Vol. 5 - Chapter 291 - The Battle Against Gordino (4)
The Bronze Golem became a giant right hand.
Gordino became a giant torso and head.
The Mithril Golem became a left arm with a huge turret and multiple smaller turrets.
Both shoulders were equipped with Vulcan cannon-like turrets.
The 5 Golems, including Gordino, combined to become a Gigantic Golem.
"I\'m feeling powerful! This is who I really am. Fear me! Shudder as you die! Ha-ha-ha!"
In my opinion, Gordino\'s villainous lines were well written.
"Gordino has also \'Combined\'! The rear guard should give priority to defense, while the Gigantic Golems should stop Gordino\'s movement."
Being vigilant, I told the rear guard to increase the frequency of their Recovery Magic and to stay on the defensive.
I also instructed the 3 Gigantic Golems, including Admiral Galara, to block the movements of the Gigantic Gordino.
\'\'Hmph! It doesn\'t matter how many small fries swarm together!"
(Hey, hey. Rocanel can\'t handle it anymore.)
"Merus, you summon Rocanels as well. [Absorption] might not be enough."
"Oh."
Gordino turned the huge Vulcan cannon-like turrets on both shoulders to his back, so the Gigantic Golem approaching it from behind couldn\'t get close to it.
Then, making full use of the countless turrets in one hand, Gordino kept Admiral Galara\'s Gigantic Golem from coming at it from the front.
"Gah!"
Even so, Admiral Galara\'s Golem, which was forcing its way through to get closer, was hit by a Drill Punch from Gordino\'s right arm.
Gigantic Gordino was dozens of meters taller and wider than the Bronze Golem used to be, so it had a longer range.
The four dwarves, including Merle who were with Admiral Galara, re-fit new Stone Slabs into their Magic Board to repair their destroyed body.
"[Convergent Bombardment]! Aim for the shoulder turret!"
"..."
Two A-rank Stones used their awakening skill [Convergent Bombardment].
The turrets got crushed.
"Now!"
"No? Hm. Just this much?"
"Haa!"
Looking at the shattered turrets on both shoulders, the Gigantic Golem behind Gordiono saw an opportunity to attack.
But the crushed turrets got repaired with a crackling sound before the Gigantic Golem could attack.
The Gigantic Golem received attacks from the recovered turrets and got severely damaged.
The parts of Gordino that Admiral Galara had managed to attack healed soon as well.
(Mm, its legs are glowing! Iron Golem\'s [Repair].)
"Everyone, aim for the legs! If we don\'t destroy the legs, it\'ll heal whatever damage we will deal to it!"
Kurena, Dogora, and Prince Zew\'s party reacted to my words.
Merus told Helmios\' party to target Gordino\'s legs as well.
The Iron Golems who had [Repair] had transformed into legs, Gordino\'s legs had that skill at that time.
"Mmm! It\'s harder than before!"
\'\'Your Highness Prince Zew, it seems that your attack got through. Keep attacking!"
Prince Zew felt that the Gigantic Gordino\'s legs were more durable than the Iron Golem he had been fighting so far.
However, Prince Zew\'s attack were not completely useless as they left some dents and cracks.
General Hobah, the Heroic Beast of Hammer and Mallet, the Bear Beastman, told Prince Zew to continue attacking.
However, the damaged parts quickly got repaired.
(It\'s like fighting Scarlett.)
I recalled Scarlett when Gordino healed faster than the rate at which we attacked.
I was immensely impressed with the speed of the recovery.
I remembered not being able to defeat 3rd Floor\'s S-rank Floor Boss, Scarlett, because of its ridiculous self-recovery.
Moreover, the Gigantic Gordino was a powerful enemy with vicious turrets and Drill Punches.
If we took our time to deal with it, it would be us who would be in danger.
"No, we\'re not going to get anywhere if we keep going like this. The vanguards should use their Extra Skill to attack. If we don\'t destroy its legs, we won\'t win!"
I concluded that we wouldn\'t be able to win if we only used our normal skills.
Everyone had been saving their Extra Skills and no one has used them yet.
Everyone nodded at my words.
"Yeah!"
Kurena\'s body started shimmering.
Prince Zew\'s and the rest of the beastmen too.
Everyone had an Extra Skill, be it a powerful blow or status increase.
The even more powerful beastmen rushed into the scene as if they were dancing.
They attacked the legs of the Gigantic Gordino.
I repeatedly summoned A-rank Stones, and attacked Gordino\'s legs and shoulders in a balanced manner.
The turrets on Gordiono\'s shoulders were so dangerous that if ignored, the two Gigantic Golems behind the Gigantic Gordino could get destroyed.
(Hmmm...quite a few of them have status increase type, but there are also quite a few with one-hit kill type Extra Skills. A status increase type would be better in this situation.)
