped a bomb over the edge, grabbed the two shooters, and dashed away as the goblins stopped climbing and once the bomb reached the bottom...it exploded with enough force to not only blast the goblins at the bottom to bits, but also make the whole cliffside collapse and make the goblins at the top fall to their deaths, as well as bury the goblins who have yet to reach the wall. D.R. then went to what was left of the edge, and watched the goblins look at each other as if trying to decide their next move. D.R. then answered for them by using his quad-cannon to unleash a storm of bullets which tears them all apart.

Another wave of goblins charged at them from behind, only for GS to pull his shotguns, shred every goblin that got too close as H.E. Druid loosed arrow after arrow at the hobs in the back, hitting every one of them in the face, throat, or knee, with several goblins being crushed under their dead bodies. D.R. then joined the massacre as he fired more bullets into the ones GS wasn't occupied with. He then ran out of bullets, and got to work reloading as GS pulled his starlight sword and charged into the crowd. What followed was a one-sided massacre in his favor; not only did GS' strongest weapon crave through the goblins' armor like it wasn't there, but outranged the goblins' weapons, including their spears. Most goblins didn't have a chance to attack him, and those that did quickly regretted their decision in their last moments.

The moment the trio regrouped, another wave of goblins approached and surrounded them as they kept their backs to each other's. Before the goblins could charge however, they heard commotion behind them, and a troop of lizardman warriors sprung out of a trench, and even more came out from behind a few rock formations and charged at them...and it was a complete massacre. The goblins were either sliced apart by their sickle swords, had their skulls and backs broken by their tails, or were just plain crushed by the lizardmen's superhuman strength.

Turns out, Lizard Priest himself was among their numbers, and together with Lizard Warrior, who was once captured by the outcasts and freed by Fighter, the goblins met their deaths at the tribe's cold, scaly hands. The united soldiers were inspired by the backup, and the gunmen and archers opened fire at the goblins who were too far from the lizardmen, and Lizard Priest used his sling to hurl bombs at the goblins, blasting dozens to bits with every bomb hurled. H.E. Druid, and D.R. showed up as the goblins retreated and shot them to pieces.

"You lizardmen kick ass." D.R. said.

"You honor us for your praise Sir Dwarf." Lizard Priest said.

"Even more so if you would include me in the tribe of my saviors." Lizard Warrior said.

"Wait, I remember you. You're that warrior Fighter got out of a holding cell." H.E. Druid said.

"That human woman, how could I forget?" Lizard Warrior asked.

"Well unfortunately she's not here, nor is the rest of her team, but we would still like you with us." H.E. Druid said.

"Very well then. Death to the goblins." Lizard Warrior said as the rest of the group followed the lizardman troops to continue pressing forward.

Eventually, Cow Girl and Priestess arrived, only to watch the massacre unfold. They then went ahead to join them...and were stopped by a trio of shamans brandishing glaives before spinning them around trying to intimidate the two women. Cow Girl then shared a glance with Priestess before casually pulling one of her pistols and shooting the blades off of their glaives, before the shamans looked at the damage, and then Cow Girl whipped out her other pistol to shoot them all in the face.


Elsewhere still, Spearman was holding his ground against multiple hobs as they charged at him. One gets slashed across the guts deeply enough to make it keep it's intestines from spilling out, then gets slashed across the throat. Another gets rushed at by Spearman, impaled through the gut, and slammed into the ground. A wave of goblins then charged him as he braced for an assault...and then twirled and spun his spear in all directions turning every goblin bold enough to try and break through into paste. When Spearman was done, a champion showed up and tried to split him down the middle, but Spearman side-stepped at the last moment, ran up it's sword and arm and stabbed it through the face before riding it back to the ground.

"Ranger is going to owe me a shit ton of beers for this." Spearman said before he then spotted a group of goblin archers who unleashed their volley..only for it to return to them and kill or cripple every one of them. Spearman then glanced behind him to see Witch was there with her glowing staff, which predictably meant she reflected their arrows. She then set Spearman's spear on fire, and he planted it in the ground to make a distant part of the ground explode as the goblins coming his way were caught in the explosion and either blown to pieces, flung into the air, or crushed under the falling rubble. A smaller wave got the drop on her, and cackled as they closed in to ensnare her.

"Sleep..." Witch whispered as her staff glowed, and the goblins struggled to stay conscious before their lights went out. She then made way as Spearman rushed past her and stabbed them all to death as they slept. Witch then watched her teammate slaughter the goblins who tried and royally failed to make a sex slave out of her.

"Are you alright?" Spearman asked as he yanked his spear out of the last goblin.

"But of course. With such a strapping man like yourself with me, what chance do these little green monsters have?" Witch asked.

"Yeah, that's true, and with the undead goblins running around, this is like the farm all over again, only...more explosive." Spearman said before Witch sat on a rock and crossed her thick legs.

"One must wonder, where is our dead-but-not-dead friend...?" She asked.

"Who cares? As long as he's not here." Spearman said.

"As long as who's not here?" Hero asked as her team showed up.

"Well...look who it is." Witch said.

"The tenth Platinum Rank in the living flesh." Spearman said.

"Yes it is, now, you didn't answer me." Hero said.

"Well sorry..." Spearman said.

"Is our revenent patron around?" Witch asked.

"Oh, you mean her boyfriend?" Hero asked.

"For the last time, he's not my boyfriend! Anyway, he's up front with those giant bone monsters, which by the way, in case you don't know, were in that boneyard place until the Elder Revenant reanimated them." Sword Saint said.

"In that case, why are we even here? If he's that strong, then why don't we all just go home and let him deal with this?" Spearman asked as Witch inhaled some smoke from her pipe.

"Because, as he said himself, he can't keep this up forever; he's going to need to summon the Death God for a refill sooner or later." Sage said.

"Well, we can't have him falling to the hands of these creatures now can we? To have a servant of death on our side is quite a treat, no matter how common or rare it is." Witch said.

"That's...one way to look at it." Hero said with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, we saw that crazy bastard get riddled with arrows as he was looking for some sort of special item he never told us about because...reasons, and he was perfectly fine afterwards." Spearman said.

"Not easy killing someone who's already dead it is?" Sage asked.

"No shit..." Spearman said.

"Combine being impossible to kill with the ability to tear souls out, and you get an unstoppable force and an immovable object in one package." Sword Saint said thoughtfully.

"So what's stopping him from calling the Death God and getting his oh-so-important refill?" Spearman asked.

"The lack of a sacrifice for one thing, although according to the book he gave us, he doesn't technically need a sacrifice; it just makes the summoning exponentially easier." Sage said.

"Lovely..." Spearman said dryly.

"The alternative is to draw the Death's God symbol with his own blood on the ground, and considering his ridiculous healing ability, and the required size of the mark...that's going to take some time." Sage said.

"Again...lovely." Spearman said.

"Aside from that, maybe he just wants some quiet beforehand, or wants to get more souls...or maybe he's up to something." Sword Saint said.

"Like maybe he wants his soul back." Witch said and everyone kept quiet.

"Like the first revenant? Why would he do that?" Spearman asked.

"Who can tell with the undead...?" Witch asked, and then they heard a loud crumbling sound echo through the battlefield, and they looked to see some flying monsters land on a fortress in the distance and dig their heads into it.

"Damn, there's goes yet another of those 9,999 shitloads." Spearman said.

"Huh?" Hero asked.

"Nothing. Just something Ranger joked about." Spearman said.

"Right..." Hero said.

"It's a shame the rest of the army isn't joining this party; they're missing quite a bit of fun." Witch said.

"They'll come when they come." Sage said.

"Well, until they do, the rest of us, living or undead have goblin asses to kick." Spearman said.

"You think he'll be able to reanimate these goblins?" Hero asked.

"Don't know, don't care." Spearman said.

"Hey, considering that the more they get reanimated, the more allies we have." Sage said.

"Yeah, whatever." Spearman said.

"Well, hard to kill or not, he could probably use a hand, or six." Sword Saint said.

"Six?" Spearman asked.

"I have two, she has two, and she has two." Sword Saint said.

"Alright, alright Miss Smart-ass." Spearman said.

"Don't call me that again." Sword Saint deadpanned before she and her two teammates left.


GS and company were rushing through a wave of goblins, with GS, Lizard Priest and Lizard Warrior leading the charge as D.R. and H.E. Druid shooting down the goblins not being butchered by GS and the two lizardmen with him. During a brief lull in the battle, Lizard Priest took a moment to summon a Dragonbone Charger while Lizard Warrior held off another wave of goblins, with his twin sickle swords craving through them, his tail snapping their spines whenever he bashed them to the sides, and occasionally sank his jaws into the necks of a goblin the jumps at him.

Eventually, a goblin paladin showed up, and the others mopped up the last of the goblins on their side, and went to join their comrade against the paladin, only for Lizard Warrior to signal them to stay out of it. The paladin then charged at Lizard Warrior, who charged at the paladin in return, and the two locked their blades together as the paladin bashed Lizard Warrior to halt his advanced before flipping him over it's head and into the ground. Lizard Warrior then tripped the paladin with his tail before the paladin could impale him. Lizard Warrior then threw the paladin off of him, before getting up, and once the paladin saw his charging, it got up and clashed blades with Lizard Warrior over and over and over until both had enough and backed up.

Cow Girl and Priestess then showed up...and left a trail of butchered goblins behind them, and watched the two combatants as they got their second wind, and watched each other to see who made the next move. Eventually, Lizard Warrior charged at the paladin, and the paladin charged at him, and slashed each other while moving past each other, which resulted in the paladin's head falling off, and Lizard Warrior clutched his torn-open side. The goblins then moved in to avenge their paladin before Cow Girl threw an ice bomb that froze a group of them. She then sniped several more on the other side of the group as Priestess charged in to slice apart the goblins in her way as she went to heal Lizard Warrior.

GS and company then watched Cow Girl as she switched to her sword and chopped the remaining goblins to pieces. Yet another wave of goblins showed up, and she unloaded one shell after another from her rifle's appropriate modification, tearing groups of goblins that got close enough to shreds, and launched bombs into the crowd at a distance. She then ran out of ammo, and switched to her pistols and shot down the last of the goblin wave. Once she put her pistols away...yet another wave of goblins appeared as they de-cloaked, and she reflexively pulled her sword and unfolded her shield to slice several goblins in half and then bash a goblin to the side.

As she recovered from the surprise while slicing apart the goblins, and defending herself from their attacks from all sides, sometimes by attacking them first, Cow Girl recalled her mental training. Logically, a group of well-equipped goblins appearing out of nowhere is a major surprise, but Cow Girl reacted not by freezing up or panicking, but by pulling her sword and bisecting multiple; it was the time she defended Ranger and Fighter's baby all over again. Even the memory of her uncle's burned up corpse did nothing to throw her mind off-balance; Ranger said himself he was a walking ball of rage in battle, but he never let it overwhelm his mind, and if he can do it, so can she.

Even the memory of her getting pinned down by goblins and nearly gang-raped by them didn't slow her down, quite the opposite; rather than freeze up, she just had another reason to put more force into her strikes, which led to her cutting through multiple goblins per strikes, in faster succession. She even recalled the times Ranger told her about how his own compassion crippled him after his first quest, and how torn apart he was after going blind and potentially never getting to see Fighter's smile again. He even praised her for not being broken by her uncle's death, and instead choosing to become an adventurer and train under everyone in the team; he flatout said she was probably more steadfast than he was, considering he was trained from childhood and she wasn't. Now, here she was, surrounded by hundreds of dead and dying goblins with a Bronze Rank around her neck, with GS and his team watching her.

