Although Nick’s team gave it their all, the fight was not fated to end so simply. The great shelled beast recovered within seconds, far too quickly to launch a strike at its vitals.
By now, it was clear that they were going to have to create a longer opening before they could land a blow that could take the dragon-turtle down.
The problem was, everyone was burned, battered, and hovering near the point of exhaustion. V’s potions were able to help with the last, but on top of everything else, they were running out of time. Soon, the blackmist would wash over them in a midnight tide. At which point the hunters would devour them if the river king didn’t.
Over the next three minutes, the party unleashed a fierce barrage of attacks, doing their best to take out an eye, throat, or knee. Anything that would let them get close, or failing that, retreat to safety.
Every time they tried to pull back, the beast surged forward, and despite its prolific wounds, it was faster than they were. They couldn’t kill it, and they couldn’t run. All that was left was to fight with everything they had and hope that a chance to end things appeared within the fickle flow of battle.
Although they couldn’t land a finishing blow, they managed to score several good hits in the process, slicing flesh and cracking scale. But the river king had monstrous pools of stamina and health, and it was winning the battle of attrition despite the severity of its wounds.
Under other circumstances, the party’s efforts would have been enough to grind it down, but the situation was far from anything that could be described as ideal.
By now, the blackmist was surging toward the edge of the clearing. It would begin devouring the open ground around the tower within another two minutes, tops. When the inky vapor broke over them, they were going to die, if the dragon-turtle didn’t finish them first.
When Nick had time to look away, he saw four giant creatures on the horizon, converging on Darkstone Tower from cardinal directions. Only their heads were visible above the ocean of surging mist, revealing the cruel faces of nightmarish hounds.
At least the lord of the hunt hasn’t arrived yet. Whatever it is, it must be even worse than those monsters. But that was the extent of the good news. They hadn’t come up with a plan to finish off the river king, and before long, fatigue would sap the last of the strength residing in their limbs.
In short, the party was low on mana and running on the dregs of their stamina. Veronica’s potions had helped buy them time, but each person could only use them once per day. They only had enough energy for a few final abilities, and they needed to make them count.
The enraged beast wouldn’t let them pull back. Even if they could, there were still far too many people entering the tower. If they ran now, team Earth would lose hundreds of promising warriors within a matter of minutes. At least the shelled menace hadn’t breathed any more flame, a clear sign that it was running out of juice too.
A desperate minute later, the mist was almost upon them. The ocean of blackness emerged from the marshlands and began eating away at the clear ground around the tower’s base. In another handful of heartbeats, it would overtake their position. If the party didn’t end the fight before that happened, they were going to lose the war even if they won this battle.
Nick wracked his brain as he swung his sword, trying to figure out any way to cripple or kill the incredibly resilient reptile. But nothing he could think of would work given the limited time and resources they had at their disposal.
Another few seconds and they were going to have to make an ugly decision. Run and let the beast hit team Earth from behind, sacrificing at least one of their lives in the process, or fight and die where they stood.
No matter which choice he made, Nick was afraid that Kenji and Devin would battle till the bitter end, costing him two good friends and the Earth a pair of its most promising protectors.
That was when Jim and Ken came darting out of the mist, sprinting for the Tower of Rizzen for everything they were worth. Nick was shocked to see them. He’d expected Jim to enter the tower the instant that everything went to shit.
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Behind them ran Elizabeth and a group of ten other people. Latecomers who were just arriving at the tower after crossing the marsh. As much as he disliked Jim’s way of doing things, Nick couldn’t fault the man’s courage.
When Jim’s party drew close enough to hear their voices, Sophia cried out. “Help us you bastards, or a lot more people are going to die.” Jim merely scowled and averted his gaze. He kept on running until he was past their position, but Ken came to a stop beside Nick’s team.
“What are you doing?” Jim yelled.
“They might be yesterday’s enemies and tomorrow’s as well,” Ken replied. “But right now, they’re doing the right thing. In this moment, we’re all in this together.” With that, the swordsman reached to his belt and drew a gleaming silver blade the length of his hand.
