Chapter 91: Eye See What You Did There

Chapter 91: Eye See What You Did There

The beast, now realizing that Rook and Leo were on its head, started jumping up in a fit of mechanical rage. Its movements were no longer a graceful pursuit but a violent, unpredictable series of leaps and slams designed to dislodge the pests. Leo and Rook jumped down, narrowly avoiding its frenzied movements and the concussive force of its metallic body hitting the ground. The beast was now onto them, and Rook, exasperated, said, "Now how are we supposed to take out its vision, since you failed?"

Leo, unbothered by the taunt, smiled, a grim yet confident curve of his skeletal lips. "We didn’t fail yet. We have Plan B. I’ll lead the beast to the Corpse King; they will ambush it. Meanwhile, you should take that," he pointed at the beast’s severed horn, "and give it to Lord Karl. He should know what to do with that. It’s too valuable to be left behind."

"Alright, great thinking," Rook said, his demeanor changing as he understood the new plan. The beast charged and swiped at them, its razor-sharp claws tearing through the walls of the structure and carving deep gouges into the ground. They both dodged barely, the force of the attack enough to send a shockwave through the ground and kick up a cloud of dust. Leo then grabbed a loose stone, threw it with all his might, and taunted, "Here, you hornless mutt! Come and get me!" The beast roared, the sound a mix of mechanical fury and raw, guttural rage, and started charging toward him. Leo turned and ran the way they came, his skeletal legs a blur against the landscape. Rook, now alone, grabbed the severed horns and sprinted in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, a distance away from the beast, the Corpse King broke a tree in half with a single punch. Libera said, "That’s the right size. Put it down on the ground and let me clear the branches and leaves." The golem grunted and dropped the tree with a heavy thud. Libera then got to work, infusing his only dagger with dark mana, the blade shimmering with a deep purple hue, slicing each branch until there was just a the log.

He then cut the edge of the tree in an angular shape, sharpening and thinning the other edge to shift the tree log’s balance to the sharp edge. He even carved out a makeshift handle for the golem to use. Libera smiled. "Now, test it." The golem roared as if starstruck, grabbed the log, and postured itself, the makeshift spear looking like a child’s toy in its massive hands. "We could make a great team, you know." Libera said with a smile. He turned around, where multiple spiked logs were already planted and facing one direction.

Libera then said, "Now, let’s make some more quickly; the beast is coming." The golem struck the spear log into the ground, a loud thump

After they finished making three spear logs, Libera said, "Now let’s get you a hiding place where you can ambush and target its eye." The golem grunted, and Libera scanned the nearby area. After finding a soft patch of ground, he said, "Can you make the ground a bit lower? Just enough for you to lie down and seamlessly blend the ground forest."

The golem walked toward it, grunted, and gestured for Libera to back away. Libera took a few steps back. The golem then roared and began punching the ground in rapid succession, the earth trembling with each hit, creating a small, crater-like trench.

He would be scary opponent to fight with, Libera thought. Unlike the ghoul giants, this one can think for himself. Not only that, he adapts quite quickly. Usually, ghoul giants are just brutes who many kingdoms use for siege warfare and can be easily taken down with a blue-rank knight. But this one, not only is he fast, but he is crazy strong. I think if my new lord would make a proper weapon and armor for this guy, he would be so much terrifying as he already is. His raw strength combined with his intellect... he’s a true weapon.

The golem finished and grunted. Libera’s eye sockets slightly widened, and he smiled, looking at the ground that was pummeled like clay. "That’s deep enough. Now lie down there. Let me cover you with dry leaves and branches." The golem took the three spear logs and lay on his chest while Libera covered him.

After covering him, Libera said, "I’ll be in the tree branch. Go on my signal, alright?" The golem grunted. Libera smiled, muttering, "I wonder how they are now," his memory flashing back to his fellow undead beasts he had tamed.

Meanwhile, Leo sped up as he looked behind him. The beast was bulldozing the trees in its path, slowly catching up to him, its immense weight and stride making up for any loss of maneuverability. He turned right, and the beast skidded to a halt by the sudden turn, enraged, and now dashed toward him.

He taunted it. "Come on! Is that all you got?" Then he spotted it in the distance: a few spiked logs, covered with bushes. He smirked, turned left, and laughed, mocking it. The beast, now even more mad, sped up even more as they headed toward the spike logs. As soon as the beast’s fangs were about to reach him, he braked and leaped to his left. The beast attempted to turn left to reach him, but due to its momentum and centrifugal force, it rolled its body toward the spiked logs. The logs broke due to the beast’s highly strengthened material, but some successfully pierced through.

"NOW!" Libera shrieked.

The golem erupted from the ground near the beast’s head. It leaped, a monstrous shape rising from the foliage, and slammed the spear down. The beast’s eyelid slammed shut, but the sharpened log pierced straight through, destroying the mechanical eye behind it. A metallic shriek of pure agony ripped through the air as the golem backed away, grabbing its next spear. The beast knelt, reeling, and the golem roared, a primal challenge, and hurled the second spear. The beast, in a final desperate act, jerked its head. The spear missed the eye, instead piercing its brow. The exposed joints and internal parts of its body began to glow a terrifying, angry red.

Leo’s eyes widened. We haven’t wounded it; we’ve made it angry! He saw the source of the glow: the exposed core in its belly where the first log had pierced it. The core was surrounded by spinning, red-hot rings. "The core is in the belly!" Leo yelled. "Finish the other eye!" The golem ran for the last spear, but the beast’s massive jaws clamped around it, its powerful bite shaking the very ground.

"Shit!" Leo rushed toward the last spear. "Libera! Help me throw this to the Corpse King!" Libera descended from the tree branch, and together, they heaved the spear. The golem, with a guttural roar, reached a massive hand out and snatched the spear mid-air. It then drove the spear into the beast’s remaining good eye with a final, furious cry, forcing the beast to let go.

"Let’s go! Phase Two!" Leo shouted, turning to run. But the Corpse King, refusing to let go of its prize, scrambled onto the beast’s neck and dug its hands deep into the spears still impaled in the beast’s skull. It was riding the beast. Leo smiled. "That’s one way of steering the beast to its doom." The now-blind beast roared and went berserk, but the golem, smiling, steered its head toward a new, terrifying destination. Libera, dumbfounded, said, "I always thought the Corpse King was smart, but this... this is beyond anything I imagined."

"Hmmph... Lord Karl always summons the useful ones," Leo said, a hint of pride in his voice. "The Corpse King is no exception. Anyone would be mistaken if they saw him as just a brute." Libera, still in shock, agreed. "Yeah, anyone would be surprised and caught off guard."

Meanwhile, Karl supervised the trap preparations. Rook commanded the skeleton soldiers. He had them use ropes to raise a large log high into a tree, creating a pendulum trap. "Hold the rope!" Rook shouted. Another soldier secured the log while a second group built a support structure below it with 4 more logs.

Dullahan approached Karl. "My lord," he said. Two skeleton soldiers were heaving a large log with the beast’s horns attached to the end. The horns had been sharpened into deadly edges.

"Good," Karl said. "Position it near the rolling log traps. Get it ready when the Corpse King arrives." Dullahan nodded.

Rook then approached. "My lord, the pendulum swings are finished, and the spike traps are also ready."

"Alright," Karl said. "Prepare the men. Send them to their designated spots and have them be ready to strike as soon as we see the core." Rook nodded and walked away to give the orders.