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Change of term from Minotaur to Tauren
Chapter 6: Because of Me, They Died
We stood by the wooden house’s entrance, waiting for the Swordtooth Bandit near the door to approach. As he neared the wine rack by the doorway, about to turn around, an ice arrow shot straight through the doorway, piercing his thigh.
Long Triangle’s estimation was spot-on; the bandit’s attack didn’t alert his comrades inside. This reckless thug, unaware of his impending doom, charged out with a dagger in hand.
"Thud!" Just as he stepped outside, a war hammer materialized mid-air, striking him squarely on the back of his head. The unfortunate soul immediately began swaying dizzily in place. Before him, the mage who had fired the ice arrow grinned slyly, while the dwarf priest beside her counted aloud on his fingers.
A while later, as this unlucky bandit regained consciousness, his face twisted in fury, ready to seek vengeance—“Bang!” A round, sturdy shield promptly slammed into his face. With a crisp sound, the bandit collapsed again, this time with a noticeably flatter nose.
I retracted my left arm, satisfied with the traumatic shock I’d inflicted. On the victim's other side, a green-skinned orc rogue, fangs bared and corpulent, nervously calculated the timing while holding his war hammer.
Just before the bandit could regain consciousness again, the hefty orc suddenly poured a potion over himself. The potion shimmered in the air, dazzling to behold. As it flowed, the orc wielding the war hammer magically vanished from sight. Before his body fully disappeared...
"Thud!" The heavy war hammer struck the bandit’s head once more. Despite our adversarial stance, I couldn’t help but sympathize with the poor fellow’s plight. Being treated as a mere target, continuously disoriented, perhaps not even knowing how he would die—this must be a warrior’s most humiliating experience. And all because he happened to stand closer to the door.
“Oh yeah! Experiment successful!” Fei Yin clapped her hands and jumped up in joy. She tapped the unconscious bandit’s forehead with her finger and said to us, “With this much time, killing two bandits will be more than enough.”
“Bang!” Seeing the Swordtooth Bandit about to wake again, I casually hit him in the face with my shield and then checked my stamina. “Only two shield bashes left, my stamina is almost depleted.”
“That’s enough…” Longbow Sunshot nodded contentedly, eyeing the still unconscious wretch with ill intent. “…Now can we kill him?”
…
The first strike came from our orc rogue, Long Triangle, once more.
This time, familiar with the process, he stealthily approached Swordtooth Bandit Leader Ridatis. We stood at the doorway, holding our breaths and nervously watching his shadow—the success of the first strike was crucial to our entire battle plan. If he were discovered before reaching the bandit leader, not only would our mission fail, but all five of us might perish here.
So far, his infiltration had been successful. This sneaky orc now floated eerily in the room like a fermented ghost. He circled the desk, dodged the pillars, slipped past the remaining Swordtooth Bandit, and made a wide circle towards Ridatis’s back.
When he positioned himself and just raised his war hammer, the bandit leader seemed to sense something amiss and abruptly turned to face Long Triangle’s direction. They stood so close, almost nose to nose.
This sudden change startled not just Long Triangle but also sent chills down our spines. Fei Yin instinctively gasped and tightened her grip on my arm.
Just as his cover was about to be blown, Long Triangle decisively stepped half a pace to the right, positioning himself beside the bandit leader, and swung his war hammer down hard on the back of his head.
“Quick!” Once the ambush succeeded, Long Triangle immediately shouted towards the doorway. By now, he was fully exposed, and the bandits inside spotted the intruder attacking their leader and rushed forward yelling. Apart from the fierce-looking Swordtooth Bandit, two "Swordtooth Assassins" clad in tight black clothes and wielding daggers emerged from the corners, swiftly closing in.
“We’re going in!” At almost the same moment, Mage Fei Yin commanded sharply, charging into the doorway with admirable bravery. Following the prearranged plan, I closely followed behind, dragging Elegant Strings along—otherwise, the nearsighted elven ranger might have collided with the cluttered furnishings before he could act.
As soon as we entered the room, Long Triangle used his Refraction Potion, disappearing under everyone’s watchful eyes. Losing their target, the bandits immediately turned to block our path. This was exactly what I feared—if they ensnared me, I wouldn’t reach the bandit leader in time, and once he regained consciousness, our nightmare would begin.
Fei Yin said this problem wasn’t difficult to solve, though I didn’t know why she was so confident. Whatever her clever plan was, it needed to be executed now, or it would be too late.
At that moment, Fei Yin suddenly crouched, placing her palms flat on the ground. A pale blue flame burst forth from her hands, rapidly spreading in a fan shape. Wherever the halo reached, the ground immediately froze with a thick layer of frost, transforming the sticky mountain mud into crystalline white frozen earth.
