It seemed like an early fourth of July as all kinds of magical projectiles soured over to smack into the orc much to the fighter's delight. The less he had to get hit by the orc the better once it came rushing up. However, Colt was more or less surprised by the immense ranged attack the orc guardian dished out. Rushing past the firing line and following Tian's lead. The fighter chanted in his head..."Don't mess up, don't mess up, don't mess up!" As he takes his very first attack while fighting with his new group of players, utilizing both blades.
Their strikes against the Orc Axman were certainly effective, but even against such an onslaught, the brawny adversary did nothing but resolutely charge, ready to rend his allies in a single blow. But that charge was just what Tian Gui was looking for. Pulling Shouko back, the armoured titan dashed towards the Orc as its twin axes glowed with arcane force. A ferocious swing brought it down, but an equally spirited force met it.
For a moment there, Tian Gui's knees buckled underneath the awe inspiring force, all his strength consumed just by grappling with the beast. It was unskilled, perhaps, but it was magnitudes beyond him in strength, and he grunted as it pushed down on him. It was going to break past his resistance and strike down with a magical onslaught.
But behind him was Shouko, with zero armor and no HP.
And what good was be if he couldn't even protect his allies?
With redoubled effort, Tian Gui thrust the axe away at the last second, diverting the arcane wave to the right side. Kensuke, Miyuki, Kamui, and Alex were all in range, but he managed to protect two. That was enough for now, because now, he was in his element.
"Physical-"
A jolt of pain raced down his back, a sharp edge cutting through his scale armor. A new enemy?! No, just friendly fire from Colt. Despite the pain, despite the fact that the Orc wrenched itself from his grasp due to that moment of weakness, Tian Gui chuckled. The nerves getting to him, eh?
"Calm down, Colt! Nothing changed from when you were an Arcadian! You've beaten these things before, so you can definitely do it again."
Indeed, Kyousuke had done practically the same thing before, hadn't he? When they were against a much more threatening foe as well. So this?
Tian Gui's blue eyes flared up.
There was no way such a small mistake will ruin them here!
"Arm Lock!" He shouted, his hand lashing out and gripping the burly arm of the Orc. For all its strength, it was still a humanoid, and he had already trained against another Orc before. Locking down its right arm and essentially halving its offensive options, he grunted as he held it in place.
He was now occupying the right side of its body. Like this, it could neither parry nor dodge, and Tian Gui's large frame, combined with his cloak of Justice, created a perfect screen.
"Xenon! Right side!"
A perfect screen for the Gamers' very own magical assassin.
Artisia waited for Arcadia to appear, which he soon did after offering to listen to her. She asked him about being a part of both teams, which he flatly answered no to. Artisia thought she was making a strategic and smart move with Arcadia, but it seemed that all she did was waste a little bit of her own time.
After the small conversation with Arcadia was over, she moved back over to the Purchase Chest and bought a Minor Ability Bangle, which she equipped for the purpose of increasing her Dexterity and Fisticuffs by 1. After buying that, she pondered what the others were up to. She hadn't gotten a response to any of the messages she'd sent, so she wondered whether they had even read them or not. Especially the message concerning the Ability Rune, but that had only been sent a small time ago, so it made sense that Rei couldn't get back to her. He was probably in the middle or grinding or training or punishing one of the gamers.
As soon as she thought that though, a window appeared in front of her saying that the West Camp was being attacked. Well well well. Looks like Team Justice works just as quick as I do. Guess I'll pop over there to help, especially since I could help them keep advantage on the battlefield. If the Clerics are all still there... That's gonna pose a bit of a problem. I'll just handle the situation when I get to it, that sounds better since I don't even know who's there right now.
Artisia decided to take the option to teleport to the Camp and help out the Gamers. In a moment, she arrived at the West Camp, which was a ghost town. Did someone get word that they were attacking? Or did all the Clerics go with the main party to get a new camp? Artisia was a little confused by this, but saw the Gamers fighting the Guardian of the camp. Artisia scoffed. "Goddam Orcs. I'm real tired of fighting these things."
