Grobak had already entered into a state of ‘Rage’ and his wrath was intensified. Seeing that the Giant Lizard had stopped abruptly in order to release its powerful roar, Grobak saw this as an excellent opportunity. Although he was in a state of ‘Rage’ and had lost most of his reasoning, this did not put a damper on his combat ability which was instinctual. While under the effects of ‘Rage’, Grobak’s inherent strengths were all increased. The only detriment to this being the decrease in the critical thinking processes of his brain. This was not something which would heavily affect his combat prowess in battle and it was what made him such a powerful warrior, but not necessarily a good commander. There was also the decrease in PHY DEF due to his ‘Rage’ state, but this was minor compared to the increase in PHY ATK he would gain and was offset somewhat by his high AGI.
Without hesitation and almost immediately, Grobak made his move while roaring loudly. The Giant Lizard was in the middle of using its ability and had no chance to dodge Grobak’s attack. Grobak had already activated all additional states of ‘Rage’ which included both ‘Increased Rage’ and ‘Extended Rage’. Grobak was determined to end the duel as quickly as possible and went all out straight from the start of battle. With these effects activated, he would do an additional 35% damage, but he still wasn’t satisfied. Rushing forward, Grobak leaped and ferociously stomped on the ground causing a small earthquake in the immediate vicinity of the Giant Lizard due to his ‘Elephant Stomp’ ability. This lowered the AGI of the Giant Lizard and since the Giant Lizard had yet to complete its own ability, it was wide open for a follow up attack.
Grobak rushed forward once more, ramming straight into the Giant Lizard, stunning the creature and interrupting its ability. The Dragonman mounted on the Giant Lizard was sent flying off the mount, completely shocked by the rapid sequence of attacks by Grobak. It had happened so suddenly that the Dragonman hadn’t even been able to react to the combination of abilities that Grobak displayed. Now with the Giant Lizard stunned due to his ‘Ram’s charge’ ability, the creature was wide open for Grobak to display his full might. He activated both ‘Bloodrush’ and ‘Sharp Fangs’ increasing his attack by an additional 15% and enabling his attack to ignore 25% of the PHY DEF of his target. With one final motion, Grobak lifted his mighty axe high up and slammed it down onto the skull of the Giant Lizard causing critical damage and embedded his axe deep into the skull of the Giant Lizard. Taking into account the entirety of his attack, Grobak had done an additional staggering 150% damage while ignoring 25% of the Lizard’s PHY DEF.
Although it hadn’t instantly died, it was in critical condition and collapsed right there and then on the dueling grounds while blood poured out of the wound and its opened maw. Its entire body spasmed before finally losing consciousness, there was no way it would be able to survive much longer without immediate attention and powerful healing spells. Grobak, though large, looked small compared to the body of the Giant Lizard and yet he had just about slain the Giant Lizard in one attack. This shocked the entire audience watching from outside the dueling area and there was naught but silence from the onlookers. They didn’t even know how to respond to such a display of might, but soon cheers and shouts broke the silence. The audience was in an uproar and going crazy in their excitement.
Grobak didn’t pay any mind to the audience. His opponent was the only one in his sight and he immediately jumped onto the body of the Giant Lizard and ripped out his axe, which had penetrated through the Lizard’s head, with a powerful momentum. The Dragonman picked himself up from the dirt of the dueling ground and stared in shock at his dying companion who had been his mount for a long time. They were partners, as all Lizard riders were with their mounts.
“NO! NOOOOOOO!” The Dragonman shouted, the anguish clear in his voice.
He watched as Grobak leaped onto the body of his companion and violently ripped the axe out with blood shot eyes.
“I’LL KILL YOU, YOU F****** BASTARD!” Once more the Dragonman shouted and charged towards Grobak with his spear.
A Chevalier was a powerful offensive class, but a good portion of that power rested in their mounts. Without a mount, a Chevalier was at a huge disadvantage and couldn’t make use of their most powerful abilities. Grobak’s combat instincts allowed him to easily see through this weakness and he did not hesitate to take advantage of this. He jumped down off the Giant Lizard and engaged in battle with the Dragonman at close range. Grobak was already a class with a relatively high AGI and he easily dodged the incoming spear thrusts.
This battle now seemed a foregone conclusion to the audience who could see that the Dragonman was outclassed in every way. Although Grobak’s defenses had taken a hit due to his ‘Rage’ status, he was able to dodge most of the spear attacks and even when he took damage, he was able to sustain his overall battle prowess because of his formidable VIT which had been increased due to ‘Bloodrush’. This was exactly why he didn’t hesitate to go all out and used his abilities without restraint. Grobak fought like a crazed person and went all out, not caring for the Dragonman’s attacks. His body was bleeding from several wounds inflicted, but he shrugged them off and pressed on. It was as if he were a demon who felt no pain with each swing of his axe aimed at taking his opponent’s life. The Dragonman was greatly pressured by the attacks and was being consistently pushed back. Fear began to grip him as he realized that he wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer. Even attempting to block Grobak’s axe felt like a brush with death and his arms shook with each attempt at deflecting his powerful strikes.
Grobak switched from using ‘Sharp Fangs’ to ‘Agile Form’ and with the boost to his AGI, he quickly outmaneuvered and eventually overpowered the Dragonman who could no longer keep up with the speed of his blows. Grobak pounded on his opponent until he finally smashed the spear out of the Dragonman’s hands sending him reeling. With a fierce kick, Grobak knocked his opponent down to the floor and stood over him with heavy breathing. He could barely contain his bloodlust and his ‘Rage’ began to subside slowly. This allowed Grobak a moment of clarity, but he needed to finish the battle before his ‘Rage’ fully dissipated and left him in a weakened state.
Grobak stomped down on the Dragonman who was struggling to stand, knocking him back down to the ground. He kicked at him viciously and finally placed his heavy booted right foot on the back of his enemy who no longer had the strength to get up. Both of them were bleeding in several places, but Grobak stood tall like a mountain as he looked down on the fallen enemy with scorn.
“Do you have any last words?” Grobak uttered with a wrathful voice.
“… I…”
“Too late!”
Grobak lifted his mighty axe in both hands and slashed down vehemently, slicing off the head of his opponent to loud cheers. He began to feel somewhat weak as he let the axe fall to his side and he slowly walked over to the decapitated head, lifting it in one hand by a horn and raising it high to even more excited cheers. His ‘Rage’ had already died down and his body was beginning to feel the aftereffects. Most of all, he felt tired. With his last bit of strength he threw the head to the side and lifted his axe over his shoulder while making his way tiredly over to the exit of the dueling ground.
He didn’t feel any joy because of his victory, only a quiet solitude that left him with the bitter taste of blood.
