Chapter 84: No One Can Fight To The Last Drop Of Blood
The Enhanced Fireball effect was astonishing, wiping out a wave of beastmen in the area, but the Barbarian Chieftain and those few dinosaurs didn’t die, only heavily injured.
Attributes and health are just dice quantifications of creatures; almost no one can fight to their last drop of blood, not even Anse.
The Fireball’s instant lethality is very strong, heavily wounding all creatures at once; if health loss exceeds half, the body triggers a self-protection mechanism, and shock, coma, or incapacitation are all normal.
Anse had anticipated this and was about to finish them off when he saw the Barbarian Chieftain suddenly flip over and stand up.
He looked down at his motionless Allosaurus companion, then roared furiously at the sky, a layer of red light glowing over his body.
“Roar—” The sound was furious and vicious, filled with rage.
At the same time, his body rapidly expanded, covered in black scales, his head elongating, mouth full of fangs, hands turning into claws, legs abnormally thick, and a long tail emerging from behind…
Anse decisively Quick Cast Enhanced Distant Fireball, a bright Magic Missile shooting out like lightning, instantly flying to the monster.
The roar cut off abruptly; the Barbarian Chieftain didn’t expect the enemy to be so “despicable.” Luckily, this time he was on the ground and immediately fully activated「Manh Chi」 to charge outward, his bloated body moving at astonishing speed.
With a boom, the fireball exploded, flames sweeping in, engulfing him again in the outer edge.
‘What are you roaring about? Just because you have a loud voice.’ Anse felt very satisfied.
【……Dasuo Barbarians Chieftain hit, takes 37 Fire Damage, current Life 2/82】
【Allosaurus death, gain 1800 Combat Experience】
A series of Experience Prompts flashed through Anse’s mind—very satisfying!
Although the Barbarian Chieftain rolled out of the explosion range, his skin was charred and rotten, lying on the ground struggling even to breathe.
No living creature remained in the flame-covered area; Beast Armor and weapon wooden handles were all burned away, oxygen instantly depleted, heat waves surging, stirring up ashes everywhere.
‘This… quite terrifying, and it comes with special effects.’ Anse didn’t dare imagine himself being hit by a Fireball.
Theoretically, the Fireball’s edge lethality decays very little, but the closer to the center, the stronger the lethality, as the central area’s instant air pressure, heat radiation, temperature, and oxygen deprivation subject creatures to multiple devastations.
Moreover, he realized that Distant Metamagic should be paired with tracking Metamagic; too great a Casting Distance allows intuitive or quick Reaction Professionals to dodge in advance, making it harder to hit.
Anse cast again, giving the opponent no chance to breathe.
“
「Metamagic: Distant Spell」+「Magic Missile」!
A resounding Dragon Speech echoed across the battlefield; three Magic Missiles whistled over more than a hundred meters, hitting the half-finished monster on the ground almost simultaneously.
The opponent twitched a few times and stopped moving.
【Target Death, gain 975 Combat Experience】
“If your brain isn’t working, there’s no saving you. Instead of properly training with Shield and Flying Axe, what beast are you turning into?” Anse ruthlessly mocked.
Although Psionic Energy was down to two points, with the opponent’s main force dead, it was all worth it.
Just as he thought the barbarian tribe would rout, the previously low-morale crowd suddenly went berserk like they’d been injected with chicken blood, screaming as they charged again.
‘Strange.’ Anse looked doubtful.
Salian snapped back and immediately commanded: “Keep loading grapeshot, fire at will—”
His mood was explosively good; at this time, place, and environment, having an Elite Spellcaster in the team who could still normally Spellcast gave a maximum sense of security.
He grinned, revealing stark white teeth; the Flame Cannon had 9 shots left, and regular cannon Ammunition was plentiful. Today, he’d let these natives see Faerun’s War Weapons.
“Boom…”
Cannon fire boomed, keeping those giant herbivorous dinosaurs from approaching; their Size was too large to easily dodge.
But the beastmen who had seen the cannon’s power got smarter; they didn’t charge head-on, instead approaching dispersed while drawing Javelins from their backs.
This was their traditional skill!
Anse was about to prepare Wind Wall for defense when he realized he’d overestimated these beastmen.
【Quesser】 was still sailing the river channel; beastmen Warriors and dinosaurs chased along the shore at a relatively slow relative speed. Before entering Anse’s normal Reach, they were picked off one by one by Salian, Finn, and other shooters, saving even cannon shells.
Anse simply mounted his horse and jumped off the Deck, then fired a Ray of Frost as the natives approached.
