Chapter 880 Chapter 879: Terracotta Grottos (33)
As the invocation spilled out onto the battlefield again, I grit my teeth and pumped my feet against the ground, running as fast as I could even atop the soft soil, rushing towards the embroiled Demons and slamming into the backs of the Terracotta Golems.
My Khopesh slashed down into the armored back of the nearest Golem, and I was rewarded with a satisfying crunch as the blade cracked apart the hardened clay armor that it was made from and revealed nothing besides a giant Core inside, which pulsed with mana and shattered as soon as my Khopesh traveled through the Golem's back and into its chest.
Crumbling to the ground 'dead', the Golem began to break apart instantly, returning to the earth and freeing my blade up for the next Golem, all while I looked out for whatever the invocation had accomplished; each one so far had been of significance and has altered the battle in one way or another, so I was partial to believing the Goblin King didn't speak without reason.
That theory of mine was proved as I felt something grasping at my boots, the soft soil below now writhing to life with small roots that tried desperately to anchor me down, whilst the occasional larger root stabbed at me with incredible velocity, trying to pierce my calf and hold me in place.
Now that I had attacked one of the Golems, the others were made aware of my appearance, and they turned and acted accordingly, the ones too far away from the Demons to help but still pressing forwards to constrict them being the ones to engage with me first, the various terracotta weapons raised at me threateningly as the Golems marched forwards.
Not in a rigid, mechanical sense like one would believe a bunch of soldiers made from terracotta would move, but instead rather fluidly and precise, almost humanlike in how well they moved and handled their weaponry, which made them all the more difficult to fight now that I had lost the element of surprise from before.
Still, it felt more like moving training dummies that may be able to land a blow that would kill me, so I fought with the obvious and usual caution and understanding that a mistake would cost me dearly or my life, but I still couldn't help but wonder how they had been magically 'programed' to move like they did.
Blocking the swing of a straight sword, I guided the blade down and slid the outer crescent of my Khopesh along the flat of the Golem's weapon, bringing my sword to bear and smacking them in the chest, the thick coating of ice gathering on my Khopesh turning it into more of a club than a sword.
The impact cracked the terracotta cuirass and sent the Golem stumbling backwards, only for it to slump forwards as I followed up my parry and riposte with a flat palm strike, clubbing their cracked chest and caving it in, allowing me to rip out the Core and toss it to the side, where it fell uselessly on the soft soil, caressed by the roots.
Taking a few steps back - both to move away from the other Golems and also to pull my boots away from the roots - I brandished my sword and stabbed it at the nearest Golem, chipping its shoulder as it tried to parry my blade, only for it to be dragged forwards as I twisted my hand and hooked it back towards me, using the curvature of my blade in a unique way.
As it was pulled forwards, I coated my fist in Ice Mana and punched its chest, mirroring the earlier kill as I ripped out the Core for future use and tossed it aside, letting the Golem drop useless to the dirt with a soft thud as I moved on to the next Golem.
A spear was thrust towards my side, and I pivoted to avoid the attack, only to have to pivot again as a new Golem slashed at me with its sword, trying to catch me off guard as it corralled me back towards the legion of other Golems nearby.
Fighting against multiple humanoid opponents was a relatively new thing for me, especially multiple opponents of a relatively solid caliber like these Golems were, but it wasn't something I was entirely ill prepared for; I was quicker than I was strong, and that gave me an edge in an uneven fight.
Reaching for my belt, I retrieved Shatter and coated the blade in ice, turning it from a dagger into a sword in a mere heartbeat, which allowed me to parry the spear when it was stabbed at me once more and follow up quickly from range, stabbing the Khopesh straight into the arm of the Golem, cracking it and causing its arm to fall limply to its side.
When I took a step forwards and cross chopped the Golem with my two blades, I moved just out of range of the others for a brief second, allowing me to turn and restart the fight on my terms now as the fourth Golem fell to the ground, dead; there were still plenty more to go, but their numbers were beginning to dwindle as we rallied and aided one another.
I could hear the sound of Leone dueling with the angel from afar, and while I wanted to go to her aid instead, I decided to trust her and instead free up the rest of the Demons, hoping that after we were free from distraction we could rally once more to take down the silver angel and the Goblin King.
Stabbing Shatter into the chest of one of the Golem's, I sent a pulse through the ice and let the namesake of the dagger be known once more, before throwing it and sinking the heavy, long dagger into the head of another Golem, killing two swiftly.
I blitzed the remaining one and chopped at its chest, cracking it open and allowing me to yank out the Core, only to grunt as I felt something smack against my calf, threatening to tear through the Mana Cloaks I had draped over myself.
Wriggling against the blue mana that shrouded my entire body, a thick root was trying to drill into my leather boot so that it could latch onto the bone and tendons that laid beneath, and I clicked my tongue as I pulled my foot away from the annoying root.
Chopping the root, I retrieved Shatter and rushed into the remaining Golems, all while I listened to the explosions in the distance, praying that Leone could keep herself safe for just one more minute.
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