My attack was aggressive and planned, but her people were ready. Several guards moved in the way. The first thing I released was the level 25 Demon Knight skill Fear. What it did was obvious, but for these knights, it was unlikely to be all that effective. However, their mounts were another story. They were already skittish around the miasma, which was a corrupted version of the mana within them. How could they not have an aversion to it and me? As soon as I attacked, the reptilian bear creatures all erupted into chaos.
The men let out shouts as they were tossed from the back of their animals. A few were caught in the reigns and then dragged away as their mount ran. Ten met the ground without a mount. About five could only helplessly be carried around by their mount, and the remaining just managed to stay, but their mounts made it impossible for them to manage a defense.
Since the dungeon was already made, I no longer depended on it and trusted Elaya to do her thing. Thus, I had True Hero, Demon Knight, Dark Priest, Hero, and Monster Tamer equipped. I gave up my extra experience so that I could get a 5th job equipped. I knew going in that this fight would be difficult, so I pulled no punches anymore.
As for why I had Monster Tamer, after driving the monsters into a state of fear, I struck them with various Monster attacks. Beast Confusion, Low Tame, and Disobedience were among some of the skills I tossed out. I had never looked at Disobedience before. It was a level 17 skill and seemed pretty useless. Now, I realized the true potential of the Monster Tamer ability. It wasn’t just a matter of controlling monsters in battle, but of destabilizing your enemies monsters.
As I cut down two knights in the confusion, I had managed to win over the temporary loyalty of three of the animals. Immediately, I use Order to have them attack the knights on the ground. One of the tamed beasts still had the knight mounted, and he could only watch as his mount tore into a companion who had fallen off his. I was shocked by how aggressive these reptilian creatures were. They had a great war potential, and in just as short of a time, three more knights met their demise.
“Dismount!” Nerissa managed to keep her cool, leaping off the back of the bear and onto the ground. “Seal End!”
All of the beasts collapsed suddenly, and I let out a noise as my three tamed beasts died. There must have been some kind of death curse seal on them, and she activated it. Her actions were just as brutal and as decisive as previously when she cut that woman’s throat. She killed all twenty mounts. With that, the men managed to regain order. Other than one guy whose mount fell in a way that his leg was trapped, the remaining fourteen knights managed to regain. I used Quick Attack to injure one, but he was backed up by his bodies, and soon they had formed a defensive perimeter around the cave, pushing me back once again.
“I applaud you, Fey. You’re a fine warrior.” Nerissa said, an ugly expression on her face despite her complement. “However, that is the last of my men that you kill. You may have had surprise on your side, but now we outnumber you and are prepared. Surrender and explain yourself, and I’ll give you a swift death!”
I stroked my sword. It was time to prepare for phase 2. I began rearranging my jobs. True Hero, Basic Magician, Blue Mage, White Mage, and Intermediate Mage. It was time to see how their forces held up to a magical bombardment.