Tuscetta raised her shield and charged; the room's ooze-soaked floor leaving a stench on her didn't bother the orc anymore, openly splashing through the puddles right toward the beast. Val was stunned at her speed but only because he hadn't seen her go all out.
So she understands the real strength of the Plate Knight class, even after being enslaved and forced to fight under that monk? Her battle instincts are strong. And though I doubt she knows it, charging a bolette is actually...
The landshark belch-barked, only getting to throw itself a few steps forward before slamming its head against the orc's shield. The goop beneath it slipped but the overbearing woman's arms flexed, unyielding in the face of its weighty throw. Compared to before, a simple charge wasn't going to allow a bolette to build speed. One-on-one, there were few races comparable to orcs in strength even if they had advantageous positions. Its tail slapped the stone floor and it tried digging its hands in, Tuscetta's shield screeching whenever it scraped its fangs across trying to find purchase.
"Hit it," Valkner called. Tuscetta didn't look back, but the demon pointed at the side of his head to give her an example anyway. "The bolette's blind spot is just above and behind its eyes! Even if it sees the attack coming, it's too aggressive to dodge!"
Tuscetta's club-wielding arm went out to the side, raising whilst she drove her shield down; she pushed and pinned the bolette against the ground, swinging almost straight down with her entire weight. Despite being metal, the club's strike deftly connected and merely caused the bolette to wriggle in annoyance. Pinned as it was, however, she immediately delivered another strike; this time, the bolette barked in frustration and tucked its head. Its powerful forearms finally found purchase in the cracks of the floor, tearing through and burrowing down so fast that Tuscetta was forced to roll over the vanishing beast and its hole.
"Ew," Jigalta groaned, watching the orc rolling in the juices. "That's going to take a long time to come out."
The slime looked at Valkner, once more masochistically grinning. "But now that it's underground, that means I can fight, too, right?"
The goo's new skill officially made Val groan. Rather than answer her, his attention remained on Tuscetta to gain her attention.
"Jigalta will protect me if it comes this way! What you need to do next is draw its attention; since you don't have an aggression skill, your next best bet is to [Berserk]. If you're in that state, it'll perceive you as the biggest threat to its territory!"
The orc shambled to her feet, defensively tucking her shield close to her body with a nod. "Understood; I'll continue weakening it... but using [Berserk] is-"
Valkner narrowed his eyes. "Trust me! If you overexert, we can deal with it. I told you before that we may need you to use it, didn't I?"
I understand her fear. Being part orc, she was born with that skill... but based on its mastery, it's obvious.
"Even if you haven't used it," Valkner said. "You're here with me. Didn't you say you'd get stronger to help me achieve my dream!?"
Tuscetta looked up from the hole seconds before the ground ruptured behind her. The ex-prince's eyes widened, watching the bolette bite down on her shoulder. Steel collapsed and threatened to crush her, the runt landshark probably expecting to have won. Even Jigalta's jaw dropped, losing her skill's influence for a moment as the bolette dragged Tuscetta forward. Although its victim landed on her knees, the land shark grabbed onto her arm and other pauldron with its hands to keep her still. [Deathbite] was one of the only skills a bolette learned, yet its name was due to how strong they were and almost impossible to remove once they'd bitten down.
But rather than a sea of blood spilling from her bite wound as the armor crushed, the jaws stopped; the bolette's beady eyes searched for an answer as it defiantly tried crunching its prize only to meet more resistance. The gaps in Tuscetta's armor oozed red... but rather than the dripping of blood, it was a red mist. Valkner grabbed Jigalta's wrist and pulled her back, backpedaling slowly while the goo girl stumbled.
"W-Wait," she blabbered. "D-Didn't she get bitten? I don't-"
Valkner put his hand free hand over her mouth, pulling the jiggly girl close. She didn't have her skill active, thankfully, but the effectively nude slime girl grew rosy-faced and lightly struggled in his hold. Her employer and contract holder's face stopped her cold, both of his eyes locked on the still-stationary orc as she slowly stood back up despite the bolette holding and hanging from her shoulder.
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"Forward!"
