So, just a heads up. I altered the poison skill in the last chapter just a bit. In the venom scale I had it as 3/10 for the one the MC obtained versus the Blood Viper having 5/10. However, I realized something… the venom is too weak for the snake that is feared by so many people. Also, the venom seemed just a bit weaker than I thought it should be for the MC to use. So, I altered it to 4/10 for the MC and 8/10 for the Blood Viper. It’s a bit of drastic change for the snake and a bit less for the MHC, but I felt the change was needed. Thanks.
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Richard clutched his sword tightly as he watched the newcomers walk out of the tall grass. There were only five of them as far as he could tell, but that didn’t mean anything. Remembering the last ambush, he glanced to the sides, trying to find anyone else hiding out there in the dark, and almost automatically, he began to move backwards, keeping a constant distance away from the closest swordsman, who was glaring Richard’s way with a scowl on his blocky face. On the other side of the fire, Nevel was also slowly walking around the fire, so he would have the fire between him and the newcomers.
The whole situation stunk, from the way the two swordsmen kept scowling to the way the weasely looking fellow in the middle kept smiling his swarmy smile. However, even if it had been Santa Claus with his elves who had shown up, Richard would have still been on guard. The reasons stood near the weasel faced fellow. Two… women wearing metal collars and… metal shackles around their wrists stood quietly among the men, shaking whether from the night chill or… something else. They had their heads bowed, but even in the dimly lit clearing, Richard could see the bruising on their faces and arms… not to mention the torn up condition of their clothes. For a second, Richard saw red, remembering the prostitute from Serenthal, and his nose flared as he clenched his teeth in anger.
Before he could say anything, the weasely fellow spoke first, directing the conversation towards Nevel. “It’s good to be seeing company all the way out here in the marshes. Why, when I saw yer fire, I told my man, Ferthers, that we gotta go see who’s here.” After motioning at one of the black haired swordsmen, who was glaring at Nevel, the weasely fellow continued, “The name’s Torane, an’ I’m a bit of a merchant… got some business I’m taking care of around here. So, I’m a wondering if I can’t take some time at yer fire tonight to rest my feet.” The smile the man fixed on his face was a fake as the ones Richard was used to throwing around, but Richard felt the tension go up a notch as he saw the almost sinister twist to the man’s eyes and lips.
Nevel replied gruffly, and to Richard’s surprise and relief, there was anger in the hunter’s voice. “Not to be rude fellow, but we ain’t entertaining folks tonight. Yer the 25th one to come bothering us in the last few weeks, askin’ for food and shelter. We don’t have much as is…, so sorry fella.”
Richard twitched when he heard ‘25th’ but otherwise tried not to show any reaction. After hunting with Nevel for even a week, Richard was used to the hunter not saying anything uselessly, and that number was unfortunately one more than the number of Blood Vipers they had killed. Richard’s mind went into to a frenzy as he knew this whole encounter was going to end badly. He glanced at the swordsmen again… and found them even more alert with their eyes narrowed and their bodies starting to tense up.
Torane spoke again, this time, his voice almost oozing, “Tell ya what, swamp man, I throw in some free time with these two pretties… well, they’re a bit used up now, but they still got more than a bit spunk left ov’r fer a few more rides.”
The offer sickened Richard. The last time he had heard something like that was from a thug standing outside Richard’s workplace, trying to pimp out a woman, who looked like she needed a few months in rehab. Back then, he had walked away, too scared to say anything since he had seen the 38 Special stuck in the bastard’s pants. A few weeks later, the cops and an ambulance had shown up a few blocks over and removed the woman’s dead body from an alleyway. The local cops, who visited the store once in a while, said she had been shot by an unknown assailant. No one had done anything more or said anything about it… anyways, the woman had just been another whore… who cared, right?
Some things… some things could not be allowed again… Richard felt his feet moving to get a better balance and his sword steadying in his hand. Nearby, he heard Nevel growl out, “I don’t think those women are yers to be offering, dogfucker… They ain’t slaves.”
