AWB Chapter 535 There always has to be a plot twist.
Chapter 535 There always has to be a plot twist.
"After two days of travel—and I'm talking about time in TRPG, of course—you've finally got everything arranged."
"The adventurers traveled far and wide, retracing their steps to contact the archmage of the Fox Gate and explaining the details of their plan to her."
"With the help of the bards' persuasion, the archmage has agreed to launch a counterattack, which will begin at sunrise tomorrow."
"The adventurers have ascertained the layout of the undead legion's camp, learned the general's location, and even reached an agreement with a group of rangers lurking in the forest. They have decided to carry out the assassination plan when the counterattack begins tomorrow morning."
"After a long night's rest, at sunrise, the adventurers heard a loud noise coming from the Gate of the Fox-Druid—"
The narrator, Fox, floated on the back mountain of the camp, arranging the positions for the next round of battle while having her familiar recite the plot outline of what had happened before this great battle.
"Are you all ready? The real battle is about to begin!"
"""oh!"""
The group members spoke in unison, their expressions filled with excitement.
It has to be said that hyacinths are quite talented at inspiring their companions; this is exactly what a protagonist in a shonen-style story should be like.
But this isn't the world of magical girls; this is my TRPG dungeon adventure, so the rules of the game still apply.
The scene shifts, and a massive magical barrier appears above the Fox Gate on the distant seashore, from which countless magical orbs descend, exploding into brilliant flames on the front lines.
The undead legion acted swiftly, with cavalry pouring out of the city gates and breaching the hastily erected defenses. Warriors and rangers swarmed forward to reinforce the lines, catching the legion completely off guard.
Spells cleared the way, warriors charged, and a sudden counterattack threw the undead legion's camp into chaos.
"It seems the Archmage is quite true to her word and has indeed organized a counterattack."
Dressed as an assassin, Tian Nanxing lay on a tree branch, observing the battlefield through binoculars while relaying messages to her companions below.
"Excellent! Once the general shows himself, we'll rush out from our hiding place and ambush him!"
Hyacinth is full of confidence and has already begun planning its next steps.
The group hid on the only road leading from the general's camp to the front line. Countless soldiers of the undead legion were already rushing to the front line to provide support, but the general had not yet appeared.
After waiting for several minutes without seeing the target appear, Hyacinth began to have doubts.
"...Why aren't you out yet?"
"Yes, with the sudden outbreak of fire at the front, the general should have gone to the command post to direct the battle. Why hasn't he arrived yet...?"
"Shh, keep your voice down, someone's coming from over there!"
Nightingale's beak was covered by Sasha's outstretched wings, and everyone immediately fell silent, their gazes fixed on the figure emanating a terrifying aura of oppression not far away—
The pink, finely crafted, super-heavy armor, with a large axe shaped like a rabbit's ear on its back, and standing three meters tall like a small mountain, reminds one of the super-heavy Cheshire Rabbit seen when escaping Foxkov last time.
After selecting her profile, the challenge level was displayed prominently: [Challenge Level: 16].
"Level 16?!"
"Are you kidding me? Hey, the highest level in our adventurer party is only level 6, and even including the druid, it's only level 16! Is it really fair to fight against opponents of this level?!"
Hyacinth immediately protested, turning to shout at the fox-like familiar.
"Hehehe... This is part of the game, Miss Hyacinth~"
The fox girl said with a smile,
"Hey, if you don't launch an attack soon, Bunny might escape from your ambush."
"Damn it!... Anyway, let's go all out!"
Without even bothering to discuss whether the numbers were correct, Hyacinth decisively activated the encirclement. The adventurer team and the lurking ranger squad rushed forward, instantly surrounding General Rabbit.
"A surprise attack!" "Whoa?!"
The rabbit girl was startled by the sudden attack and jumped back, but before she could react, the druid's attack came crashing down from the sky.
The owl bear's attack was blocked by the rabbit's great axe, and both took a step back, watching their opponent warily.
"A brilliant ambush!"
The fox-like familiar pressed the pause button, the turn-based battle cycle started, and she began to provide narration.
"General Rabbit did not expect to be ambushed here and was caught off guard."
"Battle begins! Having gained a decisive advantage, the adventurers now have the highest first-strike points!"
"However, due to General Rabbit's talent [Legendary Vigilance], she reacted at the last moment and blocked the druid's attack, resulting in a stalemate between the two sides."
After reading the narration, the fox-like familiar flew to the heavily armored Cheshire Rabbit's side and said to her:
"Hey, Bunny, don't just stand there, recite the words!"
"Ah...ah, did I have lines here? Just a moment..."
