Scorched Kingdom

by Daniel Guevara

  Every table was occupied by one or two men, making at least a dozen Outsider men inside and almost the double of women, everyone inside that place had a face that told stories of their many battles while they drank eat or even fornicate.

  “If it isn’t Khall. Come here you son of a bitch,” one of the men shouted.

  Khall smiled and replied to that welcome with an equally offensive greeting, as both men shared a hug.

  “Are you sure that you want to join forces with these men?” Licius asked Arius, in a very low voice.

  “Yes, they may be savages, but they are the fiercest warriors that mankind has to offer.”

  Both of them scouted the place in search for a man who could fit the description that Khall had provided of Korgat, but all the Outsiders looked the same to them.

  “Well, this is place is a real shithole,” Lizandra said in a loud voice.

  Immediately there was silence. One of them men stood up and walked towards her.

  “What are you doing here? I thought we had an agreement?” Licius asked Lizandra, as she stood still in the doorway.

  “I may have carried you all the way here, but I am not going to let you guys treat me like an animal and have all the fun.”

  “So, what’s a pretty lady like you doing in a place like this?” the Outsider said.

  “Why don’t you come closer and find out?”

  Placing one hand on the wall he leaned near her, making sure that his manhood brushed against her hip.

  “I love the smell of new pussy.” He stared directly into Lizandra’s eyes.

  “And I love the sound your balls make, when I squeeze them till they crack.” She turned just her hand into a gorilla hand and squeezed away at the outsider’s private parts.

  The pain took no time to reach the man’s brain, now fueled with testosterone and adrenaline; he took one swing at Lizandra’s face. But the druid was fast enough to dodge it, and the man punched the wall instead, then fell unconscious.

  “Anybody else wants a piece of me?”

  Khall quietly stepped aside to a corner of the room, while every other Outsider in the room stood up and faced Lizandra, who in return smiled then screamed ferociously.

  The druids scream was loud, almost as if she was using the throat of a beast to generate the sound. But this mattered very little, as her scream was crushed by a loud stomping sound that made the entire tavern shake.

  “Enough! If that bitch wants a taste of an Outsider, then I shall give it to her; you can all have what’s left when I’m done with her.”

  Everyone lowered their heads and returned to what they were doing, as if nothing had happened, while Arius, Licius and Lizandra stood there not entirely sure of what had happened.

  “Well, you wanted to talk to him. Trust me, it is best not to keep him waiting,” Khall said before turning his eyes towards the door of the back room.

  Arius picked Licius up and the three of them walked slowly towards the door leading to the back room, as if they were walking to their deaths. None of them was really sure what they would find behind that door, but the mere fact that whoever spoke was powerful enough to calm down all those savages made them very worried.

  “So, aren’t you going to open the door?” Lizandra asked Arius.

  “I am carrying our friend, besides you are the one who made him angry. So go ahead… ladies first.”

  “Great time you pick to be a gentleman.” Lizandra slowly began to open the door.

  As the door opened it revealed one naked women who looked fiercer than anyone in the other room, but what worried our heroes the most was the behemoth of a man completely naked, with dark long hair and a body covered in permanent war paint and scars, eight and half feet tall with a lean body, yet with enough muscle mass to make our heroes worried and what looked like a two handed hammer hanging between his legs.

  Even Lizandra fell for a second under the seductive spell of such a powerful man, at least until he began to talk.

  “So you’re the bitch making all that noise?”

  “Yes, Lizandra is my name and I am nobody’s bitch.”

  “Well, that is about to change. Cause you stand in front of the mighty Korgat and to me, everyone is a bitch.”

  Korgat took a step forward and grabbed Lizandra by the neck.

  “So, are you ready?”

  But instead of replying, Lizandra transformed into a giant polar bear. She was so big, that her head bumped against the ceiling of the room.

  Lizandra then swung her claws at his chest, but they bounced away

  They stood there in complete shock, as not even one hair in Korgat’s chest had been harmed by the bear attack.

  The Outsider stood there smiling at Lizandra.

  “Good, there is definitely fire running through your veins. I guess I’ll have to teach you some manners,” Korgat said before slapping Lizandra and making her fly across the room in bear form.

  The giant polar bear broke the boards of the wall with her back and fell to the floor, barely conscious.

  Korgat then slowly walked towards the bear, completely ignoring the presence of the other two.

  “ What’s wrong? Is it over so soon? After the way you talked I expected a better fight, even our women have to be good fighters, if you plan on joining our little clan.”

  Lizandra, still in bear form, did her best to look him in the eye.

  “Who says I want to join your stupid clan?”

  “Why else would someone come here?” Korgat said, as he raised his right hand in the air.

  “Stop, you beast,” Arius shouted.

  But the Outsider paid no attention to the prince’s demands, as he prepared to strike Lizandra again. It was not until a Bronium arrow from Licius forearm crossbow hit him, that Korgat remembered they were in the room.

  The arrow did very little damage other than a superficial cut on the skin of Korgat’s back, but this was the most damage he had taken in the past eighty years. So it was enough to make the Outsider king stop and look back at Licius and Arius with eyes full of rage.

