Protected from the rain of stones, I turned my attention back to the attacking titan. The shield bearers were forced to repel one strike after another as the snake continued to bash its head against their line. Despite their heroic efforts, there were limits they could not overcome. On the fifth hit, the line of defenders buckled. A few men managed to hold their ground, but others were thrown backwards by the impact. It didn’t look like the few left standing would be able to hold off another strike.
As the snake reared back again, the rubble of the wall shifted. Out from the wooden wreckage, a metallic giant dug itself free. The golem barely had time to stagger to its feet before the titan attacked.
Ignoring the stubborn little shield bearers, the colossal serpent decided to aim for the much larger target. Spreading its fang filled maw wide, the beast lashed out at the metal man. The previously indomitable golem seemed like no more than a child’s toy as the titan lifted it into the air.
Even held in the serpent’s maw, the golem fought without fear. One of its bladed arms tore a wide gash through the side of the enormous creature’s mouth. With a deafening hiss, the titan tossed its painful mouthful across the field into the rapidly approaching horde. I lost sight of it behind the rush of bodies.
Ineffective though the golem’s attacks were, they gave some time for its brother to dig its own way out of the rubble. The second golem started to stand as the titan turned around. Hissing furiously at the second construct, the snake lunged once again.
Things didn’t go quite as well for the snake this time. Moving faster than I would have expected from such a heavy construct, the golem lifted a large log from the ruins of the wall and braced it like a hunting spear.
The titan’s might acted against it as it crashed jaws-first into the improvised weapon. The colossal serpent’s strike forced the pointed end of the log down its gaping maw. Rearing back in obvious agony, the serpent struggled to dislodge its unwanted meal.
The gagging of a titanic snake was not something I ever expected to hear. The now-bloodied log dropped to the ground as the serpent seemed to struggle against the compulsion driving it to attack. Evidently, the serpent won as it dove into the earth once more.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
A brief cheer rose from some of the fighters around me. I heard a relieved sigh from beside me. Glancing over, I saw Lenard taking shelter under my defensive ward with the others. The gate guard lifted his hands back to his head with an expression of extreme focus. From the way the golem started moving once again, it was clear that the guard could control it without using the rune I had been shown before.
Even without the snake, we were still in grave trouble. The fastest of the beasts were already upon us with countless more behind them. Even worse, the serpent wasn’t the only titan in the horde. I could see at least three more colossal creatures thundering their way forwards from the jungle.
I wished I could have run, but there was no escape to be found.
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
Interlude 22: Late to the party
Norbert hated running. Even on flat land, with nothing to get in the way, running wasn’t fun. Trying to run through a forever-soggy jungle was something even he didn't have enough curse words to describe.
Maybe if he was running towards something enjoyable, things would have been better. Instead they were running towards an entire army of monsters.
No one in their right mind would want to run anywhere but away from monsters. Unless they were planning on cooking the monsters. A good roast would excuse a great many dumb choices in Norbert’s option.
Now hungry as well as irritated, he continued to scan the aggravatingly dense plants for any stragglers from the army. A major drawback of having boons that enhanced your senses was that other people expected you to actually use them. Guard duty was almost as bad as running.
Norbert hadn’t looked at his map in a while, but it was obvious that they were almost back at camp. The monsters were making even more noise than they had been for most of the rain-soaked run through the jungle.
“The beasts have started their attack.” Martin reported as they ran. “The defenses are currently holding, but the fact that the airborne beasts are bombarding the camp with a rain of stones is worrying. These creatures are smarter than we gave them credit for.”
“Will the walls be able to hold that off? I know I heard something about a barrier.” The cook asked the scrawny rune carver trailing behind the group.
“Yes... There…” He wheezed, struggling to keep up. “...there is…”
“I trust your workmanship my friend, but perhaps it would be best for some of us to hurry ahead?” The spearman suggested, as though everyone weren’t already running as fast as they could.
“That shouldn’t be…” Martin stopped mid sentence as he got a new message. “The walls have been breached. Salvador, run.”
Norbert hated the running, tangled trees, and constant rain. Salvador didn’t seem to mind though. Leaping from branch to branch, the spearman soon vanished into the jungle on his way to the camp.