441: A and A

It was frustrating for Beatrice to see just how little damage she ended up doing despite the successful activation of her Eerie-Looking Dagger’s effect.

·        Each successful cut with this dagger into the same target’s flesh doubles the damage dealt with the previous cut by this dagger. Stacks up to five times before reset.

All of the incredible potentials of such a potentially absolutely absurd effect were neutered by Annie’s more-or-less successful deflection of Beatrice’s first strike with the dagger. And because Ember was the one that started the fight, Beatrice’s armor set’s bonus also did not apply.

Effects: Generic-looking set bonus (5/5) - Stealth Skills have increased effectiveness by +30%, +30% damage dealt on first strike if initiating combat, +60% damage dealt on back attack if initiating combat.

Thus, when an opportunity presented itself, rather than doing the fifth thrust with her Eerie-Looking Dagger for a whopping 80 damage, Beatrice simply put away the dagger and activated her [Sharp Claws (+2)], a skill that gave her a massive damage boost for a disproportionally small stamina consumption.

Skill Name: Sharp Claws (+2)

Rank: D

Type: Combat Craft / Toggle

Cost: 24 Stamina per minute

Cooldown: 10 seconds

Description: A Succubus can extend its fingernails into sharp, long, deadly claws. Often considered as a sure-tell sign of the Succubus preparing for combat, it can also be a feign to scare off unwanted company.

Once activated, increases the Succubus’s Physical Attack by 45%, Physical Defense penetration by 20%, Magic Defense penetration by 5%

And what a change it was! Beatrice’s claws dug deep and sliced through the princess’s back like butter, ripping flesh apart and sending blood pouring out. Beatrice even wondered for a moment if she overdid it and flat-out killed the little hammer girl that proved so impervious to all attacks just moments before.

“KAHU!?” Annie’s stance faltered, her knees shoor, and her hammer spun out of control, slipping out of the pink-haired girl’s hands and whirling off high into the air, up and behind both Annie and Beatrice.

310 damage dealt

Oh? Beatrice was a little surprised. Just from the amount blood she unleashed and the depth of the cuts she inflicted, Beatrice expected to leave the girl if not dead, then at least paralyzed with correspondingly much greater damage numbers.

However, Beatrice’s only reference for the damage she did was her own Health Points. This left her guessing whether “three hundred and ten” Health Points was a lot or not for this princess. Perhaps, three hundred and ten were all of her Health Points, or maybe Annie’s relatively stylish but unimpressive in terms of defensive capabilities skintight outfit did in fact provide more defense than an eye test would presume.

But all that Beatrice’s momentary surprise did, was provide her with an opportunity to test out her dagger’s effect when it was set up with a more impressive first attack. No sooner than when Beatrice pulled her right hand’s claws out of Annie’s back, she drew her Eerie-Looking Dagger with her left hand and thrust it forward right into the middle of Annie’s biggest, bloodiest wound.

“GRUAGH!!!!” Annie unleashed a deep powerful roar of a lion and a sudden blast of a powerful, wind-like black aura stopped Beatrice’s attack before her blade could reach Annie’s flesh.

Beatrice barely stood her ground against the powerful force that slammed her entire body. But the first wave of the princess’s dark spirit was followed by a second, even greater storm, darker than black. Beatrice could’ve sworn she saw a pair of bright yellow eyes flash in the wind before the dark aura knocked her away.

“I suppose that answered your question, Annie,” a female voice announced itself with a sneering tone and even less subtle laughter. “Honestly, you should stick to what few talents you possess.”

By the time Beatrice regained her footing in the far corner of these living quarters, she saw a group of ten soldiers in red and white armor enter the hall through one of the doors near where Beatrice’s group entered from, nearly the opposite side from where the battle with Annie currently took place.

Armed with spears, with open helmets, the soldiers looked not unlike the guards Beatrice saw in the king’s throne room. And they were led by another girl who also a wore red and white set of armor, though she could not resist wearing a skirt that showed off her naked thighs. And instead of a spear, she carried a claymore on her back, partially hidden by her long, rust-colored hair.

“Now her too?” Liam asked distraught as he turned to the new foes that appeared behind them when they had yet to deal with the previous princess.

Carl shared in Liam’s worries. For better or worse, there was hardly a man who did not know the name of the claymore-wielding knight and the second commander of the palace guard, the stern jewel of the Seven Sisters, the Fourth Princess, “Asuna.”