Annou For those who missed it in the synopsis: Book 1 published on Amazon Kindle!A man in heavy armour fought his hill on a steep road leading toward a burning temple. There were tless Goblins and Hobgoblins iween him and his destination, which was the heart of the war-torn city. The city's architecture was elegant white stone, inally built in graceful curves. The beauty of the buildings was destroyed by the invader's siege ons.

  Hurtling boulders from the ued attack had ruihe city's serenity, crumbling walls and rooftops of the decorative buildings with little resistahere was only rubble and misery left in their wake. Screams and whimpers of unfortunate survivors left at the mercy of the Goblinoid army could be heard from all ers of the captured city. Smoke from the smouldering frames of buildings bhe sky red, stretg as far as the eye could see in every dire.

  The man dressed in heroic full pte armour sshed with his sword. Another Hobgoblin died. It silently clutched its throat before falling face-first onto the cobbled street. Corpses littered the path behind the man belonging to the city's inal Elven inhabitants and the Goblin invaders. He reached up to grip the horsetail plume of his helmet with his free hand, pulling it off and tossing it to the side in one fluid motion. There was a g as the metal helmet hit a nearby stone wall. The horde of Goblinoids paused their attack to watch the helmet bounce down the hill, past the armoured man's panions.

  He was followed by three mysterious cloaked figures on foot and a hooded Magus dressed in robes. The Magus's face could be vaguely distinguished in the shadow of the hood. It was a young man with a curly red beard. He led a horse den with a small chest strapped to the saddle in the rider's seat, keeping a cautious distance away from the ominous figures.

  The heroi had the well-groomed, handsome features reserved only for nobility. Matted brue hair g to his sweat-soaked brow, framing his pierg green eyes. He stared at the press of Goblinoids in front of him with an unwavering gaze, causing the creatures to step back with uainty.

  The man took advantage of their momentary hesitation to swing his sword once more. He aimed the bde at the neck of the Hobgoblin, removing its head ly. The bde tinued unimpeded to kill three more unfortuanding too close. It was enough. The Goblin on fodder broke ranks and began to flee after witnessing their Hobgoblin leaders being effortlessly sughtered.

  The man ighe disanized horde to resume walking uphill. The Hobgoblireated from the man's advance, finally deg that he was too dangerous to resist. They deserted their master and fled after their lesser brethren.

  The man paused as he heard muffled panting ing from a nearby alley. He discovered a Hobgoblin mounting a heavily injured Elven woman. Her clothes were torn off, exposing every inch of her por white skin. She had obviously been heavily beate her beauty still shihrough.

  The man reached down to grip the Hobgoblin's hair, dragging it off the woman. His expression torted in disgust as he sank his sword deep into the creature's back. It released a high-pitch scream as it attempted to clutch at the bde emerging from its chest. The man lowered the fresh corpse to the ground and pced his armoured boot on its back to pry the sword free.

  The naked Elven woman watched with a numb expression. Her gaze was empty and lifeless after her ordeal. Bruises covered her arms and thighs from the merciless mating of the Goblins. It was unknown how long the woman had endured after the city was taken days earlier. The Hobgoblin killed was not likely the first to have its way with her.

  At a passing gnce, Goblins and Hobgoblins looked very simir. The difference was in the facial features and size. Hobgoblins were rger, and of simir size to an adult Human. They had short horns that grew from their brow and could grow hair. Goblins were hairless and much smaller, the rgest of them was no taller than an adult's chest. Their ears were also different. Hobgoblins had only a slight point at the tip of their rounded ears. Whereas a goblin's was much lohey extended backward into sharp points, simir in appearao a knife bde.

  Both had a feral appearah a variety of different coloured skin. At Least that's what it should have been. Strangely, all of the Goblinoids were a uniform dark blue colour. The man ignored his fusion to examihe Elven woman.

  The armoured man looked deeply into the Elven woman's eyes before letting out a heavy sigh. A moment ter, he plunged his bde through her heart. The woman only struggled weakly for a sed before her body became limp. The man removed the sword and turo his mysterious panions.