Artisia ran toward the battle, but knew that if she was going to strike, she needed to do it at a more opportune moment. It seemed that Tian-Gui had the Orc in an arm lock, which was quite the interesting sight to see. He seemed to yell something about Xenon, but she didn't really catch it since she was trying to observe the situation more. As she looked toward the group, there were also two other fighters who were there. She didn't want to take the chance to get confused for an enemy, so she shouted out something random. "DON'T SHOOT!" She made it clear she was rushing toward the Orc as she raised her fists up, gathering her strength for a hit that would come at an opportune moment. She stopped when she was about 5 feet away from the Orc and smirked toward the group. Now wasn't the time for re-introductions obviously.
Kamui growled in pain as the wave attack slashed across his chest. It hurt like hell and the wind mage gasped looking at the orc and giving a grimace, great another one of those and I'll be in trouble...or worse he gives the orc a half smile and says "Welp..." he didn't get it out, instead taking the time to just look at Tian-Gui and sigh "Couldn't block the whole thing huh... guess strong-arming the orc isn't going to work hehe."
The wind mage chuckles and points his wand at the orc now "You know maybe I'm not giving my new magic a chance, think I'll try and air some things out with it. Alright, wind magic let's see what we can do, air, gather and attack. Wind Bolt!" The wise cracking mage mumbles something rubbing his chest "Welp, owie...that hurt." He's finally able to get out and smiles some more, he nods and looks to the others "Well this is a real blast huh?" He then hears Artisia yell don't shoot and looks over...okay weird snake chest beater who is an old friend of red2 aaaaaaaaand cool attacking the ogre welp okay day just keeps getting weirder.
The flames hit their target, but not exactly as hard as Alex was hoping they would, "Tchhh, gotta get stronger still," he grumbled to himself as he remained poised for the oncoming orc. It was a good thing too, it seemed that his battle stance was more than simply for show, as it gave him ample time to avoid the magical slash that the guardian unleashed.
A new skill for avoiding an attack? I'll have to look into that later.Alex grinned as he swiftly dispatched the notification window. Some of the others had not been so skilled, and took a fair hit from the attack...one ally even took an attack from one of their own. "I don't know if I should laugh or cry about that." Tian simply endured it, the beast that he was. That being said he was about as smart as a beast at times. Don't shout a tactic if the enemy is learning fool.
Alex moved to the opposite side that Tian told Xenon to strike from, before casting a second Flame bolt+, attempting to provide cover via commotion and making it all seem like an act for someone to attack from the other side, Alex decided to try to mock the orc, "About as dumb as a caged animal! Hahaha!" He pointed his wand towards it from a 'safe' distance, "Can't even hit all of us when it tries! Pathetic!" Oh hey, guess Artisia is here as well.
The blade finding purchase but not where he wanted as Colt's blade sliced into Tian instead of the orc. Colt's eyes open wide at the sight and shake in a little shock as his mistake came to life before his eyes. As Tian's flaring eyes and booming words made their way into the shocked fighter's senses he shook his head with closed eyes before reopening them with a flare of their own once again. The grappler was right and there could be no faltering in a fight especially now considering what was at stake.
Refocusing now, the dual wielder goes in for a second try at his two weapon attack pulling both blades back and going in, trying to sync his attack up with Xenon's incoming strike from opposite sides of the orc.
Out of the corner of his eye however, Colt catches the glimpse of a familiar player from team snake. But, she was coming up to attack the orc along with the rest of them? Not going into the thought much further he refocuses on the task at hand and goes for the orc.
Indeed Artisia had shown up, but now was not the time for theatrics or celebration. After all, they still had a hulking, immensely strong Orc to deal with and, despite their being seven people, this Orc is definitely giving them some trouble. Not much, but enough to know that they needed to keep going and keep focused lest the Orc starts hewing them apart with its powerful axes.
Alexander Flame Bolt+
26 - 9 FlameMagic = 17
67 - 25 Distance Bonus - 12 DEX= 30
The Flame Bolt strikes the Orc for 13 more points of Damage from the opposite side that Xenon would be moving in from right as Colten would also move in with his swords from the same side Alexander struck from while Kamui's WInd Bolt came from the front.
Kamui Wind Bolt
82 - 5 WindMagic = 77
52 - 25 Distance Bonus - 11 DEX= 16
The magical bolt was very poorly cast, probably due to the wise cracking Kamui not concentrating enough. Well it was his first time using this particular Spell. So there isn't much that can be done. Its still very well shot though, but it didn't even seem to phase the Orc whatsoever as the wispy bolt of Air Essence just harmlessly dissipates after it hits the Orc.
