Chapter 87
Chapter 87
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 87
Chapter Title: The Witch's Garden (5)
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"......Looks like I couldn't kill her. Sorry about that."
While the orcs closed in.
Greg was lamenting his failure to take down the witch.
He was sure the axe blade had struck true, but it had stopped at just halfway through her neck, failing to sever it completely.
"No matter what you did, you couldn't have killed her just now."
Regin calmly gazed at the doppelganger as he continued.
"The witch's doppelganger has two lives."
"Two lives?"
"One is the life granted by the witch herself. The other is the one it earned by ruling this place on its own, or so I've heard."
There was quite a bit of information on the Witch's Garden even in the library.
That meant it was a stage many had challenged, with plenty of accumulated data.
Books in the library were written in the blood of DAT's NPCs.
'If you don't know the context, it'd be hard to make sense of it.'
The likes of Elsilva and his party, who seemed like veterans yet didn't know about the witch, probably found the contents too obscure.
Even for someone in the know, the explanations and terminology about the doppelganger were complicated.
'For starters, most people don't know much about the witch, and the magic she uses is different from the standard spells common in DAT.'
True to her status as an ancient witch's doppelganger, she wielded her own unique magic.
In game terms, it was like a boss's signature skill.
Explaining her to the locals must have been no easy task.
That was why only Regin knew the strategy for the doppelganger.
"By the way, are all those footsteps just the orcs charging in?"
"Yes."
Regin nodded at Greg's question.
Green Orcs. Easy to underestimate as mere early Phase 2 monsters.
But that only held true when their numbers were low.
"......Looks like a massive horde is coming."
Thud—thud—!!
Greg spoke as he felt the vibrations through the ground.
The earth shook as if an earthquake had hit. Soon, black shadows began to blanket the edge of the fog.
This was the doppelganger's final phase—the reason Regin believed they needed more people for this strategy.
"We have to hold back that charging horde of orcs from inside this Holy Shield...... while taking down the witch's doppelganger."
Fog obscuring their vision.
Orcs swarming in.
The doppelganger with one life left.
Enduring all these worst-case conditions until the end was the only way out of the Witch's Garden.
"Everyone...... hold the line!"
Elsilva shouted.
Even as the doppelganger smirked and vanished into the fog, no one dared chase after her rashly.
Thud thud!!
Because the orcs were already right in front of them.
"We have to keep holding here."
Everyone wore tense expressions as they prepared for battle. Amid them, only Regin maintained a steely face.
"Seria, take this and go after the doppelganger."
There was a way.
They'd entered with this group because clear conditions were visible.
He knew from countless deaths. He knew the way to survive.
Handing over a strength enhancement scroll, Regin continued.
"Mark the doppelganger one-on-one and take her down. You're the fastest and have the sharpest senses, Seria."
The key to this strategy was Seria, who could track the enemy even through the fog.
* * *
Slash!!
The gladiators targeted the necks of the approaching orcs, striving to kill them in one hit.
Orcs did have strong vitality, but that didn't make them invincible.
If you infused mana properly and struck right, a one-shot kill wasn't impossible.
Hiss hiss!!
Even with all that care in their attacks, some orcs survived and pushed inward.
Fwoosh!
Pew—!
Regin and the archer focused their ranged attacks on those orcs.
'No matter how tough they are, two or three hits will do them in.'
Regin nodded as he watched the orcs collapse.
They turned to ash and vanished the moment they hit the ground.
Some monsters left corpses that piled up, while others like these vanished instantly.
'The fact that Green Orcs are the vanishing type is good news for us.'
With endless orcs pouring in, keeping the front line intact was paramount.
Piled-up corpses would have crippled their mobility.
They might even trip over them.
"They'll keep coming! Don't let your guard down!"
Kill them as fast as possible.
Then hold positions.
Through several commands, Regin got the group into optimal battle formation.
'The only reliable way to survive a monster wave.'
Monster wave. That meant monsters surging in like waves.
Think back to the Skeleton Knight fight, when all the surrounding skeleton soldiers gathered at his call.
Except this time, it wasn't lowly skeleton soldiers—it was orcs.
'No matter that they're just Green Orcs...... the numbers are overwhelming.'
Green Orcs had the lowest combat power among orcs, but no room for complacency.
The fog had turned green thanks to the doppelganger's magic.
'It hides the Green Orcs' skin color.'
Even playing DAT, this had been a pain.
The devs must have designed it that way—the camouflage fog was trickier than expected.
"Ugh......! Sorry! My side's been breached!"
While holding a circular formation, one gladiator let out a groan as he took an orc's attack.
He hadn't noticed the orc slipping in from the side.
The archer fired an arrow to support him.
"Ugh!!"
But the gladiator next to him got hit too, unaware of his orc.
At the same time, orcs began infiltrating toward the center where Regin and the archer stood.
"Knockback......!"
Wham wham!!
The archer urgently swung his bow to push back the intruding orcs.
"Wind Arrow. Rapid Fire."
Swoosh!!
A late Phase 2 skill followed.
