Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Глава 31

Chapter 31

Camrad_RIP 19.01.22 в 21:21

Sometimes, when I have nothing to do and sleep doesn't come, I ask myself a rather prosaic question - why do my plans and intentions so often go so (if not fucked up) the exact opposite of what I had in mind? Seriously, though! This tendency was noticeable even in my first world, but after moving to Alurej it has taken on a very frightening scale. It was enough to remember the end of my attempt to eat cherry pies to get a rough idea of the depths of the abyss before me.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 08:19

I would like, of course, to believe that it was just accidents multiplied by bad luck. I would even agree to believe that it was the result of my not-so-smart decisions and clinical idiocy. But something tells me that the luck characteristic missing from my status is wickedly fluid. If not to say bouncing! I do not argue with the fact that I am sometimes wildly lucky in various dangerous situations. My survival from my encounter with the Abomination's avatar was pure luck. But then why do my wishes and intentions so often turn out to be fucked up?

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 08:20

Wanted to wait out an incomprehensible thunderstorm in a creepy dungeon without going any farther than necessary to escape the rain? Take a full-fledged raid through a huge necropolis with two of the legendary monsters that lived there! I even got to speak to the second one.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 08:21

Wanted to take a walk on the first hearth of civilization you met in the new world, and still dared to relax? And get on your head a squad of elite liquidators and three fugitives, who because of his idiocy had to be dragged out of the city tightly encircled!

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 08:22

Trying to settle down in a convenient town so I could lay low and not show my face for at least a year or two? Get a full-fledged war with a goddamn cult and a legendary creature at its head! And that thing wasn't even in uniform, so it was only legendary.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 10:21

And that's how the hell it always happens!

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 10:22

Now I was just going to let the robbers kill my person, and then I was going to run off in a direction that even I didn't know. It was a great plan, really. But then I decided to adapt it a bit, to make it perfect so that the win-win scenario turned into completely unviable nonsense. All I wanted was to reduce the casualties among the representatives of the caravan, to calm my raging conscience.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 10:23

There were too many attackers - almost two hundred orcs, a swarm of goblins, and several monsters, including two ogres and some obscure gorilla (not Bigfoot). The latter was not only a rare monster but it was also possessed by some kind of dark spirit, also of a rare grade. The result was not two relatively harmless monsters for a coordinated team of adventurers, but one that could even keep me busy for a few minutes (if I'm not going easy, of course). Now imagine what would happen to a not-so-protected caravan if such a horde decided to attack us at once. The guards might be a hundred and fifty, and the caravan drivers themselves might be fighting for their lives, but the villagers fleeing Kraj would be chopped up into a vinaigrette. No, my legend would be drowned with outrageous ease, but the crowd... And mostly not at all adapted to the battles, people! So I decided to "help out a little," to eat fish and not sit on the bottle.
T.N.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 10:27

I fucking helped!

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 10:29

The first thing I did was to quietly kiss the sweetly sleeping Tarija on the forehead to wake her up. In response to an obviously perplexed look, I snuggled up to her and whispered in her ear:

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 10:28

"Orcs are preparing an ambush." And without letting her panic, I continue. "Wait here, I'll be back soon."

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 13:35

She was just beginning to open her mouth to say something platitudinous, and I was already using the steps, instantly standing beside Ygra, who was slowly approaching the enemy. Naturally, I covered my face with a mask and avoided looking at the figure of the three-meter-long Amazon. Just in case.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 13:38

My appearance made her jump up in surprise, almost falling out of concealment, but even she was smart enough not to hug me, being so close to the hostile units. That's why I can tolerate this nuisance because she's much quicker and clearer in combat than she is in the casual world. I was able to explain her plan of action in a few sentences. Now she knew who she had to kill, and how she had to kill it.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 13:42

