Chapter 84: Shattered Bones
Bang!
The heavy bone-crushing hammer came with a sharp wind, and Soren rolled desperately to avoid it, simultaneously slashing his curved blade at the knee of the ogre commander. It felt as if he were chopping at tough cowhide. Although he managed to cut a half-foot long gash, the ogre commander’s attack did not pause for a moment, as if he had suffered no injury at all. It was clad in heavy armor all over, with only the arms and legs and gaps in the armor exposed for attack; hitting any other part was useless.
The howling wind rushed overhead, accompanied by an awful stench; the smell of the ogre was worse than that of a werewolf.
Soren dared not linger for a moment, rolling to evade and then swiftly retreating, putting seven or eight meters between him and the ogre commander. The half-elf ranger seized the opportunity, quickly nocking an arrow and firing at the ogre commander’s head. The ogre raised its fist in front of its face and the arrow struck its wrist, bouncing off with a clang. Yas cursed quietly, drew another arrow, and aimed again, but the ogre commander had already roared and charged at him in an instant.
Clang!
There was the crisp sound of breaking. Yas didn’t have time to draw his weapon to block; after firing another arrow, he tried to dodge, but it was too late. He could only awkwardly raise his longbow to block, which instantly shattered, and the bone-crushing hammer fell onto his chest, causing his ribs to cave in completely. Blood spurted out in jets, and in the blink of an eye, his chest was drenched in red. The arrow struck the ogre commander’s neck but missed the trachea, passing through from the side instead.
“Die!”
Soren shouted low, taking a deep breath and leaping as the ogre commanded smashed into the half-elf ranger. He swung his knife at the ogre’s neck. The tough skin was sliced open, but when he struck its bone, the blade got stuck in the ground. The ogre commander roared in fury and swung a punch back at Soren. The spikes on its arm’s wrist delivered heavy force, knocking Soren away.
Crack!
Accompanied by the crisp sound of bones breaking, Soren’s right arm was injured, the spikes having pierced below his shoulder, causing blood to gush out. His right arm was numb and painful, possibly hurt at the tendon; he couldn’t use it at all. He rolled back in a rather awkward manner, and when he stood up, he retreated further back. With one arm disabled, there was no way to kill the ogre commander; he suspected the bone was broken and now found it difficult to even fight.
The ogre commander pulled out its curved blade, but blood was spurting out wildly. Its speed noticeably slowed, with torrents of blood pouring out, drenching half its body.
“I hit an artery!”
Soren’s expression brightened, and he casually picked up a short sword from the battlefield and hurled it at the ogre.
The furious ogre commander charged again, and the blood began to flow faster. In just thirty to fifty steps, its speed was markedly reduced, leaving a trail of blood behind it. As it roared and attempted to swing its weapon, its massive form suddenly stiffened and then collapsed to the ground. Although it didn’t die immediately from the severe blood loss, its hands could no longer hold the weapon. Soren staggered over, ensuring its breath was growing weaker before pulling out a dagger and stabbing it into one of its eyes.
A series of data appeared:
“Critical hit achieved!…”
“Dealt 21 piercing damage to target!… Target deceased!…”
“Successfully killed the ogre commander!… Extracting target’s soul energy!…”
“Gained 2400 points of killing experience.”
…
A third-tier ogre commander nearing level four.
The killing experience gained was surprisingly higher than that of the abyss serpent demon he had defeated initially. Soren caught his breath for a moment, alertly scanning his surroundings, then quickly took out a bandage to wrap up his injured right arm. If he continued to lose blood, even with his regeneration ability, he could become extremely weak from blood loss, potentially threatening his life. He rested for several dozen seconds before moving toward the half-elf ranger’s position; Yas had long since died, his chest completely caved in.
He had kicked the bucket in under a minute after being hit.
“May your soul find peace.”
Soren’s expression was tinged with sadness; though not very familiar, they had fought alongside each other. He reached out and closed the half-elf ranger’s eyes, then retrieved the dimensional bag, placing useful items onto himself. The battle was not over, yet he had essentially lost the ability to fight. He glanced over the chaotic battlefield, wiped the blood from his face, and quickly retreated.
Only after creating a distance of over a hundred meters did he finally pause.
Soren pulled out a healing potion and swallowed it, then gritted his teeth and forcibly reset the broken bone. With a muffled grunt, the severed bone returned to its original position, yet he still couldn’t exert any strength.
“Wizard level increased!”
After all the fighting, Soren had accumulated over 9000 points of killing experience, and as he allocated it to his wizard level, a series of data appeared before him:
“Wizard profession leveled up to level 5.”
“Gained 25 (Intelligence 20 + (Intelligence 20 – 10) * 0.5) skill points; health increased by 9 (profession health 4 + (Constitution 20 – 10) * 0.5).”
“Mastered profession skill: Spell Counter.”
“Gained one specialty point.”
