War God for Hire- Gladiator by David Burke (books under 200 pages .TXT) 📕

to free all the slaves or right all the wrongs of Verden, at least not right now. No, he just wanted to survive. He wanted to keep the people that mattered to him safe. Right now, that list was damn short. Nyda and Hilde pretty much made up the entirety of it, and Hilde was safely hidden away within his head.

The birds kept diving at him. Even though the ground was littered with the corpses of their fallen brethren, they had no fear. Kyle stepped forward so that he was practically standing over Nyda. He swung as fast as he could, but they kept coming from every direction. He missed more complete armor. At least his arms and legs were partially protected, but even they were vulnerable in the back. The only thing properly covered was his head.

As it was, he was getting clawed and pecked by any bird that made it past his maul. The talons tore into his exposed chest, and while he was shocked by how little they hurt, he could still feel the trails of blood running down his skin. Then he heard Nyda cry out in pain. One of the birds had landed on her back as she was on all fours picking small shiny objects up off the ground.

Kyle reached out with the reflexes that had enabled him to snag many a line drive and crushed the bird’s skull in his hand while still swinging the maul one-handed. A lifetime of swinging at speeding balls combined with the recent training had his accuracy at an all-time high. He was so focused that the blood and brain matter in his left hand didn’t even bother him.

He was so locked in that even with the awkward length of the maul’s handle, he was still weaving a net of steel around them. It felt so natural and the rush he felt as he fought was intoxicating. Intermixed with that was the desire to protect Nyda. He didn’t fancy himself as the overly protective type, but he would go to the ends of the world for a teammate and that had been transposed onto the elven slave, only magnified by an innate need to defend a potential mate. It was a primal thing in him which was every bit as powerful as the influence of the war god’s mantle.

Still, the blood on her dress told him that his defense wasn’t perfect. The birds began to act more strategically as a larger one appeared. This one had silver feathers peppered into its jet-black plumage, and crimson red eyes which spoke of a feral intelligence. The birds didn’t act any more afraid of him than before, but now they were swirling around him and building up the force necessary to overwhelm him.

He might still be able to fight his way through hundreds of needle-like beaks and matching talons, but Nyda would be shredded beyond the ability of even the flesh mages here. If all the feathered monsters came at him at one time, it would be the end. So, he flung the goo from his hand and scooped the petite elf up in his arm. She could get the rest of whatever she was trying to collect later. Now he needed to get them to safety.

Kyle pressed her soft form against his chest. The warmth of her body seeped into him in a way that the numerous wounds from these avian fiends never had. He was acutely aware of her. The scent of her hair, the softness of her body, and the warmth of her skin. He cried out a battle cry of rage and started rushing for the nearest tunnel, while keeping Nyda pressed tight against him.

He swung the maul like a scythe trying to harvest a crop of foes before him, but they simply scattered and reformed. Every time Kyle spun to deal with the ones attacking his back, they simply flew out of range. Sure, each time he killed a couple dozen, but it was never enough to thin out the cloud of squawking death.

Numerous new wounds kept appearing on him as he used his body to shield Nyda, but try as he might, he wasn’t moving fast enough. The tunnel was still fifty feet away and the swarm was only growing larger by the second. They weren’t going to make it.

Unless he changed the narrative. Kyle looked down at Nyda held firmly by his arm. Her eyes were scrunched shut and she held onto him just as tightly as she could. Her fate was riding on this, but he had an idea. He felt the potential swell within him. Kyle almost asked her if she trusted him, but then realized that was wasted breath. It didn’t matter if she did or not, this was his only idea and it all rested on him.

Kyle reached inside him to that spot that he identified as being Krig. He felt the perfection that was War Essence swirling around. It felt so pure and natural. It was competition refined. The only true test of life. So different from the way that Earth Essence had felt.

Then he gathered that energy and pushed it out in a surge. His anger at the attack, desire to protect Nyda, and a surprising degree of anger that these little feathered pests would dare to attack him all exploded out of him. It might not have been completely conscious effort, but his mind at least directed the instincts within him as he activated his Divine Ability.

The power surged with intent. It struck with a deadly purpose meant to shred every foe. In an instant, the air rippled and pure killing force ripped through each bird within fifty feet of him. Explosions of feathers and blood filled the air, but Kyle didn’t hesitate to watch his handiwork.

As the consummate warrior caught up in the moment, he acted decisively and burst forward faster than he had ever moved. He cleared the fifty feet in four strides and was