I'll have to get her to show me her Status again because clairvoyance tells me that she's become more dangerous since the day I saw her. It's not surprising - she's gained four levels since then, and even then she was thirty-three. With parameters like that, multiplied by the racial bonuses of the swamp ogres, she was bound to get a few new tricks in her arsenal. At the very least, she was already noticeably faster than the last time we met. It was as if she'd improved her dexterity, though it was more likely that she'd gotten another species ability since she was focused on strength and endurance.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 13:45

Anyway, we reached our goal in less than a minute.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 13:45

Six shamans, including one who had reached the thirtieth level, were clearly preparing some kind of mass nastiness, related to illusions, judging by Gaze's readings. The clairvoyance immediately kicked in, confirming what the Gaze indicated - a truly powerful illusion, or rather the effect on one's mind should have knocked out a fair share of the defenders before the battle even began. It was carefully prepared and now unfolded, not created out of nothing.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 13:48

The guys had obviously been preparing for this day for weeks, and they had not skimped on reagents and sacrifices. However, they hadn't planned for me anyway, which was why it was so fucked up. For them, of course, not for us.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 13:50

My attack was rapid and powerful, though I tried to use the least shadow possible. If I wanted to, I could have covered the entire clearing with the ritual I was preparing with a huge shadowy cloth, leaving nothing but desiccated bodies behind. Yes, there are a lot of them - about twenty orcs and a shitload of goblins - but I'd finally outgrown such enemies, even if there were a lot of them.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 13:58

Alas, the simplest way turned out to be of little use and too risky for my incognito (lighting up in front of the sensors), but clairvoyance suggested the perfect way to make everything fast and cool. No, I'm not kidding, I was jealous of my ingenuity! The intrigue, of course, is not on the level of Game of Thrones, but it's still cool.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 14:00

In less than a second, I had infused the shadows of each shaman with my power, causing them to take the three-dimensional form of a humanoid shadowy silhouette, and then pierce the green-skinned witch's vital organs. No one was able to repel the attack, though everyone was protected. The spirits didn't have time to react, and those that did either didn't want to die or couldn't stop the power of the shadow energy. Only the oldest shaman survived, but I quickly realized that the silhouette was stuck in his shields, which looked like enormous translucent sea shells (where in the forests do ocean spirits come from?), layered on top of each other, and then I took action. Gain control and the shadow put all its available energy to extend a needle and pierce the mighty old man's skull, freezing his brains to smithereens. Fatality.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 14:21

What's the trick, you ask? After all, it's a banal murder, the same as the first option, only with minor changes! What's up, Kostik?

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 14:22

Kostya is not stupid, Kostya is smart! The shadows attacked everyone but the second strongest and most powerful shaman, without even trying to destroy him. But beneath his feet was a saturated and phonetic blot, subtly hinting at thick circumstances. In such tribes, especially if several tribes are working on a single goal at once, there is always a high degree of competition. And here was such a chance to get rid of the one who was stronger than you, as well as the rest of your colleagues. The clairvoyant told me for sure that this gentleman was the only shaman of his tribe, for he had wiped out all the others who could claim his position in the future long ago and surely.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 14:27

Orcs aren't very smart, but they're certainly not simple beasts, so they picked up on the connection very quickly, so quickly that they reacted immediately. They probably would have figured the situation out, especially considering that the surviving spirit caster was himself terrified of the power that had arisen beneath him. But he'd been let down by his carefully honed skills of showing no weakness and keeping a poker face. That's why the others didn't see his fear, only focus, and concentration.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 14:33

And when the arrow, shot more by accident and from nerves than from a real attempt to kill, was repelled not by his defense but by a tentacle rising from his shadow, they asked no more questions, immediately rushing into battle, eager to tear the bastard who had stained the blood of the sacred hunt. As said before, orcs aren't stupid animals, but they're not smart, either.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 14:33

As I watched the carnage, with the spirits of the dead shamans unchained, avenging the deaths of their masters or employers (depending on the contract), I could only rub my hands together in satisfaction. It was great! Not many would be left alive in the clearing, and there would be reinforcements coming from all directions.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 14:44