Valkner's command forced the troops forward, a smile dancing across the demon prince's lips as the human line buckled beneath the surge of heavy Death Knights and warg-riders. The Slime Queen at his side seemed considerably impressed at the unfolding battle ahead of them.
"You've been learning, Prince." She patted the young man's horse. "At this rate, it may be more beneficial for you to lead an invasive war against humans rather than a defensive one."
"You think so," Valkner scoffed. "But a war of aggression? No one would support that idea."
His royal guard parted, giving room for the massive Northern Orc tribe's leader to make his way in. The orc was covered in blood from head-to-toe, sporting very few wounds but carrying a blood-drenched sack. Despite his status, he seemed relatively calm when he threw the bag at the pair's feet.
"It's done," he rumbled. "My tribe has taken the west flank. The heads of their leaders."
Valkner visibly recoiled to the Slime Queen's amusement, dismounting and moving to grab the bag with a look of disgust. The Northern Orc tribe's results had largely been the saving grace of their formation, even if they were brutish about it.
"Compared to the Southern Tribe, you lot are effective."
"My liege?" One of the guards approached through the ring, lowering to one knee. "A report from the eastern flank; the Fifth Prince reports he has rejoined elements of our central army after breaking his foes."
Valkner looked over from the bag with shock whilst the Northern Orc King merely sighed.
"It looks like the day is to that ineffective lot then." He crossed his massive arms, turning to look over the head of the royal guard at the battle lines. "I suspect he must have ordered his troops to [Berserk]. Young orcs looking to prove themselves always make such decisions."
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
The prince stood upright and looked at the Slime Queen, ignoring the orc for the moment. "Is it possible that they could achieve something like this? I've never heard of warriors fighting that hard. Not to mention our flanks had far fewer forces than our central formation; how could he have done that?"
The gelatinous woman smiled, dismissing the guard with a nod before walking to the stunned prince. His shoulders slumped slightly when she looked at him with a smile, melting away all that confusion and replacing it with an understanding, patient frown.
"Sorry, I just-"
"It's okay my Prince," the Slime Queen laughed. She gently grabbed his hand, turning him to look out over the battlefield with a reaffirming, comforting squeeze. "Just watch. Today, you're going to see an ability orcs can only use once per month. It can be quite troublesome but the tribes know how to use it appropriately. Once they use [Berserk], orcs raise their body temperature in exchange for a power boost. It's why most orcs don't fight wearing armor."
"Raise their temperature?" Valkner's gaze settled on the battlefield. "How is that-... what is all that red fog on our eastern... flank..."
The entire enemy formation was shattering before his eyes, bodies streaming from the eastern hills and leaping into the human army's ranks without any hesitation. Each orc wore little to no armor, bunching and tearing at the soldiers like a war chimera.
"That, my prince, is the blood of orcs being sweated through their skin."
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Tuscetta's shield crashed to the ground beside her club, the orc grabbing the bolette by its head fin. The red steam of her skill filled its nostrils and the beast instinctively tried to bite only to meet the same resistance. Each time it bit, the blue-haired orc's armored body shook; right now, her HP was taking minimal damage whilst her stats continued rising. Valkner thrust one hand forward, drawing the sign and casting Heal toward the two whilst Jigalta watched in confusion. Tuscetta's reached up and grabbed her helmet, pulling it off and letting it fall to the ground.
No white remained around her eyes, instead, they had dyed a dark red. There were bloody tears at the corners of her eyes from the intense pain yet her lips were twisted into a snarling grin. Tuscetta's other hand slipped its gauntlet-guarded fingers into the confused bolette's mouth, tearing it off like one might brush an ant from their skin. She lifted it over her shoulder like it was nothing, smashing the bolette in an over-the-shoulder slam with enough force to crack the stone. Its legs kicked and pulled free more of her armor, defiantly trying to protest her as she began kneeing it in its throat.
Neither of the two watching could risk drawing her ire. Jigalta stopped resisting Valkner's hold, while he continued supplying health to the rampaging orc. Although her defensive might greatly increase, her strength without a weapon wasn't going to be high enough to outright kill a bolette. Val didn't see it up-close like this before but it still reminded him of just how dangerous orcs could be.