The frost reached the feet of the approaching bandits, instantly freezing their legs in ice crystals. This sudden change caught them off guard, and while their upper bodies continued to move forward, their legs were immobilized.
The timing and distance of this spell were impeccable, catching me unprepared and leaving me momentarily bewildered. I watched Fei Yin in awe, muttering, “You…”
“What do you mean ‘you’? Did you really think I only knew Ice Arrow?! Hurry up! Do you think my magic potions grow on trees?” Never had I encountered such an irresistibly commanding presence as this formidable woman. Her overwhelming leadership surged endlessly from her slender frame, deeply intimidating me. Under her dominant force, I instinctively obeyed without thought.
My intuition told me that any hesitation would lead to a dire fate—not unlike Elegant Strings and Longbow Sunshot’s experiences. Compared to the punishments devised by our human mage, being chopped by the bandit leader’s axe might not seem so terrible.
While both skills restricted opponents' movements, Fei Yin’s "Ice Seal" lasted shorter. By the time I reached Ridatis, the bandits had broken free from the ice and were charging towards us.
“Longbow Sunshot, hold them off and keep healing yourself. Elegant Strings, take out the mage first!” Fei Yin’s clear voice rang out again, delegating tasks amidst the chaos.
Fei Yin’s command was undoubtedly rational. With me, the armored warrior, unable to engage immediately, our tough dwarf friend was the only one who could serve as a meat shield. His unique self-taught martial art “Jeet Kune Do” provided considerable protection and attack power. Moreover, despite his misguided life choices, this dwarven priest-turned-berserker still possessed some life-restoring spells.
Choosing the Swordtooth Mage as the first target was correct. Among the four bandit accomplices, this spellcaster had the weakest defense; given time, his powerful magic could deal the most damage. Throughout, this intelligent criminal with ranged magical attacks never left the bandit leader’s side, allowing me to join the fight immediately after stunning Ridatis.
Upon nearing the Swordtooth Mage, Elegant Strings wasted no time using his "Rapid Fire" skill. No one considered it a waste to use such a potent skill against a single enemy, though our strength was still inferior despite following the original plan.
Under high-frequency arrow attacks, the Swordtooth Mage couldn’t cast powerful spells—we knew mages usually chant incantations, especially for potent spells with longer chants.
Never had this been clearer. The mage barely uttered a syllable before being pelted by two or three arrows, gasping for breath.
These erratic incantations obviously didn’t gain the favor of the magic gods, so the besieged mage resorted to basic, instant-cast spells like "Fireball," inflicting minimal damage. Meanwhile, Mage Fei Yin relentlessly battered him with powerful single-target spells like "Ice Spear" and "Ice Thorns."
Soon, Bandit Leader Ridatis gradually recovered from his stupor. Seeing the timing was right, I swung my shield full force into his cheek. As expected, he collapsed again, and after completing this task, I immediately joined the fray.
I arrived just in time; the Swordtooth Mage’s health bar was nearly empty. I lunged forward and delivered a finishing blow with my sword, and he fell instantly.
Without waiting for Fei Yin’s command, I charged towards the three enemies attacking Longbow Sunshot. Our dwarf friend showed remarkable resilience; even now, his health was still about half—but his mana was nearly depleted. I raised my metal shield, shielding the battle-mad priest roaring strange battle cries behind me.
A gust of wind rose as a war hammer swung from behind me, splattering blood from a Swordtooth Rogue. It was Long Triangle; our orc rogue had completed his second sap on the bandit leader and joined our fight. Now it was a race against time—to inflict as much damage as possible before he regained consciousness, our sole objective.
Standing in the front line, I protected my vital head and face with my shield. Enemies’ daggers and knives occasionally grazed me, the sharp pain becoming so frequent it numbed me. I swung my longsword, retaliating each injury, creating opportunities for my partners. I could have performed better—if I used my skills recklessly—but I didn’t. I saved the remaining half of my stamina—I felt it might be useful.
As the Swordtooth Bandit fell, Bandit Leader Ridatis finally regained consciousness. He grabbed his massive battle-axe by his feet, shouting, "Cherish your last breath, for I will slaughter you all!" and charged towards us.
“Longbow Sunshot, damn it, why are your lines the same?” Elegant Strings shot down a Swordtooth Assassin with an arrow and laughed loudly.
“Are you related? Is he your cousin or younger brother?” Long Triangle sinisterly tightened his grip, and a thick jet of blood spurted from the last assassin’s neck, his soul instantly turning into a ball of white light. Even after finishing, his mouth didn’t stop teasing.
“Damn, stealing my lines!” Longbow Sunshot complained indignantly, “My cousin? I’m his second uncle! Damn it, kill them all! Oh no, shit...”
