Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

<Viggu lv.95 (Boss)>

<Warhog lv.93 (Boss)>

With the end of the Song, Seth turned towards the orc horde behind him where Tekar held back two bosses with ease. So much so that Seth started doubting his eyes. Did Tekar also finally gain a blessing?

The horde of orcs had already mostly fallen to the insect golems and Sickle Strikers, not without major losses among the ordinary golems. In the end, they couldn't escape the fact that they were mass-produced articles without anything special going for them, except for their good programming.

This was not to say they weren't strong, after all, they were made from monster materials that were above level 70. It was just, that they had nothing that could bridge the gap in ability and level that existed between them and orc soldiers.

Nobody had so far interfered with the standstill between Tekar and the two bosses. The towering man kept alternating between the two, using the pipe with the proficiency of a master. With swift and targeted hits, he managed to layer the debuffs on the two, always keeping at least one unable to move.

It was a shame that the man had technically no potential to deal great damage, or those two would have been long dead. They looked battered and exhausted, but nowhere near death. On the other hand, Tekar had barely broken a sweat with his breath just slightly irregular.

"Don't tell me, you gained a blessing and it's also defense oriented...?" Seth mumbled as he stepped beside him.

The warhog was currently under the Aload's bind and Viggu had a hard time moving at all under the Curse of Burden. The two could only stare at the tower master and the Keep speaking to each other cordially.

"he-he, you know it well," Tekar said slightly embarrassed, scratching the helmet above his cheek.

"Although I have not become a chosen, I gained the blessings of Aniketos and Alexiares."

The blacksmith stared at him for a moment as he tried to remember who they were. He had read up on a lot of stuff about Olympians because of his own blessings. If he remembered correctly those two were the sons of Herakles.

They were Olympian demigods who presided over the defense and fortification of towns and citadels. Their names meant "the unconquerable one" and "he who wards off war. Taking into account that both of Tekar's classes were unique classes with the names of fortifications, the Keep and the Bastion, it seemed like a macabre fit that he got their blessings.

"Kugh, Just kill me if that is my destiny! Don't just stand there and talk like I don't exist" Viggu pressed out. It seemed like the oni had a hard time just standing upright at this point.

"Oh, but death isn't your destiny," Seth said with a slight smile.

"It is merely a small stop on your journey."

In one quick motion, Seth slit his throat with the draconic blade. Blood gushed out like a fountain as the general fell to his knees, holding his neck. As strength left the oni's body, the blacksmith collected his soul and instantly used <Seed of Hades> to run Viggu into his vassal.

Viggu was way too precious to just kill for the tower master. On one hand, he could speak and would be much more useful in their fight against Kozdam than Buzz was against the Hive. On the other hand, the oni was pleasant to the eye and had the proportions and intelligence of a human, while having the stats of a boss.

Although he could have used his body and soul to turn him into a golem that may have been stronger than current Viggu, it would have had much less growth potential. With the option to turn him into his vassal, it was the best option. Just imagining putting a boss into a set of legendary armor made the blacksmith excited.

"Master."

The oni that had until a moment ago struggled to fight them and had died with shock and indignation in his eyes, was now kneeling before Seth like the most faithful servant there could be. The status effect on the Warhog had stopped working, but the beast did not act.

It only looked at the current situation with slight confusion. This was another advantage. Keeping Viggu as his vassal actually meant getting two bosses, as the Warhog was still his pet or mount. Another beast he could put into excessive amounts of armor.

"You are now part of Minas Mar. Calm your mount and follow me," Seth said in a good mood and took the lead back to the cliff where the mage were still casting their spells. Behind them, the insect golem got to work and started sorting out the orc bodies.

The oni passed his former colleagues without showing any emotion on his face. <Seed of Hades> was a very powerful skill that not only brought someone back from the dead but also completely changed their allegiance.

Viggu still had all the memories of his life as a general and he remembered his emotions when he watched these people die, but they were now something completely separate for him as his everything lay now with his new master.

Looking at the situation on the plateau, the battle down there was decided. The siege beasts had been slain in the meantime, while the undead, Faer, and Oathguard were decimating the army of smaller creatures. Especially Evee's undead army was blown out of proportion.

Really, one couldn't spell Necromancer without romance. The exponential growth was just great, if only the undead weren't so smelly and unpleasant to look at most of the time, Seth may have been tempted to go in that direction, too.

All that was left was finishing up the remnants of the enemy army. While storing away what was left of the insect golems. Seth sent the Sickle Strikers to collect some more experience and assist the others on the plateau.

…

The whole boss room was filled with bodies by the time they finally came to the conclusion that their target had somehow managed to escape through the closed gate. Something that was virtually impossible, but there was no other way.

Subject XXXX69S# moved to open the door. If their target had escaped and the rest of the promised materials were not present, the possibility that something went wrong was high. There was currently no way to contact subjects on the surface, but Subject XXXX69S# had a brilliant idea.

The subterranean fortification was bound to be unguarded at this point. If they broke through there and appeared from inside their little stronghold, they would be able to ambush them and sandwich them between their dungeon forces and the siege beasts.

They wouldn't stand a chance once their fortress was in their hands! Using the dungeon rights it had as the boss, it teleported all forces right at the doorstep of the stronghold. With the commotion above it was truly unguarded!

Still, without any systematically learned mages that could work together among them, it took almost an hour to break through the unguarded shields and wards. But then the path was open!

The horde of monsters rushed through the long shaft to the surface, ready to ambush the defenders from behind and bring them despair.