Abyss Domination - Chapter 33

Chapter 33: Volume 1 Chapter 33 — Battle

Chapter 33 — Battle

Translator: SaltyTank

Editor: AyaSnow

  Giving their best was crucial for adventurers even when taking on the weakest of monsters; not everyone could shrug off the deaths of their teammates as if nothing had happened after all .

  For this very reason, the head guard gathered the best of his men to exterminate the ankhegs . Soran briefly glanced at them, realizing they were all warriors who were Grade 2 or above . Warrior was the easiest profession to train in, considering the only requirements were a sufficient amount of meat and repeated training in skills . Other professions, especially spellcasters, required a lot of resources to level up and advance to the next grade . With that said, becoming a Grade 3 warrior was not an easy task either .

  "Spread out! Lift the shields!" Soran took command of the subjugation group and ordered the men in a low voice, "Look out for movements underground . Ankhegs produce a weird noise before launching their attacks .

  "Maintain a minimum distance of five steps from one another!

  "Don't try to take the acid spray attacks head on . Dodge them whenever possible . Stay away from each other to leave room for dodging .

  "Forget the crossbows . Unless you're a sharpshooter, crossbows are pretty ineffective against ankhegs .

  "Don't attack their backs . Aim for their stomachs, which have the least defence, and be aware of their sharp claws and the thorns on their bodies .

  "They also have great strength, so be mobile and don't receive their attacks unless there are no other options . Ankhegs reach up to five meters tall when standing, so protect your heads from their downward rushing attacks .

  "Their jaws can tear apart trees, so you don't want to get bitten by them . If they target you, immediately roll to the front and enter their blind spot . "

  Soran issued one order after another . The guards were startled at first but then began to respect him; it was the respect one felt toward the strong . One's strength was not limited to physical strength; intelligence and experience also played a major role . There were plenty of occasions where experience and intelligence were more useful than brute force .

  Soran finally felt the feeling of adventuring after a long time . There were basically no monsters which could threaten his life back in the game after he entered the Realm of Legends . It truly had been a while since he took part in this type of battle .

  The key point for taking on ankhegs was to avoid their bites and acidic spray attacks; the reason to avoid them was rather self-explanatory . As they were arthropods, ankhegs had blind spots when attacking . One example was that they could not bite targets within a roughly one-meter radius . Furthermore, they had limited movement as half of their ten-meter-long bodies remained buried underground . It would be fine to just be aware of the six to twelve wailing legs and their jaws .

  In fact, there was a much easier way to handle the situation . The mistress, being a daughter of a Northern witch, could simply use spells and achieve great results, but spellcasters rarely engaged in combat willingly . They had to save their spells for crucial moments as there was a daily limit to spells, thus the main forces of adventuring were warriors .

  Under normal circumstances, spellcasters would use ranged support weapons such as light crossbows, short bows, and slingshots as their main weapons, with some of them opting for staves or quarterstaves . Whatever was fine as long as they did not hit friendlies anyway . It was only when they encountered large numbers of enemies or monster bosses that they would unreservedly cast spells .

  A Grade 2 wizard could only cast a dozen or so spells in a day . They had great firepower, but their sustainability was extremely poor .

  "Off your horses!"

  Before reaching the area where they previously encountered the ankhegs, Soran told the guards to get off their horses and walk on foot . He laid down and stuck his ear to the ground, then said to the others, "Stomp your feet!

  "Try to keep the same rhythm and stomp as hard as you can . Pay attention to your surroundings as you do so!"

  Ankhegs had Tremorsense, thus they were very sensitive to vibrations and sounds from the surface . Stomping the ground was the easiest way to enrage and flush them out .

  As Soran had anticipated, the ground lightly shook and bulged up soon after .

  "They're beneath us," Soran yelled and began retreating .

  He was unfit to fight head on as his wounds were still recovering, but he could still deal the final blow to the ankhegs when necessary .

  "Spread out!"

  The head guard growled, his muscles swelling up . The Northern barbarian's Rage was a very special skill; since Northern barbarians trained their bodies in extreme cold, the skill had no after effects even though it placed a huge burden on their bodies . The only drawback would be its limited duration .

  Beastmen berserkers and barbarians could use their Rage ability for fifteen to thirty minutes . During that period of time, their stamina and explosive power would be multiplied several times, turning them into killing machines .

