บท 780: Monarch of the Glen
Nimbus and Vash flew through the air, with Hera making the conga line with her blades to avoid having the Sentinel reach Hera's range limit. The harpy cast a few spells to initiate the attack while the Sentinel stood close to him. Wind feathers darted at the Brush Owl, which was able to dodge the initial flurry, but a few of the projectiles still hit its body.
The monster flew up and dove towards Nimbus. But instead of blocking, the Sentinel grabbed Vash and flew up, following the height of the Owl. The general stopped its attack midway and looked around. Confused by the reaction, it tried again, but once more, its targets just kept up with its altitude. The Brush Owl didn't know how to deal with other flying creatures, and it always used its aerial superiority as a way to fight. Having to face someone else on the same playing field stopped it from being able to fight properly.
Vash and Nimbus didn't miss that and decided to continue their assault. Now, they are more aggressive since both understand what they have to do. Vash used his maracas to create sound wave blasts that shredded some of the paint, forming the general away, while Nimbus started to do flybys—slashing the monster with its tonfas a few times before moving back to protect the performer behind his back.
The battle dragged a little bit, Vash being unable to deal a finishing blow but slowly chipping away at the monster's body. Nimbus was more or less in the same boat. He could use the Grasshopper series skills, but he had a feeling that it was better to let the harpy deal the killing blow. That decision came as part of a conversation he had with Lurize while he was pulling the carriage that brought them here. Since this was a new team, the court should try to avoid taking charge when working together. They should treat them like they would treat Hera during the early days of the court. During that time, they focused much more on defense, which allowed the Empress to gain confidence and improve her teamwork. Back then, it wasn't something intentional, but the results spoke for themselves. They were a bit biased about it, but none of the court members could have imagined anyone better to be their leader. With that in mind, they might as well try to help others get to the same level as the Ophidianite, even if Nimbus knew that no one would ever be as amazing as Hera in his eyes.
Those thoughts distracted the Sentinel a bit. Not enough so he would get injured, but enough to give the Owl an opening to attack Vash. The general flapped its wings, gaining some altitude, and dove towards the harpy at a blinding speed. Vash was in the middle of casting a sound-based spell, but when he saw the incoming monster, he fumbled the notes and jumped to the side. However, the spell didn't just fizzle out. Instead, it changed from a powerful beam of concentrated sound to a wave that hit the general's beak with enough force to divert its attack. The power behind this spell was minimal compared to what should've actually happened, but it was better than losing all that mana for nothing.
The Brush Owl continued diving toward the ground, and for a moment, it slowed down. That's when it noticed someone else, a small bipedal creature with black and white fur on top of its head. It was just about the same size as the flying one that was giving it so much trouble, but it was on the ground.
As the last general continued to dive, aiming at Roan, Hera and the rest of the team got ready to intercept. Not that they were worried about the beastman. He would be able to stop that attack, but they wanted to finish off the creature.
"Nimbus. Grab me and dive after it!" Vash called.
The Sentinel couldn't read his thoughts like he did with Hera, but he understood what the performer wanted. In a quick motion, she held him by the waist and dove after the Brush Owl. Nimbus was significantly faster, and the request came just a few seconds after the general failed its attack. While being carried, Vash continued playing his maracas, creating an extra pair of wings in front of them. That was a song blade, a physical manifestation of music. They got closer and closer to the Owl, and Nimbus realized that the monster wouldn't get hit by a killing blow due to its speed. He quickly came up with an idea.
"I'm going to throw you. Don't fight back," the Sentinel warned.
Maybe it was because of the fight or because of the absolute trust Hera put in the titled blade, but Vash felt like he could go along with this plan, whatever it may be, and just nodded in response. Nimbus didn't wait and grabbed the harpy by the waist, lifting him up and throwing him towards the Brush Owl with a spin. The Sentinel returned to his tonfa form to avoid being hit by the song blade that was now sniping in the air, and Vash did multiple somersaults. The added impulse made him move much faster and cut the general like a spinning saw. Unfortunately, he quickly became dizzy and continued moving down until he crashed against the trees, still spinning his song blade in the air.
"SHIT! Sorry. I think I used too much force," Nimbus flew after him to help the harpy get back to his feet.
"That's ok. Did it-" Vash put one hand in front of his mouth, holding in his lunch for a moment, "Did it work?"
"Yeah. That was great! It dropped this weird-looking scarf," Neria grabbed a black scarf that looked like a brush stroke. She quickly looked at it and smiled, "This is kind of fun. Anyone who wears this scarf is struck by inspiration. That will last one hour and can only happen once per day."
"Great. That sounds very useful. Good thing every one of us is a painter or some shit," Roan rolled his eyes.
"It really is. This is not talking about art. Just that you will be struck by inspiration, I think it would work with anything. Spells, crafting, writing, training," Neria continued.
Roan looked at her and paused, "Ok, I retract my sarcasm. That can be very useful."
They continued talking while walking towards the location of the final boss of the dungeon. The Monarch of the Glen.