Torane’s smile vanished in a flash, and the vicious smirk that replaced it was more of a fit for the narrow, weasely face. “I didn’t expect to be seeing anyone out here with high and mighty feelings, but well… but both of ya will make a good bargain. Especially, the prettier one over there.” The last was said with nod towards Richard. “Take ‘em boys, but keep ‘em in one piece if you can!”
Almost immediately, all hell broke loose. The swordsmen both moved quickly, propelling themselves forward, towards both Nevel and Richard.
Richard reacted on instinct, casting ‘Biogas’ right where all five people had been standing, but he was too late as the swordsmen had already moved. He heard coughing and gasping, as he saw Torane and both women stumble out of the cloud and collapse on the ground. From experience, he knew they would survive, though they might be incapacitated for a while. However, Richard had no time to think about that as one of the swordsman was already running at Richard while drawing what looked like a bastard sword over his shoulder.
Again, Richard acted with practiced ease, casting ‘Quagmire’ right in front of the swordsman, who subsequently ran into the mud trap and stumbled to a stop with a grunt. Richard, who had been backing away, took a second to see what had happened with Nevel… just in time to see the other swordsman point an arm towards Richard and produce a ball of red fire that spun right at him!
Richard felt his muscles and brain freeze in shock as he watched death come for him… but suddenly, a blast of wind filled the space in front of him, pushing him backwards… and shoving the fireball off course so it flew past Richard, leaving him with a slight sunburn on his right arm instead of with fourth degree burns. Behind him, Richard heard the whooshing sound as the fireball hit something, but his eyes were instead fixated on Nevel, who was just turning his attention back to the second swordsman after casting the wind based magic.
Suddenly, Richard head Nevel shout, “On your guard, Jaeger! They’re magic users… Both of them!”
That woke Richard up, and he turned to the first swordsman, just in time to see the ground solidify under the man, trapping his legs under the soil. Richard automatically aimed his left arm at the man and cast “Stone Projectile, but whether through luck or preparation, the man crouched just in time for the projectile to miss his head. “F#$K!” Richard cursed his aim, realizing he should have just taken the body shot instead of risking a head shot. He realized he had no choice but deal with the man at close range and began walking towards the first swordsman while trying to find a good angle to attack from.
That’s when the third shock of the battle hit Richard. The trapped swordsman screamed, “ARRRGGGHGHHH!”…. And almost immediately, the man seemed to tremble wildly and… f#$king grow… it wasn’t anything like the nerdy scientist becoming the hulk, but Richard watched with amazed eyes as the man’s clothes strained as all the muscles in his body bulked up. Steam rose from the man’s body, making it seem like some kind of crazy scene from an anime. And within a few seconds… the swordsman looked like some kind of mutant human wearing a set of clothes two sizes too small for him. The man’s eyes were bloodshot and veins pulsed all over his red tinged arms and face. Richard whispered, “Bane...”
And like the monstrous juggernaut, who had been Batman’s nemesis, the swordsman didn’t disappoint. “URRRAAHHAHHHHH!” With an animal like roar, he effortlessly ripped one of his legs out of the ground, freeing it from the ‘Quagmire’ trap. “ORRAAAAHAHH!” A second roar, and as second leg was freed. Then, the man’s rage filled eyes fixated on Richard, and…. he charged with a primal scream.
“ARRRRAAAHHHHH!”
“F#$K!” Richard had just enough time to bring his sword up to block as the hulked up swordsman brought his bastard sword swinging right at Richard’s chest. Thankfully, Richard had the good sense to block the swing while bracing his blade using his left forearm. Even so, he felt the bone jarring impact as the bastard sword slammed into his own short sword... slamming the flat side of his blade back up against Richard’s left arm… and shoving the tangled weapon and limb into his chest, almost slicing his nose off in the process. Unfortunately, the hulkified swordsman didn’t stop at that.
