Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

The wolf saw it all happening. His planned reinforcements were apprehended, the gates closed, and the legendary parties combined. Yet, he couldn't intervene. At first, he didn't want to be caught up in a fight against the Tree at one of the two new gates.

Seeing how there was nothing he could really do to turn the situation for the troops at the gate, he decided to join his colleagues in raiding the tree. Although he was not specialized in fighting against massive creatures, he could do at least some damage. However, when he turned to leave, he had a sudden visitor that needed his attention.

“Hello, young friend. It took me a while to find you, but we can finally have a little talk,” a friendly old man had appeared behind him. he had a long white beard and a kind smile, as he stood there with his hands behind his back, wearing exotic robes.

“Who...?”

“You may call me Master Mountain.”

...

They were in the middle of coming up with a strategy when the hair in Soti's nape stood up. Centuries of experience warned her a fraction of a second before a bewitching sound entered her sharp ears and the vines pressing against Krista's barrier slowed.

“Off with their heads ~” a whisper snuck into everyone's ears as the music swelled to be heard by everyone. It was a language she didn't recognize, but it snuck into her brain and gained meaning. She was sure she had heard something similar before but she couldn't quite remember.

Like her, the other legends looked around, trying to find the source, not really affected. However, party members of lower levels showed various reactions, from looking around shocked and panicked, or outright freezing stiff. This was what she could notice in a fraction of a second before her attention was drawn to signs of movement beyond the wall of vines.

“Unholy Slash!” someone hollered and a dark energy blade barreled through the forest of vines, crashing into Krista's Barrier. The defensive membrane that had withstood even the onslaught of roots trying to crush it, shook.

Dark spiderwebs of cracks spread from where the energy blade struck the barrier. It didn't collapse, but it also didn't recover as quickly as before. At a quick glance, a dark energy permeated the cracks in the barrier. judging by the name, was this actually the unholy attribute?

Beyond the gap stood a muscular Minotaur, wielding a giant double-headed axe. It was such a typical depiction of the bullheaded monster, that Soti was struck with nostalgia for a moment. She remembered the time when she first started adventuring, centuries ago. Like back then, the beast exuded a menacing aura, like the executioner who had come to deliver their sentence.

“Dance 'til you're dead~”

The new phrase broke her nostalgia, as her leg suddenly jerked a little to the side. She was an elven scout. She had become a legend decades ago. her body suddenly moving against her will, even if it was just a little jerk, shocked her down to the core.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Looking around, Demus, Krista, and Jarvan had experienced something similar, while their parties had begun swaying to the music, at various decrees. Many could forcefully resist the lyrical command, but it was clear that all of them were affected.

“tsk, where is this music coming from?” Demus exclaimed angrily, looking at the dancing people.

It was a small number of the Bishop's knight order, that was unable to resist because of their lack of level and resistance. As the Order of Covdite was the biggest group among them, they also had the lowest average quality. Still...

“Heads will roll!” the music swelled and she could feel the ground under her feet shaking. As if triggered by the call, something fell from above. A giant, over 300-meter-tall colossus jumped down from the Guardian Tree like a monkey and landed in the city not far from their position. It was a massive figure with glittering golden skin, wearing a golden armor and crown. Even in the shadow of the giant tree, the giant gleamed with brilliance.

“Looks like Minas Mar won't just let us raid their tree, huh?” Jarvan commented on the situation. They had yet to take action.

“Heads will roll~”

“Another?” Jarvan asked slightly surprised.

Another massive figure fell from the tree and landed with a great impact, matching the beat of the music and the swaying dance of the party members. Seeing the creature about a third as tall as the golden colossus, but burning in deep red flames, Soti was taken aback once again.

The last time she had seen a Fire Titan was in her childhood. Where had such a creature of old folklore crawled out from, to suddenly appear here? She didn't have much time to ponder over this question, as the song kept going.

“Heads will roll! On the floor.”

Matching with the first two, a third figure, once again slightly smaller than the former, landed in the city close by. This time, Soti was just taken aback, because she had never seen anything like it before. It had the body of a giant and from its shoulders grew several serpent heads. It was grotesque.

“What is that?” Krista couldn't help but ask at this sight. Members among the raid team became disturbed by the music and the growing number of enemies. Soti shared a glance with the other legends. It wasn't smart to jump into action right away, so they decided to wait.

“Ceres on the west streets, Big tree over everything. The fire's all hot. You're all done.”

Soti heard the cry of an eagle above and found the figure of a big bird, covered in lightning had appeared above them. Meanwhile, the music had become so powerful the ground was literally shaking.

A legend! There was still a legend Minas Mar could use! Soti swallowed hard, seeing the presence of the eagle, lowering her defenses and resistance. It negated Krista's presence which raised all of their defenses by 15%, only leaving the improved healing.

Past the eagle, she also saw two other figures floating in the airspace above the city, just below the crown of the tree. She recognized the pets of the Tower Master. One was a giant flying centipede, the other a black imugi, something of a pseudo-dragon.

Her focus didn't stay on them for long. Although they were powerful, they were not legends. Her eyes wandered away. As if drawing her gaze, she discovered a small figure standing on one of the branches.

Using her elven eyes, coupled with the skills of a legendary scout, she was able to clearly see the culprit. She finally witnessed that bard singing this song and it matched with her suspicions. A man wearing a dark armor, cranking a weird instrument, singing a demonic song.

This was the tower master of Minas Mar. The description they had gotten and the pictures they had matched perfectly. Everything had clicked, when she remembered where she had heard this kind of language before and remembered their info on the demonic bard.

“ Dripping with divinity, Tatzel stop tattling. The table's all set. You're all done.”

“It's the Tower Master, he's on the branch up there. He's the one sing-” Soti was about to warn her allies, when the song interrupted her, sealing her mouth.

“The priest cries out- The elf cries out- The warrior cries out- The Saint cries out- Their men cry out-”

Demus:” Oh no.”

Soti:” Oh no.”

Jarvan:” Oh no.”

Krista:” Oh no.”

Party members: “ Oh no!”

As the music became even stronger and the beat penetrated their bodies they were forced to sing along!

“The priest cries out- The elf cries out- The warrior cries out- The Saint cries out- Their men cry out-”

Demus:” Oh no.”

Soti:” Oh no.”

Jarvan:” Oh no.”

Krista:” Oh no.”

Party members: “ Oh no!”

Twice. It happened twice. Soti was in a state of shock, as her mouth had moved on its own to go along with the song. Just what kind of instrument was this for someone of that level to manipulate them?