Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

--Fin's Battle--

She had no idea what the situation looked like on the rest of the battlefield, but it was embarrassing for Fin how much they were struggling with a single boss. As the fight went on and they couldn't really deal any damage to the Dynastinae general, her frustration grew.

The giant, hairy spider lady kept dodging or blocking their attack by swinging her club-like halberd around. The fairy was getting sick of being swung around by the gales she created with her attacks. Although she got little to no damage, her swarm of frost moths was already gone, and she had hardly any chance to get a hit in and summon more.

Mina, Mike, and, Faenys were not much better off. Although Mike managed to combine the elemental properties of his fire sword and frost armor to deal some AOE damage, his legendary helmet was almost useless as any of his charges were interrupted or avoided.

Faenys on the other hand was able to break out into bursts of speed and deal some damage, but it was nothing that gave them a great edge over the Dynastinae general. Their party was not balanced enough to take on a boss like this. Without a ranged attacker or mage, they lacked a way to deal constant damage.

Suddenly she felt a resistance when she tried to take a stance and charge at the spider again. "Not again!" she thought to herself annoyed. A tough, slightly stretchy thread had stuck itself to her again. The almost invisible threads did no damage, but they were a massive pain in the butt to get rid of and kept hindering her movements.

Looking up, she happened to see that Mike was also covered in the sticky mess, but he was much closer to the spider boss than her. In the moment the party saw that he was in a calamitous position, the general had already moved.

The crude spike in the back of the halberd penetrated Mike's Frozen Sky Brigandine. With a gush of blood, he was catapulted into the distance. She could only watch it happen, unable to help Mike.

She only saw Mike lying lifelessly on the floor.

Fin's heart dropped and she felt like she was falling into a hole. At this moment, she felt powerless and helpless and it reminded her of the darkest moment of her life. Back then when they opened the portal and a massive flood of water washed through their teleport hub. Tens of people screamed in panic as they were swept away by the dreadful element and the feeling of being unable to fight the torrent that carried them to Urth.

"Do you want strength?" an upbeat voice asked the terror-stricken fairy.

"The ability to protect and save what you hold dear with iron fists?"

It was a warm male voice that carried a smile in its tone. The little brute suddenly realized that she stood in a vast dark void. She had not noticed when her surroundings changed.

"W-Who are you?" she asked warily.

Instead of answering with words, there was a rush of impressions that flooded her mind, which helped her understand who and what she was dealing with. The warmth of a hearth fire, the softness of a bed. The joy of dancing, drinking, and eating. Overwhelming power when protecting what is held dear and precious.

"Do you accept?"

"Yes, dwarf grandpa."

…

From a short deep, Seth's mood was on the rise again. He didn't know what exactly happened to Lydia, whether she got a blessing or became a chosen, but their fight was not the only one undergoing changes.

Jonah, who was locked in a difficult duel with the Stenopel General was suddenly tinged in sanguine light as clear, yellow, and green fluids rose from the ground and started circulating him in concentric rings.

Tears of blood flowed down his perfect cheeks as he seemed to experience a feeling of profound sadness, a scene that would rend anyone's heart. "Did he always look this handsome?" Seth could not help but doubt his memory, looking at Jonah now.

Blood ribbons moved with every one of his movements, cutting into the boss bug. Jonah pranced around the beast in an elegant manner. It was menacing to watch but almost charming in a way. Seth couldn't help but smirk. Whatever god chose Jonah, the man in question was probably dying inside right now.

However, his mood dropped to the floor, when Seth saw Mike getting flung away. But before he could react, several things happened simultaneously. Fin exploded in an aura of golden flames as she entered her Melee Queen mode in unprecedented force.

Mina let out the roar of a predator and outright vanished from his sight. Mike, the man in the center of the tragedy, answered her lion's roar as he jumped back on his feed and grew by three feet, now looking much closer to a lion Tijaahk than a beastman. He was enveloped in a golden light and the chest wound healed at a visible rate. Was it Fin's skill?

The next moment Mina appeared again was accompanied by the spider's painful screeches, The Dynastinae general was missing two of her hind legs and part of her bulbous buttocks. She seemed to be about to charge again when the duration of the field of darkness created by finally wore off. Seeing Mike back on his feet, she seemed to calm down and joined the others to reevaluate the situation.

Finally, the Lucanidae General, the almost ten-meter-tall stag beetle warrior, was finally able to see and quickly rushed to the spider's help. Mike, Mina, and Fin were enveloped in powerful auras, there was no doubt they could take on one boss. However, while the three seemed to have gained strength, it was Faenys that overshadowed them as she finally awoke from her stupor.

The mountain brigand was suddenly enveloped in a menacing aura of utter threat and killing intent. Not only could Seth feel it from all the way back in the camp, both Bosses and her three teammates instinctively backed away from her.

A whimsical wind grew around her and brought with it the sound of battle and woes of the dying. In the next moment, she charged at the giant beetle warrior. The yatagan, extended to the length of a longsword, was shining brightly in the orange light of the holy land.

Her movement seemed slow to the eyes, but it only lend itself to increasing the feeling of impending doom emanating from her blade. The stag beetle general managed to barely react in time and took a defensive position with his crude shield, only to fall for a feint, and receive several cuts across his body not covered by the shield. The wounds immediately started to rot.

While the other three dominated the spider, even without the shadow domain, the course of her fight only kept becoming more and more bizarre. The beetle warrior was constantly on the retreat, but at points, it seemed like he deliberately dodged into attacks. The beginning of the end was when Faenys made a slash that would obviously miss, but the general moved into the attack's path and had one of his legs chopped off.

He fell to the ground, where he took a defensive position, trusting in his thick carapace. But the moment the brigand made a move, he suddenly rolled over, completely exposing his chest to her stab. At the same time, the other three had also put pressure on the spider general.

"No. Bob!"

Seemingly seeing the stag beetle lose like this, prompted a silent observer to finally react. With a deep, echoing roar that shock the whole canyon, the giant beast on the opposite cliff started to pull itself out from the rock.

The giant monster that had broken through the cliff and brought the generals into the fight was attempting to come to their help, now that the situation was turning again. It only had the second highest level, but its body size alone meant that it was probably the strongest general in attendance.

However, the moment it started moving a clear sound answered its roar. The whole plateau shook and all fights paused as everyone's head suddenly turned to the gorge between the plateau and the cliff with the giant insect.

Breaking from the hard rock of the canyon like it was water, was a humongous snake that directly charged into the massive beetle, beating it back into the cliffside where it came from. Both giant beasts vanished into the earth, but the whole canyon kept rocking from earthquakes.

Everything had been going really well. There were already several people that had gained the favor of deities. There was no way Seth couldn't allow that beast to shake the delicate balance between tension and safety. He was forced to step in and give Python the signal to take care of the Gryllotalpa General.

He did that through , playing the anvil was only for the atmosphere. Now, the fights could continue with their high-quality tension... Was what the blacksmith hoped, but his hopes were dashed.

"Retreat! Help Gryllo!"

Seeing their biggest force get pushed back like that had the generals finally make a decision. The tide of the battle had already turned with some of the members of Minas Mar gaining divine powers. Facing this danger, they decided to turn back and try to retreat.

The Dynastinae General exploded in a storm of bristles, leaving her naked, but it was enough distraction for her to grab the fallen stag beetle and use an item to flee. In a similar way, most of the generals managed to flee in a flash of light, not dissimilar to a player's Home Call.

Only one general left their body on the battlefield. The moment the Mantidae General fell back to use the escape skill he was unceremoniously pinned to the ground by a spear covered in a blazing silver aura.