  "You had best keep your part of the bargain," the man warned.

  "Do not thyself, Sword Saint. These people are well served by thy quest," one of the three cloaked figures spoke.

  The figure's voice was gravelly and a. The voice caused the man to wier hearing it. The hooded Magus approached with his horse. He reached up to remove the hood obsg his features. The Magus gripped the armoured man's arm as he leaned close to whisper in his ear.

  "My lord, we 't trust these hags!" The Magus hissed.

  "I don't trust them. You're here to verify their potion o's been made. After that, we will part ways with the witches aurn to the kingdom. The King survive a week without his champion. This will even improve retions with the Elves after I rid this city of its dragon problem. Then they e up the Goblin iion," the Sword Saint replied.

  "Be careful, my lord. I'll watch your back, as always," the Magus responded with a sigh.

  "I know you will, Eugene. I chose you to be my squire because of your loyalty and sharp mind. That's what sets you apart from your peers at the Are Academy. They're just a bunch of self-serving parasites, whose only ambition is to gain more power for the Magus cil. I'm going to put a stop to that. That's why we o plete our side of the bargain with the hags," the Sword Saint said with vi.

  "I uand, my lord. I just don’t like it," Eugene replied as his shoulders drooped in resignation.

  "Me either, but it must be dohe Sword Saint said as he pced a f hand on the Magus’s shoulder.

  The Magus nodded his head in agreement as he pulled his hood back up, shrouding his fa shadow once more. The three mysteriously cloaked hags remained silent as they waited for the pair to plete their discussion. The Sword Saint and the Magus had nothing more to say to each other so they resumed their march uphill. As the group he burning temple, corpses became less on oreet.

  After they passed, a pair of Goblins ran out of a ruined building. They arrived at the corpse of the Elven woman behind them in the alley. The pair began to fight each other in a flurry of cws ah. It was resolved quickly after one of the Goblins shoved its rival to the ground a on top of the corpse. It then proceeded to bite into the supple flesh of the Elven woman’s chest.

  It was oblivious to its rival uhing a crude stone dagger while it feasted. The Goblin loomed over the feasting rival with the stone dagger held above its head in both hands. It pluhe dagger into its back. The ambushed Goblin shrieked in agony as it straightened upright and attempted to reach the dagger in its back. The struggles tore the hilt from the ambusher’s bloodied hands. It ighe antics of its betrayed rival to reach for the Elven woman’s arm. It growled a warning at the Humans and dragged the corpse ihe ruined building it had emerged from, leaving behind a thin trail of blood.

  The ambushed Goblin crashed to its knees and began to twitch as it fell face-first into the cobblestone road. The surviving Goblin smmed the door to the ruined building closed, causing the door to fall off its hihe Goblin watched the Humans with bewilderment as they watched it in disapproval. The Magus cursed as he prepared a spell. Moments, ter a fireball hurtled across the distance.

  The Goblin was mesmerized by the fmes and fot to flee. It limply released the grip on the Elven woman’s corpse as it watched the fireball approach. It only realized the da was in after the fmes were close enough for it to feel the heat, which was too te to flee. It shrieked and scrambled backward, tripping over the corpse and falling on its ass. Fmes erupted to e the building in fire. The ground shook as white stones colpsed inward. The Sword Saint began to chuckle heartily.

  "My lord?" Eugene asked while looking at the sword saint in fusion.

  "Did you see the look otle bastard’s face? I thought you were providing a light show like at the midsummer ing-of-age celebrations. I don’t know how Goblins haven’t made themselves extinct from viciousness and sheer stupidity. It didn’t eveate to bury a knife in its friend’s back. Goblins truly are nature’s most vile vermin," the Sword Saint replied while shaking his head in disbelief.

  The three mysterious hags began to cackle. It was a sound that would cause the hairs to stand on end of anyone who heard it. Eugene shivered as the Sword Saint started to frown with displeasure.

  "You’re not much different from them, Sword Saint," a hag spoke.

