*Whizzle*

A fiery tornado swept upon the monsters. It wasn’t a coincidence that no humans were present in the center of the battlefield.

“AARgh”

“Get away!” The ogre commanded in a frenzy, but it was too late.

It was impossible to stop the fire once it spread on these plains. There was nothing but dried grass and tree stumps as far as the eye could see.

The mana used by Jacob had long since run out. Despite that though, the prairie fire was still in effect.

The raging flames dined upon the land as they spread in all directions. The scene was cold enough to make the players shiver in broad daylight.

“Don’t gawk like morons and gather around,” Shi kun roared as the other ogre approached him. The surviving monsters were consumed by fury after they saw their brethren’s peril.

“Crush them!” The ogre leader bellowed in fury as he ran towards the fiery tornado.

*ROOAR*

Led by the ogre, all of the surviving orcs rushed at the players.

“Dumbfucks. Do they think that I took a beating so far coz I liked it?” Shi kun gave the charging monsters a derisive sneer and used his trump card.

[Wrathful Reckoning]

The skill's activation was the exact opposite of Jacob’s prairie fire. There were no flashy movements or loud booms.

Nothing seemed to have happened on the outside.

*Huff*Huff*

Shi kun panted for breath as he leaned on his shield. Unlike others, he knew that the skill was already in effect.

The orcs stumbled back as if they were facing the most horrifying creature in existence. Even the mighty ogre wasn’t exempt from the [Fear] debuff.

“The fuck are ya waiting for? Kill ‘em already,”

“Yes boss,”

“Boss seems high after getting beaten up hehe..”

“That’s his true character,”

“Tch..tch… here I thought he was a sophisticated gentleman.”

“Argh.. Dman! Ya’ll better be ready when I'm done with this shit,”

“Hahaha,”

Their lighthearted banter was on a completely different spectrum from what they were doing.

All of the remaining players were throwing all kinds of attacks at the orcs. On top of fear, Shi kun had also inflicted [Slow] on them. Wrathful Reckoning was one of the top skills for a tank playstyle.

At the highest level, this skill could inflict dozens of debuffs on the enemies. Although Shi kun had acquired the skill recently, it’s might was more than enough to handle the current situation.

The skill was a mixture of active and passive ability. It can only be activated when one’s HP reaches below 50%. Once cast, the skill would inflict debuff upon those who had attacked the owner before the HP went below 50%.

What made the skill scary, was that there was no limit to the number of targets. For example, if a thousand monsters had attacked him before his HP went below the threshold, all of them would be targeted by the skill's effect.

It was a wide-scale debuff that even mages couldn’t cast on the same level. To top it off, the debuff's effects would increase proportionally to the amount of HP lost after casting the skill.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

It was much more powerful and practical than prairie fire which targeted allies and enemies alike. Of course, that was the case when you had a numerical superiority.

*ROOOAR*

*ROOOAR*

As if on cue, both of the ogres used their skills at the same time. Their conditions were vastly different on the other hand.

The ogre affected by debuff was still holding his ground. As for the one caught up in the prairie fire, well, he wasn’t having the best time of his life.

The fire wasn’t strong enough to turn him into ashes like the orcs. It had powerful vitality, but instead of being an advantage, it only increased the suffering.

The ogre knew that using the skill could do nothing but slow down its death. However, he gained a strand of hope after seeing the leader coming to help him.

On both sides, Menacing changes took place on the ogre’s bodies. Red veins as thick as a finger bulged out from their heart. The players kept attacking, but it was futile.

The skill was activated and the ogres were covered in a crimson hue.

“Stand back! It’s going berserk,”

*GRRRRR*

Some players reacted immediately. Under Shi kun’s command they rolled back as if their life depended on it.

And as a matter of fact, it did.

Others were slow by just a second, and yet, they were turned into bloody mess by the ogre’s blow.

