Sophia, Veronica, and Nick spread out as they drew near the patch of earth where the river king was facing off against their friends. The women darted around back to remain within its blind spot, while he ran to reinforce Kenji and Devin, who were barely holding their own.
Both men were using their shields to deflect the reptile’s claws, leaping out of the way whenever its hulking beak came snapping in their direction. They had spread out to attack both sides of its head at once, each launching blows at throat or eye whenever the beast turned to attack the other fighter.
Kenji had acquired some new gear since the last time Nick had seen him. The battle-scarred strategist was wearing a new set of chainmail and wielded a heavy spear that was tipped with the horn he had claimed from the fallen rhino back in the arena. In his other hand, he held a shield that was even bigger than the last one. Despite the seriousness of their situation, it was good to see Kenji alive and well, at least for the time being.
Barring the king’s rampage with just the three of them must have been a grueling ordeal. Both men were battered and weary, covered from head to toe in cuts and bruises, blood and mud. Though they looked utterly exhausted, the fierce determination on their faces revealed that they still had some fight left in them.
Nick had drawn his sword and begun circling around to the beast’s blind side as well, hoping to land a heavy blow before the creature realized that reinforcements had arrived. But half a heartbeat later, Devin slipped in the mud and fell hard on his ass, within easy reach of the creature’s razored beak.
It lunged for him without hesitation, intending to pluck his skull from his neck like a grape from the vine. Nick abandoned his plan and ran to the rescue, knowing that he would never make it in time. Not even his darts would be fast enough.
Just before the king could end the athletic man’s life, Kenji was there. He took the attack right in the center of his massive shield, releasing a thud that Nick could feel in his bones. The move saved Devin’s life, but it knocked Kenji off-balance, and he nearly fell over too.
While the strategist struggled to recover, a set of scimitar claws came streaking for his face, as the colossal beast struck out with its forelimb. Kenji fought to regain his balance and duck behind his tower shield, but there simply wasn't enough time.
Before the claws covered half of the distance, Nick’s spells arrived on target. He had fired two darts back-to-back the moment he realized that his friends were in danger, trusting Kenji to hold the beast back for a few final seconds. Both silver missiles struck true and sank into the king’s left eye, disappearing into the brain beyond.
It let out a roar as excruciating pain engulfed its head for a handful of heartbeats, causing its attack to fall short. Unfortunately, the darts couldn’t paralyze a creature of that size, but at least they had bought Nick time. He closed the final stretch of ground, swinging his sword with the weight of his body and the force of his charge behind it, praying that his aim was true.
His weapon came down onto the beast’s scaled neck, just like he had planned. But instead of biting deep into the tissue below, the sword only carved a shallow cut before deflecting, stonelike scales resisting the magic blade better than any creature Nick had fought before.
He leapt out of the way as the dragon-turtle turned to face him, an all-consuming rage burning in its eyes. While his move had saved his friends, what he had learned was even worse than he’d feared. Even without the protection of its shell, the river king’s body was incredibly durable. His attack had only made the big bastard mad.
Nick dodged the beast’s snapping jaws by the skin of his teeth. He leapt back beyond the reach of its claws as they tore through the air, shredding the end of his toughness modified jacket with no appreciable resistance. He was down a considerable chunk of mana, and hadn’t managed to inflict much damage. At least he’d bought the seconds they needed to get Kenji and Devin back on their feet and back in the fight.
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“Nick, I knew you would make it.” Devin grinned as he resumed his fighting stance.
“Your timing is impeccable.” Kenji planted his shield and raised his spear.
“Hurry,” Sophia yelled from somewhere behind the beast’s shell. “The blackmist will be here any minute.”
“She’s right,” Kenji braced himself to receive a blow. “We have to end this fast and retreat, or we’re dead even if we win the fight.” That was all the time for talking they had, for the beast had recovered from the sting of Nick’s darts and begun to advance once more.
By now, he could feel the effects of Kenji’s aura, which had grown stronger since their fight in the arena. Unlike arctic clarity, which filled Nick with an intense sense of focus, Kenji’s aura strengthened his resolve. A steady determination to do whatever he must, and to face his problems head on. It also seemed to be regenerating his stamina, which Nick sorely needed considering how much he’d burned through already.
On that note, he took out the potion that Veronica had given him and downed it in a single gulp. Energy came rushing back into his body as he raised his blade, eyes tracking the beast’s advance while probing it for weakness. Seeking the best place to land a critical attack with his sword.
The only reason they had been given this long to prepare was that all five of Sophia’s wasps were harassing the reptile, flying into its face every time that it reared back to strike. They must not be able to penetrate its hide with their stingers.
Before anyone could land another blow, the king turned and snapped, crushing one of the summons in the blink of an eye before reorienting on the three men standing before it.
For the next two minutes, they battled the beast to a stalemate. Spear met scale, shield deflected claw, sword and axe rebounded from shell.
Nick couldn’t see what the women were up to, but he knew they must have something planned. The king took out two more wasps during the exchange, each sacrifice stopping a blow from claiming someone’s life.
“Nick and Devin, draw its attention,” Kenji cried out. “There’s something that I want to try.”
Trusting the man’s instincts, Nick darted in low and then thrust with his blade, aiming for the beast’s baleful eye. It turned its head at the last possible moment, taking the blow across its beak with a terrible screech that left a scratch behind. The creature roared and lunged for Nick, but before the blow landed, Devin was there.
He absorbed the hit on his blue metal shield, let the force throw him back a few feet, then leaned in and brought his axe down in a wicked overhand chop. It smacked the creature on top of its skull with a hearty thwack, followed by a boom as blast striking activated.
It wasn’t enough to break through, but the attack enraged the wounded beast. It began scrambling for Devin, completely consumed with exacting its revenge.
The moment that it was distracted, Kenji stepped in, aimed for a crack in the shell, and lunged with his spear with everything that he had. The weapon struck true, the fallen rhino’s horn biting deep into the soft flesh below the hard shell, releasing a bright spray of blood.
The king whipped its body back around. The motion tossed Kenji aside like he weighed nothing at all, nearly causing him to lose his weapon in the process.
They’d managed to score their first significant injury, but it didn’t seem to have done more than aggravate the beast and cause it to change target. Moving faster than before, it began running Kenji down, ignoring the blows that Devin and Nick unleashed it in passing.
Just before the king caught him, the last two wasps landed beside the hole that Kenji’s spear had widened. The creatures began stinging the open wound, frost billowing up from the afflicted tissue.
That was when, with a crack like a gunshot, something came whipping around from the king’s back, so fast that all Nick could see was a blur until it hit. The beast’s tail crushed both bugs to paste in the blink of an eye, then reoriented on Kenji with murder gleaming in its gaze.
Devin used the opportunity to change his weapon into its two-handed form, wailing on the dragon-turtle’s shell as hard as he could, each strike releasing a pulse of flame upon impact.
But the river king must have been resistant to the heat, because it ignored the blows and kept right on coming, Kenji only heartbeats away from being trampled by its charge.
It would have been the end of the brilliant strategist if it wasn’t for one small detail. While the king was distracted by spear and wasp, the women had climbed onto its back. At the moment, Sophia and Veronica were scaling the peak, standing beside the massive spear penetrating the beast’s shell.
They looked at each other, nodded, and then split up. Their weapons poised and ready to strike.