Slamming his body into Richard, the other man growled vengefully, while pushing his bastard sword so hard that it was literally pinning Richard’s left arm and sword up against Richard’s chest. Then with another “URAAAAAAAHHH,” the man thrust forward so hard that Richard literally went flying a half a dozen feet backwards.
Splaattttshh! Falling on this back, Richard felt dazed and suddenly scared shitless. The swordsman was almost like some kind of human beast…. that strength… that rage… it made Richard’s entire body shake in terror. Then, he heard the stomping… and Richard knew he was totally f#$ked if he froze up again. He couldn’t stay down… not if he wanted survive. With a wheeze, he rolled to his left as fast as he could, guessing what was coming next. Almost a second later, he heard a ‘thunk’ as something slammed into the ground he had just gotten away from.
Richard quickly rolled to his feet, propelling himself up with his arms and knees as his adrenaline finally drove his muscles to action. He stepped back a bit to reorient himself, and he saw the hulked up swordsman coming right for him. The worst part was that Richard had lost his sword… Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the dead tree from earlier, and just as the swordsman brought the bastard sword down at Richard’s head for an overhead strike, he dodged behind the tree, while calling up his inventory.
Richard pulled out his halberd, while he nervously watched the swordsman recover from the missed swing. The halberd was a gift from the Guard armory at Ortesse, and Richard had been practicing with it for a few days now. He wasn’t exactly trained to use it properly, but he knew it gave him the benefit of range, which was exactly what he needed to keep the crazy freak swordsman in check until he could figure out how to deal with the man.
The swordsman walked around the tree and advanced just out of range of the halberd. The man’s rage filled eyes seemed a lot more focused for some reason, and Richard almost choked when he saw the man smile a gap toothed, evil smile. “Sooo… the littttlllleee hunttteerrrr wansss too plaaaayyyzzz.” The swordsman’s voice sounded slurred and almost like he was high or something
Muttering, “Shit… f#@King crackheads no matter where I go…” Richard braced himself for the worst. Most of his skills/spells were still not ready yet. The one with the least time left was the ‘Stone Projectile’…
As the swordsman swung a few times, almost like he was toying with his opponent, Richard desperately used his Halberd like a spear, always keeping it between him and the swordsman. Meanwhile, his brain was furiously trying to figure out what to do. He kept hearing the sound of swords clashing and other noises further away, so he knew Nevel was still alive… but he knew he couldn’t count on Nevel coming to the rescue… especially not with the other swordsman being a magic user.
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So… Richard realized he had to win this fight himself. “Weakness… weakness… come on… what’s the freak’s weakness.” Muttering to himself, Richard kept retreating in the face of relentless attacks even as his stomach clenched tighter with the fear of dying.
However, the more he dodged and backed up, the more he understood his enemy. There were two things that stuck out. The man was red all over… like his blood was about to erupt out of his skin. More than that, the man’s attacks seemed very unbalanced… like he was having trouble controlling his strength. There was no clear opening on the man’s body, or at least one that Richard could easily attack… but… the limbs….!
Richard didn’t think he could get a clean strike at the brute… but maybe there was another way. In the corner of his vision, he saw the suddenly solid icon indicating his stone projectile skill was ready. Just then, he heard the hulked up swordsman growl, “Enufffff off thessss! Timeee taaaa enddd etttt!”
Richard realized he was out of time, but… as the swordsman took up an attack stance, Richard began his own desperate attack. Quickly raising his left arm, he cast ‘Stone Projectile’ just as the swordsman stepped forward to slash at Richard…
However, Richard wasn’t exactly standing there anymore…. Even as he awkwardly cast his attack spell, he dove to the left, while keeping a firm grasp on his halberd. In the corner of his eyes, Richard saw the swordsman’s bastard blade cut through the air, missing him by just a few inches.
As scared as he was, a cold rage kept him focused. There was desperation in what he was doing… but he also had a plan. He didn’t expect the ‘Stone Projectile’ to kill the man, but at the close range it was fired at, Richard knew even the hulked up swordsman would be hurt enough to buy a few precious seconds... and that’s all he needed….
