Chapter 67: Warlord

Kyle did not stand around in the open circular chamber, immediately retreating to the entrance. He fired the rest of his magazine at the two closest hobgoblins, overwhelming their point defence systems.

His hand instinctively grabbed a magazine to reload the handgun while feeling his belt. Only two more magazines left after this one – thjrty-six shots left, including my current magazine.

Instead of exposing himself to attacks from all sides, he funnelled them into the tight, narrow space of the entrance, bending over to grab a shield into his left hand from the earlier hobgoblin guards he killed.

The first three hobgoblins charged through the gap, earning themselves a full strike of the shield right onto their faces, sending them stumbling back into their allies who crowded around behind them.

Osir roared.

Kyle ignored the obvious taunt and swapped to close-quarters combat, changing out his handgun for the hammer and going to town on the closest hobgoblins. He swung and smashed, using the shield on his left hand to fend off the sword attacks as well as break their necks with a forward jab of the shield’s edge.

Penchant for Violence!

The same surge flowed through the veins of Kyle’s body, granting him an increase in strength, allowing him to easily dispatch the incoming hobgoblins as he fought them three at a time. None of the improved hobgoblins were a match for his sheer strength and fast reflexes.

Osir roared, prompting the hobgoblins to charge forward with even more vigour, using the fallen bodies of their comrades to try and block the attacks of Kyle.

“No chance.” Kyle grinned as he expertly focused on any hobgoblin trying to get past him. At some point, he dropped the hammer and grabbed the ankle of an injured hobgoblin, using him as a weapon by wildly swinging him around.

With a single swing of the hobgoblin’s body, the ankle bone snapped off cleanly as Kyle launched the body towards the hobgoblins, knocking them out like dominos back into the circular chamber. Osir was astonished by the sheer strength of the human, only recalling the line infantry that they had fought in the past. Since when were humans this competent? I must capture him alive and find out his secrets!

Already half of them had died, leaving only a dozen hobgoblins alive and afraid to re-enter the death trap of the entrance, where Kyle stood over the corpses of their comrades, drenched in goblin blood.

Penchant for Violence only lasts for a while; I need to make the best use of it right now! Kyle did not wait for them to muster up the courage to come back in and fight, instead using his handgun to fire at the hobgoblins, taking them out one at a time.

With precise calculations on how much their point defence system could block, it took four shots to kill one of them, prompting Kyle to finish off three of them with rapid fire as he sprinted around the circumference of the chamber.

Just as Kyle began to reload his magazine while running, his brain screamed danger as a hail of particle beams flew straight at him. The speed of the beam made it unable for Kyle to avoid the hits, his personal energy shield wobbling before it dissipated. The particle beams seared through the skin and flesh of Kyle’s right arm and thigh, penetrating all the way through and carving a smoking wound out.

[WARNING: BATTERY DEPLETED!]

The personal energy shield warned as Kyle fumbled onto the floor, blood cauterising on the sizzling wound while his handgun and shield clattered onto the floor. The remaining hobgoblins began to rush Kyle while Osir held a smoking turret gun in both hands, astonished by the existence of the personal energy shield on Kyle.

Osir exclaimed.

Kyle immediately knew what was happening, quickly backing off and leaping from side to side, no longer interested in fighting back.

Osir heaved the bodies of his fallen warriors, using them as projectiles to force Kyle into dodging before charging forward. However, Kyle was far too nimble for Osir to catch up with, especially with the activation of the Aero Shoes.

The song and dance continued for another minute or so while the pain that Osir had been ignoring began to creep back slowly, the dull aching sensation no longer able to be avoided. The very moment Kyle noticed Osir slowing down, he launched a vicious counterattack, rushing straight at Osir unexpectedly.

It was a simple tactic every frontier explorer of the Galactic Era learnt when dealing with native alien lifeforms – avoid when enraged, strike when weak. No sane explorer would fight an alien who should be braindead while the body is still unaware of its own death.

Just like that, Kyle held the unequivocal advantage over Osir, easily hitting all over the body. Osir yelled out in pain as the multitude of delayed pain effects kicked in at the same time, causing him to suffer tremendously.

Osir knew that Kyle had more than enough strength to beat him over the course of the fight. Osir would have given up and retreated if it wasn’t for the fact that this was a life-or-death duel. His head hung low, dejected as he slumped against the wall, unable to move his limbs any longer.

“Good.” Kyle took a deep breath, his head covered in sweat, grime and blood as he tried to wipe it off with an equally bloody hand. “I have a few questions. What is the Oracle?”

Osir was dumbfounded.

“Answer the question.”

“You keep talking about the heavenly war; what is it?”

Osir spoke with a pained expression as he breathed deeply, his lungs aching. Osir coughed out blood, dripping down his chin.

“How long ago was this... heavenly war?” Kyle asked with hesitation, afraid to know the answer. He already had hints from the skeletons and rusted exosuits.

Osir’s voice started to get weaker. Kyle quickly moved forward to heal him with the Necklace of Healing, but for some reason, the green aura that enveloped Osir was not enough to fix the internal bleeding.

“What are the chambers for? What did the console tell you?”

“The Oracle, what did she tell you?”

Osir’s voice trailed off, the small amount of healing unable to stem the severe wounds Kyle had inflicted on Osir.

Kyle stopped trying, noticing Osir’s hands losing their tension. The chamber was a complete wreck, with many of the chamber doors smashed in or broken apart by their brutal fight. He stood up, glancing around the room. One of the doors out of the chamber looked different – an administrator room of sorts.

He readied his shield and hammer, preparing for the worst. Time to find out what Installation 12 is.