Maera commanded her knights to break out of the entrapment, leaving behind the rest of the survivors. It wasn’t an easy choice, but this is where Noah would die. And where she would take her people into the golden ages of the multiverse.
Could she save him? She shook her head. The goddess had told her and the other nobles of what would transpire within this mission.
Maera knew from the beginning–Noah was destined to die.
The monster that he was about to face would cripple him, then the rest of the orc’s forces would crush his body until nothing remained. There was nowhere to run. He would try to approach the entrance to the castle, but surrounded–he would be stuck.
Tears welled up in the corner of her eyes, but she forced them back. She felt sorry. Sorry that she betrayed him–but there was no excuse. She needed to do this for her people. Bringing the strongest knights with her, she would take them to defeat whatever mysterious foes lay within the dungeon.
For that was where the divination from her Goddess ended, and where her own path began.
It was her own people, compared to that of strangers. It was an easy decision.
They ran as fast as they could as the monsters ignored them, and faced the other survivors. However, when she turned, a deep shiver crawled from the base of her spine, to the top of her neck.
A deep set of eyes looked at her from behind the wall of monsters. Noah was… smiling. As if he knew. Knew of the plan, and the divination, but that was impossible. Maera thought with conviction.
Perhaps he figured out that she would betray him all along? The thought stung a little, but she didn’t have the right to be upset. If the roles were reversed, and if he knew what she would do, she would be the one watching his departing back.
I hope you manage to survive. But I know that is impossible. To go against the words of the Goddess, is to defy fate itself.
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Noah wasn’t angry, he wasn’t even disappointed. It was just what he expected. In a world where one has to look after their own, and where strength was gained to those who acted first, or who had the luck to obtain it, it was only natural.
Maybe it was a sour outlook on life, but here, it was what would save him. He had to be careful who he trusted. Even Thraz, who was an honour bound dragon-born wasn’t safe from that assessment.
Although who was to say what would happen in the future?
After smiling at the departing princess, Noah had to focus on what was in front of him. A hulking ogre with protruding horns, to be exact. The strength was way higher than anything he had faced before.
Although he was certain the troll back in the dungeon was stronger, it was difficult to say since he was festered with desperation. Mind warped, Noah doubted the monster even knew who he was anymore.
The same couldn't be said about the ogre charging with thudding steps. It knew exactly what it was. A monster born for carnage. A desire to pound his flesh into the ground, and use his limbs as toothpicks for the skin, and bone in between.
“Bitch!” a fevered scream belted across the battlefield, but amongst the pounding steps, and their monstrous roars, it was droned out.
No-one could afford to be upset at the moment, but others fueled their anger into strength.
In particular: Victor.
Red surged around his blade like phantom ghosts. They rose, then swirled around him as the centre. He moved. In a blink, he leapt amongst the monsters, and began his dance of death. Everywhere he moved, limbs, and spurting of red followed in his wake.
The victims of his attack were struck with a frenzied fear. They wanted to retreat, but the moment that though struck them, an empowered Victor bolted toward them. With a final cut, there wasn’t so much of a sound of a death rattle. Their lives were severed. Cut.
Not wanting to be outdone, the others also moved.
Declan had a keen insight of the battlefield, and it seemed that he had undergone a lot of training for the battlefield. He was like a fish finally released into the ocean. His commands flew, his words bolstered a select few of his ‘troops’ as they entered a killing frenzy.
Lorena herself was just behind Victor in killing speed. Against unarmoured opponents, her curved blade skills truly shone. A light blue hue imbued her blade, allowing her to slice through flesh, and bone with ease.
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Noah’s blood boiled. It was his turn, and it just so happened that the toughest enemy on the blood spilled, corpse rid war floor moved straight for him.
Krall emitted a monstrous roar and [Charged] ahead. The blood curdling screams of war only filled Noah with a feverish excitement. Krall was of the same mind. They wanted slaughter.
Facing such a powerful enemy, Noah had no notions of going easy to suss out its attack patterns. No, he relied on brute force.
He unleashed the strongest attack possible, combining the use of all of his current skills, and power of the Shards he had. All the muscles in his anatomy groaned in protest. A twanging pain shot through certain muscles in his arms, but he persisted in his attack.
The ogre also readied its skills. A red hue filled its eyes. Muscles bulged. It hefted its heavy hammer and smashed it down toward Noah’s skull.
