Stuck As A Dungeon Mob

If things had gone according to plan, the lizardmen would have successfully entered the cavern and the orcs could be useful then. Fending off countless tentacles of the beast within the closed environment was a piece of cake for the skilled barbarians.

In the open waters it was a different story. They didn't even have a boat!

<"We can't stay back!"> One of the elite orcs shouted. How could they miss this fight?

<"You simpleton! You can't beat that!"> Sharog chastised angrily. She was about to bash the orc with her staff in her fit but stopped herself mid-action. Something was approaching!

From beneath the deep and turbulent water… Came out a couple of heads!

...Attached to bodies, to lizardmen bodies to be exact.

"Ah, you guys are the tribes people!" Yoashk exclaimed, A had taken a backseat by now. As the main assistant to Var Agus, Yoashk was well acquainted with all individuals that populated the marsh.

More and more lizardmen emerged from underneath the water.

"What were you all doing underwater?" Yoashk asked feeling a bit perplexed. The fight was behind them so why were these lizardmen here and hiding underwater at that.

"Well, the waves up here make it hard to make progress!" One of the lizardmen leaders that chose to flee informed Yoashk as he was buffeted by one such wave.

The lizardmen were adept swimmers, going underwater where the water was calmer was a much better idea. Of course, it was only calmer in comparison. The currents formed by the oppressive current weren't anything to scuff at.

"Make progress? You guys are fleeing then, right?!" Yoashk exclaimed having landed at a conclusion. What could they be making progress towards if not the cavern?

"We- We are not fleeing!" A lizardman warrior from amongst the fleeing crowd shouted.

"We are prioritizing…" He added meekly. For the good of the race some of them had to survive then right? That being the case, they weren't really fleeing as much as prioritizing the continuation of their species.

Yoashk was left a bit speechless by the shameless addition but offered no comment.

He instead allowed a drinking friend of Reid, an orc, to translate for the orcs and have them assess the situation. As for A's thoughts, he had none on the matter.

'Having some flee was a rational decision' The continuation of the species might sound like a joke but it really wasn't the wrong approach. In a situation where there was certain death there had to be some priorities.

'What was the saying…' If A remembered correctly a certain movie had a line that went something along the lines of the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Sharog who also understood this principle as a leader of Sanctuary did not think badly of the fleeing lizardmen. It could also be seen that some of them had wished to stay behind but the ships had already been filled to capacity, more staying would be needless sacrifices.

<"...You all escort them back to the cavern, I'll go ahead and try to help out with Dakgu"> Sharog said with some apprehensions. She didn't want to put the life of  Dakgu at risk but there wasn't another option.

<"Hey! I didn't come here for nothing!"> Shel said angrily. She had been stuck in the forge for so long and now she was being deprived of a fight! How could she tolerate this?!

But after another distant flash from what appeared to be an explosion everyone was reminded that it wasn't the time to mess around. The orcs quickly rearranged themselves according to Sharog's instructions and the same went for some lizardmen.

"We will go too" The divine blood warriors that had escorted Ed's main body were unwilling to escort back the fleeing members. They had a duty to protect Ed but they similarly had a duty to protect Var Agus who was undoubtedly a treasured individual of their race.

Just like that, the orcs who were eager for a fight were forced to retreat except for Dakgu and Sharog. The orcs left dejectedly unlike the fleeing lizardmen who were happy for the additional protection.

Without further ado, Sharog cast a spell to hasten their speed and the small group of left rapidly towards the battlefield.

***

A moment earlier in the battlefield, Var Agus' dive was intercepted by a plethora of bloody tentacles.

"AAAH!!!" With a loud shout Var Agus held onto the dragon's neck with one hand and swung down his lightning streaked spear with the other sending out a frightening shockwave.

The bloody tentacles were electrocuted out of commission creating a burst of red blood that splashed all over Var and his mount.

"I can't see!" Var was blinded by his own move but the blood quickly washed off on its own thanks to the buffeting wind. That could only mean one thing… they were still diving!

Var Agus was frightened.

"Aaah!" He let out another frightful scream.

All he could see before him was the red mass of the blood beast and numerous tendrils originating from there and shooting towards him.

Nevertheless, overcoming his fear, the shaman now seemingly turned warrior squinted his eyes and attempted to locate the gauntlet of the beast.

"...dark spot there!" Var Agus yelled out before tossing down his spear with the full momentum of their dive. The spear quickly understood Var's intention and raced towards a mildly darker spot of the beast.

It cut through the air and upon contact with the bloody mass, massive amounts of electrical energy surged. Within the second the spear had pierced past the surface and was firmly locked onto the target.

The blob of blood started writhing as if in its death throes but reality was not so kind.

The beast turned icy.

The spear which had pierced through was stopped by an icy barrier before it could hit the beast's core.

Var Agus' mount stopped its dive and hovered above the beast perhaps wondering what the next step was. Unfortunately Var Agus was far too disappointed by the outcome to figure that out in an instant.

"How, how?!" How did the beast's ice manage to stop a spear toss carrying such astounding momentum!?

"Huh?"  Var Agus became confused after he saw the entire blood mass started to become frosty below where he flew.

"...it has to be an attack! Fly higher!" Var Agus commanded to his undead mount. The creature heeded his words, it was unknown whether it had understood his words or gesture but it flapped its wings to increase its height instantly.

Unfortunately it was too late by then. The frozen blood surface that Var Agus had seen started to flare up, a fiery energy had clearly emerged inside the frozen ice.

"Nooo!" A large explosion sounded out which was then followed by a powerful barrage of icy shards. They were all pointed towards the sky at Var Agus' mount which was quickly pummeled by the tiny shards.

Var Agus felt the great pressure on the beast from the way it shook with each point of impact so he did his best to hold on tight.

"Aaaah!" But a sudden strike on one of the wings had the creature spiraling out of control.

Var Agus couldn't help but regret having been so impulsive. He should have waited for a better opportunity to attack!

The beast now knew that Var would be targeting its core and it would be much harder to pull it off a second time. Though whether he'd manage to do it a second time was now unknown.

He didn't have the spear anymore and could quite possibly lose his life!

Luckily for Var Agus, his mount managed to quickly stabilize itself. Unluckily, the shards that went past him were now falling back down towards the ground with the help of gravity.

The initial pelting would have been nothing but having fallen so far down thanks to the uncontrolled spinning the shards would definitely hurt Var on their way down!

This wasn't the only concern though, this rain was also darting towards the ships in the water! What a detestable attack! Var Agus didn't want to see his people die!

It was here when Var Agus was feeling lost that the mount curled up its wings to surround him and then began a surprise plummet. As far as Var knew falling willingly was not in the plans of action!

"What are you doing!?!" Var Agus yelled from inside the furled wings like a madman.

The pelting shards then rained down upon them. Var Agus could only imagine how painful it would feel to be punctured by those shards. The dragon like mount held on, however while Var simply gritted his teeth in frustration.

The sound of high-speed falling followed by a giant splash, the mount managed to hold on until the moment that they fell into the water.

It was here that the dragon unfurled its wings and Var Agus who was dazed from the water landing felt he was at the threat of drowning if he did not hurry up.

Hastily swimming towards the surface Var Agus could already imagine the devastating sight of sinking ships and bloody carcasses.

"Argh! Cough!" The moment he resurfaced however he only saw one sinking ship. This left Var Agus stunned before he immediately understood what occurred. Looking at their falling trajectory, the dragon managed to shield the crew beneath from most of the shards!

"You… Where are you?!" Var Agus then frantically asked looking for the divine mount.

"Where are you!?!" The water appeared to remain still however and nothing emerged from the water.

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