The monster reached back to grab him. Richter let go of his lower weapon and rotated his body to the side. Its claws gouged furrows in its own back, but it missed the chaos seed. Richter’s finger wove in a specific configuration, and he spat a word of Power. Flames shot from his hand and into the troll’s questing one. The monster shrieked in anger and yanked its claw away. The chaos seed thanked his lucky stars that the myths about trolls hating flame seemed to be true.
Richter wasted no more time. He pulled his dagger from his belt. He used his short sword as an anchor and pulled himself up again, before plunging his dagger into the troll’s shoulder. He let go of his second short sword and reached into his bag. Praying for a better result this time, the chaos seed whipped the Quicksilver Collar of Submission around the troll’s neck. The two ends of the collar quested for one another, driven to fulfill its purpose of dominating another creature’s will. The silvery metal moved around the monster’s neck… and clicked into place!
The troll went ballistic. Richter was shaken free from his precarious perch, not even noticing the ghostly silver ring that appeared on his thumb. Within a second, it solidified into a plain quicksilver band. The chaos seed fell to the ground, barely keeping his feet. The troll immediately reached for him, bellowing in anger. With the claws scant feet from his face, he flung one arm out and shouted, “Stop!”
The mountain troll froze. A cold sensation on Richter’s left hand made him glance down and see the ethereal ring for the first time, but his gaze shot right back up to the monster. Richter wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but it what happened next was shocking. It screamed. It wasn’t a bellow, a yell, or even a roar. It screamed in pure and utter agony!
The high pitch noise escaping monster’s throat was bone chilling. It began to tear at its own flesh while two opposing magics used its body as a battleground. Though the monster’s claws came near its own neck, a magical field sprung up around the collars protecting them from the enslaved creature. Both collars, one of fluid silver and the other of green-steel, began to glow red and sparks shot between them. Richter felt like he was watching a battle in space!
The chaos seed’s identification Talent went into overdrive. The durability on both collars plummeted. Richter couldn’t even be sure which collar was winning, the numbers fell so quickly. Within seconds, though, the trollium necklace broke off and fell to the ground. The sudden magical feedback in the collar caused the accompanying ring to explode. One of the troll mercenaries fell to the ground with a scream of his own as his hand exploded and his arm was engulfed in flame.
Richter smiled at the sound. Should have paid for the quicksilver model, asshole! His soldiers looked at the mountain troll in trepidation, but they relaxed after he shouted, “Bend down!” and the mountain troll did as it was told. The chaos seed smiled as he retrieved his weapons from its body. He looked around at his fighters and shouted, “Well, get back in there! We’ve got a battle to win, don’t we?” They cheered and dove back at the goblins and trolls with a vengeance.
An enemy Champion has been converted! -100 Fighting Spirit for enemy forces for the duration of the battle! +50 Fighting Spirit for allied forces for the duration of the battle!
The prompt was auto-minimized to the side due to Richter being in battle, but his soldiers’ response was proof of its truth.
“Fight for Lord Richter! Lord Richter and the Mist Village!
CHAPTER 40 – Day 141 – Kuborn 31, 15,386 EBG
Richter cast Minor Slow Heal on the mountain troll. The damage it had taken as the collars warred for dominance was prodigious. It was true that it could heal on its own, but he needed it at fighting strength immediately. There was still a battle to be won. The chaos seed looked to the left, intending to send the troll to fight the Druid’s pet, but was incredibly pleased to see that the battle was not going as badly as he thought. The decaemur knight had entered the field of battle.
The undead creature’s broadsword was sticking out of the cat’s shoulder. Blood flowed freely from the wound, but the panther was barely slowed. The knight currently had both hands on the sides of the cat’s mouth. The cat was straining forward to rend the decaemur with its jaws, and the knight was slowly being forced back, but they were more or less at a stalemate, at least for the moment. Arrows stuck out of the panther’s fur, but they had little to no effect.
Just like the troll, the panther had moved well behind the front line. Richter’s forces had been able to reform a cohesive defense, centered around Yoshi and Caulder, but that left precious few guards to keep fighting the cat. Richter watched, confused for a moment because something was missing. Then a broad grin crossed his face. His own pet had arrived!
The shale adder, perfectly matching the grass it had slithered through, shot up from right beneath the panther. The snake had moved unseen through the cat’s own legs! Richter’s tamed creature latched its six-inch fangs onto the cat’s neck and yanked for all it was worth. The decaemur knight tightened its grip on the panther’s mouth and pulled at the same time. The Druid’s pet crashed to the ground, and the adder started wrapping its body around the panther’s neck, choking off its air supply. That was all Alma had been waiting for. She descended from where she had been hovering, and a golden glow surrounded her body. A few seconds later, she finished casting Summon Weak Gold Fox. A golden disc disgorged the Life creature, and Alma latched onto the cat’s head, committing to her special attack!
Richter sent his now enslaved mountain troll to wreak havoc among its more “civilized” brethren. The monster knocked down several guardsmen as it rushed to fulfill his order. None of them seemed too hurt, but one gnome vomited from having the wind knocked out of him. The chaos seed made a mental note to send the guard a fruit basket when they got back, but he couldn’t help but grin savagely as the troll attacked its former masters.
The sprites were continuing to rain death on the rear ranks of the goblins. If not for the spider traps bottlenecking the enemy, the allied forces might have been overrun, but the courage of the Mist Village soldiers was felt by the goblins in every sword swing and mace blow. The third attack wave of the goblins had failed! The allied forces had paid a heavy price, but hundreds of goblins lay dead and dying, and their bodies had even created a fleshy bulwark in front of Richter’s people in places. The two armies had to climb over the dead to continue their fight in places, and the victors stood high while the losers rolled to the bottom like so much trash.
The mountain troll was exacting a heavy toll from its former masters. The trolls were almost completely wiped out, and even the panther was almost conquered! The cat had gotten back to its feet, but each of its breaths was a hacking wheeze as it strangled to death. No surprise seeing as how twenty feet of adder was wrapped around its neck and body. Richter indulged in a moment of smug superiority. Buffed or not, the panther still needed air, and his own tamed pet was proving its match. The chaos seed had a feeling the Druid would regret sending his pet so deep into enemy territory!