Part One Hundred and Eleven

A short time after my chat with Kalia wrapped up, we began to hear signs of combat. Monster screams and the cries of men signaled that some NPCs were definitely fighting up ahead. It was decided that meeting up with one of the other squads would be beneficial to our efforts in hunting the Boss, so we hurried to catch up to them.

We soon reached what appeared to be a clearing, but it wasn’t a natural clearing. No, all the nearby trees had been mowed down by tremendous force, and were now laying about in great piles. However, it was what was in the clearing that caught our attention.

Dozens of Baculth stood together, as if they were protecting the figure at their center. Which they probably were, considering the hundred or so NPCs surrounding them. But that wasn’t what caught us off-guard. It was the bodies strewn about the clearing. Baculth and human, or NPC, corpses were all over the place, indicating that hundreds of both of them had died here. All we were seeing was the tail-end of the fight.

That big one in the middle, it has to be the Boss. Which means…

Baculth Warlord

Rank: C

Archetype: Dungeon Boss

Description: Baculth Warlords are amongst the most terrifying members of their species, as they are all masters of both physical combat and the magical arts. Only the best of the best can become a Warlord, and thus they are respected above all others, causing their troops to have an undying loyalty to them. In addition, Warlords possess a powerful ability that causes any Baculth that answers their call to release all of their biological limiters, allowing them to showcase their full strength.

To be honest, that description made me worried. I already knew this wouldn’t be an easy fight, but seeing the Boss in person was another thing. It was big. While the Warlord might be shorter than the Cyclops we’d fought, there was something about it that just made the monster stand out to me. Like it would be impossible to ignore its presence in the world.

“Bragh? Brrrrr. BRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGNHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

Once the Warlord noticed us, it snorted in annoyance before bellowing as loud as it could, causing shockwaves that rippled outwards from the monsters. The unfortunate NPCs still fighting them were all blown over by the force of it, and I saw several of them were bleeding from every orifice in their face. Even worse, the shockwave carried mana with it, allowing it to easily reach us. However, unlike the shockwaves Shadow Wolves could release, this one didn’t have enough force to rip a person apart, mostly because it wasn’t focused.

“Tch, fan out! We need to crush them before more monsters show up! Ranged fighters, try to aim for the Boss if you can!”

With the attention of nearly every single monster now on us, the NPCs had had time to stand back up and retake their stances. With them to back us up, we had a definite numbers advantage, for all the good it would do us.

“BRRRRAAAAGH!”

“”””“BRRRAAAAH!”””””

The Warlord's cry seemed to revitalize the Baculth surrounding it. They all released spirited shouts, before simultaneously attacking the nearby NPCs, killing many of them. However, this created enough of a gap that our NPC mages could unleash their spells without worrying about friendly fire. Over a dozen firebolts struck the Baculth, setting them on fire.

With the monsters now distracted by the flames burning away at them, we rushed to surround them before they could try to escape. Those with shields used them to corral the burning monsters backwards, keeping the entire group together as they burned, and the mages and archers were just piling on attacks. Things seemed like they’d wrap up once the Baculth all succumbed to the flames. But just as things seemed to be going our way, the Warlord completely overturned the table.

“BRRRRRRAAAAAGH!!”

A wave of frigid air burst outwards from the Warlord, snuffing out all of the flames burning the Baculth. It was like the temperature dropped thirty degrees when it washed over me, but that wasn’t the end of it.

Ice began to rapidly build-up in its wool, and quickly formed into a thick layer that covered its entire body. Then, the ice around its right arm began to shift, forming into an icy blade as long as my arm. The Warlord then used that ice blade to stab right through the shield of the closest defender, and impaling him in the chest. It then pulled the blade free and kicked the corpse away from it, before turning to cut down two more defenders. This created a big enough gap for the other monsters to rush through, breaking our containment.

Things quickly fell into chaos after that. The Warlord strolled through the battlefield slaying anyone unlucky enough to get too close, while the other Baculth were wreaking havoc with our formation. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a problem since they were outnumbered five to one, and we had most of our best fighters present. But since every single sheep here was C-Rank, along with a quarter of them being on the same level as the Mid-bosses, it was inevitable that things would deteriorate to this degree.

