The giant beastman took a few more swings at Konstite with its battleaxe but it hit nothing. The shieldbreak ability boosted the veteran centaur’s reaction time and speed making him nearly impossible to hit by the giant. The size difference also gave the centaur an edge as he could maneuver more easily around the beastman’s feet, making the battleaxe a useless weapon at such close proximity. Meanwhile, Konstite repeatedly landed cut after cut on the giant. The cuts weren’t deep but they were adding up and the fur around the beastman’s ankles were matted with blood. The giant beastman roared in rage as it couldn’t land a clean hit on Konstite.
“What’s wrong, big boy?” taunted Konstite. “Is your meal giving you too much of a hard time? Maybe you should stick with grass!”
The giant, recognizing its battleaxe’s limitations, began stomping down at the centaur. Despite its best efforts, the beastman kept missing as the centaur was too agile. Realizing its disadvantage, the giant called out for beastmen to assist it. Yet, there were no beastmen nearby. The shieldbreakers had utterly crushed the other beastmen in a couple of minutes leaving beastman corpses across the entire battlefield. Once no help nearby dawned on it, the giant beastman looked down at Konstite.
“Hard time? I’ll show you the gap in our power!”
The giant beastman created a shockwave with its roar alone. While Colet braced against the shockwave, he watched in horror as the beastman’s blood took on a life of its own. The blood turned black and, like caterpillars, crawled down to the ground towards nearby beastman corpses. The blood then inserted itself into the corpses before the beastmen stood up on their own strength. Their heads turned towards the nearest centaurs, revealing dark orbs in their eye sockets.
“Meet my shadow puppets!”
The corpses attacked the closest centaur shortly after the introduction. The shieldbreakers soon found themselves struggling against beings that were not only faster but also stronger. Unlike the beastmen that were slayed earlier, the reanimated corpses were far more adept in combat and had a ferocity unlike any living being or creature. Despite breaking their limits, the centaurs found themselves forced into the defensive as they tried to weather the storm. Only Konstite fought on even terms with the corpse that lunged at him. The two of them clashed multiple times with neither side having an edge over their opponent.
“What’s wrong?” The giant beastmen returned the taunt this time. “Are my tiny summons giving you too much of a hard time? Maybe you should stick with logs!”
The fury on Konstite’s face was evident following the taunt. His swing became faster and sharper giving him a slight edge over his foe. Following repeated swings, the veteran centaur found an opening and cut the beastman corpse in half. As the two halves of the corpse fell to the ground, the black blood that possessed it crawled back to the giant beastman. As Konstite looked up at the giant, his face turned to surprise when a fireball hit the beastman’s face.
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“You servant of the dark powers,” said Eupoos. “We will send you back to where you belong!”
Colet was so accustomed to a calm and composed Magis that he wasn’t ready for the Eupoos filled with fury. The centaur spellcaster didn’t bother hiding his disgust of the abomination that stood before them. Before the first fireball landed, he was already charging up a second one ready to throw at the giant beastman.
“That tickled, little spellcaster! You can keep throwing those and I won’t be hurt.”
Before the giant finished, Eupoos let loose the second fireball. The second one hit the target but, like the first one, didn’t even make the beastman flinch. Colet watched as the Magus repeated the process a handful of times. By the time Eupoos was charging up his eleventh fireball, the giant had already ignored him and focused on Konstite who was still trying to best the giant. Despite landing numerous cuts on the beastman, Konstite had yet to make the giant fall onto one of its knees. Then, the eleventh fireball landed and a large explosion knocked the beastman onto its behind.
“How?” muttered Colet in awe.
Konstite rushed to target the giant’s head while the beastman was on the ground. His earlier attempts failed to bring the giant down so he wasn't about to waste such a golden opportunity. Yet, more of the reanimated corpses intercepted him. It took five reanimated corpses to hold the veteran centaur in place. Konstite could only watch in frustration as the giant beastman got back on its feet.
“Not bad, spellcaster!” The beastman walked towards Konstite. “I will deal with you after I finish this small bug. The bug has entertained me enough and I will reward him for his efforts!”
“No!” shouted Colet as he watched the giant raise his battleaxe.
Konstite roared as he pushed against the reanimated corpses that held him down. Yet, they managed to hold him in place, allowing the battleaxe to come at him. The centaur chieftain watched in horror as the veteran centaur was cleaved in half along with the reanimated corpses. The legendary warrior of the centaurs was defeated by the abomination created by dark powers. While the veteran centaur did fall in combat as he wanted, the loss of Konstite was still tough for Colet who had repeatedly lost fellow centaurs in the last couple of days.
“Now,” said the giant as it turned its attention to Eupoos, “it’s your turn! Feel pride for making me fall. That isn't a feat anyone else has achieved thus far.”
The giant beastman began its charge at the Magus with its battleaxe swinging. Colet, who had just witnessed the death of Konstite, felt something surging within him. He felt it earlier when the earth elemental spells awakened something within him. Standing beside Eupoos, Colet chose to no longer stay idle. He also no longer allowed fear to hold him back. Allowing the power to take over him, he felt it guiding him in what he must do next. Whispers could be heard in his head. Once he understood what had to be done, Colet brought his two forward feet up.