Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Mind Versus Body

It had been a few minutes since the acid rain stopped, the streets now somewhat safe to walk on. Goblin and Kobold warriors wait under the town and outside its entrances, itching to get inside and cause harm, and take revenge. The Ratfolk and the Flying Foxes were less inclined to fight and risk their lives but they were willing to help the ones that did by letting them in via their tunnels and flight.

Krav waited at the north entrance of town; like the ones who followed him, he was also itching for a fight. Out of the three leaders, he was the one who was against the acid plan. A cowardly move for his standards, but he had to respect the majority’s vote.

He and his warriors prepared. But before they started the second phase of their plans, he brought out one of the stones he got from the two humans he encountered a few days ago.

After showing the stone to The Greatest One during the war meeting, they explained that it was a communication device that the humans used over great distances. Krav got one of them back and the other was kept by the Goblin. Soro wanted one too but there was no point for her to have one since she was going to be near the Goblin Mages who can telepathically send a message to one another.

It started to vibrate in his hand. A low hum that could be felt by the carrier even if it was in their pocket. Krav understood that the vibrations meant that there was a message for him, but he was still hesitant to use a device made and used by humans. Though he had to brush that feeling off. It was precisely the lack of technology and progress that made the Vermin races endangered against the evils of the major races.

He brought it up and touched it to his forehead, a cold sensation. It was a message from someone registered on the stone as ‘AngryLadywithDirtyHat,’ but he knew it came from The Greatest One.

“We, the magi, are going to attack the two human mages at the east side of town. You and the warriors handle the west. Also, release the beast, let it prove itself. Should it betray us? Kill them. It shouldn’t be a problem for you,” the whole message went directly to his head, inaudible to the ones around him.

“Ok,” he replied.

In truth, the fact that the Goblin got to fight the strong enemies annoyed him. He hoped that there were worthy opponents like the woman with the pet-human on his side of the town. Though there was another candidate should she not appear.

 

A small metal cage made out of crude iron sat on top of a cart. Inside was the cloaked beast that the Goblins captured. Heavy footsteps woke it up from its slumber; it had collapsed from exhaustion shortly after it had attempted speech. Krav dangled the keys in front of its cage.

“Betray us and I kill you. And I do encourage that you do,” he unlocked and opened the cage. “Now, go wild.”

It ran off into town without looking back.

“Alright everyone, we’re going to be focusing our forces to the west. Squad leaders, make sure the troops are ready to go. Call the Foxes or the Rats if you need to escape, you should all have your flares and horns at the ready. Your troops' deaths would be on you if you don’t stay vigilant, we’re leaving when the horns above blow,” the old Kobold announced before walking to his Warg.

Everyone sprung into action, jittery for the incoming battle. If things go as planned, it would be the greatest feat in any of their entire races' history. Pulling this off could set them on a path that would propel them into a world none of them had even imagined. Because if the vile humans could do it, why can’t they?

 

Labored breathing and paws pounding the dirt invade Krav’s long blue ears, a Wargrider from the west gate running straight behind him. They abruptly stopped when they got near him, sliding on the leaves on the ground and nearly bumping into him. If they had, he would’ve eaten the Warg.

“King, the woman with the heavy back that traveled with the pet-human,” the warrior sounded out of breath despite not running. “She got past the platoon on the west gate. She was last seen heading east, near the middle!”

Horns blared from above, signaling the start of the second phase. The warriors were already spilling into town through the temporary pathways placed over the deep trenches. Krav stared at them for a moment, running his hands over his giant shield’s surface. His nail got caught on a small nick caused by the woman.

“Alright, you may go back to your post, warrior,” his deep voice full of authority was clear amidst the sound of war.

“Thank you, King,” the Wargrider ran back.

Krav paused for a moment, he and his Warg stared into each other's eyes. Their eyes seemed to be viewing things much farther away. When they both came back, they started preparing; the Warg stood up from its lying position, and Krav wore his helmet then jumped on the beast’s back.

Dashing and Jumping above their subordinates’ heads, they go into town with a grin on their faces. His white hair and beard flowed in the air. Suddenly, they broke off from the group. They headed east, where Amihan and the wizards were.

 

***

 

“Dumog!” Amihan and Jacked both screamed.

On the pocked streets, he lay unconscious. Luckily there wasn't any acid nearby him. The two tried to job to him, while Nox was still way back also running after them. She tried to scream something at the two, but it was too late. A blast of mana was shot in between them and Dumog.

A storm of wings descended upon them, Flying Foxes with Goblin Mages riding on their backs. They shot a couple more times at Amihan and Jacked. He blocked all of it with his bare body and pushed Amihan towards Dumog. Reaching into his robes’ pockets, he brought out two small vials that had needles already attached at the end.

“Go and take him back to the bar. When he wakes up, give this to him,” he threw the vials. “Tell him to only use it in an emergency,” he blocked ten more shots and reflected some of it back. “You protect Eeya while she does her magic to defend the bar. Now leave!” He threw back the energy he absorbed.

