Blanche ran towards the top lane, dodging thorned branches and deep pools in the jungle. Thanks to her Ganker role, she gained a movement speed boost outside of combat, allowing her to traverse the map quickly. It also helped that she had gained most of her stats back. Even though she wasn’t a pure warrior, her trained body had enough stamina to deal with the constant running around the map.
Her mind raced with calculations. She has seen the Gopchump Mother while clearing the jungle. While it didn’t seem as strong as the drake they just slayed, it was still powerful. That’s why she had to get the help of Artemeni who was at the top lane. It was also important to get her out of her lane as the stronger minions could cause serious damage to her.
“Your life is a currency I can’t waste.”
Poyraz’s words rang in her head. He was different now. Guess that should be expected as he didn’t pose as a common squire anymore. He was the Champion of Aliera. But for some reason, Blanche thought that he was less happy now. Trapped, just like herself perhaps.
She shook her head. It was useless to think about those. Her focus sharpened as she approached the top lane. Artemeni was engaged in a tense standoff with the enemy’s enhanced minions. Her spear despite the mastery it was wielded, couldn’t get rid of ever ever-growing minion wave. Blanche called out as she broke through the treeline.
"Artemeni! With me, now. We’re taking down the Gopchump Mother.”
Artemeni turned, her scarlet hair catching the faint light as her sharp eyes locked on Blanche.
“What about the lane?”
She asked, somewhat hesitant the leave the lane she worked hard to defend.
“We won’t be able to defend it against those minions. Poyraz said that we should let go of the first towers for the sake of stronger minions.”
Artemeni frowned, gripping her spear tightly. She didn’t like abandoning her post—it went against her instincts as a warrior. But if the Champion of the Goddess she followed gave an order, she would follow it with her life.
“Alright,” Artemeni said, turning toward Blanche. Her movements were smooth but taut with tension, like a bowstring drawn to its limit. “Lead the way. If we’re going to take this beast down, we need to be quick.”
Blanche nodded and set off at a brisk pace, with Artemeni close behind. They moved through the dense jungle, its foliage casting fragmented shadows on the forest floor. The sound of distant combat—minions clashing and spells erupting—faded as they pushed deeper into enemy territory.
The Gopchump Mother’s lair wasn’t far. Blanche had spotted it before while clearing camps, a twisted grove filled with pulsating fungal growths. As they approached, the ambient mana in the air grew thick, suffused with an unsettling vitality. The grove reeked of decay, and the ground beneath their feet felt unnaturally soft.
“There it is,” Blanche whispered, pointing to the hulking beast that loomed in the center of the grove. It stood nearly the height of them. It looked roughly like a giant toad with an almost grotesque, exaggerated bulk and a mix of amphibian and beastly features. Its hunched body was covered in thick, spiky fur or coarse hair, giving it a rugged and primal appearance. Its limbs were stubby but muscular, ending in sharp claws that hinted at its capability to dig or defend itself. The creature’s face was somewhat squashed, with a bulbous structure and small, glinting eyes that peer from beneath its messy, mane-like fur.
Besides it were several smaller and similar beings, croaking as a choir. They were no bigger than the minions Artemeni and Blanche were used to yet they were various in number.
Blanche's eyes scanned the grove, calculating their approach. The Gopchump Mother’s presence seemed to embolden the smaller minions around it, their guttural croaks a rhythmic warning. Each croak sent ripples through the mana-rich air, almost as if the creature’s power extended to its environment.
“They’re grouped too tightly,” Artemeni murmured, her spear held low and ready. “If we charge in, we’ll be overwhelmed before we even touch the Mother.”
Blanche frowned, her mind racing. “We need to thin them out first. If we draw the smaller ones away, we can handle them in waves. The Gopchump Mother won’t move until we enter the grove—too territorial.”
“Got it.” Artemeni’s eyes gleamed as she adjusted her grip. “I have a skill called Taunt. I can draw them to myself. You focus on cutting their numbers down.”
Blanche nodded. She unsheathed her rapier and sabre. Artemeni moved first. She hurled her spear into the nearest cluster of smaller Gopchumps. The weapon struck with a burst of force, impaling one and creating a shockwave that scattered the others. In an instant, she summoned the spear back to her hand, her mastery over the weapon seamless. Blanche darted in as the creatures recoiled. Her weapons flashed as she slashed through the stunned minions, her movements fluid and relentless. The smaller Gopchumps, though numerous, were no match for her agility and precision.
The Gopchump Mother let out a deep, resonant croak, and the ground trembled. The remaining smaller creatures seemed to rally, rushing toward the two women with renewed fervor. Blanche cursed under her breath.
“It’s trying to keep us busy!” Artemeni called out, stepping forward to intercept another wave. Her spear danced in wide arcs, cutting through the attackers like a whirlwind. Blanche’s mind raced. The longer they delayed, the more minions would spawn to reinforce the Mother. They had to push through. She took a deep breath, drawing mana out of her magic crest. The air around her cooled down as lightning crackled.
Blanche's rapier began to hum with energy, arcs of lightning dancing along its blade. The crackling sound was enough to give the Gopchumps pause, their guttural croaks faltering for a moment as the oppressive weight of her mana filled the grove.
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"Artemeni, cover me!" Blanche called, her voice sharp as thunder echoed faintly in her wake.
Artemeni didn’t hesitate. She stepped forward, her spear whirling in precise, defensive arcs. Every motion was deliberate, a deadly dance that kept the smaller Gopchumps from overwhelming their position. The minions locked onto her, their beady eyes burning with mindless aggression as they surged forward.
