Chương 138: Grom the Barbarian Becomes a Pokemon Trainer

Hey Reader! Relax! This is a joke chapter! This is just for fun and I will delete it when the next chapter of The Wixx Chronicles comes out lol.

"Warlord, we've finally breached the Lich's keep. Reports came in that there were strange magics being cast."

"Strange?" Grom asked, stroking his beard.

"Explain."

"Portals. Strange portals to far away lands." One of his warrior brothers explained.

"Shit. He's attempting to call in reinforcements. We need to strike now." Grom shouted. He reached over and grabbed K'ali, his massive double headed battle axe.

"Brothers!" He yelled without looking a single one in the eyes, crossing the encampment. The only thing he was focused on was the enemy. This war had claimed too many innocents. It had claimed too many warriors. And most importantly, it had brought back Groms brothers as twisted abominations of their former selves.

"Today. Is our day for glory!" He called behind him, staring up at the keep.

"Today, we will put an end to this war and an end to the evil plaguing this world." Behind him there were shouts of honor and glory.

"Today!" He yelled.

"We will either witness the downfall of the lichlord and all he has created or we will dine in the halls of valhalla as we have fallen, never giving up. We will swing our weapons until our dying breath." More cheers and battle calls are yelled from behind him.

"We will end this today! And the ones who don't make it will be greeted by our ancestors with story and ale. But until that time, we will fight." Grom turns to his war brothers.

"Who will stand with me as we make our last push!?" He yells. Not a single one backed down as weapons were drawn and the loudest war calls yet were bellowed to the heavens. A smile spread across his face.

"This is where evil is laid to rest." He spins his axe in his hand and turns back to the keep. He pointed at the keep with his axe and yells so even those back home a thousand miles away can hear.

"Go!" The blood of your enemy is something to cherish. Something to revel in. What the five tribes received was a bastardized version. No real blood. All of the enemies were undead, fouling the glory of battle. The only thing that mattered was the creature standing before him. The lichlord. It was a skull wearing the attire of a king. Behind him were three glowing rectangles set into the walls. One, a strange world of boxes and… more boxes that were… moving? Like carriages without horses.

The next was a bright forest where strange creatures moved about. The final one was the inner halls of a… School? Children walked around with glowing sticks wands? Grom couldn't focus on that. He charged. The Lichlord raised one skeletal hand, and black fire erupted across the chamber. Grom abandoned his charge before the flames could reach him. He threw his weight to the side, rolled across one shoulder, and came back to his feet without losing his grip on K'ali.

The fire tore through the stone where he had been standing and left a glowing trench across the floor. Above him, the Lichlord floated between six stone pillars positioned around the chamber. Pale blue flames burned atop each one, growing brighter whenever the barbarian drew near.

"Persistent little animal." A spectral voice called through the chamber. The barbarian charged again. Three spears of sharpened bone formed above the Lichlord and launched toward him. He changed direction before the first reached him, allowing it to shatter against the floor. He ducked beneath the second, then twisted away from the third closely enough that the passing weapon disturbed the fur hanging from his armor. He reached striking distance and brought the axe around in a powerful horizontal swing.

Blue light flashed and he blade passed through empty air. The Lichlord appeared beside one of the pillars behind him. Grom immediately turned and charged again. The Undead allowed him to close most of the distance before another blue flash carried him across the chamber to a different pillar. The barbarian leader slowed. His eyes moved from the Lichlord to the burning pillars. The Lichlord raised both hands, and skeletal warriors began clawing their way out of the stone floor between them.

Grom tightened his grip on the axe. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He stepped into the first skeleton and struck through its chest, sending shattered ribs across the chamber. The momentum of the first swing carried naturally into the second, and the opposite head of the axe removed another skeleton's skull. He continued through them without stopping, letting the weight of his weapon do most of the work while the Lichlord hurled spells from beyond their ranks.

Green bolts struck the floor behind him. Black flames appeared where he had been standing only moments before. Dead hands tore through cracks in the stone and grasped at his legs, but the barbarian never remained in one place long enough for them to close around him. By the time the final skeleton collapsed, bones covered the floor around him. He charged the Lichlord again. This time he watched the pillars instead of his enemy. The Lichlord waited until the axe was raised before teleporting.

