I wasted no time, glancing through the sheet for relevant information as I shifted my Bow from its base form into one that fired balloon type munitions. The sheet, luckily, had exactly what I needed, and soon I was dual wielding balloon type bows, and their ammo, purple balloons, filled with the skills I selected, flying forward, and bursting inches from me, catching Keel, and everyone else in the blasts.
"Ice is its weakness, and it's vulnerable more to physical attacks than magical, but only just, so mix them together. I gave you (Ice Boon), which makes your weapons hit with ice and magic elemental damages, while I boosted magic damage," I said quickly, before grabbing Keel and Van with a glance around, where two knights were standing next to a large exit to another courtyard, I used (Blink), the three of us vanishing, much to Lord Reichnott's objection.
Behind us, I heard a roar, and the pounding of great big feet as the thing came forward, but it was counterpointed by a hum of magic, and a cry from Naofumi. (Air Strike Shield), one enchanted with Ice elemental properties, appeared before him and the group. Regardless, they dove out of the way, as the charge of the 'dragon' proved too much for the defense, blasting it apart, but the block gave them all enough time to get out of the way.
"Come with me!" I shouted to the knights, hoping the others could hold the thing off, as Melty struck towards it with her magic, while Raphtalia, riding Filo, was hitting it with her sword, leaving small cuts that were visible only because frost spread from them.
Meanwhile, we legged it into the other courtyard, where the captain, the knights, and the prisoners were already looking towards us. The prisoners were barely aware, it seemed, as Keel was still the most alert of them. Their dull gazes were still staring towards the other courtyard, while the knights were doing their best to put on a brave face. Seeing no reason to delay, I (Blink)ed over to the captain along with my two charges.
"Idol survived the fall, and released a giant monster from a seal in the other courtyard. He got stepped on by it, but the others aren't going to be able to distract it for long. Get your men to escort everyone out. Lord Reichnott, go with them and tell your own people to run, and evacuate as much of the town at the base of this place as you can," I said it all in one breath, and much to my internal delight, the captain didn't argue, instead nodding at the info, while Van did the same, realizing why he hadn't been allowed to fight with the others.
"Anyone who's not helping get the Demi-Humans out should go grab some bows and as many arrows as they can find," I commanded, and before he could ask any questions, I used (Blink) again, arriving on the roof of the small wing of the manor that separated the two courtyards.
From here, it was obvious things weren't moving too fast. In particular, the T-Rex was currently suffering from a high grade level of the 'Frost' condition, slowing its movements proportionally. That was good. Problem was, it was still powerful enough that the best the others were doing was annoying it with their attacks, taking small slivers of health off with each slash or spell, which I could only guess meant this fight would take hours.
"Naofumi, tactical assessment!" I shouted as I appeared next to him, and he seemed confused like he was about to tell me off for asking, but then saw my stare, and turned back to the fight.
"Your boosts are working, but not enough. This thing is tougher than…anything we've seen before. Not even that Glass woman was this strong. He busts through any shield I put up, and the only reason he hasn't killed anyone is his focus on Filo and her speed compared to his means he'd have to get real lucky to land a hit," he told me, idly making me wonder if the dragon dinosaur thing HAD a gender in this case, before I dismissed the thought, and nodded.
"The outer courtyard. I have the knight captain standing by with archers, and they're getting the people away. Give him two minutes to get into position, and then lead this thing there," I said, and he turned towards the others, creating a shield for Filo to bounce off of, before turning back to me and nodding.
(Blink)ing back into the outer courtyard, the place had a few dozen knights gathering up, a small handful of them passing bows around, while the other side had the last of a larger group leaving the place, Lord Reichnott at the front, carrying Keel again, as the knights were carrying the others. Van looked towards me once, nodded, and went past the door, as I moved towards the captain.
"All of the men left are my best archers, but their weapons won't even pierce the hide of that creature," he said, not complaining, just giving me a fair assessment of his own abilities. I didn't bother countering him though as I raised my voice.
"Everyone! Stand as close together as you can!" and they didn't question, instead standing in almost perfect parade formation instantly, with me motioning for the captain to stand with them. A second later, all of them were kitted up as well as I could make them.
"Keep your distance. Your weapons are enchanted now, but that thing hits hard enough that even the Shield Hero couldn't take a blow from it head on. So fire what you can, where you can, and once you're out of ammo, you're out of the fight. We don't need people throwing their lives away," I ordered, and then used (Blink) to get back onto the roof of the building, grateful as I did that they were keeping the thing on the other side of the courtyard, Filo was literally mocking the thing, dancing as it tried in vain to snap her up in its jaws, before she bounced away.
(Blink)ing about, I let loose a few more boosts into Melty, Raphtalia, and Filo, before regrouping with Naofumi, who was doing his best to shield the others using (Air Strike Shield), (Second Shield) which was just a copy of whatever shield he just used, and even his (Rope Shield) which while it didn't do much, did at least tangle up the legs of the monster, causing it to stumble sometimes, though never for long.