Priestess finally finished healing Lizard Warrior when Cow Girl impaled the last goblin and looked around at the field full of dead bodies before sucking in a breath to calm down; it was a good thing this was hardly her first time smelling goblin blood and guts. She then put her sword away and rejoined her team.

"You did it." GS said, and Cow Girl smiled faintly.

"Yes...I did." She whispered.

"Are you alright?" GS asked.

"I will be. That wasn't too bad, but...I had alot going through my head, and none of it was pleasant." Cow Girl said.

"Hey, you still did it. You should be proud." H.E. Druid said.

"I am." Cow Girl said softly.

"Would you like to go back?" Priestess asked as Lizard Warrior sat up.

"That would be nice. We should be aware of what the others are doing anyway." Cow Girl said.

"Good point sweetheart." D.R. said and H.E. Druid smirked before Priestess opened a portal back to camp, took Lizard Warrior through, it and then the rest of the team followed.


Elder Revenant was walking along the top of a rocky hill as his undead goblin army which involved all types, including high priests and champions, tore into the still-living goblins. The undead were hideously outnumbered, but the living goblins were clearly unhinged about fighting their own kind, especially since the undead clearly didn't care about their own well-being; even the champions, who were heartless enough to smash through their own troops didn't intimidate the undead goblins. The undead leader then looked to the horizon, and saw the sky rapidly clouding up.

"Strange...the clouds weren't so violent before. This must be the power of the Storm Mage, or someone with similar power." Elder Revenant said thoughtfully. Next thing he knew, a wave of goblins spotted him, charged at him, and he threw his scythe into a cliff face. The spinning blade sliced the rocks apart to cause a landslide that made the goblins try to run away from it, but half of them were buried alive regardless.

The scythe then returned to it's wielder before he continued onward, and the goblins were outraged that he killed half their number and ignored the survivors; they yelled in rage and charged at him...only for Elder Revenant to engulf himself in green fire and appear on the other side of their numbers with his scythe held out to the side with the fires extinguished. The goblins then looked around and eventually spotted him as he planted his scythe into the ground...then split in half at the waist once they saw his scythe's blade drenched in blood.

He then called the goblins' souls to him and continued his walk towards the citadel as the undead goblins continued to slaughter their living comrades. Elder Revenant then got to higher ground and looked out to see the undead monsters he reanimated earlier tearing up the grounds in front of the citadel; he finally reached it.

In the citadel itself, legions of goblins were pouring into staircases in the ground and marching through a series of underground tunnels. On the walls, high priests, champions, paladins, and shamans were pouring magic into massive cannons which started glowing with the power they accumulated. The walls even emitted a magical barrier around itself to keep the stone walls themselves from being penetrated.

Once the undead monsters reached them, the cannons unloaded all of the magical power stored in them, and even though most cannons miss...despite tearing up the ground in the process, one of the castle-sized monsters gets shattered like it was made of glass. Elder Revenant flinched in surprise at the display of power, but then saw how many goblins the cannons tear apart; they never were keen on preserving their numbers, but this was on another level. He then directed the rest of the monsters away from the citadel to deal with the outskirts instead.

"Hey! Remember us?" Hero asked and Elder Revenant turned to see her smirking with her team behind her.

"It's difficult not to." He said.

"Very funny." Hero said.

"It hasn't been funny for the goblins so far; it would be difficult not to find him if it wasn't for the trail of mangled goblins." Sage said.

"No kidding. This is arguably worse than Ranger's work." Sword Saint said.

"Ranger? The War God's champion? It's a wonder he hasn't appeared by now to bring down a storm of meteors on that citadel yet." Elder Revenant said.

"He's not here, and never was, and likely won't be." Sword Saint said.

"That's too bad. We could use more hands with those cannons." Elder Revenant said.

"Yeah...about those cannons..." Hero trailed off.

"We should tell everyone about them." Sage said and Hero sighed.

"Seriously, what would they do without us?" Hero asked.

"Not much apparently." Sword Saint said.

"What will you do?" Sage asked.

"Continue my soul-harvesting; this new undertaking demands a great deal of power, and that is something I cannot acquire on my own." Elder Revenant said.

"Well...you do that, although...would you mind tearing open a portal to camp?" Hero asked, and Elder Revenant sighed, before opening a portal with his scythe, and the three ladies went back to the others.


"...and one shot took out a whole swath of land!" Hero exclaimed.

"Great, first legions of legions of goblins, now magic cannons? What next? A mountain-sized bomb?!" Wizard's brother asked.

"Hey, don't call it!" Rhea Fighter exclaimed.

"Well, the good news is that the cannons took out several legions of goblins as well as one of the behemoths." Sage said.

"Take about friendly fire." Cow Girl said.

"Goblins will gladly endanger their fellow goblins if it means getting an edge." GS said.

"Right, they also rule through fear, despite how nasty fear can be to the mind." Cow Girl said.

"You expect sound tactics from a species that practically wrote the book on barbarism?" H.E. Druid asked.

"Good point." Cow Girl said.

"They wrote the book on barbarism...that's got to be the best description of goblins I've ever heard." Hero said.

"It's not wrong either." GS said harshly.

"So...what are we going to do? We can't get close without taking a gigantic risk." D.R. asked.

"Meant I suggest that we work around the cannons in some way?" Lizard Priest asked.

"Around them? Smart as that is, I fail to see how we can do that." Wizard's brother said.

"As do I Sir Mage, but surely a way must exist." Lizard Priest said.

"Those goblins have to be able to get out somehow; I haven't seen a single one come out through the front gates." Hero said.

"The front gates didn't even open for that matter." Sage said.

"They must have come from underground. Goblins are right at home in caves, or large stone buildings; with a structure as large as that one, they must have additional methods of reaching the outside world in large swarms. Namely, a tunnel network, one on a massive scale." GS said.

"Makes as much sense as any theory." Rhea Fighter said.

"You really know your goblin stuff don't you?" Hero asked.

"Of course I do. If I didn't, I wouldn't be very good at fighting them." GS said.

"Are you saying that we fight our way through entire armies of seriously pissed-off goblins just to have a chance of getting inside the citadel, where we might have a chance to fight the Goblin Overlord, whom we might have a chance of having enough energy to maybe have a chance to walk away with out lives?" Wizard's asked seriously.

"No, but we could make our own tunnels, with an elemental." GS said and everyone went silent.

"Goblin Slayer you ingenious son of a bitch!" Wizard's brother exclaimed.

"How about we collapse some tunnels for good measure?" Cow Girl asked.

"That could also work." GS said.

"Leave that to me." Hero said as she thumbed herself in the chest with a smirk.

"Alright." GS said.

"Well, before we commence Operation: Bury the goblins in their own home, I'm going back to Water Town to get some more stuff, including some potions for everyone." Wizard's brother said.

"That would be most appreciated Sir Mage." Lizard Priest said.

"Wait, before I go, what happened to that other lizardman?" Wizard's brother asked.

"He has rejoined the rest of my people. As honored as he was to fight by our side, a single paladin posed too much of a threat to him, so he decided to remain with the army itself, but he does send his regards." Lizard Priest said.

"Well, you can't win them all can you? Anyway, I'll be right back." Wizard's brother said as he set up the gateway scroll and vanished.


Priestess meanwhile watched the rest of the united army swarm across the battlefield as goblins of all types engaged them up-close, at a distance, with magic, arrows, guns, and catapults, with the thousands-strong united army holding their ground, and even sending splinter groups to take care of the artillery. Despite the goblins taking heavy losses, the united army was gaining little to no ground. The armies' generals certainly put the time and effort they had to plan the attack well, with the heavy infantry up front to hold off the goblin hordes with the light infantry hanging back to us hit-and-run attacks on the goblins from the sides to cause chaos in what little structure their attack had, and even using more siege towers to soften the goblins' numbers with riflemen, archers, and battlemages on their top levels.

Cavalry attacks were common as well, but only at first; even the heavy cavalry was of limited use when the champions and paladins were brought to bare. Eventually, Priestess drank some holy water as a small army composed entirely of champions appeared, and then she used Empower on the entire army, who then let out a war cry as they charged across the battlefield to attack the champions, and even the smaller goblins were simply trampled over by the cavalry. When they got close enough, the champions tried to smash through the army's frontline, but all they did was massively stagger, or slightly injure the troops they hit.

The troops themselves however quickly returned the pain a hundredfold; champions in droves were barraged with thrown spears, launched arrows and bolts, as well as fireballs, ice spikes, lightning bolts, and hurled stones. The ones who survived were quickly crippled by hits to their legs, and finished off by getting their heads and throats pierced with pikes. When the champions were dealt with, yet another wave of goblins was dispatched as the empowerment wore off, and the troops retreated back to where they were. When they reached their original grounds, the siege towers continued to pepper the goblins with their support fire.

"You cannot protect them forever." Abbot said as Priestess turned to see him approach.

"I know..." She said softly as they continued to watch the goblins get massacred.

"Although, to be fair, the longer they last, the more goblins go down, and the more likely they are to see their families again. The ones who have families anyway." Abbot said.

"It's those families I did that empowerment for as well. It's not just to kill the goblins, despite how horrible they are." Priestess said.

"I'm sure your own family would agree." Abbot said.

"Yes they would." Priestess said firmly as the goblins below continued getting shot, pierced, blasted, crushed, cut down, blown apart by explosives, or burned, shocked, or frozen by magic.

"Inspector went into one of the hospital earlier; it was quite a troubling experience for her." Abbot said.

"I can imagine. Goblins are creatures no one would want to be caught by." Priestess said.

"She is fortunate Summoner was there to lift her spirits." Abbot said.

"He's a kind man...just like his older brother." Priestess said as the army continued to hold off the goblins.

"Storm Mage must have been more than just kind to win the heart of the Sword Maiden. She was an extraordinary woman, with an extraordinary burden...one these abominations spitefully placed on her, and one that Storm Mage, a man tainted by the sin of avarice, removed." Abbot said.

"Yes..." Priestess whispered.

"That man was a demon that turned back into an angel." Abbot said.

"Father...please." Priestess said harshly.

"My apologies Your Grace. Even after all this time, even in the middle of a great battle, his transformation never ceases to amaze me." Abbot said before Priestess walked off.

"I can imagine, and I'm glad you value his memory so much, but...this isn't easy for me to think about, let alone talk about." She said.

"For what it's worth, you not only act and look more and more like the Sword Maiden, you also speak like her." Abbot said.

"Apparently she influenced me more than I knew myself." Priestess said.

"Indeed she has." Abbot said.

"How are the others?" Priestess asked.

"Unsurprisingly well. The Cambion took another, more terrible form, but your teammates have revealed several new tricks of their own, and Ranger is using the War God's ultimate blessing as we speak." Abbot said.

"I see..." Priestess said.

"Well, I should see to the rest of the people in case I am needed. By your leave." Abbot said before walking away, and Priestess went to one of the hospitals...and immediately saw why Inspector was so torn up. Luckily, Priestess had far more experience dealing with injured and dying people thanks to her time in the field, specifically since she healed Ranger himself countless times. She even had the luxury of being able to heal multiple people at once, and when she was done, everyone was healed. Unfortunately she ran out of miracles so she could only heal a single hospital's worth of people.


The archbishop then went to a small, open area to get some air, and pray for more miracles. After about a minute, Cow Girl showed up.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know you were here." She said.

"It's alright." Priestess said as Cow Girl sat next to her.

"You came here to get away from everything too?" She asked.

"And to possibly get some more miracles, which I did. Although, this is all I'm getting." Priestess said.

"Well, you're the new Sword Maiden now, and you've got us to watch out for you." Cow Girl said.

"As well as my own handmaiden." Priestess said softly, and the two shared a smile before hugging. "I love you."

