40

The Lizardmen

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Gnawing sounds resounded from an alley, the place where the tracks had led their group.

‘Green skin.’ Alduin observed the creature closely. ‘A scaled body, no obvious weaknesses.’ His heartbeat rumbled through his body.

A large creature had dragged a corpse into a puddle of water. Small thuds resounded as the monster’s tail slid over the ground hitting the walls on both sides.

Branching from the wide street, Alduin and Ise stood in front of each other with the alley between them. Veleda hid in a house a small distance away and Leon stood guard behind Ise.

‘Not possible,' Alduin signaled Ise, even without their backpacks, moving into this small alley, with its tail guarding its back was walking into the jaws of death.

‘We don’t know how strong it is,’ Alduin thought as his mind raced with possibilities. ‘It looks at least as strong as a goblin captain, but I have no idea how we can take it down.’ There were multiple routes in front of them, yet not a single one assured them of their victory as they didn’t know how strong these monsters were.

‘I’d rather not use it,' Alduin thought as he nodded toward Ise. ‘But if it’s necessary, we’ll need to get ready to evacuate immediately.’ The small spark was still being suppressed, he wasn’t like Ise where she could hide her presence. And right now they couldn’t risk announcing their location with a burst of energy.

They were all familiar with the current plan and as Alduin was preparing himself for the worst-case scenario, Ise threw a pebble in the alleyway.

The echo of the bouncing stone drew the attention of the lizardman. Its tail immediately stopped beating as silence descended. The crouching body moved higher, the green scales that weren’t covered with mud reflected the small rays of light.

In response to the sound, the lizardman stood up completely, but even at its tallest position, its back was still bent forward. The muscular stature of the creature didn’t diminish its nimbleness as a loud crash was followed by the Lizardman turning around.

‘It used its tail?’ Alduin and Ise both hid behind the corner. ‘It pushed itself upward with its tail and turned.’ He finally had an idea of how to take care of this monster.

Alduin once again signaled Ise, ‘You go first.’

Ise nodded in reply as she moved behind Leon.

Each heavy step of the creature was followed by a splash of water. The dragging of its tail made Alduin’s hands grip the spear even tighter.

‘It’s almost here,’ Alduin moved back and lowered his stance. The adrenaline of facing the goblins had long since worn off. And now, this familiar sensation coursed through his body as he tried to remember how he pulled it off in the first place. But the closer the creature came, the clearer his mind became. ‘I’m ready.’

A breath was released.

The crocodilian snout of the lizardman was the first to exit the alley, around the same height as his chest if he stood straight. Yet, Alduin had to look up as his body was crouching down.

Sharp vertical eyes, dominated by a yellow color followed next, and sharp claws grabbed the corner of the alleyway.

A breath was taken.

The lizardman called out with a hissing noise, a communication as foreign as the goblins’. Almost as if it was sucking air through spit-filled cheeks.

But before the lizardman completely showed, Ise already leaped off a windowsill and aimed down with her dagger. “NOW!”

Her shout caught the creature’s attention.

Alduin rapidly moved forward as the long thorn in his hand pushed forward. An assault from above and below. They moved rapidly as the hissing of anger increased.

“Aim!” Alduin yelled loudly as his spear moved forward, aiming for the inner thigh of the creature. The scales in its groin were bound to be more flexible compared to a flat area.

The dagger landed and the spear pierced.

A raging shout rang out as the tail completely demolished the walls of the alley. Alduin, who watched Ise closely, called out, “LEON!”

Ise's nimble figure kicked off the muscular creature. The monster finally entered their sights in full glory, yet one claw grabbed its eye as a hiss of anger erupted.

“Anchor,” Alduin grunted to remind himself, he tried to use the attack he was most familiar with. But before he could lock himself and the spear in the ground he finally realized something. The strength of the lizardman’s step forward was something even Alduin couldn’t hold back. ‘The mud!’ He had overlooked a crucial detail. His surprise made him shout, “Fuck!”

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Alduin’s shoes were covered in mud, the small amount on the street itself made him lose any traction he had as his spear didn’t enter deeper into the lizardman’s groin.

Standing in a crouching position, he had tried to aim as accurately as possible, and while the hit was a success, everything that followed quickly turned into a disaster.

A towering figure hissed, the air it drew in connected with fluid in its throat as a sharp whistling noise assaulted his ears. The lizardman towered over him with a stout body, the scales on its stomach were a lighter shade of green than on the rest of its body. A single eye made contact with him, the large jaw opened and another hiss erupted.

“FU-“

A crash rang out. Before Alduin could even react, the muscular tail of the lizardman had launched him over the street. His body slid through the sludge of mud.

“ALDUIN!” Veleda’s voice rang out.

Cough cough

Alduin almost coughed up blood as he lay on his back. His hands still trembling from the impact he had received. The sky above shone brightly, and his thoughts momentarily wandered, ‘It’s... a clear sky.’