“Shields on the front, Block that fucker at all costs,” Shi kun growled as he stood on his shaky legs.

He wasn’t scared by the fact that the ogre had killed four players in one blow. What worried him were the frightened expressions on the player's faces.

A loss in morale at this juncture would be fatal. The orc's current condition was a prime example of that.

After being afflicted by fear and slow, there were only 10 of them left.

“Swordsmen, throw your weapons after the shielders' block, and don’t engage in close combat. The rest should fall back and cover the injured,”

Since there were only dozens of shielders in their group, the assault force was comprised of less than 50 players.

*Boom*

“Ugh”

“Eat this you bastard,”

It was enough to handle the berserk ogre nonetheless. The shielders barely managed to block the ogre after stumbling a couple steps back, but the time it brought was enough for others to attack.

Berserk enhanced all of the body’s functions at the cost of one’s lifeforce. However, much to the ogre’s dismay, the debuffs still remained.

It was able to ignore the fear debuff due to its high level and racial traits, but the slow status was taking a toll on its body.

“Keep up boys, it’s a spent bullet at this point,”

“Yeah”

“We’ll avenge our comrades,”

This ambush was a disaster for Zyrus’s group. They had lost more than 50 players already.

But as the saying goes, fortune and disaster always come hand in hand.

Zyrus’s plan to train them was progressing in the right direction, albeit in a different way. The surviving players were forged in blood and iron through this battle.

“DAMN YOU!”

The ogre leader bellowed in fury after seeing his brethren on the brink of death.

“The fire’s out!”

“Retreat,”

*Whoosh*

The ogre leader used his skill after holding gigantic axes in both of his hands.

“That guy’s trouble,” Shi kun frowned as he looked at the last ogre. He knew that as the leader of the group, he would be the strongest of them all.

Despite that, he was struck by horror when he saw the ogre spin his axes like a grinder. Visible blades of air formed around him, slicing the fiery tornado into countless flickers.

Come to think of it, the ogre leader was unfortunate as well. One moment everything was going well, and in the next instance, everything changed.

From the moment when Jacob casted prairie fire to the ogre’s death, barely five minutes had passed. Even as an intelligent monster his tactics and reaction speed were nowhere near the likes of Ria.

From the beginning, she had played him around like a fiddle.

In the five minutes when hell broke loose on the battlefield, not only did she rescue the fainted Jacob, but the ogre leader was surrounded by goblin riders as well.

By the time he managed to quench the fire, the players had retreated far out of the ogre’s range.

“Thank god he’s a pighead,” Ria sighed in relief as he observed the enraged ogre from a hundred feet away.

“I mean, most humans wouldn’t have acted any better in that time.”

“Yeah, I suppose,”

“What’s up with that disdainful look?”

“He’ll be fine, Right?” Ria changed the topic in a dim voice. No matter how dumb the ogres were, they would lose this battle if Jacob died in this place.

“Of course he will,” Shi kun assured her with a resolute expression. They both knew that the fight was far from over. If the leaders had grim looks, then their subordinates would be affected by low morale as well.

They had to appear calm and steady even when they were not. Even against the mightiest foes, they should laugh, showing those behind that everything would be all right.

Such was the role of a leader.

Ria looked at Jacob who lay on a wolf with a pained expression. Even he wasn’t spared by the fire he brought down upon the battlefield.

Thankfully, the fire hadn't spread above the arms by the time she rescued him.

He had contributed the most in this fight. Ironically, he had suffered more than anyone as well. Not only was he unconscious due to over-exhausting his mana, but his bronze crown was lost as well.

Most of the dead players were his subordinates.

“Shoot the arrows. I want him dead without a single intact piece on his body.” Ria commanded in a voice laden with killing intent.

*Swish*

Hundreds of arrows flew towards the ogre from all directions. Unbeknownst to anyone, a monster clad in silver armor had arrived at the scene with a spear in hand.

It was none other than Zyrus Wymar.