For some reason, the awakened bandit leader ignored everyone else, charging directly towards the boastful dwarf priest. At this point, Longbow Sunshot’s magic hadn’t recovered, and his health was down to half. Furthermore, he was only level seven, the lowest among us, and without magical protection, he couldn’t withstand a level twelve warrior’s full assault.
“Don’t worry, I’ll hold him off!” I stood with my shield before Ridatis. My health was still two-thirds full, and my armor remained solid. I wasn’t arrogant enough to believe I could defeat this ferocious bandit leader one-on-one, but if delaying him to give our dwarf priest time to recover, I was the best candidate.
Moreover, I still had over half my stamina left, and one perfect opportunity—a skill capable of completely reversing the situation.
Ridatis charged nearer; this was my first close observation of him. Bald, scarred, his cruel eyes exuded menace, making me sweat just looking at him.
In his eyes, I didn’t exist; Longbow Sunshot was his primary target. But I vowed his reign of terror ended here. As long as I stood here, he wouldn’t accomplish anything.
I tightened my left hand's knuckles, waiting for the right moment. As he approached and took that critical step, I swung my left arm and met his face.
Shield Bash, Shield, Bash!
“Ahhhhhh!!” Just as my shield was about to hit his face, he suddenly roared loudly! The immense roar was brutal and wild, carrying tremendous force, even impacting my soul. In that instant, I felt panic. My heart felt empty, a bitter ache accumulating in my chest, paralyzing me, even preventing me from breathing.
It was a massive, oppressive force; facing it was difficult, but admitting it was even harder for me.
Yes, I was afraid, in that brief moment of his loud roar. His booming voice, his cruel gaze, the rust and bloodstains on his axe—all terrified me. My mind went blank, curling into a ball like a hamster fleeing a wild cat, unable to move a finger. It was the most shameful moment of my life—however old I was—I was petrified by my enemy.
Ridatis stepped over me, rushing to Longbow Sunshot in a few strides. Without magic, without cover, the dwarf priest relied solely on his bold will and two comical sticks. Against a bandit wielding a great axe, this was pitifully insufficient.
And so, he died.
Since ascending Swordtooth Mountain, I had seen countless dead, many by my own hand. Even in Kampnavia City, I’d witnessed numerous deaths—by beasts, by internal strife, by falling from the city walls…
But this was the first time I saw one of my adventuring companions die before my eyes.
His head tilted to one side, lifeless eyes devoid of vitality, a terrible wound nearly severing his neck. His short, sturdy body grew cold, his always boisterous lips now purple.
… I could have saved him…
Fei Yin, Long Triangle, and Elegant Strings fought desperately but couldn’t divert Ridatis’s attention. Against a level twelve warrior, my three companions displayed strong offensive bursts, quickly reducing Ridatis’s health to a quarter. But their efforts came at a cost. During my paralysis, Long Triangle gulped down health potions while struggling to hold the front line. However, Ridatis’s damage output was overwhelmingly powerful, surpassing even the potions’ efficacy.
“Ah shit, I’m out of health potions!” Finally, the orc rogue’s efforts reached their end. His health was critically low, and his potions were depleted. He could only let out a desperate cry, abandoning Ridatis and running away, hoping the previously consumed potion would take effect soon to preserve his dwindling life.
This was difficult; perhaps due to his rotund figure being an easy target, Ridatis locked onto him, relentlessly pursuing. As before, no matter how hard our mage attacked, she couldn’t divert Ridatis’s focus—once the chase began, Elegant Strings’s arrows became nearly useless. Despite his efforts, they seemed negligible.
Watching Long Triangle’s life hanging by a thread, I suddenly found myself able to move freely again. A strong resolve filled my heart: I refused to see another companion die before me, especially when their casualties were linked to me.
Ridatis raised his battle-axe one last time; Long Triangle’s health couldn’t withstand another blow.
I was at least five steps away from them.
“I’m coming!” In an instant, driven by an unknown force, I poured all my strength into my right arm, hurling my longsword with full force towards the rampaging bandit leader.
The sword spiraled towards the bandit, grazing his neck just as the weapon was about to fall.
Amid crimson mist, the bold, reckless body collapsed, his soul transforming into white light, nourishing those who survived.
Green light flickered, new power coursing through my sinews and bones, the sensation akin to when I first used Shield Bash.
The longsword crashed into the wall, snapping in two.
Long Triangle was alive, utterly astonished.
“... Full-force throw, hurling the weapon at the opponent, dealing 4x maximum damage +100 to the target, with a 20% chance of causing grievous injury, permanently losing the thrown weapon. Consumes 70 stamina.”
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