Bab 30: Desperate Battle on the Run
The creature Xan was fighting moved so fast and it was so dark it was hard to tell exactly what it was. The creature finally stopped long enough for Xan to get a good look at it. It was a black-fur werewolf. The werewolf was huge. He never imagined they were so big. On earth, the werewolves he encountered were about the size of a large man. Rarely, they would be much larger. Xan feared that on this planet werewolves were all large like this one. There was no way he could overcome seven of these creatures. He was also worried werewolves weren't the only creatures in the woods.
So far, Yahn the Healer wasn't having any luck hitting the other moving targets. They moved much too fast. He managed to kill a number of trees. The creature stopped attacking for a few moments, and Xan used this opportunity to move to the window of the carriage. He quickly threw something into the carriage and took up his defensive position on the roof of the carriage.
"Yahn, I just threw some glasses in, put those on, and turn the knob on the side until the color turns red. Push the knob in and this will help you shoot your targets," Xan yelled. Yahn fumbled around until he found the glasses and did as Xan instructed. The glasses seemed to link up with the gunner controls. The screen in the carriage only allowed him to see his targets. The glasses, however, allowed him to lock onto targets.
Yahn the Healer found his first target and pulled the trigger. The glasses indicated he hit his target. Outside, Xan saw a red beam shoot from the turret and go through a shadow. The shadow howled in pain and fell. Just as he was getting excited, the giant werewolf appeared once more and clawed at Xan. He dodged the best he could but he was still left with deep gashes.
Out of frustration, Xan put away his sickle sword and pulled out his hammer. He channeled all of his anger and rage into the hammer as he swung it. The hammer crashed into the werewolf's stomach which stunned it. Next, he spun and built up some momentum smashing upward and hit the werewolf in the chin. The werewolf was hit so hard it was lifted off its feet. Without missing a beat, Xan switched back to his sickle sword and slashed it at a downward angle. Blood shot out from the wound now on the werewolf's chest.
Xan didn't wait to see if the slash hurt the creature and directly stabbed it through the heart. He pulled the sword from its heart and aimed to cut off its head when it's giant hand grabbed his arm and shoulder completely stopping the attack.
To his horror, he saw all of the injuries he just inflicted on the creature heal before his eyes. Xan knew his attacks would have a limited effect on the werewolf, but he thought he would have more time to press his attack. The creature lifted its other arm up and made a vicious downward slash. Xan brought out a shield from his treasure ring. The shield absorbed most of the blow and defended against the slashing of the large claws. The remaining impact from the blow still forced Xan to one knee. The creature still held his arm.
The shield disappeared and a short sword appeared. The sword was stabbed into the creature's knee. It howled in pain and let go of Xan's arm. He dodged out of the way and scrambled toward the carriage window. "Yahn, throw me your revolver!" Xan yelled. Yahn moved to the window as quickly as he could. Unfortunately, the creature had already pulled out the sword from its knee and was lunging toward Xan. Xan was forced to dodge out of the way. Yahn pulled out the revolver and tried to toss it to him but the creature was between him and Xan.
There was very little room on the roof, it was only about five feet by six and a half feet. The creature was huge which limited the area of the roof. Yahn had to pull his head into the carriage because another creature tried to take a swipe at him. Yahn closed the window and went to the other window to try and get the revolver to Xan.
Yahn pushed half his body through the window but now the creature and Xan switched positions. Xan was on his side right behind Poole. The creature was still between Yahn and Xan. Yahn got angry and just aimed the revolver at the creature. He pulled the trigger and the creature's upper body disappeared. The lower half fell off the carriage. Yahn threw the revolver to Xan and then disappeared back into the carriage and started firing shots at the creatures who were chasing them.
Free from the rooftop battle, the carriage stabilized more and Poole was able to push the horses to run faster. Xan was still in shock and almost missed the revolver causing it to fall into the dark. Thankfully, he managed to catch it and took a deep breath. It had been a long time since he came so close to death. Xan saw another shadowy figure approach him. He aimed casually and shot the revolver. The bullet hit the shadow and it almost seemed like the shadow shattered and melted back into the shadows.
"Poole! Get those horses going faster!" Xan yelled. "Sir, the horses are going as fast as they can! The road is already dangerous. It's a miracle we've been able to continue as we have," Poole said. Xan was sweating heavily, he was really shaken by this fight. "Fine!" Xan said. Poole wasn't sure what kind of resolution Xan reached, but he couldn't spare any of his attention on it. He was concentrating on managing the horses and making sure the carriage didn't flip.
Xan pulled out a Gatling gun looking object from his treasure ring. He also pulled out a stand. He stabbed the stand into the roof. A spike suddenly came through the roof barely missing Yahn the Healer who yelped in surprise. Miniature support legs shot out from the sides of the sand and gripped the roof to stabilize the gun he pulled out.
The Gatling gun was mounted onto the stand and Xan loaded some kind of power pack into the gun. He put his hands through the two handles and pressed the firing button. "The Player has used several devices in violation of the rules. The Player will be penalized if rule-breaking continues," Otrera said. From the moment Xan told Yahn the Healer to activate the carriage's turret system, she had been warning Xan about breaking the rules and kept repeating the rules to him. Xan had enough.
"You stupid piece of software! Shut up! I'm about to die, and if you don't shut up I'll take care of you permanently. I don't care about the rules. I'm going to do whatever I want. You're going to get me killed from all of your naggings!" he shouted out loud at Otrera. Poole heard the shouting but didn't really know what was going on and didn't continue to worry about it.
Yahn was focused on shooting his targets. He had already taken out three of the targets. Altogether, he and Xan had killed six creatures between them. There were two more creatures in the glasses. He noticed they suddenly stopped chasing after them. After he confirmed they weren't being followed, Yahn yelled out to Xan. "The creatures have stopped pursuing us!"
"Poole, you can slow down a little. Keep it fast but safe," Xan said. Poole shouted an "ok" as he slowed the carriage down but kept it at a fast pace. Xan got back into the carriage and found a place to sit. Yahn the Healer still had the interior in battle mode. He was too high-strung at the moment to relax.
"Whew, that'll get the blood pumping," Xan said as he calmed down. "I might need to change my shorts," Yahn the Healer responded. "You and me both," Xan laughed.
Back in the forest, two werewolves stood watching the carriage speed away. A ghostly figure approached them and walked between the creatures. The figure was dressed in white and black robes with a black cape over its shoulders. Its hair was slicked back and it had two glowing yellow eyes. "Those mortals actually got away," it said. He turned around and walked back into the forest.
The white and black-figure walked to a clearing where a werewolf about twice the size of the others was sitting calmly. Its fur was pure white and it had bright blue eyes with black sclera. "They got away from my Ferals," the creature said.
"Just barely Stanz," the white and black figure said.
"They better hope they don't run into any betas from the other packs. They could barely handle a few Ferals," Stanz said with a ferocious laugh.
"Your alpha won't be happy about this failure," the white and black figure said.
"Your Count won't be happy with you, Barron Atticus, you didn't even bother sending your Knights out," Stanz said.
"Knights are harder to raise than a few Ferals. You can just bite a few villagers and replenish your troops," Atticus said in defense of his inaction.
"Whatever, we both have some bad news to share. Maybe we should wait for a few days. It looks like they are headed to that town being plagued by that little Zombie Bokor," Stanz said.
"Zombies, what a headache," Barron Atticus laughed.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone