章 19: Bloodied, Wearied, Frenzied
Long chapter cause I love you guys. : )
***
The trembling of the Cuckoo soldiers made it clear they wished to be anywhere but here, yet it was a massacre nonetheless.
Earnan's men, along with the Demi-Humans, unleashed a ferocious assault upon the magically armed Cuckoo. Glintstone shards and bones shattered as blue arcs cleaved through Whelps and Mighty variants alike. For every loss, the Demi-Human Chiefs avenged twofold. They worked themselves into a blood frenzy, rolling and slashing their rusted daggers like demons.
Earnan struggled to maintain control over the Demi-Humans, especially when Gilka—recently enhanced by Godrick's Glory—alongside the Chiefs, tore through the Cuckoo's ranks. Glintstone pebbles and sword cuts barely fazed her as her superior physique smashed skulls and rent flesh with ease.
"Foul humans!" Gilka roared to the heavens, her sceptre flattening two Cuckoo soldiers in a single sweep. The Chiefs followed suit, reducing more to unrecognizable heaps, revelling in their slaughter and bathing in Cuckoo flesh with crazed expressions. "You blood bags are unworthy to lay a hand on our Lord!"
"Order!" Earnan bellowed, sliding his blade through a soldier's armour with practised precision. He dodged a volley of Glintstone pebbles and deftly avoided a wild swing, carving open another soldier's chest as if cutting a cake.
"I said, Order!" he shouted again, but it was no use. The Demi-Humans had lost all discipline, surrendering to their primal instincts. The Cuckoo soldiers began to break through their ranks, their magically enhanced equipment giving them a formidable edge. If only he'd had more time to train them—he hadn't anticipated leading them into battle so soon.
"Curses!" Earnan swore inwardly as he saw Madhadh impaled from behind by a magic-slicked sword, a consequence of the fractured formation. He sliced his way to the breach but was blocked by a soldier who wielded the Partisan with passable skill. Just as more casualties seemed inevitable, a blinding flash of gold illuminated the battlefield.
"By the Gilded Erdtree, my oath doth bind!" Godrick's voice boomed.
[Golden Vow]
Earnan stared in shock at the heart of the battle as his soldiers, along with every Demi-Human, were suddenly cloaked in a shimmering coat of gold. The radiant armour not only shielded them but also infused their every attack with enhanced strength, but his awe was cut short when a blade nearly skewered him then and there.
The golden film flashed as his sword effortlessly sliced through the flimsily wielded partisan, driving deep into the brain of a Cuckoo soldier. Without missing a beat, Earnan dashed to the breach in formation and swiftly decapitated the soldier who was poised to finish off Madhadh with a brutal twist of his sword.
"Marika's tits! It hurts!" Madhadh gasped, spitting blood. His voice barely rose above the cacophony of battle as he struggled to press his bloodied hands against a deep gash in his stomach. It spurted blood, but it wasn't fatal—not with magic.
"Please, you took a rabid dog to the throat," Earnan scoffed, fumbling for his Finger Seal. As he cast [Heal], he added with a smirk, "Stop being such a wimp."
When the healing spell took effect, the wound closed, but Madhadh remained pale.
"No word of thanks?" Earnan quipped but then noticed Madhadh's gaze was fixed behind him, filled with worship.
Earnan turned, only to witness Godrick plowing through the Cuckoo forces like an unstoppable juggernaut. His Gilded spear sliced, stabbed, and decapitated, while an occasional clawed gauntlet pulverized a head. The flutter of his ominous cape resembled the arrival of Rosus himself while a blur of gold took them to him. His technique might not have matched Earnan's, but the raw power and speed were mesmerizing. As that thought crossed his mind, Earnan noticed that Godrick's prowess with the Greatspear seemed to inexplicably grow even more formidable.
A disbelieving murmur escaped him as Godrick's Greatspear became a blur of precise, deadly efficiency. His Lord's technique was acceptable before, the level that most soldiers would attain after decades of training, but now, despite still being far from his own, neared the proficiency of a master.
Every action led to another as power blended with skill to give rise to a beautiful dance that reaped the life of the last few soldiers of the Cuckoo. Earnan even spotted a faint flickering of white-gold that enveloped the Greatspear every time it shot out and claimed a life. His Lord grew more mysterious as the days flew by.
With a final, brutal motion, Godrick wrenched the last soldier's whimpering head from his body and held it aloft as his forces, Demi-Humans and soldiers alike, roared in euphoric triumph.
Earnan joined in the chorus of cheers.
"To Glory and Eternal Dominion!" he shouted, his eyes fixed on his Lord tossing the severed head to the crowd.
Godrick's imposing figure loomed over a mound of fallen bodies, his Stygian-esque armour now painted crimson. Gilka and the Chiefs bowed deeply before their Lord on his throne of corpses, the Greatspear resting across his broad shoulder.
Earnan's eyes lit up as pride bubbled in his very soul.
He had chosen well.
"To Glory and Eternal Dominion."
"To Godrick the Golden."
