A/N: Nice to see the Draenei and the Orcs getting along well once again after all that's happened between the two. All because of the Battlesong Clan. Now we move onto the chapter where the fight continues on to the Battlesong Clan. Looks like things are about to get ugly.
MAY 18th, 2023. FLOOR 17, TELAAR.
The second I got back into town last night, I told Asuna about the quest. I can honestly say she's speechless. Before I even get the chance to return to the Inn, I am completely crowded. Almost like a Jonas Brothers concert is happening and I'm one of the Jonas.
It's morning now and it's time for me to do Justice for All. Once I'm out of the Inn, I noticed some kind of meeting going on in the town central. What I discovered is the Assault Team is preparing to take on the raid boss. At first, I thought someone else completed the quest, then I realize this Assault Team is because of me.
Once I complete the quest, we take off and take on the floor boss.
After I have breakfast, I went to Lizbeth's to have my weapon and armor repaired, then I went to a vendor to restock my potions and supplies.
"Isn't the quest going to be dangerous? Facing the Battlesong Clan?" Hope asks me.
My quest, Justice for All, is where I raid the Battlesong Clan camp with the Orcs and the Draenei. Our objective: Confront and capture Grommash Hailroar.
"Maybe it is, but I have no other choice. If I don't complete this quest, we'll never get out of this death game." I say.
"Let me come with you. You can use some backup." Hope says.
I just look at him, like what he said is a silly thing to say. "Can you even assist me? You don't have the quest."
"Well...that is true. But we can at least try." Hope says.
He may have a point. For some events and dungeons, you get pulled into some solo instance, where it's only you and your party members. Justice for All is the same thing. But in every solo instance quest I've done, I've either done it myself or only with other players who had the quest as well.
Partying with someone who doesn't have it. Would that even be possible? "All right. Let's go then."
FLOOR 17, GROMMASHAR.
Well, I partied up with Hope. As it turns out, he can join in on the quest event with me, even though he doesn't have the quest. That just seems a bit weird, but I don't complain.
Right now, the NPCs are all ready for the invasion upon Grommashar, the stronghold of the Battlesong Clan. Hope and I prepare ourselves as well. Readying our equipment and Hope's spells. One thing I wonder is why does this quest have to be the key to unlock the elite dungeon? Makes no sense, even since this is the only floor that's ever done such a thing.
I stand in between Yrel and Duraton. Both of them are taking the lead, Draenei, and Orc, of this invasion. "Are you ready, hero?" Yrel asks me.
A window opens, asking me if I wanted to start the quest 'Justice for All'. I hit accept.
Duraton steps up and starts his speech. "Brothers and sisters of Draenor! We the Coldwolves and the Draenei are proud people! We pride our way to protect this world from the Inflamed Legion. But the Battlesong Clan has shown great dishonor by betraying us and joining the Inflamed Legion! Are we gonna lose to a bunch of cowards?" All the orcs and Draenei shouts 'No!'. "Who will be victorious!?" Everyone shouts 'We will!' "Good! Now, let's show the Battlesong Clan the true power of the horde!"
Everyone shouts as they break through the gates. "FOR DRAENOR!"
But we did not break in undetected. "Battlesong Clan! Bring me their heads!" Grommash shouts.
Countless Battlesong warriors come charging directly at us. I take out my Gunblade. "Hope, you ready?"
"Yes!" Hope answers.
With a shout, I charge in with a Charge skill ready. I cut my way through the Battlesong Orcs while Hope stays behind to heal me, or cast holy spells on the enemy.
The Battlesong orcs are almost no challenge with the aid of the Coldwolves and the Draenei. Most of them hold off the Battlesong orcs while I push through with Yrel and Duraton.
"Tank coming over the horizon!" Yrel shouts.
A large cannon made of steel of fel energy rolls down the road. "Bring it down!" Duraton says.
Yrel and Duraton take on the cannon. I finish cutting down the Battlesong Orcs. Even with the light shards of the dead orcs blinding my vision, that doesn't stop me from defending myself against the incoming attacks, or from seeing my next target for me to hack his throat out.
Once the Orcs are finished, I aid Yrel and Duraton against the cannon. The cannon is constantly shooting fel fire on the Draenei and Orc allies coming in, wiping them out.
We destroy it and press on. "They're coming close! Do not let them near the Warchief!"
Bullets rain down upon us. I look up to see Snipers on the rooftop of the houses. I'm just glad I didn't bring Shinon with me, otherwise, she'd spent this part cowering in fear.
"Snipers! Take them down!" Duraton says.
I shift my Gunblade into gun mode and shoot the Snipers down. The Snipers start focusing on me since they probably now see me as a threat. I take a few hits from the start then I begin dodging and shooting at them. I have taken out three Snipers as we progress.
Hope stays close to me as we run. He casts instant over-time healing spells on us when the Snipers hits us. Duraton takes down the barrier wall that blocks the path towards Grommash. Smashing that wooden wall with his ax.
Up ahead is just the corrupted orc, Grommash, standing upon his throne. How it sickens me the orc acts like a king when he's really a monster.