Cameron and I were beset upon by three Baculth. Cameron stopped one of them by using the head of his axe to block its charge, while I used [Rot] on the second’s leg while avoiding the third’s punch. Having access to magic made fighting multiple enemies much easier, as I doubt I could’ve blocked both of their attacks at the same time. However, I was dealing with monsters much closer to my level than what I usually fought, so even this much was just barely enough.

“Braaagh!”

The Baculth swung at me with both fists, which I blocked with my swords while exchanging counters with the monster. Unlike Minotaurs, Baculth didn’t have overwhelming physical strength as a default feature, meaning that it was possible to directly block their attacks in ways I wouldn’t ordinarily try. Most of it’s attacks were blocked or diverted, while mine continued to shave away at its wool. And as an added bonus, any blows the monster did land caused a blast of Miasma to erupt towards it, further destroying its defenses.

The Baculth’s hands were reduced to bones within a minute, which quickly led to its life being extinguished when my sword pierced through its throat. Looking about, I saw that Cameron had dealt with his and the one I’d crippled with [Rot]. And Alicia was standing further back, a convulsing Baculth at her feet. I watched as she drove her knife into its eye over and over, thoroughly making sure it was dead, before she stood back up and threw the knife down and promptly vomited up the contents of her stomach.

“Alicia! Are you alright?”

“Cough, cough. Yeah, I’m okay. Though now my mouth tastes terrible.”

“Just hold on for a bit. I think we have bigger problems right now.”

The Warlord had continued its rampage while we were occupied by its minions. At least three mercenaries had died, along with a dozen NPCs in the last two minutes.

The problem wasn’t the monster’s actual ability, but the magic ice armor it had created for itself. Not only was its ice sword capable of cutting straight through metal armor, but its armor was tough enough to withstand even a concentrated barrage of firebolts. The only way I could tell that we were doing damage to it was that little chips of ice kept flying off of it into the air.

Not good. It’s so much stronger than I suspected it would be. This thing can’t even be compared to the Nightmare Doppelganger I fought in the Labyrinth. I’ve gotta find a way to break through that armor.

“Alicia, how many of those exploding arrows do you have?”

“Hm? Oh, uh, about thirty. Why? ….Ohhhhh.”

“Exactly. Since it seems to be resistant to magical attacks, let’s try a few old fashion explosions. I want you to bombard it when I give you the signal.”

“Got it! Just make sure it doesn’t try to target me, alright?” Alicia went running off to the edge of the clearing.

Okay, now I just gotta set the stage for her. Ugh, this is going to be a pain in the ass.

“Come on Cameron, let’s go see what kind of impact we can have on this fight.”

The two of us began fighting our way through what was left of the Baculth horde. Despite the kill count the Warlord was racking up, the regular Baculth were going down one after another. Several mercenaries had managed to temporarily occupy the Warlord, allowing the others to gang up on the other Baculth with our superior numbers.

“Umph! Feisty, ain’t ya?”

Sampson was using the head of his hammer to block the Warlord’s sword strikes, but the metal was slowly being shaved away with each collision. That it had managed to do this much was proof of its durability.

“Just keep it busy until the mages have their spell ready.”

“Ha! Like I’ll let those drones have the kill. I’ll hold it off, but it’ll be my lieutenant who finishes this fight.”

“Hm? And what about me, good sir? Do the two of you believe that I cannot crack this beast's paltry shell?”

“Pfft, last time ya tried that, the bastard just about broke your arm. Just hang back and let me handle this.”

“I’d think it best to listen this time, Tavin. That ice armor of its seems to be cold enough to freeze flesh on contact. There’s frost on my shield as well.”

Sampson wasn’t the only one here either. Both Braddock and Tavin were squaring off against the Warlord, though they were both in rough shape. Tavin was hanging back more than usual and his right arm was hanging limply by his side, and Braddock’s shield had several gouges and holes it.

Hm, I wonder if [Rot] will still work on its armor?

I waited until it was fully distracted by Sampson before firing off the spell, but nothing happened to the spot where it struck. Tch, should’ve guessed. Ice isn’t exactly organic matter. Wait, is it? Ice is just frozen water. Is water considered to be an organic material? Uh, I think I need to experiment with normal water before I think myself too deep into a hole here.

