Dawn of the Last Dragon Rider - Chapter 018 - Battle in Minoosh part 2

Cale had lost his axe, and there was not enough time to shoot one and then shoot another.  For a brief moment, Kaen realized he could not save his friend.  His lifestone pounded and surged in his chest in a way he had never felt it do before.

[ Archery Skill Twinshot - Available]

Kaen let his hands move on their own as he grabbed two arrows and felt his hands knock both.  His lifestone and his body were in unity.  Knowledge and power surged and flowed through him as he lifted the bow to his face and saw the angles, knowing they would strike true.

The string rushed forward, and the arrows loosed at their targets.

Both goblins had been running at Cale as he held up his hands, preparing to be butchered by their swords.  Just two steps before their swords would slice his arms off and most likely kill him in the next second, an arrow struck each goblin in the head, sending both tumbling to the left and away from Cale.

Kaen almost cheered, but he saw Cale was still frozen on the ground.  More goblins would be on him in a moment.

“MOVE, CALE!” Kaen shouted as he drew another arrow and struck a goblin in the leg, causing it to pitch forward and fall to the ground.  The man who had been fighting it wasted no time, bashing the goblin in the head with a club before looking around to see who he could help.

Cale started to crawl back on the ground for a few feet before he stood up and turned to see Kaen on the roof.  Kaen could see him smiling through the tears that had been on his face.  Cale started to wave when an arrow struck his shoulder and knocked him to the ground.

Kaen turned and saw a goblin archer.  He could barely see him as the roof was blocking his sight.  Taking a quick breath, Kane moved over the ridge of the roof he was on and let an arrow go as he slid down on that side of the roof.

The arrow struck the archer in the shoulder, causing it to tumble and fall backward.  The force of the shot allowed it to move behind a building preventing Kaen from finishing it off.

To your right! The orc and his two are coming!

Kaen had forgotten about Pammon but could now feel where the three creatures would appear.  He could sense them moving on the other side of the building as Pammon tracked them from high above.

Kaen moved back to the other side of the roof to protect him from any archer he might not be aware of and to give him an element of surprise, hopefully.  The sounds of battle raged underneath and to the north of him.

Striding from behind a house came two goblins who were different from the others.  One carried a staff and looked to be in a robe.  The other had some weird bone wand or something.  Kaen knew these were not the usual goblins he had seen and tried to activate the skill he had used a few moments ago.

[ Archery Skill Twinshot - unavailable - 120-second cooldown - 83 seconds remaining]

Had so little time passed during the first time he used it?  Time felt like it was zooming by quickly, but he now realized it was not.

Which one should I aim for?

The one on the left carries bones for a weapon.  That cannot be good.

Kaen found himself nodding as he drew an arrow and began to aim at the one on the left.  He wanted to aim for the orc, but it was decked out in chain armor and a helmet.  Its shield was massive as well, and the orc looked to be carrying what could only be described as a huge meat cleaver in its other hand.

His shot struck true, and the goblin carrying the bone thing in his hand stumbled as it tore through his gut.

The orc roared, looked in Kaen’s direction, and saw him on the roof.  He moved and blocked Kaen with his shield and body.  The other goblin ran behind him, and Kaen wondered why the orc was not moving and standing there, just keeping his eyes on Kaen and holding his shield like he was.

The one with the staff is healing the other one! I told you to attack the wrong one!

The panic of that decision filled Kaen’s mind as he considered his options.  He did not know how long it took to heal an injury like that, but he also knew he could not get past the orc’s defenses while it was aware of him.

“PATRICK! How goes it below?!” he shouted as he moved out of view and to the edge of the room.

“The three goblins are dead, and one of the men is pretty badly injured!” Patrick shouted back from underneath.  “What should we do?”

Kaen thought momentarily and knew one goblin was still missing from the original group.  Staying here was not safe, especially with that orc approaching.

“Move to help the group on the left.  We need to get them defeated!  The goblins have a healer!”

Kaen heard the gasps from underneath as the men shuffled and moved to get to the group to the left of them.

Kaen jumped down from the roof and rolled once before standing up and looking around the street.  He saw the blood from the fight that had happened on the porch of the house he had been on top of.  Three goblin bodies were smashed and hacked to bits from the men and the everyday tools they knew how to use.

“Go now!” Kaen ordered the men as he ran to the house across the street.

Slinging his bow over his back, he leaped up, grabbed the ledge of a nearby roof, and easily swung himself up and onto it.  It was still hard to believe how easily he could lift things that were once difficult and how high he could leap.  He was thankful every day for something else about his bonding with Pammon.

Hurry!  Two goblins are pressing toward your friend.

Kaen stood up and pulled his bow off his back and turned to see two goblins about seven yards from Cale and about two yards from another man from town.

[ Archery Skill Twinshot - unavailable - 120-second cooldown - 13 seconds remaining]

Kaen winced and pulled out a single arrow and let it fly.  It pierced the side of the closest goblin through its armpit and knocked it to the ground.  As he pulled another arrow and aimed, the other goblin lept for the man on the ground, who was not moving.  Kaen aimed and watched as the arrow struck the goblin in the hip.  It bounced off his hip bone and caused the goblin to scream in pain as it fell onto the townsman with his sword.

