1192. Rhinoceros of Destruction
Collapsed skyscrapers framed the rim of the crater. The early morning sun fell on a cross-section of Delta's underground, with broken pipes releasing water and steam into the hole. At the bottom, covered in debris, two parties faced each other.
Two warriors in ancient armor stood on one side. The bull-headed man wore a set of armor, dominated by grays and black. The anthropomorphic lion beside him had similar armor but in colors dominated by crimson.
Towering over two meters tall, they looked like the incarnation of the heliopolian gods Montu and Maahes. the lion readied his slaughterer's blades, while the bull carried two Khopesh emitting a toxic glow.
As much as this sight would have pleased Seth's soul as a craftsman, they paled in comparison to the beast they were facing. A black rhinoceros, 10 stories high, which had broken through Delta's city shield and crashed into the megalopolis like a meteor. The crater they stood in was the lowest floor of Delta, so deep not even the rhino could be seen from above.
<Rhinoceros of Destruction lv. 181(Boss)>
Mike and Ortega had rushed here first, as the ones closest and the only ones currently decked out in complete legendary sets. However, facing the beast at this moment, they questioned their decision to not wait for some of the members that had left Urth to level up.
At least the situation wasn't the worst possible. The rhino was not in the best condition. It was covered in burns and bloody froth was dripping from its mouth. Resisting Iego and breaking a temporary hole in the shield had taken a lot out of it.
The bull and the lion glanced at each other and nodded. They could do this!
They had trained together for the past weeks, since Seth finished Ortega's set, as their legendary sets were not only similar in looks but also shared most of their skills, creating a synergy if they fought together.
Bull and Lion charged together and the ground under their feed turned to sand, increasing the speed of their charge even more. Mike aimed for the right leg of the Rhino, Ortega for the left. Seeing the dwarfs attacking, the undead rhino snorted and its charred skin was suddenly covered by a metallic sheen.
Mike stacked the blade sets damage to 4444 physical damage and used the divine skill <Storm Slash> to attack. However, the Slaughterer's blade crashed into the thick skin and simply slid over it! He was unable to deal any damage at all! The beast's defense was terrific.
Ortega had slightly more success. His Khopesh could not be compared to the stacked damage of the Slaughterer's Blade, but their special effects were more powerful. His damage was high thanks to the Twin Blade trait and the 20% Armor destruction per weapon.
Where the two blades touched the skin and especially at the place where their slashes crossed, the Venom Dragon Poison took effects and the shallow wounds quickly started showing signs of poisoning but it was not enough to cause a poisoned status, but he had also successfully lowered the Rhino's poison resistance by 14%.
Mike clicked his tongue and used <Lotus Walk>. Stepping on the flowers appearing below his feet, he rose to the beast's right rump. He attacked again in quick succession, using <Maahes' Swordsmanship> and <Withering Strike>, stacking damage to the magic blade.
This time, Mike managed to cut several gashes across the Rhino's side, proving that its magic defense was lacking. However, that was all. For a moment, he had forgotten that they were fighting an undead.
When the only fluid released from the wounds, was a black, rotten sludge, he was painfully reminded again. Many of the skills of Maahes were specialized for the battlefield and the fight against many opponents.
Fighting one big opponent was already a bad match-up, but since it was undead, it was also immune to the many bleeding effects that were part of his skill set! All he could actually count on was the fraction of divine power carried in the skills of Maahes.
While Mike had risen upwards, Ortega had stayed with the left leg and rammed one of the Khopesh into the beast's flesh, all the way up to the hilt. The weapon fashioned from a dragon fang, showed its performance when it came to piercing defense.
The venom dragon poison worked just fine, even on undead, so he intended to keep stacking damage and lowering its resistance until the poison took full effect, but when he wanted to pull the weapon back out, the leg moved, kicking him aside. The Rhino didn't intend to just stand there and take it.
The bull-headed chosen managed to the remaining blade in front of him and block just in time when the giant leg kicked out at him. Ortega was catapulted deep into the shadow of the stories below Delta. he took out several walls before he came to a halt.
Looking around, he found himself on a field of wilted plants, covered in darkness. He guessed that this was one of the granaries that was destroyed in the previous terror attack. The chosen of Montu got up and inspected the damage.
He had only one blade left, which meant that he lost the set effect of the Fangs of Apep. Apart from that, he had only lost 50 HP from the kick. Seth's Slaughter Set, made from the <Bones of Seth> mirrored all the skill of the one Mike had, but the basic effects differed.
Mike's armor improved the power of the skills received from Maahes and its effect was influenced by his powers. For Ortega, each piece of equipment had a different effect instead of that, because of the chaotic trait of the material. Seth had explained it to him but Ortega only retained the basic important stuff.
The crown's "Foreign Lord" improved his defense by 75% on foreign soil. Ortega was originally born in Beta and moved to Delta when he was a child, so his defense was always boosted when he wore the armor. Off in the distance, he saw the hole he left in the wall.
While Ortega rushed back, Mike was left to struggle against the rhino on his own, trying to stack the divine power of Maahes on the undead. Although he managed to cover it in shallow wounds, it rampage began cornering Mike. Things didn't go too well on his end.
...
---Outside Delta---
"Am I seeing things?" Cromwel asked breathlessly as he saw what happened at the slopes below Delta. The terrifying lightning eagle was actually struggling! It had stalled the Arachne and the leopard with a storm, but it suddenly started struggling to stay in the air.
"Hmm, the spider woman had spread her threads in the wind and used them to entangle Ceres above," Haa'Skon said as emotionless as ever. The death knight was watching the fight with the magical scope, they had originally used to observe Spatia.
The Arachne managed to stall Ceres, then wouldn't the leopard intervene in the fight of the two snake heads? If that happened there was a chance that everything would cascade, ending in their defeat. Things seemed dire once again.
"And it's still not time to intervene?" the scientist asked again. The black armor shook its helmet and pointed at the snaky mess, where the shadow leopard was about to engage with the bard, playing music to their battle.
However, a group of people suddenly emerged from the mountain rock. Cromwel had no idea where they were hiding, but they surprised the feline, stopping it from interfering with the hydra battle.
Cromwel had never seen them, but it seemed that Minas Mar had more to show.