Chapter 146: Bishop The Showstopper
Horder heard Cossack's call for action. He stepped out of the room with a bag filled with the treasures he wanted most to keep, and he followed the voice in the tunnel until he arrived at the sight of Cossack and Knight fighting desperately under the gentle embrace of the green light.
Spat was on the sideline, unable to move due to poison in his body. Horder dropped his bag and stared at the contents. He just needs to activate the machine by sacrificing everything, and he has everything in the bag. Horder ran to the machine while they were fighting and readied his heart. He checked for a way to dump everything he had, and soon enough, he found a large lid. He opened it and dumped his precious collection, and stepped back, expecting the machine to push out water on the other pipe, but nothing came out.
Meanwhile, Cossack was losing the fight. His nose crushed flat and blood spilled out from his body like geysers. "Just give up!" Knight yelled, "You'll never win!"
Horder closed his eyes and cried out to the machine. Then Cossack's voice reached him. "I want to give up, I really do." He told Knight before collapsing on him.
"Do I have to give up my body, my soul!" Horder screamed.
"What the?" Horder's voice startled Knight, "I thought you left?"
"I did," Horder ran to the machine and summoned his mana from his hands, and touched the machine. He closed his eyes and prayed to whatever god that could hear him. He prayed that his sister would be fine, that his tribe will prosper, and that his sacrifice brings the machine into life. "Fuck it!" Just as he yelled, blue flames exploded out of his feet and danced their way around his body.
"No, impossible. How the hell did you?" Knight ran to him, but the fire protected Horder.
The blue fire grew stronger and larger until before collapsing into the machine and exploding. The blast sent Horder and Knight into the air and crashing to a wall. Horder got on his feet, getting used to the sudden height difference of his body. He taller now, with short blond hair, gold plumage behind his ears, and blackened eyes. "Did I do it?" Horder said.
"No, you idiot!" Knight yelled while facing the ground. "I lied. That pipe doesn't lead to the second section. That leads to the moat around the city castle, which is frozen! We're going to drown because of you!"
The water traveled up the pipe, but because the path was blocked by ice, they made their way back to the chamber through the greenlit holes. The room began to fill slowly with water. "Then we'll just have to wait," Said Spat, "For Rock and Smoke to break the ice."
Above ground were the moat and the castle that stood as the epicenter of the city. Queen stood on the stairs looking down on her opponent, Rock. She taunted him to come up and confront her. Rock covered his mouth in order to avoid the toxins in the air that was messing with his head and ran to Queen.
He jumped over the steps and placed all of his strength in his punch. Queen winked at Rock, which caught him off guard. Rock lost control in the air and missed Queen, punching the steps next to her instead. Queen placed her gun on Rock's head and pulled the trigger, but Rock pulled his head back, and the bullet only managed to hit his nose. "Your nose is still intact." Queen continued to shoot him four more times on the chest until she ran out of ammunition. "Your mana is strong."
The bullets pierced through Rock's gambeson, but it could not break through his thick and sturdy muscles. "It's not just my mana. My muscles are as hard as diamonds."
Queen leaned in and touched his chest, "Are you trying to seduce me?" Her gentle voice caressed Rock's ears.
"Get off me!" Rock covered his ears with his hands.
"And now you're playing hard to get? Helelele." She giggled. "Now get off my stairs, big boy." Queen pushed him, and he rolled down the stairs. Rock landed on his butt at the base of the stairs. Smoke grabbed his arm and helped him back on his feet while Bishop danced in the middle of the frozen lake.
"Rock, I think we should switch."
"What?" Rock raised an eyebrow, "You don't think I can't beat a girl?"
"More like you don't want to beat a girl. Besides, I haven't inhaled whatever toxin she spoke of. At least I think I haven't. And then there's that annoying clown." Smoke pointed at Bishop. "Annoying he may be, his powers counters mine. Every time I try to shoot lightning at him, he creates a sound barrier by yelling on that odd-looking gemstone that blocks them."
"And you think I can get past the barrier?"
"Yeah, the sound wave isn't that strong. I managed to get past it a few times and hit him, but it doesn't matter if you lose your own battle."
"Well, excuse me, Smoke! Hahaha!" Rock laughed.
Smoke glared at him, "I'm serious."