Blue mana-infused wind arrows surged toward the surrounding orcs.
It bought them a momentary reprieve from the central breach.
"If you get hurt, use potions right away!"
Regin shouted at the gladiators to hold the line.
This wasn't the time to skimp on potions.
Keeping everyone standing was more important.
"......Hoo. Regin."
"Yes."
"Sending Seria off like that...... was that really necessary?"
The archer glanced at Regin while firing arrows nonstop.
"Things might've been easier with her here. Honestly, she's our strongest attacker."
If you named the sharpest blade in Regin's party, it was Seria.
She already excelled at targeting vitals with her keen instincts and reflexes, and the Dragon Knight dagger only amplified that.
She could probably stand against Phase 3 explorers.
"Having Seria hunt orcs would've made this easier. But then we'd be fending off the doppelganger's attacks by now."
"......"
"The fact that no attacks are coming from her means Seria's doing her part."
The witch's doppelganger, hidden in the fog.
No attacks so far meant Seria was tracking her well.
"......Fair point."
Gritting his teeth, the archer continued.
"What the hell is that thing? How's it still alive with an axe in its neck?"
"It's a being created by ancient witch magic. It's a bit different from ordinary lifeforms."
Fwoosh!
He finished answering while chaining Fireballs.
He could answer any questions.
The most important thing in this fight was not getting exhausted.
'It wouldn't be called a monster wave if it ended after a dozen or so.'
Every orc in this stage would come. Exhaustingly so.
"By the way."
"Yes."
"If we'd pushed through the green smoke, we'd be fighting skeletons right now, right?"
"Exactly."
Elsilva's party brain was the archer, as he'd sensed before.
Elsilva made the final calls, but the archer handled the detailed plans—he could tell.
Just like now. It was a complex point he hadn't explained fully beforehand, yet the archer pieced it together from the situation.
"Orcs or skeletons, it'd be a hassle either way."
"Correct."
"Nah, skeletons would've been worse. Named ones are tougher."
Regin nodded.
That was why they'd deliberately followed only the yellow smoke.
Guiding the monster wave toward the orcs was a bit easier.
'And if we're lucky, we can snag relics like this.'
Rip—!
He tore the scripture again.
The one from the skeleton pit was proving useful.
Why didn't the orcs outside throw rocks or axes? The Holy Shield wall.
"......Already 20 minutes gone?"
"Yes."
He'd torn the scripture three times already.
Nearly 20 minutes since the wave started, and this tear would last 10 minutes.
Around now, everyone was starting to tire.
Wipe—
Regin wiped sweat while tearing a scroll.
Even if scrolls used little mana, constant use drained it eventually.
"......Huff."
"Ugh."
Even Regin was like this—who knew how the others fared.
Sweat and blood as they swung swords.
Mana shortages meant their blades no longer cleanly severed orc necks.
Crunch!!
"Die already...... please!"
Even Greg, who always held like iron.
"Hoo......"
Even Elsilva, with double the stamina and defense.
Rip—!
Another 10 minutes passed, and Regin tore the scripture once more.
From here, the archer asked no questions.
Pew!
More arrows missed.
Twitch.
He clutched his spasming left eye and downed a potion.
He'd been embedding arrows in Green Orc foreheads amid green smoke.
Using skills to enhance vision, but it was hitting limits.
"Fire Ball."
Boom!!
Regin wasn't faring much better.
Fireballs no longer took out the orcs slipping past.
Poor aim meant orcs breaking through with minimal damage.
He had to resort to Phase 2 magic to stop them.
'......Damn it.'
Mana consumption spiked accordingly.
"Flame Ball."
Rip!
One scroll.
Then another.
Each nonstop tear depleted his dwindling mana.
"......How long do we have to keep this up?"
The archer, silent for a while, finally spoke.
Blood dripped from his hand, and the eye he'd clutched was bloodshot.
"......"
Regin glared into the fog at the orcs.
"For now, let's thin them out once."
"What?"
"Everyone, focus on defense. Just in case."
At this rate, gladiators and center alike would collapse.
Regin quickly pulled out a scroll. Different color from the usual parchment ones.
'High-grade scroll made from banshee leather.'
Unlike the regenerative ones for rapid fire.
Its purpose: amplify the scroll's spell power.
"Shock Wave."
The strongest spell he could contain.
'Target...... all nearby Green Orcs.'
The moment he tore it, modulating mana.
Hummm......
It started with one.
One orc swelled up, then burst.
A massive shockwave instantly rippled outward.
Boom!!
All clustered orcs around ballooned and exploded.
Everyone watching thought the same.
Thank goodness for the thick fog this time.
"......Gruesome."
"Got any more of those scrolls?"
Blood and flesh fragments rained down like bloody hail amid green fog.
Regin, unfazed by the horrific scene he'd wrought, sipped a potion and replied.
"Three more blasts possible."
The attrition war in the Witch's Garden intensified.
Regin had cleared this even without an inventory before.
In the end, one answer.
Bring better scrolls with more fitting spells.