New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 996: An Opponent To Take Seriously



Alexander's focus shot through the roof, the sounds in the cave almost disappearing entirely for him, as his breath and heartbeat filled his ears.

'This foe is no random kobold,' he mused, looking the lizard up and down.

The kobold's scales gleamed like polished steel, their reddish hue gleaming ever slightly in

the light that Kary's flames were still emitting above them. He looked like a devil straight out of a movie, his glare cold enough to freeze over hell itself.

'I can't win as just a human. I'll need to meld. White, you with me?' he mentally asked his canine companion.

'Leave the mutt out of this, young one,' a female voice echoed in his mind, followed by a warning growl.

White wasn't happy with being called a mutt, but shegror's presence pushed back the wolf's pride and took the forefront of Alexander's mind.

'You are dealing with disciples of a dragon. You should meet them with a dragon yourself. It's only fitting,' Shegror advised, her voice resonating in Alexander's mind like crystal.

While he was having this conversation, he and the kobold never once let go of their focus on each other, waiting for a move to be made.

With each twitch of a muscle, a sign of impending action, both sides reacted, their muscles preparing for the inevitable, but no motion ever going through.

A battle of the mind was happening, micro-movements the only sign of it on either's body, while the remaining kobolds ran at the eleven party members like a tidal wave, ready to consume the earth.

'Fine. I'll meld with you. But keep the power to a minimum. Only what you think is necessary. I need to conserve mana. I have a feeling this one is not the last one I'll meet,' Alex warned the dragon.

In silent agreement, Shegror pushed into Alexander's body, keeping her presence back as much as she could.

Alexander's skin quivered, small scales forming on top of his hands, forearms, as well as his cheeks and forehead, the black sheen absorbing the red firelight shining in the room.

Alex could feel the power rush through him, and everything seemed to slow down around him, his heartbeat almost sounding asystolic, if not for the occasional beat.

In truth, his heartbeat hadn't slowed down at all. On the contrary, it had sped up quite a bit, reaching almost a hundred and twenty bpm.

But his perception of time had slowed down so much that he heard them as slow as ten bpm. His eyes went from their usual ocean blue to a golden tint, with vertical pupils, making his and his opponent's eyes almost the same, if only a different colour.

The kobold was taken slightly by surprise, his guard not dropping but his mind skipping a loop.

Alex pounced on this split-second of shock, dashing forward at break-neck speed, and swinging his sword on the kobold's sword side, trying to bypass the shield altogether.

But his opponent wasn't that green a swordsman, and his focus came back immediately, as he jumped sideways, matching the direction of the sword to blunt the blow, as he pivoted his shield into position to block.

Alexander's sword banged against the shield with force, knocking the kobold back toward the wall, stopping only a few feet shy from it, his shield arm slightly numb.

'That strike contained much more force than before. Who is this human, and why does he look like a dragon kin?' the kobold wondered, his eyes still locked on his foe.

Alex wanted to go in for a relentless assault, but Shegror spoke in his mind again.

'Pace yourself, young man. This warrior knows what he's doing, and he's trying to send you into a battle of attrition. The look in his eyes tells me he knows your power surpasses his. He'll try to exhaust you before he strikes.'

Alex stopped his motion forward, bringing his sword arm before him in a defensive stance. Shegror may be a freeloader in his mind, but she was also the oldest of his soul companions, aside from the demons bound to his will.

She likely had much more experience than him fighting experienced warriors, especially since she was a soul companion to one of the strongest mages in New Eden, to begin with.

'Okay. If you want to guide this fight, I'm all for it. But Standing still too long is bad for us, too. I don't know how long the others can hold back the masses of kobolds,' Alex said, glancing to his left, where the army of kobolds had finally crashed into the tunnel entrance, where Kary had backed the party.

'Seems to me like your partner has the situation handled. Smart idea of her to bring the kobolds into a choke point. I understand why Logith feared her mind more than her power,' Shegror replied, a tinge of mocking to her tone.

Alex ignored the poke at the green dragon and focused his mind on the foe before him, who was also eyeing him intensely.

'I will tell you what to do to win this fight. It will require a lot of micro-maneuvering. Are you up for it?' Shegror asked, her tone still slightly mocking.

'Who do you think you are asking this to, woman? I got the stamina of a hundred men,' Alex joked, eliciting a scoff from the dragon.

'We'll see about this.'

In the meantime, at the cavern entrance, Kary had led the party back into the tunnel, knowing they couldn't afford to get surrounded by the kobold army. She counted at least a hundred heads, and she didn't want to risk a full encirclement.

From inside the narrow tunnel, which only spanned twenty feet wide by as much in height, they at least had a chance to hold off.

As soon as they got inside it, she instructed Rì-Chu to form platforms on the walls for their archers and gunner, thinning their back line a bit. It was done promptly, and the three concerned jumped on them without being told, understanding their use.

"David, send your undead to the front with Winston! We need a solid barrier between them and us. Keep three of them close to our physical ranged for protection!" she ordered.

"On it!" David shouted, instructing three kobold skeletons he had raised in the previous rooms to guard the archers and gunman.

The rest, he sent to Winston's side.

When the wave crashed into them, Winston was ready, along with the skeletons and zombies, and his shield took the assault like a dam stopping a river.

"You're not getting past me, you ugly lizards!"