In the situation we were in, it was better to have a sustained status increase like Kurena\'s because we had no chance of finishing the fight in a short time. But quite a few beastmen had a one-hit-kill-like Extra Skill.
Their skills dealt a lot of damage, but since we couldn\'t deal that much damage consistently, Gordiono\'s recovery would eventually catch up.
"Gah!"
Prince Zew was kicked up and blown away by the giant legs of the Gigantic Gordino.
Prince Zew\'s Extra Skill, which included several shots, did more damage to the Gigantic Gordino\'s legs than a normal attack would have done, but it was also repaired quickly.
Hui the Beastman, used Recovery Magic on Prince Zew immediately.
Prince Zew apologized as he stood up, but he seemed to be out of breath.
(It\'s a bit risky, but let\'s try a little longer. If it\'s too much, we\'ll retreat.)
Sustained Extra Skills also ran out before we could destroy Gordino\'s legs.
I had distributed [Blessing of Heaven] to everyone with a support role so that they could use it if they couldn\'t use their Recovery Magic in time.
There was a limit to the number of [Blessing of Heaven]s one person could carry.
If they ran out of the [Blessing of Heaven]s I had given them, our strategy would fail.
I didn\'t want to use [Blessing of Heaven], but there didn\'t seem to be a choice.
I had been trying to lead the operation and defend the rear guards to prevent them from collapsing, but I recognized that it was time for me to step forward.
"I\'m sorry. I\'ll go up front. Sara. Gordino\'s attack will become more and more intense. If you have difficulty using Recovery Magic, don\'t hesitate to use the Elven Elixir..."
Merus and I had been supporting the rear guards till then, but I decided that I had to step forward.
"... good. This is part of my trial too. All I have to do is give it my all."
Prince Zew didn\'t give up even in that situation.
There is still more that I can do, said Prince Zew.
"Yeah, I\'ve already ...ed my Extra Skills."
His body had already stopped shimmering.
His Extra Skill had run out.
But just before I could say something to Prince Zew...
"I am Zew, a descendant of the Albahar Royal Family. Beast God Garum, please help me to become an Awakened One. Gruaaaaaaaah...!
"Huh?"
I was astonished by the change.
Prince Zew muttered something small and barked loudly.
And even the fine cloak and shining armor he was wearing couldn\'t withstand the expansion of his body and started to make a muffled sound.
Prince Zew, originally huge and over two meters tall, started to get even bigger.
His body reaches three meters and his face changes to that of a wild beast.
"Oh, so you became an \'Awakened One\' even as a Prince? He is definitely the next \'Beast King\'. It seems that the Beast God Garu is very excited about it.\'\'
(He\'s an Awakened One? And Beast King?)
Seeing me stunned on the battlefield, Merus replied.
Everyone other than the beastmen was stunned.
"Mm? What\'s this? Besides the Extra Skill, do the beastmen have any other special skills?"
"You make mistakes too, Mr. Allen. Well, it\'s hard to explain this properly. Just think of it as an Extra Skill."
(Because you and the Spirit Gods won\'t disclose information to me.)
Merus gave me a bitter smile.
"Two Extra Skills?"
Prince Zew had already used his Extra Skill some time ago.
"That\'s where you\'re wrong. Rather, you are already close to the answer, but you are misguided. People can have more than one Extra Skill. And the Gods call those who can use more than one Extra Skills \'Awakened Ones\'.\'\'
"Hmm? Three Extra Skills?"
"That\'s right. When you came to this world, you must have read it, Mr. Allen."
Indeed, when I had read the description on that site, it said that Easy Mode could use 3 Extra Skills.
(I see. Normal Mode gives you one from the start, but you can get more afterwards. Or is Prince Zew in Extra Mode?)
"What mode is Prince Zew in? It looks like he\'s fighting in Normal Mode."
"Of course, he is in Normal Mode."
(A second Extra Skill in Normal Mode? I see. There\'s still a lot I don\'t know about this world.)
As I talked with Merus, the battle situation changed.
"Everyone! Charge! Gruaaaah!
Prince Zew, who had turned into a huge bipedal lion, said so, clasped his muscular hands towards the ceiling, and then punched the ground with all his might.
The ground is shattered, and then a huge magic circle spread out.
"Oh! Prince Zew, Prince Zew has qualified as the Beast King! This ridiculous power! Grrrr!
General Hobah, standing in the magic circle, looked at Prince Zew, impressed.
General Hobah also shattered his armor, turning into a huge bear beastman over three meters tall.
He held the hammer that he used to hold with both hands with just one after the transformation.
The Ten Heroic Beasts started turning into beasts one by one.
"What the hell is going on?"
Dogora couldn\'t keep up with the situation.
"Prince Zew has put forth a lot of effort to help us win. It means the battle is just beginning."
Allen tried to find a win in the situation.