"I love you too." Cow Girl said as she ran her hand through Priestess' hair. The two women then sat there holding each other, and feeling each other's lungs steadily inflate and deflate as their physical and psychological tension dissolved.

"I talked to Father Superior earlier; he compared me to the Sword Maiden yet again..." Priestess said.

"He's not wrong." Cow Girl said.

"I mean, he mentioned how Storm Mage removed the Sword Maiden's burden placed on her by the goblins." Priestess said.

"But...you never-" Priestess cuts Cow Girl off.

"I still know what she went through, in detail." She said and Cow Girl recoiled.

"What?" She asked and Priestess sighed.

"I only told Ranger this, but...I used the miracle of Vision to look at how bad it was for her..." She said and Cow Girl started stammering before pausing, and then spoke clearly.

"Why? I only heard about what goblins do to women they capture and it breaks my heart just thinking about it!" She said seriously.

"I couldn't help it; I had to know why she was so torn up for so long...and Storm Mage did her an even better service than he probably did for anyone. I never looked at her moments with him; that's purely their business, but...I cannot imagine how liberating it must've been to be able to make love the correct way." Priestess said seriously.

"Well...when you put it like that." Cow Girl said.

"I even heard of when Summoner cared for Inspector when she was heartbroken over the injured soldiers in a hospital." Priestess said.

"Wow...he really loves her doesn't he?" Cow Girl said.

"They're both kind people; it doesn't surprise me at all." Priestess said.

"Still, it takes a special kind of person to give a breath of fresh air that big." Cow Girl said.

"Right..." Priestess whispered as she snuggled into Cow Girl's armored bosom even more.

"I wonder how much Fighter takes off of Ranger's mind, or the other way around for that matter?" Cow Girl asked.

"Most likely as much as Storm Mage took off of Sword Maiden's. Remember when Ranger lost his sight and Fighter went to comfort him?" Priestess asked.

"I'll never forget; I may not have been there, but...Ranger told me the story. I could tell that it wasn't easy to talk about for him, despite how much of a walking steel wall he is." Cow Girl said.

"That sounds like him: steel on the outside, but a cool breeze on the inside." Priestess said.

"Sounds like my Goblin Slayer actually." Cow Girl said softly.

"Your Goblin Slayer?" Priestess asked.

"Yes, we're going to have our own family when this siege is over." Cow Girl said.

"Oh, right. Warrior and Wizard are as well." Priestess said.

"I remember...and Ranger and Fighter will have more babies as well, as if the first one wasn't adorable enough." Cow Girl said.

"Father Superior also said the rest of my family are fighting the Cambion now." Priestess said.

"Oh...would you like to rejoin them?" Cow Girl asked.

"I've been thinking about that very thing...but I can't. Even if I wasn't scared to death of the Cambion, what could I do? My miracles won't work on him, he'll single me out when I empower them, and...he has to know we're a tightly-knit group, and losing one Sword Maiden was bad enough. Losing two will probably crush the people's hearts beyond repair." Priestess said.

"Yeesh, looks like you have every reason to stay out of it." Cow Girl said.

"Yes I do. At least here I can help much more people, and my family has it's own fair share of tricks, aside from the ones we already saw." Priestess said.

"Are you certain? Oh, what am I saying? Who are we talking about here...?" Cow Girl said.

"Right." Priestess said.

"Shall we rejoin the others?" Cow Girl asked.

"Alright." Priestess said before Cow Girl walked her back to the others...and they all watched a secret army of elementals of all types march out from behind an alternate passage.


Back with the fight with Cambion, he was simply staring down Ranger who was the undisputed holder of everyone's attention, especially Fighter who was still laying down beaten between Cambion's feet. Next thing everyone knew, Ranger was gone, and when the team looked at Cambion, Ranger's fist was in Cambion's hand; Ranger was never that fast before. Ranger then jammed his other fist into Cambion's gut, cracking his armor and sending him flying through the forest, out of sight.

"Ranger..." Fighter whispered before her husband looked down at her with with little softness he had left shining through. He then walked in the direction he launched Cambion in before stopping cold.

"I will handle Cambion. The rest of you take a moment to get yourselves back together." Ranger said.

"You don't have to tell us twice..." Warrior said before Ranger floated upwards and then flew off in the same direction Cambion went before landing in the area the trail of destroyed trees ended in. Cambion was there on his knees recovering from the punch, and when Ranger arrived, Cambion fully recovered and stood up.

"The same power you used to defeat the vampire queen..." Cambion said thoughtfully.

"Now...the same power I'll use to put you in the grave you belong in." Ranger said simply as stood there staring at his half-demon foe. Cambion then morphed a larger armblade as Ranger morphed and greatsword, then the two dashed, jumped, rolled, and flew around in a space hundreds of yards wide while clashing blades either as they passed, or sometimes stood their ground to clash dozens of times a second. The ground itself shook with the force of their blows, especially when they slowed their pace and slammed their blades together with more force, which creates shockwaves violent enough to cause fissures dozens of meters long in every direction.

Cambion then sprouted multiple tentacles with spikes on each, and Ranger whirled his massive sword in all directions to deflect the tentacles as they extended his way to impale him. Each swing battered one or more tentacles away, and each time he cut one, the damage was superficial at best, and healed easily. Cambion didn't relent for the better part of a minute as he charged himself up with Hell energy to increase the speed and power of his strikes, but Ranger matched him blow for blow the entire time. Eventually, Ranger swatted every tentacle away at once, gave his most powerful swing to sever the spikes of each tentacle, then jumped into the air before bringing down his greatsword on Cambion's extended arm; he was going to try and catch his sword again...but it failed.

Even with his armored form, and increased power balancing out Ranger's Army of One, it wasn't enough to keep Ranger's greatsword from cutting into Cambion's forearm down the middle, tearing out of it's side, which severed half of his forearm entirely, and even craving through Cambion's abdomen. To add insult to injury, Ranger punched Cambion with a gauntlet in the same spot which launched him in the opposite direction. When he landed, Cambion tore up the ground as he caught his footing, he then looked up to see Ranger charging at him. Cambion then let out an ear-splitting roar as he unleashed a beam of Hell energy directly at his charging foe, who put his greatsword in the way, only for the weapon to be shattered like glass before it's user was launched away himself.

Ranger then tore up the ground himself as he bounced and rolled along the ground, and unlike Cambion, Ranger never got his footing and wound up face-down in the dirt. He then looked up to see the pieces of his greatsword sliding along the ground back to him and stopping as they reached his position. He then morphed them all back together just in time to see Cambion charging at him with a huge armblade morphed, Ranger then charged at Cambion as they braced to impale each other...and they did. Each of them received a massive impalement from the other, and each of them looked each other in the face before removing their blades from each other's guts, and passed out at the same time.

Thanks to Cambion's regeneration ability, and Ranger's necklace, each of them were able to wake up less than a minute later, although neither was in any shape to stand up properly, let alone fight effectively.

"Even after that...you still want to persist in this fight?! To let all of that power go to waste?" Cambion asked.

"It won't go to waste, as long as you go down." Ranger said.

"You would seriously deny this country, this world, all the people you swore to aid the compensation they deserve?" Cambion asked.

"A better question is why do you trust that everyone could have the kind of power you and I have? Do you really think it won't be abused? Cause more damage than what you saw?!" Ranger asked.

"They won't have a choice! It will be either they use their power responsibly, or answer to me." Cambion said firmly.

"You oppose the incompetence of the church, yet desire to oppress the country instead." Ranger said.

"Like I told the Sword Maiden...you are already oppressed. Why is my solution any worse, and why is yours better? For that matter, what is your solution? Go around training people, and punishing those who can't be trusted? You cannot do this forever and you know this." Cambion said before collapsing again. "Would you simply safegaurd them and let them hope to last until the next catastrophe hits?"

"You bet your ass I would, and their hopes will not be false." Ranger said.

"Fool...hope is only going to blind them; you keep them safe behind a wall, they'll be dead or broken within minutes." Cambion said.

"How many times do we have to tell you? The goblins are nearly extinct, and with them, the last major threat to the people." Ranger said.

"A better question is why you think I care about the goblins? Do you seriously think they're the only reason things have gone so far down the wrong path? If you destroy them, they can and likely will be replaced; they already escaped Hell itself with disastrous consequences." Cambion said.

"And they paid for it." Ranger said.

"Not without help from a threat they themselves nurtured, and they didn't act alone either. Look what the Evil Sect did to Water Town!" Cambion said.

"On your orders?" Ranger asked.

"I sent them to their deaths as they deserved; you wouldn't stay away from Water Town forever, and the people felt the same fear those less lucky feel. Sure they feel safe with you...but without you, they're nothing- no, less than nothing, and you have done nothing to address this. For all your power, and wisdom, nothing long-lasting comes out of it. I swear this will not be so during my reign!" Cambion said before extending his wings.

"Not everyone is cut out to be as strong as we are; not everyone should be on the frontlines of a war. That's why only a few are on the frontlines in the first place: so others don't have to." Ranger said.

"And what has that sentiment brought you, aside from witnessing the failures of a society that only claims to be benevolent? Even if you do manage to defeat me and stop everything I set in motion, in the end...you will doom the very people you tell yourself that you're saving." Cambion said.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but for now...I have another head to sever." Ranger said as he and Cambion finally stood up and braced for another round. This time, Ranger morphed his light armor and twin longswords, as Cambion charged up his own armblades with Hell energy. Ranger then dashed at Cambion quick enough to make Cambion flinch in surprise before Ranger's twin blades were jammed into Cambion's shoulders; they were going to pierce his neck, but Cambion managed to deflect the blow with a minor discharge of Hell energy.

Cambion then kicked Ranger back hard to enough to make Ranger vomit as he flew in the opposite direction. Cambion then unleashed a wave of Hell energy at Ranger, who managed to get back enough of his bearings to jump over the energy wave. Cambion then morphed a larger armblade and rushed at Ranger, who danced circles around Cambion who blocked a flurry of stabs and swings from Ranger, who in turn had to dodge Cambion's body-sized blade which was swung hard enough to potentially cut Ranger in half if he gets hit by it.

Ranger then backed up, broke his swords into whips, and then lashed at Cambion over and over...which made Cambion recall Storm Mage yet again. The flashback however did nothing to keep Cambion from swatting away Ranger's strikes, even the ones that were more subtle, like the ones where Ranger lashed at Cambion rapidly with one whip-sword, and then whirled the other one around his head to lash at Cambion from another angle, like the feet. Cambion eventually returned the favor by morphing his other arm into a tentacle and lashed at Ranger...and wound up in a tug-of-war with Ranger's whip-sword.

The two then tugged on each other, with neither side gaining or keeping ground; sometimes one moved towards the other, only to back up again. They occasionally lashed at each other with Ranger's other whip-sword, and Cambion's armblade sending energy waves at Ranger respectively. Neither side took the struggle laying down of course; Ranger either ducked, or blocked the Hell energy with a greatsword, and Cambion deflected Ranger's lashes with his armblade. Ranger then tried using Pestilence on Cambion to finish the fight then and there...but it does nothing.

He figured it wouldn't be that easy, so the surprise factor wasn't there to stifle his role in the struggle. He then used Implosion to suck in the Cambion...but a bubble of Hell energy kept Cambion from getting sucked into the gravity sphere, but multiple large chunks of the grounds, and fallen trees were sucked into it. Eventually, the debris was launched right at Cambion from overhead, which shattered the Hell energy bubble, and won Ranger the struggle, even though all it did was allow him to get his weapon back.

