The Ghosthound ultimately was not able to equal Donnyton’s forces in an extended confrontation There was simply too many of them capable of skills So he had used a series of vicious bursts to reduce their staying power whittling away their will That had left this group who had enough health and stamina to push through his area of effect skills They needed to be dealt with individually and at great cost
Of them all of course the tanks were the real problem If they weren’t there he could continue to use bursts to attack As it were they would just endure it and then crush him
So he was forced to this
With an impossible powerful explosion of fire and ash the Ghosthound shot forward pole raised towards Dozer The speed with which he traveled made reactions impossible The two figures smashed together and just as quickly parted with a crack
Dozer stumbled and spat out a mouthful of blood
The Ghosthound skipped forward bleeding off some of his speed and stopped and turned looking at them with glowing eyes There was an anger there and an unwillingness
With exaggerated slowness the Ghosthound raised his hand holding it above his head A smoldering fire began to form
Inspiration His words were raw and angry Dozer turned and raised his club barely maintaining his stance Donny rushed forward to stand by him and activated Aegis The other three ran behind the tanks
Surprising everyone even herself Mrs Hamilton said Can you see how much they want this victory Randidly
Those violent hungry emerald eyes turned towards her the fire held above the Ghosthound’s head slowly glowing brighter He smiled
But then everything dimmed all at once The Ghosthound let his hand fall they don’t need to want it any longer they have won
Without another word the Ghosthound dropped the pole and walked away out of the arena and towards the treeline People parted unsure of what just happened
What just happened Sam gasped He gave up
Mrs Hamilton took a very long breath in and out and then shook her head slowly As the Ghosthound slowly walked he passed the area where the defeated squads stood there was a strange tension Then abruptly a man stepped forward
The squad leader of Squad III stepped towards the Ghosthound then bowed Thank you for your guidance
Behind him in a wave all of the defeated classers bowed Thank you
It was a dull thunder Echoing out filling the silence these two words were everything that they wanted to say to this man He started the village he protected them he taught them about classes and skills and then he showed them how weak they were and also how strong they could be
And so the people said Thank You
The Ghosthound walked not acknowledging the words just walking into the forest He had said everything he had to say already with that pole He had explained clearly what he had expected from them what demanded from the squads in the name of Donnyton’s defense
And to that pole Mrs Hamilton pointed It could be say that the Ghosthound lost to the situation more than anything else
Daniel snorted What is he going to be a sore loser about the numbers now Why
No you idiot An annoyed Annie nursing a brutal headache said Look at the pole It broke when it hit Dozer
Daniel blinked Sure enough the poles tip had cracked a good ? falling to the ground around the site of the blow With that much of the force dispersed it was still enough to blast through Donny’s defensive skill and heavily wound Dozer
But it wasn’t enough to put Dozer out of commission The pillar had not fallen And for whatever reason the Ghosthound had stayed his hand at the last second letting them off
Chapter 107
Daniel sighed I hope this isn’t one of those situations that he will swear vengeance go train in the woods for a month and come back and do it again only to gloriously succeed
Annie rolled her eyes leaving to go check on the hobbling Dozer and Mrs Hamilton chuckled I think you read too many fantasy books
Giving her a skeptical look Daniel said Do you really want to underestimate the Ghosthound
No I think he will grow more powerful than I can understand But it’s still a numbers game Mrs Hamilton spread her hands wide Sure he might grow faster than one person but what about two people Three people 10 people 50 He cannot out level an entire village The population of Donnyton will now control the destiny of this town although there’s no doubt that the Ghosthound will always play an important role
A dull bang sounded and the talking ceased as everyone turned to look at the source of the noise Donny He stood tall and now it was clear how exhausted he was his youthful face lined with worry But it was brightened by a joyful smile
Classers of Donnyton Do not rejoice Although we won there is no reward only more work We fought the Ghosthound for the dubious honor of being the last line of defense the ultimate shield that protects everyone who lives in Donnyton now and will come to live here
Rejoice He continued eyes glittering We have won more work
We won
The shout came from Tykes who had just regained consciousness looking around wildly his eyes wide As Donny looked at him although Tykes was 2 years older than him his face softened as if looking at a promising grandson
Yes we won Now who’s prepared to meet with Decklan Dozer and I to talk about their performance in these trials Mrs Hamilton has apparently been taking exceedingly detailed notes
Mrs Hamilton smiled kindly at them all as the Classers turned to look at her with mounting horror She coughed lightly We should start immediately There is a LOT to go over
Randidly looked at his hands then clenched them gritting his teeth
It’s so bitter He whispered His eyes were to his surprise wet with tears Randidly hadn’t cried since since walking home from his talk from Tessa But he had been resolved then just like he was resolved now although he felt slightly helpless
Not that the loss bothered him so much
Which in fact was a lie It bothered him a lot These people had none of the head start that he had of that long 7 months alone with Shal training against monsters that could kill him as quickly as looking at him And yet already as they grouped together after a month they could defeat him This was supposed to be his chance to demonstrate his superior strength to show them how powerful one individual had been
It was a lesson and a small revenge and a stress relief and 1000 other small reasons that he wasn’t truly aware of He was simply sure that it was something that he wanted to do
Yet they were stronger than him which he had never expected Or at least strong enough push him so far that he had two choices Either admit defeat or
Which was the other reason that Randidly was so upset in that moment after his pole broke on Dozer he knew that struggling to fight normally would not work he was at too much of a numerical disadvantage If he wanted to win he had to drop all unwillingness to kill them in order to win
So he had raised his hand prepared to use an Inspired Circle of Flames to wipe them away and claim victory When Mrs Hamilton said Can you see how much they want this victory Randidly what Randidly actually heard from her was slightly different
Can you see how much you want this victory Randidly
That raw anger he had gained in Franksburg had almost driven him to kill the fruits of a month of labor Donnyton’s finest wiped out in a wave of fire Who knows too how many other casualties they would have suffered
And so Randidly cried hot tears because he felt weak He did not blame the anger only because of it had he fought that long against impossible odds What he blamed was his basic skills which were not enough to support him
He was too weak He had almost made a mistake and let the anger control him
Wiping away his tears Randidly once more looked at his hands
It had been such an innocuous noise the small crack that had sounded when he used brute force to knock aside the Iron ball wielded by that brown skinned young man A crack he had thought nothing of Until his pole split in half striking Dozer