NOVEL NEXT Chapter 11: War Begins
Chapter 11
Under the cover of night, a mountain castle could be seen that looks like it came straight from a fairy tale, with white and beautiful walls polished until it could reflect the moonlight. It silhouetted against a sky filled with twinkling stars. The cool, dark air is crisp, and the glow of a crescent moon bathes the landscape in a soft, silvery light. The castle's towers stand tall, their shadows stretching across the valley below. A gentle wind whispers through the trees, and the only sound is the occasional rustle of leaves.
Suddenly, a shift in the atmosphere—a subtle tremor beneath the earth—hints at something unnatural. The sky above begins to shimmer, and within moments, a massive teleportation circle forms in the air near the mountain beside the castle. Its intricate patterns glow in a vibrant blue, pulsating with energy that reflects off the mountainside. The stars above seem to dim in comparison, as if the night itself held its breath.
From the circle, hundreds of men and women began to materialize, stepping forward into the night. Their armor gleams faintly under the moonlight, and the air fills with the soft sound of clinking metal and the rustling of hoods and hushed footsteps. Their faces are resolute, their eyes sharp, as they emerge from the glowing magic cricle, ready for whatever lies ahead. The circle continues to pulse with magical energy, lighting up the night sky until the last one passes through.
As the final man goes through, the teleportation circle slowly fades, its glow dimming until it disappears entirely, leaving the army standing in stark contrast to the quiet night. The once peaceful mountain now feels heavy with anticipation, as if the darkness itself is bracing for what comes next.
From within the army, a golem-like man in his fifties steps forward from the army; he was tall and burly, as if he were cast from an iron with a cold and resolute gaze that seemed to glow in the darkness; his posture was confident, almost bordering on arrogance. The man looks around, surveying the surroundings. After a few seconds of looking around, the man takes an extremely deep breath that continues for almost five seconds. When his lung almost seemed to be ready to burst, he yells 'FORWARD, LEAVE NO ONE ALIVE' in a sky-rupturing, air-cracking voice that sent waves of wind across the mountain , rustling trees, bending bushes in the process.
In response to his command, the army moves like it is a war machine that came to life, with each and every single one of them, whenever they are high class or low class, madly rushes towards the castle with red eyes with veins showing, some with maniacal smiles that almost divided their face into two.
BOOM BOOM
BOOOOOM
High-class beings fell like a meteor towards the castle's outer and inner areas. With low- and medium-class beings following them right behind. They fell like lightning, taking the castle guards and defenders by surprise. Killing quite a lot of them in the process.
'Who are you? Why are you attacking us? A guard yells towards a middle-class golem that is rapidly approaching him. While readying his weapen for the fight.
In response, the middle-class golem goes even faster while yelling towards the guard. 'A dead man doesn't need to know,' in his arm some king of rune activates, and his hands glow with brown light, like a protective layer or in simple terms gauntlet .
In another part of the battlefield, specifically the inner ring, a squad could be seen. 'RING THE ALARM' A desperate squad captain yells towards his subordinates, who, after the attack, barely managed to come to their senses. One of the soldiers ran to the alarm, only to be shot by a magical arrow. The others seeing this also ran to the alarm, but unlike the first one, they were vigilant, but the arrow was too fast; 2 more got shot down, until the rest managed to reach the alarm.
WOOOOHOOO
After the alarm rang,. It is as if the base finally became awake. With hundreds of magic circles lit up, turrets and traps activating.
A middle-class golem could be seen torturing a middle-class guard by slowly crushing his skulls. With a maniacal grin plastered on his face, just as he was about to finish him off, a turret fired at him from behind, hitting his neck, causing the golem to weaken his hold on the guard. The guard, using this opportunity, matieralizes a lighing-like blade that crackles like thunder and severs the golem head with swish sound.
Situtation on the battlefield starts to stabilize as more and more reinforcement rushes out of the base. Carrying a sword, orb, or even a magic gun. It quickly changes from attackers completely dominating to only having the upper hand, with the defenders finally having a chance to repel or even kill them.
In the outer part of the castle, a Peak high-class human mage could be seen attacking a teenage boy that looks to be around 13, with numerous spells ranging from [Air Blast] to [Blazing Inferno]. But without exception, they all missed, but the mage did not give up; instead of single target spells, he began casting AOE spells.
[Mother Earth's Great Vine] mage yells as he ,once more casts a nature-type, AOE, binding spell towards the Yuto, only for him to dodge by twisting his body in an impossible degree, after which he, for the first time they began fighting, rushes at the mage. Upon seeing Yuto rushing at him, the mage casts a spell [Stone Wall] while retreating to keep his distance. Only for the boy to smash through his stone wall like it is made of cotton and continue to rush at him.
With his plan of using the spell [Stone Wall] to stall him and bombard the stone wall with AOE spell failing. He changes tactics, and instead of borbarding him from a distance, he rushes at Yuto. While he was rushing at Yuto, he cast some sort of spell that created a lighting armor around him. That electrocutes anyone who gets close to him to ashes. Yuto, upon seeing this, just narrows his eyes without doing anything. When they were about 5 meters away from each other, Yuto disappeared and reappeared right behind the man with his fists glowing green and punches him straight to his back, almost penetrating through. The punch was so strong that it sent shockwaves through the surroundings, and it caused his feet he used as a pillar to deliver the punch, to penetrate straight through the ground. Like a bullet piercing through the glass. About a five-meter radius around him, ground cracks like spider webs, with the center having the most cracks.
