Chapter 51: Dramatic Turn
The battle against the Orc Shaman continued.
Harley was the fastest among the party thanks to her Fencer class, which allowed her to graze the monster with her rapier by using her Rapid Thrusts skill.
The orc hissed in pain. She had expected Leonard to be the most dangerous, yet as it turned out, Harley was the only true threat.
She smirked as she assessed the danger, her staff shining with an eerie green hue.
Winston was fat and too slow to reach her, making him the easiest to get rid of. Leonard was the most annoying, but as it turned out, he hadn’t managed to land a single blow. William was a hothead who could easily be manipulated into exposing openings.
Her mouth slowly began to drool, seeing victory within reach.
The shaman already imagined slowly devouring Leonard, savoring the taste of his tender flesh as she chewed. His agonizing screams would echo as she inflicted excruciating pain, keeping him barely alive.
"Stop chuckling, it’s disgusting!" Harley threw an insult along with her constant jabs.
Her skill depleted her mana alarmingly fast. She wouldn’t be able to keep it up for much longer.
"Disgusting? Just for that comment, I will make your hair fall out and your smooth skin wrinkle. Then we’ll see who the disgusting one is!" The Orc Shaman erupted into mocking laughter.
With a smirk, she took out a potion and aimed it toward Harley’s mouth.
"Open wide, sweetheart! This will age you by a hundred years!"
However, before she could throw the potion, an arrow flew toward her, forcing her to step back.
"What—"
The shaman narrowed her eyes. She had been throwing glances toward the ongoing battle, remaining mindful of incoming projectiles, yet this arrow had come from their base instead!
To her complete disbelief, the twenty awakeners her troops had so painstakingly captured were left free to roam. They all charged toward the rear of the orc forces, eager to make them pay for imprisoning them.
"How is that possible?!" She bellowed in anger.
With the addition of the imprisoned awakeners, their numbers surged past the sixty mark! Despite being weaker, their sheer numbers were sure to overwhelm the orc tribe!
Her eyes searched for an answer, naturally landing on Leonard.
"You rascal! Curse you and your bloodline a thousand times! You ruined everything!"
She pointed her staff towards the ground.
"Let me show you what happens when you mess with me!"
In the blink of an eye, she conjured a black sphere that pulsed like a living heart. When it collided with the earth, a colossal cloud that engulfed the entire battlefield spread outward.
[You have come into direct contact with condensed corruption! Your corruption has risen by 30%!]
[Corruption 64%]
The fog forced everyone to halt. Even the orcs weren’t spared.
Leonard began to cough, his throat and lungs burning.
The pain was unbearable. Still, once the fog settled over the battlefield, the battle continued, with the awakeners fighting the orcs for their lives.
Raising his head, Leonard spotted Joker not far away.
The amulet was considered a treasure that could only be activated by being embedded with mana.
Because Joker did not possess mana of his own, his only option was to bring it to his master, allowing Leonard to finally send the distress signal.
However, to his dismay, the Orc Shaman, whose eyes had turned red after being caught in her own attack, noticed his line of sight.
"So that’s how it is!"
Instantly, she charged toward Joker, moving too fast for anyone to stop her.
"NO!"
Leonard roared. Sparing no strength, he hurled Titanic Oath, striking the orc’s back. The weapon sank deep and slowly seeped its frost into her body.
"Gah!"
The shaman staggered momentarily but kept going. All pain was meaningless as long as she could prevent the humans from surviving!
Possessing only 10% of Leonard’s attributes, Joker had no way to retaliate. Worse, he couldn’t simply assume his mist form because he wouldn’t be able to carry the amulet any longer!
"You look identical to that brat! Are you his skill or a summon? It doesn’t matter!" The orc declared, chanting with her staff.
"Disperse!"
Faced with the shaman’s skill head-on, Joker felt his form disintegrating against his will. Losing control over his body, Joker was forcefully reverted back into mist form and pushed far away.
The amulet he carried was about to hit the ground, only for the orc to catch it midair.
"So, this is what you were after all along!" Her lips curled into a repulsive grin as she dangled the amulet out of Leonard’s reach.
His eyelid twitched. Never in his life had a monster gotten on his nerves as much as this one!
By spending 10 mana, he recalled Titanic Oath back into his grasp.
He was more than ready to butcher the orc on the spot. Not only could he retrieve the amulet, but she might also be carrying more Shards of Salvation that could buy him extra time.
Just then, Winston placed a hand on his shoulder.
"B—Bro, this is bad!" Winston exclaimed with a pale face, pointing toward Elizabeth.
Her expression remained emotionless, yet her breathing had turned ragged, an early sign of fatigue.
The Orc Chieftain was too strong and too fast for her to keep up. It was only a matter of time before she was overwhelmed.
"We took too long. We need to help her!" Harley bit her lower lip bitterly.
Even if they went after the shaman and retrieved the amulet, it would all be for naught if the Orc Chieftain defeated them before the called reinforcements could arrive.
Leonard’s mind raced, trying to come up with a plan by pinpointing weaknesses that could be exploited.
"The silver lining is that the freed awakeners tipped the scales in our favor and killed the last Orc Champion. Only the Orc Chieftain remains!"
He threw one last glance at the Orc Shaman as she disappeared among the ranks of the orcs. Then he raced toward Elizabeth.
"How are we even supposed to help her against a Level 25 monster?" William whispered.
His gauntlets were too short-range to provide any assistance, and he feared he might be useless.
"Simple." Leonard’s calm answer caught the party off guard.
"Elizabeth is having so much trouble because she isn’t fighting one monster, but two! We need to separate the orc from his mount!"
Without further ado, he threw Titanic Oath. Rather than aiming for the orc, he targeted the tiger’s rear!
A pained howl erupted from the tiger’s jaws. Having its backside pierced was enough to send the beast into a frenzy.
Disobeying the chieftain’s orders, the mount turned and headed straight for Leonard and his party!
"What are they...?" Elizabeth, who had been on the verge of being overrun, was finally able to get a moment of respite.
She was left utterly puzzled as the orc charged in the opposite direction.
"What did you just do?!" Winston’s face drained of all color.
"Improvising!" Leonard answered.
"Not like that! Now this monster is headed toward us!" Harley felt like crying.
Instead of explaining himself further, Leonard went toward Winston and supported the shield from one side.
"Get ready! We ram it!" He ordered.
"WHAT?! Are you insane?" William yelled.
"Don’t worry, I am stronger than I look!" Leonard reassured. "Quick, assume formation!"
Left with no choice, William and Harley joined them by the shield’s side.
"It’s coming!"
BANG!
A deafening tremor echoed across the field. The party of four felt their bones ache, their feet sinking deep into the soil.
The shield they used bent inward, yet the combination of their strength held up against the tiger’s charge. Leonard played the largest part, with his strength severely boosted by Titanic Oath.
The tiger was disoriented by the blow and toppled to the ground, while the Orc Chieftain was knocked off his mount and flew past the party’s heads.
With a smile, the chieftain rose to his feet, unsheathing the other greatsword he kept on his back.
"You have got grit! Let me show you what happens when I get serious!" He declared with a powerful shout.
Leonard let out a brief sigh of relief and hurriedly glanced at the tiger behind.
"Keep them separate—"
His words died in his throat as he saw the Orc Shaman drawing a purple sigil above the tiger’s head.
"Mind Hex."
The shaman had seen the writing on the wall, so she chose to jump ship. Taking control of the mount, she raced away from the battlefield on the tiger, carrying the amulet and all the Shards of Salvation she had with her.
"HAHAHA! Catch me if you can, suckers!"