CHAPTER 234: CHAPTER 233: CRIPPLING THE GIANTS

The air grew heavy. The ground trembled with each step the bears took, their breaths like rolling thunder. Lumberling tightened his grip on the spear.

"Two against one..." he muttered, voice steady despite the mountain of fur and muscle before him. "Good. Makes it fair."

The Behemoths roared in unison, the sound so loud it rattled the bones of their own kin. Then they charged.

Lumberling lowered his stance. Sparks flickered around his feet as he burst forward.

’Thundering Lunge!’

The ground cracked beneath him as he shot like lightning, his spear cutting through the air. It slammed against the first bear’s chest with bone-jarring force.

The creature stumbled, its thick hide splitting but not breaking. The second Behemoth swung its massive paw, claws like swords slashing across his armor. Lumberling grunted, sliding back, but planted his feet before the blow could topple him.

"You guys are tough," he growled, spitting blood.

He twisted his spear, activating another skill. ’Spearheart Thrust!’

The weapon blurred, driving deep into the shoulder of the second bear. A howl tore out as the giant beast staggered, blood spraying across the battlefield. Lumberling ripped the spear free and spun, using the momentum to slam his spear butt against the first Behemoth’s jaw.

Again and again, the two Behemoths tried to push past him, desperate to aid their failing kin. Again and again, he stopped them, spear flashing like a storm.

"Nowhere to run!" Lumberling barked, thrusting his weapon down to block their path.

The bears glanced toward their tribe. Their warriors were being pushed back slowly, collapsing under the relentless assault. A shadow of fear flickered in their monstrous eyes.

They understood. If this continues, their tribe would end here.

Cornered, their roars turned savage. They hurled themselves at him with reckless abandon, claws and fangs shredding through dirt and stone. Lumberling braced himself, but even his tough body groaned under the force of their strikes. One claw raked across his chest, tearing armor. Another smashed into his ribs, cracking bone.

The impact jolted through his arm, leaving it numb from shoulder to wrist. His grip faltered, the spear nearly slipping before he forced his trembling fingers to tighten.

He surged forward again, spear blurring. Each thrust was precise, each strike laced with killing intent, yet he held back just enough to avoid a fatal blow. The Behemoths bled, their roars turning weaker with each passing exchange.

One swiped at him with claws the size of swords. Lumberling ducked low, the wind of the strike grazing his head, then drove his spear upward into its chest. The impact boomed like thunder, the beast staggering back with a bellow of pain.

The other Behemoth charged, maw wide to swallow him whole. Lumberling met it head-on, his body crackling with sparks as he invoked Thundering Lunge. His figure shot forward like lightning, spear piercing through its hide and forcing the massive body to reel sideways.

Their hides were like armor, but even armor cracks when hammered long enough. Lumberling’s strikes added up, each wound layering upon the last. Blood poured freely now, staining the ground beneath their paws.

The Behemoths grew desperate. Their eyes burned with wild fury, their attacks coming faster, wilder. One slammed a paw into the ground, sending a shockwave of dirt and stone flying, while the other lunged from the side, fangs snapping.

Lumberling took hits, claws raked his arm, a strike to his ribs sent him crashing into the dirt, but he rose each time, tougher than they expected, tougher than they could match. His body cultivation braced him against pain, and his spear answered with merciless precision.

Step by step, thrust by thrust, he drove them down. Their strength waned, their roars turned ragged, their once unstoppable power crumbling under his relentless assault.

Finally, with one last surge, Lumberling vaulted high into the air. Sparks danced across his frame, lighting him up against the night sky. He came down like a storm, spear crashing into a Behemoth’s chest, the force sending the beast sprawling onto its back.

The other tried to rise, groaning, but its legs buckled. Both monsters now lay broken, their breaths heavy, too wounded to stand.

Lumberling stood over them, chest heaving, eyes cold. Slowly, he planted his boot on one of their massive arms, pinning it down. With grim resolve, he raised his spear high.

"This ends here."

The weapon came down, not through their hearts, but through their limbs. Flesh tore, bones snapped. One arm, then another, then their hind legs, until both Behemoths lay crippled, bleeding, yet alive.

He stepped back, shoulders sagging with exhaustion.

"I’ll get back to you later."

The Behemoths lay there, breathing raggedly, blood soaking the earth. Their eyes burned with hatred.

.....

Elsewhere on the battlefield, the war still raged.

Grokk’s boar thundered forward, tusks flashing as Grokk himself swung his axe in brutal arcs. Each strike bit deep into his Gorehide Bear opponent, his sheer force driving the massive beast back step by step.

"Fall already!" Grokk roared, muscles straining as his weapon crashed against hide as thick as stone. Blood splattered across his chest, but his eyes burned with savage determination.

Not far from him, Trask and Kelgroth fought side by side against another of the great beasts. Trask’s shield rang again and again under the crushing blows of claws, but he held firm, his stance like an unshakable wall. Kelgroth circled wide, blade jabbing into exposed flanks whenever the bear turned its focus. Together, they pressed forward inch by inch, gaining the upper hand.

"Keep it steady, Trask!" Kelgroth barked, sweat dripping down his brow.

"I’ve got its attention, finish the job!" Trask gritted out, shoving the shield forward to slam against the beast’s snout.

The others were not faring as well. Tor and Shen hammered at their foe with steel, but the Gorehide’s hide shrugged off their strikes. Zel and Zephar darted in and out, blades flashing, yet their enemy’s bulk absorbed the punishment with little sign of slowing. Soon, their attacks waned, and the bears began pressing harder.

"Damn it, our strikes aren’t landing deep enough!" Shen shouted, frustration cracking through his voice.

"Fall back into formation, we buy time if we couldn’t defeat them!" Zel said sharply.

Reluctantly, the sub-captains shifted their strategy, shields locking and weapons raised, not to slay, but to stall.

Elsewhere, chaos reigned. Ragza and Lunira stood against four Dire Bears, their roars colliding with the beasts’ thunderous bellows. Lunira’s claws ripped across hide, leaving streaks of blood, but the Dire Bears’ size and toughness forced her back again and again. Ragza’s blade cut true, yet each wound seemed shallow compared to the monsters’ overwhelming resilience.

"Hold them, girl!" Ragza snarled, sweat and blood streaking his face as he parried a massive paw. Lunira lunged in answer, sinking her fangs into the beast’s shoulder before leaping away, narrowly avoiding a crushing strike.