The Sentinel alone had been a nightmare to deal with. If the four-legged beast behind it was truly stronger, then today might very well be their last stand.
Forsite turned his gaze to the other monster, studying it carefully. But what he saw gave him pause.
Frus had indeed been sent flying, armor cracked and axe broken in two. Sekende's armor was damaged as well. Yet the beast they fought had taken wounds of its own, its left claw nearly severed, and a gaping hole still visible in its right front leg from Sekende's spear.
By contrast, no matter how hard he and Selude fought against the Stone Giant, the best they had managed was to break off a single finger.
Could this mean the four-legged one's defense wasn't as impenetrable as the Stone Giant's? Perhaps this was their chance. Original content can be found at
Forsite's eyes hardened, and he barked his orders:
"Sekende! Keep that Stone Giant occupied. Selude, Tess, you're with me. We'll focus down the four-legged monster first. Sai, get down here and cover us!"
The two best marksmen, Fei and Siaxes, were left to keep searching for the summoner behind this horde. As for poor Frus, who had just been smashed into the wall, there was no time to worry about him now.
"Understood!" The group answered in unison, not hesitating for even a moment.
Sai leapt down from the rooftop, raising her clarinet as the formation shifted.
Gentle notes rang out, rippling through the battlefield like waves of invisible mist, surrounding both Little Blue and Little Red.
The hypnotic song had once felled entire flocks of Raptors from the sky. But the two monsters didn't even flinch. Their expressions remained blank, their glowing eyes steady.
With a heavy stomp, they slammed their massive feet into the ground.
Vines erupted in a frenzy, surging upward like coiled serpents. They wrapped around Sai's ankles, binding her legs and climbing higher.
Then the ground split apart, birthing two stone pillars that twisted into floating cannons. With a shriek, they fired projectiles straight at her.
"You damn beasts, so you've been hiding Magic like this?!" Sai cried out, scrambling to react.
The first shot shattered her helmet's protective enchantment and knocked it clean off. The second screamed toward her chest, but her enchanted boots flared, blasting a surge of force beneath her feet. The vines tore apart, and the blast carried her just high enough to avoid a direct hit. The cannonball struck her chestplate instead, exploding with a dull boom that hurled her backward through the air.
On the rooftop, Fei and Siaxes broke their focus on the battlefield below just long enough to fire, blasting the cannons to rubble and saving their comrade.
Tess leapt in, his great saber flashing as he hacked apart the vines chasing after her. Sai hit the ground hard, but quickly rose to her knees, lifting her clarinet once more. This time, she played a tune of illusion.
A massive spectral beast shimmered into existence before the monsters, towering ten times their size.
The Black Knights braced for hesitation, for fear, but instead, Little Blue and Little Red surged forward without pause, charging the phantom head-on.
"Scatter!" Forsite roared. The armored mages leapt aside, just in time to avoid being trampled.
Sai faltered, lowering her clarinet with a pale face. "They… they don't even feel fear?"
Her greatest Magic, useless. Against these creatures, her illusions had no effect at all.
"Don't lose heart!" Forsite called back. "Just cover us from the flank. That's enough!"
Sai gritted her teeth and nodded, shifting her melody to provide suppressing fire instead.
The Knights adjusted formation once more. Sekende lunged at Little Blue, his spear plunging into the giant's knee. Shards of rubble broke loose, drawing the Sentinel's focus. Sekende immediately pivoted and retreated, forcing the monster to chase him.
Meanwhile, Forsite, Selude, and Tess closed in on Little Red, circling it with sword and shield, hammer, and saber. With its front leg crippled, they intended to finish it before it could recover.
But after only a handful of exchanges, Forsite's heart sank.
The half-severed claw was already regrown. The gaping hole in its leg sealed shut before their eyes.
Selude's jaw dropped. "This is insane! Its defense might be lower than the Stone Giant's, but it's a rapid regenerator?!"
Tess only grinned, lifting his great saber high. "Then we just lop off its head and see if it grows back!"
"Don't be reckless!" Forsite's warning came too late.
Tess had already sprinted forward, saber raised high for a killing strike. Just as he leapt, Little Red's claw glowed crimson and swept across.
The blow landed clean.
Tess shot through the air like a cannonball, slammed into Little Blue's stone back with a sickening crack, and crumpled to the ground. His ten-meter saber shrank to its normal size and stuck upright in the dirt like a grave marker.
The proud Black Knight armor splintered apart, scattering in pieces. Three deep, bloody gashes tore across his chest, and he vomited blood before collapsing, only his leg twitching weakly.
Little Blue shuddered from the impact, turned its massive head, and glared at Little Red as though annoyed by the friendly fire.
Sekende didn't miss the chance. He rolled and drove his spear into Little Blue's side before retreating again, drawing the monster further downhill.
Forsite ground his teeth. "Tess, you fool!"
Selude's face went pale. "One strike… one strike shattered Black Knight armor! That beast is even worse than the stone giant!"
Little Red ignored Little Blue's glare. Its claw came down again, straight for Selude.
Forsite didn't hesitate. He slammed a boot into Selude's gut, blasting an explosive enchantment at the same time. The blast sent them both tumbling sideways as the claw smashed down, carving a crater into the earth.
"Idiot!" Forsite snarled. "Do you want to die like him? Focus!"
Sai's clarinet trilled sharply, trying to draw the beast's attention away.
Selude finally snapped out of his panic and lifted his hammer again. The two archers on the roof, who had been hunting for the summoner, abandoned their search and turned their sights on Little Red.
They all switched ammunition, their priciest enchanted bullets and spiral-tipped arrows.
Explosions, bursts of light, and heavy strikes rained down. For the first time, Little Red staggered under the combined assault. Cuts, holes, and scorch marks marred its body.
But the victory was costly.
Selude's hammer shaft split in two, his armor caved in, and he collapsed, barely conscious.
Forsite's shield shattered outright, his armor torn to rags. Blood ran beneath the visor as he leaned heavily on his sword just to stand.
"And… change gear," he rasped. With a grim face, he swapped into his backup armor. It lacked the enchantments of the Black Knight set, lighter, weaker, almost ordinary.
Half their number disabled. By summoned beasts. And they hadn't even seen the mage controlling them.
"Boss, I can't hold out!" Sekende's voice rang from the slope below. He was still baiting Little Blue away, but his steps faltered. The giant lumbered after him tirelessly, its stamina unending. Floating Cannons spawned again and again, no matter how many he destroyed.
One blast clipped his shoulder. His breathing came ragged. "If this drags on, I'll be crushed flat!"
Forsite forced himself upright and raised his sword toward the stone colossus. "Then we finish it here! Everyone, take down the giant!"
Sai, Siaxes, and Fei answered as one, unleashing arrows, bullets, and sonic blasts alongside Forsite's charge.
Three minutes of brutal assault later, the battlefield looked worse than before.
Sai had been smashed aside by a wild punch. Cracks spread through her armor, her head spinning.
Little Blue?
Its stone body shed fragments, but still it stood tall, as if nothing had happened.
The Black Knights' breaths grew ragged, despair creeping into their eyes.
"How is this thing… so damn tough?!"