His first slash would hit pretty true, cutting into the Orc's side for 40 points of Damage. Unfortunately, even if the Orc couldn't dodge, with only one of its arms being locked down it could still Parry attacks coming in from the other side. So with its broad swing and heavy looking axe it manages to parry Colten's second blow away.
Due to the Orc being momentarily distracted by the attacks coming from other sides, Xenon would be able to quickly get behind the Orc and begin a quick onslaught of blows. Each blow though only does eleven damage to the thick skinned Orc, meaning that in total Xenon only did 33 points of Damage. Perhaps for Xenon, it would be time for a weapon upgrade after all since his blades are something he got a while ago, and he hasn't gotten new ones since.
Still, damage is damage, and perhaps it would allow for Miyuki and Kensuke to finish the Orc off. Kensuke, not wanting to risk shooting Tian in the back, goes for just shooting one arrow at a time. The first arrow definitely finds purchase right in the creature's chest for twenty points of damage, as does the second arrow that he quickly reloads and fires.
Miyuki finishes her own incantation, the same one as before, and fires three more watery arrows right towards the Orc. All three arrows strike this time, but they only do eighteen damage a piece due to the not as powerful casting. Still, that's all the damage that's needed though as when the third arrow makes contact the beast lets out a loud roar, its arm in Tian's grasp beginning to go limp. For a moment at least.
But the beast shows its determination as it lets out a powerful roar, fire burning in its eyes as it attempts to fling its arm that Tian is gripping while using its other arm to swing its axe right at Colten. The wild swing slashes right at Colten for a total of fifty one points of Damage as the swing gets right past his guard while the Orc attempts to, in its wild struggle, break its arm free of Tian-Gui's grasp. Hopefully Tian-Gui can continue holding the dying beast's arm until the arrows finally bleed it to death or someone can hit it one more time and hopefully put it down, lest it get its full offensive potential back.
Unfortunately though it seems like things continue to not look good. Suddenly right in front of the flag pole four more people appear. One Level 17 Cleric and three Level 17 Rangers, all on Team Snake.
Without even a moment's hesitation the moment they appear, the three rangers fire their bows. Somehow these guys seemed to know what was going on, and had a plan of attack the moment they entered and animosity towards the Peacocks as all three Rangers fired their bows right for Miyuki. Unfortunately, all three arrows stuck. While the first two stuck especially well, the third one still stuck just not as much.
Still, unfortunately those three arrows, combined with the fifty Damage that the Orc did to her earlier, was enough to knock the mage down to one knee as she gasped out in pain. Or so she was about to anyway. A fire seems to burn in those cool, calm, lovely eyes of hers as she not only stands up, but with a gritting of her teeth simply yanks the arrows right out of her as well. She is very heavily wounded, especially as pulling the arrows out does more damage to her, but she still seems to be standing regardless.
Something they seemed to want to fix as the three were already quickly firing a second round of arrows at her. These Rangers this time with this round were much more precise and accurate, as all three arrows found purchase inside of Miyuki once again. Unfortunately for the Aqua Mage though, whatever determination that kept her standing with the first round didn't seem to work the second round. In a gasp of pain, with a bit of blood coming from her mouth and much coming from her many wounds, the Mage topples over, and simply vanishes in a flash, Kensuke's eyes widening before he just simply glares at the Snakes, staying determined and focused as he prepares to fire back in return.
With Miyuki down, the Clerics decides to try and heal the Orc Guardian. The Snake Cleric chants something, his Mace glowing as he then pointed it right at the Orc. A flash of healing light moves over him, but this makes the Orc's eyes widen in pain as a grey 10 forms over its head. Unfortunately for the Orc, whatever Damage it took just now combined with all of the arrows causing it Bleeding Damage, plus all of the other damage it has taken, is enough to smolder that fire in its eyes as the beast vanishes in a cloud of smoke.
The Peacock Justice Alliance has taken down this camp's heavy hitter, but now they have five more opponents to deal with and they are down a Water Mage. They would need to act quickly and fight smart if they want to take these guys down. Especially since, because they are in their camp, they get bonuses for defending it.
