Running up the tower was not as bad as I thought it would be, after having healed from most damages the previous day I feel extremely fresh, although it is hard to tell the time in a room deep underground we have been sticking to a rough schedule of when we go to sleep and wake up.
On top of the tower I could finally see the swarming humans below us, it was hard to make out the exact numbers with the darkness only being illuminated by a few holding torches or lit up swords, however for the most part it had to be at least a hundred. The flood gates had been opened and the scene below me was horrific, most of them were blending into the dark below but it was those that reflected light off their armour that had me scared, with heavy metal armour and equipped with halberds, great swords and swords with shields. We were not coming out of this alive, a party of five could not fight over one hundred well armed humans that were potentially on par with the paladin I had just fought, and amongst their group were mages and archers that started shooting up at us before the paladins could even begin taking steps up the temple inside a temple.
Arrows flew by my head as Colbert, Sofia and Marie opened fire at flashes of light caused by magics down below, they would move around to avoid any counter magics while I was used as a moving target for enemies to practice shooting at. This did not deter the advancing soldiers in the dark, if anything they had only increased their pace as less of their magicians were able to fire back at the top of the tower, with me being illuminated in the darkness and with nothing for me to throw down I knew that I was completely useless here.
I could only duck and weave as the unending hail of arrows proceeded to occur, at least magical bolts were becoming rarer with every single shot fired at me. Whatever these people were here for must not be the temple as they did not even bother talking to us.
Zutal: “Colbert could these actually be Claret Confederacy troops rather than adventurers?”
Colbert: “I reached the same conclusion a long time ago, running an entire army against a nobles son in the Sentient Assemblage would not be too out of the ordinary.”
Zutal: “But how did they get here? What about the bear tribe? How could they track us?”
Colbert was busy with shooting at blips of light that I constantly ducked and weaved from, an arrow bounced off my shoulder as my scales seemed to have hardened again and yet I still felt sluggish after yesterday’s meal.
Colbert: “You spotted their scouts while living in Brushwood Haunt, they must have been finding paths in our own forest for a while now so that they could make precision strikes. Damn them, to think they could be this competent.”
Sofia: “I cant believe that we are all roped into this because of you.”
Colbert: “You did accept the quest knowing the dangers, that’s why the pay was so high.”
Allelu: “The pay was good, but it was not too good to be true. We never signed a clause to fight off a foreign army, even that paladin was pushing the contract.”
Allelu was throwing items out of her backpack while I continued to reflect all our parties magic, bouncing arrows or simple having the arrow break upon making contact with me even if some of the arrow heads did get lodged in my scales, making me look like a pin cushion. Instead of dropping down to the ground and picking up the arrows I instead opted to pluck the ones stuck to my chest and arms, before reeling back my hand and javelin launching them down into the darkness of the tower base.
*Aeii
*Clang
Enemy troops did not decide to climb up the stairs of the temple, this was a weird choice but considering that I saw a fully plated man get his head blow off by Colbert with a charged up eldritch blast proved that the rest had chosen wisely. Ducking and moving side to side was becoming tiring, until I felt that I had to let my food go, turning to stare down one of the temples side while illuminated by magic was a bad idea which got me a few arrows stuck in my should. This did not stop me from projectile vomiting down the temples side, chunks of meat and pure stomach acid that can corrode gems fell down the large stone bricks that made up the temple, while puking I was moving my head from side to side as arrows began to hit my face and fail to penetrate.
The act of shooting up a 50 metre (164 foot) tall Aztec style pyramid must have had the arrows losing a lot of their speed, while my tough scales protected me from any arrows that did reach me from piercing too deeply.
*AAAAhhhhh
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“My face!”
“I’m melting!”
Screams came from below as I smirked while gazing into the darkness, by now magic had become non-existent in the enemy ranks as I stood getting dimly illuminated by the parties magics and getting lightly hit with arrows. This lasted all but a minute until I saw a reflection of light from below, the heavily armoured people were getting up, and while Allelu has been cleaving people in half on the other side of the temple from me I had nothing to poke the guy down.
Looking around I spotted the pedestal used to showcase the large, golden scale atop it. Shimmering under its own light the scale showcased a universe within itself, like a mountain of power that I got momentarily entranced by. It was everything I wanted to be and could not throw it at the human below, it was to be revered and worshipped as an artifact and not a throwing implement. Instead, I walked up to it and delicately picked it up, before bending over and placing it on the ground.