Blue light flashed from behind Grom. He didn't swing. Instead, he turned immediately and saw the Lichlord appear beside the pillar at his back. Grom smiled. He understood now. He charged again, but this time he didn't aim for the Lichlord. At the last moment, he changed his footing and brought the axe down against the nearest pillar. Stone exploded beneath the blade and the blue flame above it disappeared. For the first time, the blank expressionless skull that was the Lichlord's face, somehow looked worried.

He rushed toward the second pillar. The Lichlord released another wave of magic, but the warlord moved around it and struck the stone instead of pursuing him. The second pillar cracked apart under the first blow. The third required two strikes, though the Lichlord's frantic attacks still failed to touch him.

"You fool!" The ghostly voice called out again. The remaining flames surged as the Lichlord raised both arms. Dozens of skeletal hands erupted from the floor. Grom withdrew before they could surround him and began circling the chamber instead of charging directly. The Lichlord tracked his movement. Every time he approached one pillar, the Lichlord appeared at another. At first, the destinations seemed random. After several exchanges, he noticed the pattern. The Lichlord wasn't choosing where he appeared.

The pillars were carrying him along a fixed path. Grom charged the fourth pillar and the Lichlord vanished immediately. The fifth flame brightened across the room. He changed direction before the Lichlord had fully materialized. The fourth pillar had never been his target. He crossed the chamber and drove his axe through the sixth. The flame was immediately snuffed out. Only two remained. The Lichlord released a scream and threw both hands forward. A broad wave of necrotic energy swept across the chamber.

Grom moved behind one of the remaining pillars. The spell struck the stone instead. A deep crack split its center and the blue flame trembled. The barbarian looked at the damaged pillar and then at the Lichlord.

"No." The undead yelled. Grom stepped away from the stone and positioned himself directly in front of it. The Lichlord gathered another mass of dark magic between his hands. Grom lowered his axe and charged straight toward him, giving every appearance of finally abandoning his strategy. The Lichlord released the spell. Grom dropped flat against the floor. Necrotic energy passed over his back and struck the pillar behind him with enough force to tear it apart. The blue flame vanished instantly. One remained.

The Lichlord disappeared but Grom was already moving. He knew exactly where his enemy had to appear. The final pillar flashed, and the Lichlord materialized beside it as the barbarian closed the distance. There was no second destination left. No other pillar waited to carry him away. Grom swung low. The Lichlord recoiled from the axe, moving exactly where the barbarian needed him to move. He stopped the first swing short and reversed his grip. The opposite head of the axe slammed sideways into the final pillar.

Stone broke apart. The last blue flame went out. The magic holding the Lichlord above the ground disappeared with it. His feet struck the stone floor for the first time. He raised one skeletal hand shakily. Grom didn't give him time to cast. His axe came around in a clean horizontal swing and passed through the Lichlord's neck. The skull struck the floor first and rolled several feet across the chamber. The body collapsed beside the remains of the final pillar. Grom stood over it without a single wound on him.

His armor had been scorched in places, and fragments of bone and stone covered the fur around his boots, but none of the Lichlord's attacks had managed to touch flesh. He rested the double-headed axe against one shoulder and looked down at the severed skull.

"You should've moved the pillars." He grumbled. The severed skull remained still. For several seconds, nothing happened before finally, the chamber shuddered. Grom lowered his axe from his shoulder and looked around. The blue flames were gone, but thin lines of the same light had begun spreading through the cracks left by the shattered pillars. They raced across the floor toward the walls, following channels carved into the stone that he hadn't noticed during the fight.

One of the three magical portals against the walls flickered. Then another. The dead Lichlord's body shifted as it collapsed inward. The robes fell empty against the floor as a mass of pale energy tore free from the remains and rushed outward. Grom planted his feet. It didn't hurt, but it lifted him and hurled him backward across the chamber. His boots left the floor as he twisted in the air, keeping both hands around the haft of his axe. He passed directly through the second portal.

There was no impact like he was bracing for. Instead, the chamber disappeared in a flash of blue light. A moment later, the portal snapped shut. Grom landed on his back in some tall grass, staring up at a beautiful blue sky. They had done it. They had just defeated the Lichlord. Now all he had to do was head home.