Chapter 338 Three Monsters (1/2)

Despite the overwheled the creature nearest to him, he did not allow himself to be careless

Perhaps the creature could not quite coon like the one Crassus had slain, but it wasn't far off, either Even with a Living Shadoeapon, just seriously injuring it would be a difficult task

And then, if he defeated it, there were another two left

But with battle already upon him, all he could do was focus on theelse, he would have to test whether the creature's strength and speed iant beast with his sword raised, eyes fixed on its movements Yet while the creature could clearly sense his approach, it did not respond, re for him

But then, when he came within twenty feet of it, a sudden twitch of h the creature's massive body

At once, Arran darted to the side — just in tiiant claw that slaash within the rock

Although the creature's speed surpassed what he'd expected, he did not pause to , swinging his blade at its arht

His first strike achieved little While his blade tore through the giant digger's skin with ease, the creature was sie, its muscles and bone buried too deep beneath its skin for Arran's sword to reach

But Arran wasn't so easily repelled In an instant, half a dozenas Arran furiously hacked into it, the Living Shadow blade tearing through the creature's skin and shredding the flesh that lay beneath

Then, he jumped back — and not a moiant jaws crashed into the ground where he had stood, crushi+ng the dense rock beneath with a deafening sound

The attack would have killed Arran if it hit him, but now, a vicious smile appeared on his face when he saw his chance

Without hesitation, he jumped on the creature's barn-sized head, then raht

A lesser opponent would have died right then, but this creature was no coer at the attack, then violentlyto shake off its tiny attacker

Yet Arran's sas embedded in its skull up to the hilt, and as the creature furiously shook its head, he held on as best he could

The violent motion continued for some moments, but the beast's desperate attempts to throw Arran off only worsened its condition Each time it moved, the blade e the already grievous wound

Then, suddenly, the titanic creature's movements came to a stop, and its vast body collapsed a round like a puppet with its strings cut

Perhaps the dae had finally become too much, or perhaps some vital part of its brain had been destroyed, but either way, it died in an instant

Arran felt a surge of energy entering his body as the creature died, but he had no ti Because as the creature collapsed, one of the other two arrived And as he pulled his blade free froiant claw slammed into his body

The blow hit Arran like an avalanche crashi+ng into a straw shed, knocking hi across the ground

Pain surged through his body as he hit the rock floor, and he knew instantly that dozens of his bones had been broken or even shattered

At any other tiht have crippled or even killed hiers, there was little punishment his body could not withstand

He felt his bones heal even as they were broken, and although the pain caused hiuish, his body recovered in an instant

He shuddered as he got back to his feet, hiswith the pain he'd felt only seconds earlier Yet there was no tih he'd killed one of the creatures, two more remained

He eyed the two creatures warily While he'd recovered from this attack easily, he could not help but wonder ould happen if he lost a liained froers, he had little faith that it would heal hi creatures' massive jaws snapped him in half

But the two creatures seemed to be in no rush to attack hi hi

Once more, Arran realized that these vast creatures were ent than their smaller cousins While he'd overwhelmed the first before it had a chance to defend itself, it see two had no wish to meet the same fate

The two sides faced off silently, and Arran felt some unease when he considered his position

He was confident in facing either of the creatures alone, but against both of thee If he attacked one, the other would seize the chance to strike at him, and he no they had the power to kill hiht for hours, either Right now, he was still filled with the power of his earlier th was only tethen hione in a matter of hours

Worse still, he could sense that healing his injuries had used up a sizable chunk of his strength Much still remained, but if he went head to head with the creatures, he kneould run out of power sooner rather than later

But the creatures didn't know any of this And that, Arran realized, still gave hih the creatures were to Arran, as he looked at thenized as fear Fear of the foe that had slain their coer of the situation, he could not help but smile at the irony Had these two creatures been as ers, they would have attacked at once — and most likely defeated hience to fear the fate that had befallen their coave Arran a chance of defeating them

He knew he had to move quickly While the creatures feared hirow more confident if he failed to attack Eventually, they would take the initiative, and then, Arran's only choice would be to flee back to thehe had no intention of allowing to happen Not with the treasures he sought almost within reach

Once , then accelerating to a run as he drew closer

Vast though the creatures were, they hesitated at his attack, with one of the two titanic beasts even taking several steps backward And no wonder — though it was many times Arran's size, a similar beast lay dead just a hundred paces away

Arran's run turned into a sprint as he caed and turned as the beheh the cavern's dense rock as if it were paper

Yet Arran narrowly avoided the attacks, and a moment later, he was underneath the creature

This, he kneas his only chance of winning — to stay so close that his enemies' size became a hindrance to the at its legs and belly This tie — with both of the creatures swiping at him with their claws, to stand still for even a moment would mean death

After sonize its disadvantageous position, and it et Arran out in the open where both creatures could freely attack hi this to happen He circled the creature's legs, forcing the other creature to hold back its attacks for fear of injuring its ally

Yet while the colossal creature lacked Arran's speed and agility, having to dodge both creatures' attacks hindered Arran greatly With giant claws tearing through the rock just feet away fro hi torn apart

Despite his best efforts, he could not prevent the creature fro away Just a few more moments, and it would be clear of hi he could not let happen

Out in the open, he had no hope ofthese opponents Their reach alone would make it all but impossible to defend hith, he had no chance of winning

Lacking any better options, he quickly jue as he cla a trail of deep wounds behind him

But this time, he could not ram his sword into the creature's body to steady hi the other creature the chance to strike him And as the