With a hiss, a white line flashed through the air, leaving a trail of misty vapor that drifted with the wind.
The fastest Deinonychus fell, its upper body covered in white frost, breath exhaling Cold Air.
In a fraction of a second, another Ray of Frost struck, piercing its brain and thoroughly freezing its scant brain matter.
Anse smiled slightly; lately, he preferred Ray of Frost—fast Spellcasting, swift projectile, high damage, perfect for clearing small fry.
“Whoosh whoosh—”
Several Javelins flew in; Nolnos easily jumped aside.
Seventy or eighty meters was nearly the maximum lethal Reach for ordinary Javelins, but perfect for Anse.
After losing twenty or thirty dinosaurs and beastmen, the enemy completely collapsed, stopped chasing, and scattered back.
Especially the Triceratops, Ankylosaurus, and Duck-billed Dinosaur knights trailing behind—they just followed the whole way, grumbling; the knights bared teeth and glared furiously, but their mounts weren’t cooperating.
Anse felt a bit envious; he waved for Salian to go ahead first, then mounted his horse to trail behind.
Occasionally firing a Ray of Frost, steadily harvesting Experience; those beastmen and dinosaurs didn’t dare turn back—those that did got tough.
Anse, one man and one horse, chased a group of dinosaurs and dozens of people; the Triceratops actually ran at the front this time—anyone who didn’t know would think it was rushing to dinner.
Suddenly, noisy sounds came from afar—shouts and clash of battle carried on the wind.
Anse immediately stopped and looked toward the beastmen tribe, spotting hundreds of tall green-skinned Humanoids arriving from the land direction at some point; they charged into the beastmen tribe, killing on sight with crisp efficiency.
‘What’s this now? Arch-enemies?’
But the enemy of my enemy isn’t necessarily a friend; he silently withdrew, not planning to join the melee.
At that moment, the green-skinned monsters split off a squad to intercept beastmen Warriors, one heading straight for Anse, waving from afar.
“Your Excellency, we mean no harm.”（Dragon Speech）
Anse was stunned; he understood—it was Dragon Speech!
Compared to Toril’s Dragon Speech, theirs was softer, with heavier nasal tones.
Dragon Speech is extremely ancient and hard to learn; most Races are physiologically limited, their throats unable to produce accurate Dragon Speech words.
As the other approached, Anse finally saw his true form.
He was taller and tougher than a Human, at least two and a half meters, covered in green scales, lizard head, claws, long tail—a bipedal giant lizard.
‘Lizardfolk?’
The dice spun slightly, detecting target info:
【Lizardfolk King, Medium Elemental Being, Challenge Rating 5】
‘Elemental Being?’
This touched his knowledge blind spot.
He only knew Lizardfolk were generally True Neutral, living in Swamps or Forests, able to swim and burrow, with Spell-like Abilities, speaking Dragon Speech and Primordial.
The Lizardfolk King stopped dozens of meters ahead of Anse, his yellow pupils revealing a hint of awe.
“Your Excellency, we come from the Green Marsh Tribe. I am Giant Tail, the Tribe King.”
“The Swamp just ahead by the lake?” Anse pointed to the Swamp west of the distant Lake.
“Yes.” The Lizardfolk King grinned wide, revealing sharp teeth that looked somewhat ferocious. “We have a blood feud with Dasuo Barbarians. We saw earlier and came to help…”
“Mm.” Anse was expressionless, not calling them out. Maybe the Lizardfolk had arrived early and only emerged seeing the Dasuo Barbarians Defeat.
“Your Excellency may not know, Dasuo Barbarians worship the dinosaur father Uta’o, believing dinosaurs are Uta’o’s children, treating any creature that hunts dinosaurs as mortal enemies, no quarter given…” Giant Tail explained.
“I see.” Anse understood; it sounded odd, but not hard to grasp.
According to Giant Tail, Dasuo Barbarians were widespread; upon adulthood, they underwent「Dragon-Seeking Ritual」 to soul-bond with a dinosaur, fighting and surviving together, making them powerful.
They saw dinosaurs as comrades; any creature stained with dinosaur blood would be attacked without exception.
Including Dragonkin!
Dasuo Barbarians only revered Uta’o; even Dragons couldn’t make them submit, and the largest Dasuo Tribes really kept several super-giant dinosaurs, strength not inferior to ordinary Dragons, so they had reason to be arrogant.
“Are there more Dasuo Tribes nearby?”
“Yes, another three hundred miles south…”
“What place is this?”
“Emerald Plains, with Dinosaur Forest to the north…” Giant Tail answered without thinking.