The shock was sudden, his mind was hardly able to fathom what happened as he suddenly stared at the clear sky. But another shout jolted him awake and he pushed himself up again with a shaking arm. 'No way.' Shock spread over his face as he realized he was almost ten meters away from the alley. The moment stood up another cough escaped him.

A long trace led back to the lizardman who was staring at him. He had slid more than 7 meters after he landed on the ground. His clothes were completely soaked and the thorn he used to fight had a crack in the middle from holding back this impact.

Steps rang out close to him, “HERE!”

“Thanks,” Alduin said and grabbed what she had given. “Be prepared to evacuate at any moment!” Before he even finished talking to Veleda, Alduin was already running forward again.

Everything moved fast, everything went wrong. His steps pushed him forward as he noticed the lizardman had turned its back to him. But his eyes were opened wide as he noticed the lizardman had finally pulled its claw from his head. A raging hiss rang out as the giant jaw of this creature opened wide.

“LEON!” Alduin yelled at the same time. He was almost at the alley when he shouted, “Don’t let it hit you!”

But unlike their expectations, the lizardman didn’t move forward and only swung its arm in their direction. Leon held his ground as he anticipated the impact, but an object flew toward him with incredible speed.

“Dodge!” A voice yelled out as Leon was pulled backward. Ise pulled both of them to the ground as the dagger left a deep gash into the pavement it landed on.

Alduin saw everything happening, two of them were in an unsteady position, and the lizardman moved forward with an exploding burst. The claws on its feet as well as the webbing gave it incredible traction as it arrived near them with only two steps.

'NO.' Alduin's eyes opened wide as he knew what was going to happen next. They were completely wrong. They had overestimated their abilities.

“HA!” Alduin shouted out, trying to pull its attention. His muscles bulged, and a warm current spread from his stomach to his arms. The spear that withstood the impact of the tail smash was launched with all the physical strength he could muster. And like the crystalline tree, a jolt of exhilaration surged through his muscles as he released his grip.

It was impossible not to sense the approaching attack. The lizardman turned around with a nimble motion, yet the moment it looked at Alduin with its remaining eye, a spear landed on its neck.

‘Did it pierce?’ Alduin, who couldn't stop his approach, stared with hopeful eyes. But the lizardman already pulled out the spear and started its next movement.

‘Only?’ His thoughts couldn’t even form completely as danger washed over him. Alduin noticed it, the sole eye remaining of this creature looked behind him, his mind almost blanked as he shouted, "VELEDA!”

His perception increased, his heart beat faster, and jolts of thunder pushed his attack beyond his limit as he held the object Veleda had given him. A second spear, after the first one had broken, aimed forward. His movements stopped, yet his feet made him slide closer to his target. “DIE!”

An unfathomable amount of rage erupted as his arm once more launched the ash-gray thorn forward.

The Lizardman that wanted to throw this weapon to the unguarded maiden now used it to defend itself. A loud collision rang out at the spear held by the lizardman broke from this impact.

‘Again?’ Alduin stood in shock, he finally stopped sliding right in front of this creature. Looking up he felt his mind tremble as his heartbeat reacted to his desperation. ‘Do I-‘ There was no time to think. The spark he was suppressing was about to erupt.

“STOP!” Ise's voice erupted and darkness momentarily devoured all daylight as another hiss rang out.

The thrashing fase had begun. The second eye had been pierced by Ise. Her feet once more pushed her off the lizardman’s back, only closely dodging its thrashing tail.

Alduin felt cold sweat drench his back, but the assault wasn’t over yet. The lizardman turned with great force before Alduin could even steady himself. The tail followed the torso with great speed.

“LEON!” Alduin wasn’t worried about himself, the tail had already hit its target in the middle of its attack.

UGH, Another grunt rang out as Leon slid backward, the grip on his boots was almost nonexistent. Leon sank to his knee just to increase the surface area as he tried to hold the muscular tail back.

Quick steps capitalized on this opening as Alduin leaped forward and grabbed the spear lying on the ground. The shock of the failed assault was pushed to the back of his mind as his eyes stared at the neck of this lizardman. ‘Blood, I pierced its scales!’

A fierce glint was locked onto the place his first spear had landed. ‘They’re stronger than I thought,’ Alduin thought as he took a step forward. ‘But it’s not impossible.’

Like an aggressive bolt shooting forward, Alduin used all the strength in his arm and pierced his spear right between the lizardman's arm. Reaching forward, Alduin finally broke through its defense.

“Get back!” Alduin yelled. A fierce hissing noise erupted as the lizardman dropped to its knees, its tail was the only thing trying to keep the assailants away from it.

“NOW!” Leon shouted out. Their communication and teamwork was terrible, between the heavy breaths they took, only short shouts were able to convey their plan. But each of them fought for each other, Leon who ran closer collided with the body of the lizardman. His sword pierced the same location as Alduin had broken.

Another ragin hiss rang out and Ise, covered in a cloak of darkness finally appeared above the monster.