Before being ripped from his home dimension, the Gnoll Leader had simply been another low-level grunt on the continent of Faerun.
Just like the dozens of Gnolls beneath him, he had existed solely as expendable cannon fodder for passing heroes.
But some time ago—he couldn't remember exactly when, because Gnolls couldn't count—everything changed.
The night battle had been raging fiercely, the sky burning with magic. Suddenly, the very earth had ruptured and trembled. It hadn't mattered if you were a towering Wyrm, a heavily armoured Knight, or an Archangel of the Light; everyone had panicked as reality itself seemed to collapse.
When the sun finally rose, the Leader and his surviving pack found themselves in this strange, vibrant new world.
The good news was that this place was a paradise. The sun was warm, the prey was overwhelmingly abundant, and the native wildlife was laughably weak. They could hunt as much as they wanted, gorging themselves on fresh meat daily.
The bad news was that shortly after arriving, his pack had stumbled across an old, withered Gnoll.
Normally, when food was abundant, a Gnoll pack would simply abandon their elderly to fend for themselves.
But when food was scarce... well, meat was meat. Gnolls possessed absolutely no concept of family, kinship, mercy, or kindness.
Only savagery and cruelty flowed in their veins.
Naturally, the Leader had ordered his pack to kill and eat the old beast.
However, this old Gnoll was entirely unnatural. He knew magic.
The old beast had effortlessly, violently beaten the Gnoll Leader to a bloody pulp, instantly subjugating the entire warband.
'Could it be that this old fossil is a wizard?!' the Leader had thought in awe. 'If so, there's no shame in losing. It is an absolute honour to serve the strong!'
But the old Gnoll wasn't a wizard. He introduced himself as Alken, and declared himself a Priest of the true god.
After that, life had become incredibly easy. Alken had organized the scattered Gnolls, directed them to construct this highly defensible fortress, and ordered the construction of a dark altar.
For the past three or four days, the Priest hadn't left the cavern once, entirely consumed by his prayers.
The Leader had been absolutely thrilled with this arrangement. He was no longer cannon fodder, and since the terrifying Gnoll Priest didn't care about the daily management of the camp, the Leader was effectively the boss! He was finally living the dream!
But just when he was at the peak of his happiness, some unknown, suicidal idiot from his own pack had dared to challenge him for dominance!
'Absolutely insane! You're courting death!'
Although the challenger looked somewhat unfamiliar, his scent and build were close enough. And in Gnoll culture, a formal challenge could never be refused.
It was time to fight. It was time to kill.
The two combatants stood in the centre of the dusty courtyard. The Leader brandished a heavy, rusted hatchet, while Uncle Hogg lazily swung his spiked flail.
Physically, the Level 9 Leader was noticeably larger than the Level 7 Hogg.
Seeing the commotion, the lethargic, poisoned Gnolls immediately crowded around, forming a crude fighting ring. Their yellow eyes gleamed with bloodlust. This was a battle for absolute dominance! In mere minutes, every single Gnoll in the camp had gathered to watch the slaughter.
Up on the palisade, Jerry and Sherry quietly moved into position.
Down below, Ted synchronized his vision with Anzu and the Sprite Mouse...
Hogg and the Leader locked eyes, their lips peeling back in vicious snarls. Without warning, they howled in unison and charged!
Hogg activated his [Terrifying Howl] skill. It wasn't just a loud noise; the roar carried a magical, mind-altering effect designed to shatter the opponent's courage. The sheer malice behind the sound made even the spectating Gnolls flinch and shrink back.
The Leader bore the absolute brunt of the attack. His ears rang painfully, his heart skipped a beat, and his charge faltered, his muscles stiffening involuntarily.
'The lungs on this suicidal runt are huge!' the Leader thought, shaking off the momentary fear.
The next second, the rusted hatchet and the spiked flail collided with a deafening crash, showering the dirt in sparks!
Hogg's weapon immediately proved superior. The heavy flail featured a short handle connected to an iron chain, which was attached to a dense, spiked iron ball. The chain absorbed the kinetic shock of the parry, completely negating the recoil that would have otherwise numbed his hands.
However, the Leader was a Level 9 elite for a reason. He was stronger, faster, and hit significantly harder. Despite being momentarily shaken by the roar and wielding an inferior weapon, the Leader didn't lose an inch of ground in the initial clash.
The two hulking beasts immediately locked into a brutal, unrelenting melee. The hatchet whipped through the air, creating a deadly gale, while the spiked flail roared like a trapped beast!
They traded blow for blow, hacking, smashing, and frantically clawing at each other. Gnoll claws were thick and hooked like sickles; every swipe left deep, bloody trenches in flesh.
Here, Hogg's equipment advantage shone again. His magically generated Light Leather Armour was crude, but it was actual armour. The Leader was only wearing a filthy, hole-ridden animal pelt, which Hogg's claws shredded into useless rags within seconds.
The leather armour absorbed dozens of glancing blows, significantly mitigating the damage Hogg took, even managing to deflect a potentially fatal hatchet swing.
But even with the armour and the weapon advantage, Hogg was slowly being forced onto the defensive.
The Leader was terrifyingly fast and utterly feral. He didn't care about defending himself; he willingly traded minor injuries for heavy blows, using his superior mass to slowly batter Hogg to death.
Just one minute into the duel, both combatants were heavily wounded. Another minute passed, and they were completely bathed in blood. Dark, coagulated blood flew through the air and dripped from their weapons in a display of sickening brutality.