The rabbit girl took out a booklet from her pocket and, guided by her familiar, flipped through it, eventually finding her own script.
Then lower your voice, trying to make it sound less monotonous:
"You've actually received help from the Archdruid, but if you think that's enough to defeat me, you're being incredibly naive!"
"Let me show you the immense power of the Great Demon King Fox!"
The narrator, Fox, picked up the conversation:
"After saying this, General Rabbit, who should have been suppressed first, suddenly disengaged from the battle wheel and held a crystal pendant that emitted a faint glow in his hand."
"A dazzling light radiated from the crystal, and everyone couldn't help but cover their eyes in that instant of brilliance."
"This feels like a very powerful magical item. Can I use a perception check to determine its type?"
Iris remained calm and composed as she spoke to DM Fox.
The fox spirit nodded and tossed a few dice into the dice pan.
"Of course... Check successful. The item in General Rabbit's hand is the legendary item [Arcane Twisting Crystal] that she obtained from the Great Demon King. Once activated, it can instantly unleash powerful magic, forming a distorted supergravity space that crushes all enemies around it."
"Why are you hiding these self-destructing gadgets again?!" Hyacinth quickly complained.
As a seasoned victim of the second-stage monster, she has been tricked by the monster who appears to be lying down but actually detonates a magic bomb no less than twenty times.
"Hehe~ This is also an important part of the game."
"The intelligence did not indicate that General Rabbit possessed such a powerful magical item, which greatly surprised the adventurers."
"With General Rabbit about to detonate the pendant and wipe you all out, what will the adventurers do in this critical moment?"
DM Fox looked at the adventurers.
"...Can I use counterspell to counter this magic?" Iris asked tentatively.
"That won't do. Your counterspell is only at the third level, while the crystal contains ninth-level spells. The check will be extremely difficult."
"Then...can I use my sorcerer's spells to control General Rabbit?"
The speaker was Sasha, a winged person playing the role of a sorcerer, but she was also denied by DM Fox.
"Currently, the only spell you can use is Human Immobilization, but this spell requires an action to cast, and it's not your turn yet, so you can't counter it."
"I see..."
Sasha suddenly realized, pinching her chin with her wingtip and falling into deep thought.
The assassin, Tian Nanxing, was positioned quite far away, and the priest, Bai Ling, had no means to interrupt the spellcasting, so the situation remained deadlocked.
Fortunately, this is a turn-based TRPG, giving adventurers ample time to think before making decisions.
"Quickly think of something to do! Otherwise we're all going to be wiped out here!" Hyacinth said anxiously.
"How can we interrupt the casting of this spell?" Nightingale pressed.
"Hmm... Well then, I'll be blunt. This spell is contained within a crystal. If you can knock the crystal away from General Rabbit's hands, I'll consider it as you interrupting the spell's release and greatly reducing its destructive power."
DM Fox, showing leniency, smiled and offered a solution to the impasse.
At this critical moment, Marigold, dressed in an owl bear costume, stepped forward—
"Thump!"
The mascot costume is very large, with built-in height-increasing features. When worn, it makes the wearer about the same size as a bunny wearing heavy armor, making it particularly conspicuous in the center of the battlefield.
"It's my turn to go on stage!" Druid Marigold shouted.
"I'm closest to General Rabbit, and in my Owl Bear form, I have a double boost to agility and strength, so it's best for me to do it."
"Wait... If you do that, you'll still be within the spell's destructive range..."
Iris quickly calculated for a moment and said with concern.
The Druid Marigold revealed a bright smile and made a thumbs-up gesture with her mascot costume.
"Hehe, that's exactly the kind of opportunity a cameo role should be in!"
After speaking, the Druid Marigold turned to face General Rabbit, her eyes resolute, her fists clenched, ready to die.
The dice were thrown and rolled into the dice pan, the numbers clearly visible.
"Owl Bear's strike was extremely precise, knocking the crystal from General Rabbit's hand."
"The out-of-control magic turned into a huge explosion, blowing everyone, including General Rabbit, away, and turning the camp into ruins in an instant."
"The Archdruid collapsed, exhausted from the explosion, but when the adventurers recovered from the aftershocks, the heavily wounded Rabbit General was still standing in the center of the ruins!"
Scene change.
Before the adventurers could even process the druid's self-destructive attack with the Marigold, they were suddenly confronted by the Cheshire Rabbit, whose challenge level had been reduced from the invincible level 16 to level 8.
The rabbit girl threw off her tattered, heavy armor, shouldered her battle axe in one hand, and revealed the tyrannical smile befitting a rabbit general.
"The real boss battle has only just begun."
"Miss Hyacinth".