The Crafter's Dominion: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 5) Jonathan Brooks (books that read to you txt) 📖

causing the running canines to stumble and fall, unbalanced as their eardrums were pierced in less than a second.  The Shattering Screech Special Ability did its job, slowing the Wolves down, but that wasn’t enough; while they were recovering and starting to lope with renewed purpose towards the Orcs, the High Peak Roc landed 300 feet in front of them, spread its wings, and prepared to take down as many as possible.

Now the Dire Wolves stopped their forward progress as they attacked the newest threat.  Rushing as a wave of nearly 400-strong, the deadly grey-and-black-furred canines fell upon the bird with unbridled ferocity – and the Roc responded in kind.  Even as its wings were soon latched onto by powerful jaws, those wings were buffeting any Wolves that got too close with equally powerful flaps of its appendages. Its Beak Extraction Special Ability was seen in full effect, as it struck out at its targets with blinding swiftness, biting down on a Dire Wolf and practically ripping it in half with its mighty, crystal-like beak.  Even something as simple as a hop backwards caused carnage as its talons flashed out and tore the Wolves apart, ripping them to shreds in as little as a second.

And yet, as powerful as the High Peak Roc was, it wasn’t meant for a protracted battle on the ground; it was deadly in the skies, and attacking from a position of strength where it was most comfortable was how it was best used in a fight.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t really any other choice, because the name of the game here was to delay the horde of Wolves, not to whittle them down over a longer period of time.  As a result, the outcome of the fight was a forgone conclusion.

Against 50 or even 100 Dire Wolves, the formidable High Peak Roc might have come out on top; against nearly 400, the massive bird was quickly and savagely overwhelmed.  Dozens of Dire Wolves had leapt on top of the Roc’s body, while nearly 100 were latched onto its wing feathers, dragging it down and preventing it from moving.  At first, chomping through the tough body feathers was difficult; with so many bites falling on the beset bird, however, more and more were simply torn out from where they were attached, exposing the vulnerable skin below its natural armor.

 Even as the Roc turned its head to pick off some Wolves making a meal of its body or wings, it was suffering some horrendous wounds.  Three of the ferocious canines had managed to gnaw at its left leg, chewing through the resistant skin to destroy the muscle and bone underneath, nearly causing the Roc to fall on its side. Fortunately, the bird brought its right leg up as it screeched again in pain, collapsing on its belly instead of its side.  A massive chunk was ripped out of its chest next, causing a prodigious amount of blood to flow from the wound, weakening the Roc.

Sandra’s Dungeon Monster was dying, but it was taking quite a few Dire Wolves with it.

It seemed to take forever for Sandra’s Dungeon Monster to finally succumb, and it was almost painful for her to watch.  Regardless of the blood being thrown about, the bodies littering the ground before they disappeared into Monster Seeds, and the severe carnage she witnessed, it had been worth it.  An entire minute and a half passed by while the Dire Wolves were delayed in eliminating the new threat, and the casualties on their side had been hefty in the process.  Over 150 of the Wolves had been bitten in half, ripped to shreds, or smashed by powerful wings, which was a good trade-off for the loss of a single Dungeon Monster.

She just hoped that the delay was long enough.

As soon as her High Peak Roc succumbed to 6 different Wolves finally tearing through the thick feathers around its neck, ripping out its throat, the wave of enemy Monsters continued on their course toward the Orcs.  Now, with no way to escape, it was imperative that they survive long enough for her reinforcements to arrive.  Thankfully, Kelerim was in the back of the group, weaponless and looking sicker by the moment at the approach of imminent death, but safe enough for now to survive.

Amazingly, not even a flicker of fear passed through the expressions of the awaiting Orcs; instead, they appeared almost eager for the fight to commence.  When the Wolves were within 100 feet of their line, the Orcs got tired of waiting and rushed forward with a short roar of defiance.  Weapons held at the ready in front of them, they sped towards the massive wave of Dire Wolves without any hesitation, bounding forward with blood-thirsty grins on their faces.

Meanwhile, Kelerim was standing where they had left him, appearing helpless and way out of his element; he was a crafter, not a fighter, after all.

Suddenly, just above where the two forces would eventually clash, 25 V-shaped forms suddenly arrived with a high-pitched whistle, slowing to a complete stop so quickly that it nearly appeared that they had run into some sort of invisible, unmovable wall.  Immediately, the V-shaped Sonic Blademasters turned their upper openings towards the Dire Wolves, before starting to rotate their long poles.

 

* Owchet; you just need to hold on for another 15 seconds before the Blademasters can get to work eliminating the Wolves. *

“Easily done!” the mercenary said with a low chuckle, before leaping off the ground with enormous strength towards the line of Wolves.  Not expecting the move, the Wolf in front didn’t have time to switch directions, and ended up with a warhammer embedded in its thick skull, the rest of its body practically obliterated as it was driven into the ground by the force of the downward strike.

Owchet didn’t hesitate as he ripped the warhammer out of the dead Wolf’s cranium when he landed from his