บท 779: Monarch Generals
Their next target was the general called 'Chromatic Moose.' It was a bit far from their current location, and unfortunately, they were likely to find more monsters on the way. According to their information, the Spotted Squirrel was the only one that scared the other creatures of the dungeon away. Not that this was much of a problem. The team moved steadily, either ignoring the monsters that showed up or quickly dispatching them. Hera didn't say anything at first, but Vash and Roan eventually started to worry about their situation. According to what Milla sent them, they would have to fend off waves of monsters while moving from territory to territory. She wasn't wrong. There was a constant stream of monsters running toward them. But before they could reach the team, Nimbus, Lurize, Livy, Viper, or Crimson would kill them quickly and quietly.
Hera asked them to stop and let the monsters come. After all, the whole idea was for the team to complete the dungeon. However, the titled blades argued that this wasn't the important part. And that this run wasn't going to be the same as the one they would have to do by themselves later. As a matter of fact, the Empress realized that this was a different run than they would do by themselves. But at the same time, it was good for them to learn about the generals. Since each of the monsters was connected to a specific skill the Monarch of the Glen could use, they might need to remove that ability from the equation in order to kill the boss.
In the end, she allowed them to take care of the incoming monsters, but she didn't interrupt the fight against the generals. Unless it was a dangerous situation. No one else interfered with that decision, but the Ophidianite warned the rest of the team about the small change. This helped everyone relax a bit more since it didn't mean there was something wrong with the dungeon. A few more minutes passed, and they arrived in the Chromatic Moose territory. Instead of tracks or anything of the sort, what caught their attention was the noise the general was making. It sounded very much like the sounds a bull would make, but there was an underlying growl that resembled that of a bear. But what made the entire team pause was the auto-tune. It was like someone recorded a Moose call and was trying to turn it into electronic music.
"The actual fuck?" Vash looked around, unsure if he was hearing things correctly.
"This is just weird," Skyler shook her head.
Before anyone else could comment, Roan yelled, "Incoming!" and stared at the open area in front of them.
The place was very similar to the rest of the dungeon, that same forest with vibrant colors. But no one else could see what was getting closer. Slowly, they all felt rumbling, heavy footsteps that would make the ground shake ever so slightly. Worried they might be caught in a weird position, the entire party tried to hide behind the trees. The light in the area started to shift, slowly being covered in shades of lavender, pink, and blue. The light became stronger as if its source was getting closer. At the same time, the soft rumble became stronger. Not to the point of feeling like they were about to see a gigantic monster, but enough to make them all worried.
Hera glanced to the side and saw Flint approaching Skyler. They traded a few hushed words before the elf turned to Vash, who was on the tallest branches of the trees, and said something through the communicator. It seemed like they agreed at first but then started to argue about something. Eventually, Vash's voice came out of the earpiece the Ophidianite was using.
"Hera. You have a skill that lets you give commands to others, right? And your court can move around close to the ground to see what is ahead. Right?"
"Yeah, to both questions. But the skill just makes my orders easier to be heard. Why?" the Empress replied in a whisper.
"Can you tell us when the moose gets past the tree with the blue fruit? I mean, command us."
Hera frowned and looked to Skyler and Flint, who nodded in response, "Sure."
Before the Empress could even say anything, Chris flew up and moved through the trees to get a better view of the situation, 'I got this.'
"Just get away from there after telling us to go. You don't want to be in the way of that thing," Vash added.
"Is it really that big?" Hera asked.
'Yeah… That thing is taller than Livy,' Chris replied.
Hera just took a deep breath and prepared herself, "Neria, Roan, watch out for when we move," she added through the communicator. No one added them to the conversation, which would surely cause problems. Moments like this made it clear that part of the group wasn't used to working in a team.
The lights became brighter and brighter, and the shaking was strong enough to make the group worried. Until finally, Chris let out her warning, 'It passed the tree!'
"NOW!" Hera yelled, using the chain of command skill. Flint, Skyler, and Vash sprung into action in perfect sync thanks to that command. Thanks to the Empress' skill, if they were following what she commanded, their bodies would react a bit faster.
Hera also jumped off her hiding spot, moving towards the general while still keeping some trees between her and the creature. Through the glimpses, she managed to see the moose in its entirety.
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Chromatic Moose - Level 35
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It was a moose, plain and simple, a very big one standing close to 3 meters tall, but its body didn't have anything unique or different. No extra set of legs, sharp fangs or claws, no oddly shipped horns or teeth. The difference was the color or, more to the point, the light it was emanating. It was a bit hard to tell where those lights were coming from, but the entire creature was covered in sharp shades of lavender, blue, and soft pink, contrasting with dark black shadows. Staring at it was like staring at the cover of a Vaporwave album. Or just a painting made to follow that aesthetic.
