Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Gorgon - Chapter Thirty Nine

At least that was my guess, but I didn't understand a single word. It was my first time hearing a foreign language, thinking everyone spoke Crantan on the continent.

"Here they come." Ember nudged me as the lizards formed up. "What if I roasted them a little, just for good measure?"

"There is no need for that, the goblins got away. We have to follow them." I noted, jumping up to leave in the cover of darkness.

"Aww, Boss, you're no fun." She pouted, following me quietly.

Normally, the lizardmen were much faster than the other races, but that was during the day. We had a clear advantage while they were still confused and cold. I did not want to waste it so we rushed down a small hill, and into the woods. I glanced behind to see if they followed us, but the plan worked perfectly.

Our camp was fortified by now, the orcs well rested, and ready to defend it. The stragglers were to hide and make their way back later. We planned to head out with the first lights in the morning if the lizards did not find us by that point, hoping they would never catch up.

Avalon's company had to outrun their communications, then we'd have an easy time cutting across their vast territory, as long as we stayed on the move.

"Captain, are you sure they don't see in the dark?" Ember asked after some running. "I feel like they are gaining on us..."

"I've never got the chance to ask them about it." I tried to keep my voice down, starting to run out of breath. They fanned out in the forest and didn't seem particularly slow to me... "This is not looking good."

"Fireball!" The witch yelled and engulfed the forest behind us in flames. I gave her permission, but there was no time to complain now. This scattered our pursuers, but they kept coming. "Don't tell me they're immune to fire, that would be unfair... How do you like this? Firestorm!"

She generated a whirlwind, twisting her palms over each other. With a single spark, the air caught fire, and the flames created a raging tornado a few yards behind us. Immunity or not, the lizardmen attempted to evade the spell that wreaked havoc in the dense forest.

It ate up everything flammable within seconds, and the winds ripped out trees from the ground, thrown around like leaves in the autumn breeze. She had no idea how to hold back.

"You'll burn down the whole forest," I warned her horrified. Her power was something else, and she didn't show signs of stopping.

"Yeah, I can do that." She nodded with a grin, the reflections of the flames dancing in her dark eyes. "They aren't immune after all."

"No, this wasn't a suggestion." I clarified, still running as fast as possible. Her grin turned into a pout. "I told you to avoid collateral damage."

"Why though? We'll be gone in the morning anyway..." She shrugged, moving her shapely legs. She was pure chaos indeed.

In any case, the lizardmen had enough and no longer chased us. I still heard their shouting across the forest fire that lit up the night and felt bad about causing this much destruction, but the rest of the way was uneventful. We arrived at the camp.

"Report," I demanded, trying to catch my breath.

"You are the first group to make it back." An orc sergeant informed me. "Forty beasts and no casualties so far. That was a great haul, Captain Gorgon. The goblins are feeding them, then we'll put them in front of the carts in case we need to move..."

"Great... That is good news." I nodded, still struggling to speak. "I'm surprised we made it back first though... I thought our target was the farthest away from the camp... Any news from the other groups?"

"Nothing yet, should I send out scouts?" He asked, but I shook my head, not wanting to overwork them.

"No, but stay alert. We were followed for quite a while..." I noted, looking at the Fire Witch. "You overdid it, Ember."

"Hmm... But it worked, didn't it?" She shrugged, avoiding eye contact, inspecting her nails, and swung her legs on a wagon instead.

"I get that you are young and love the flames, but I don't want us to be known for the destruction we caused..." I scolded her. "Enemy territory or not, I asked you specifically, don't cause collateral damage... Besides, what if we get into a prolonged fight? How long would you last?"

"Oooh, wanna know?" She looked up. "I can do this all day."

She sounded genuine which was worrisome. Still, before I chewed her out, more yells and raptors closed in on the camp. I stepped on top of the carriage to see what happened. By the looks of it, the second group returned but disorganized.

"This is Captain Avalon's task force." The lieutenant reported with excitement. The thirty-or-so animals rushed past us, their goblin riders all here too. They seemed restless though, barely slowing down.

"Battle formations, they are right behind us." One of them shouted, jumping off his mount. "They got the high shaman."

"What?" This caught me off guard, Ember's smile was also gone. I gave the orders. "Vanguard, form a shield wall on the northern side, rearguard, prepare your bows."

The chasing lizardmen showed up on cue, running as fast as raptors. One of them still sprinted in front, easy to make out who rode it even in the dark. I recognized his voice from a mile away.

"Strike down their shamans," Avalon yelled, in full retreat. "They will wipe us out if you don't take them down first. Brace your spears."

"Shamans? He said more than one?" I asked, confused.

"Looks like I get to demonstrate my endurance, Bullhead." Ember grinned, ready to fight. Our soldiers rushed into formation, ogres and hobgoblins taking up the front rows. I gave the archers the command to fire, almost hitting the third group that showed up from the left right before the lizardmen reached our first lines. They certainly had losses.

The enemy quickly outnumbered Avalon's company, not by a little...

At least five hundred lizardmen stormed us.