Cambion then burst out of the debris, to find Ranger was backed up by a dozen clones that all unleashed a storm of bullets at him, only for the bullets to bounce off another energy bubble. The clones then stopped shooting their quad-cannons, and several switched to greatswords, twin swords, gauntlets, or any mixture of the three, and charged at Cambion, who charged himself up even more before charging into the fray.

The rest of the team arrived on the scene to find a scene of absolute chaos! Cambion engaged the clones at all ranges, by clashing with them with his armblades, unleashing waves of Hell energy at the gunners, flying around to attack from other angles, and of course overhead. The clones kept up with him move for move as well; several clones with greatswords took turns swinging at Cambion, while the ones with twin swords barraged him with strikes and stabs, the ones with gauntlets occasionally charged at Cambion to get in a single devastating punch before the rest of the clones continued their assaults. The gunners occasionally had to dodge an energy wave before unleashing a storm of bullets at Cambion. Despite the numbers being in Ranger's favor, despite having the power to kill the vampire queen and destroy her fortress in addition to the power he gained since stacked on top of that, despite being more skilled, and despite Cambion taking a serious beating before their fight...Ranger was getting nowhere.

Next thing everyone knew, Cambion was unleashing a discharge of Hell energy that blasted all the clones to nothing as Ranger himself was sent flying. Fighter's heart sank; when a clone dies without being absorbed, the original loses that much of their strength. Luckily, Ranger looked like he had plenty of fight left, but for how much longer? Her question was quickly answered when Cambion dashed up to Ranger, and then snatched both of Ranger's swords out of his hands, kneed him in the face hard enough to knock him back down, and then Cambion jammed both swords into Ranger's shoulders before flooding his body with enough Hell energy to overpower the Army of One, and make Ranger scream in pain...just like he did when he was set on fire a year ago.


Fighter then tried to rush forwards to help her husband, but Warrior and Wizard held her back and shook their heads; if Ranger can't handle Cambion at his most powerful state, what chance did they have? Cambion then stopped shocking Ranger after he lost consciousness...then an explosion was heard in the distance, and a series of bestial roars were heard.

"Finally...the pet is waking." Cambion said before jumping up, extending his wings, and flying off. Fighter then immediately rushed over to Ranger's body, and knelt next to him while looking him with more concern on her face than either Warrior or Wizard ever saw. Fighter then grabbed Ranger and started shaking him

"Ranger!? Ranger wake up! I know you can hear me! You've been through this before! Ranger?! Dammit, it's me Fighter! Your wife, the mother of our daughter...and she still needs her father! Ranger..." She said while her eyes watered, and eventually lowered her head as Wizard and Warrior watched in anticipation...but Ranger didn't move an inch. "Ranger wake up!"

"Stop...!" Ranger whispered harshly, which made Fighter snap out of it, especially when Ranger started breathing more deeply. "That Hell energy isn't the most pleasant thing in the world...unlike your touch."

"Ranger..." Fighter said softly as she graced him with a small smile, which he returned. She held his hand with both her own hands as Warrior and Wizard glanced at each other before another roar was heard.

"Cambion is still at large...and now the Demon Lord's pet is waking up. What do we do now?" Ranger asked

"He's too strong for me." Wizard said.

"I could hammer him, if I could get close enough, but he'd see me coming a mile away." Warrior said seriously, and then everyone started thinking.

"It would take all of us..." Ranger said.

"Or maybe just one of us..." Fighter said seriously, and everyone looked right at her.

"What?" Wizard asked.

"You heard me right..." Fighter said.

"Are you crazy?! You saw what he did!" Warrior exclaimed.

"Wizard...how much power did you take from that World Spawn earlier?" Fighter asked.

"Quite a bit, but not enough to take on Cambi- Wait a minute..." Wizard trailed off.

"If you're planning what I think you are, take the power from my hammer as well." Warrior said.

"Ranger...I'm going to need to borrow your Army of One power as well." Fighter said softly.

"Of course..." Ranger whispered, and Fighter gave him a brief but deep kiss. He then looked her in the face, and the softness in their eyes spoke for itself: there was a very real chance death was a possibility, and she had too much to live for to let the Cambion get the best of her. Ranger even gave her the portal gem, which she took and put away, before focusing on the lingering feeling of his hand touching hers. She then managed to back away from the brutal yet loving man she married and steel herself for the last fight with Cambion.

"Alright..." Fighter whispered before opening her chakras, and sat their meditating as Wizard used Drain on Ranger and Warrior, and then transferred all three of their power to Fighter bit by bit to give her time to harness it...and she did. When Wizard was done, Fighter had the same fiery aura around her that Ranger had earlier, but hers was cyan instead of vermilion, and she even had her own lightning aura on top of it. Fighter then looked at her teammates, who of whom had intense looks in the face, and were breathing harder thanks to the situation being tense, even by their standards. Ranger then took hold of Fighter's ankle, then morphed the metal of his armor into hers. She then gave Ranger a soft glance before looking in Cambion's direction.


Back at the siege, the elemental army was used to cause chaos within the goblins' ranks, which included fire and ice elementals flying around to both draw the magic cannons' fire, and rain down destruction on the goblins below. The stone elementals of course bullrushed through the goblins' numbers, and only a few hobs, or a champion or paladin had a chance to stop them. The water elementals not only flooded the tunnels they found, but also shot pressurized water jet to tear the goblins apart,if they weren't sacrificing themselves to heal troops in droves.

While they did that, GS' team used the chaos to cover Wizard's brother as he used the power he took from a World Spawn to open a tunnel of of his own through the underside of the battlefield. As luck would have it, he wound up digging through one of the goblins' tunnels, but luckily, no goblins were there, so they quickly rushed to the other side of the tunnel, opened a hole in the opposite wall...and then GS had Wizard's brother collapse the tunnel, right onto a horde of charging goblins, which earned some of the team a good laugh at their expense.

Next thing the goblins inside the citadel knew, GS and company were bursting out of the ground, sending debris flying everywhere as a flock of bird familiars flew out and started sparking and pecking goblin heads. Even the goblins manning the cannons were distracted by the chaos going on below them, GS was slicing multiple hobs to pieces with his starlight sword, Cow Girl and Lizard Priest launched and slung bombs at the goblins at a distance, along with H.E. Druid and D.R. unloading arrows and bullets at them.

The entire team rushed around the entire area dealing their own special type of carnage, either from a distance, or up close. D.R. took cover behind some debris and took pot shots at the goblins on the cannons first, before joining the elf princess he married in dealing with the goblins on the ground. He couldn't help but smile as she ran up a wall, flipped off of it, landed on a hob's shoulders, jammed a knife into the back of it's head before loosing multiple arrows at the hobs behind it one by one, and of course taking her arrows back. Lizard Priest and his Dragontooth Warriors joined GS and Cow Girl as they charged through a wave of goblins, butchering and crushing them in droves.

The goblins eventually returned fire with arrows, spells, and even bullets and bombs, so the team regrouped with Priestess who threw up a Protection barrier to keep the team safe as some goblins closed in and tried to penetrate the barrier up-close, only to get cut down by the whole time from all sides. H.E. Druid used her knives to puncture their skulls, or just punch or kick them hard enough to break their bones, D.R. used his rifle's axe head to chop them down, Lizard Priest, GS, Priestess, and Cow Girl used their respective blades to do their own fair share of carnage. Luckily, the barrier held fast despite the overwhelming force hitting it, but the goblins didn't stop for anything.

Eventually, the barrier started to flicker, and the team began to panic as the goblins saw the sign and pressed their assaults even more...then the arrows, and bullets stopped falling all of a sudden. The goblins waiting their turn to attack the group stop in wonder, before looking up top...and saw multiple archers, rifleman, and grenadiers get sliced apart by an unseen force as the survivors looked around and desperately tried to keep themselves from getting hit by putting their weapons in front of them, but it did nothing; each goblin was mercilessly cut into several pieces before any of them had a chance to prepare for whatever was attacking them.

Priestess then looked back at the hole they came out of, and realized something: Rhea Fighter and Wizard's brother never came out with them. The whole team then looked up to see a wall get blasted open, and Wizard's brother was using Levitation on himself to fly of the hole he made, and unleashed a Mana Bolt from his mace to destroy multiple cannons in one shot. He then looked to see more goblin shooters fall to pieces, and smirked at the display, then spotted another wave of archers show up, and flew around to keep from getting hit before unleashing another Mana Bolt at them. He then spotted another wave of goblins show up on the ground, before the ground behind them upturned out of nowhere...and Rhea Fighter appeared in the crater; she's the one who was slicing apart the goblins, and did it while invisible.

The whole team watched as Rhea Fighter charged up her sword, swung it several times to bisect dozens of goblins who tried to attack her, then threw her sword into the crowd to bisect and behead even more goblins. When her sword flew around delivering the carnage, she opened her chakras, and rushed around the area punching and kicking more goblins to a paste, sometimes with the force of each strike causing a shockwave that staggered or launched the goblins that weren't directly hit. Several goblins tried and failed miserably to strike Rhea Fighter; sometimes she broke their weapons, dodged their attacks completely, or even turned their attacks on each other. She silently wondered what Fighter herself would think.

In the end, her sword returned to her, and she wove through the rest of the goblins until only a few were left. One got it's legs sliced off, and it's back stomped in, another got stabbed through the face, another was kicked hard enough to make it's ribcage implode, another tried to stab her with a spear, only for Rhea Fighter to jump over it, sever it's head, and slice the last one in half. She then took several deep breaths as she realized the fight was over, and the rest of the team, including Wizard's brother approached her, the latter of whom held her up as she leaned on him.

"Your plan worked..." She breathed out, and got a smile from her human lover.

"You're surprised?" Wizard's brother asked proudly.

"Not at all." Rhea Fighter said.


After clearing the entire bastion of goblins, the team went back underground to get some breathing room; the goblins would find out about the massacre within the walls eventually and they'd either batten down the hatches, or even recall troops to deal with the threat. Wizard's brother continued to use one arm to make the earth move away from them to make the tunnel, and the other arm to carry Rhea Fighter as she kept recovering her stamina...even though she secretly enjoyed being carried like that. Eventually, they got to an underground chamber, that was too dark to see in, despite the fact that Priestess used Holy Light to illuminate the place like always.

"This place is bigger than I thought." D.R. said.

"Quiet...we're in goblin territory to the umpteenth degree." Rhea Fighter whispered.

"Sorry." D.R. said.

"Priestess, kill the light." GS said.

"Wait, then we'd be as blind as they are." H.E. Druid said.

"It's o.k, I don't see any goblins in here thanks to Life Sight." Wizard's brother said.

"Then you lead." GS said as Wizard's brother led the way through the room, which turned out to be a cavern with stalagmites, stalagtites, small rivers of water and everything.

"See anything?" D.R. asked.

"Not yet, but I'll keep my eyes peeled." Wizard's brother said, and for the next few minutes, they continued exploring the caves. Priestess thankfully took a page ou of Sword Maiden's book and make a small map, and even left a trails of rocks to mark where they've been.

"How big are these fucking caves?" D.R. asked.

"You did see the size of the citadel right?" Cow Girl asked.

"Still." D.R. said.

"The number of caves here shouldn't make the citadel's base unstable too, but then again there's most likely reinforcements in the walls, or gaps inbetween the caves." Wizard's brother said.

"That's quite possible. I noticed several caves that wound themselves in ways that leave enough filling to give the citadel supports." Priestess said.

"Sir Goblin Slayer, do you believe the goblins capable of planning and constructing such a marvelous structure?" Lizard Priest asked.

"If they had the time, were taught to do so, and had enough reason to, it is quite possible, although like with the Hell Ripper, it was most likely created for them." GS said.