Had it been any other Level 7 Gnoll, they would have been slaughtered long ago. But Hogg possessed the [Cruelty (Green)] talent, granting him an ironclad will to fight and unparalleled combat experience. He gritted his fangs and held the line.
Hidden in the shadows, Ted silently pointed his wand at his summon.
'Engorgio!'
'Protego!'
Two subtle, wandless spells washed over Hogg. Invisible armor reinforced his leather plating, and his muscles subtly swelled with enhanced strength.
With Ted's covert magical support, Hogg stabilized his footing and began to push back.
Simultaneously, Jerry and Sherry had reached their optimal positions. Sherry uncorked several vials of Blazing Oil that Ted had prepared—a highly volatile, unquenchable incendiary brewed from refined petroleum and volcanic magic crystal powder. It was an absolute necessity for any aspiring arsonist.
Jerry raised his wand, waiting for Ted's telepathic signal.
Down in the courtyard, Hogg was growing more ferocious by the second.
He raised his flail high. At that exact moment, Ted silently cast a Jelly-Legs Jinx at the Leader's knees.
The Leader stumbled slightly, his guard dropping. The spiked iron ball smashed directly into his rusted hatchet, snapping the wooden handle and sending the blade spinning into the dirt.
Before the Leader could recover, Hogg launched a devastating [Headbutt], smashing his thick skull directly into the Leader's elongated snout. The sickening crunch of shattering bone echoed across the courtyard, and the Leader staggered backward, blood spraying from his ruined nose.
Seizing the opening, Hogg lunged forward. He sank his massive fangs directly into the Leader's jugular, violently thrashing his head from side to side like a rabid dog tearing apart a rabbit.
The horrifying spray of arterial blood painted the surrounding dirt red.
The spectating Gnolls were completely dumbfounded. They had all bet on their terrifying boss. But the challenger had simply grown stronger and more frenzied as the fight dragged on, ultimately tearing the boss's throat out with his bare teeth!
The massive corpse of the Gnoll Leader crashed heavily into the dust. None of the spectators spared it a second glance. Their eyes were entirely fixed on Hogg.
"ARE YOU ALL NOT ENTERTAINED?!" Hogg raised his blood-soaked flail high, howling furiously into the summer sky.
'Now!' Ted signaled through the psychic link.
Under the scorching midsummer sun, the wooden palisades erupted into roaring, unquenchable flames.
Ignoring the sudden chaos above, Ted completely shifted his focus to the Sprite Mouse, projecting his consciousness deep into the cavern.
The old Priest remained entirely oblivious to the hostile takeover and the ensuing inferno outside, still lost in his dark prayers.
Through the mouse's eyes, Ted finally cast an Appraisal on the true threat.
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[Alken, Gnoll Priest]
Level: 5 Gnoll / 2 Elite Unit / 2 Earth Shaman / 3 Priest of Yeenoghu (Overall Level 12 Caster).
Attributes: Strength 7 | Constitution 7 | Agility 6 | Intelligence 7 | Perception 9 | Spirit 9 | Charisma 6 | Luck ???
Talents:
[Combat Casting (Green)]: An experienced spellcaster; rarely interrupted by incoming attacks.
[Lawful Evil (Green)]: A natural-born villainous mastermind, possessing immense prestige when organizing criminal or evil factions.
[Toxin Resistance (Green)]: Occupational hazards have granted him near-immunity to poisons.
[Iron Body & Mind (Blue)]: Rigorous, dark rituals have forged a terrifyingly resilient physique and psyche.
[3rd-Tier Divine Arts of Yeenoghu (Blue)]: Granted powerful magical abilities through direct worship of his dark patron.
[Gnoll Prestige (Blue)]: Commands absolute loyalty from Gnolls and exerts a powerful aura of dominance over other evil-aligned creatures.
Equipment: Spine Staff (Green), Emblem of Yeenoghu (Green), Flayed Skin Robes (Green), Earthen Bracers (Green), Emerald Ring (Green).
Skills: Staff Mastery (Lv. 3), Summon Gnoll (Lv. 3 - Sealed), Summon Spectral Hyena (Lv. 3), Earth Shock (Lv. 3), Stoneskin (Lv. 3).
Divine Arts: Summon Ghoul (Lv. 2 - Sealed), Summon Abyssal Fiend (Lv. 2 - Sealed), Bull's Strength (Lv. 2), Desecrate (Lv. 2), Ghoul Touch (Lv. 2), Dispel Magic (Lv. 2), Command: Shock (Lv. 2), Aura of Despair (Lv. 2), Magic Weapon (Lv. 2), Magic Stone (Lv. 2), Hold Person (Lv. 2), Mage Armour (Lv. 2), Unholy Triple Strike (Lv. 2), Fly (Lv. 1), Detect Good (Lv. 1), Detect Law (Lv. 1)...
System Note: A Shaman from a high-magic world who serves an Abyssal Lord. A heavily armed, battle-hardened veteran. Extreme caution advised.
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'Merlin's beard,' Ted thought, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead. 'He's a Level 12 dual-class Caster, he's mastered 3rd-Tier Divine magic, and he's fully decked out in Green-tier magical equipment... He's an absolute monster!'
Suddenly, the withered Priest stopped his rhythmic chanting.
His yellow eyes snapped open, burning with Abyssal malice, and his gaze locked perfectly onto the patch of shadows hiding the Sprite Mouse.
"Who is there?!" the Priest snarled.
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Word count: 1771
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