The effect of Empowered Fireball was astonishing. The beastfolk within the area were wiped out in a single wave, but the barbarian chieftain and those few dinosaurs did not die—they were merely gravely wounded.
Attributes and Hit Points are nothing more than a quantitative abstraction of living beings through dice. Almost no one can fight until the very last drop of blood, and Anser was no exception.
Fireball's instantaneous lethality is extremely high. It heavily injures all creatures at once. When more than half of one's Hit Points are lost, the body triggers self-preservation mechanisms—shock, unconsciousness, and incapacitation are all normal outcomes.
Anser had anticipated this. He was just about to deliver the finishing blow when he saw the barbarian chieftain suddenly roll over and spring to his feet.
He lowered his head to glance at his motionless allosaurus companion, then threw his head back and let out a furious roar as a layer of red light flared over his body.
"Roar—"
The sound was violent and ferocious, filled with seething hatred.
At the same time, his body began to swell rapidly. Black scales spread across him, his skull elongated, his mouth filled with fangs, his hands transformed into sharp claws, his legs thickened abnormally, and a long tail burst forth from behind…
Anser decisively cast an Empowered Distant Fireball with Quickened Spell. A brilliant, flashing projectile shot out like lightning, crossing the distance in an instant and racing toward the monster.
The roar was cut off abruptly. The barbarian chieftain had not expected his enemy to be so "despicable." Fortunately, this time he was on the ground. He immediately activated Reckless Charge with all his strength and rushed outward. His bloated body moved with astonishing speed.
Boom!
The fireball exploded, and the flames surged outward, once again swallowing him at the outer edge.
What are you roaring for? As if you're the only one with a loud voice.
Anser felt thoroughly satisfied.
[…Dasso Barbarian Chieftain has been hit, taking 37 fire damage. Current Hit Points: 2/82]
[Allosaurus defeated. Gained 1,800 experience points]
A stream of experience notifications flashed through Anser's mind—extremely gratifying!
Although the barbarian chieftain had rolled and escaped the center of the blast, his skin was charred and mangled. He lay on the ground, barely able to breathe.
Within the area covered by the flames, not a single living thing remained. Beast armor and wooden weapon shafts were completely burned through. Oxygen was instantaneously consumed, heat waves churned violently, and ash filled the sky.
This… is truly terrifying. And it even comes with visual effects.
Anser dared not imagine the scene if he himself were struck by Fireball.
In theory, the damage drop-off at the edge of Fireball is minimal. The closer one is to the center, however, the greater the destruction. In the central zone, instantaneous pressure, thermal radiation, temperature, and oxygen depletion subject creatures to multiple layers of devastation.
He also realized that Distant Spell should be paired with Seeking Spell. If the casting distance is too great, classes with keen instincts or fast reactions can dodge in advance, making hits far more difficult.
Anser cast again, giving his opponent no chance to catch his breath.
"મેજિકમિસાઇલ"
Metamagic: Distant Spell + Magic Missile!
A clear, ringing phrase of Draconic echoed across the battlefield. Three shining missiles howled across a distance of over a hundred meters, striking the fallen, half-finished monster almost simultaneously.
The target twitched a few times, then went completely still.
[Target defeated. Gained 975 experience points]
"Someone with such a bad brain really can't be saved. Instead of properly training with shields or throwing axes, why turn into some kind of beast?" Anser sneered mercilessly.
Although he had only two sorcery points left, the enemy's main force was dead, so everything had been worth it.
Just when he thought the barbarian tribe would collapse and retreat, the crowd—whose morale had been low—suddenly surged as if pumped full of adrenaline, screaming as they charged again.
Strange. Anser's expression turned puzzled.
Salian snapped back to his senses and immediately gave orders: "Keep loading grapeshot—fire at will!"
He was in an unbelievably good mood. In this time, place, and environment, what did it feel like to have an elite spellcaster on the team who could still cast normally? A full sense of security.
He bared his teeth in a grin, revealing gleaming white fangs. The Flame Cannon still had nine shots left, and the ammunition for the regular cannons was even more plentiful. Today, he would let these natives see the war weapons of Faerûn.
Boom…
The cannons roared, battering the few giant herbivorous dinosaurs until they dared not approach. Their bodies were too large, making it hard for them to dodge.
But after witnessing the cannons' power, the beastfolk had learned their lesson. They did not charge head-on. Instead, they spread out as they advanced, each one drawing a javelin from behind their back.
This was their traditional specialty!
Anser was about to prepare Wind Wall as a layer of defense, but he realized he had been overestimating these beastfolk.
The Quesser was still sailing along the river channel, with beastfolk warriors and dinosaurs giving chase along the bank. Their relative speed was not fast. Before they even entered Anser's normal range, they were picked off one by one by Salian, Finn, and the other shooters—saving even the cannonballs.
Anser simply rode his horse and jumped down onto the deck. Once the natives drew near, he raised a hand and fired a Ray of Frost.
With a hiss, a white line flashed through the air, leaving behind a trail of misty vapor that drifted away on the wind.