"If it was the Evil Sect, I'm going to slam my head against the wall..." Wizard brother groaned.

"Or demons; I've never seen archetecture like that created by the Evil Sect, or any civilization for that matter. Same goes for the Hell Ripper actually, but...it's the Hell Ripper, it speaks for itself." D.R. said.

"You mean it spoke for itself; Ranger blasted that thing off the face of the Earth." H.E. Druid said.

"Ho boy, the number of times I rewatched that on the recaller..." D.R. said, and then sniffed and covered his nose. "What the hell is that smell?"

"I smell it too..." H.E. Druid said as she covered her own nose, along with everyone else, except GS.

"It must be a goblin waste dump." He said.

"No wonder there's no one down here, it's full of goblin shit." D.R. groaned.

"Then quit your belly-aching and put your masks on." Wizard's brother said after putting his own on. When they kept going through the cave...not only did they indeed find a goblin waste dump, they found a primitive sewer system. Unsurprisingly, everyone kept a close eye on where they were going since no one wanted to accidentally get covered in the filth around them. When they finally got out of the room, Wizard's brother sealed the place by using the power he got from the World Spawn to make the wall stick together.

The group then snuck through the rest of the underground, keeping an eye out for more goblins, and whenever they spotted them, it was a lone sentry which was easy pickings for H.E. Druid. They then continued down the hallways, keeping an eye out for more goblins, and then found a platform on chains. Cow Girl then pulled a level, and the platform started going up. For the next few minutes, the group simply sat back and enjoyed the ride up.

"Holy shit, could this thing move any slower?" D.R. asked.

"Just enjoy the ride." Rhea Fighter said as she leaned against Wizard's brother.

"We could also think of a direction to go in." Cow Girl said seriously.

"Well, where would you hide if you were king of the goblins?" D.R. asked.

"At the top..." GS said.

"I'd also have a fuckton of defenses between myself and anything that wants to hurt me." Wizard's brother said.

"Speaking of defenses, maybe we should deal with that barrier around the citadel." Priestess said.

"Agreed. The army could be of great assistance to us from the outside, especially with their siege engines and high-ranking mages." Lizard Priest said.

"Then it's settled..." H.E. Druid said.

"Yeah, as soon as this platform gets the lead out..." D.R. groaned.


After they got out off the platform, the group looked around to see if any goblins were there...and there was a whole swarm of them rushing away from them, possibly to attack the united army outside. GS then led the group from one room to another, with Wizard's brother, and even Cow Girl laying magic traps in the middle or sides of the hallways. Thanks to some mana gems, Wizard's brother rigged the weaker traps, like the spark traps to vaporize the goblins for as long as they could, and instead of just vanish when they run out of power, they take a moment to recharge. The stronger traps like the seismic traps, launching traps, or freeze traps were made powerful enough to collapse entire hallways on top of the few goblin hordes that fell for them. It made quite a bit of noise, but no goblins who saw them lived long enough to let the others know.

Eventually, GS and company got to a chamber full of burnt books, and Priestess used Vision.

"These books...they're all the same as the ones in the temple those undead giants came from." She said.

"Any idea what they're about? Or should I say were about?" D.R. asked.

"I'm more curious about who did this." Cow Girl said, and then they spotted what they recognized as a fire's light.

"Someone's here." GS said, and they snuck through the library, until they got to where the light stopped moving, heard a whooshing sound, and there was a large candle laying on the ground, and no one there.

"Odd. Someone must have teleported out of here." Cow Girl said.

"How? There's only a handful of people we know who can do that." D.R. said.

"We cannot worry about this; there is an army out there that requires our aid. We must remove the barrier at all costs." Lizard Priest said.

"I'm with the lizard." D.R. said.

"So am I." Priestess said.

"Then let's go." GS said as he walked out of the library with the group following him.


As luck would have it, their luck didn't last; a wave of goblins found them in a large hall and charged at them. Cow Girl, D.R. and GS all unloaded bullets and shells into the goblin horde, tearing more than half of the to shreds. Cow Girl herself was amazed how reckless the goblins could be, but not more amazed than how effective it was to gun them down in droves like this. A narrow pass negates superior numbers, but this was insane. Less then a minute later, more than half of the goblins were dead, or critically injured. Lizard Priest then slung several ice bombs to freeze the last of the goblins to the bone, and kill the few lucky ones with the shocking cold itself.

Another horde came from the opposite end of the hall, and Priestess unleashed Holy Smite to vaporize the frontline goblins, and Rhea Fighter unleashed a wave of holy energy to slice the ones behind them in half. Wizard's brother finished off another quarter with a Mana Bolt, and then he downed a magic-restore potion in order to unleash another, but a few paladins where there to deflect it as a unit. The entire team then got involved as they formed up to engage the paladins in a melee.

A melee that was a complete stalemate; the paladins' armor was immune to their projectiles and even miracles and magic thanks to their enchanted armor, so fighting up-close was the only option. The paladins had the same number of people as GS' group did, and even used the divide and conquer tactic; each paladin fought one member of the group up close, and did everything they could to keep the group separated.

GS fought one paladin with his normal sword, but each swing was either dodged, blocked, or countered. The paladin then managed to bash GS with it's shield before GS kicked the paladin back, and another paladin ambushed GS from behind by bashing him to the ground with a swing to the head. Gs' helmet wasn't damaged, but the impact still floored him.

Rhea Fighter jumped the paladin GS was originally fighting by literally jumping on it's shoulder, wrapping her legs around it's neck and strangling it as it desperately tried to free itself. GS then fought the other paladin, starting by tripping it as it tried to help it's fellow paladin, and then tried to stab he paladin in the throat, but the paladin kept his sword away...until GS backed up, and then pushed forward to finally kill the first paladin. He then looked up to see the paladin Rhea Fighter was choking slam her into a wall as she kept her legs around it's neck. The impact staggered her long enough, for the paladin to grab him, slam her into the ground, and then Wizard's brother bashed it with his mace over and over, then Rhea Fighter tripped the paladin, drew her sword and then opened her chakras to increase her accuracy as she sliced through the paladin's neck.

She then closed her chakras to keep her energy from draining, then Wizard's brother had a chain lashed onto his mace, and he entered a tug-of-war with a paladin, he was clearly losing as it pulled him forward. Once he got close enough, it pulled it's sword, only for Cow Girl to slice the chain in half, making both Wizard's brother and the paladin fall back, but Rhea Fighter was there to keep Wizard's brother from hitting solid ground. Cow Girl then engaged the paladin with her memories of fighting the other paladins she fought coming back to her.

She clashed with the paladin blocking high and low attacks, stabs, kicks, shield bashes, and even headbashes, and throwing her own in the process, all of which had the same luck. In the end however, she managed to get enough ground to pull her rifle, fire a shell that made a weak spot in the paladin's armor, but before she could fire another round, the paladin was on top of her, kneed her in the gut, only to get a fist to the side of it's head from GS. Cow Girl then grabbed the paladin's own sword and jammed it into the weakness in it's armor...right under it's heart. Cow Girl then spotted Priestess dancing circles around the paladin she was fighting, but her sword wasn't strong enough to damage it's armor, so Cow Girl went to help her out.

GS then turned around to see H.E. Druid, D.R, and Lizard Priest fighting a single paladin that was able to hold them back...but not for long. Lizard Priest held the paladin off as H.E. Druid and D.R. tried to take shots at it, but either the paladin was too nimble, or Lizard Priest was in the way. In the end though, the paladin tripped Lizard Priest, took a bullet to the face, Lizard Priest grabbed the paladin's ankle, yanked it out from under it, and once the paladin hit the ground, Lizard Priest stomped on it's head over and over until it stopped moving.

GS then looked back at Priestess and Cow Girl to see them taking turns clashing with the paladin, and each strike was blocked by the paladin's shield. The exchange ended with Priestess holding the paladin off as Cow Girl used the axeblade of her rifle to deliver harder strikes, but the moment she got close enough...the paladin jammed the tip of it's blade into Cow Girl's lower belly, through her armor, stunning both her and Priestess. Cow Girl grabbed the paladin's hand to keep it from retreating, tore off it's helmet, pulled a pistol and blew it's brains out at point-blank range. Cow Girl then collapsed as the rest of the team swarmed her as Priestess removed the sword from Cow Girl's gut...and her necklace's enchantment healed the wound, and just in time as well. Her lower intestine was punctured which would have otherwise led to fatal blood poisoning, and even her birth canal was ruptured, which may or may not have led to her being unable to have children of her own with GS, which she really didn't want to think about...


"That was not fun..." D.R said as they kept walking down the hall.

"No kidding..." Cow Girl breathed out as GS and Priestess supported her.

"Let's just take out that barrier-" Wizard's brother shut up once H.E. Druid's ears perked.

"Wait listen...I hear something." She said.

"Lead us to it." GS said and they followed H.E. Druid down the hallway, and then they all heard the sounds of metallic clanging, goblins yelling, and flesh tearing. When they got to where the noise was, they found a large room full of dead goblins.

"Someone's been busy..." D.R. said, and they heard the same sounds coming from another room, and they found none other than Elder Revenant ripping through goblins of all types with his scythes, and he was moving fast enough to keep the team from tracking his movements; he was even worse than Ranger in that regard.

"What's he doing here?" H.E. Druid asked, and Elder Revenant harvested the souls of the goblins, and turned to the group.

"I was hoping to see all of you again. It seems the armor you found in those ruins is serving you well Goblin Slayer." He said simply.

"You mean this Abyssal Hide?" GS asked.

"So that is what it is called..." Elder Revenant said thoughtfully.

"You mean you didn't know?" GS asked.

"Not entirely, but the armor has been in my care for some time. It was quite...inconvenient for me to find all the missing pieces for you." Elder Revenant asked.

"Why did you?" Cow Girl asked.

"And why did you look after it in the first place?" D.R. asked.

"I restored it because of how fitting it would be; I might have even gotten a chance to use it myself, but I looked after it because of how much of a threat it would be in the wrong hands." Elder Revenant said.

"Well considering the results, it was quite a worthwhile endeavor." H.E. Druid said.

"I concur. Sir Goblin Slayer has reaped a great many benefits because of you." Lizard Priest said.

"So did the rest of us for that matter." D.R. said.

"Um, did you burn all of those books we found earlier?" Rhea Fighter asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did." Elder Revenant said.

"Dare I ask?" Rhea Fighter asked.

"The same reason I burned a whole library full of the same texts before the siege began: they were full of lies." Elder Revenant said.

"Goblins can read?" H.E. Druid asked.

"Not likely, but the goblins in this place seemed to have been educated, especially since they can operate cannons, and not ordinary ones either." GS said.

"Considering that this is the goblins' primary stronghold, it is quiet logical for them to have spent their time coming up with ways to defend it." Lizard Priest said.

"Speaking of defenses, we still have a barrier to take down." Wizard's brother said.

"It's through there. It's powered by a Hell Battery, but since you have the archbishop with you, destroying it should take no time at all. After that, you need only move upwards to find the Goblin Overlord." Elder Revenant said.

"Why are you helping us?" Cow Girl asked.

"And why are you here in the first place?" D.R. asked before winking at H.E. Druid.

"Let's just say that my soul may be gone, but my spirit has returned..." Elder Revenant said before cutting open a portal and jumping through.

"Well that was subtle..." Rhea Fighter said before Priestess lead them down the hall...and Elder Revenant was correct; there was the largest Hell Battery Priestess ever saw floating dozens of meters off the ground, sparking with Hell energy. Priestess gulped at the sight of it, and tightened her grip on her staff.

"How are we going to get rid of something like that?!" Wizard's brother asked.

