Chapter Three Hundred and Eighteen - Sheepish

Chapter Three Hundred and Eighteen - Sheepish

Chapter Three Hundred and Eighteen - Sheepish

The monsters first mouth stayed open, revealing rows of teeth far too sharp for any sheep. Its bleat continued, pushing a wash of too-warm air past our group. All along its sides were some roots wrapped around its wool. Some were loose, and they wiggled with the bleating.

I shielded my eyes from its breath, then coughed as I took a whiff of it.

These demon sheep didnt brush their teeth often enough.

I pushed a surge of Cleaning magic ahead, forming a shield against the stench. It was a little difficult. The bleat was making me tired, I think.

Then the demon sheeps second mouth opened wide and it bleated. BAA!

The third mouth opened a moment later and joined in the scream with a powerful bleat of its own.

Soon, the three baas harmonised, becoming a single loud tone that was impossible to ignore. The blast of air grew stronger, and I felt my shield of Cleaning magic straining.

Hit them! The lieutenant ordered.

I blinked. It was hard to keep my eyes open. Hit them? Hit who?

My hand lowered, and I felt my Cleaning shield start to fizzle out on the edges. It stank again... but I didnt see why it mattered.Fôll0w current novÊls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m)

I brought my hand up to cover a yawn, then let it drop.

Everything was so heavy.

Maybe we could retreat a little? I didnt like fighting anyway.

A loud snap-crack sounded and I felt the hairs on my arms rising as Amaryllis let loose with a powerful blast of lightning. The air burned and the stink from the sheeps breath was replaced by the stench of burning wool and seared flesh.

The bleats grew stronger, but took on a pained tone.

The world went black, like shutters closing across my sight.

Oh ... those were my eyelids. I was ... supposed to keep them open, right?

Thunder sounded again.

I got an eye open, and saw Lucille tossed a fireball ahead, but it was slow and weak, entirely unlike her previous attacks. And I saw Awen raise her crossbow from the corner of my eye. She was swaying, almost drunkenly, but for a moment she grit her teeth and glared ahead. The crossbow twanged and a bolt bristled out of the one the sheeps heads.

One of the three voices was silenced.

Then the lieutenant and Erin were charging ahead. They hit the three-headed demon sheep all at once, clobbering and slicing into it with more violence than skill.

I swayed. Blinked, then refocused. The bleating had stopped, and with it, the urge to sleep faded.

Looking around, I saw two of the knights laid out on the ground. Lucille was on one knee, eyes closed, and Aria was hunched over, breathing even.

I shook my head to push away the miasma of sleepiness. Is everyone... okay? I asked. The lieutenant and Erin seem to be finishing off with the monster.

Theyre likely just asleep, Amaryllis said. She moved over to Lucille, then extended a wing to the sylph to help her onto her feet.

Awa, that was scary, Awen said. No one told us about any sheeberus monsters in here.

Yeah, I guess the lieutenant forgot, I said. I moved over to the knights who had fallen over and shook their shoulders with a shoe. That woke them up. They were surprisingly spry in their full suits of plate, and were able to roll up onto their feet all on their own.

Did I fall asleep? Aria asked as I woke her up.

I can get to one of them! I said.

Youre our VIP, the lieutenant said.

I wont be very anything if we lose here, I countered.

Amaryllis cursed under her breath, using some very unlady-like words. Fine. Give it your all everyone. No point in holding back here! Having said that, she reached her hand out towards the oncoming sheep, then grunted before slippery spikes of lightning shot towards them. I had the impression she was using a lot less finesse than usual and was instead focusing on pouring as much magic into the spells as she could.

It worked. A few of the bigger zaps took out some sheep all on their own, and those that didnt die right away were staggered or knocked out.

Lucille joined in, and I saw Awen lowering her crossbow, a focused look on her face. Soon large glass caltrops appeared in her hands and she flung them over and ahead of our group.

I nodded, bunched my legs up close, and launched myself out and over with a huge bounce that carried me up close to the ceiling.

One of the heads of the sheep I was aiming for turned up. BAAAA! it blared.

I grit my teeth and weathered the blast of wind. There was no falling asleep, not while in the air. I couldnt afford that.

Weedbane snapped open, and I spun my hips around so that I twisted in the air. The scythes point swept right into and through the course, root-covered fur on the sheepberous back. It made a pained sound even as its white wool was stained red.

I landed, a bit awkwards with the weight of the scythe pulling me aside. I wanted to swing again, but then the sheep moved.

For something so big, it could move pretty fast, at least with short bursts. One of the heads swept down and rammed me in the chest, sending me stumbling. I had to crawl away from its hooves as they came clattering down in an attempt to squish me.

Weedbane couldnt help here, it was too big... One of the sheep faces dipped down, maw open wide with crookedy teeth ready to bite. I grabbed it by the neck and held it away from me. This... wasnt the best position to be in.

Then the sheep started to bleat at me, and I felt things grow a bit hazy. This wasnt too bad. It was warm, and I was on the ground. If I let go, maybe the sheep would be like a big blanket...

I blinked hard, then pulled at the sheeps magic. My own was running low, so I'd borrow some from the sheep monster. It felt as if the veins in my arms were going to burst.

I had to get rid of that magic, and now.

So I did. I turned the magic into a tiny fireball, then another and another and another blooming all over its body. The sheep recoiled at the constant onslaught of fireballs, but I didnt let go of it. I planted my feet against its chest so that it couldnt kick at me, then pulled at its magic even more. That meant more tiny fireballs zipping around and smacking into the sheeps faces and underbelly.

The sheeps three heads bleated and it stumbled back and wrestled itself out of my grip. It looked pretty rough there.

I rolled to my feet, kicked Weedbane up and caught it out of the air.

Two slices later and the sheep was going down.

I glanced back. The second wave had rushed past and was hitting the group while The other big sheep had thundered past and was busy fighting the lieutenant at the front of the group. Blood ran down the sheep's chest from where the lieutenant had savaged its throats. When it tried to bleat, only a wavering, gurgling noise issued forth.

I tightened my grip on Weedbane, then rushed back. The sheep at the rear of the formation never saw me coming, focused (as they were) on trampling the knights holding them off.

With the sheep falling left and right and a few of the knights being freed to move more, the fight turned from a desperate defence to a quick and dirty offensive.

The knights focused on the biggest sheep, taking it down with ease once they outnumbered its heads. The others took out the stragglers, with Erin and Bron moving around to make sure that those sheep that had fallen asleep were well and truly done.

And then the big sheeberus fell, and the fight ended.

Bing Bong! Congratulations, your Cinnamon Bun Bun class has reached level 13!

Stamina +10

Flexibility +5

You have gained: One Class Point

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