So they would either need to quickly destroy the flag pole, which all four are guarding; perform a strategic retreat, or just go for an all out battle.
Colten squints his eyes and grits his teeth as the orcs crude axe bites into him with a grunt of agony but he is certainly made of sturdier stuff than most people here and is able to take it. This had to have been pay back for the good slice he had gotten in not a second ago.
As the big bastard fell he finally took notice of the additional snake forces that had appeared, completely wiping out one of the team peacock members in a single volley. Gritting his death and narrowing his eyes at the cleric, knowing that he had to go make life difficult for that one less it'd be a choir to take down the rest. Letting his more wild side show Colt grins a toothy grin. "Berserker Rush" He says in a normal tone after crouching low and taking off in a sprint straight towards the cleric.
The berserker grinds the tip of his right blade against the ground as he runs, kicking up little bits of dirt and rock. Upon reaching his target his face gives off a savage feeling like a beast entering into a fray, his eyes seeming as though they would be growing bright red with blood lust as he makes his attack at the end of his charge; bringing up his blade from below at the healer.
Artisia was there? For a moment, Tian-Gui almost tried to peek out to the side of the Orc, to catch a glimpse of their martial artist ally, but before he could, he felt the Orc's muscles tense once more, as it made another attempt to break free.
"Don't even try it…MAXIMUM PHYSICALITY RISE!"
Pouring all his Ki into strengthening his body, Tian-Gui felt a surge of power course through the entirety of his body, a golden aura pulsating gently over his body, and without much effort at all, he clamped down even tighter onto the Orc, sealing its movements as Xenon dashed in from behind, a flurry of katar strikes lashing into the monster's titanic form. Colt similar traded a blow, as more projectiles arced around the three melee fighters, dropping it down even further. They were almost there.
A blue glow encapsulated Tian-Gui's mind's eye, as a mana burst built beneath his hand.
They could finish it!
But suddenly, the Orc collapsed, a healing blow being what truly finished it off. As the massive form dissipated, Tian-Gui saw the members of Team Snake. One cleric, and three archers.
Bows.
His legs tensed, but the first volley was already released. Each pierced Miyuki's body, blood soaking her garments as she stumbled, her HP dropping to zero. Their mage stood strong though, as Tian-Gui rushed towards h-
The second volley took her down permanently, only her equipment remaining after that deadly assault.
Once more, his hands weren't large enough to protect everyone. Once more, he failed to be there for them. Should he have stayed back with the ranged people, in order to protect them? Should he have not engaged the orc? Should he have focused on a magical ability that allowed him to erect a barrier over his allies, instead of getting an ability to increase his own physical strength?
Tian-Gui shook his head, the bolt from the Flag Pole bringing him back to reality. There was still a fight to be had, still a battle to be won.
"One at a time," he said, both to himself and his allies.
And, with that, he charged forwards, instantly closing in onto the closest archer. His body was burning with energy. He wasn't going to miss, and he wasn't going to let go this time. He may not be able to protect everyone as he currently was, but Tian-Gui definitely WILL prevent at least one member of the archer squad from attacking.
Artisia watched as the battle raged on without her for the moment. Xenon made a few slashes at the Orc and it seemed she wasn't the only one who got much faster than before. She was actually impressed by the immense increase in firepower over the course of a few hours. Of course, she achieved some of the same growth, but she didn't think hers was nearly as substantial. Tian-Gui was now able to hold targets that were much larger than he already was (which was already incredibly large). Alexander seemed to gain some Fire magic that seemed to function as important to the party. Shouko had become a better archer, and it seemed that she had inflicted a status effect that was... Interesting, in its own right. The wind mage she had seen before didn't seem too helpful, although the magic that they used to support Blade, who now seemed to be Colten, was strong. Colten seemed reckless, but he could at least function within the environment.
However, she did notice that Colt was taking some serious hits. He continued playing around recklessly with the enemies, especially the tower. If anyone wasn't careful, that tower could probably eradicate them. Team Snake had put a lot of coins into their defenses, especially in the Camp they were in, which functioned as their healing camp. At least, to her knowledge, that was what they did with the coins. She needed to help Colt survive for the time being, especially since he was probably going to become the target of some nasty archers' attacks. Artisia needed to help, so the first thing that she needed to do was close the gap that Colt had just created between them.
"Energize Legs!"