[Berserk] might be a skill that could compete with the Gaustein's control. If every orc used this ability... could we have endured? Tuscetta isn't even pureblooded but she's able to strong-arm a bolette runt without any skills.
Val knew there were instructions for taming these beasts but for the time being, all he could do was wait. Although improper, her current situation wasn't far from ideal either; bolette respected strength, which meant most of the dwarven bolette were wrestled with at young ages to cement hierarchy. Territorially speaking, bolette often followed the rules or whims of the strongest in the area lest they are eaten. In her current state, it was little wonder that the bolette was completely stunned, shaking and squirming on its back but unable to escape Tuscetta's onslaught. The blue-haired woman even half-collapsed atop it, biting one of the kicking legs in her feral, rage-induced state.
I keep healing her but the damage she's sustaining... I think this might be a better demonstration of why they can't use this technique often. In a real battle, losing yourself is already risky; a drawn-out battle without healers would make you an easy target to finish off once it wears off. On one hand, I'm making great experience... but if she pushes herself too far, we might have to carry her back out to the inn.
Another issue nagging him was that in her current state, trying to tame the bolette was impossible. Crushing its willpower was all good and everything until she wasn't able to demand it to contract with her. Unlike the [Beastmaster] class, [Hunter & Hound]'s discovery was rooted in dominating the creature and making it hunt for you.
"Um, Valkner," Jigalta whispered. "I know we s-shouldn't try to draw her attention, but..."
Valkner nodded, looking to the juice slicked room with a grim scowl. "I know. All this prep wasn't just to lure the bolette out. The reason they came here in the first place wasn't just to feed their young..."
All around the room, the various crushed nests had begun rumbling; the rubble around them shifted and pulled away by the heads of Mystery Bugs emerging from burrows. A large number of nests weren't moving but the ones connected to the floor and walls were.
Mystery Bugs are a staple of food for bolette and various dungeon monsters; it's why every healthy dungeon has them at some level of population to ensure stable cycles of food for the weaker monsters or demons who can't hunt outside it. But their nests are also considered part of troublesome situations called Rookie Breakers for a reason...
One of the nests near them burst outward, forcing both Valkner and Jigalta to stumble backward onto the throne's risen ground. Tuscetta and the bolette ceased their fighting, the bolette tiredly submitting as the raging orc snarled her fangs up at a new creature standing almost seven feet tall: the massive, worm-like Dungeon Worm. Valkner's eyes flickered, not wasting a moment to verify the threat with [Identity Check].
Trained [Identity Check] skill used.
Result: Success
Level 10 Dungeon Worm
Race: Dungeon Insectoid, Bottomfeeder STR: 30
END: 40
AGI: 3
INT: 1
CON: ???
LCK: 1
Even though it's a monster-blocked creature and lacks the advanced statistics in higher-tier demons or monsters, there's no mistaking it. This Dungeon Worm is slow... but extremely dangerous!
"Jigalta," he yelled, sweeping his hand toward the many Mystery Bugs. "Start picking them off! I'll try to support you! We need to avoid bringing aggro from the worm!"
The creature's slowness was due to being emerged, yet it'd only require the Dungeon Worm burrowing to become a lot more dangerous to them due to its [Earthen Glide] skill. Comparing the worm to Mystery Bugs, it was an evolution that came about from a lack of predators but a preference for safety. Newer dungeons spawned them commonly to push humans away and protect Mystery Bug nests, yet seeing one in Gaustein was a mixed bag. It was often a sign of growing health, which meant that the mana dispersing from their guests and Tuscetta's training was improving it.
But the bad news was that in her current state, Tuscetta had turned back to ignoring it despite its strength. The worm swung its girthy body down like a hammer, crashing onto the pair and stunning both the bolette and orc.
Rookie Breaker #1, doubting Dungeon Worms.
"[Heal]!" His magic arced over, glowing around the bolette and orc as they struggled beneath the creature.
Tuscetta needs to end her [Berserk] and order the runt to acquire the skill. I can help them endure until then, but the situation now is dangerous. If they fail, we could either lose our chance or I could lose her. My inn can't afford either of those, but... but I'm still powerless!
Time until Darkenth Festival Bonus
1 day, 12 hours