I teleported back into the arms of Tarija, who was quietly panicking but trying hard not to show it, and then I hugged her back and pretended to be asleep, my face against her neck. The lady is clearly floating from this display of intimacy, but I don't really care. The main thing is that no one noticed my absence.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 14:45

Now it's time for my green girl.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 14:46

The guards, among whom were full-fledged warlocks, sensed the magical emanations. They were just beginning to sound the alarm, not even sounding it at full power, but only communicating it to their colleagues, comrades, and employers. Ygra, on the other hand, did not wait, attacking the trio of the largest monsters, the shamans who controlled them, and the other forces that covered them. Two ogres, a possessed monkey, one strong shaman three weaker helpers, and many, many ordinary greenlings. Quite a force, capable of taking a well-fortified village, tearing apart a medium-sized caravan, or rattling the nerve of our group, perhaps even winning a Pyrrhic victory. And it's only one of the units that surround us, even if it's a powerful one.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 17:17

The game was very professional! The level of a bowling champion, I'm telling you, if not an honored one. Getting close to the guarded shamans was problematic, even for a masterfully concealed ogre, especially for her size. She didn't have my level of stealth, and the swamp wasn't her kind to pull off such miracles. But a huge log, left in the forest by someone (some drunken woodcutter had knocked down a tree and even managed to chop off the branches before he sobered up, and this was no joke - clairvoyance would not lie), made a beautiful parabola and crashed straight into the shamans who had not expected such a trap. The guards were few inadvertently struck, for the trajectory of the fall was overhanging, avoiding the more tenacious and armored orcs on top, but the shamans got theirs. All four of them.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 17:21

Two of them were killed instantly - their defenses simply weren't designed for that kind of damage, even if they had. The older shaman, however, was more cautious. Just before the attack, a bear-mouth emerged out of thin air to cover the shaman, and then it simply chewed out the middle of the log, wiping it from reality. The two halves of the projectile were still gathering their bloody harvest when the shaman, with an unnaturally swift movement, turned toward his intended adversary, already preparing some nasty shit.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 17:31

Instead of the nasty shit came a huge boulder, launched not much weaker than a cannonball, literally demolishing both the senior shaman and the underdog hiding behind him. This would be a good place to say "strike," but Ygra simply does not know such terms.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 17:31

It's hard to keep track of the situation with a sphere, but I'm still good enough to notice my personal monster's transition to a full-fledged attack. The blow to the bewildered-looking ogre was frightening: a fractured spine, followed by a crushed skull that left no chance even for the regenerating and very survivable creature. She managed to get back into the stealth, went behind the back of the other, who had just begun to understand the depths of his ass, jumped on his shoulders, and, with her neck between his legs, ripped his head off. She has a morbid fondness for tearing the head off, it must be noted.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 17:59

After that, her opponent was a far more intelligent possessed creature, capable of competing even with an epic monster by virtue of its dual nature. Especially since the levels of both inhabitants of this body exceeded the thirtieth. It could have been a serious problem for it if the spirit that possessed the monster had been dark. I learned firsthand the power of the swamp ogre's resistance to dark magic.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 18:16

Much more trouble was caused by the rest of the orcs and goblins, eager to kill the incomprehensible and huge green girl, in whom it was almost impossible to recognize an ogre. It was the hard hide that saved her, almost unresponsive to simple attacks. The ones that did pierce the seemingly soft and silky green skin caused only barely noticeable scratches to the target which managed to heal before the mangled body of the attacker fell back to the ground.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 18:19

She could have been felled and kicked by the crowd, especially with a possessed creature: orcs certainly couldn't stop this juggernaut, let alone goblins, but they could slow it down and restrain it at the cost of their lives. Fortunately, it didn't come to that, for my next argument made its move.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 18:33