An energy spread like wildfire over her legs and she flew in the direction of Colt. As soon as she arrived, she stood her ground in front of Colt and punched her cestuses together. Then, she moved them into an offensive stance. She was ready to move when an enemy decided to pounce. To try and draw attention away from the rangers they had, Artisia called out to the archers who were still able to fight. "HEY YOU ARROW-WIELDING BITCHES! COME AND GET IT!" If any of them were to notch an arrow, she'd fly right at them and give them the worst two punches they'd ever experience in their entire life.
Shouko's eyes traced the arc of her arrow's flight path and let out a quiet whoop when it impaled the giant Orc. It wasn't a shot she should miss, given the size of her target, but it was still a possibility. She wanted this fight to go as smoothly as possible. The rest of the team's magic and arrows rained upon the Orc, dealing a rather large amount of damage.
Shouko's fingers reached for another arrow when Tian-Gui yanked her hard. She let out a yelp and was thrown a few feet away from the Orc. Tian-Gui's large frame leapt forward to intercept the Orc, but not before it attacked. A large wave was projected from its axe, slicing into the party. The crescent wave swept past the spot Shouko was standing a split second ago.
Thanks, Tian-Gui. No brownie points for grace,however, Shouko thought as she picked herself up and tried to nock another arrow. Alas, the melee fighters were already engaging the Orc in close quarters. The novice archer wasn't confident that she wouldn't accidentally shoot one of them.
The Orc was taking a lot of damage from their attacks. A quick mental calculation told her that it wouldn't last much longer- a mere dozen seconds into the battle. An extra arrow from her wouldn't make that much of a difference. Instead, there was a second target she could begin work on, and Shouko felt like she had the appropriate tools for the job. She called up her Inventory, took out a seemingly innocent bottle of dark liquid, lit the attached cloth on fire, and took her sweet time adjusting her aim for the throw. Once she was ready, Shouko lobbed the molotov cocktail straight at the flag pole.
A beautiful plume of fire erupted from the broken bottle. A clear 33 floated up immediately. Shouko wasn't sure how much of its fiery contents had spilt onto the structure, but it was at least partially on fire now.
"Oh yes! Burn!" she screamed. Shouko followed up on the attack with a bomb, intent on dismantling it as fast as possible. The flames dealt another 14 damage before the bomb touched down and detonated, releasing a thunderous boom and a flash of fire and shrapnel. The flag took 41 damage.
She was about to throw another when members of Team Snake teleported in and began firing upon them within a heartbeat. Arrows flew, striking one of Team Peacock accurately. Shouko watched in horror when another volley was fired before anyone could do anything. Miyuki went down.
Wake up, Shouko!
On the bright side, her Zombie Arrow paid off. The enemy unwittingly tried to heal the Orc Guardian, but ended up killing it instead. Shouko smirked and let the bomb in her hand fly, aimed at the spot between the flag pole and the Snakes. Hopefully, she would hit all of them.
Kamui growls and squints at the wand "Well blow it out your ass too air magic." He then puts it in his pocket and grabs his mana rod with both hands and spins it above his head "Well I guess it's time for a newish spell that has at least worked, round and round it goes, hopefully it'll smash someone from their head to their toes. Let's go Mana Whirl." He then slashes the whirl towards the nearest enemy.
Alex looked on in horror as the cute girl with blue hair took many more arrows than her body should ever take, and sadly, they took their toll on her. Ending her life in the game. This is why we should of used a more strategy! Gritting his teeth, he glared at the backs of his own teammates on the front lines, then shot a death glare towards the snakes, Alex got ready to make his move, "Try to make a pin cushion out of this friend of mine why don't you?" Rushing closer to his foes Alex got ready to summon for the first time, Be Strong, avenge the fallen beauty! "Come to my aid, O Servant of Flame!"
Xenon followed along with the rest of the combined team's plan of attack, having no reason to go against the consensus. When the time came to give their friendly neighboring orc a little greeting, he joined in with the rest of the attackers and called out, "Volatile bolt!" A satisfying gut feeling passed over the red haired teen as soon as the oscillated mana left his hand and hit dead on before exploding to deal more damage.
Yep, modifying that skill was definitely worth it.