The increase in health from leveling up the profession slightly alleviated his injuries; he was finally able to move his right arm slightly. He stood up and looked ahead, discovering that the ogres had disrupted the White Horse Guard’s defense. With their brute strength and reckless charging, the battlefield had turned into small skirmishes. Fortunately, the long-term training paid off; although their formation was broken, the troops still managed to maintain small circular formations of five to ten people, and the ogres’ injuries had finally accumulated to a certain extent, their powerful vitality could not alter their gradually succumbing fate.
On another part of the battlefield.
The wizards focused their attacks had already taken down the ogre warriors. The penetrating power of acid arrows and fire arrows was strong, and with a few golems supporting the flanks, the surrounding ogres began to crumble. The bloodthirsty frenzy was gradually waning, and the number of ogres was sharply decreasing; it appeared that some regular ogres had fled the battlefield due to a collapse in morale.
The lord of storms was gradually gaining the upper hand in battle against the two-headed ogre. The commander of White Horse City coordinated with the knights, flanking and ambushing the enemies.
The dark clouds in the sky sank lower.
With the lord of storms’ roar, a lightning bolt suddenly struck down, but it did not attack the two-headed ogre before her; instead, it landed directly on her war spear.
—“Lightning Weapon!”
Crackling lightning circled her war spear, and the explosive light nearly obscured her vision. She looked as if she were wielding a bolt of lightning in combat. With wild roars, her attack speed increased, and her entire body became surrounded by a veil of electricity. Occasionally, those nearby who drew too close found themselves suddenly standing wherever they were, trembling as if they had been electrocuted the moment they entered a thirty-meter radius.
—“Static Field Legendary Force Field!”
Soren was very familiar with the sight before him; it was the same kind of area effect he had experienced when activating the shadow plane.
The speed of the two-headed ogre wizard was slowing down significantly, and in a moment of misjudgment, it was pierced in the chest by the war spear, resulting in a five-centimeter diameter gash. The flesh at the wound was scorched by the lightning, and with a horrible howl, it suddenly abandoned its opponent, both heads began to cast spells frantically, instantly disappearing and reappearing hundreds of meters away.
The wizard’s teleportation spell; it was preparing to escape.
—“Lightning War Spear!”
The surging lightning coalesced on the war spear. The lord of storms let out an angry roar and jumped to a height of over a hundred meters. The storm lifted her figure, and she gripped the spear tightly, throwing it at the two-headed ogre in front of her. The spear soared through the sky like a bolt of lightning, moving so quickly that it surpassed human vision; one could only catch a glimpse of the flash before the next moment saw a bloody yawning hole opened in the chest of the two-headed ogre.
Thud!
The massive form of the two-headed ogre collapsed. The lord of storms slowly descended, breathing somewhat unevenly, her expression weary, with her hands appearing burnt, the skin on her arms charred black. The ogres finally scattered on a large scale, and as the two-headed ogre fell, many began to flee. The lord of storms marched forward with heavy steps, not pursuing the fleeing ogres, but instead approached the corpse of the two-headed ogre wizard. She drew a short knife from her waist and decapitated the two slightly charred heads.
Blood splattered everywhere.
She packed the two heads in a cloth bag, nodded in satisfaction, then turned to survey the battlefield.
The ogres had completely disbanded.
Cavalry chased as best they could, while many weary soldiers sat down heavily, surrounded by the cries of the wounded. Priests were using their few spells to heal; for those with severe, fatal wounds, others could do nothing but grant them a swift end. The battlefield was littered with the corpses of hundreds of ogres, and the army of White Horse City also suffered heavy losses.
Some still relatively intact soldiers drew out weapons and began to sever the ogres’ heads one by one!
This was their most important loot, as well as the most significant trophy for White Horse City. These heads and bodies would be sent back to the city, both to showcase their achievements and to intimidate surrounding enemies. The ogre heads would be preserved and hung in many places, serving as a warning in the coming days to nearby factions considering provoking White Horse City about the consequences of challenging them.
Barring any surprises.
Nearby races would definitely think twice about encroaching on the territory of White Horse City, because they must first consider whether they can defeat a powerful ogre tribe.
This battle would soon be sung by bards, and in no time, various stories would circulate within the taverns.
Of course, Soren would not be the protagonist of those stories.
Perhaps one day he can become the main character in legendary tales, but for now, he is just an inconspicuous adventurer.
A series of data emerged:
“Battle concluded!”
“You successfully assisted the army of White Horse City in defeating the Bone-Crushing Ogre Tribe! … Your skills have improved! …”
“Investigation +5, Search +5, Stealth +2, Wilderness Survival +2, Parry +2, Dodge (Roll) +1, Dodge (Evasion) +1, Listen +1, Medicine +1.”
“Due to participating in a legendary-level battle, you gained 1 point of legendary notoriety.”
…