Blanche seized the opening. She dashed past Artemeni, weaving between the onrushing creatures with a grace that spoke of years of practice. Her movements seemed almost untouchable, each step calculated to avoid the sharp claws and snapping jaws of the Gopchumps. As she reached the edge of the grove, she thrust her rapier into the air, releasing the stored mana in a sharp burst.
“Lightning Spear!”
She roared. A brilliant arc of lightning erupted from the tip of her blade, surging through the clustered minions in a crackling wave. The smell of ozone filled the air as the energy leaped from one creature to the next, frying them in an instant. The Gopchump Mother let out an enraged bellow, its hulking frame shuddering as it rose to its full height, its claws digging into the ground.
“That’s the opening!” Artemeni shouted, vaulting over the few remaining minions to land beside Blanche. The warrior’s spear glowed with a crimson aura as she unleashed her own attack. “Crimson Cleave!”
The spear slashed through the air, its arc leaving a trail of shimmering red light that carved through the Gopchump Mother’s thick hide. The creature howled, its stubby limbs flailing as it staggered back, but it wasn’t done yet. A pulse of mana surged from its body, sending tremors through the grove. The remaining fungal growths began to writhe, their twisted forms emitting a sickly green glow.
“They’re spawning reinforcements!” Blanche shouted, her voice tense. She switched her focus, her sabre slicing through the nearest glowing fungus. Each strike sent a jolt of lightning through the pulsating growths, slowing their spawning process. “Keep it distracted, Artemeni!”
“I am trying!”
Artemeni growled, dodging a swipe from the Mother’s claws. The beast’s movements, though slow, carried devastating force. One misstep could be fatal.
Blanche’s strikes were precise, but she couldn’t keep this pace for long. Sweat beaded on her forehead as the toll of channeling mana and fighting wore on her. Yet, despite the danger, a strange sense of calm overtook her. Poyraz’s words echoed once more in her mind.
"Your life is a currency I can’t waste."
Gritting her teeth once again, Blanche cast her magic again.
“Just a little bit more.”
The beast seemed to be quite weak to lightning. Perhaps that’s why Poyraz was sure two of them could take it down. The Gopchump Mother let out a guttural roar, its stubby limbs clawing at the air as arcs of lightning crackled through its bulky frame. The surrounding fungal growths glowed brighter, emitting waves of mana that surged toward the fallen minions. Some of the defeated Gopchumps began to twitch, their broken forms writhing as if they were about to reanimate.
Blanche cursed under her breath. “This thing’s regenerating its minions!”
“We can’t give it time!” Artemeni snarled, deflecting a swipe with her spear before driving the weapon deep into the creature’s side. Her Crimson Cleave left a glowing scar across its hide, but the beast hardly faltered. Instead, its eyes gleamed with a vile light, and it retaliated with a ground-shaking slam of its clawed limbs. Artemeni dodged just in time, but the tremor threw her off balance.
“I’ll hit it with everything I’ve got,” she muttered, her voice steely. "Artemeni, draw its focus for a moment longer!"
Artemeni grinned through the tension. “I hope your everything is enough because I’m about to run out of tricks!”
The warrior lunged forward with reckless abandon, slamming her spear into the Mother’s face with a brutal uppercut. The impact forced the beast to rear back, its bellow shaking the grove.
Blanche seized the moment. Closing her eyes, she drew deeply from her magic crest, channeling her remaining mana into a single, devastating attack. The air around her began to shimmer, and her rapier sparked violently as lightning coiled around its blade. Her sabre, meanwhile, glowed with faint energy as she infused it with a weaker charge to handle the fungal growths spawning minions.
“Artemeni, clear out!” she shouted, raising her rapier high.
The warrior leaped back without hesitation, her instincts screaming that Blanche’s attack wasn’t something to stay close to.
Blanche’s eyes locked onto the Mother as it started to lurch forward, sensing its advantage. She whispered through gritted teeth, the words carrying both defiance and resolve.
“Lightning Spiral—Execution!”
The charged rapier struck the ground with a resounding crack, sending an electrified spiral of energy rushing forward. The spiral was no ordinary attack—it carried Blanche’s full mana reserve, creating a vortex of crackling energy that twisted through the grove. It carved through the fungal growths in its path before slamming into the Gopchump Mother with explosive force.
The creature’s bellow turned into a tortured screech as its massive body convulsed, arcs of electricity ravaging its flesh. The fungal glow around the grove dimmed, the minion reinforcements faltering and collapsing where they stood.
The aftermath was silent, save for the crackle of fading electricity and the labored breathing of the two women. Blanche’s chest heaved as she lowered her rapier, watching the Gopchump Mother slump forward, its vitality all but spent. Artemeni, panting, raised her spear.
"Let me finish this," Artemeni growled, her weapon glowing with predatory crimson light as she prepared to unleash her Spear of Huntress.
Just as she hurled the spear, another weapon streaked through the air—a blackened trident, wreathed in shadowy flames. It struck first, impaling the Mother’s chest.
The beast let out a final, shuddering croak before collapsing.
(The enemy team has stolen the Gopchump Mother.)
(All enemy minions gain increased attack and attack speed for 10 minutes.)
(All enemy minions gain 20 percent life steal for 10 minutes.)
Blanche and Artemeni spun to see the enemy Ganker emerge from the jungle, flanked by their Tank, whose towering shield gleamed menacingly.