The battle didn't end there though, as orc quickly retaliated. But before it could complete it's full attack, a certain overly tall Chinese youth intercepted it, creating a perfect window of attack. In the briefest moment before Xenon threw himself in a swift run to answer Tian Gui's call, he caught a glimpse of a familiar redhead once again. Nice timing, Artsie, he thought.
Once he had stealthily approached the orc's right side, his body fell into a familiar dance as he brought the blades down. But unlike gremlin (or pig) flesh, the orc had a thicker, less penetrable hide. Xenon gritted his teeth as his katar fell away from the orc, dealing his last, paltry 11 damage.
In the next instance, was more retaliation, both from the orc and a freshly teleported team snake squadron. And though the former was felled by the snake cleric's hand, the latter succeeded in beading up their resident aqua mage to her end - a clear reminder that the battle was still in motion.
We've got to gather, Xenon thought urgently. Switching gears, he gripped his katars and went after Tian Gui with the intent to mob one of the snake members with some follow up slices.
In retaliation to Miyuki's death there were blades swung, Mana shot, and Spells cast. Shouko first threw a bomb though, bringing out her inner pyromaniac as she throws the bomb right at the flag, hoping to get all of the Archers and the pole. One of the Archers managed to dodge away for the most part, with his armor and own defenses negating any Damage he would have taken, but the other two were fully hit by the blast. The Flag Pole took another 41 points of Damage, the two Archers taking the same amount of Damage as well.
That is when Tian-Gui, Blade, Xenon, and Artisia all begin to rush forward. Tian-Gui manages to grab a hold of one of the Rangers while Colten rushes and slashes the Cleric with his blade, his fast speed augmented by his Berserker Rush Skill allowing him to do a total of 25 Points of Damage to the armored Cleric. Artisia moved beside Colten, readying herself for any of the Archers to either fire at herself or Colten. Xenon, in the meantime, rushed forward and began a flurry of slashes at the Ranger that Tian is grabbing, who is one of the ones that got blasted.
Unfortunately only the first blow hit, and it was more of a grazing blow that hit for six Damage. In the struggle it was hard for Xenon to land any substantial blows, so the most he managed to do was merely graze and damage the man's armor several points and just deal six points of Damage. Perhaps it is time for a better weapon upgrade after all.
Alexander attempted to summon a Flame Elemental to his aid. Perhaps he intoned the Spell in a wrong fashion, or just couldn't really catch the feeling of it. Regardless, a small bit of static forms but ultimately nothing seems to happen as the Spell fizzles.
Kamui, in the meantime, would launch another Mana Whirl right towards the wounded Ranger that Tian-Gui isn't grabbing. The whirl hits the man dead on and, although Kamui can't see it, he manages to do 40 Damage.
Kensuke, wanting revenge, fires his own arrows. He goes for another Multi-Shot as he fires two arrows in one shot right towards the Flagpole of all things. Possibly to prevent the Rangers from getting anymore bonuses and to prevent the Pole from firing again or doing something else. The two arrows only do a total of thirty three points of Damage though. He then goes for another Multi-Shot.
These second two arrows sticking into the flag pole are more than enough to make the flag vanish and the pole crack in a thunderous boom, the pole splitting right down the middle with a smaller flag appearing on the ground behind the pole. This is probably the Flag that can be taken back to a player's Camp for more gold. While this means that Team JUSTICE will have to wait an hour to catch this Camp, it did also mean that no longer were these Snakes getting any Defense or Damage Reduction bonuses either.
The Snake that Tian is holding attempts to break out of the Grapple. Thankfully he doesn't seem as strong as the Orc, or as big, so there shouldn't be too much trouble in keeping this guy contained. The Archer that was wounded, but not grappled, attempts to fire his bow. Before he can though, Artisia would rush him the moment he attempted to raise it. Her first punch does 33 Damage and her second fist does the same plus 1. The third hit is extremely glancing, but heavy enough thanks to her Knuckles to still deal 11 points of damage, the entire combo being enough to where he couldn't even get a single moment to either get away from her or fire his bow.
"Dammit Artisia! Why the hell are you doing this?" asks Serpentine, the Ranger she is beating down. "I thought we were on the same side!"
