Chapter 253 – Wrath of the Green Scorpion Giant

Lieutenant Benjamin:

“Fire Burst!” I shouted, unleashing blazing flames from my hands toward the monstrous green creature. The battlefield was a chaotic nightmare, and this abomination, a grotesque mass of intertwined vines and slimy algae, was wreaking havoc, hurling wagons, cannons, and even soldiers with its relentless tentacles.

“Focus on the plant on its back!” a soldier yelled, prompting a hail of arrows aimed at the grotesque parasite that appeared to control the beast.

“GRRRR!” The monster roared in fury, violently whipping its tentacles around like massive whips, toppling everything and everyone in its path. The giant carnivorous plant on its back reacted, snapping its razor-sharp teeth and emitting a sinister sound that seemed to drive the creature into an even greater frenzy.

“Target the plant! That’s its weak spot!” I shouted, intensifying my flames to hit the parasite. The heat scorched parts of the creature’s vines, and some started to burn, but its resilience was unnerving.

The creature, now partially engulfed in flames, charged at us, its tentacles lashing out indiscriminately. Soldiers screamed as they tried to retreat, but the monster’s speed made dodging impossible.

“Wind Mages! Push it back!” I commanded, and gusts of wind magic formed barriers, temporarily forcing the creature to stagger backward. Yet it was clear that this tactic would only buy us a little time.

I kept firing fireballs, aiming directly at the plant. But the parasite moved with unsettling agility, shielding itself and making direct hits difficult.

A guttural roar echoed across the battlefield, and I instinctively turned toward the rear line. What I saw made my blood run cold.

“More of them!” someone screamed, their voice trembling with fear.

A horde of infected soldiers was advancing. At least a hundred. Their bodies were twisted and mangled, overrun with vines and tendrils. It was as though they had fully surrendered to the parasitic green plague.

“Hold the line!” I shouted, but my voice was almost drowned out by the chorus of terror.

“Ahhh!” A soldier nearby was grabbed by one of the monster’s tentacles. He screamed desperately, his eyes pleading for help as the creature dragged him closer.

“Help me! No, no, please!” he begged, but his cries were abruptly silenced when the monster completely enveloped him, crushing him and feeding him to the carnivorous plant. The sound of bones snapping echoed chillingly, and blood spilled as the parasite seemed to relish its meal.

A shiver of horror shot through me as I watched what happened next.

The infected soldiers began throwing themselves at the green monster as if willingly offering their bodies to the abomination. Tentacles lashed out in all directions, connecting to the soldiers and absorbing them.

The creature started to grow. It was grotesque and horrifying. With each soldier it consumed, its form swelled, and the carnivorous plant on its back expanded, its jagged teeth gleaming ominously. The monster was now colossal, its roots spreading across the ground like a living plague, suffocating everything in its vicinity.

“This is impossible… this is a nightmare!” someone muttered beside me, as I desperately tried to muster what little courage remained.

That thing was no longer just a creature. It was a living calamity, and we were moments away from being consumed by it.

This is spiraling out of control! I thought, frantically searching for a solution before that monstrous entity obliterated us all.

“What the hell is that thing!?” a soldier beside me yelled, his voice filled with raw despair as the grotesque horror before us continued its terrifying transformation.

"Keep attacking!" I ordered, though my voice betrayed the weight of panic seeping into my chest. I hurled fireballs with everything I had, but it felt futile. The monstrosity only grew, absorbing the infected soldiers in a grotesque spectacle of death and fusion. Its tentacles wrapped around their bodies, dragging them into the parasite. With each fallen soldier, the creature swelled, spreading its roots and sprouting new plants around it like an insatiable plague.

The carnivorous plant on the monster's back began to writhe, shifting grotesquely. Its head elongated and transformed into a snake-like abomination with spiked green teeth. Its thickening neck pulsed as though alive, making it a nightmarish fusion of flesh, vines, and pure malice.

"Ahhh!" A high-pitched scream erupted beside me. A soldier was snatched by a vine and dragged toward the creature. Driven by instinct, I ran to help, but froze as the horrifying scene unfolded before my eyes.

"It's feeding on humans..." I muttered, unable to look away. "Using their bodies to grow."

I raised my hands, preparing to launch another fire blast, but my body froze. Terror gripped my heart like a vice.

"Screw this... I'm not dying here," I muttered under my breath. "They can all go to hell!"

I turned to flee. But my escape route was blocked.

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Five infected soldiers emerged, their twisted, grotesque forms lurching forward. They moved with unnatural speed, their claw-like hands seizing my arms and dragging me with overwhelming force. I struggled, setting their bodies ablaze, but they seemed impervious to pain. Two more leapt on me, pinning me down with relentless strength.

"No! Get off me! That's an order!" I shouted, but my protests fell on deaf ears. They continued dragging me toward the monstrous creature, ignoring my desperate attempts to break free.

The carnivorous plant-serpent raised its head, its unblinking gaze fixed on me. Its spiked teeth gleamed menacingly, and for a brief moment, it seemed to smile, a sadistic, knowing grin.

"Revenge..." I whispered, realizing the meaning behind its gesture. One of the creature's burned tentacles rose, pointing directly at me. It knew. It knew I was the one who had scorched its flesh.

"No! Stop! I command you!" I pleaded, but my voice cracked with despair as thick roots began coiling around my body. They burrowed beneath my skin, tearing through flesh and muscle.

The thick vines invaded me, devouring me alive. I felt every organ being pierced, my blood drained as pain consumed me entirely. A scream of sheer terror escaped my lips, only to be silenced by the crushing agony.

The last thing I saw was the cold, mocking gaze of the carnivorous plant-serpent before my vision darkened, and I was consumed by the monstrosity I had unwittingly helped to grow.

