Chapter 196: Chapter 196: Hunt Behemoth
"Danger!"
An adventurer, barely struggling to his feet, cried out in alarm before immediately dropping to the ground again, desperately trying to avoid the Earth Dragon’s coming attack.
But all such efforts were in vain. The Earth Dragon’s tail was infused with the power of earth itself—enough to sweep away everything before it!
BOOM—!
That massive, log-thick tail swept across the battlefield. Downed, upright, or even those attempting to shield themselves—all were struck by the brute force of the tail. Amidst flying dirt and stone, they tumbled through the air like broken kites—flung in all directions!
"Shield!"
Charles raised his shield, quickly chanting the incantation for Shield. He was far enough away that even as scattered debris struck him, the damage was minimal.
The other girls scrambled to evade as best they could. Hattie, Theresa, and Anno had magical options or heavy plate armor to protect them, but Nidalee was forced to shift into leopard form and flee at top speed. Even then, a glancing blow or two left her yowling in pain.
At last, the dust settled. Yet the Earth Dragon’s rampage was far from over. With a single sweep having cleared away the bothersome little ants, the raging Behemoth turned its attention to the nearby houses.
Given its massive size, armored scales, and raw strength, it would only be a matter of time before all the buildings in the small town were reduced to rubble. When that happened, a settlement with more than a century of history—Rockseeker’s Outpost—would be nothing but memory!
"Stop it! Archers, fire! Use magic!"
"Any spellcasters here? We need support!"
"Bring up the catapults—pelt it with stones, grab its attention!"
"Ah—my house—!"
CRASH—
Some poor soul let out a wail, presumably a luckless dwarf. As the earth dragon’s huge paw smashed down, a brick house collapsed in an instant!
Dust burst skyward, and behind the demolished house stood rows of tiny residences. If the destruction continued unchecked, the losses would be catastrophic!
Charles gritted his teeth and pinched his thigh, forcing himself to calm as his mind worked rapidly to find a solution against such a massive enemy.
A direct kill seemed unlikely; though it lacked the formidable spellcasting might of someone like Theresa, as a colossal earth elemental, this Behemoth was both tough and powerful—a quick victory was out of the question.
Meanwhile, its destructive potential was immense. If it dragged on, it could tear apart the entire town before it died, claiming countless lives.
However, since the Behemoth’s madness was triggered by demonic pollution, the solution became obvious—
"Theresa!" he shouted. "Hold its attention, lead it away from populated and built-up areas! Buy us time—limit the damage!"
"Hattie, Nidalee! Head to the woods and set a trap with vines and tentacles! Make sure it’s a trap it can’t escape from—give me the chance to purify its mind!"
He barked these orders directly in front of the Earth Dragon, caring nothing if the creature heard—the creature was so frenzied, it had probably lost all ability to understand.
"Understood!"
Theresa responded instantly, casting Fly on herself and drifting up into the air, leveling her gaze at the colossal dragon.
She lifted her hand and invoked a blinding Dawn, targeting its eyes, followed by a barrage of 1st-level guiding bolts, raining magical force upon it like there was no tomorrow!
The Earth Dragon was too powerful and resistant—even a 5th-level Color Spray couldn’t blind it. Theresa opted for pure violence to grab its attention.
Somewhat battered, Nidalee shifted back to human form, waving an arm at Hattie. "I know a perfect spot for the trap—follow me!"
As a druid native to the Circle of the Land in these mountains, she knew the terrain by heart. Switching back to leopard form, she darted off at full speed, Hattie casting Fly on herself as well and streaking after her like the wind.
Their job was to prepare a vine-and-tentacle snare—a trap that would bind the Earth Dragon fast, just long enough for Charles to step in and purify its mind!
"Anno, let’s move together!"
Charles called out and began layering himself with magical buffs: Mage Armor, Extended Longstrider, Extended Elemental Weapon, False Life, Armor of Agathys, and Extended Blur.
As he finished, Anno—now fully armored—joined him. Shoulder to shoulder, the two raced toward the front lines.
As the Earth Dragon rampaged, the Mountain People launched their assault. The hastily formed lines of guards and adventurers barely held the line, in danger of total collapse.
Fortunately, Charles and Anno’s arrival bought the defenders a gasp of precious time.
The first to charge weren’t the elite of the Alliance of the Mountain Purifiers, but rather the lesser tribes—hundreds strong, able to field a mere fifty warriors at a time.
These were mostly goblins, kobolds, gnolls, and bugbears—chaotic, evil-leaning races, their equipment crude, and discipline non-existent. They fought viciously against the weak, but shrank away from any real resistance.
Now, as Charles and Anno strode onto the battlefield, they stood as boulders in a rising tide, blades mercilessly reaping the lives of their foes.
Charles shielded himself, focusing on defense and counterattacks. Though his Eldritch Blast was deadlier, without a strong front line, fighting at range would only give his enemies the chance to break through.
So he stood firm, buying precious time for the defenders and any adventurers dedicated to saving the town. Soon, more townsfolk and adventurers converged on the line.
Once the defenders re-formed their battle lines, Charles would be able to fall back— to become a merciless Eldritch Blast machine once more.
He watched as more and more townspeople donned armor and joined the defense: human adventurers, dwarves from the Mining Consortium, even half-orcs from the Stonefist tribe unrelated to the attackers.
Though somewhat ragtag, the attackers too were poorly trained. The two sides ground against each other in an awkward stalemate.
At the rear of the attackers, watching the steady rebuilding of the defenders’ line, Ilarode clicked his tongue. "It seems our so-called allies are not so reliable after all."
"They were always rabble," Luger Stonehide snorted, his bald head held high. "If we’re to break this town’s defenses, we’ll need true elites!"
Beside him, a half-orc from the Chimera tribe frowned, then shook his head. "It’s not that—the Stonefist tribe’s warriors joined the defense, and that’s what stopped us."
This was the Chimera tribe’s Warchief—a formidable commander now acting in place of the feeble, crippled chief.
The Stonefist tribe, another half-orc group from the mountains, had long since allied themselves with Liberl Port. Some even joined the port’s mercenary companies, working as bodyguards.
They had gained much from these ties—so much so it drove the Chimera tribe wild with jealousy and hatred. "Those traitors must be crushed with overwhelming force!"
Jealousy, after all, was a core cause of this conflict: those who missed out on the spoils could always invoke "ancient blood feuds" to justify plundering their former kin.
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