The other Ranger decides to aim his bow for another target. Unfortunately he draws his bowstring too far back and the string snaps on him. This makes the Kobra curse aloud as he throws the broken bow aside and pulls out his swords instead and decides to run forward now, moving pretty fast as he heads straight for Kamui, performing a single, running slash. Fortunately due to the man running quite a distance, Kamui would have plenty of time to dodge backwards from the slash, but this created a problem.
A fully healthy Ranger who's right next to Kamui with his swords. It seems like these Snakes are going after the groups Mages first, seeing as how they aimed for Miyuki. The Cleric seems to have the same thoughts as he chants "Dash!" and attempts to move right past Colten with reckless abandon. Colt manages to slash the man right in the side for 49 Damage as he attempts to recklessly get by Colten and invoke this Skill.
Unfortunately he manages to simply grit his teeth and continue his swift dash, heading straight for Kamui with his Mace. These Snakes are either being tactically smart by trying to get to the squishier targets who can deal long distance damage, or they are just attempting to make things as hard for Team JUSTICE and the Peacocks as they can by going after their casters or people they can quickly guarantee a kill upon.
Unfortunately his mace would find purchase right in Kamui's side as the Cleric swings it, the powerful swing from the fast Cleric bringing the Wind Mage's HPstraight down to 0. Unfortunately the Mace quickly finds purchase in one more swift, fast swing. This Cleric seems more like a Fighter than a Cleric as he bashes Kamui heavily for 66 more Damage, sending his HP far into the negatives at -66.
Things are definitely not looking good, as with that heavy of a hit Kamui's world would begin to blacken. If he can't muster up heavy amounts of Determination here... Determination to stay in the Game... then it will be Game Over for him.
Colt takes in the melee and chaos around him as well as making his good swipe at the cleric dashing past him with a satisfying strike. However as he turns his head before he could even call the cleric out for his actions Colt would see Kamui being double teamed and knocked to the ground. The oddly dressed fighter's eyes quickly dilated as his face changed to a silent shocked expression in the moment; time seeming to slow for just that period of time he watched his best comrade of team wolf collapse to the dirt. Colt already being worried that what brought himself back into this world may very well happen to his friend now.
Coming out of his slowed moment the red head grits his teeth hard and glares across the battlefield at the back of the cleric that ran from him just so he could fell his companion and threaten the others in the back line. He twists on his heels in a furious fervor towards the cleric and yells loudly. "BerserkerRush!!!" Kicking off the dirt with great strides towards his target. "YOU BASTARD!!!" He yells again right before he finished closing the distance and swings upon the cleric's back this time with both blades at once instead of just one like before. He held enough sense in his mind to remember that the cleric dashed to which costed him a good chunk of HP as well but not enough to care that his own HP would deplete once more. Only wishing that he had something bigger and heavy to smash this cleric in the face with.
He was now in a full rage one would say. His feelings of self preservation now flying out the window. The only thoughts running through his mind in a screen of red were to defeat those who downed his friend and threaten the rest of Team JUSTICE.
Artisia made it clear that she was defending Colt and an archer was just stupid enough to fall for her taunt. As she rushed her teammate, she punched them three times. The first connected perfectly. She could feel the resistance of the body that she was hitting and it was extremely satisfying to feel the pressure of a punch once more. The second punch was executed even better than the first. It added one damage and she grinned. The Strength she had put points into was definitely worth it. Artisia punched for a third time, leaving no time for her enemy to react at all. Artisia didn't feel like this punch connected nearly as well, but she was surprised by the amount of damage that she was doing. Holy shit! I'm glad I made an investment into all of this armor and weaponry. I'd be dead by now if I didn't have it, I bet.
After her flurry of attacks, the archer she attacked seemed to be having some problems coping with the fact that their teammate was betraying them. As they ask the question regarding why she's doing this, she simply responds with, "Well... It's fun." Of course, that wasn't the real reason that Artisia was doing this at all, but maybe she could throw the archer off balance with the fact that she was betraying them for fun.
Artisia could see the chaos going on around them and she knew that Tian and the others would take care of the people that were being endangered. Right now, Artisia knew it would be a priority to take out the archers. They posed a heavy threat to the team, especially since one of their ranged casters was having some issues. "Power Hand!"
Artisia readied another flurry of blows, which would be much more powerful now that magical energy is covering her fists, at the archer she was currently engaged with. "Shoot, and you die."