Amihan nodded, replacing the corpse that was on her shoulder with Dumog’s body. She sprinted past Nox who had finally reached where Jacked was, panting with her hands on her knees.

“Phew, haven’t had the need to run like that in years,” she placed a bigger barrier around the both of them. “You’re juicing up, I presume?”

“You know the procedure,” Jacked pulled the lower half of his robes down, revealing his underwear.

He handed her several vials and the needles that came along with them. Pulling his underwear down a bit, he revealed his cheeks and took a pose that flexed them to a considerable size. The Goblin Mages had to stop shooting spells at them during the whole procedure, due to shock and curiosity to study their unorthodox ways. They either stood on top of the roofs around them or were suspended in the air with the assistance of the Foxes.

“2mL of ‘Open-Up-Wide’ to dilate the blood vessels for 30 minutes,” Jacked said in a serious tone. A man ready to experience great pain, a needle.

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“Then, 0.5mL of ‘Boom-Boom’ to increase the heartbeat rate to an average of 480 beats per minute for 30 minutes,” Nox injected the second vial.

“The third shot, 1mL of ‘Silence-The-Voices’ to block all physical sensations for 30 minutes. Activating Mana Sense to reduce strain on the brain from heightened senses,” his eyes became red, inflamed from all the drugs coursing through his veins. “Finally, a pill to keep me from puking, pissing, and shitting. Mental timer on, take adrenaline every 5 minutes,” he swallowed the last pill he needed.

This was all done in under a minute. All the drugs used were made by Jacked himself, tuned, and formulated for his own personal use. If a normal person were to take it, no matter the race, their heart would tear itself up and kill them internally. Only Jacked, and a select few people in the world, are capable of handling all of it. He had trained and modified his body to take this kind of abuse for nearly a decade. His magic works constantly to prevent any lasting or permanent damage to his body. This was the current peak of The Muscle Wizard. The only real permanent damage he couldn’t prevent was his hair loss and the white beard.

Blood oozed out from all over his body, and his blood pressure made his skin look bright red. The whites of his eyes were gone, replaced by the color red.

Before the transformation could finish, the Goblins resumed their volley. Cracks started to form on the barrier that Nox created, the last one she could make for the time being. But neither of them was worried. Jacked’s breaths were heavy and often, but it was only to oxygenate his blood properly as they were going too fast to get enough oxygen.

He watched the thousands of Goblins Mages above as if trying to look for something. When he finally found what it was that he was searching for, he grinned. Pulling his robes back up to cover the lower half of his body, he squatted down and raised his fists above his head. Inside his hands were two vials, the same one he tossed to Amihan, Adrenaline shots.

Every shot that they threw at him he took head-on. It dispersed the moment the spells touched his skin. Slamming the two vials into each of his thighs, he clenched his jaw and braced. In the next instance, he disappeared from Nox’s side, a circular crack on the street, and a cloud of dust replaced him where he previously stood.

A hundred meters above ground, Jacked came face to face with the leader of the Goblins, The Greatest One. Their noses nearly touched as he peered with his blood-red eyes into the Goblin’s pure white.

Despite losing all of their emotions, The Greatest One felt a remnant of fear through their host’s body. A reaction to the lethal force in front of them. They tried to move back in response even though they knew that they could just switch bodies. The body had overpowered the mind.

With his legs bent and core tight, Jacked punched through the Goblin’s body. Their entire torso disappeared, and only parts of their limbs were left. The moment that the host died it moved to another candidate, a female Goblin who was a few meters away.

“What an unsightly use of the magical arts. Disgusting, really,” The Greatest One said in the human tongue. They had regained control of their host’s emotions.

Using one of the Flying Foxes as a platform, Jacked kicked from it to come face to face with them again. Doing the same thing, hitting their body so hard that it disappeared. This time he did it with a kick.

“Oh, yeah!? Show me the proper way then, you green bitch!” Of course, there were setbacks if one were to take a lot of drugs at the same time. Even if one had a body built for it. Increasing his power also increased his rage, clouding his judgment and decision making at times.

“A bigot as well. Though, it is my fault for expecting too much from a human,” several Goblin Mages around The Greatest One dropped as they siphoned their life force to charge their next spell.

 

 

---

 

+2 Adrenaline Shots

Net Worth	-9,345 Gold (Debt to Jacked)
Items:	Description:
-Rags	A diaper stolen from a baby Kobold. He wears it to cover his private parts.
-Dwarven Boots	The boots of a Brewmaster who had large feet. Metal plates of unknown material riveted into the tough leather. It reaches up to below the knees. Given to him by Sinta.
-Unpoppable Balloon	A bright red balloon used for training.
-Mouth Guard	Dental care is expensive in all the other worlds.
-Adrenaline Shot (2)	Good for five minutes. Normal people shouldn’t take too much. Has a needle built-in for fast deployment. Emergency use only.

 

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