The first thing that hit me was the stench. The wind was blowing against me bringing the stench of the ghouls. It was vile and I saw many people puking. Whether that was from the stench or their nerves was anyone’s guess. Then the ravager ghouls ran ahead of the lesser ghouls, eager in their excitement to kill everyone. Forty ghouls ran into our funneling system. It worked perfectly, splitting the group up. Anywhere from eight to 12 in each funnel.
The ghouls hit the traps, halving their numbers before they came in range of our mages. Fire arrows and fireballs met the remainders. Even on fire the ravagers kept running toward the front line. The noise was the clash against the tanks was much louder than I expected. The tanks held firm, keeping the clawing and grasping ghouls from penetrating. The melee fighter then got to work cutting off limbs and heads. The ghouls continued to fight even with their limbs cut off. It took separating their heads from their bodies to bring them the final death. Injured fighters were replaced and taken to the fortification for healing. Slowly the ghouls were killed. Some from the fire, most from decapitation.
But it took too long. The lesser ghouls were almost at the front line. The ranged fighters were devastating the ghoul ranks, but there were just too many. The front line had just enough time to switch out for fresh fighters when the lesser ghouls showed up. The first wave was rough, but this was rougher. As the ghouls went down, then started stacking on top of each other, making it easier for those behind to climb over the tanks. Melee fighters started engaging the climbers as soon as they hit the ground. Injuries became more frequent, and lives were lost. But the choke points held. Then the pressure started to ease. The lesser ghouls were still numerous, but now they were manageable. Switching out the tired tanks for fresh ones was making a difference. The lines held and the ranged fighters were destroying the backed-up ghouls.
The Ghoul Lords made their appearance. The scouting report was wrong. There were three of them. One was obviously the wave boss. It was larger than the other two. Alongside them were the plague ghouls. At least forty of them. The plague ghouls seemed to be ready to attack, but the Ghoul Lords were holding them back. The Ghoul Lords moved slowly toward through the front dividers toward the left side. All the plague ghouls followed them. Rather than split up, they all went to the furthest left funnel and entered it. They were coming in force to spread the plague.
This is what Captain Willop, his team, a large team of experienced adventurers, and I were waiting for. It was our job to eliminate the plague ghouls and then the Ghoul Lords. The adventurers and I would go after the plague ghouls, while Captain Willop’s team would go after the Ghoul Lord. Part of my team’s responsibility would be to separate the plague ghouls from the Lords. We would taunt and kite them away to allow Willop to attack a Ghoul Lord. Separation was the key.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
We arrived at the left funnel before the plague ghouls. The choke point still had lesser ghouls attacking, but the tanks and front-line fighters were controlling the fight. If nothing were to change, the lesser ghouls would present no problem. However, with the plague ghouls and Lords coming, it was about to change for the worse.
The ranged fighters changed their target to the oncoming plague ghouls, as they were the bigger threat. Once again, fireballs and fire arrows litter the sky. As they fell, the plague ghouls started to fall, but much less than the lesser ghouls had. Maybe 5 on the first volley. The Ghoul Lords stop just out of range. The boss Lord waved his hand, and the lesser ghouls split to either side, letting the plague ghouls rush to the front.
My team intercepted them. Our tanks, covered in magical plate armor, forced the plague ghouls to attack them using taunt skills. Shields linked together prevented the plague ghouls from easily getting past. Pikes were used by melee fighters to push the ghouls back, while others used halberd to separate their heads from their bodies. I kept watch for any injuries and loose ghouls.
One tank went down. He fell backwards and a plague ghoul immediately jumped on him. It tried to bite him but only got a mouth full of metal. The tank dropped his shield and held the ghoul at arm’s length. I took this opportunity to attack the ghoul. Balmung seemed to guide my strike and struck its neck, cutting through and separating the head from its body and killing it. Unfortunately, it bled all over the knight and into the eye slit. I immediately pulled off his helmet and cast diagnosis. He was infected. I laid my hand on his head and cast Cure All. He was cured, but because his face was covered in blood, he got reinfected. I pulled my canteen of everlasting water and pour it on him until the ghoul’s blood was washed away. Then I cast Cure All again, once again removing the disease. It was then I realized that I could have cast Cleanse instead of using water to clear away the ghoul’s blood. It was a few terrifying seconds, but everything worked as planned.
I turned back to see the tanks were getting tired. The plague ghouls were tough to kill and over half were still attacking, even though many had missing limbs. The melee fighters were getting more aggressive and started to get injured. Each time, they came to me for diagnosis and a cure if needed, then went right back into the fight. It had turned into a slog and the longer we fought the more tired we became. The ghouls seemed to have endless energy.
An enterprise group of adventurers had moved to the side of the choke point, giving them a clear shot at the ghouls without having to worry about hitting the tanks. One mage had a flamethrower type spell. When he cast it, the flame literally ate up the dead flesh of the ghouls. It was like napalm, sticking to them and burning them to the bone. Fireballs, lightning bolts, fire arrows all came rushing into the mass of ghouls until there were only a few remaining. These were quickly dispatched by the remaining tanks and melee troops.