"So. What the demons say is true." Grommash says. "The Coldwolves and the Draenei are working together, once again."
Duraton steps up. "Grommash! Stop this madness! Remember who you are!"
"Yes! I know who I am!" Grommash says. "I am the Warchief of the True Horde! The Inflamed Legion are our allies! They have given us such power that is far greater than your pitiful light and spirits!"
Maraid steps up. "We will sure you the power of light and what it can do, monster!"
Grommash laughs. "Oh, such arrogance to believe that all of you could defeat me." Grommash takes out his weapon as he steps down from his throat. "I, Grommash Hailroar, will honor you with swift deaths."
Grommash has five Health Bars. I'm surprised he has this much, it's almost like he's a floor boss. Now I'm starting to see why the elite dungeon would be locked with this quest as the key.
This isn't the time for thinking. Now is the time for action.
Drawing out my sword, I charge right at the monster and attack. Duraton, Yrel, and Maraid aid me on the attack. Yrel holds off Grom's attacks while the rest of us attack from the sides. The fight seems easy, even Hope is able to focus on attacking instead of healing. I am not convinced. If there's one thing I've learned in the past six months being trapped in this death game is that things are easy from the start but become difficult in the end.
Never assume. Never let your guard down.
We have Grommash down to four Health bars, then gets started to get tough. "You dogs are tougher than I thought! Taste the power of Gorecry's steel!"
Grommash does a corruptive sword skill, then unleashes a powerful cleave attack. Hits all of us, even me. I was at full health, now I'm down to 70%. The sword kill also knocks me back. Before I even crash land on the ground, Grommash grips me with chains and pulls me directly at him. The second I'm in front of him, he gouges his ax right on me. I lost an arm in that battle. Luckily it's only my left arm. I can still fight.
If he's starting to use sword skills, then it's time I should as well.
Maraid, Yrel, and Duraton return to battle. Hope uses his healing spells to restore my HP. Even at full health, I'm still missing an arm.
Grommash starts charging up his Whirlwind skill. "I will crush your bodies and grind your bones into dust!"
I jump back once he realizes the whirlwind skill. While he's performing it, Slave and Vashra jump in. They cast a mix of shadow magic and earth power. They have Grommash captured.
"We've got him!" Slave says.
The fight is over already? We only have Grommash down to three Health Bars. Why didn't they just give him the two we were supposed to empty? Yrel, Duraton, and Maraid approach the enslaved Grommash.
"You really think you can save him, brother?" Duraton asks.
'Save'? I wonder what they're up to. "Breaking the mind and will of the Legion is in fact a challenge. Kawh! But we have little choice left."
"We will do this on the Throne of the Elements. There, the elemental spirits shall aid us." Slave says.
"An excellent idea, friend. Let us take the prisoner to the throne." Vashra says.
The quest is cleared. No other updates come. That must mean I have reached the end of the line.
"Lightning, are you okay?" Hope startled me a bit. I much have been a little too focused. "You really lost an arm in that fight."
"I'm...fine. Don't worry about me." I tell him. "We've got the quest done. Let's head back into town.
FLOOR 17, ELITE DUNGEON.
Losing my arm wasn't that big of a deal. Just when we get back into town, it quickly grew back. Guess that's one good thing about virtual realities. If this were the real world, I spend the rest of my life with just one arm.
The entire Assault Team now stands in front of the Elite Dungeon entrance. We are preparing to take on the floor boss. Asuna gives me the lead since I'm the only one who completed the required quest to enter the dungeon. But even though I'm the leader of the raid team, Asuna still takes command. With preparations complete, we raid the dungeon.
This dungeon is nothing but a large maze and the enemies are the Battlesong Clan. Just when I thought I was done battling with those orcs, more of them appear in this very dungeon. That figures.
The Battlesong on this dungeon have gotten pretty tough the deeper we go in. The Crusaders take over the vanguard while the Swordman's and I constantly switch when the enemies are in between their attacks.
We haven't lost any players on the way. We've finally made it to the boss room. We rest for a while to recover energy and our lost HP and MP. Once we're done, we open the door to the boss room.
It's all darkness from the start. We walk right in until we're at the center, then the doors close behind us. The darkness still remains. I take a step forward. To my surprise, I hear rustling grass instead of stone tiles. I look on the ground to see we're on land, then the darkness clears.
We are now in the Throne of the Elements, an area that lives in the northeast of the 17th floor.
"Are the preparations complete?" I'm surprised to hear that creepy talon voice. We all turn to see Grommash, enslaved in darkness, surrounded by Sam, Vashra, and Slave.
"Yes, Vashra. We may begin the ritual." Slave says.
"With the power of the light, I shall cleanse all the demonic energy within Grommash's body," Sam says.
"The spirits of the elementals shall aid me into freeing his spirit from Gul'Damn's control," Slave says.
"And I shall use my power of shadows to banish the evil spirits within the creature's soul. Kwah!" Vashra says. "Outsiders. You must defend us while we perform the ritual. Once we release the evil spirits, they will attack us." Vashra, Slave, and Sam take their positions, in the form of a triangle. "Let us begin!"