  “You can put me down now,” Licius said to Arius.

  “And why is that?”

  “Because you are going to need your arms to fight him.”

  “Which one of you did that?” Korgat asked the prince and the Elf.

  “It was me,” Arius replied, taking the blame for the action, as he knew Licius was in no condition to fight.

  “And why would you go and do something so stupid?”

  “As a champion of the light and a paladin of the order, I have sworn to protect the innocent.”

  “So, the order is still around. I knew I should have finished the job when I escaped from Logrant,” Korgat said with a smile, as the idea of killing Arius filled him with joy.

  The Outsider king immediately forgot about the druid and turned his full attention to Arius, who barely had time to throw Licius out of the way before raising his shield to block Korgat’s punch.

  The force of the punch was massive, as it sent Arius flying in the air and through the wooden wall of the room. The prince landed outside of the building in the snow.

  Arius stood in the snow looking through the hole he had made in the wall, as Korgat’s naked silhouette walked towards him.

  The prince could not stop thinking that if it was not for his shield, he would be dead by now. And that he had no chance against this foe. Nonetheless, he unstrapped his hammer from his back and started to focus his energy on to it.

  Korgat reached the wall of the tavern and simply walked through it, breaking the wooden boards with the momentum of his body as he walked.

  Arius knew that he would not last long in a fight against this opponent, as any hit could be fatal to him. So he ran towards the Outsider king and, using both hands, he landed a clean rising hit with his hammer right in the center of Korgat’s jaw, only to lose his balance as his hammer bounce back, making him fall on the ground.

  The prince had no choice but to use his holy
shield again, to defend from the double hammer fist that Korgat used to squash him. But this time instead of flying away, the shield was forced into the snow under each of the blows.

  Korgat wasn’t even breaking a sweat; his punches looked effortless. But still they managed to make the entire town shake. Arius knew that he couldn’t remain in that situation, because even if his shield could withstand the blows, he would end up being buried alive.

  So the prince made his holy shield explode just as Korgat raised his arms preparing for another attack.

  The force of the blast was enough to shake the buildings that surrounded them, but it did very little to harm Korgat, as he was barely distracted by the light in his eyes. But this bought enough time for Arius to roll backwards.

  Arius took one look at his giant naked opponent and realized that there was no way he could win in a straight confrontation against that beast of a man.

  “You know, I think I recognize that hammer of yours, isn’t that one of the royal family relics?” Korgat said with a smile.

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Oh, so that means you are either a great thief or a member of the royal family.”

  “My name is Arius White Knight and I am the prince of Logrant city. I have come on a quest to both reunite the three clans of men and save the world from a burning menace.”

  “Well, I don’t care about your quest, but I do appreciate a good fight, let’s see if you really have what it takes to call yourself a king.”

  But by the time the Outsider king had finished talking; Arius’s hammer was already fully charged. So without giving any warning, the prince blasted Korgat with a bolt of holy energy straight to the chest.

  The blast was powerful enough to make the giant Outsider king retreat one step at least, making him angrier than before.

  Arius recognized this as his chance to defeat his opponent. Immediately he began to charge another blast in his hammer, while Korgat simply looked at him, raising his right hand and pointing it towards the sky.

  Clouds began to swirl in the sky, as they got darker. But this would not discourage Arius.

  The prince’s entire body began to glow with golden light, as he gathered five times the amount of holy energy that he’d used for his last attack.

  Arius pointed his hammer at Korgat, as he prepared to lay waste to the Outsider king in one attack. His body now overflowed with energy, as if it was going to explode, as he was unable to channel that much energy at once.

  What happened next was not something that could be perceived by the Human eye, as in no more than fractions of a second, a two handed sword with a blade full of runes fell from the sky completely surrounded by lightning straight into Korgat’s right hand, who then pointed the sword towards Arius and released a bolt of lightning at him, at the same time as the holy energy from the prince’s hammer exploded in the Outsider king’s direction.

  Both energy blasts collided in midair at exactly the middle of the distance between them, and generated an explosion that shook the foundations of every structure in the village.

  Arius had to use his holy shield just to withstand the shockwave of the initial blast of the explosion, while Korgat with his seemingly impervious body, just stood there as the blast pushed him a few steps back.

  What should I do now? If only, I had a better connection to the light, I could channel more energy. But that would mean killing my father. And I am not about to let this monster take the life, of any of the White Knight’s family members.

  The Outsider raised his sword and prepared to strike.

  Korgat charged at Arius with tremendous speed and with the flawless technique you would expect from an army captain, he struck the prince’s shield with his sword.

  Arius had to focus his energy towards the part of the shield that was being hit, as the power of the Outsider king’s blows had seemed to increase tenfold with the use of the sword.

  There was no other option but to maintain the shield, but how long could Arius’s energy last, against the mighty Outsider, who kept hammering away at his shield with that sword without looking tired?

  The prince began to get pushed back, as every blow made him retreat one or two steps.

  “How long can he keep this up?”