"Well...he singled out Priestess, but...with all due respect, I think we'll going to need the Supreme God to directly hit this place if we're going to get anywhere here." D.R. said.

"What would the others do...?" Priestess trailed off.

"Just drink some holy water and use the most powerful miracle you can think of, while of course use it intelligently." GS said.

"Right..." Priestess whispered, before drinking some holy water, before sucking in a breathe. She then raised her staff, and closed her eyes. "Holy Light..." Her whisper echoed throughout the chamber as the group closed their own eyes while the Hell Battery went haywire. Sparks and bolts of Hell energy flew in every direction as the Battery became less and less stable. Eventually, Priestess used Protection to keep the group from getting vaporized by the explosion when the Hell Battery finally gave out.

"Well...so much for the barrier..." D.R. said.


The next several floors were one goblin battle after another; the group rushed through staircases full of them, shot at goblins that were taking pot shots at them from balconies, maneuvering around champions and setting them up for a killing blow, same with the paladins and even a high priest or two; they simply pinned the high priest down and laid into them until they were dead, not that they're pained screams meant anything considering what goblins do.

On some occasions, the team split up to cover different angles, like the time when a goblin wave guarded a door. D.R., H.E. Druid, and Wizard's brother flanked them, and got their attention with arrows, bullets, and fireballs, as the rest charged at the goblins from behind and tore them to shreds. Other times, the group went down a winding path and all of them had to get rid of the goblins as they went after the group, which was child's play for the likes of them. They even fought goblins on one elevator, then had to jump to another as the one they were on got blasted by shamans. Much to their laughter, when the platform they were on was hit enough, the thing fell to the bottom and flattened several hobs.

When they left the platform they were on, they passed by a dungeon...and each cell has a skeleton on the ground. Based on the width of the hips, they were all women, and the group didn't need to guess why they were in their cells, especially since there was no sign of struggle. They did their best to ignore it, but it was no use; the Goblin Overlord signed his own death warrent all over again.

When they got past the dungeon, GS, Cow Girl, and D.R. went upstairs as the others went through a hallway. GS and company then shot at the goblins that attacked their teammates below. GS himself had to deal with the goblins that attacked his two teammates, but his starlight sword made the task a no-brainer as Cow Girl and D.R. continued blowing the goblins' brains out. Eventually, some hobs appeared, but Lizard Priest took care of them single-handedly, especially with Priestess empowering him. She did so just in time as well; a pair of goblins rushed at Lizard Priest screaming in rage...without any weapons as well. He then stood his ground waiting for them to get close...big mistake; the goblins actually exploded with enough force to send Lizard Priest crashing into a wall. Thankfully, his empowerment kept him from being injured too badly, but those goblins blowing themselves up complicating things.

The group then reunited on the other side of the hallways as GS' team came downstairs, they then rushed down a flight of stairs, mowing down the goblin archers waiting for someone to appear...but they were looking in the wrong direction: below them. They then reached the longest hallway yet, which must have been a gathering area for the goblin armies as they listened to the Goblin Overlord. An omnious silence ensued as they walked down the length of the hallway; no goblins appeared for several minutes...despite the group being out in the open, and not far from the top floor.

"O.k...this is getting creepy..." Rhea Fighter whispered.

"Well, I just hope the Goblin Overlord is home." H.E. Druid said.

"This could be a trap. Stay sharp." GS said...before the floor dropped without any warning, and the next thing they knew, they were on a platform, surrounded by boiling water, and goblin shooters appeared on balconies just of the other side of the water.

"It's a trap alright! Shit!" D.R. exclaimed.

"Yeah, trap for them!" H.E. Druid exclaimed before Priestess threw up a Protection barrier around the team's platform, and then the team returned fire. Wizard's brother unleashed Firestream to cook the goblins alive, H.E. Druid and D.R. peppered them with arrows and bullets, Rhea Fighter and Lizard Priest slung bombs at them, which blew the goblins to bits, and launched some lucky goblins into the boiling water to spend their last moments screaming. The goblins continued pouring in from all sides, tearing into the barrier with arrows, bullets, and even some more suicide goblins jumping over the water to blow themselves up. Wizard's brother used Reflect spells to help lighten the load on the barrier, but it only lasted so long and killed so many goblins with their own projectiles before the minutes dragged on, and he had to take breaks to make more ammo for his team with his alchemy.

Eventually, GS attached a harpoon from one shotgun to the top, and the other to the platform, and Lizard Priest used Partial Dragon to give himself the required strength to pull the platform back up to the top...and a trio of goblin champions were waiting for them. Cow Girl lobbed her last bomb at them, and even though she hit one right in the face...it's helmet kept it from dying instead of just being stunned, and angered. Lizard Priest then charged at them with his teammates stunning the champions by shooting at them. GS then charged at the champions to help Lizard Priest who was stuck under a champion's hammer, and GS got there just in time to slice another champion's blade in half before it could be used to impale Lizard Priest from the side.

Rhea Fighter then turned invisible as the champion who was stunned turned it's attention to the rest of the group. Cow Girl then went out to challenge it...but that was just a front for the real threat. The champion then took a blow to the back of it's knee, which made it first look behind it, and then look around as it's fellow champions fought off GS and Lizard Priest. Cow Girl and company continued watching the champion in front of them continue to get thrashed by their invisible teammate, making the champion jerk around as it was struck from all sides. In the end, Rhea Fighter appeared as she ran up it's breastplate and flip-kicked it in the jaw, and as it lost it's balance and stumbled into a wall and to the ground. she charged up her sword, and rushed towards the champion...only to get swatted into a wall at the last moment.

GS finished off one champion by severing one of it's arms, then one of it's legs, then finally it's head as Lizard Priest grabbed the other champion's leg, made it lose it's footing, and then forcefully ripped off it's head. GS then looked back in time to see Cow Girl get bashed by the champion, and when she hit the wall, and then the floor...and got right back up and shook it off. Rhea Fighter then took over, jumping away from the champion's hands as it tried grabbing her, and GS charged at the champion with Lizard Priest behind him, and the champion grabbed it's sword and craved up the ground in front of them...which gave Rhea Fighter a chance to run up a pillar and slice open the back of the champion's neck, and the whole group watched it fall down dead.

They then took a moment to catch their breath, and when they were done, they found another platform and made their way to it...before a wave of goblins turned visible, and swarmed the group from all sides. The goblin's ambush was a dismal failure though; GS faced down the majority of the goblins by himself which surprised no one as he charged into the fray as they held off the rest of the goblins themselves. GS' Abyssal Hide deflected even heaviest of the goblin's weapons, but his blade and shield made work of them that was as short as always, as did the blows his legs landed on them.

When he finally took out the last one by stomping it's face in, he turned to see his teammates surrounded by goblin corpses that were soaked in blood and sometimes missing limbs, heads, or guts. Their massacres ended with Wizard's brother covering one side...on his own, and even though he smashed several goblin heads with his mace without trouble, his luck didn't last. Several goblins grabbed his legs, tripped him, and he hit the ground face-first as several goblins started beating him with their clubs, maces, and axes. Luckily, his armored cloak held firm, but each hit was still felt; good thing he had an enchanted necklace of his own made of topaz to help him recover from the hits. Eventually, the group got wind out it...but more goblins arrived to keep them busy, and the goblins left Wizard's brother to his fate, but GS then showed up and blew their brains out with a shotgun.

Priestess had her own fair share of goblins to deal with, and she was actually ensnared by one goblin who used a chain on to tie up her feet, which threw her off-balance, and made her fall to the floor. She then turned to see the goblin who did it approach, her and she tried to stab it, but her sword got snuck in it's armor, and it bashed the sword to the side before closing it.

"Hey, guess what?" Cow Girl asked, which made the goblin turn around...and then stare down the barrel of her pistol before she pulled the trigger. She then untied Priestess' legs, helped her up, and embracing her like the sisters they felt like. The entire group then entered the platform and rode it to the top.

"Top floor of Hell, we're on our way..." D.R. said.


When they finally neared the top, they got a view of the outside...and the fortress was taking a beating without the barrier they disables. Cannons, trebuchets, battlemages, sieges towers, the undead monsters Elder Revenant reanimated, and the World Spawns were hammering the walls, trashing the goblins' defensive weaponry, sending goblins flying, or just smashing them to a paste...if not taking them down with bullets, arrows, spells, bombs, and in the case of the flying monsters, corrosive bile.

"Yeesh...I've never been this happy to not be a goblin." D.R. said.

"Believe it or not, Ranger said that when Wizard told him about her fire magic on her first quest." Priestess said.

"You're kidding me..." D.R. said.

"Not at all." Priestess said.

"Well...fancy that." D.R. said.

"It's too bad they're not here; they're missing one hell of a fireworks display." Wizard's brother said as they continued watching the goblin fortifications below them blow up left and right as troops and undead goblins poured into the opening made in the fortress.

"Remember the recallers?" H.E. Druid asked.

"Not to mention we don't know how they're fight with the Cambion is going." Rhea Fighter said.

"Alright alright, point taken..." D.R. said before the platform reached the top, and there was a large pair of double doors at the end of a small courtyard.

"Say your prayers Your Majesty, it's all over for you..." GS said harshly as he approached the doors, and the team looked at each other, then steeled themselves before following GS...who then kicked open the doors to reveal a circular room lined with pillars...and a tall-black-armored figure relaxing on a throne.

"It's him..." Rhea Fighter whispered, and the figure roused before straightening itself out to look at the intruders.

"You're the first to ever invade my citadel...and I promise, you will be the last." The Goblin Overlord said, and his uneven voice took it's toll on most of the team's nerves.

"Considering this siege marks the end of your kind, I suppose you have a point." GS said.

"So you claim...once I am done with you, I will see to the siege personally, then see to the rest of your homes." The Goblin Overlord said.

"Not if we trash this place first." D.R. said.

"Please, You may have slaughtered my children, destroyed most of my home, but like the Hell Ripper...it can all be replaced. Now...tell me, where are the rest of you?" The Goblin Overlord asked.

"What if we're the only ones in the group?" GS asked.

"It would be a shame, although I suppose we have the Cambion to thank for this encounter being less-than-ideal." The Goblin Overlord said.

"You know the Cambion?" Cow Girl asked.

"Who doesn't? Although, I should thank him for distracting your Ranger friend and his group; with any luck they will slaughter each other and remove another obstacle between your homes, and me." The Goblin Overlord said.

"You clearly don't know who you're talking about." Cow Girl said.

"Maybe so. It's a shame the Cambion slaughtered the Sword Maiden...what a queen she would have been for me." The Goblin Overlord said.

"Oh that's it!" Wizard's brother snapped before unleashing a Mana Bolt at the Goblin Overlord...who held out his hand, and the Mana Bolt stopped cold, like it was being restrained, which alarmed the whole group as the Mana Bolt eventually disappeared.

"Well...that was rude, although I should expect that from a team led by the infamous and insultingly-named Goblin Slayer..." The Goblin Overlord said before standing up...revealing that he was twice as tall as Lizard Priest, and his armor was in-fact the same as GS'.

"How did you get an Abyssal Hide?" Wizard's brother asked.

"So that is the name of this armor...I find it in this citadel centuries ago, search everywhere I can think of, and I just now find out the name. Will wonders never cease...?" The Goblin Overlord said.

"You're going to need it!" GS snapped before charging at the Goblin Overlord, and then gets kicked into a wall before he can react. Then GS gets up, shakes it off, and charges again, but this time he ducks under a kick, and hits the Goblin Overlord's ankle, which does nothing. The rest of the team then unleashed a storm of bullets, arrows, bombs, and fireballs at the Goblin Overlord, but he held out his hand and stopped the barrage cold. Lizard Priest worked around to the opposite side of GS, and while the Goblin Overlord was distracted, he used the Partial Dragon miracle to bulk himself up, and then charged at the Goblin Overlord's ankle. Despite Lizard's Priest's superhuman strength increased even further by the miracle...all he need was move the Goblin Overlord's ankles a few inches, and get it's attention.