  On the other hand, Northern barbarians could only use Rage for several minutes . The profession Northern Barbarian was classified as an advanced warrior profession and did not belong to the barbarian branch despite its name .

  The ground creaked as an ankheg suddenly appeared from beneath the ground . It sprayed its acid at the nearest guard, but he managed to roll and dodge a large portion of the attack, albeit slightly panickedly . He covered his body with a shield just in time to block the remaining acid heading for his torso . His shield was corroded, but he did not suffer any injuries .

  "Kill it!"

  The head guard held his longsword up and charged in, joined by the other nearby guards . The five of them constantly moved around while encircling the ankheg, with the rest of the guards waiting for the other ankhegs to show themselves .

  The ankhegs did not appear all at once, but were waiting for the opportunity to attack those who were left out instead .

  "Dammit!" Soran suddenly panicked .

  He took a shield and began running forward; the ankhegs had set their sights on him . As he was keeping his distance from the battlefield, the ankhegs had deemed him as a left out individual .

  Pssssss!

  An ankheg appeared behind Soran and began spraying acid . He dodged the incoming attack by a hair's width by rolling, his 20 Dexterity saving him at the very last moment . Using the shield in his hands, Soran blocked the acid, which splattered everywhere after the blob landed on the ground .

  The last ankheg showed itself as well .

  Due to the sudden action which broke out near Soran, the other guards were briefly distracted, and one of them was struck by acid . The acid dissolved a large chunk of meat on the guard's arm, but he still managed to keep his cool and decided to brutally chop his own arm off in an instant . Grinding his teeth in pain, he bandaged the wound quickly .

  The arm fell onto the ground, and not long after all that remained was a piece of white bone .

  "Castro!" Another guard yelled and wanted to rush over to help his injured comrade .

  "Stay focused! I'm fine!" The guard who just cut his arm off yelled in response and stopped his co-worker from approaching . He retreated toward the back and shouted, "Kill them first!"

  Getting injured was a common occurrence for warriors, thus their ability to endure pain was exceptional . That said, Soran evaluated the injured guard highly as not many could keep their cool after chopping one of their arms off . Perhaps the harsh cold in the North helped them develop their guts and steely nerves, and the injured guard was no exception . He was most likely a retired soldier too, as only those who were used to life and death situations could be so decisive .

  "Attack their lower limbs!"

  Now that he had been targeted by the ankhegs, Soran could no longer hold back . He unsheathed his curved sword and drifted around the ankhegs, slashing at their defenceless stomachs whenever the opportunity arose . It was impossible for him to run up the ankhegs and attack their heads due to the reduced mobility caused by his thigh injury . That was a dangerous move which could only be performed when he was in peak condition; doing so while injured was a silly move which would place his life in great danger .

  "Die!" A deep growl resounded through the area .

  The head guard took the chance and leapt up, imitating Soran's previous move . He stabbed the longsword through the slit on the ankheg's shell and struck its brain . With a loud thud, the ankheg dropped dead onto the ground .  

  With one ankheg down, the pressure on the guards lessened in an instant . Soran took the opportunity to take his leave from the battlefield, waiting for the chance to land the killing blow .

  The chance came fairly soon .

  Soran took a deep breath and accelerated while one of the ankhegs was about to bite its target . He leapt up into the air and slashed the ankheg's head from the side, creating a gaping wound with dark green fluid gushing out of it . The ankheg shivered and froze, then fell to the ground and remained motionless .

  When the guards were about to finish off the last ankheg, the heavily injured monster screeched out of the blue and began retreating into the soil; it was trying to escape .

  Without any sign of hesitation, Soran calmed his breath and yelled, "Pass me a javelin!"

  A nearby guard tossed a longspear toward Soran who caught the weapon and pointed the spearhead downward . With a great leap four to five meters high, he yelled as he stabbed the ground while holding onto the longspear with both hands .

  Dark green blood burst from beneath the ground . The earth shook, and a high-pitched screech could be heard . Soran held onto the longspear, driving it further downward bit by bit . Finally, the ground no longer trembled, and the battle was over .

  (Profession Details—Northern Barbarians: They trained their bodies in ice cold water, granting them a unique Rage ability . As the cold suppressed their strength, they could not increase their physical abilities as much as common barbarians . On the other hand, they would not burn through their stamina when using the skill and would also retain their reasoning and rationale unlike berserkers and barbarians . This granted them decent combat power after activating the skill . Rage: +2 Strength, +1 Constitution . )