Cavalry Charge was one the most powerful attacks available in the age of cold weapons. With it, a Grade 2 knight could even kill a Grade 4 warrior, provided the strike landed perfectly. Even warriors who had reached the Realm of Legends would suffer great damage if they were not wearing Rare-grade armor; a hole in their bodies would be inevitable in that case. Whether or not they could survive then depended on where the strike landed, and it was of course pretty much impossible to survive if the strike hit one's heart. No one was reckless enough to intentionally take on a cavalry charge when Grade 3 knights using it could even open up massive holes on dragons.
Given how powerful it was, Cavalry Charge was one of the hardest skills to obtain. It required around five abilities as prerequisites, and it was heavily reliant on the user's proficiency in using lances, how good the warhorse was, and how well the user could control his steed. With just one mistake, the horseman would suffer severe backlash. Getting flung off one's horse was lucky compared to the possibility of simply snapping your neck and dying.
The Whiterun cavalry charge was, as expected, considerably successful. Admittedly, five of the horsemen were flung off their horses, and two of them died, while the other three were injured and had to retreat. However, the damage they had dealt to the ogres was enormous. All the ogres who were struck either died immediately or received grave wounds, making them unable to fight any longer. Five casualties for killing fifty ogres was a numerically great success.
A third of the ogre horde had died by this point, with most of them having been killed during their initial charge and by the cavalry charge not long before. As their numbers decreased, the pressure on the first line of defense also lessened. The light infantry had already expended most of their ammunition, thus they unsheathed their swords and engaged in melee combat.
Of course, the Whiterun army had also received considerable casualties. At least a hundred were dead, and many more were seriously injured. Even though the light infantry kept firing their crossbows so long as they had bolts, the ogres simply pulled out the projectiles and continued fighting as long as they were not struck at critical points.
Somewhere on the battlefield, the two-headed ogre had already destroyed three golems. It then launched a fireball at the cavalry squad, sending a dozen of them flying. One of the knights hid behind his steed, which soon exploded into chunks of meat, and barely survived, but the corpse of his warhorse crushed his arm and probably fractured a few bones.
A moment later, a war spear struck the ground, followed by a human silhouette. The stormlord picked up her weapon and struck the two-headed ogre. It blocked the stormlord's attack with its war axe, which immediately chipped and cracked after receiving the full brunt of the war spear’s might. The ogre’s left head frowned, and it swung its axe at the enemy with its left arm, while the right head started to chant a spell. In just a second, it had finished casting the spell, and the right arm also picked up an axe and swung it horizontally.
Clung! Clang!
The stormlord danced around with her war spear violently clashing against the two-headed ogre's axes. Every time she blocked, she had to take a step back, her face full of rage. The ogre's Strength was apparently higher than hers.
After trading a barrage of blows in quick succession, the female stormlord had already taken over ten steps back. Her hands slightly trembled. She was not in good shape, but her opponent was in a similar condition. Arcs of lightning danced around the ogre’s body and the twin axes, dealing continuous damage.
A magical glow suddenly covered the two-headed ogre's body. An ogre shaman swung its staff and cast a buff on its chief, then proceeded to cast another spell. Lightning sparkled around the shaman.
—Call Lightning!
It was an area-of-effect spell, thus it also damaged other ogres, but they merely shuddered for a split second, then continued swinging their weapons as if nothing had happened. However, things were different for the human soldiers who wore metal armor. They were extremely susceptible to lightning attacks. Six or so human soldiers dropped to the ground, paralyzed and shocked by the spell.
—Resist Elements.
Human wizards and priests continued to cast spells to support their allies and deal damage to the enemies. Another barrage of elemental arrows shot through the air toward the ogres. Due to the fact that friendly fire was possible when using area-of-effect spells, wizards rarely memorized large-scale attack spells. One third of their spell slots were spent on self-protection spells, another third was filled with crowd control and buff spells, and the remaining third contained the damage-dealing spells. A wizard who only memorized damage-dealing spells would surely be the first to die on the battlefield; there were simply too many enemies for one person’s attacks to handle. The moment a group of ogres died from a fireball, more would fill the space.
They were burning through their reservoir of spells. Most Grade 2 wizards had already expended over half of their stored spells. Even though they were over Level 10, their number of Level 3 or above spell slots was still rather limited. Their spells were extremely deadly when fighting in small groups or in one-versus-one situations, but there were plenty of ogres on the battlefield right now. The wizards additionally had to save a few spells to handle sudden situations.