With the last of the generals dead, the boss would leave its normal territory and stay in the center of the woods, in a large clearing close to the exit of the dungeon itself. As they approached, the team saw the monster. It was a large stag, not as big as the Chromatic Moose, but still bigger than almost all of the members of the group. The creature was extremely beautiful, like a painting of a guardian of the forest, various shades of green contrasted against each other making the creature blend with the surrounding area, and still be the only thing anyone could see. Its horns emanated a pale light, giving an ethereal feeling to the entire area.
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Monarch of the Glen - Level 36
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Just as Hera and the others used their [Observe], the boss noticed them approaching. It made its horns glow brighter, clearly preparing an attack, but before long, the spell fizzled out. Without the Brush Owl, the paint stroke spell couldn't be used. Hera, Flint, and Roan didn't wait and rushed towards the creature. Behind them, Vash had already started singing to give them a boost to their power. Without missing a beat, Neria joined in, casting a few protective shields around the group. Skyler might not have used any spells, but she was ready to interrupt the Monarch's attacks.
Roan quickly reached the monster and slashed at its legs, spinning around to attempt an extra hit on its hind. Unfortunately, the boss expected something like that and tried to kick the beastman, missing the first strike, but a secondary blow came from the ground. It was an ink copy of its body, but it collapsed on itself before it could do anything else. If they kept the Spotted Squirrel alive, they would have to face a duplicate of the boss. It would be a bit weaker and make the exact same movements as the Monarch, but it would still be a problem.
Flint jumped and brought both hands down like a hammer on the nose of the stag, breaking some of its bones. The red streaks of blood against the green fur seemed to glow as the monster's eyes flared up. Vines and roots came from the trees and grabbed the dwarf, holding him in place for the Monarch to attack. DJ and Chris slammed against the sides of the creature's face, trying to hinder its sight, but they missed. Still, the attack was strong enough to cut the skin and distract the creature for a brief moment. During that opening, Ember cut Flint loose, using her fire to burn some of the roots.
Hera grabbed Tide and tried to attack the monster's side. Livy's presence allowed the trident to create small whirlpools of water around its prongs to increase the damage he could deal. Just as the blow was about to hit, a trio of flower mandalas formed in the Monarch's fur, allowing him to parry the attack, not just making Tide jump back as if it had become a bouncy ball but also dispersing the water of the skill. Right after that, the mandalas cracked, and parts of them vanished, leaving behind a mark that showed that skill couldn't be used again.
The stag jumped away and tried to run, gathering speed as a violet light covered him. But before the shade could completely take over, the monster stopped dead in its tracks, and the colors returned to normal. Without the Chromatic Moose, the Monarch was unable to channel the same power it had. Hera took advantage of that moment, created a Very Rare Katana, and took a page from Alex's book. She made the same motion the assassin would make when drawing her dagger from the sheath and triggering the [Grasshopper Slash] together with a [Weapon Break].
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New Skill Acquired
Grasshopper Draw
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The weapon exploded when it made contact with the front leg of the stag, and the strength behind the attack was able to cut some of the trees behind the monster. Hera spent almost 80% of her total mana in this move, half for the creation of the weapons and half for the skill. Yet, it wasn't enough to kill the Monarch. Its frontal right leg was mangled and unusable, and there was a large open wound on the side of its body that was oozing out a green liquid, but the creature was still moving.
The Monarch spun its head for a headbutt, making his horns glow a vibrant green, creating a large blade of grass between the tips. Skylar took that as her cue and played a sharp note that clashed with that spell, stopping the attack and forcing the creature to stumble back. Neria took advantage of that and sent some water toward the open wound, forcing it inside the stag's muscles. There wasn't much she could do once the liquid was inside the monster's body, but just that unexpected excess of weight and pressure would make it harder for the Monarch to move.
Ember, DJ, Autumn, Tide, and Chris joined in the attack, piercing the stag's body at any angle they could find. Roan mounted the creature and started attacking its neck repeatedly while Flint prepared something. It took just a moment, while Hera was stepping back to breathe, for the dwarf to finish whatever he was making. He lunged forward and, with the help of the piston on his armor, punched the open wound with all his strength. But it wasn't a regular punch. Instead, he had attached a small explosive to the tip of his gauntlet.
"TIMBER!" he yelled, and everyone understood what he meant. They all jumped away from the Monarch, and a second later, the creature's body distorted. The explosion happened inside the monster but wasn't enough to go through his skin and muscle. However, the blast was enough to break some of its bones and make a mess of its insides.
The Monarch of the Glen fell to the ground and dissolved a few moments later, leaving behind a large blade of grass.
"Shit, that's not the horn," Roan grumbled.
"To be fair, I wasn't expecting to get it on the first run," Neria patted his shoulder.
"Yeah, Yeah. Let's get the reward. We still have a chance to drop the horn," the beastman reached for his tablet.
Before doing that, Hera was curious about her new skill.
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Grasshopper Draw (Rank 1)
You are able to deal a single powerful blow using the technique derived from the master Grasshopper's teachings. The better you follow the technique and the more mana used in the attack, the stronger it will be. This skill can only be used when drawing your weapon.
Damage x 2 for each 10 thousand mana used.
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There was an extra condition for this skill, but it had double the strength of the other skills. It also said it came from the basics that she learned from Grasshopper, which could mean that there were more skills to get from her teacher. Putting a pin on that idea, Hera turned to the reward. It was time to see if she got lucky or not.
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