  “Don’t worry my sweet prince, I can go all night if that is want you want. and when I am done with you, I will take care of your friends”

  But the Outsider king’s comment only served to infuriate Arius, as he forgot about his responsibility to guard his father’s life and let himself get carried away by anger, just enough to gather a huge amount of holy energy in his body. And as Korgat lifted his sword to strike again, the prince made his shield explode.

  But Korgat was already expecting this, so he planted his feet, closed his eyes and swung his sword at the location where the helpless prince lay, before the prince could run away.

  Korgat felt that victory was finally on his grasp, as the blade of the sword fell down upon the prince. But in the midst of the glowing light the sword came to a sudden stop against the glowing handle of Arius’s hammer.

  All the snow flew away and the floor beneath the prince cracked from the force of the impact in a ten feet radius, but Arius had managed to block the hit. The prince knew that there was no amount of holy energy that could make him keep up with the strength of the Outsider, but if he could focus enough, maybe he could harm him.

  So the prince lowered his hammer, as he spun around the giant Outsider, letting the sword continue his path and gaining access to Korgat’s back, as the Outsider went along with the momentum of his blow. After that, the prince used both hands and utilizing the momentum from his spin, he landed a strong blow to the back of Korgat’s head, making the giant Outsider fall to his knees.

  Arius wasted no time in landing a second rising blow to the Outsider king’s jaw, as he lay on his knees, making him fall flat on his back and losing his sword on the process. The young prince immediately stood over Korgat and raised his hammer, as it glowed with blinding golden light. Korgat looked at his foe and recognized his strength, so before the hammer fell upon him, he opened his hand and the sword flew back into it on his command.

  Arius struck with his hammer as fast as he could, but both weapons collided, as Korgat immediately blocked the attack with his sword. He then grabbed Arius’s right ankle with his left hand and threw him several feet against one of the village’s cabins.

  The prince flew straight through the wall and landed inside the cabin, but thanks to the holy aura that engulfed him, he suffered no harm.

  Arius immediately got back on his feet and jumped through the cabin’s wall toward Korgat’s position. Holding his hammer up with both hands, he prepared to strike once he reached the outsider. But Korgat, using his long legs, managed to receive him with a front kick that sent the prince flying back the way he came.

  Arius went straight through the cabin this time, landing in a snowy field that served as the shore for a frozen lake behind the village. The prince looked down and saw the red snow that was being painted by his blood as it fell from his mouth, for not even his golden holy shield had managed to keep him safe against that kick. Arius realized that he was focusing his energy too much on the offensive, making him vulnerable even through the protective golden aura that surrounded him. But if he went back to defense, the Outsider would eventually wear him down.

  The prince didn’t have much time to consider his options, as the wooden cabin seemed to explode, shattering wood in every direction. And from the middle of the exploding wood, Korgat the Gore Blade emerged, with his two-handed sword pointing towards the sky, as he jumped in Arius’s direction.

  The prince used the handle of his hammer to meet Korgat’s sword in the air, making sure to focus as much holy energy on it as he could. And as the sword came down to meet the hammer, a lightning bolt fell from the sky and hit Korgat’s sword right on the tip, using it to bounce from the sword straight into Arius’s face.

  The prince was caught
completely off guard by this attack and, with most of his energy being placed at the hammer’s handle; he took a massive blow to the face that sent him rolling backwards through the snow and into the frozen surface of the lake.

  The prince was still dazed and confused from the blow; his vision betrayed him, as he was seeing double. But he could clearly hear Korgat’s laugh in the distance, as the savage Outsider rejoiced in the violence.

  Korgat then stood at the edge of the lake, holding his massive sword, as he waited for Arius to stand once more.

  Arius raised his hand and began to channel a healing spell onto his face.

  “Take your time. This is the most fun I’ve had in decades,” Korgat said, allowing Arius to heal just enough so that they could keep fighting.

  Arius knew that he needed to summon more holy energy to defeat his foe, but he could already feel the heavy toll that this fight was putting on his father’s life.

  If I use more holy energy now, I will kill my father. But if I continue I will eventually kill him as well. I have to find some way to defeat Korgat, without matching his strength. If only I had Licius’s agility or Stundroff’s strength.

  Korgat charged at Arius as soon as he saw him stand up, and Arius stood there uncertain about what to do, as the heavy footsteps of the Outsider king cracked the ice.

  It was then when the prince came up with a plan; it was so risky that it bordered on suicidal and he would only have one chance, but it was a chance that he was willing to take.

  The prince gathered all the remaining energy on the head of his two-handed hammer, leaving his body completely exposed and prepared to meet the giant outsider head-on, as it entered the frozen surface of the lake.

  Korgat held his sword in his right hand as he ran towards Arius, but due to his immense strength, he was able to wield the massive two-handed sword with ease with just one hand.

  Arius waited until the Outsider king was no more than a few steps away before he ran towards him, forcing Korgat to strike without thinking, as he did not expect the prince to meet him head-on. The prince waited until the last second, as he saw the blade of Korgat’s sword approaching him horizontally, to roll under it, letting the Outsider pass him.