The fight between the leaders of both camps raged on. After retreating for the fifteenth step, the stormlord suddenly growled, her eyes burning with fury. Muscles all over her body began to swell, and her bones starting to extend and click into new places. All of a sudden, she grew taller and brawnier, reaching 2.2 meters in height. Perhaps because she was female, her muscles did not look too monstrous, but she still gave off a powerful vibe.
Barbarian?
Soran had never considered that she might have advanced into Stormlord from Barbarian.
As she roared, she blocked the two-headed ogre's attack head-on. She then twisted her spear and sliced the monster's chest. Though it had cast a defensive barrier and Stoneskin beforehand, both shattered with just one attack.
The Legendary stormlord's body was surrounded by lightning, and a black raincloud had appeared out of nowhere.
Boom!
The sound of thunder shook the ground, causing both man and monster to shudder in fear for a second.
The stormlord's eyes were bloodshot. The adrenaline from the battle and slaughter made her to feel more excited than ever. Lightning Storm, a type of chaotic energy, further enhanced her berserking state; her state of mind was becoming more and more affected. Every human soldier near her started to retreat, keeping at least fifty meters between them and the berserking stormlord. When a Legendary stormlord went berserk and lost her mind, anyone, including allies, might be harmed by her might.
"I shall behead you!"
The stormlord took heavy steps as she strode forward, lightning flickering around her. With her body enshrouded in lightning, her dark silhouette looked almost as though it was the personification of a severe storm.
"Your head shall become my spoils of war. I shall preserve it well and hang it in my room!"
The two-headed ogre growled in response and buffed itself with a spell. Its eyes then also became bloodshot as its body swelled.
"The descendant of a dragon slayer fears no one! I will kill you! Consuming your flesh will bring me great power!"
—Feral Bloodlust.
The two-headed ogre gave off an even more fearsome atmosphere after activating the skill. As using Feral Bloodlust was similar to berserking, the user's state of mind would also be affected. Despite becoming significantly stronger in melee combat, the user could not cast any spells when the skill was active.
The stormlord was a professional who had reached the Realm of Legends, but the two-headed ogre was also a Legendary-grade monster. While it normally had powerful casting abilities, it was also a fury warrior who was proficient in melee combat.
On the other side of the battlefield, golems were supporting the flanks while light infantry spread out and battled the ogres. As the two forces clashed, the number of casualties was bound to increase, and the adventurers were no exception.
A ranger right next to Soran was smashed into minced meat by an ogre. Soran and Yarse stood back to back as they evaded and countered the ogres’ attacks using their agility. They had already taken out five or six ogres, and Soran had received almost 3000 Slaughter EXP for them.
The duo could have killed even more ogres, but they did not want to show too much of their strength by any means. If the ogres deemed the pair dangerous, they would team up to kill the two half-elves. They could handle ogres easily when in a two-versus-one situation, but it would become much more dangerous if their numbers were equal. The dead sword saint was a good example of what would happen to them if they started recklessly slaughtering the ogres.
Winning the battle was not important, at least for Soran. The one who should be concerned about the battle's outcome was Whiterun's commander, not a mercenary like him. He was simply getting paid to fight, and his own objective was to hunt as many ogres as he could in relative safety. From time to time, there were adventurers who aided the light infantry when it looked like they were about to collapse, but Yarse and Soran did not do so. They simply stayed on the flanks, with Soran taking on the ogres while Yarse provided support with his sword and bow.
The two both mostly aimed for the ogres' legs. It was almost impossible to quickly kill an ogre, even with a critical hit, given their tough skin and the fact that they wore leather armor. Slicing their legs and making them tumble, then killing them after they were immobilized was the safest way to go about things.
Even with the care they took though, the duo’s great chemistry must have been obvious. An ogre officer suddenly charged at them with eyes full of blood. A berserking ogre officer had marked them as its targets!
(Name: Two-headed Ogre Wizard Grol
Profession: Level 8 Two-headed Ogre/Level 11 Wizard/Level 4 Fury Warrior
Attributes: Strength 24 (Draconic Strength +6), Dexterity 16 (Grace +4), Constitution 20, Intelligence 21, Wisdom 9, Charisma 14.)
* * *
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*[Long Taos]: side characters in Chinese operas who perform acrobatics and fight scenes
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