Next thing Lizard Priest knew, the barrage of projectiles the group wisely stopped adding to, was launched back at them, only for it to be stopped by Priestess throwing up Protection. Lizard Priest himself was lifted off the ground, and launched into a pillar. GS then swung at the Goblin Overlord's ankles himself, and even though his sword left several scratches, he didn't pierce it's armor. Wizard's brother then summoned a flock of crows to distract the Goblin Overlord, and even a pair of alligators to bite into it's ankles. H.E. Druid then climbed up a pillar to get a better shot, but all she could see was GS then grabbed and slammed into an alligator that died on impact, before the crows began sparking the Goblin Overlord's face while the other alligator sank it's jaws into it's weakened ankle.

GS then spotted a weakness in the Goblin Overlord's ankle, pull his starlight sword...and finally severed the Goblin Overlord's foot. Their victory was short-lived however; the Goblin Overlord unleashed a burst of force from it's entire body, sending the closest ones flying, and stunning the furthest ones. It's foot entire re-attached itself, as it's armor repaired!

"If that's your best, I'm sorely disappointed." The Goblin Overlord said as he stood up...only for H.E. Druid to loose an explosive arrow at it, hitting it's in the side of it's armored head. It then growled, and pulled H.E. Druid towards it, then launched it back at the Protection barrier, making the elf spit up blood before hitting the floor. D.R. then came out from behind a pillar and unloaded a barrage of bullets into the same place H.E. Druid hit while Wizard's brother gave H.E. Druid a life potion.

She then turned to see GS charging at the Goblin Overlord at the same time it unleashed a wave of force that forced D.R. to take cover as the pillar was shattered, except or the lowest part. She sighed in relief as her dwarven husband took cover just in time, and GS climbed up the Goblin Overlord's back and swung at it's head over and over...but all that did was make it angry, grab GS, smash him into the ground over and over, and Wizard's brother had to hit the Goblin Overlord with a Paralyze spell to get it's attention...but that's all it did.

GS did however take advantage of the distraction to hit the Goblin Overlord in the face with a freeze bomb, which made it let GS go, and the moment he hit the ground, he rushed away as Wizard's brother unleashed a Firestorm barrage at the Goblin Overlord, as Priestess used Holy Smite, but all it did was melt the ice; the armor was still undamaged.

Rhea Fighter meanwhile, was running around, desperately trying to look for an angle to hit it from, but got no luck. H.E. Druid then got up and once she was about to loose another arrow as Cow Girl charged it with her sword drawn, but the Goblin Overlord unleashed a wave of force that blew H.E. Druid, Wizard's brother, Priestess, and even Lizard Priest into the wall hard enough to crack the walls, before lifting Cow Girl off the ground as she struggled to get free. GS then charged at the Goblin Overlord, only get Cow Girl slammed into him, and Priestess noticed Rhea Fighter in the corner.

"Empower..." Priestess whispered.

"Is there no one else?" The Goblin Overlord asked.

"Yeah, me! Alright...leave it to the little girl." Rhea Fighter breathed out...and Wizard's brother sucked in a breath at the tone his smaller companion used, but snapped back to reality once Rhea Fighter rushed around the Goblin Overlord faster than her taller opponent could track, as she climbed up it's back, slicing up it's armor in the process, then jumping off of it before she could get grabbed. She then attached to a wall, and the moment the Goblin Overlord could use it's force magic on her, she dashed right past it, leaving a nasty scratch on it's bracer. It then inspected the damage before swatting at Rhea Fighter and failing miserably; she dodged the swat, and then kicked it in the gut with both feet before landing on her own feet as the Goblin Overlord was staggered.

Before Rhea Fighter could unleash another assault, the empowerment were off, and she retreated before the Goblin Overlord could recover. She then took cover in the nick of time, and then the rest of the team went back to shooting at it, when the Goblin Overlord unleashed a wave of force on the shooters that knocked them back into the wall hard enough to keep them from getting up from the pain and exhaustion. GS and Lizard Priest then charged at it , only for Lizard Priest to get picked up, and smashed into GS hard enough to smash the ground, and the Goblin Ovelord stomped on GS as Lizard Priest kept rolling along the ground. Cow Girl then rushed at the Goblin Overlord from behind...only to be picked up with it's force magic, and then looked over while she was slowly and helplessly rotated in mid-air.

"You and your army killed quite a few of my children, so I will need to replenish my army's numbers...I might as well start with you." The Goblin Overlord said before running his claws over Cow Girl's armored figure, from the generous swell of her breasts, to her flat, rippling abdomen, to the width of her hips, the deep curve of her buttocks, and the thickness of her legs. "What a fine queen you will make...few women I have given children to possessed the amount of flesh you have in the most...desirable places." The whole time, Cow Girl tensed up at the idea of the Goblin Overlord's intentions...but actually hearing about it made her sick to her stomach. "Ahh, you have had experience with my children before? Well...they are nothing; the pleasures I have to offer you are far superior."

"Don't touch her...!" GS growled, which got the Goblin Overlord's attention right away, as GS was trying to unpin himself from beneath it's foot.

"You claimed this woman as your mate? No matter...you can live long enough to slay the children I give to her, before I gnaw the flesh off you bones." The Goblin Overlord said, before the doors were sliced open...and Elder Revenant casually walked in.

"Hello Your Majesty." He said.

"You have some nerve interrupting my time of bliss undead filth." The Goblin Overlord said before dropping Cow Girl.

"I am well aware of how your times of bliss ends; I have ended the lives of countless mothers of your descendants." Elder Revenant said.

"And now you save a woman from the honor of being my queen. How noble..." The Goblin Overlord said.

"Your kind always did have a unique definition of honor." Elder Revenant said, and the Goblin Overlord growled, used it's force magic to rip a stone out of the stone, drew the Mark of the Death God on it, and hurled it at Elder Revenant...who causally swatted it away with a scythe he rapidly morphed. "One of your children already tried that."

"If you wil not be controlled, then I will make you desire true death." The Goblin Overlord said...before Elder Revenant dashed at it, scythe in hand, and tore a gaping hole in it's side...through it's armor. Not only was the Goblin Overlord stunned by the speed of the strike, and the damaged dealt, but so was the group. Elder Revenant then retreated through a portal before the Goblin Overlord could furiously kick him, and then he came down from above, jammed his scythe into the Goblin Overlord's shoulder, then tore the blade out through the side of it's ribcage as it came down. The Goblin Overlord then stumbled back as his wound healed rapidly...but the armor did not repair itself.

Elder Revenant then unleashed a plume of ash and bone shards to infest the still-open wound, but the Goblin Overlord used it's force magic to keep the ash at bay, until Elder Revenant gave up and retracted the ash into his own body. The Goblin Overlord then threw a punch at Elder Revenant, only to have it's fist pierced by a scythe, and it's forearm torn open, then it's legs slashed up, and even it's helmet pierced. Amazingly, the Goblin Overlord healed damage to even it's brain, and it's heart and lungs as Elder Revenant's scythe pierced it's breastplate as well, and ripped his scythe out of it...and then grabbed the Goblin Overlord's soul and started pulling it out.

"Remind me why we're here again...?" Wizard's brother asked...before the Goblin Overlord roared and unleashed a wave of force strong enough to launch Elder Revenant out through an undamaged wall, into the far distance away from the citadel. The team knew Elder Revenant couldn't die, but the display of power spoke for itself, and the Goblin Overlord's armor fell apart as it watched helplessly, and the team finally got themselves together as they formed up. The Goblin Overlord then growled as it prepared to continue the fight.


Back with the Cambion, he was with the skull of the Demon Lord's pet, chanting in the demonic tongue and releasing Hell energy into the skull. Cambion then turned to see Fighter approaching. He then stopped pouring his energy into the skull and looked over the cyan aura surrounding her person.

"You again...? Where did you get this kind of power?!" Cambion asked, and Fighter didn't say a word as she simply walked in his direction, before stopping several meters from him. "Wait...you must have gotten it from the others. I question how you think it will matter, but there's only one way to find out-" Next thing Cambion knew, Fighter's fist was slamming into his armored face hard enough to put a serious crack it and send him flying, and fast enough to keep him from tracking it. Cambion landed into the boulder pile not far from where he was, and then slowly stood up from the rocks covering him, and then extended his wings before glaring at Fighter.

He then dashed at her, and the two exchanged swipes of his claws and her armblades for several seconds, aiming high, low, to the side, sometimes with Fighter taking a page out of her husband's book and throwing fake strikes before throwing a real one somewhere else, like one of his joints. Their exchange ended with Fighter grabbing Cambion's arm, making him growl by twisting it in the wrong direction, then she grabbed his ankle, flipped him over, and sent him flying yet again with a kick to his back. She then rushed to pin him down before he could get up and punched him in the face over and over as she spoke.

"This is for the Sword Maiden, this is for Storm Mage, this is because I don't like you, this is for impaling my husband, this is for scaring Priestess, this is for disheartening the Pope, this is for tearing off my arm, this is for threatening my child, and this is for making Dwarf Rifleman's own bullet pierce his spine!" Fighter exclaimed as Cambion took each punch to the face, with each one being harder than the last, and eventually the force of her punches were hard enough to shake the ground. Cambion quickly recovered however and punched her in the face hard enough to stagger her, then he tried to stab her with the spikes on the ends of his wings, all of which she dodged with her full speed. Cambion then spread his wings, and flapped them hard enough to stun Fighter with the gust of wind, and while she was struggling to keep her footing, Cambion kicked her hard enough to launch her across the area. He then followed it up by dashing towards Fighter, who then side-stepped his charge, grabbed his foot as he passed her, and then slammed him into the ground around her.

Cambion then opened a Hell Rift and used it to punch Fighter in the back of the head as another opened behind her, the result was her getting hit hard enough to make her smash into the ground. Cambion then gained got on his feet as Fighter did the same, then he tried to slice into her with an armblade, only for her to backflip several times before making several clones of herself. They then charged at Cambion with the ones in front moving aside so the ones behind them could duck or block his armblades, jump up and kick him, and sometimes back up to shoot arrows at him.

Cambion simply moved around their attacks despite their inhuman speed, or even stopped the clone's strikes with his own, which injured their respective limbs and sent them stumbling with their own momentum out of their control, but it wasn't enough to keep them down for good as they could heal like the original could. Some clones even jumped off of each other while another clone was attacking or distracting Cambion, and the clones that did the jumping either shot arrows at Cambion, or jumped over him to attack from another angle.

Nevertheless, Cambion matched the clones' attacks step for step as always, even when attacked from all directions, one after another; high hits, low hits, hits from behind, nothing wasn't blocked, dodged, or countered, and the hits that managed to land despite Cambion's dizzying speed did no lasting damage. Fighter's clones even tried grabbing his weapon-limbs and manipulated them to be where she wanted them, like over his head to leave his sides open to their attacks...but he had a plan for that as well: bait them into thinking their movements were going to plan, but they were really setting themselves up to get bashed aside, or receive a minor slice.

