The Crafter's Dominion: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 5) Jonathan Brooks (books that read to you txt) 📖

a chaotic force of nature and a beautiful dance of death that was delivered upon the Goblins’ flanks.  Owchet wielded a warhammer that reminded Echo of the ones that Sandra’s Apes used quite effectively, but the Orc Warrior was on a whole new level.  He practically leapt into the heart of the Goblin charge’s right flank, slamming his hammer down with devastating results, to the point where it was almost sickening.  His strength was so great that he nearly obliterated 3 Scouts in one wide swing of his weapon, and when one of the Brutes tried to block him, he shattered its sword and caved in its chest, sending it flying backwards at least 15 feet.

He wasn’t invincible, though, nor did he have eyes on the back of his head.  A Goblin Scout snuck up and stabbed him in the back with an iron dagger, but the armor he was wearing – as well as the Stoneskin enchantment from his necklace – saved him from being seriously hurt.  If it had been one of the larger Goblins, like a Brute, he probably would’ve been injured; as it was, Echo doubted he had more than a pinprick’s worth of blood come out from the sneak attack.

Instead of the powerful strength of Owwchet’s blows, Palzerk flowed through the various Goblins that tried to attack him like he was dancing, cutting flesh open with his titanium sword.  Each movement seemed choreographed, his weapon sweeping out efficiently to remove limbs, heads, or just injure them so badly that they would have trouble fighting from that point on.  Nothing seemed to hit him, either, though sometimes it appeared as if he was deliberately baiting the Goblins and dodging out of the way a split-second before he would suffer a devastating injury.

Then came her King and Queen, who were frightening on their own.  Focused spells of all different sorts tore up the back line of the Goblin Archers and Mages, ranging from bursts of flames, spears of ice, chunks of stone, searing explosions of light, clouds of noxious-looking poison, and blinding clouds of darkness.  All of it was delivered with deliberate care by the two Royal Elves, standing in the back and moving their hands as if they were conducting a symphony.  A symphony of death and destruction, naturally, because they didn’t stop until everything on the other side of the room was dead.

The two Champion Totems that had helped to break down the wall so they could enter stayed in the back, both because no one had given them any orders – and because they weren’t really needed.  Instead, they were the perfect guards for their Repair Drones, which were also hanging back and waiting until there was a need for their services.  A service which was quickly provided at a distance without making her freeze in place, as she saw one of the Drone’s arms pointing in her direction, and the small wound on her shoulder, where she’d been shot by an arrow, healed entirely.

There was silence for a moment, as Echo and the party looked at each other in astonishment – at least, it was astonishment on her part – before her King pointed towards one of the two tunnels in the room.  From her perspective a little higher, she could see that it was sloped a little downwards, which was a fairly good indication that it would lead to the Core they were seeking.  No other words were spoken as they raced ahead, the Shieldmen and the two in their Deep Diver suits out front, the Orcs coming next, then her King and Queen, and finally Echo on Starlight 3, which had to walk instead of fly in order to fit through the tunnel.  Also, since she was in the rear, she ordered the 4 constructs that Sandra had lent them to follow after them staying relatively safe from behind.

The next thing she heard down the short tunnel was her Queen saying, “HOLD!  Nullifying!” She couldn’t see from her position, but Echo suspected that the Elven Queen had just nullified the illusion in the next room, just as she had moments ago in the first room.  She knew that it was a common tactic in dungeon-destroying teams, such as the one that had visited Sandra’s dungeon; she also knew that it required a lot of energy to nullify traps in dungeons constantly, as well as ensuring that you nullified with the opposite element, which made the process quite draining and a bit dangerous – normally.  With the amount of energy her King and Queen wielded – which had been doubled by their necklaces – and the regeneration by the Orbs in their hands, Echo doubted they would have any problems.

The room she entered, once everyone had made their way inside, was a little larger than the last one, though it was only that way because it was like a long, wide hallway.  On the floor, dotting the perfectly flat stone in seemingly random positions, were large pits.  While unable to view inside them, Echo suspected that they were quite deep and possibly filled with spikes or jagged rocks.  They also seemed quite easy to avoid, as there was a clear narrow pathway between them, which made her wonder for a moment why they were there.

Oh—that’s right.  They were probably concealed by an illusion that my Queen nullified.  That made it much easier to make their way through without getting hurt because of the traps – but that wasn’t the only obstacle in the room.  More Goblins made an appearance, though these were in the shape of dozens of Goblin Archers and Mages in small alcoves along the side of the long room.

“I’ve got them!” Echo shouted, before lifting Starlight 3 into the air.  The ceiling wasn’t that high – maybe 50 feet – but it allowed her to get a good look at the waiting Goblins; they were hard to see unless you