But if there was one thing that I didn’t lack it was limbs. They may have gotten rid of a few of my tendrils and even a tentacle but I had plenty to spare.

My greatest asset though was my mass.

I towered over even the tallest of the scavengers and even though they may have defended themselves from my initial strikes, I could still see fear in their eyes.

They were right to fear me, for with a wordless roar I surged forwards. Sweeping the slow scavengers off their feet and crushing them under my bulk.

I only manage to kill two before the others wised up to what I was doing and hurriedly scattered, encircling me rather than facing me on one front.

I didn’t let up on the pressure, whipping my tendrils at them, hoping to snag a limb so that I could draw them closer and swipe at them with my heavy tentacles.

I caught some and crushed them but it was difficult work.

Their method of spreading out meant that they could now move more freely and thus more easily dodge or even sever my appendages when I struck at them.

I must admit, I hadn’t been prepared for this level of speed and tactics, but it hardly mattered.

They were scavengers.

Bottom feeders.

Prey.

And they would all be dead by sunrise, just as my creator wished.

They thought that they could surround me and attacked me from my blindspots, idiots. All they had done was give me a new idea.

I dove a dozen of the tendrils I had been using for locomotion into the coarse sands.

I hadn’t yet been able to figure out where their eyes were. Logic suggested they would be at the centre of their mass alongside their organs.

But I would prefer playing it safe, so instead of hurling clumps of sand at their centres of mass. I just loosely started throwing it at them, so that it spread everywhere.

Most of the sand missed thanks to this throwing method of mine but some of it managed to obscure the vision of a few of them. So overall it was a success.

Originally they had all attacked me in one large formation before breaking off into six small groups so they could surround me. Three scavengers per group.

Then they wrapped around me like a stiff iron chain.

But all it takes to break a chain is a weak link.

And the trio of three staggering scavengers were that weak link.

I didn’t pay any attention to the other groups, they were too far away to help the trio. All I had to do was dispatch those three and then pick off the others. Group by group.

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Unlike last time when I charged the scavengers, this time they were blinded and unable to properly heft up their swords in my direction to halt my advance.

Naturally, I took advantage of this, smashing into them and sending them flying like they were, well sand.

I make sure to dive a good amount of my tendrils under the sand while the scavengers are airborne.

Then once they crash back down to the ground, I feint a downward attack, making it seem like I was going to crash my tentacles down and cave in their collapsed forms.

The foolish group of scavengers closest to me didn’t even expect that this attack was actually for them.

They ran right into my waiting limbs. Dying before they even got a chance to figure out what was going on, as the tendrils I had slid under the sands tripped them up.

Without any hesitation my feint turns into an actual attack, only I killed the second group instead of the first one, killing them before they get a chance to get back up.

I only just barely manage to finish them and the first group off though before the others reach me.

The other scavengers had reverted to their original tactic of getting into one massive closely knit pack.

Presenting a united front of steel towards me as they steadily advanced. The fear in their eyes was overtaken by rage.

Fools.

Even scavengers should be smarter than this.

The chain they had created was broken, now I was the chain and they were the chained ones.

I grasp another few clumps of sand and hurl them at the scavenger pack. I would blind them and then charge them as I had done to their peers.

But for some reason, my sandy tactic proved inefficient this time, as not a single one of the scavengers so much as flinched.

I even lost a few tendrils because I leaned forward too eagerly for the opening that never came.

Quickly I bounced a few feet back, out of range of their sharp swords and baited them with some light attacks. Stoking their vengeful rage.

I had hardly begun this new strategy when a singular scavenger broke formation and lunged forward ever so slightly too far.

I sacrificed a tentacle to grasp their sword and then speared two of my tentacles through their defenceless body.

A few of the speared scavengers comrades tried to yank them off of my tentacles but it was futile effort. As I dragged them further towards myself until I could tear into them with the vast majority of my tendrils.

Watching their friend get torn apart in front of them and shredded into mere scraps of what they once were reminded the scavengers of their place.

The fear in their eyes had been rekindled.

But I didn’t just want it rekindled, I wanted it set a blaze.

Not because I was some sort of monster, no, I wanted them to be terrified because fear would make them sloppy. Already I could see them start to make more mistakes.

Some of them were drawing closer together, seeking comfort through skinship.

When you are back to back it makes it easier to face an enemy. That was probably the primal reason for this instinct.

But all it did was make it so that their greatest asset, their agility, was being hampered.

Others drew their rigid and deformed tentacles back to themselves, keeping them right next to their centre of mass.

I can’t figure out why they would do that but I do know that it means that it will take them longer to intercept my tendrils and tentacles.

There were some other small openings but nothing that was going to give me a serious advantage.

Still, they were making mistakes.

Mistakes which I was going to exploit ruthlessly.