Chereads / Asd: A Werelion's Journey To Arcane Supremacy / Chapter 54 - Conflict: Bug-Bears

Chapter 54 - Conflict: Bug-Bears

Asd ran out of the tent with professor Mona in tow, and just in time too as an eight-foot monstrosity covered in bone armor, and wielding a massive stone axe smashed it through the tent, with Hansel and Gretel barely making their way out of it. Asd didn't have time to properly access the situation, their lives were on the line and in a situation like this the only thing he could do was act. He lowered his center of gravity as he ran towards the Bug-Bear. The creature seemed more like an overgrown goblin, with tapered ears not unlike the elves, but more similar to goblins, tusks jutting out from underneath their jaws like orcs, and a layer of brown fur that spread all over their body.

Asd crashed into the Bug-bear, raising the body of the monster high into the air before he brought it crashing down onto the remains of his tent, the force behind the takedown so powerful that the bone armor on the bug-bears body cracked and made a small crater in the earth. But it was not over yet as Asd felt the monster moving its massive arms, still holding onto to its massive stone axe. He removed his arms from around the bugbear and smashed a punch upwards, rocking the jaw of the bear like goblin and causing it to become daze. Claws slid out of his hands as he stabbed them upwards at the base of the Bugbear's jaw and top of the throat. He grabbed on tightly and then he pulled back, taking its jaw and much of the throat along with him.

Red blood spurted into the air as the monster seemed to choke on its own blood, but Asd was already moving, turning just in time to see a fireball six feet in diameter fly across the camp to smash into a cluster of Bugbears that had just made their way past the tree line. The satyrs were huddle around Professor Mona, the moon elf responsible for the fireball as she fired spells after spell to keep them safe whilst also slowly retreating back to the airship. Many of the crewmen were dead and others were currently engaged in deadly combat with the bugbears, and it seemed there was an endless stream of them rushing out from the forest. They needed help, and Asd wasn't one to run away from conflict, especially not when it seems he could actually defeat the opponents with ease.

He ran forwards, spying a Rifle lying precarious on the ground, still held in the ripped of arm of a very dead sailor that was hacked to pieces a few steps away. He rushed forwards, the rifle being just 8 meters away, but at least three meters close to the nearest bug-bear that had happily set its sight on Asd, a giant meat cleaver similar made of well-shaped and sharpened stone held in its hands. It let out a defiant roar as it ran towards the rapidly approaching Asd, swinging the massive cleaver as Asd drew close in an attempt to separate him from the waist.

Asd went down into a baseball slid, the clearing having a smattering of dead leaves and loose earth that helped with his traction, not to mention the blood that had already soaked the earth, making everything pretty much slick and wet. The stone cleaver went over his head, carrying with an incredibly force that even ruffled the hair on Asd's face. But his focus was unbroken as he grabbed the rifle and went sliding some little ways forwards and taking aim at another Bug-bear in front of him and pulling the trigger just as his momentum came to an end, completely arrested by the recoil of the rifle/

*Bang! *

A headshot that toppled the eight-foot-tall monstrosity, but before it could even fall to the ground, Asd turned to face the other bug-bear who had put too much force in its swing and had its stone cleaver fly out of its hands and straight towards the forest where it slashed halfway into a tree, leaving the monster dumfounded and confused, not entirely sure how its own weapon had flown out of its hands.

*Bang! *

Another squeeze of the trigger had put it out of its misery. Asd didn't think it had the brain capacity necessary to contemplate the theory behind momentum and inertia or whatever law of physics that governed force. He ducked as his sharp sense of hearing warned him of a leaping Bug-bear, the rifle pointed upwards as he squeezed the trigger, a loud bang resounding by his ears and leaving him disoriented for a few seconds just a bullet tore a hole through the midriff of the bugbear that had went airborne above Asd. He stumbled back to his feet, his ear ringing and his sense of equilibrium out of alignment. It was just the proper amount of distraction a bugbear with a club needed, and it was an opportunity it happily took and made the best of as the club smashed into Asd's sternum, sending him flying back and then crashing down into the lake with a big splash.

It hurt, it hurt a lot, however it didn't hurt as much as it was supposed to. But it was still going to take Asd a few seconds to catch his breath, seconds that the bugbear dint seem willing to give as it rushed towards Asd, aiming to swing its club down on the head of the Last Werelion. A lance of purple and red runes flashed across the sky and took off the arm and half the right torso of the bugbear, prompting a loud bray of pain. They sounded like goats or donkeys, but the pained filled voice was nothing but music to Asd's ears as he surged upwards his clawed hand angled upwards and ready as he dug a bloody furrow through the bone armor and flesh to the bugbear, splitting it open and spilling out its blood and innards into the lake below, turning it even more bloody than it already was.

"RETREAT! RETREAT BACK TO SHIP! "

The voice of Boris rang out loud and clear through the clearing, Asd spared a glance for the airship and noticed that it's engines were already starting, and Professor Mona and satyrs were already on deck. The wind whipped leaves and sediments of dust through the clearings as what was left of the crew abandoned their current battles to rush towards the ship. But there were too many bugbears and they would be run and cut down before they could even make it to the ship, and stupidly enough there was nobody manning the ships defenses, the Ballistae on deck just sat there with no one doing anything to help. Asd growled out in anger as he ran out of the lake, slashing his claw forwards as he took off the head of another bugbear that had its back turned to him, the he picked up the rifle he had dropped after he was hit, ignoring the twinge and tightness in his chest he turned around and leveled it on the rapidly approaching crewmen and the monsters hot on their trail.

*Bang! *

The rifle was an old standard issue Mana weapon, its ammunition was Asd's own mana, amplified ad shaped by a core and smattering of runes within the weapon itself. However, it need at least two or three seconds to charge after each shot, giving Asd ample time to aim, but also enough time for the Bugbears to catch up. But his shooting was rapid, his aim steady and his focus tight. Until the academy Asd never had any training with swords, but in the Ramses noble household it was a rule of law that all of their slaves had at least basic marksmanship training and were at least familiar with guns in the case of an attack or conflict with any other noble house. The Ramses viscount had quite a few enemies and rivals, not to mention much of the territory were plagued by brigands and highwaymen.

*Bang! *

His vison was sharper than most so almost all of his shots were headshots. But even then it still wasn't enough as quite a few of the crew were still cut down. The few that he had been able to save had already went past him, but at this point the airship was already lifting off the ground so it was too late. Another fireball flew over his head and landed right on top another sailor who at this point had quite a cluster of bugbears around him. There was an explosion of flame and magic and the wild winds of the storm overhead seemed to whip the fire into more of a frenzy as it rose high into the sky like an unstoppable pillar. It was an awe inspiring display of magic.

"Asd! If you don't get your furry ass on this Airship now, we be leaving ye ass behind!" Boris's loud and frantic screams rang out across the clearing as Asd turned around, shocked to find that the airship was already 10 meters off the ground and only had a rope ladder left that was just three fight in height and rising. He was out of time, he broke into a sprint, the earth beneath his feet cracking as his heart began to beat frantically in his chest. 'They were going to leave him behind' the though lanced through like a strike of lightning as his only hope of escape went high and higher away out of his reach. By the time he got close enough the rope ladder was already twenty feet in the air. So Asd gathered all of the mana in his body, took one giant stride as he took a deep breath…. And then he jumped hoping that he could reach it.