The Game of a Blood Mage

Chapter 108: War of the Best




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Alex looked on from his walls as the beat armies in the distance stormed the walls. It was a terrifying sight, beasts of different elements and powers seemed to create a tidal wave of chaos.



But Pork was down there and its skin was like that of hardened molten rock while its insides seemed to be made of lava. 









Even though thousands of beasts were charging at him, Pork didn't show an ounce of fear and just stared at them. The ground around him crackled as the area turned red and molten lava flew out as if it had a mind of its own, forming into a tidal wave.



BOOOM!!!




Suddenly the sky crackled too, as, amidst the beast army, a three-headed ogre with light blue skin, lightning crackling around its body charged forward. Every one of them knew that if the Fire Boar in front of them wasn't moved, then even if a million beasts charged towards the walls, a million beasts would be killed.




So instead, one of the strongest beasts went forward, he was known as the unofficial Ogre King monster. Many countries before the war had been classified as a Catastrophe Class monster. Meaning that it had the potential to destroy countries if precautions weren't taken early against it.




The beast's muscular appearance suggested a strong physical build, while its charging so recklessly might tell a different story about his strategic mind. Its appearance fits that of a monster with all brawn and no brain. Even the creature's comrades thought the same.



But Alex from atop the walls glanced at the creature and smirked. "What a tricky bastard."



If there is one monster whose intelligence rivaled even the best of the mages. Then it was the Three-Headed Ogre. Originally the ogre race was known for their unmatched physical strength and unintelligent minds. 


But a couple of decades back, a certain ogre was born. One with the memories of a human from earth. An unmatched body, and a mind that could think clearly, became a terrifying combination.



If Alex hadn't known this from the Game, even he would have assumed that the ogre was mostly dumb like the rest of its kind. But, right now, one of the most strategically intelligent beasts was the charging ogre.



"Playing as dumb, while being smart. Nothing short of brilliant" muttered Alex. Countless Legendary Rank parties had fallen against the Three-Headed Ogre King. 


Only during the later parts of the war was such a fact revealed. By then the Beast Emperor had been killed. Yet… the Three-Headed Ogre continued surviving until much later.



Alex planned to end its existence right now. The last thing he wanted was another creature with the potential to reach Immortal Rank wandering around.



So, with a swipe of his hand, his body dissipated into specs of light, and within an instant, Alex was in front of Pork. "Sorry little guy, but this isn't a fight that will play out well for you."



"Puny human!" The ogre's three heads yelled out with enraged looks on their faces. Its body moved like that of an ancient berserker as he punched towards Alex.



But unlike what many might think, Alex was the worst opponent he could face. Not only did he know the big secret about its intelligence, but because he also knew over three dozen strategies millions of players' minds had come together to figure out how to defeat the Three-Headed Ogre. 




A red magic circle, that seemed large enough to engulf a mountain appeared behind Alex, his eyes shone red, as a nine-headed red serpentine creature, seemed to come out of the Magic Circle.



[Blood Magic: Blood Hydra]



While the hydra was made of blood, it seemed life-like. Alex's experience in creating homunculi, which was essentially manufacturing life, had resulted in him tampering with most of his spells which now gave the creatures he created a semi-consciousness. This made him seem like a summon-type fighter, even though it was far from the truth.



One of the hydra's heads went to bite at The Three-Headed Ogre.


Clang!


The sound of metal clashing rang out as skin met sharp teeth made out of crystallized blood. Alex narrowed his eyes, even though he had seen it before, the insane durability of the monster in front of him was crazy. 


Though Alex knew the ogre was smarter than he appeared, he didn't say anything. Because the beast army wasn't here to fight just him and had yet many opponents to fight, so the Three-Headed Ogre had to keep acting like a brute.



It is quite amusing to see the enemy make a fool of himself. But sadly Alex didn't have any time to be amused, as a shadow descended above him. 


Alex's eyes widened and as his body enlarged, goat-like horns sprouted out of his forehead as a skeletal frame appeared over his head. His true form was as monstrous as always. 







Looking up, there was the gray-silver furred werewolf, each strand of hair on its body beautifully reflected on the moon. Alex could see his reflection in the monster's eyes.  But what worried him more was the enormous amount of Ki gathered in its fist.