As expected, “ARRGGHGHGG! BASTTUUURD!”
It was music to Richard’s ears, and he snarled as fell on the ground, twisting around so he was facing the swordsman. It was an awkward position, but he had a clear shot at the big brute for those few seconds as the swordsman tried to recover. More than that, Richard had a little gift for the bastard…
The swordsman was angry. The little weakling kept dodging around, running away like the vermin he was. More than that, the swordsman was angry, because he had let the little vermin use his stone spell again. Even if it had been weak compared to his own power, it had hurt… his chest felt like it was on fire, and he had no doubt that some of his bones might have been bruised as well. However, the swordsman felt the fury inside him burn away all pain. He would tear apart the vermin… and then butcher the other fool…. then maybe he would use one of the women again…
Smiling in beastial rage, the swordsman turned quickly, ready to rend the vermin in half. Suddenly, the swordsman felt pain in his right thigh… Looking down, he found the tip of the halberd shallowly embedded in his right thigh, but for some reason… it began to burn…. And hurt bad enough for him to feel it through his rage. “ARRRRRRGGG!”
The bastard sword swung down, trying to smash the shaft of the halberd, but Richard was already scrambling back away with the halberd firmly grasped in his hands. He quickly got up, standing in a defensive pose, even as the crazy swordsman howled in anger for a while. The wound wasn’t that bad, and it was nothing a few stitches and some medicinal herbs couldn’t take off in the long run... But the swordsman grabbed his thigh and looked up at Richard with a pain contorted face.
Now, it was Richard’s turn to smile evilly….
The swordsman’s face twisted into a repulsive mix of pain and anger, and he spat, “Whasss Youuzzz doooo??!!!”
Richard chuckled… “You know, I really wanted to kill you by slicing you up or chopping you up… but then I realized something… It was a waste of my time and effort. Easier just to sting you to death… like a bee… or maybe, I should say… better to bite you to death…… like a snake.” Richard raised his halberd, so its metal head was at chest height. The head had an axe like blade with a spear like tip, but the interesting part was the greenish tinted glow on the tip and blades.
The swordsman’s bloodshot eyes widened, and he quickly glanced down at his thigh, which was starting to swell up as well hurt like something was burrowing into it. When he looked up, it was with shock on his face.
Richard smiled cruelly, and at the corner of his vision, he saw the icon for his ‘Quagmire’ spell become available. “Let’s get started then, shall we?”
Before he could say anything, the swordsman once again found himself sinking in the blasted mud trap spell. The swordsman tried to move, but the more he struggled, the deeper he sank. If it had been dry ground like before, he could have maybe ripped his legs out… but this… this didn’t allow anything. The worst part was his right leg, which began to burn, starting with his thighs and slowly reaching towards his groin and lower leg. Every time he tried to move, it sent lances of pain up into his body. The swordsman roared his anger and raged … but it was useless… He watched as the vermin circled around quickly… The swordsman screamed, “No! No! No!,” but it was useless.
The vermin quickly passed out of sight, and just as the swordsman began struggling to get turned around…. the ground solidified. And then…. it began… Multiple jabs… two… six… a dozen… two dozen… bored into his back sending fiery lances of pain into his body. But, that wasn’t all… he felt his back burning… burning… burning…. As time passed, his body began shaking as he felt his back swelling up, and… he finally began to cry for mercy…
Then, through his tears, he saw the vermin show up before him… “Merceeee… pleasseee…” The vermin’s plain face suddenly contorted into one filled with rage.
The last words the swordsman heard before the halberd’s tip pierce his throat was “F@#K you!”
Richard pulled the halberd back out of the swordsman’s neck and backed away a bit disgusted… both with what he done and what was happening to the man. The Blood Viper venom was deadly… but it was only part of the horror that had befallen the swordsman. Richard had realized that whatever skill the man was using to gain extra strength was probably pumping his blood through his body at a tremendous rate, hence the heavily flushed skin and steam pouring off the man. Mix hemotoxin with something like that... well… shit happens.
