His wings cut through the air, the wind whistling in his ears. The mage looked up just in time to see a huge black raven coming for him. Wide eyes and a shout of surprise but he managed to dodge the first strike.
“Fuck! Guards. Protect me.” Lesaril yelled, his hands went to his pocket where a mana core was stored. “You’re shit out of luck shapeshifter.”
Orias landed in a crouch, his form snapping back to human, clothes and all. Looking around him, he saw the fight was already in full swing as both sides were using their weapons and magic. But he focused on the mage in front of him.
The core in the mage’s hand glowed green and the poison fog moved, pulling inwards towards them. Before it could surround him, Orias lunged at Lesaril.
He punched the mage in the face, sending him to the wet dirt. The core fell from his hand and rolled into the lake.
“Shit.” Lesaril cursed.
The prince grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. A dagger found his arm—he felt it before he saw it and he dropped the mage and step back. A trail of blood followed.
Lesaril stood up, his dagger dripping with shapeshifter blood.
“You’ll fucking pay for this, Ashen shit. I’m going to cut off your head and present it to Prince Basil. You will be the first prince to die in this succession war,” he snarled.
Stepping back, Orias watched the man’s stance. He was right-handed, his knife held too tightly—amateur. But a single cut could kill him.
Troll or conserve mana?
“Wait.” He held his hand out to stop the mage.
With a mocking smile, Lesaril lunged again, aiming for the prince’s heart. Orias dodged backwards and tried to grab the knife hand, the blade cutting his palm instead.
A sharp gasp and a burn made him groan.
“You poisoned the knife? What kind of a pussy are you?” He laughed, feeling the poison seep into his veins.
The mage chuckled.
Feeling his mana drain, Orias shapeshifted quickly into a troll—his grey skin stretched tight over his long limbs, his nails turning into claws.
Lesaril gulped. His confidence drained away at the sight of the monster.
“Wait! I surrender, I surrender! You win okay? You win!” He dropped the dagger and raised his hands.
It was too late for that. Grabbing his head, Orias crushed the skull of the mage with his giant hand as blood and brain splattered. He looked at the corpse and then his body morphed. The blue-scaled mage resurrected.
He picked up the staff and headed towards the fight, where Corvin was fighting Sela.
In front of the wooden stakes, the Chief blocked the lieutenant’s sword strike. The impact shook her arms, her tail snapping against the ground for balance.
“Not bad, lizard.” Corvin pushed her back, his yellow eyes slitted.
Sela gritted her teeth. This man was a formidable opponent. She needed to use her magic if she wanted to win.
The two circled each other, looking for an opening. Then she took her chance, she dashed forward and aimed her sword at his heart. But he dodged and sliced her shoulder.
Her other hand glowed orange, and she shot a fireball at the man. He rolled away and it exploded on the ground, the wood catching fire.
“Nice try.” He rushed her again.
Relentlessly. His sword struck her side and she winced.
Behind the Chief, a snake demi-human charged at her with a dagger, but a rat jumped on him and bit his neck. William. The man fell to the ground, his blood pooling.
“Diabolical rats.” Corvin muttered.
William joined Sela, his teeth red with blood.
Corvin looked at the two and smirked. A green ball of poison appeared in his hand and he lunged for Sela's head.
She raised her sword to block it but the poison melted the metal and hit her chest. She gasped as the liquid ate away her skin.
William jumped on the man’s face and tried to claw at his eyes. The lieutenant grabbed him and threw him away, the rat hitting a stake and falling to the ground.
Sela was on her knees, her hand on her chest, the poison burning her. She couldn’t breathe.
Fire appeared in her palm but the snake kicked her hand and the fireball flew to a tent, setting it on fire.
“Goodbye, salamander.” Corvin raised his sword.
Before he could strike, a voice yelled.
“Wait it’s a trap!”
Everyone froze and looked at Lesaril, who was running towards them.
Corvin lowered his sword and backed away. Sela looked up, her vision blurry.
Lesaril pointed to the other side of the camp.
The lieutenant turned.
“What? I don’t see—urgh!”
Something pierced his leg and he stumbled forward. Looking down, he saw a black rat biting his thigh. William.
Rage filled the man’s face as he stomped on the rat. The crunch of bones made Sela flinch and she forced herself to stand up.
The rat under his boot was dead. Corvin turned to Lesaril, his anger clear.
“Why the fuck did you interrupt—”
His eyes widened. Readying his sword, he charged at the mage, who held up his staff. But the sword went through the staff and Lesaril had to dodge.
“Shit!” Orias cursed and shifted into a raven again, flying up into the air. But a poison arrow flew and hit his wing, making him drop down to the ground. Urek was aiming another arrow at him. Charles and the other rats jumped on the archer, distracting him.
Turning his attention to the lieutenant, Orias saw Sela holding Corvin from attacking him. She was losing strength fast.
Orias grabbed a rock and threw it at the man’s head. The hit made him stagger and Sela used the opening to punch him in the throat. Corvin backed away, coughing, hands at his throat.
“Enough!” Corvin yelled, his voice hoarse. He pulled four mana cores from his pocket and held them to his crystal. His eyes turned green and tens of poison balls appeared around him, all aimed at the two fighters.
Crawling backward, Orias gulped. He was out of mana and the poison was burning his skin. This was bad. He looked at Sela, who was grimacing in pain, blood dripping from her mouth. She was also out of options.
He closed his eyes and waited for the impact.