The radio communications from the front line crushed their hopes within seconds.
[Incoming Giant charge. All hands to the lines, prepare to repel.] They were ordering.
That meant that not only had they made it past the artillery, they had made it past the first line of defenders, and the camp itself was on defence.
[Estimated arrival ten minutes.] The voice announced.
Karl looked at the passengers on his bus.
“Morgana, can you look after things here with the others? I need to go see a guy about a thing.” He asked, casually, knowing only those in the front few rows would have heard the radio broadcast if they were awake.
“Seriously?” Morgana asked.
“I can make it there in ten minutes. The bus cannot.” Karl replied.
“Do you think that one Commander will be the difference?” Morgana asked.
“For someone it will.”
Morgana sighed and made a shooing gesture. Karl grabbed his pack, then opened the door and jumped out of the moving bus. From the bus behind him, Ophelia and Bob Mackenzie jumped out as well, with Ophelia already transformed into Werebear form before she hit the ground running.
Nobody else on either bus was likely to be able to keep up with them, not even Thor, who was quick, but not fast enough for this mad rush down the road. Like the other beasts, he would join them when they reached the battle.
As they topped the next hill, Karl gave directions to the team. “Thor, stay in behind our front-line offensive, you’re watching our backs until the clerics get to us. Rae will put the Golems on our flanks. I can see the Giants from here, and we’re off to the side of the main line. The bus will come in on our left by about a kilometre.
We will hit the side of the Hill Giant lines and push inward as they crash into the defenders. Make it fast and keep moving. There are enough fighters on both sides that wounding and crippling is as effective as outright killing. Someone will get to them, we just need to lighten the blow on the students.”
Bob frowned. “Are they hitting the students portion of the line?”
Karl nodded. “From what I can tell, yes. They’re aimed right at them, and it looks like they’ve focused their forces to avoid whoever is covering the sections further away.”
They were all breathing heavily as they ran past the shocked front lines of the Academy students, who had prepared a pike wall to block the Giants while the mages were beginning to rain spells on them.
“Remi, Let’s see how the Hill Giants like a good Blizzard.” Karl shouted, so the others would know that it was on their team.
Blinding snow filled the air, and Karl turned the group into the end of the Hill Giant lines as he called the beasts out.
The Hill Giants were stronger than the Frost Giants, and over half the group in front of him was either a strong Ascended or a low Commander Rank monster. But Karl had been thinking about his past mistakes, and he knew what he needed to do now.
{10 Points spent} [Brutality] increases the size and strength of the target beast by 10 percent per Rank (40 percent for Commander)
{20 Points Spent} [Shatter] physical strikes cause vibrations through the opponent’s body that damage organs and may break bones.
{20 Points Spent} [Crushing Blows] Blunt impact skills increase in damage by 10 percent per Rank. (Effective on damage caused by Shatter). (40 percent at Commander)
{1 Point remaining}
[Tier 4 Attack Skills Unlocked]
Forty percent larger, Thor was a true monster among Cerro, standing chest high to a Hill Giant, and the increased size of the Spider Golems made them look much more intimidating. But more interestingly, [Brutality] had affected Ophelia in Werebear form.
It seemed to be judging by height, and not total mass, as she had gone from just over two metres tall to a solid three metres, and her axes looked tiny in her hands for a moment before they adjusted, as bonded weapons naturally matched their wielder.
The first strikes of the Spider Golems’ forelegs sent ripples across their targets’ bodies, and the pair of Ascended Rank Hill Giants spat blood as their rib cage seemed to collapse. That must be the effect of [Shatter], Karl decided.
That was verified when his Maul hit his Commander Rank target, and the giant folded like laundry in the wind, slammed to the ground by the strike. The Giants had no time to respond, they were still being attacked from the front, and their momentum was carrying them toward the line as they tried to turn to face the surprise attack.
A rain of Hill Giant spears and magical stones slammed into the [Refreshing Lightning] barriers through the snow, while dozens more missed them to dig into the soft soil, creating a tripping hazard for anyone moving across this area.
But Karl was already pushing forward with the others at his shoulders, and the Spider Golems were rampaging through the Hill Giants, while Rae darted in and out of their formation, targeting Giants who tried to get around to come at them from the back.
With Thor focusing on defence, and Remi’s Blizzard and Chain Lightning slowing their opponents, who were already under assault by the defending mages, they were making quick progress across the back lines of the Hill Giant assault.
For a moment, it looked like an easy clear, and then Karl saw a target much larger than the others, the leader of the assault, and most likely a Royal Rank target.
“Don’t do it.” He heard Bob shouting, but Karl was already moving.
With the whole herd on his side, this battle would end differently than the last one, he was certain of it.
The Hill Giant waved his hand, and the ground seemed to explode under Karl as he leapt into the air to avoid the attack. He closed his eyes, keeping the dirt out, and giving him a clear vision of the moment that the Hill Giant turned and fled, leaving a bodyguard squad of Commander Rank giants in front of Karl and the others.
“Bloody coward.” Karl muttered as he parried an overhand chop by the closest of the bodyguards.
The group’s progress had been brought to a halt by the concerted efforts of the Hill Giants, who were turning around to join the fight, making it obvious that they were preventing the human assassins from going after their retreating leader.
From the line, a shrill bugle sounded, sounding so much like Thor that for a moment, Karl thought they had a Cerro there as well. But it was a brass bugle, and the signal to advance, now that the charge had been halted by the ranged Elites.
The Hill Giants turned and ran, disengaging to avoid needless casualties, and Karl stopped his advance when Bob put a hand on his shoulder.
“It’s over, you did good.” The warrior reminded him.
That brought both Karl and Ophelia out of their battle fog, and the Berserker shrunk down to normal size as she let go of her rage, though she didn’t transform back.
[Oh, that’s neat. She only gets affected when she’s raging. She isn’t beast enough when she’s not.] Hawk noted from above them.
Rae and Hawk returned to their spaces as the other Elites from the Academy approached, and Karl let Thor shrink back to normal. He was too big to have his head properly patted at his enhanced size.
Tank came up and pulled first Ophelia and then Karl into a hug before gently rubbing the back of Thor’s head ridge, which caused the Cerro to make a happy hum.
“Good to see you. When did your team get here?” The big berserker asked.
“Just now. The rest of the team is still on the bus with the clerics. We were the only ones who could run fast enough to make it to the battle on time.” Karl smiled, then realized that Giant blood was dripping in his mouth from the splatters that had hit his face.
[Flaming Body] burned him clean again as Tank looked around in satisfaction.
“Well, it was good timing. I can’t believe the attack leader took off like that, they’re normally as single-minded as a Berserker.”
Karl nodded. “I was surprised as well. But if they gave up this easily, they’ve likely got another attack lined up, and they just wanted to know our strength, as this group is unfamiliar to them.”