'HAAAA GAAA' the mage, now with his back vertebral bones completely crushed, his organs getting penetrated by vertebral bone because of it, slowly turns around while lying flat on the ground. Except for his face, instead of frown, fear, or hatred, he should be showing. He was showing a deranged smile with blood coming out of his mouth. 'GO..haa..CHAA' Mage says in a slow voice, with blood leaking out of his mouth, and he casts a barrier around himself. Yuto, upon seeing this, frowns. And just as he was about to look around for a trap.
Only for the ground that Yuto was standing, and he's surrounding it blowing off in a huge magical explosion. It sent waves of heat and shockwaves, almost a hundred feet. With enough heat to melt even a bone to ashes. Almost 2 minutes later, only a massive amount of ash and charcoal remains could be seen, with some smoke and dirt still drifting through the air. Upon seeing it, the man heaves a deep sign with a smile on his face. Only for a bloodied, burned fist to smash his shield, then his body. Penetrating his heart in the process. Sending shockwaves through the air.
Mage, stunned, looks at the Yuto, whose lower body is fully burned and his upper body and face severely burned. Even his nose melted. The mage, using the last of his energy, asks, 'How are you alive? I...' only for him to die without finishing it.
But Yuto, as if not noticing that the mage already died, said to him with a possible a soft and bright smile, but with his face and cheeks burned, his nose melted, and his flesh melting off, he looks more like a monster or a ghost from a horror movie. 'Willpower,' Yuto says in a calm voice almost soothing voice as if he isn't feeling any pain, after which he drinks a healing potion, which was teleported to him using a summoning circle. After that, he looks around, checking the surroundings to see if another one or even two is coming for him. He notices that the rest of the enemy is keeping their distance away from him. Some fighting others, one or two just watching, but they all warily glance at him, checking if he will come for them next.
Suddenly a part of the castle that is facing the mountain blew up, sending debris everywhere, with some low-class beings getting hit with it and getting serious injuries. From within the debris, a thin old man that looks like he is one step away from his coffin with a face full of wrinkles got out while coughing and waving his hand in front of him. 'Why did you have to hit an old man so hard? I already have one foot in the grave, you know,' the old man said, facing toward the sky, specifically the golem in the sky. 'Quit spouting bullshit, Ray, just fight like you used to; did growing old make you senile already?' Golem said to the old man, like they were from the same generation. In response, the old man sighs heavily and says with a tired tone, 'Your temper is still the same; one day that temper of your's will be your undoing,' and the old man starts rapidly casting hundreds of spells toward the golems while he flies towards him rapidly, akin to a bullet.
Yuto, while seeing this scene, smiles and starts looking around, as if he is looking for something. After a few seconds, he spots who he was looking for and approaches her slowly while assessing her and the opponent she is fighting against. She was fighting against a middle-class human being who is wielding a sword with her having the absolute upper hand, with him barely surviving by getting help from his comrades or turrets. If this continued as it is in just a minute or two, the fight would have been decided. But Yuto, as if he did not care, quietly sneaks towards her opponent's back and instantly kills him by punching him through his back. Destroying his heart in the process.
She sees her opponent getting attacked from behind and dying; she rapidly turns her head and looks at the assailant. She looks at him for a good few seconds from head to toe, then says,I didn't need your help, you know,' with a bit of frustration evident in her voice after noticing who had interrupted her fight. 'Yes, I know, you didn't need my help, but we might be short on time,' Yuto says calmly with his mouth stretching towards his ears like a smile. Upon seeing this, she says while frowning, 'Until your face is healed, you shouldn't smile. You look like draugr when you do so '
(Explanation: Draugr are the undead, often depicted as reanimated corpses that guard their burial mounds and possess immense strength. They can be grotesque in appearance, with rotting flesh, glowing eyes, and a foul stench. Known for their malevolent nature, they could rise from the grave to seek revenge or to protect their treasures, embodying both a physical and spiritual threat to the living. Their eerie presence and horrific visage make them a terrifying element of Norse lore.
She calms down after saying that, turns around and casts illusion spells on her self and Yuto, and starts running towards East in the direction of the valley. Yuto, after a few seconds, follows quietly after her while keeping a certain amount of distance. After about 4 minutes, they stumble upon a cave, its entrance cloaked in moss and creeping vines. They slip inside, quickly layering barrier spells around them, creating a protective cocoon against any prying eyes or lurking dangers. The cave's cool, damp air wraps around them. While they prepare for what they are about to do.
Author here: Hey, guys! I'm planning on changing the cover photo. Do you have any suggestions?
I worked extra hard on this chapter. Let me know what you think!
Also the golem race is from Jewish mythology.
In Jewish mythology, the golem is a humanoid creature created from inanimate matter, typically clay or dirt, and brought to life through mystical means.