Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

The massive metal club smashed into the earth, exploding earth and rocks in all directions. After an arduous fight, the Ogre General was the last one standing before her. His black blood drenched the intricate armor covered in magic runes.

Their surroundings were covered in corpses of humans, orcs, hobgoblins, and ogres. She ground her teeth at the sight of her dead comrades. They had been ambushed by the boss and his troops on their way back to camp and forced into a hopeless battle to stop these troops from finding the rest of their guild.

If only home call was working... if only she had been stronger. The only reason she still stood on the earth drenched with the blood of friends and enemies, was the fact that she was the chosen of a deity called Aeolus, the keeper of Winds. Otherwise, she would have been exploded into bloody bits by the giant club, just like the ground just now.

The two combatants stared into each other\'s eyes when the ogre suddenly lowered his club. He looked down at her with cold eyes, full of human intelligence. He smashed his humongous fist against his breastplate twice and took a deliberate step back.

An obvious signal that he was ready to end this battle here. She was frustrated, terribly so. Even if she wanted to use the chance for a surprise attack, even if she wanted to keep on fighting, her strong posture was just a facade.

She was exhausted, her knees were weak, and she could barely keep them from shaking. The hand holding her dagger had barely any grip. She was frustrated with her own weakness, with the body betraying her at the most important moment, despite becoming a champion.

With a wary heart, she could only accept the mercy and watch the ogre\'s back as he trudged away with heavy steps. It was the right decision. The boss still had the power to walk, while she was just waiting to sink to her knees in exhaustion.

Drinking her last stamina potion, she stayed where she was and waited for a little of her strength to return. She had survived a terrible situation, but now she had to return and face her comrades and explain what happened...

Cautious simple, steps slowly brought her back to the place where their team had been camping. She didn\'t rush. As weak as she was now, every bit of strength was important if she wanted to make it back to her people. She couldn\'t collapse somewhere along the way or get killed by wandering soldiers.

She reached the small, hidden cove in the evening. However, the camp was empty and the fireplace was cold.

"I knew it was a good idea to wait for a little. "

A joyful, yet hair-raising emotionless voice spoke from above. Looking up, there in stark contrast against the blood-red sky of dusk she found her companions, hung and dismantled like a quarry.

"Sorry, little birdy, but your nest has already been ransacked."

…

Seth was the first to return to their subterranean stronghold. It wasn\'t too surprising, since he spent most of the half day he was away walking. The others, even with their greater numbers, had their hands full with slaughtering the enemy one by one.

While Seth came back with a bag full of dragonflies, he could also look forward to the Faer bringing home huge numbers of cannon fodder, while the Oathguard was tasked with killing different units of soldiers. If he wanted to, he could revive the hive as a golem army, he thought jokingly.

The only ones coming back empty-handed were the field teams, as they were protecting the other teams in case of emergency and not actively attacking anyone. To gain anything, they would need to hunt the elite units, but those were the only units that were always active at the core of the nest. They intended to leave them for last.

The chimeras guarding the stronghold informed him of visitors at the surface, so Seth used the magic elevator Evee and Alison came up with to travel back up to their castle.

"Who\'s knocking at my door?" the bard\'s voice echoed over the plateau.

Looking down from the massive wall, he saw a makeshift camp of tents hugging said wall. It seemed like someone had already made themselves comfortable.

"What do you mean "knocking"? We have been waiting here since morning! Please let us in, we have to talk!" Brock shouted back, aggrieved.

It seemed like his nerves were a little strained. It didn\'t stop Seth from teasing them a little.

"Really? It seems rather cozy down there. Are you sure you don\'t want to stay outside a little longer?"

Despite what he said, he already gave the order to unlock the magic gate and barrier. Before Brock could say anything, they heard the rattling of chains and the light of the barrier dimming on the gate before it slowly opened.

Although the wall was massive with a 20m height, the entrance was just big enough for a truck or carriage to enter. Most of the boulder guild stayed in their camp outside for now, while Brock, Elza, and Marcel entered.

"Seth, we have to talk:" Brock repeated the moment he met Seth at the other end of the tunnel that led through the wall.

"Sure, but how about you come in first? Warm up, and eat something. Then we can sit down and talk."

Brock seemed to want to argue but halted and agreed in the end. Seth asked someone to bring Brock and the others to the dining hall. Seth on the other handmade a quick visit to the storage rooms to relieve his inventory spaces a little.

Afterward, he met the three from the boulder guild in the hall used as command central. It was currently empty since everyone was still on the raid.

"For someone that offered help, you seem pretty beat up. What happened?" Seth opened the conversation.

Brock grimaced when he remembered their initial attitude. At the time he thought he wanted to return a favor because Marcel and Elza had become champions of gods. He thought they were now in a position to help, but he now realized that he had just underestimated the power of Minas Mar.

being chosen was a great power, but it obviously was not all. There were many things that quantified strength and even if Minas Mar lacked champions, they had plenty of other things that gave them power on par with that. When thinking of the scene Clay had described to them, he felt almost a little embarrassed that he had offered their help.

The guild master described everything that happened to them recently. How they found out that home call didn\'t work and their initial suspicions that the guilds may have colluded against them.

"Well, I can calm your minds on that matter. The guilds are in a worse position than you. Some of their survivors came a few days prior to you. They also met the overwhelming force of the empire and could only flee. Gin Ness, their temporary leader, is convinced the Adventurer Guild lured us here to die."

"The guild? But why?"

"Well, isn\'t that the question we all would like an answer to? The only thing we know for sure is that our easy escape method is blocked."

"And how does Minas Mar intend to act from here on?" Elza asked emotionless.

"Us? We will do what we came here for and leave when that is finished. We are prepared if someone tries to stop us."

Neither Seth nor anyone else thought of leaving before the Hive was wiped out. It followed silence as the other three fell into thought.

"Then... could we stay here and leave once you are done?" Brock finally asked.