Whether the archer was actually going to fire or not was not important. If the archer decided to surrender, Artisia would finish them off. If they decided to still try and attack, Artisia would finish them off. Like before, there couldn't be any loose ends. She needed to keep her position a secret. Her team couldn't even know that she was at this battle, and there shouldn't be any evidence if there weren't any spies watching this battle.
Artisia's eyes opened wide for a moment. Spies! SHIT! If there are any here, then we're all screwed! For now, I'll take care of this archer, but I need to make sure we aren't being watched.
Kamui would growl in pain as the first blow hit his one shoulder, his arm falling motionless next to him "Hey buddy think ya missed a spot, there is some tingly feeling left there. I mean if you're gonna hurt someone do it..." He didn't get the last part out right away as the second smash from the mace came down upon his other shoulder, this time there was a crack as well as lifelessness to his other arm. He yelled out in pain this time and nodded, gritting his teeth into a toothy grin and trying to keep himself awake he keeps moving his head up and down and mouthing off as much as he can to keep himself awake. "I mean what kind of magic person are you, really your just some idiot in a robe and wielding a mace...it's...pretty.......La...me...." Kamui barely get's the last line out as he slumps down onto his knees and falls to the side, his eyes closing as his head hits the ground.
Kiryu woke up in his bed and moved his hands over his golden blond hair and looks over at the time... well that was fun, I died....shit. He get's up and stretches, working out some kinks from when how long he was in bed. "Damn it, haha goes to show me what happens when I deviate from the norm huh. But seriously, I mean yeah we need something to protect ourselves up close but no offensive magic whatsoever...I mean really, and the dude looked like a straight up clod. Well guess I'm more of a clod though, getting wrecked like that. I should've activated my mana shield first then attacked, but hey wanted to take them out a fast as possible... Ah well they're not gonna last much longer now that the flag was busted....." He looks at his headset again and shakes his head, he knew he's got to get moving now, anymore laying about like that and he'll become a flabby sack of potatoes. He changes out of his lazing about clothes and throws on some decent clothing. Opting to go with a white long sleeved shirt and black pants he walks to his door and grabs his running shoes and goes for a jog to clear his head. Man, that shit was real as hell though, pretty fun and all, can't wait to log in more when I get out of work and whatnot." He starts jogging up the street with his ipod going with his largeish headphones on.
Again, it happened too fast to react. Everyone turned to attack the reinforcements, but they still managed to slip through the vanguard and attack Kamui. One hit, two hits- and he was down, health pool drained past the zero mark. On the bright side, it wasn't one of the Gamers, who would actually die. It was a grim reminder of how easily they could lose their lives.
All things considered, the battle was still in their favour. The Orc Guardian and the flag were already destroyed, and the remaining Snakes were taking a lot of damage and were outnumbered. Shouko readied her buckler in case the Snakes targeted her next. She couldn't use her bombs anymore since it had devolved into a chaotic melee. She took out her bow instead and aimed an arrow at the archer that had attacked Kamui. He was the only one not currently fighting another member of the team.
"Shift Arrow!" she intoned and released the projectile.
Unfortunately Colten's attack missed, the Cleric blocking the sword with his shield. Unfortunately, due to the reckless nature of Colten's attack, the Cleric would have been able to bash the poorly swung blade aside and quickly counter with a swing of his mace. Fortunately the hit was somewhat grazing, but the Cleric had alot of strength and that Mace of his is quite strong. 30 Damage would be dealt to Colten, dropping his HPdown to 65 after the HPused up by Berserker Rush.
Unfortunately the arrow, while deep, was still relatively weakened by the man's armor and his own toughness. It still stuck in the Ranger though as intended, it just didn't do as much Damage as normal, only inflicting 8 points of Damage upon the Ranger.
Kensuke decides to follow suit though, as he uses another Multi-Shot upon the Cleric. Unfortunately due to the complications of the Skill, the arrows weren't too properly fired and thus blocked by the Cleric's shield. That is when he quickly uses the Skill again to fire two more Arrows at once. This next special shot hits, both arrows sticking into the man's side, a total of 48 Damage done to the Cleric.
Xenon is the only one left to act now in this chaotic brawl, and he'll need to do so quickly as both Kensuke and Colten, who can actually die, are both near two people fully capable of being Melee fighters and delivering some damage and pain.
