Chapter 73 - Decisive Battle in the Wilds (1/2)

Chapter 73 - Decisive Battle in the Wilds

Towering ruins were brought down by the unbridled rampage of the giant lizard, like building blocks knocked away by an angry toddler. The area was plunged into chaos, punctuated by the crash of buildings that sounded like erupting volcanoes. In a tsunami of debris the remains of the ruins covered everything.

Cloudhawk whipped his head around but couldn't tell up from down. Nearby, another building several stories high came crashing down like an avalanche overhead.

“Son of a bitch!”

Cloudhawk ran like his life depended on it.

Blocks of concrete weighing hundreds of pounds smashed the ground on either side as he fled. Everything shook and the sound of crumbling stone was deafening. Every passing second was an eternity while Cloudhawk feared the next block could flatten him into a meat patty.

But Cloudhawk was lucky. Before the bulk of the building collapsed he found cover, though a rolling boulder caught him in the back and sent him sprawling. It struck with such force he saw stars and it felt like he’d broken several bones. He lay there, pinned beneath it.

Meanwhile the lizards were gone. The young scavenger was filled with pride and determination – at least the danger had been rewarded.

The titanic lizard awakened by Cloudhawk’s ploy lumbered closer. The sweepers fled, hoping to avoid destruction themselves. Thankfully the invisibility offered by Cloudhawk’s relic cloak was far-reaching, concealing both his heat and any sense of his presence. Without him in the monster’s sights, the sweepers became his scapegoats.

You fuckin’ freaks, Cloudhawk cursed to himself, let’s see how nasty your deaths are!

Stranger Black stared at the iguana-like monstrosities. “It’s a wasteland wyrm!”

The full name of these creatures was ‘eight-legged tyrant lizards’, but the people of the wastelands usually just called them wasteland wyrms.

Wasteland wyrms were some of the most ferocious creatures in all the wastelands, living and feeding off what remained of the old world. Their hide was thick and unyielding like rock, and they were strong enough to uproot mountains. Through brute force alone they tunneled their way through the ruins and ripped apart anything in their path. They accounted for the honeycomb of tunnels that were often found through the remnants of cities.

These thick-skinned behemoths were more than difficult to contend with. With so many together they were nothing short of terrifyingly deadly – even the savage sweepers were powerless.

One of the relatively smaller wyrms was fastest and led the charge.

It was over twenty feet long, and though it looked like a lizard it was covered in bulging muscle. Spikes ran along the length of its spine like sword blades, waggling as four pairs of thick and powerful legs quickly conveyed it across the terrain. Its head was lizard like, its maw as terrifying as a crocodile’s, and its worm-shaped body swayed like a cumbersome machine as it gave chase. So far it had to be moving at over thirty miles per hour and rising.

Longhorn stepped forward to face it.

Although he faced a creature several times his size Longhorn wasn’t fazed in the least. He charged ahead, each step leaving deep trenches as powerful legs propelled him forward. Like a goliath from the ancient tales he bore down on the beast, indomitable and defiant, terrifying anything that dared bar his path.

No fancy tricks, no flashy moves – Longhorn plowed into the wyrm head-on!

The two disproportionately-sized but equally resolute foes crashed into one another so hard their surroundings exploded into dust and shards of rock. Neither was knocked aside, and they struggled mightily while not giving ground.

“Aaaarrggghhh!!”

The wasteland wyrm roared and swiped at Longhorn with its claws. He blocked with his left arm and the force kicked up more debris. The monster responded by spreading its toothy mouth wide and lunging for a bite. Longhorn, in turn, punched it in the face!

Crrrack! A dozen of the wyrm’s teeth splintered and the impact knocked it several paces away!

Longhorn didn’t let up, rushing forward to re-engage. His fists were like cannonballs – two punches, three – each blow landing with unparalleled force. Every punch was like a blast of lightning, cracking open the beast’s skull and drawing blood.

Cloudhawk, watching nearby, was absolutely stunned!

Not only did the mutant hit with the terrifying force, he seemed to be made out of reinforced iron! His punches were like strikes from Artemis’ hammer.

He could hardly be considered human! He was a monster!

Even one of the wyrm’s larger brethren couldn’t survive an onslaught like this. In the midst of the brutal thrashing it tried to turn and flee but Longhorn grabbed it by the tail. The monster had to be seven or eight tons, but no matter how much its legs churned it couldn’t wrench itself free from his grip.

By now a second wyrm had caught up. Longhorn was suddenly faced with two of them.

“Huh!”

Muscles all over Longhorn’s body bulged and a burst of stupefying energy filled him. Dragging the monster by the tail he whipped it around in a circle and threw it right into its companion. The two collided and crashed into the ground in a tangled heap.