"RRRRRAAAAAARRRRRRRR"
The Troll King bellowed, swinging his massive arms with raw fury, tearing the iron bowl apart. The flame rose, swelling with newfound ferocity as the shattered wood fueling it burst apart in fiery explosions.
Crimson embers scattered through the air like falling stars as the raging flames burned the giant, its rich green health bar visibly turning lighter by the moment.
But the show did not last long. After just a dozen seconds, the iron bowl containing the giant was torn open, the firewood was thrown all over the chamber, and the troll king was free to vent his fury.
The troll king, blinded with fury, rushed forth, swinging his clawed hand to catch Vlad, who ducked and moved aside.
Kragg, waiting for the perfect moment as he was commanded, descended from above and landed behind the troll king before making a wide swing with his great sword.
The serrated blade, cloaked in crimson, dug into the troll king's flesh, tearing through muscle and sinew with a sickening rip.
The beast, who had his eyes set on Vlad, turned with a suppressed growl, throwing a backhand swing. His claws, cloaked in shadowy energy, tore through the air, barely missing Kragg, who duked and rolled away.
Vlad saw his chance slip in and pressed his hand onto the troll. His senses were pushed to the limit, as a direct hit could cost him his life.
Kragg returned to his feet and began to swing, meeting the giant blow from blow. It took fifteen seconds before all of the stored essence was used, and the mark was successfully placed.
Vlad could not help but click his tongue when he saw the 216-second timer, but besides the slightly higher activation time than he expected, everything was going perfectly.
Kragg was clearly weaker, but he was quicker, and since the Troll King was only wildly swinging and far from using his true strength, the hobgoblin was holding his own.
Vlad retreated and told Kragg to just defend and stay on the move. Now, they just had to wait for the mark to take effect, and half the battle would be won.
The seconds turned to minutes, and the three and a half minutes flew by without Kragg suffering any significant damage. Finally, the awaited notification appeared, confirming the Troll King's servitude.
{??? Dark Troll King has succumbed to the Sovereign's Mark and will serve the player's will.}
"Stand down," Kragg halted mid-swing, his massive sword stopping inches from the troll king's claws. The focus in his crimson eyes dimmed as obedience took hold.
The Troll King also stopped, his massive arms falling to his sides. But unlike the hobgoblin, his eyes were not dull, they still burned with fury, barely restrained by the dominion of the Sovereign's Mark.
'Kragg would break free in little over a minute, so let's not waste any time,' Vlad thought, closing the distance before he brought out one of the glass containers he took from Swail's house.
The previously empty glass container was filled to the brim with a thick, pitch-black sludge, its condition stale like dead water.
Blackwater Venom
Grade: Rare
Type: Lethal Toxin
Description: A sinister fusion of venom and blood. The venom would thicken the blood, slowing the heart to a sluggish crawl and shutting down organs as death slowly embraces the victim.
The venom was created by Vlad, using the venom from the commonly found Pale-eyed Viper and the blood of Blackwater Boa, a rare creature only found in the small swamp area many kilometers away from the village.
"You, Lay down on your back," Vlad said, not trusting the troll king to drink the venom without breaking the glass containers and ruining all his efforts.
Vlad had gotten lucky in finding the blackwater boa, which allowed him to create venom for five containers, each containing enough venom to kill the troll.
Although he had plenty of venom, he couldn't simply use more to kill the Troll King faster. The creature's body could only absorb and circulate a limited amount, leaving the excess ineffective.
The troll king stood there for a few seconds, his crimson eyes staring down at Vlad, but as commanded, he fell on his back.
Vlad clambered onto the Troll King's broad chest, meeting the beast's seething gaze. "Open your mouth," he commanded, his voice firm.
The Troll King's jaw clenched, resisting momentarily before the Sovereign's Mark forced compliance. His massive maw slowly parted, revealing a row of jagged, sharp teeth.