  "Watch your tongue, hag. Lest I dissolve our bargain and sy you where you stand," the Sword Saint responded while raising his sword.

  "Peace, Sword Saint. That was not an insult. Thou will uand soon enough," a sed hag pcated.

  The sed hag stepped between the Sword Saint and its panion with raised palms. The hands were covered in tattoos of symbols that were unnerving to look at. The skin was wrinkled and bloodless white like that of a maggot, ending in bck cws curled over an object. In its grip was a straalisman, it was made from sticks and cloth with runic symbols painted in peared to be dried blood.

  "Calm thy anger and accept my sister’s , Sword Saint. The talisman shall ehat the dragon ot escape after thou defeat it," the third hag spoke.

  The Sword Saiated as he sidered his options. A moment ter, he reached out to take the talisman from the hag’s cws. A leather string dropped from her hand, attached to the talisman, it was a neckce. The Sword Saint draped the talisman over his neck, holding it up to iigate. He let the neckce drop as he began walking.

  "Do not let there be a sed time, hag, or you shall die by my bde," the Sword Saint promised.

  "Of course not, Sword Saint," the sed hag replied with a mog tone as her sister snickered.

  The Sword Saint igheir provocations to approach the burning temple. Ohe group arrived at the peak. They could see Gobliering the temple, clutg armloads of shiny treasure looted from the ruined city to deposit inside. A pair of Hobgoblins dragged the corpse of an ht Elf by his feet ihe building.

  "I didn’t think Elves could get fat. I wonder where they even found him?" Eugene asked the Sword Saint, standing at his side with the den horse.

  "High Elves and Dark Elves , and this is a high Elf city. So, don’t be too surprised. I want to see what they’re feeding in there. I’ve never seen a dragon up close," the Sword Saint said distractedly.

  "I had heard that you had hunted a dragon that was terrorising the tryside less than ten years ago, my lord?" Eugene asked with fusion.

  "It was only a hatg that had poached a few dozen heifers across the tryside before the oners pio the . It fled into the mountains as soon as we got too close. Don’t believe every tavern tale you hear, Eugene. Most of the bards are trying to lighten your purse of and spread the bar wench’s legs. There’s usually little truth involved," the Sword Saint admonished.

  "Yes, my lord. I also heard that Hobgoblins and Goblins are magical sve races created by dragons to serve them," Eugene said.

  "That’s nonsense. Why would anything willingly create those vermin?... I guess it could be possible. I’ve never heard of a dragon with Goblinoid attendants before seeing it today, and I’ve never seen them of a uniform colour. They’re usually a mixture of greens, browns and yellows. Blue and red are less on, but not unheard of. The dragon that attacked this city is said to be a. From before the Draic Dividing, when dragons ruled over any unfortunate enough to live with their territory. It may still follow the old ways," the Sword Saint replied.

  A Goblin shrieked and poi the group, interrupting the Sword Saint’s musing. He raised his sword in annoyance as he prepared to sughter his way ihe temple. Hobgoblins emerged from every dire to surround the group and cut off their retreat. The Sword Saint looked around at the armed Hobgoblins with a smirk. These ones had assorted armour and ons of superior quality that had been looted from the city’s Elven inhabitants.

  "So these are your elites? Let’s see what you do," the Sword Saint goaded.

  He surged into motion, mana filled his muscles with strength and agility. He was different from Magus' in that he couldn’t cast spells. He was an Attuned. A warrior who could instinctively wield magic to augment their bodies to give them the strength of one hundred men otlefield. That was an above average Attuned. He wasn’t just above average, he was one of the best. He was the Sword Saint. The champion or the Third, King of Electria. Renowned for his exploits in the arena and the battlefield.

  Born the son of a minor court noble. His title was in name only. His father was a drunk and a gambler, who used his allowance from the kingdom to bet away the family’s accrued fortuil even his son was involved. He was removed from the Are Academy and forced to ehe arena by some men of ill repute. Despite his formal training being cut short, he flourished in battle, earning himself the title of Sword Saint and the attention of the King. It was time for the Hobgoblins to learn the feeling of helplessness.