“No, that’s far too valuable to waste on the likes of them. You need to save it for the boss.” Instead of listening to Jim, Ken ran closer to the river king, took aim, and then threw his blade.
It must have been some manner of rare and powerful consumable. Because the moment that the weapon left Ken’s hand, it burst into crackling electricity. The resplendent display contrasted against the blackmist behind as the weapon shot forth so quickly that Nick could barely track it.
With unerring accuracy, the magic blade, wreathed in living lightning, went streaking through the air. Buzzing like a thousand furious hornets, it closed the distance faster than thought.
The lightning blade went plunging straight into the river king’s left eye, destroying the organ before discharging the electricity into its brain. The beast reared back and came crashing to the ground, spasming as the voltage went coursing throughout its body.
Ken turned to look at Nick and they shared a nod, before the swordsman sprinted back to Jim’s side, who was still cursing in frustration as they led the stragglers around the side of the tower.
“Ok. I like him more than Jim,” Sophia muttered, as their party fell into formation, ready to end the fight while they still could. “Although that isn’t saying much.”
Ken had created a genuine opening, distracting the beast while stealing the vision from one eye, creating a blind spot while drawing its attention away from Nick’s team. Recognizing that the battle had arrived at a pivotal moment, the party didn’t hesitate. The five of them burst into motion and converged upon the king, ready to unleash the final drops of mana and stamina at their command.
Kenji had reacted faster than the others, and was the first to reach the beast’s thrashing form. The scarred strategist gathered his strength and leapt high into the air. On the way down, he raised his spear over his head and swung it in a powerful arc… straight into the black lance that had broken through the river king’s shell.
It drove the massive weapon deep into the beast’s body, tearing through tissue in the process. The instant that Kenji’s boots came down on its shell with a hollow thump, he reared back and thrust his weapon into the gap he’d just widened, inflicting more damage to the king’s savaged innards.
The effect was immediate. The beast screamed while pitching its massive body from side-to-side, flinging Kenji off in the process. To Nick’s horror, Kenji landed badly and went down hard. Everyone was still a few seconds away from arriving at his side.
The king’s head came whipping around, ready to end the strategist’s life between its jaws. A pair of Veronica’s bolts struck it in the face, but it wasn’t enough to distract the maddened creature.
At the last possible second, Kenji rolled onto his feet and leapt to one side, as the king’s beak snapped shut with a clamorous clack.
For a second, Nick thought that Kenji had gotten away clean. But when the man fell to the ground for a second time, to Nick’s horror, he saw that Kenji’s left arm had been sheared off at the shoulder, bright blood pumping into the soil below.
“No!” Sophia cried out, burning the last of her stamina to push her body into a final burst of speed. But it was far too late. The river king reared back, raising its body high into the air. In another few seconds, it would come crashing back down to claim Kenji’s life, and the others wouldn’t reach him in time.
In the heart of that dark moment, inspiration struck. Nick called upon his arctic clarity, drawing upon the intense focus it granted. This time, it worked, but he knew that it would only last a second given his condition.
But on this occasion, a second was all that Nick needed.
He had already come to a stop and reached down, scooping up a rock the size of a grapefruit and cocking it behind his head. It was a reckless gamble, but he was willing to pay the price. Anything to save his friend.
Screaming his defiance, Nick activated force acceleration while burning stamina at the same time. A raging tsunami of vital energy went coursing into his limb, turbocharging the power of his arm.
As the king’s body came down, slavering jaws spread wide to end Kenji’s life, he took aim and threw as hard as he could, his power bolstered by two different energies, not to mention a surging tide of adrenaline.
It was far more than his body could take. He heard a resounding crack, followed by incredible pain as his arm shattered in a dozen places. Wet agony erupted as muscles and ligaments tore beneath the force of his reckless throw.
But none of that mattered. All that mattered was what happened next.