There was already a silent panic and a red alarm in the camp, after which both Tariya and I crawled under the wheels of our wagon. Of course, I could have participated in the battle, for my alchemist class meant a level higher than ten, and I could have thrown vials from behind the backs. It would have even helped me to stage a colorful death during the battle, maybe even with heroic self-sacrifice, but I was, alas, busy saving my possessions. One that's as big and green and dumb as the logs she tosses around.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 18:35

I didn't want to help myself - it would be too easy to lose a good chance of setting up my death, but I couldn't help the ogre that was doing my bidding, either. I had to use my Shadow Summoning skill, which had grown considerably from the avatar of the dead creature. The Shadow Summoning, which I hadn't intended to touch until I'd experimentally verified its safety. I was going to experiment with combat, for Ygra was beginning to lose.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 18:45

I wasn't going to summon a strong entity - a healthy risk and daring dementia are two different things. I had enough small creatures, and now I could summon them more than one at a time. Tarija flinched when I sent the first call straight to the Shadow. She huddled too close to me (almost without fear, reasonably assuming I could protect her, but taking full advantage of the opportunity to press every bulge into me) and was able to sense the distant echo of the magic I was doing.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 18:46

I did not manifest the Shadows into reality, only constrained their will, forcing them to move in the direction of the passing battle, at the same time fueling them with my power so that they would get there faster. They covered four hundred meters in a dozen seconds, like cool-as-hell athletes, only intangible.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 18:57

Keeping such a crowd under control was a little difficult, especially when they smelled blood and death, which gave them a surge of strength even while in the Shadows. It was a good thing I'd stopped after summoning the seven lowest shadows, though I felt I could make it a tenth. I knew I had to leave a gap for the last resort.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 19:03

The shadow attack was swift, efficient, and cryptic, like the ghost of an undead loan shark. They got a dose of energy from me and a commanding kick to the real world and immediately began to fight and kill. And they even had the brains, or whatever was replacing them, to follow a simple directive - to attack those they could kill quickly.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 19:03

The goblins began to die, as their characteristics were extremely low for long-term survival in the cold and tenacious embrace of the Shadows. The pair had managed to get greedy and attack the orcs at once, and not the weakest, but if the first of them had managed to seep straight into the enemy's ear, drinking the life out of their puny brains, the second Shadow had disemboweled me with a swing of the enchanted dagger, causing a brief flare of headache. Don't fuck with the chieftain, because!

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 19:05

The shadows were furious.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 19:05

The shadows were rushing into battle.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 19:06

The shadows thirsted for blood and torment.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 19:06

The shadows were hungry.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 19:19

With each kill, they grew stronger and stronger. Fortunately, it was only possible to move quickly from the lowest Shadow rank at the expense of a single kill. A couple of minutes wasn't enough time to take the next rank in the Shadow Hierarchy, or the situation could get out of hand. It was already spiraling out from under him, for the Shadows were growing more and more furious, hungry for more and more. But they still feared me, still dared not disobey me.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 19:20

Maybe if I had risked trying to call them all off at once, the situation would have changed and I would have been, figuratively speaking, sent away, but now I could give them orders. Even if my orders were limited to directing the attack and general coordination. And the power flowed into me through the threads that bound us together, a payment for the lives I'd devoured. Even faster than it went to support the summons, and I was filling up the reserve at a steady pace.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 19:36

Since I'm filling, why not spend it on something useful, right? Keeping the creatures in check is hard enough to control shadows, but my concentration was enough to pierce a shadow peg through the foot of a possessed monster, under the cover of a crowd of orcs who could restrain Ygra. And a brief moment of disorientation was enough for Ygra, weary from the attacks of black smoke of magic nature and constant regeneration, to rip out the creature's lower jaw, and then its heart, and straight through its mouth. A rugged girl, as if from Chelyabinsk or, say, Texas itself.
T.N.

Camrad_RIP 20.01.22 в 19:38