Katherine Evenhart:

My Soul Golem charged forward like a force of nature, relentless and fierce, against the elite magi known as Nikolaus Wolves' Ten Fingers. Five opponents stood before us, each highly trained and deadly, but we were resolute in our mission to bring them down.

"You’re going to die, you wretched woman!" roared the demi-human woman, launching torrents of mud toward my golem. It raised its massive claw like a shield, blocking the attacks with brute strength, while its thinner claw struck back with swift precision, landing devastating blows.

"It’s been a while since the three of us fought together," Margie remarked, gliding gracefully along an icy path she had conjured. She dodged the water mage’s attacks with infuriating ease, leaving behind the frozen, decapitated body of another mage as a testament to the seamless synergy between her and Martha.

"Go, girl!" I shouted, charging headlong toward the demi-human woman. Meanwhile, Martha was locked in combat with another demi-human mage, a wiry figure with razor-sharp claws slashing through the air like blades. My focus remained on the woman and the earth mage, and I couldn’t afford even a moment of hesitation.

“Great Stake!” the earth mage roared, conjuring a colossal stone spike that hurtled toward me with deadly precision.

"Plant Wall!" I countered, swiftly clasping my hands together. A dense barrier of intertwining vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around the spike mid-air and shattering it into harmless fragments.

“Advance!” I commanded, and my Soul Golem responded with an earth-shaking roar.

"ROOAR!"

The colossal beast charged forward, its sheer mass obliterating everything in its path. The mages scrambled to evade the devastation, desperately throwing up barriers and counterspells.

From atop my golem, I surveyed the battlefield with unyielding focus. The demi-human woman began to transform, her body enveloped by living mud that seemed to pulse with its own malicious intent. She grew larger, spikes of hardened mud sprouting from her form in every direction, turning her into a walking fortress of destruction.

“Mud Armor!” she bellowed, her voice guttural and distorted. Her monstrous figure surged forward, unleashing a hail of mud spikes in all directions.

My golem took a glancing hit but continued its relentless advance, shrugging off the damage. Its razor-sharp claw lashed out with terrifying speed, narrowly missing the woman’s head and forcing her to leap back.

“Margie! Cover the flank!” I called, summoning another Plant Wall to intercept the barrage of spikes.

Margie deftly moved into position, skating gracefully on a trail of ice. She blocked incoming projectiles with a flick of her hand, creating jagged barriers of frost to protect our rear.

“She’s a transmitter powerful enough to merge her body with her element,” I muttered to myself, noting the demi-human’s impressive mastery over her abilities.

“Let’s go!” I shouted again, and my Soul Golem let out another thunderous roar, surging forward like an unstoppable force of nature. Its stinger gleamed with a lethal green aura as it delivered a devastating blow to the demi-human.

The impact was brutal. The woman was flung through the air, crashing to the ground with a resounding thud that reverberated across the battlefield.

"ROOOAR!" my golem bellowed again, its attention shifting to the earth mage who was frantically trying to defend himself.

“Great Stone Wall!” the mage yelled, summoning an immense barrier of rock to shield himself. But it was futile. My golem smashed through the wall with savage force, its claws tearing the stones apart as if they were paper.

The earth mage’s eyes widened in terror as he stumbled backward.

“Kill him!” I commanded, and the golem’s stinger lashed out with deadly precision, impaling the mage mid-step.

"Ahhhhhh!" The man’s agonized screams echoed as his body was hoisted into the air, writhing helplessly. Dark veins began to spread across his skin as blood streamed from his eyes. His breathing turned into shallow gasps, barely audible over the chaos.

“The stinger of my Soul Golem is laced with a potent venom,” I explained coldly, watching his futile struggles. “Nature provides plenty of poisonous plants and fungi.”

With my oversized gardening shears in hand, I approached the dying mage. His bloodshot eyes pleaded for mercy, but there was none to be found in mine.

“I promised my son I’d sever many heads for the injuries he suffered… and I always keep my promises.”

With one clean, precise motion, the blade severed his head. It fell to the ground with a dull thud, lifeless.

“Throw the body away,” I ordered, and my golem obeyed, flicking the corpse off its stinger like discarded trash. The body tumbled across the ground before coming to a stop, lifeless and broken.

Without missing a beat, my Soul Golem turned its focus back to the demi-human woman, who was already beginning to recover. Her Mud Armor was slowly rebuilding itself, encasing her once again in that grotesque, living shell.

Suddenly, a massive wall of ice erupted beside me. I turned to see Martha leaping onto my golem, seamlessly taking her position at my side. Margie joined us moments later, her icy path cutting through the battlefield like a blade.

"Just like old times," Margie said with a grin, her breath visible in the frosty air as she prepared for the next round. Together, we faced the chaos head-on, ready to end this battle once and for all.

"I’ve already killed the other mage. Only the two demi-humans are left,” Margie informed with her usual calm as she leaped onto my golem. “But we have a problem.”

Before I could ask what the problem was, the massive ice wall shattered into pieces.

“ROOOAR!” A monstrous dog with brown fur burst through the broken barrier, roaring with fury.

“It’s in its beast form. I’ll need your help, Lady Katherine,” Martha said, readying herself for the fight.

I locked eyes with the demi-human whose armor was fully restored and nodded to Margie.

“I’ll handle the dog. Margie, provide support for both of us. Martha, deal with the other demi-human.”

“Understood, my lady,” Martha replied, launching herself with her spear toward the mud-armored woman, ready for battle.

Margie, with a sharp smile, quipped, “Looks like I’ll need my gardening tools to take care of these pests.”

I let out a quick laugh, bracing myself for the fight.

“Let’s go!”I shouted, and my Soul Golem roared as it charged toward the colossal beast, kicking off the brutal confrontation ahead.