He could feel the air compress and swirl from the impending attack, but Noah’s was a level higher. With the Monster Shard activated, something within Noah was projected forward. It felt like he himself had become a monster, and the only thing on his mind was to devour the enemy in front of him.
The Krall imbued spear crunched around the ogre's head. Blood spilled, and a pained groan muttered under its breath. The monster thrashed and sent its axe downward.
Noah activated [Beastly Aegis] as the two-handed weapon smashed against his shield. The impact brought forth a surging heat within his body as blood shot out his mouth from the hit. He was sure something was damaged within, but he couldn't think about it right now.
He just had to attack.
The fact that the ogre managed to tank his hit meant that it had several defensive skills. Or maybe it was just the unique properties the hulking humanoid had within its bloodline. Whatever it was, Noah swore to smash through it.
But he knew he couldn’t simply rely on straightforward brute strength. He had to make use of his class bonuses, and of course, he needed shadows for that.
Noah glanced ahead as Krall swung his fists in a wide arc, clashing against the wounded ogre–sending him back a step. In the distance, the sun was impeded by the high castle walls, and the steep mountainous bordering the land.
I need to go there.
Noticing that his needed terrain was ahead, passed the wall of monsters. Noah had to resort to a brutal charge through the trash.
“Thraz, I need a space cleared!” Noah shouted to Thraz.
Unlike before where Thraz would tank his target, then let the other humans kill it while he went to help others, he was instead brutally tearing into his enemies with no care around him. Finally, he could level the way he wanted to.
Hearing Noah’s words, he nodded.
Noah sighed in relief. It would be a risk to him, and that was why Noah was half expecting the recently betrayed dragonborn to ignore his demands. But he listened.
Maybe he knew that they needed Noah to deal with the ogre, or maybe he was doing it for Noah. Whatever the reason was, he was helping him.
Thraz charged into the midst of battle. His sponsor-given axe tore through the monsters as if he was the maelstrom of steel.
Every way he swung the axe, limbs were chopped, heads flew. But there were too many of them. Noah was still trying to free himself from the onslaught of the ogre, so he couldn’t help in the next few moments.
However, it seemed that Thraz had picked up a few skills of his own. Ones that particularly took full use of his newly gained Epic Pathstone that Noah had traded him with.
An earthen layer formed around his body like a natural armour. It even formed a helmet that hugged his head as if it was made by a master craftsman.
A swing of a cleaver-sword impacted against the stone armour and although it cut past the rock, it only managed to slice a centimetre into his flesh. Without it, the wound would have been severe.
Although Noah trusted in Thraz’s ability to tank the hit. It was never a good feeling having one's bone hacked with a sharpened blade.
With his body like an armoured tank, Thraz relied on his might to cut through the opposing monsters.
Noah managed to free himself from the onslaught of the ogre, and charged straight for Thraz. Krall smashed through the line, while Noah thrust his spear in rapid succession. He took four of their lives in just a moment as he continued onward, passing the monsters.
“Shit, he’s heading to the dungeon!” Another scream buzzed against his ears, but he ignored it.
Unlike the others, he had plenty of time. And although he thought little of Victor’s life, the same couldn’t be said about the others. Especially Thraz. He didn’t want him to die.
So for that, he had to get rid of the menace that was a threat to everyone's life. Of course, not many had the same plan.
Others used the opportunity of Noah and Thraz’s charge to sprint ahead, toward the dungeon entrance. Maera was slow because of her lack of physical attributes, so that meant the fastest of them had a slim chance of catching up. It was a chance they all leapt at.
Thraz, noticing the others' run, was also tempted. He wanted the reward for himself. To claim honour for his family and sponsor, but Noah’s shout made him halt.
“Thraz, I need your help to kill the ogre!” Noah shouted, his voice almost inaudible. “If I don’t, it’ll kill everyone.”
“But–” Thraz looked at the dungeon.
“Trust me.”
Thraz Hesitated. He took a humming breath, then followed Noah.
Thankfully, the monster wholly wanted Noah dead. The fact that a lowly human had inflicted such a wound on it had only incensed its anger further.
In a death charge, it chased Noah until the high trees and mountains transformed the glimmering sun into a deep shadow. As the black brushed against Noah’s shoulder, he grinned.
The prey had evolved into the predator.