"Sorry." Rock created a ball out of his mana and plugged his ears. "I'll make sure this guy can't speak anymore."
Rock smashed his fist together and ran to Bishop, while Smoke ran up the stairs, pointing his warclub at Queen. Electricity coursed through his veins and shot out through his warclub. Queen teleported to the top of the stairs, avoiding the blue lightning. Bishop watched the lightning storm on the stairs and laughed. Then he started rocking his butt back and forth while wiggling his finger in the air. "THOSE LIGHTNINGS ARE FLASHY, BUT MY VOICE IS JUST SO EXPLOSIVE!" He sang.
"Good!" Rock leaped over him, "Because my fist is explosive too!"
"NOW THAT'S THE SPIRIT!" Bishop yelled on the mic. His sonic attack shocked Rock's body as it vibrated through his body, but it did not stop Rock's fist from smashing his face against the ice. A blue mist seeped out of Bishop's chest and traveled up his nose, then he shouted. The soundwave pushed Rock off of his body.
Bishop rolled on his back and got on his feet. His nose was in an awkward angle after getting punched. He grabbed it and forcibly realigned his nose back in place. Rock cracked his knuckles, "Finally, get to punch something without feeling weird about it." He charged toward him and threw a right hook, but Bishop did not flinch, nor did his body react to the punch. Bishop used Arnis to strengthen his left cheeks, making it as hard as steel.
"WAS THAT IT!" Bishop screeched. The sound vibrated through Rock's body and the ice beneath them.
"Shut up!" Rock punched him in the mouth.
Bishop stumbled back, "THAT HURTS!" He spat out of the blood and wiped the drool off his face. "I'LL BREAK YOU!" He took a deep breath and released a compressed sonic blast, which pushed Rock away.
"Pushing me away won't save you!" Rock gathered the mana in his body and injecting them into his legs. Then he sprinted towards Bishop.
"HOLY TINIA!" Rock's body seemingly disappeared from Bishop's vision, and only his giant fist was perceivable. And it hit him square on the face.
Bishop flew back and crash-landed through the ice. He climbed out of the crater and glared at Rock. "YOU MONGREL! I WAS EXCITED TO SEE YOUR PERFORMANCE, BUT THEY WERE JUST ORDINARY PUNCHES. EVEN ROOK HAS A COOL, EXCITING SUIT OF ARMOR. BUT YOU'RE JUST A GOBLIN FROM THE WOODS THAT PUNCHES!"
"And that's all I need!"
"NO!" Bishop stomped on the ice. "THAT IS BORING. I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT A TRUE SHOWSTOPPER CAN DO."
Suddenly, the King appeared before Bishop in a blue flash of light wearing a thick wool coat. "Bishop, where is Queen?"
"MY KING!"
"That's the King?" Rock asked.
"SHE'S INSIDE THE CASTLE, WITH THE ENEMY." The King nodded, "I'LL STAY HERE AND KILL THIS BORING GOBLIN. I'LL SHOW HIM WHAT A TRUE BATTLE LOOKS LIKE!"
The King did not say a word and left the two alone. He walked to the stairs and stared at the black stains caused by Smoke's lightning. "Where do you think you're going?" Rock ran to the King and was about to grab him, but Bishop shoved him away.
"WE'RE NOT DONE!" Rock fell on the ground. Bishop shouted, releasing a sonic wave that pushed Rock across the ice.
The King turned around, "Bishop, he's strong. Take this." He tossed a gemstone.
Bishop caught it and examined the piece. "THIS IS A NUCLEUS." A nucleus is an artificial gemstone created by the Sky People. The gemstone can store a near-infinite amount of mana.
"There should be enough to deal with that goblin. Now go!" The King motioned Bishop to charge forward.
Bishop excitedly absorbed the mana within the nucleus then threw it away once it was empty. He walked confidently on the ice, spinning his mic around his fingers. "TIME TO GET THE SHOW STARTED!"
"A nucleus, huh?" Rock injected more mana on his legs. "That won't save you from me."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
KJ_The_Cat
KJ_The_Cat A snowstorm is raging across America as we speak, but that's not stopping me from releasing this chapter. This week is nonstop action, and I hope everyone is prepared for the long haul. We are now closing in on the climax of the story and the winner will soon be revealed.
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