Chapter 121

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Orc Encampment, Merder Stadium, Atlanta - 5:11 PM

The Orc archers on the wall were each well over six feet tall with a mix of gray and green skin. Their muscles bulged as they pulled back their massive horn bows, taking aim at me. While they wore minimal armor and appeared to be wide open, those looks were deceiving. Their bodies were tough enough that I would say there wasn’t much of a difference between an Orc in cloth robes and a Human in metal armor.

They wasted no time in firing at me, and I was ready to take their attacks until my health reached its halfway mark. It wasn’t completely reckless; I created a Force Field in order to keep my head and chest protected from critical damage. I just wanted to send a message that, while I was playing their games, I was not one of their pawns who would blindly follow their whims.

None of the arrows reached me, however. James, the Savage Defender who wore an almost complete hockey goalie ensemble, moved to stand in front of me. He screamed as the projectiles bounced off of his hardened skin that came from an ability called Roar of Defiance. As long as he kept yelling madly, he could keep this up.

A hand was placed onto my shoulder from behind, and I felt my anger slowly drain away. I felt the urge to swipe it off, but I took a deep breath and let it calm me.

“Wow, you’re Lucy levels of angry, huh?“ Noah asked, and I turned to see the surprise on his face.

“That was a waste of both of our time,“ James said after his scream died down. “I’m not protecting you again.“

Lucy ran ahead with her claymore in hand. She was followed by the Jugglernauts to help clear the path. The Orcs were starting to form a barricade behind the entrance to their encampment to use as a choke point, and yet the Raging Hulk had run straight into it despite the dangers. Both Isabella and Jack focused on taking out the Orcs on the walls, grabbing arrows out of the ground and throwing them to kill or knock back their targets.

When I didn’t answer him, Noah jerked his head towards the entrance. “Just want to make sure you’re on point, Warmonger. Which way are we going?“

I took one last deep breath and pointed towards the right. Noah nodded and let go of my shoulder. I didn’t feel my anger return, but I made note of how I felt and decided to put it away. There was no way I was going to give them what they wanted, but I still needed to win. Now that I was thinking clearly, I knew how to do it.

“Lucy! We’re heading right!“ Noah called as he jogged forward, now holding a baseball bat with nails through it in his hand. James followed him.

“Heard!“ Lucy screamed, her voice slightly deeper than it was before. She was physically larger now than she had been thanks to her class, Raging Hulk. Her claymore swept across a line of Orcish spear men, drawing a bloody line and knocking them back but not killing them until she took a step forward and slashed out again.

Behind me, Team Trouser Snake was pushing the cannon up the slight incline towards the broken gate. Each of their bodies glowed from Daniel’s Light of Guidance, but it was still slow going. The Glass Cannon was very powerful despite how much work it took to move. Bill could only summon it so many times per day, and it was a long process. Even though it was a pain, this was still the most efficient way to do things.

I returned my gaze to see the Raging Hulk take out another wave of Orcs while Noah and James protected her flank. Every so often the Rage Eater would reach out and touch Lucy’s back, causing her to shrink an inch or two, before using his tank to get inside the reach of the enemy spears. Overall, they did really well. It was backed more by brute force than skill, but what they had going on for them was good.

Reaching out, I Pulled a spear and a sword from the fallen Orcs towards me. The spear was made of a dark wood with a black stone spearhead, and the whole thing was a couple of feet taller than I was. The sword was one of the rare metal weapons, and was crude in its making. There were several dents and dings, but I didn’t need it to be pristine. With my weapons in hand, I ran forward towards the big fight at the entrance.

My plan was not to stay, but to move beyond. The Adrenaline Junkies could handle the mooks and I had to deal with the Orc Shaman, who was arguably the tougher of the two bosses. I jumped once I reached the barricade of enemy combatants and used a few Air Steps to clear them.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going!?“ Lucy yelled. I ignored her.