Standing up I placed my hands firmly around the pedestal and lifted with all my might, the heavy stone was not easy to give way until it cracked at the base, where it was connected to the temple and only then could I finally lift it up. By this point the steel armoured man had his hands gripping the top of the floor on which I was on, so ignoring the need to glance at the scale below me and worship it I walked up to the armour with the pedestal over my head, throwing it down with all my might.
*Crash
*Cling
*Crunch
The noises of someone being crushed alive were quickly drowned out by the battling happening around me, arrows flew at head popping up on the platform, sounds of flesh and bone cleaved in half could be heard from Allelu as she herself had metallic clangs coming off of her from arrows.
Colbert was shooting eldritch blasts at an armoured targets making their way up while Sofia walked around clubbing peoples hands with her spiked staff, I had to quickly stop gazing at the hard work of everyone else as I heard the light clinking on metallic gloves on stone.
Turning around to be faced with another fully armoured human was inevitable with such a large army coming after us, although this armour was different as it was heavily engraved with deeper and lighter grooves suggesting multiple exterior enchants. Seeing that I was out of throwing things and I could not throw the scale the size of my palm down at the man I decided to use his own subordinates against him. Walking up to a leather clad soldier I grabbed them by the hands and yanked them up, holding them aloft in the air while looking eye to eye and seeing the fear in their eyes felt wonderful.
However indulgences in tormenting others would have to wait until after this slaughter is completed, opening my maw and seeing two rows of teeth must have scared the man but I was too busy popping his head like a ripe watermelon to enjoy the feeling of it or the irrational fear of myself in his eyes. Instead I grabbed at the now lifeless corpse and walked up to the man who lifted himself and his armour halfway up the floor, switching my grip to the ankles I took a golfers swing behind my back and hit leather clad body against a steel clad one.
*Crunch
*Squelch
The body practically disintegrated, leaving me with only the lower torso, yet the man in the armour did not so much as fall down, instead his grip on the stone floor cracked it slightly as I threw the body to the side. Taking a swing with my leg at the closed helm was futile, I had barely moved his head with such a powerful kick and he was still holding on to the cracked ground while lifting up. Seeing this I began to panic, the man was beyond myself and I could only claw and kick against his upcoming figure from the darkness below.
Zutal: “Help me Colber this guy won’t fall down!”
Colbert takes one look before his mouth drops and the colour of his face changes from red to pink.
Colbert: “What the Fuck, they sent a general after me, Fuck!”
The man had almost fully lifted himself over the floor, his legs swung over and he was lying on the floor before me on his belly. I kicked until he was here and then I dropped on top of him, to claw at the knee joints and gap between the cuisse and breastplate since his arms were closed flush and a mail coif was between his helm and breastplate. My attacks felt like they were hitting steel, the armour underneath easily flexed when he moved but my claws felt like they were doing nothing, and as he leaned on the side I got easily pushed off by his grip on me. I was on the base of the pyramid just below the top, lying on my back as I saw figures moving in the dark, while I heard screaming above me.
Colbert: “Die you fucker!”
*Swooosh
Light exploding up above while others cried out too.
“The Generals on top, push now!”
Sofia: “Die! Stop climbing!”
Marie: “I am switching to my knives.”
Allelu: “Huff, Haaa!”
*Ahhhh
“My hands!”
“Lieutenants Dead!”
As I was coming back to my senses I realised that I was being stabbed while lying on the ground, swords were attempting to hack away at me but were failing to pierce past my scales. The swords tried to stab at me from above at my chest with the soldiers putting their full weight on top, and some of them were trying to bring down their swords length wise on my spread out hands.
‘Maybe I can eat that scale. No it is a holy artifact! But I will die and then it will be in enemy hands, that cannot happen! A Dragon scale so perfect must not be held by the humans, let alone witnessed by them! I must kill all of them, that will be my penance for such a heresy! Yes, I will kill them all for heresy!’
“HAHAHAAHAHA”
The stabbing stopped as foot sounds started shuffling away.
“HAHAHAHA”
“You disgusting creatures dare to bear witness to the most holy and sacred part of the temple devoted to the old gods, you dare to bear witness to such a golden scale that makes dragons everywhere look like worms!”
Standing up the lizard is not the same, a constantly open maw filled with yellow and bloody teeth is showing, no longer concealed by the reptile lips that usually cover them bits of flesh can be seen hanging off between the teeth.
Zutal has become insane, in the face of hopelessness he has chosen heresy.
But is it heresy if the God no longer exists?