The fastest Deinonychus dropped instantly. Its upper body was covered in white frost, and even its breath sprayed cold air.
A fraction of a second later, another Ray of Frost struck, piercing into its brain and freezing solid the pitifully small amount of brain matter it had.
A smile tugged at the corner of Anser's mouth. Lately, he liked using Ray of Frost more and more—fast to cast, a swift trajectory, high damage. There was nothing better for clearing trash mobs.
Whoosh, whoosh—
Several javelins flew in. Nornoth easily leaped aside.
Seventy to eighty meters was almost the maximum effective killing distance for ordinary javelins—but for Anser, it was just right.
After twenty or thirty more dinosaurs and beastfolk fell, the enemy finally broke completely. They stopped chasing and began to flee in a scattered, straggling mess.
Especially the riders on the rear triceratops, ankylosaurs, and hadrosaurs—throughout the entire chase, they did nothing but run, yet they kept dawdling. The riders themselves were ferocious and indignant, baring their teeth and waving their weapons, but their mounts did not seem particularly cooperative.
Anser felt a bit envious. He waved for Salian to go on ahead, while he stayed mounted and trailed behind.
From time to time, he fired off a Ray of Frost, harvesting experience points little by little. The beastfolk and dinosaurs did not dare to look back—anyone who did turned stiff.
Anser—one man and one horse—chased a whole pack of dinosaurs and several dozen people. This time, the triceratops actually ran to the very front. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought it was rushing to get to a meal.
Suddenly, a clamor rose from the distance—shouts and the sounds of slaughter carried on the wind.
Anser immediately halted and looked toward the beastfolk tribe. He discovered that, at some point unknown to him, several hundred tall, green-skinned humanoid monsters had arrived from the landward direction. They charged into the beastfolk settlement and killed anyone they encountered, their movements swift and decisive.
What is this now? A mortal enemy?
But the enemy of one's enemy was not necessarily a friend. He quietly withdrew, with no intention of getting involved in this chaotic melee.
At that moment, the green-skinned monsters split off a detachment to intercept the beastfolk warriors. One of them ran straight toward Anser, waving at him from afar.
"Your Excellency, we mean no harm." (Draconic)
Anser froze for a moment. He understood it—this was Draconic!
Compared to the Draconic spoken on Toril, their pronunciation was softer, with heavier nasal sounds.
Draconic was extremely ancient and notoriously difficult to learn. Due to physiological limitations, most races simply could not shape their throats to produce accurate Draconic phonemes.
As the other party drew closer, Anser finally saw him clearly.
He was taller and more robust than a human, at least two and a half meters in height. His body was covered in green scales, with a lizardlike head, sharp claws, and a long tail—essentially a giant lizard walking upright.
Lizardfolk?
The dice turned slightly, detecting target information:
[Lizardfolk King, Medium elemental creature, Challenge Rating 5]
Elemental creature?
This already touched on a blind spot in Anser's knowledge.
He only knew that lizardfolk were generally true neutral, lived in swamps or forests, could swim and burrow, possessed spell-like abilities, and spoke Draconic and Primordial.
The Lizardfolk King stopped several dozen meters in front of Anser. As his yellow pupils shifted, a trace of reverence flickered within them.
"Your Excellency, we are from the Green Marsh Tribe. My name is Giant Tail. I am the king of the tribe."
"You mean that swamp over there?" Anser asked, pointing toward the marsh west of the distant lake.
"Yes." The Lizardfolk King split his jaws wide, revealing rows of sharp teeth. He looked somewhat ferocious. "We are sworn enemies of the Dasso barbarians. We happened to see what was happening and rushed over to help…"
"Mm." Anser's face remained expressionless. He did not expose them. Perhaps the lizardfolk had arrived long ago and only dared to come out once they saw the Dasso barbarians collapsing.
"Your Excellency may not know this, but the Dasso barbarians worship Ubtao, the Father of Dinosaurs. They believe dinosaurs are Ubtao's children, and they regard any creature that dares to hunt dinosaurs as a mortal enemy—until death…" Giant Tail explained.
"So that's how it is." Anser suddenly understood. It sounded a bit bizarre, but it was not difficult to grasp.
According to Giant Tail, the Dasso barbarians were widely distributed. Upon reaching adulthood, they underwent a "Dinosaur-Seeking Rite" to form a soul bond with a dinosaur, fighting and living together, which made them extremely powerful.
They regarded dinosaurs as comrades-in-arms. Any creature stained with dinosaur blood would be attacked by them without exception.
This included dragonkind!
The Dasso barbarians worshiped only Ubtao. Even true dragons could not make them submit. Moreover, the largest Dasso tribes actually kept several super-giant dinosaurs. Their strength was not inferior to that of ordinary dragons, giving them the capital to be arrogant.
"Are there other Dasso tribes nearby?"
"Yes. About ninety-three miles farther south…"
"What place is this?"
"The Emerald Plains. To the north is the Dinosaur Forest…" Giant Tail answered without hesitation.
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