I hit the ground running. The Orcs here were numerous, but not so much that they were getting in my way. It also fell in my favor that the ground here, while rough, was mostly level, hard-packed dirt. I zoomed forward, weaving between enemies on my Heelies as they attempted to strike me down but were too slow to actually hit me. While powerful, their Dexterity left something to be desired.

It didn’t take me long to make it to the Shaman’s tent. The whole thing was painted black and red with an alternating triangle pattern. The smell of death and ozone filled the air, and as I got close the rest of the Orcs chasing me fell back. They began yelling in their language, one I didn’t have access to yet like the Filbins’ or  Dryad’s, but I could tell they were taunting me.

From their perspective, it made sense to do so. The Shaman was the second most powerful being in the encampment. They firmly believed that fighting him meant courting death. Under normal circumstances, I would have agreed. Turning my back on the warriors, I entered the tent.

Despite its large size, the tent was mostly barren. Considering how every non-boss dwelling was full of stuff, I always chalked this up to Benedict Merder not wanting anything to get in the way of the big fights. The only objects in the room were a set of six metal rods sticking out of the ground around a tall, green skinned Orcish man.

The bald Orc Shaman had black stripes tattooed across his face and wore a thick red robe. He peered down at me with dark eyes, and his long tusks did nothing to hide his sneer. A tall, spiral staff topped by a hefty orange gem rested in his hand. As I entered, he spoke something in his language, and I shrugged.

“Dunno what you’re talking about, mate. But, as long as you’re prepared to die then it doesn’t matter, does it?“

My casual tone caused his sneer to vanish, and he snarled something indecipherable at me. The Shaman raised his staff and began to chant. The metal rods all started to glow red hot as the air began to swirl.

I watched, my face as blank as the mask I donned, broke the spear a mere foot from its head, and tossed it at his feet. It hit the ground in front of him just as a cage of lightning came between us.

The cage he created was a terrifying barrier to most melee combatants. Anyone who so much as got close to it would get fried, knocked back, and likely paralyzed, which left them in an obviously bad position. I put my free hand in my pocket, began twirling the sword, and started walking around the tent, staying a safe distance away while he watched me.

When I didn’t react to him in any meaningful way, he pointed his staff at me and started chanting again. Several balls of fire erupted from the orange gem, heading straight for me.

I zoomed over the hard-packed dirt on my Heelies, dodging the attacks. The flames hit the tent walls and dispersed without causing much more than a burnt black spot. It was fireproof for just this reason.

Once I was out of the way, I started walking again. The hot-headed nature of the Orc Shaman started to show through as I continued to disrespect him. He fired more fireballs in an effort to hit me, but then aimed too far ahead. I stopped, letting them pass in either direction, before resuming.

With a roar of anger, he gripped his staff hard enough that I heard the wood creak and lifted it high above his head. The orange gem turned into a brilliant white as it charged itself at the top of the lightning cage. The whole construct flashed and dimmed, and though it fluctuated in power it didn’t turn off.

Once he was between me and the broken spear that I had tossed into the cage, I Lifted it and Pulled it into his back. He screamed and spun to face the entrance of the tent, lashing out with his staff.

The lightning that was imbued into the gem cracked loudly, though I didn’t have to worry about my ears due to my high Constitution. When he realized that no one was there, he spun letting the spell drag along the tent walls.

This time, I started running. While the fabric had been built specifically to be fireproof, it was not immune or even resistant to lightning. The energy tore through the tent as he spun to keep up with me. Every time he passed one of the metal rods, the attack gained more power. The tent started to fall as the wooden poles were cut in half and lit on fire.

I used Divine Messenger to quickly escape the falling fabric and ducked out of his sight. Once gone, I ejected almost twenty feet of the Cable Conglomerate, disconnected the whole thing, and tied it to the hilt of the sword I was still holding on to. Once I was sure it was secure, I returned to the entrance of the tent.

The Shaman was screaming now as his dwelling was destroyed. Any part that fell on the lightning cage was done for, and he was left standing in a large circle with the fabric all around.