"I hope you've got good news, because I'm seeing us losing this fight, as its HP is gonna last a lot longer than my SP or their MP," he said, pulling back as the thing thrashed with its tail, causing the ground to quake, but doing little else, as the others kept it off balance.
"I've got the captain ready for us in the other courtyard. Have Filo bring it there at the…corner on that side in one minute, and we'll perforate this thing with arrows. If that doesn't do enough damage, we'll think of something," I pointed towards the spot where I'd want him to send the t-rex, and after looking at it, then back at me, he nodded, as I (Blink)ed back over the wall, and found the courtyard emptying quickly, as all but a few dozen soldiers were leaving by the main gate.
We didn't need words traded, as the captain had them line up, and then close ranks as I used my Bows to fire the two types of attack boosting bubbles at them, causing their bodies to shine. I held off on giving them more at the moment, as even divided, it was a good doubling of their power at the moment, and I wanted to save my own SP for what might come later, especially as I was considering using my (Fast Travel) to go get reinforcements, though I wanted to hold off on that if I could.
There were a couple of reasons for that. Most especially, I honestly wasn't sure they'd be willing to come back with me, or let me come back, save perhaps to grab Princess Melty, and then would convince me to leave again. It was a danger in this situation that they might deem her life greater than the need of saving everyone. Worse if Naofumi looked like the target of the thing, or at least one of his party members, as was the case with Filo.
There was also that sheer power of this thing. I had little doubt, properly boosted, the Brothers wouldn't put up a good fight. But (Insight) said the thing was triple digit when it came to levels, and its stats? The best boosts to my whole party would only make them add up to its power, and given I hadn't seen a fusion ability yet, it wasn't likely they'd be able to match it for long as it attacked.
Right now, our only advantage was numbers, and its mobility score being only a bit better than mine, meaning, on foot, most of the people here could outrun it. Better the 'Frost' condition was cutting that down with every strike, while also adding to the damage done. That was a good thing, but it only went so far, as I began to give the captain orders, which he shouted at the men around him, and they took up formation.
When the monster burst through in the corner I had told him…maybe about two meters to the left, but close enough, rushing after Filo who hopped over the dividing wall, the knights were already in position. They pulled back on their bows, allowing me to watch as the arrows glittered, ice forming along the shafts and turning them into shimmering missiles that flew like diamonds into the sky at the captain's command.
The beast, slow already, had no chance of escaping the rainstorm, as the arrows buried themselves into its flesh, the water soaking it thanks to the Princess' water spells freezing instantly, turning its scales and silver bones to crystal for a moment, as it froze in place, looking for all the world like a statue, before it burst out, roaring defiantly, and the captain ordering his men to swing the formation, even as Filo kicked the thing in the face, keeping its attention firmly on her.
Whole chunks of flesh popped off its body, scales falling away, sometimes showing the muscles beneath. It looked painful, and the HP value it had went down, even as more arrows pummeled its hide. Yet it wasn't enough. Compared to the Soul Eater, this was barely a tenth of the damage, and as more missiles dug into its flesh, causing the muscles to turn blue, they did little more to its HP bar than the first volley had done.
Luckily, 'Elemental Criticals' like that nulled any HP regen, so if we had unlimited MP, arrows, etc, we could just have kept hitting it. Not like anyone here cared what happened to the Rabier Estate. But of course, we didn't have unlimited anything, and already I could see some of the knights reaching for arrows that weren't there, the orders I'd given before holding up as the out of ammo soldiers fled the field, rushing towards the gate that led back into town.
Naofumi offered what protection to them he could, using his Shield to keep the monster from approaching them, but it was clear this wasn't working either. We did damage, we did plenty of it by the numbers, but this thing was just stronger than any of us had any right to be facing at the moment. Our best action would probably have been to mimic the heroes of old and seal the thing away again, but that would require magics we didn't have access to.
"Can't beat it by the numbers…so make it less of a numbers game," I said to myself, and then looked up at the thing as it roared. Its maw, covered in those razor sharp teeth…still had a tongue that looked awfully soft. Looking closer, I took some mental measurements, observing it as it moved, slowly, ponderously, timing it in my head for every motion it had, and then finally, moving as fast as I could.
"You're out of ammo, captain. Take your men and get out of here," I ordered, and he looked towards me, and saw I wasn't wrong. He had two more arrows left, and those weren't going to make much difference.
"You have a plan, I take it?" he asked, and I smiled.
"Yeah, the sort that's on par with getting stabbed in the gut," I said, before (Blink)ing over to where Naofumi was, with him looking out of the corner of his eye as the remaining knights gave ground, making him sigh in relief, as he now only had three people to worry about covering.
"It looks like you might want to go get those friends of yours. Whatever happens, we've got to stop this thing," he admitted, throwing out another shield to block the thing as it charged Raphtalia. I shook my head though.