The original then ended the melee by jumping up, latching her cables onto his blade, yank herself towards him with both feet slamming into his blade, which made him dig his feet into the ground, before flicking Fighter to the side. Cambion then extended a tentacle with a spike on the end to impale her, but the rest of the clones attacked him from the side, with one shooting an arrow to deflect the tentacle's spike, but at she did was give Fighter a better chance to get out of the way, and she did so by rolling to the side. Cambion then charged himself up with Hell energy, and started mercilessly lashing each clone, making them frantically try to defend themselves from the much faster strikes, but that's all they could do. Fighter then charged herself up as well, and opened a portal which led to her kicking Cambion in the back, launching him across the area, and giving her time to re-absorb her clones and restore her full strength.

"It's no wonder Ranger loves you so much: you're as mindless as he is." Cambion said sharply, which made Fighter snap her head to him in outrage, and then charged at Cambion, who used a tentacle to bash her across the forest, and then flew after her. When he got to where she was, Fighter barely got her footing, and tore up the ground in the process. She then charged at Cambion, who flew at her with an armblade morphed, then she jumped over him...only to get her cheek sliced open, and the force of the blow sent her into the ground. "You and the rest, doing each and everything you can to become heroes!" He then tries to impale Fighter, only for her to kick the blade away, and then blocked the blade as it came back around, but was sent flying once again...and she focused on her armor to keep herself from falling, just like her dear Ranger did beforehand. Just in time for Cambion to fly after her and rapidly clash his armblades against hers as he continued speaking. "You senselessly cling onto an ideology you're merely told is righteous, when the damage it causes is drowning you! You're no better than those mindless rats who call themselves adventurers; at least they do not acquire this kind of power only to waste it!"

"Says the man who claims to want to help the world, when he's really destroying it's base!" Fighter exclaimed while locking blades with Cambion, who roared before pushing her off of him, flapping his wings to push her back and move himself back, before dashing past her, over and over, as she narrowly avoided his blades, and then clashed with her again.

"Everyone I've slaughtered has done nothing but inspire their own deaths, as well as the deaths of others...and you are following in their footsteps gladly, and for what?! Some sort of hope that your reputation alone will be enough to keep people safe? That you'll avenge those who do them wrong?! How someone this foolish could have lasted so long against the goblins, as well as the demonic hordes is beyond me, especially when you intentionally prevent yourself from being aware of how fruitless it all is! At this rate, the only fate for you now is to die alongside the illusion you hold so close to your hearts!" Cambion exclaimed as he continued clashing with Fighter, and then unleashed a burst of Hell energy that pushed her back, and then a focused burst the launched Fighter across the forest floor, tearing up the land even more as he flew after her.


Meanwhile, Warrior and Wizard supported Ranger as they went to the place the Demon Lord's pet was being summoned, and they got a glimpse of the damage Fighter and Cambion's battle did...and it put the damage done during the fight between Cambion, and the rest of the team combined to shame. They even got to see, and especially hear the fight in the distance, and even though Ranger especially wanted to help her out...he couldn't deny she had the best chance if she did it alone, so all he could do was believe in her as much as he always did; her strength was a serious reason he loved her so fiercely.

When they found the pet's skull...they saw they were too later; the skull already formed a spine, and eventually canine legs, all with a purple and black flame engulfing it. The skeleton gradually grew in size before heading into a nearby cave as bits of muscles slowly developed on it's body. They then went into the cave to stop it, but even Ranger's Immolation wasn't doing anything to damage it...and Wizard's Drain spell was ineffective! Warrior then threw his hammer at it, and the weapon bounced of the skull like the hammer was made of wood. The two then covered their ears as Ranger morphed his quad cannon and opened fire on the skeleton, but even the silver bullets did little more than make the beast cry in pain.

Warrior then pulled his blessed sword and tried to charge it up...but the charge wasn't strong enough to get him to even attempt charging at the still-developing beast. Eventually, much to the trio's horror, the pet grew three more heads, each with goat horns, fully developed it's musculature, and started growing larger and larger.

"Run!" Ranger yelled as they ran out of the cave for dear life before the pet roared loud enough to send an echo through the cave.


Fighter meanwhile was skipping and rolling along the ground as she flew through what was left of the woods. She then struggled to get up, but the moment she got halfway up, Cambion caught up to her, and kicked her in the face hard enough to roll her over. Fighter then laid there gasping for air as her aura started to die down, but then struggled to get up, before Cambion mercilessly kicked her in the side, rolling her along the ground even more. To add insult to injury, Cambion grabbed her by the back of the neck, picked her up and slammed her into the ground several times. He then flew over to the side of a nearby cliff, smashed her into it, and dragged her across the cliffface as he flew by it, tearing up the rocky surface and doing the same damage to her that she did to him earlier. Cambion then blasted her into the sky with Hell energy, and flew up past her and charged up another blast before she got her bearings, and quickly dashed to the side.

The two then dashed around in mid-air, clashing armblades with each other rapidly, or as they passed each other. In the middle of the flurry of steel and weaponized flesh, Fighter's chakras came into full effect; she watched each swing of Cambion's armblades as he tried to swipe and stab at her, she felt the strength and killer intent behind each attack, and even heard the wind whipping at they attacked each other, blocked and especially dodged each other's hits. Surprisingly, the pain she endured during the beating seemed to fade into non-existence, not because she didn't feel it, but because she stopped caring about anything but what was happening outside of her body. Even the pleasure of being in such a thrilling battle, either in the past or now meant nothing to her, and not just because of the horrible timing was for thinking about anything pleasurable.

Cambion surprised Fighter by energizing his armblade just enough to shock her as it narrowing graze her abdomen, then he grabbed her by the throat and flew down to the ground at a diagonal...only for her aura to pick back up, her bruises and broken bones to heal, and her elbows to be jammed into his sides,and face, as she flipped them over. Cambion didn't roll over for her either; his wings wrapped around her, and he tried crushing her bones in a bear hug, but she managed to work her fingers into a weak spot in his abdomen, poked it as hard and fast as she could, and both his wings lost a chunk of their strength for just long enough for her to free herself, get on his back, and break both his wing joints as he roared in pain.

At the end of the struggle, Cambion hit the ground as Fighter rode him all the way to the end of the trench they craved up. She then got alittle revenge by kicking him into a hill hard enough to shatter it, but then her aura died down yet again as her fatigue finally caught up with her. Cambion then pushed some rocks off of him, and the cracks in his armor didn't heal themselves as he tried to get up, only to stumble down the hill; he was as worn out as she was. That didn't stop him from slowly but steadily moving towards her however...even though he fell down several times from the fatigue, only to charge himself with more Hell energy to pick himself up and keep approaching her.

Cambion then tried to swipe his claws at her, but she managed to muster her last reserves of stamina to deflect his claws, and punch him in the face hard enough to spin him. He then tried to swipe her again, and got his claws stopped again, and then she swept his leg, but in her mental haze, she put too much power into it, and knocked herself off-balance, so she fell down as well. They both struggled to get up, and after each of them sucked in multiple deep breathes, Cambion tried to unfold his wings...but they were useless thanks to her breaking them earlier, so she had the perfect chance to kick him to the ground, and then collapse to her knees.

Cambion then laid there completely out of energy, and Fighter sat there meditating for a few seconds...and then her aura returned, much to Cambion's terror as he tried to call upon whatever Hell or even Holy energy he had left, but it was no use. Fighter had more than enough energy to pick herself up, and then pinned Cambion down with her knee, then put both knees on either of his sides, and started punching him across the face over and over. Cambion was too exhausted to resist, and the force of each punch, made it even harder to focus as the woman on top of him continued punching him relentlessly.

Fighter continued to beat Cambion for several more seconds before she got her second wind in full, and then started punching Cambion with speed and force that continued to raise until she was creating shockwaves, and eventually small earthquakes with the force of her blows, as the ground began to crack more and more. Fighter then gave Cambion a break, and saw that amazingly, he was still alive. She then thought about letting him go because of how he had to have realized that his plan was doomed to failure. She and her team got exponentially stronger, and there's no way they wouldn't be able to get strong enough to fight him before he could catch up to them; the "might makes right" philosophy might be distasteful, but it still has weight in this case. Who knows? Cambion may have condemned the church, but he clearly knows that things need to change, and they could find a way to solve it together...

But then, she remembered his crimes, and even if he promised to take a page out of Storm Mage's book and look for redemption, what were the odds that he'd stick to it? His conviction spoke for itself many times over; he believes he's doing what's right, and showed no remorse for any of his actions, nor the results...and that, in addition to his ungodly power, made him too much of a threat. Fighter then channeled every last ounce of power she could into her fist, raised it over her head, and screamed at the top of her lungs before punching Cambion in the chest hard enough to cause an explosion the team could hear dozens of miles away, at the Pope's palace.


Fighter woke up after the explosion launched her over a hundred feet from where she was, and managed to pick herself up halfway, to see Cambion was back in his normal form, with bits and pieces of his demonic armor, as well as upturned earth scattered all around them. She then laid pick down and went back to her deep breathing; it was finally done and over with...but then her heart sank. An ear-splitting roar came from the other side of the forest: the Demon Lord's pet was awake!

The beast was the largest creature she had ever seen, it's skin was hairless, and black as night, it had three dog heads, each one with milky-white goat horns, it spewed purple flames from it's mouth, a tail with multiple spines on the end, and thanks to all the destroyed trees, she could see the scythe-like talons on it's feet. She then heard the rubble covering the Cambion shift and then he stood up without a problem...and her stamina was completely shot; she was doomed now.

"Fool...you have accomplished nothing." Cambion said sharply as he charged himself up with Hell energy...that quickly went away, much to his surprise.

"Well done my son..." A voice said.

"Demon Lord!? You should be in Hell!" Cambion exclaimed as he looked around frantically.

"Thanks to you, I can now leave much sooner, and not even the great Ranger can stop my reign over this world. Now I will reward you...with a quick death." The Demon Lord said as several Hell Rifts opened.

"What!?" Cambion asked, and then screamed his lungs out as bolts of Hell energy streamed out of his body into the rifts. Fighter then watched as Cambion was lifted into the air while his power was leeched out of him...and his silver hair turned black before he ran out of power, and hit the ground gasping for air. They then heard a massive explosion in the distance as a mountain's top was blown off, then a demon just as large as the pet came out of the hole, roared to the sky and spread it's wings...was that the Demon Lord?!

"At last I am free, and this world...will be mine..." The Demon Lord said.

"What have I done...?" Cambion whispered in horror.


Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug moment right there...also, shit...look who's here. Now, for those of you who don't know: The Demon Lord has two forms, one that resembles the stereotypical demon with wings, horns, and red skin, and the other form is where he basically looks like Ghost Rider's disfigured big brother because...reasons, and the Demon Lord apparently chose the former appearance this time. Also...

Fun facts: Cow Girl's moment where she says "hey guess what?" and shot that goblins cracked me up when I wrote it, and I imagined the famous cavalry bugle call playing when the lizardman warriors saved that group of trapped soldiers.

And just for the heck of it, I asked myself what Lantern Corps GS would be in, and I came up with Yellow, Green or Red. Personally, I think Yellow fits him the most because of his cold, ruthless, and calculating approach to combat, and especially how his demeanor and appearance inspires dread in mostly goblins, but some people as well. Green is also possible thanks to how much willpower it takes to do what he does, but Red works for the same reason, even though GS isn't a walking ball of fury that completely lacks subtlety, unlike conventional Red Lanterns.

Also...am I the only one getting an Avengers: Endgame vibe from this chapter with everyone getting involved in a huge-ass war, not to mention Warrior getting his own Stormbreaker "skin" for his hammer. Cow Girl even had a "you should have gone for the head" moment when she was stabbed by that paladin.

Now, with that trivia out of the way, the true final battle is approaching, and boy is it going to be a big one, so I hope this part of the fight was worth the unreasonably long wait, so be sure to Rate, Review, and Share while you wait...hopefully not as long this time, so please stay tuned.