“Come on!“ I yelled, brandishing the sword. “Get out of there and fight me!“

Gritting his teeth, the Shaman started swinging his staff towards me. As soon as I saw the motion, I tossed the sword and manipulated it to Orbit above my head. He finished his arc, and the lightning sailed through the air straight at me.

The energy got caught in the Cable Conglomerate and sparked. The wire rope started to turn red as lightning cracked all around me, striking everything nearby including myself. I grimaced as one large lash turned into several small ones, but didn’t break my stance. Once the sword had made enough Orbits, I Pushed it towards the Shaman as I threw myself at the ground.

His eyes widened as the metal sword flew towards him. The Shaman attempted to dodge, but he was in an awkward position from his attack. The sword hit his chest with a satisfying thud and he went rigid from the electricity pouring through him.

Even worse, the wire rope was still touching the lightning rods he had set up. It took a few seconds before the spell ended completely, but by then the poorly made metal sword had melted and fused with his flesh. I watched unsympathetically as he fell to his knees, injured but alive. As a boss, there was no way that this little bit would kill him, but I wasn’t going to stop at just this.

I Lifted and Pushed the end of the Cable Conglomerate still attached to the sword and wrapped it around his neck. Dazed, it took the Shaman a few moments to notice what was happening and he dropped his now blackened staff to grab the wire rope in both hands. As he struggled, I walked towards him and grabbed the rope. It was hot to the touch, but my Gloves of the Warmongering Mystic protected me.

The Shaman struggled to attack me while keeping one hand on the rope. Placing my foot over the spearhead, I stepped on it, pushing it deeper into his back. He gasped in pain and reached for it with both hands, and that’s when I started to pull. The rope tightened around his neck, and he stopped swiping in order to prevent it from strangling him.

His death did not come quickly, though it did come.

[[Notice]]

You have defeated x1 Dungeon Mid Boss [Orc Shaman].

Points will be tallied at the end of the event.

“Didn’t even bother giving them names,“ I spat. Despite Noah feeding off my rage earlier, I realized that I was still plenty angry.

The Orc Shaman’s corpse collapsed to the ground as soon as I let go of the rope. There were no drops, but I Lifted his spiral staff into my hand as I walked away towards the other tent. I could hear the sounds of battle going on nearby, though the area around the Shaman’s tent was without hostiles. It wouldn’t be for long, but then again I wouldn’t be here for long, either.

On the other side of the encampment, which wasn’t so far that I couldn’t see it once I moved, was the tent of the Beast Master. Outside of her dwelling was a large cage where she trained her monsters. My eyes wandered to the sky, but I couldn’t see the eagle around. The others, likely one of the Jugglernauts, must have killed it already.

I could see the Adrenaline Junkies fighting with the Beast Master and a large snake that was easily forty feet long. Everyone seemed to have taken a lot of damage, though James the Savage Defender was doing his best to take as many of the hits as he could. I could see that our team would win, it would just take them some more time.

Letting go of the spiral staff, I let it Orbit me as I walked towards the other fight. Once it hit its maximum speed, I Pushed it towards the Beast Master with some Spin to go on top of it. The Orc spun to face me as its instincts sensed an attack, but the movement didn’t give her enough time to dodge.

The staff struck her in the chest and continued spinning like a corkscrew. She flew backwards into her tent, causing it to partially collapse. Lucy took the head off of the snake as it went after its master, and then turned to face me. She started screaming though I couldn’t hear what exactly over the sound of battle elsewhere.

[[Notice]]

You have contributed to the defeat x1 Dungeon Mid Boss [Orc Beast Master].

Points will be tallied at the end of the event.

I waved her off and started stalking through the camp for Orcs to defeat. Now that both of the bosses had been taken down, we could enter the Chieftain’s area, and it wouldn’t be wise to leave them to attack us from behind when we fought the big boss. I also had to make sure that the Glass Cannon made it through.

“Let's just get this over with,“ I said as I picked up speed, though I didn’t feel anything but my anger rise again.