"Even everyone together won't be enough. This thing is outside our level range enough that all we'd do is piss it off more. What we need to do is something that goes beyond the numbers," I said, and pointed towards Filo, who bounced off one of the shields still in the air, the horizontal ones.
"Give Filo a boost so she can give this thing a gut shot, then, when I make my move, put one like that, with the broad part facing into it," I said, and then, before he could ask questions, and probably call me crazy and try to talk me out of this, I (Blink)ed over to Raphtalia, who was muttering something as she held her blade straight up, channeling mana into it. She didn't stop as I appeared at her side, and instead stepped forward and slashed with the thing, sending a crescent of shaped magic forward that slammed into the leg of the monster, freezing it…before it burst out, and roared again.
"Please tell me you've got a plan, and one that doesn't involve me stabbing you this time," she said, as I grabbed her, and used (Blink) to move us away, grateful that they never took away my equipment now, as I'd barely drained any MP, despite all the use of that spell.
"Give me your sword," I said, and she seemed taken aback, but rather than argue, ask what I planned on doing with it, or any one of a dozen other things, she handed it over. Briefly, it sparked, but only briefly. Whatever caused that went away quickly, as I went over my plan in my head, and then, with a bounce, psyching myself up, I used (Blink) again, this time ending up on Filo's back, the avian barely reacting to my presence, as she leapt away from the T-Rex again.
"Hit it from below in the jaw, then in the gut. Make that thing roar, Filo, and then, when I make my move, guide it towards Naofumi and do it again," I ordered, and she didn't even nod, as I held onto her back, which was far easier than the other filolial, as she used her feathers to keep me in the middle, and her fluff provided plenty of handholds. She raced forward, and then, with a defensive boost from me, just in case, she slammed into the thing from the bottom of its jaw.
The jaws snapped shut, and the teeth clamped together, as Filo clawed at its throat, talons tearing through the scales, leaving lines of cold frost in them thanks to the (Ice Boon), before she leapt away. Naofumi, seeing what we were doing, gave her an (Air Strike Shield) to propel herself off of, launching from that before slamming into the thing's belly, causing it to lean down, its jaws flying open as it roared downwards, sounding like, despite not losing a lot of HP, that still hurt.
The moment I had an angle, I leapt from Filo's back, hanging in the air for a moment, as I gripped Raphtalia's blade in my hands, wishing, not for the first time, that I had a few minutes to come up with a better…an at least decent strategy, as I stared right into the jaws of the monster. Then, with a sigh of resignation, I used (Blink), and dove inside, landing within that maw, and smelling the foul breath of the thing as it washed over me.
The teeth snapped shut, like I expected, as the thing, surprised, shook itself from side to side, sliding me along the tongue, which tried to push me around, as the teeth parted, and obviously wanted to tear me apart. I gave it not a single chance, and instead, holding the blade in both hands, I used the momentum as it raised its head to leverage myself upwards, driving the blade into its upper palate with a squish and tearing of flesh.
Blood gushed out, moving down the blade, before pouring onto me, which mixed with the spit into a very nasty covering on my body. Its maw opened up in pain, and I used (Blink) again, letting me leave the thing, and finding, as I did, that thing's blood was at least slightly caustic, as it bubbled at my outfit. Still, I was free, and quickly doffing my jacket, I rolled to a stop right by Naofumi, who was looking at me like I was crazy…which I totally was, even as I spun around.
"Filo, get it facing this way!" I shouted.
"You got it!" she said, and with another quick movement, she clawed at its nose, and cause it to roar at her, those red eyes locking onto it, even as blood spilled from between its fangs, giving the thing a rabid appearance, as it turned towards her, charged, and then, as I expected it, roared again.
"Put a shield into its jaw, like a dog with a frisbee!" I ordered, and Naofumi, seeing what I was doing now, got a vicious grin on his face, as he held out his hand, his shield glowing with a powerful green light.
"Eat this tall, dark, and gruesome! (Air Strike Shield)!" the last seemed to echo, as the shield appeared right in front of the open mouth of the charging monster. It impacted it, and interestingly, Naofumi was driven back for a moment, but only for a moment, as the jaws snapped shut around the thing, the teeth digging into it, and causing it to crack. Then there was a noise, like the crack of a gun, and I watched in fascination and horror as the top of the monster's head seemed to explode outwards.
Well, really it was a small bit of skull, and brain matter, that were torn through by the sword, which sailed up into the air, before coming down with a metallic clang, landing, sadly, not blade down, but instead just falling to the earth and making a racket. It still caused the stride of the t-rex thing to pause, as if it had to consider what had happened, taking a step forward, then another, making me think my plan had failed.
But then it collapsed, the body falling into a heap, and its status sheet changing from living being, into a sheet detailing the bits and pieces of it that could be of use to various vendors, and to ourselves as Heroes, leaving me to fall onto my butt, laughing far too hard, and rubbing some dragon spit out of my hair, while Filo, Raphtalia, and Melty let out a wild cheer, rushing towards us. Naofumi, breathing hard himself, smiled at me, and gave a thumbs up.