The moose noticed Hera when she screamed. It was tracking her with her eyes and slowly turning to follow her. Flint was moving at the same time, ducking under the monster and preparing an attack. The only thing they couldn't let this general do was run. Milla was very clear on her information about it. The more the Chromatic Moose moved, the stronger it would become. If it was running towards someone, stopping it would be like stropping a bullet train. But when it was moving slowly, or it had stopped completely, like right now, all its abilities would be severely reduced.
Skyler played a quick tune that made the moose even slower, while Vash used a similar melody to buff Flint. This was a special skill he had that could only trigger when participating in a duet, but thanks to it, his buff was considerably stronger. Under the general, the dwarf was pulling back his arm as the metal frame that covered his hand shifted into a large katar. A couple of pistons appeared on his back and instantly triggered. With a punch that almost looked like it was going to rip Flint's arm out, the man pierced the heart of the general and shattered its spine.
The moose roared and collapsed on top of the dwarf. Thankfully, his armor was sturdy enough to help lessen the weight; otherwise, just that drop would have injured him. A creature just 3 meters tall wouldn't make the ground shake like it was doing unless it had a lot of mass. Everyone jumped to help Flint come out from under the beast, but it dissolved before they were able to move it. Unfortunately, the drop this time was just a pile of gold. It wasn't exciting, but money was money.
As the team gathered themselves and prepared to move, the titled blades got closer.
"Hera… I think I messed up?" Livy said while scratching her neck.
"Are you ok?" the Ophidianite turned to the Leviathan with a worried expression.
"Oh. Yeah. Don't worry about it. I'm fine. It's just…" Livy raised one hand, which was behind her back. She was holding a perfectly symmetrical fox by the tail. Instead of individual strands of fur, the monster had small patches weaved together, forming a beautiful orange and blue mandala all over its body, "Isn't this one of the generals?"
Hera frowned, "Is it?"
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Mandala Vixen - Level 35
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Hera gasped, recognizing the name, "Oh shit. It is. What happened?"
"When Flint was buried under the moose, we heard something behind us. We turned to see what was going on while Livy stayed behind, ready to help you if you called for her. That's when the fox jumped her," Viper started explaining.
"Yeah, but then, instead of letting the fox go after it bit her neck, Livy held it down and jumped, crashing back neck first on the ground. Well, Fox first, then her neck."
"Didn't you say you weren't hurt?!" Hera gasped and pulled the Leviathan down to look at her neck.
"I'm not. Daskka made a healing mist and fixed this. I think the fox deals more damage when it hits a sneak attack, but Dusa warned me about it before it could reach me."
"Dusa did?" Hera looked up, trying to see her diadem.
'Did… did I mess up?' Dusa asked.
'Not at all. You did great!' Hera replied with a smile and turned back to Livy, "I'm not sure if that is the boss, though. Even if the name seems right, maybe it has multiple bodies or something."
"We have a quick way to figure that out," Skyler walked over, pulling her tablet, "The dungeon quest currently says we killed 3 out of 5 generals."
Livy didn't say anything. She just pulled her war axe and cut off the Mandala Vixen's head in a swift motion. After a moment, the body dissolved, leaving behind a small piece of cloth in the form of a floral mandala. It was called the 'Rug of Inner Self' and allowed whoever was on top of it to meditate more easily, but that was it.
"Ok, that worked," Skyler nodded, "That's the general. Only one left."
"I'm kind of happy this happened like this. Milla said that if we didn't find the fox in its territory, it could be roaming around the entire dungeon. I wasn't in the mood to deal with that," Neria stretched her neck after finishing healing Flint. He only had a couple of minor bruises. His armor did its job and took most of the damage.
"Same, but Roan is a pretty good tracker. Right?" Vash turned to the beastman.
"I am, but I'm not sure if that would work properly here. This dungeon with all the paint and art feels very weird."
"Well. Either way, let's go for the last one. We are not far from it," Skyler looked at the map and quickly found the direction they should be heading.
"What's the name of that one again?" Flint asked.
"Brush Owl. I don't know why, but I'm kind of picturing one of those novelty pens with an owl on the tip," Skyler chuckled.
"Really? I was thinking more about an Owl that Paints," Neria admitted.
"I think you are both wrong. Isn't that it?" Vash pointed to the sky. There was a black shape moving around. At first, it seemed formless, like just a blob or a cloud. But after a brief moment, everyone understood what they were looking at. It was like one of those Japanese paintings made with a single stroke of a brush. A simple line that created a picture using the negative space of the canvas. Although the line would split off every now and then as the monster moved.
"Yeah, I think that's it," Flint nodded, "Think you can take it alone, Vash?"
"Alone… I'm not sure. Owls are great hunters. I'm more of a long-range attacker."
"What if you had one more person with you," Hera gestured to Nimbus, "Someone who can use wind, barriers, and a pair of tonfas to be the front line."
Vash opened a big smile, "Then my odds would increase by a lot!"
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