But, Richard didn’t have time to admire his bloody handiwork… there were still enemies left. However, as the adrenaline rush finally started to wear off, he felt his chest, arms, legs… everything throbbing…. “Shit…”
Thankfully, when he turned around, it was to the scene of Nevel plunging his longsword into the fireball casting swordsman’s belly. There were small fires burning in the surrounding grass, and the scene very much looked like the end of a duel between some barbarians… But as Nevel pulled out his sword and the swordsman collapsed, Richard sighed in relief….
Now… all that was left was weasel face and the two women. The whole battle had taken maybe three minutes, but weasel face had been busy in the mean time. For some stupid reason, the fool hadn’t run away when he recovered from the ‘Biogas’… Maybe he thought his men would win, or maybe he was just a greedy bastard… but he was still there, coughing and holding a knife up to blonde woman’s neck. As Richard made his way over, he heard weasel face yelling at Nevel. “Damn you, ya ignorant turd! I’ll be leavin’ with the women an’ you won’t be following. Ya understan’!!”
Nevel stood a few feet away, holding his bloodied blade at a downturned angle. Richard wondered if he should cast ‘Biogas’ again… but he didn’t think it would be healthy for someone to get a double dose of it that soon. Weasel face, Richard didn’t care much about, but seeing the coughing blonde woman, Richard didn’t dare to use that skill again.
Of course, fate has a way of changing things….
A few seconds later, just as weasel face began to rant again, the other woman hit him in the back of the head with a large rock, and weasel face stumbled forward in pain. Things like a person being knocked out only happen in movies, but the opening was enough for Nevel to grab weasel face and wrestle him to the ground. The women immediately fell to the ground sobbing and clutching each other in misery. Richard avoided looking at them and instead made his way over to Nevel and weasel face.
Nevel got up holding the merchant’s knife, and seeing Richard, he passed the knife over. Richard looked at the steel blade. It was very… decorative with multiple gems embedded in the hilt. He wasn’t a good judge of weapons, but Richard had a very poor opinion of any idiot that would stick gems in a knife that they planned on threatening people with. Nevel finally asked, “So what do ya want ta do with the fool?”
Richard looked at the hunter’s stoic face. “What was he doing out here? You said something like he was a slaver.”
Nevel finally grimaced and spat off to the side. “Yeah… Shits like him trade with thieves and some cultists that live out here in the marshlands…. They buy women fer… well… for various reasons…”
Richard felt his insides go cold. He could imagine what thieves might use women for, but cultists… Looking down at the sobbing merchant, Richard felt that little core of hatred inside him grow just a bit more.
Weasel face sobbed, “Please, don’ kill me… I can pay.. ye’ll be rich men… please…”
Richard’s face lost all expression, and he turned to the women, who were crying on the ground nearby. “Hey! You two!”
The women flinched at his voice but looked up at him with tears on their sweat and grime streaked faces. Richard motioned for them to get up and approach him. Shaking and scared, the women slowly complied. Looking at their faces, Richard saw women… no… just girls… a few years younger than him. Both had oval faces, and they were not breath taking beauties. They were just average people… who had their entire lives ripped out from them… because why? Because they owed money… or maybe because they couldn’t find work… or maybe because their shitty parents sold them…. And then, they got used and beaten before they were going to be sold again… to cultists?
Richard’s face hardened, and his eyes narrowed, causing the women to flinch back a little in fear. He held up the merchant’s knife, showing it to them, and then without looking, he pulled out his hunting knife from his inventory. Holding both knives by their blades, he presented them to the girls. “Me and my friend took care of the other pieces of shit…. There’s still one left. Do what you want with him…”
Both of the girls stared at Richard with wide eyes for a few seconds, before their eyes hardened just like his own, and they carefully took the knives out of Richard’s hands. From the ground, Richard heard the merchant whimpering and begging, but he tuned it out as he turned around and walked towards the campfire, which was still burning. It was a beautiful night… and he had survived again… That’s all that mattered for now…
Then the screaming began…..