I’d like to try a few more times to see if I could stack the effect eventually, but my mana reserves were running too low for comfort. Using Rapid Recovery earlier had really strained my budget for the battle, but I still had about a quarter of my pool left. Enough for a single Beast of the Nightmare with some change left over. Testing would have to wait until later.

But unfortunately, or fortunately, my spell did accomplish one thing. It got the Warlord’s attention. The beast spun around and bellowed before rushing right for me. I barely had enough time to react and block the overhead blow from its ice sword, catching the blade on both of my swords.

“Brrr?”

The Warlord appeared surprised that I’d caught its blow, but this was only possible since I’d activated Beast of the Nightmare, and was under the effects of Kalia’s buffing spell. With my abilities massively boosted by both effects, I was now strong enough to go one-on-one with the Boss, at least temporarily. My goal? To keep the damn thing in one place long enough for Alicia to get into position. Or to kill it myself if I could.

***

Haaah…haaah, how is he….. doing that? He’s blocking every single one of its attacks, and even finding the time to attack it himself. But…it won’t be enough. He shouldn’t be able to keep that up for long, and his swords aren’t penetrating its armor. Hm, Michael isn’t stupid. He wouldn’t have attacked it without a plan. So what’s his aim? How’s he planning on ending-? Ah, Alicia. Hm, but even her explosive arrows shouldn’t be enough. He must have something else, something I haven’t considered. Something he’s betting will kill the Boss.

But if it fails, then he’d be putting himself right at the front of the line for death. A final gambit only works of it pays off. Failure just leads to death. But if I could get to him, then I’d be able to occupy it for him, preventing his gambit from failing. No, I can get to him, at the cost of everything I have left.

If only it hadn’t come to this, but it’s too late for regrets. I knew this might happen. I have to accept the consequences of my actions. There’s no other way.

***

Hm, its physical strength is about the same level as the Orc General’s was, but it has far more abilities at its disposal. Ice Magic, that shockwave, and who knows what else I’m not noticing. Yeah, I an see why it’s the Dungeon Boss.

My duel with the Warlord was drawing to a close. During the entire fight, I’d been using my swords to carve away at one spot on its ice sword. And it finally gave way with a sharp snap! The monster froze for a single second, surprised that its seemingly indestructible construct had broken so suddenly. And that was just the opening I was waiting for.

Shoving every single drop of mana still in my body into the white sword, I ducked under the Warlord’s guard, and drove it into its chest. The blade, sharpened to a ridiculous degree by its ability and Aura, cut completely through the ice, and stabbed deep into its body.

*Crack!*

Deep cracks appeared all over its armor, centering on the spot where my sword was driven into it. Using the final seconds of Beast of the Nightmare, I flung myself to the side as the Warlord stumbled backwards, only for it to be engulfed in an explosion seconds later.

*BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM*

Explosion after explosion rang out, to the point where I was beginning to think it might be overkill. Though I just stopped thinking about it after the mages threw their giant ball of flame into the mix. Better overkilled than underkilled.

Finally, Alicia seemed to think she’d fired enough arrows, as the onslaught let up less than a minute after it began. Though I guess she could’ve just ran out of arrows as well.

The rapid explosions had caused a cloud of dust to obscure the Warlord, so I couldn’t tell if it was dead or not. However, I couldn’t detect anything moving within the cloud, so I let my guard relax the ever tiniest bit. And that would invite tragedy.

***

[Jansen’s POV]

Hm, guess I wasn’t needed after all..

Jansen was seated in a tree on the opposite side from where Alicia was at. He’d been waiting for an opportunity to fire the full power Flames of Vengeance-imbued arrow he had nocked, but none ever came. He was certain the destructive flames could burn through the ice armor, or at least weaken it enough for the others to break it.

Still though, Jansen made sure to keep the arrow nocked. He wasn’t going to let his guard down at all. Which paid off when there was a sudden burst of mana, and the Warlord burst out of the dust cloud rushing towards Michael. There had been no warning, no telltale sign that the monster was still alive, meaning that no one had time to react as the monster approached the defenseless boy. No, that was wrong. One person did react, and they made it in time.

But Jansen knew what it cost for them to do that. He knew what it would lead to. And he thought he knew why they’d done it. But he couldn’t understand it. Why would anyone throw their lives away for such a simple, foolish reason?