Vashra, Sam, and Slave begin their powers. "Cowards! Fools! You cannot...contain me!" Grommash struggles through the pain he's suffering.
The fight becomes still for a while, then the dark spirit becomes expelled from Grommash's body and takes form. "Here they come! Brace yourselves!" Asuna shouts out.
The spirits are similar to the dark negative spirits from the first ten floors. But they're in fel corruptive energy instead of negative dark energy.
The spirits are in three forms. Lesser, medium, and large. The Crusaders hold off the large spirits. We Swordman's and Assassin's take care of the lesser and medium spirits. All the Shadow Snipers and spellcasters attack from a distance.
The healers had it easy from the start, but it becomes complicated once the army of dark spirits grows into the twenties. We mostly focus on the small fry since the Crusaders are holding off the large spirits, and they are taking less damage than the rest of us are.
Kirito and I are the fastest attackers in the group. Once we defeat our enemies, we quickly aid the other players.
"I can feel the darkness escaping," Vashra says.
"Yes. I feel it too. We're almost there." Sam says.
"Good for them!" I grumble through my teeth as I impale my Gunblade through the dark spirit's stomach, then turn cleave, cutting off two lesser spirit's heads. "Meanwhile we're struggling with these creatures!"
"Hold on! We're almost there!" Kirito says.
This battle makes quite a struggle the longer it lasts. Healers can barely keep up with their healing, mana running low even. We lost three players on the way, all Swordsmen. Eventually, the dark spirits stop respawning and we have gotten a chance to clean up our little mess.
Once all the spirits are defeated, we rest to catch our breath. Maybe the battle is finally over.
"Slave! Vashra! I sense powerful darkness being unleashed." Sam says.
We're all startled to hear that. Oh great, just what we need. "I feel it too...heroes! Brace yourselves!"
Darkness overwhelms Grommash. "Ugh! Kill me! Now! I am..." Grommash groans and shouts in agony.
All that darkness escapes Grommash. It takes form into a powerful, massive dark spirit. It's pretty large, like three times our size. It's in the form of the demon vampires, but it's all in darkness. Can't really make out its features.
"Holy cheese. That thing is large." Rokel says.
"Hold me, Pina!" Silica hugs her pet dragon tight. "I'm scared."
We've taken on monsters just as big as this spirit. I'm not afraid of it.
I make the first strike by doing my Pulse Shot skill. Once I attack, everybody else joins in on the assault. The Crusaders hold off the attack. However, we soon learn that the monster's attack is a cleaving strike. All the Crusaders cluster together and stay in front of the boss to avoid any melee players from getting hit by the cleave.
The demon spirit grows weak from all the attacks thrown at it. Its eyes glow in fel energy. It's ticked off. It unleashes an energy nova, knocking all of us back. The demon spirit goes after the nearest player, which is a Wavemaster and an Avatar, and strikes them until they're both dead.
We have to regroup and restart our positions fast. Once we do, we continue attacking.
The spirit demon becomes tougher to handle than the weaker it becomes. I can barely even keep up once it starts moving and attacking fast. I'm just glad I'm not in Vanguard, not even sure I can block this much this fast.
The demon spirit makes a heavy cleave strike. The Crusaders block it and manage to hold off its attack. "Now's our chance! Finish it!" A Crusader says.
All of us, Swordsman and Assassins rush in, charging our most powerful sword skills we each have, Wavemasters and Avatar's channeling their offensive magic, Shadow Snipers charging up their bow/gun skills.
All at once, we unleash our power and the demon spirit is defeated.
Almost the rest of the Assault Team collapses in exhaustion once the fight is over, even I. An event goes on for Grommash and the others.
"At last. The ritual is complete." Vashra says.
Slave kneels down in front of Grommash. "Grommash...?"
Grommash's size shrinks a bit, the spikes on his spike break apart and his skin turns green. But his eyes still remain red. "S-s...Slave? ...I...had no idea...what I've become."
"This is not your fault, brother. The Inflamed Legion are the ones who are responsible." Slave says.
"They are...indeed. But still, I can't...be forgiven for my sins." Grommash says.
"The light will always forgive, Grommash. You just need to have faith." Sam says.
"What the Draenei says speaks the truth," Vashra says. "Should you wish to be truly forgiven, speak to your people and aid us against the Inflamed Legion."
Grommash growls as he gets back on his feet, standing up. "After what they did to me, I'll make them suffer a thousand deaths for this crime!" Grommash approaches before us. Instincts took over, I draw my Gunblade out. "Outsiders...thank you for freeing me from this corruption. I am forever in your debt, and once we push the Inflamed Legion out of this world, the whole world will be in your debt."
A large congratulations appear and we all earn our results.
I can honestly say I'm speechless. I'd never expected anything like this. I always thought we would end up cutting off Grommash's head. Never imagine we could even save these orcs from the demonic corruption.
I look up at the roof of this dungeon room. What will happen when we reach the 20th floor?
