Chapter 201 - Ups and Downs (Patreon)

Hera's skills didn't increase during the first day, and even with Rose's help, she wasn't able to figure out the rebalance skill. When dinner time came, Hera had sharpened 78 weapons, while Rose got 94 rebalanced. That increased the effectiveness of the entire army while reducing some of the Dragon Kin morale. It was funny how even small things would affect morale. It was understandable that breaking siege weapons and revealing the traps had some effect, but sharpening weapons? Would the Dragon Kin have such keen eyesight that they would notice the weapons' condition?

Alan had checked the casualties with the clan leaders. Apparently, they had lost over 2 000 warriors while the Dragon Kin only lost 150 or so. It was what they expected, but it was still a surprising number. Especially since the team that attacked the ballistas was responsible for about 50 of said kills. Blue, Alex, and the others helped around in the kitchen, the infirmary, and the overall supply chain. Since it was just the first day, there weren't many interesting quests they could take. It was all mostly just a way for the team to acclimate with their surroundings.

Dinner was a bit different from lunch. They still had fruit, but also soup and salads. Oddly enough, there was no meat on the menu. Blue was devastated by that, but according to the other kobolds, this was a ritual they undertook during wars. No one would eat meat until the fighting was over, which made them more ferocious during the combat. Unexpectedly, Blue's savior was Bonnie, who brought some beef jerky from the barbecue shop so the group could have some meat. Although she understood the cultural significance of this specific fasting, she also knew that the lack of meat could pose a problem for humans who were not used to a vegetarian diet.

They all grabbed a bowl of soup and found a nice place to eat. Unlike the Dragon Kin, the Wolves only had a kitchen tent without tables. Everyone was free to find their own place to eat. Hera was the first one of the group to grab her meal and found a tree with large roots that worked as a bench. A few moments later, Alex joined her.

"Hey, I just want to say. Thanks again for the talk this afternoon. You were right. I had to get that out off my chest."

"I kind of figured. I'm a pro in letting things fester so I can see the signs," Hera replied while trying the soup. It was incredible, rich, and well-spiced with complementing flavors. The fact that they had such a meal in a war camp made her wonder what would a banquet made by the Wolves look like.

"You ok there?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, this is just really good."

Alex tried, "Oh, it really is!" she took another couple of spoon fulls of soup, "Anyway, before everyone gets here. If I need to talk to anyone about… what we talked about earlier. Can I ask you to talk to me about it? It might help to say things out loud.”

Hera looked up from her bowl with a confused expression, "Are you serious? Are you asking if you can ask about talking?" she chuckled, "Just skip the asking and come talk to me. Anytime you want, ok?"

Alex smiled, but the rest of the group joined before they could continue that conversation. During the night, they had nothing to do aside from sleep. The Dragon Kin wouldn't attack, and although the Omegas could make some assaults on the enemy camp, it was too risky to do so. Alan confirmed that unless they had at least three assassins with rank 3 hide or higher, it was a bad idea to even attempt that. The second day was much similar to the first one, strategy meetings and receiving scout reports, but now a constant rain fell through the entire battlefield. Their quest remained the same, sabotage the ballistas and reveal the traps. This time there would be more siege weapons around the field, but the Omegas would have small squads working to undermine the Dragon Kin structure.

Since they flanked the right side of the army, the group dealt with another clan. After the results of the first day, they all had recognized the human's value. Splitting into the same groups, they headed out and achieved similar results. Completing both quests allowed more traps to be revealed and fewer ballistas to be around. The rain proved to be somewhat of an issue, but nothing that created much trouble. In the end, the team came back with just some cuts and bruises that were healed by Alan. There was one slightly annoying quest during the night, but that reduced the Dragon Kin morale by a lot. They had to patch up holes in the Wolves' tents.

During the third day, the catapults came into play. That shifted the advantage of the battle to the Dragon Kin. The weapons had a much bigger range than a ballista and were safely guarded at the back of the army. The only way they had to defend against the massive boulders being flung around was by using the spell-casters magic. To their luck, the catapults were together on the right side of the army, and the storm increased the power of the lightning the mages used. According to Alan, this was the reason for the earthquake that would happen the next day. The same catapults would still be there while a few others were spread around the army. As a result, too much magic would be focused on the same place, weakening the area and making the mana shift the ground. The storm and the increased power of the thunder spells only made that worse. It was too windy to use any arrows, but the ballistas and the catapults still worked without a problem.

On this day, not a single Dragon Kin died, while many Wolves fell to their attacks. It was an awful feeling, but Alan and Rose had told them things would go down like that. Only on the fourth and fifth days could they turn it around. It wasn't like there weren't quests to do, but they were all too risky for the team they had. They could fight in small skirmishes with groups that would try to invade or make pincer attacks, but nothing near as big as the battles happening between the two armies. Tiffany made a suggestion for the Omegas that night, they could have a team howling during the night to disturb the Dragon Kin sleep. If they were loud enough and far enough away from the Wolves’ camp, they could make their enemies be sleep-deprived during the next fight.