Dodging? Was impossible, Alex couldn't match the creature's speed. Blocking with a barrier? Any barrier he might be able to construct in such a short time would be shattered. Normally Alex would be able to pull up such a barrier in less than a second, but for now, he couldn't due to certain elements he was preparing.


In the end, he did something no other mage would dare do as he crossed his arms.



BAAAAM!


*CRACK!!!*



A nasty cracking sounded out as Alex's arms snapped like twigs and as the Ki seeped into his flesh, both of his limbs became mangled right off to the shoulder. They were twisted unnaturally.



But still, the werewolf looked at it unbelievably. "Since when did Mages start blocking melee attacks head-on and live to tell the tale. What kind of Mage are you?"


"A good one," Alex said, creating two wind blades to cut off the now useless appendages. His arms fell to the ground, but new ones regrew back in less than a second. "Regenerating that would have been troublesome."



Death Claw, that was what the werewolf's nickname was. Anyone that his claws touched would end up mangled and dead. But for the first time in its moderate life, the monstrous creature stared at Alex with child-like wonder. "Wow, you are monstrous. Even vampires don't have that kind of fast regeneration."



Alex smiled at the compliment, though his face wasn't seen. Though his ability wasn't regeneration, but more like recreating two new arms. It still appeared like regeneration to the outside eye. 


"Also, I am not the one who will be fighting you," Alex pointed to the side, confusing the werewolf for a second, but by then it was too late as somehow a giant fire-breathing boar, covered in lava had escaped his senses. This caused Alex to chuckle, which came out as a deep sound that would make many see nightmares for weeks just by hearing it. "Pork's [Stealth] Skill is surprisingly good. If you don't keep an eye on him, even at his size you will lose sight of him."



BAAAAM!!!



Its fiery fangs beat on the werewolf's muscles, having already burned its skin. 


"Mage who fights physically, a giant creature with a high level [Stealth] skill?!! What the fuck!! Did the world's rules suddenly start changing?!!" The werewolf screamed out in rage. But he could do nothing about it as Pork breathed out flames that engulfed him and burned off huge portions of his flesh.


Due to burning it, he couldn't even regenerate it. While Werewolves had a regeneration ability too, they were mostly known for their raw strength. Still, the pain of fire seeping through his veins was unimaginable. 


Pork stood by Alex's side as his fierce protector. What many didn't know was that this Fire Boar might be monstrously big and strong, but spent most of its time in a small size while trying to escape Alex's top-notch security system and go around acting like a dog… literally. He would play catch with the neighborhood kids, hide and seek, and such other games. 



Smaller animals have an easier time developing [Stealth] Skills. Yet no animal who could have a giant size available ever wasted their time learning skills like [Stealth]. 



Alex on the other hand knew about this, and encouraged Pork wordlessly, by making the surveillance system harder each time. This strategy was discovered in the game by an eccentric player and the strategy was called "Hidden Mountain". Though it would later become obscure due to other players and NPCs developing countermeasures against it, right now, it was a top-notch technique that had never been done before in this world.



But Alex hadn't just copied down everything. After all, his Intelligence Stat wasn't there just for show. He had evolved this strategy even further. Initially "Hidden Mountain" was the kind of strategy that only worked once, because once the enemy had its eyes on the giant target, then they wouldn't be taken off guard again.



Now, this was when Alex had improvised. Crouching down and touching the ground, a dark brown magic circle appeared below Pork, and within an instant, he sank as the ground below him turned into mud.



Now… the enemies had lost sight of him again. 


Death Claw was the first one to panic as a sense of danger enveloped him. "Beavers!! Go underground and-"


"Stop!" Yelled the three-headed ogre that had been acting like a brute. While he was winning against the blood hydra, any damage dealt to it was regenerated. So the battle would drag on until Alex won't be able to supply Mana to its creation and then it will stop regenerating. 



Still, the three-headed ogre had a frown on all of its faces. "The ground below the surface is lava. We will only kill our underground units by having them go down there. It might even cause a volcanic eruption."




Finally, the Three-Headed Ogre had decided to show its true intelligence as he no longer could pretend to be an ignorant berserker who only knew how to fight. Glancing at Alex's monstrous features, he frowned. 




"Blood Mage, you planned this all along."



He stated it as if it was a fact. But Alex didn't confirm anything and just shrugged. "Who knows, maybe it's just my lucky day."



As soon as he said that, he opened his palm and a dark pyramid, the size of Alex's palm appeared, with red light seeming to burst through it.









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