Wincing, Kaen saw the sword pierce the man and saw him shudder for a moment before going still.

Behind you!

Rolling up the roof, Kaen felt something hot slam into the roof where he was standing a moment ago.  The roof started to catch on fire as Kaen rolled over the peak and onto the other side of the roof.  He could still feel the heat of whatever had come toward him.

The magic user sent fire after you!  Your roof is on fire you need to move!

There was no time to move roofs, and Kaen knew it.  He had to use this moment to strike and strike fast.

Watch the two goblins near the orc.  Tell me when he is not in my way!

Kaen moved back a little from the peak and got himself prepared for when Pammon informed him the massive orc was not protecting the two goblins.  He could feel that Multishot was ready and did not want to waste it on normal goblins.  He had to take out both of these two at the same time, or else he might never get another chance.

It felt like an eternity as he waited for Pammon to tell him to move.  The sounds of battle near where Patrick and Cale were got louder.

How much longer till I can attack them?  The longer I wait, the more people who might die!

If you are that worried, I can join the battle. Otherwise, trust me.  It will be soon, they are going to pass by you soon.

Kaen stayed perfectly still when he heard Pammon tell him that.  He could feel the three of them walking past him as his dragon surveyed them from the sky.

Now!

Kaen popped up and his lifestone was surging with power like never before.  In all his life it had never acted like this before.  It took over again as he stood above the peak in the roof.  The orc held his shield before him and scanned the street as the two goblins walked slowly behind him.  The one Kaen had shot before had just cast a spell, and it had ignited one of the other men from his original group on fire.  Patrick and the men were running away in fear.

Both arrows lept from the bow, and each struck the goblins in the temple, causing both of them to crumble to the ground.

The orc heard the noise and turned and saw Kaen aiming his bow at him.

“ATTACK THE ORC!” Kaen shouted at the men who had started to flee.  “I will draw his focus!”

Patrick and two other men stopped running and turned around.  They saw Kaen walking along the top of the roof, holding his bow, and the orc holding his shield over most of his body toward Kaen.

Patrick motioned to the two men, who nodded and charged the orc.  Patrick and another man had an axe each, and the third man had a pitchfork.  As the three of them ran up behind the orc, Kaen feinted as if he was going to shoot.  The orc lifted his shield up to block most of his face.

The man with the pitchfork dashed forward and speared the right hamstring of the orc where no mail covered its massive leg.  A roar erupted from its mouth as it stumbled forward from the injury.  The other man drew close and swung his axe at the same leg, but the orc put his cleaver to block it, not aware Patrick was launching an attack on his other leg.

Patrick put all his speed and power into that swing.  All those hours lifting rocks and swinging a pick-axe had caused him to be strong even if he did not have a lifestone.  Kaen watched as Patrick swung that axe and struck the backside of the orc’s left knee, burying the axe as it sliced all the way through it.

The orc bellowed in pain and fell to the ground, and as it fell, its shield went to the side.

“Perfect,” Kaen whispered.  His lifestone was pulsing again as he let the arrow go.  The orc never saw the arrow as his eyes were closed in pain and stumbled to the ground.  The arrow flew through his closed eyelid and lodged itself in its skull, causing the orc to jerk and then fall down dead.

[ Archery Skill Increased ]

Kaen moved over the ridge of the roof and gazed at the battle taking place before him.

Patrick and the other two men cheered at Kaen as they looked at the orc dead on the ground.  They glanced up at Kaen and saw him point behind them.

“It’s not over! Let’s do it again!”

The men nodded and turned to find the battle before them was not going in their favor where Cale was.

“Get Cale out of here!” Kaen ordered as he leaped off the roof and dashed to the one closest to the battle.  He needed to get right over them and use the height for an advantage.

Careful, the orc there has a bow!

Kaen cursed as he saw one of the other men from town get struck down by an arrow fired from where the orc must be.  The arrow looked like a small spear compared to the arrows he used.

“I’ll cover you!”

Kaen was scrambling on the roof, letting Pammon lead him again to a roof across the street.

Two goblins under you on the left and two more have moved off to the north toward Hess.  His team has almost defeated all of them.  Just one goblin and one orc left.

Grabbing his bow, Kaen knocked an arrow and reached out to Pammon.

Tell me when it is safe to shoot.

Ten seconds passed before Pammon spoke.

Now, take a shot at the orc he is occupied, waiting on his goblins to move.

Rising over the ridge, Kaen saw the orc and let the string go, watching as the arrow sped toward it.  As it flew at the orc, Kaen realized that the orc had launched its arrow at him the moment he popped up.  He tried to dodge but could not and felt the pain of a massive arrow pierce his lung and knock him back.

The arrow was the only thing that prevented him from rolling off the roof, as he found himself hurt even worse when the arrow slammed into the roof and forced it through his back.

“I’m going to die,” Kaen thought.