David Bishop and the Mystic of Creation T.C. Crawford (icecream ebook reader txt) 📖

opening, letting the horde of demons and undead flood through the clearing towards the eagerly awaiting army of defenders.

“This is it men! Prepare yourselves!” shouted Rex above the roar of the incoming demons. “This is where we make our final stand. For freedom!” he screamed.

The remaining combined might of Ravenfell and Eldergate cheered with their King and Generals and rushed into the incoming horde, clashing into them with such fury and ferocity that a shockwave seemed to erupt between the two forces.

General Krauss locked eyes with Rex, General Ryan, and Orin, while General Owen fought on with his men around them.

Orin was the first to strike.

He rushed into a flurry of casting, sending a series of powerful attacks at General Krauss with terrifying results. The ground and area around the General exploded with a variety of elemental spells, fire, ice, wind, lightning – it was a relentless attack in a display of power the likes of which the mage had never shown before – a clear indication of their desperate situation.

He jumped into the air and spun his staff around, slamming it to the ground, causing the earth to shake beneath their feet as a large crack began to snake its way towards the General who at this point was obscured behind the smoke left over from his flurry of attacks. Finally, out from the earth shot a geyser of fire that would have melted the flesh off a normal opponent. And it did. Several demons unlucky enough to be caught in the blast fell screaming as the liquid flame contacted their flesh, sending stinking smoke into the air as it melted their skin and bone.

But General Krauss was not a normal opponent.

When the smoke began to dissipate, the figure of the General stood unharmed within the shadows and they could hear a harsh laugh emanating from within. A scorched perimeter surrounded him where the earth had been obliterated, but within it he remained seemingly unaffected by the powerful attacks.

Immediately, Orin was lifted into the air by an invisible force and thrown backwards several feet through the air, landing hard on the ground. His staff slid from his grip and rolled to a stop several feet from where he lay. He didn’t get up.

Enraged, Rex and General Ryan rushed into the fight, charging at General Krauss with renewed ferocity and in synchronized attacks.

The General met their attacks with large twin swords, one in each hand, deflecting wave after wave of their attacks with ease. His movements were impossibly fast and coordinated, despite taking on two opponents of substantial skill and strength simultaneously.

They increased their efforts, and still he gave no way or any indication of faltering. All the while the endless battle continued around them, the screams of demon and men alike falling by the thousands.

In the distance Orin began to finally stir, trying to shake off the ringing and dizziness in his head as blood trickled slowly down his face.

He looked around for his staff, locating it just a few yards away in the midst of a group of soldiers fighting back a couple of demons.

He stumbled slowly towards the group, catching himself from falling a couple of times, completely oblivious to the shouting and screaming of mortal combat surrounding him on all sides.

The staff was suddenly kicked in the scuffle between the soldiers and the demons, but fortunately it spun closer to him and he reached down and grabbed his staff, gripping it firmly in his hands.

He cleared away the pain with a quick spell and turned just in time to see General Krauss rushing toward him in a full-on sprint, swords held behind him. General Ryan and Rex were sprawled out on the ground behind him, each sporting what looked like pretty serious wounds and neither one seemed to be moving.

Overcome with rage, Orin screamed and released all of his power at once in a desperate attack to avenge his friends, focusing it on General Krauss. He tried to block the attack with his blades, but the impact hit him square in the chest, sending him flying backwards a couple hundred feet through the air, landing hard on the pile of rubble from the crumbled wall.

Relieved his attack had worked, Orin rushed as quickly as he could to check on Rex and General Ryan.

They were both alive and breathing, but they were severely injured. General Ryan had suffered a few cracked ribs and a deep gash in his side, while Rex had a few cuts on his arms and back and was bleeding profusely. They would both need medical attention soon or risk passing out from loss of blood.

He quickly wrapped the wounds as best he could and helped them up, trying to get them out of harm’s way. Several of the men, after seeing what had happened to their King and their General, had formed a protective circle around them, staving off the enemy forces the best they could and providing Orin time to get them to safety.

As they started their retreat, slowly moving down the valley towards the castle, Orin heard the men screaming behind him in horror. He turned just in time to push away Rex and General Ryan before throwing up his staff and casting a defensive barrier around himself.

General Krauss had come back in full force, enraged at having been struck by Orin’s attack. It seemed to have injured him slightly, as he had blood trickling down his forehead and a large scorch mark on his chest that had broken his armor plate at the point of impact.

His double blades crashed down on Orin’s magical shield, knocking him to the ground. He continued his attack, time and time again swinging forcefully with all of his might at the old mage. Orin was doing all he could to block the attacks and keep from being cut in two. He focused his energy on strengthening his barrier so it wouldn’t break under the force of the blows, but it was all he could do.