"Eat it," Vlad ordered, slowly pouring the venom inside. The dark sludge slid down, disappearing past the troll's fangs and into its throat.
'The control might not even last the three minutes I was expecting,' Vlad thought, seeing the clear signs of resistance barely being kept in check by the Sovereign's Mark.
He stepped off the troll king, his eyes shifting to Kragg, who stood in the distance. The thought of breaking its legs crossed his mind so it would be easier to take control of the green skin, but looking back at the seething giant, Vlad decided against it.
It had been over five minutes since Kragg fell to the mark, so he would break free any second, and as Vlad expected, the green skin took control after five minutes and thirty-one seconds.
Kragg blinked rapidly as if waking from a deep slumber, his beady crimson eyes narrowing in confusion. He looked up, only to feel the shock of his life.
He saw his king lying some distance away, clearly free from his prison, and seeing it, his mouth parted in a stunned gasp before he roared.
"Gukh Raza Vrosh." The guttural words of his native tongue echoed through the cavern, a mixture of shock and happiness as he rushed forth.
Seeing his chance, Vlad closed the distance in a blink, his steps silent and fluid, and before Kragg could react to the hand clamped around his neck, a swift kick swept his legs out from under him.
His balance broke, and he crashed face-first onto the floor. Kragg pushed against the floor only to have a sword that mirrored his own tear through his arm and pin it to the floor while his left hand was pinned to his back.
"RRRRAAAAARRRRRRRR"
{The intimidation roar failed to instill fear into the player.}
Kragg roared, thrashing wildly, his legs kicking out in blind fury. He twisted, struggling with all his might, but Vlad did not let go of its left hand and kept his weight on the sword, keeping Kragg pinned to the ground.
Ten seconds in, Kragg's struggles began to wane, his guttural roars fading into ragged breaths. His violent thrashing slowed, his movements losing their force as the mark took hold.
By the twentieth second, the fight had left him entirely, and his body slumped, his will no longer his own.
'Let's hope the rest goes as planned,' Vlad thought, pulling the blade out as he stepped off Kragg.
"Drink them," Vlad ordered, handing Kragg three vials of potions. As the hobgoblin gulped them down, Vlad poured three health potions over his wounded arm, the liquid seeping into torn flesh.
Vlad turned to the Troll King, who still lay on his back. His health, which had recovered to rich green, had begun to drop slowly as the poison took effect.
"Now, You will wield two swords, and also, when I give the command to eat, eat this," Vlad followed by handing him the Crimson Carnage Core, an item one acquired after killing Kragg in a normal dungeon run.
Vlad had just thrown Kragg the crimson core when the alarm bells in his head went off. His instincts, honed through years and years of battle experience, instinctively took control of his inhuman instincts.
In a flash, the world sharpened, every nerve feeling like it was on fire as his mind screamed at him of the incoming danger, urging him to move. His muscles tensed, instinct and calculation merging in a fraction of a second before he dropped down.
Vlad dropped and quickly fell on his back, doing so in a second, and right as he did, he heard the tearing of wind and then a heavy impact.
"BBBOOOOMMMMM"
A thunderous impact shook the chamber before Vlad saw a streak of green flash, closely followed by a white trail.
Another crash followed in quick succession as Kragg, who was sent hurtling across the room, slammed into the far wall with bone-rattling force.
His condition was unknown.
'When did that bastard break free? I did not receive the system notification?' Vlad questioned, confusion filling his mind.
As he turned and got back to his feet, he felt danger once more. Using reinforcement to increase his speed, he dashed away just in time to avoid a direct hit.
'What is this bastard using to attack?' Vlad hissed, knowing the Troll king had no weapons. He had never been seen wielding the shattered remains of the iron chandelier or even the firewood within it.
Yet now, as Vlad's eyes locked onto the weapon in the Troll King's grasp, he realized it was a chain threaded with crumbling skulls, each fractured and worn.
In an instant, recognition struck. This was the very necklace the Troll King had always worn around his neck.