They liked the idea and decided to try it. The issue would be how close they had to be to the Dragon Kin camp to not disturb the Wolves' army in the process. She got the idea from a comic where one army did the same while laying siege to a fortress. It took them a few tries, but in the end, the mission was a success, and the Dragon Kin morale was reduced even further. During that night, Hera got not just her [Weapon Maintenance] to rank 2 but also a new skill.

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Weapon Maintenance (Rank 2)

Improves your ability to care for and maintain your weapons.
The more careful you are with the process, the better the results will be.
Increased durability: 2%

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Weapon Rebalance

You can control the mana inside a weapon to change the distribution of weight. To do so, a weapon must have been recently cared for by someone who applied mana during the process. The more familiar one is with the type of weapon, the better the results. This effect lasts for up to 24 hours. The more the weapon is used, the more the duration is reduced.
A weapon can only receive this effect once every 24 hours.
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There wasn't an actual buff like the durability making the skill seem less useful at first glance, but in reality, it could help much more than the [Weapon Maintenance] skill. Unless it was a weapon made by a master blacksmith, they all had small imbalances that could affect their handling. If the pommel of a sword was too heavy, it would usualy take away the strength of the attack, while if the tip was the heaviest part, it could make it hard to connect different swings.

Hera's skill allowed her to test out different balances to find how she preferred her weapons to feel, although actual experimentation would only happen after the dungeon. She didn't want to mess up her handaxe or chakram in the middle of a war.

When the fourth day dawned, the team woke up and started their work. There was an odd feeling to the air, almost like walking through a thick fog. Bonnie tried to use her communicator, but her voice came out all broken with some static behind it.

"Guys, we have a problem. Our comms aren't working," she let them all know.

"Yeah, those things won't work today. They are too weak. Too many spells were cast during the storm. It created a mana whirlpool that will last until the night," Alan said.

"But I thought that was just by the place where the fissure would appear," Bonnie replied.

"I might have explained it the wrong way. That was yesterday. Anything sensitive to mana would stop working there. Today the effect is spread around most of the dungeon, but spells work just fine," Alan explained.

"More than fine, actually. If you can recover mana by pulling from the air, that effect will be a lot stronger now," Rose was sitting down in a meditative position.

"Is that what you are doing?" Chloe asked.

"Yep. This type of environment helps us increase our maximum mana, and I intend to take advantage of that."

Bonnie, Alex, Chloe, and Peter joined the meditation. Hera wanted to do the same, but she still had to get the clans' reports. She made sure to hurry. Having all the information was too helpful to ignore. Luckily, she already had learned how to ride a wolf on her own. She couldn't participate in a race or an obstacle course, but running in a more or less straight line wasn't an issue. Kenji, Tiffany, and Blue did some quests but soon joined the group in their mana training. Hera and Alan were the last ones to join the meditation group. They had a couple of hours to train, and in just that short time, Hera increased her mana by 26 points, reaching 671. It would take most of a day of full training to achieve the same results.

The time came for them to eat and get ready for the next day of battles. Today, there were several things they could do. Most of the Dragon Kin army would be on the right flank, leaving the left exposed for pincer attacks. The humans, the Omegas, and a couple of squads from other clans would invade the Dragon Kin position to destroy as many siege weapons as possible. Today, they had to reduce 1 thousand points of their morale or the alchemist would create enough wildfire to fill barrels and use them as ammo for the catapults. This was a hidden event, and they would receive a notification as soon as they reached the required morale. That also meant that they had to keep going until that appeared. It shouldn't be too difficult since they had a solid front line. Blue, Tiffany, and Kenji could mow through the monsters with the ranged support. Alex and Hera could move more freely, taking advantage of the openings created by the team to destroy the siege weapons. After the group finished their meal composed of fruits, Shilo arrived with another twenty Omegas.

"We have some news. The Dragon Kin have created even more of those so-called siege weapons and spread them around the battlefield. However, the bulk of their forces is focused on the right flank in an attempt to break through our mages. We have decided to gather a team and attempt something called a pincer attack," Shilo looked to Alan for confirmation, receiving a nod as a reply, "Yes. Some other clans might join us, but at the moment, it would be just us. This is a high-priority mission, and I hope we can count on your assistance ."

"You can count on ours as well," an older kobold with one completely white eye walked forward. He was Hegir, the Lightwalkers' alpha and a member of the oldest generation of leaders. Behind him, there were another fifteen or so kobolds.

Rose smiled seeing him arrive, "We got lucky. Although there are fewer members than expected, Hegir and his clan are the strongest kobolds in the army."

The Lightwalkers had an imposing presence. All of them looked like seasoned warriors. It seemed like the attack would go without a hitch, but for some reason, Hera still felt uncomfortable. When everyone got up and started heading towards the battlefield, she did the same, chalking up the odd feeling to the dense mana in the air.