***
[Cuckoo Knight*3 Killed +450 EXP]
[Cuckoo Soldier*34 Killed +3400 EXP]
[Cuckoo Footsoldier*12 Killed +600 EXP]
[Horse*3 Killed +30 EXP]
(EXP 5670/4000 -> Gained 1 stat point and 1 skill point)
[Greatspear Mastery (Passive) Level 3->4: Mildly proficient with spears. Assists with wielding it and provides 10->15 percent extra damage when attacking with the aforementioned weapon.]
[Order Meditation (Active) Level 5->8: Use a visualization of the Elden Ring to greatly increase your FP regeneration (+4->5.5 FP/s). Later levels can turn this skill passive. Every level increases Mind and Intelligence by 0.5. Mind +0.5. Intelligence +0.5.]
(Dexterity: 17.6->19.6
Intelligence: 15.2->18.2
Mind: 15.2->18.2)
Godrick nearly groaned out loud as a massive rush of warmth both expanded his mind and lightened his body. This was the greatest increase in power that he had experienced since he activated his Great Rune. He felt much faster, lighter, and more dexterous while his processing power could begin to compete with an average computer. His Greatspear began to glow brighter, reacting to the increase in Intelligence by increasing in power.
If that wasn't enough, he'd also made a breakthrough in his spearman-ship mid-battle, leading to his battle instincts with the weapon being upgraded and an increase to his damage multiplier. The 15 percent damage increase was strong enough to bleed into reality as a flickering white-gold light, which both surprised and pleased him—he was getting closer and closer to becoming a decent warrior in the Lands Between.
He was as elated as his emotionless consciousness allowed, not because of the increase in power, but for the joy he found in the carnage.
He opened his eyes to a neatly ordered force of both men and Demi-Humans led by Earnan the Martial Prodigy and Gilka the Demi-Human Queen. It had been three days since the battle near the lift and his forces were refreshed and ready to continue the journey.
Of course, they had taken casualties, almost all Demi-Human Whelps and Ordinary Demi-Humans, but Gilka didn't seem all that bothered, claiming that battle culled the weak and refined the strong.
The green trees and grass were a more familiar change from the orange-gold, while the beginning of the ancient, worn road was still covered in dried blood from their battle. If they continued on the ancient road, they would eventually reach the East Raya Lucaria Gate past the Bellum Church. Unfortunately, without a Glintstone Key, it was impossible to try to get through. It was a dead end.
The next option was to scale the gigantic piece of land to their left that seemed to be raised to enormous heights. A small path led to its peak, but that was blocked by the Frenzy-flaming Tower, which he had no intention of encountering.
But to his equal parts suspicion and surprise, the aforementioned large stone tower in the far, far distance, built on the edge of a cliff, did not bleach any flame of Frenzy. His enhanced eyes frowned, focusing on the long, winding path to the tower that was but a speck in the distance to any normal human; there was nothing.
Not only did the path not have any Frenzied Giant rats, but the tower was in far better condition—draped with bright colours and devoid of the moss and broken stone that it had in the game.
Did the Flame of Frenzy not yet reach the tower and the village?
'Possible,' he mused, cupping his chin in thought. 'My plans would be realized far faster if I could take this path...'
He would turn back at the very sign of Frenzy—it was simply not worth it. But if they did not encounter Frenzy, he could reach Stormveil far faster than he previously thought. He did not need to jostle with the Albanurics and the Sorcerers just yet.
***
The journey to the Tower was the most peaceful one Godrick had had in a long while. The scenery was picturesque, with enormous pine trees and shrubs lining their right, while yellow, grey-barked trees were scattered on their left. The path was littered with jagged rocks that pierced through the ground akin to a spear, making it hauntingly beautiful.
It took them a day and a half to get anywhere close to the Tower, and that was with a few stops to let the horses rest and for Earnan to continue training the Demi-Humans. They did not want a reenactment of the battle near the Lift. They trained in discipline during the day and trained to keep their wits during the night when they turned feral. Ironically, the weaker the Demi-Human, the easier it was, except for Gilka, who had no problem controlling her feral nature.
"It seems... unoccupied, My Lord," Earnan said as their forces finally surrounded the Tower. It was far more majestic and larger in person—equivalent to a three-story building. The village nearby was surrounded by a giant wall in the distance and seemed empty as well, with not a single sound emanating from it. "There are signs of abandonment in both the Tower and village nearby, but what worries me most is that..."
"No animal nor bird sounds... not even insects," Godrick agreed, dismissing Elrus and grasping his spear. "This is indeed worrisome."
The situation merely confused Godrick more and more. Granted, he hadn't checked the village yet, but the lack of life greatly bothered him. Had Frenzy yet to reach this place? Or...
His train of thought was interrupted when the door of the seemingly abandoned Tower shuddered. Everyone backed up while Godrick pointed his Greatspear forward.
It shuddered once more, before a short man in a dirtied tunic and cotton pants walked out, carrying a small hammer and chisel that would have been used for sculpting. His hair had started to grey, while the faint wrinkles on his oval head indicated a profession in the sun. A smug grin lined his unassuming face.
Well, it would have been unassuming if his eyes hadn't been gouged out, a faint tinge of orange in the hollow holes.
"Oh my, why the long face?"
Coming here was a mistake.
***
I really need Powerstones to cast my Chapter Sorceries. Glintstones don't cut it.
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