Monster Jousting Book 3 - Chapter 28 (Patreon)

Now wasn’t the time to take it easy. Noah mounted Gluttony's back, channelling the power of the Hallowed into the surroundings. Green and black smoke billowed out from him, swirling like a storm centred on his very being.

Krall summoned fire's fury, incinerating any vines that dared approach into cinders.

Yidos closed her eyes. Noah knew she wouldn’t do so unless necessary. She was using a skill. What that was, Noah found out in the next second.

From the ground, a massive worm coated in thick natural armour erupted from the sand below. Razor-sharp teeth lined the circumference of the monster’s maw.

In the next instant, a mighty blast of air tore through Noah’s shadows. Like a spear parting the sea, an arrow of concentrated mana sliced through Noah’s Hallowed defences. His protective ring was poised to intercept, but he quickly cancelled it.

The piercing blue arrow— the size of a javelin—smashed through to the other side, boring an enormous hole through the worm's mouth and exiting cleanly out the other side. The worm screeched out a horrible noise, and was ready to land. Noah intercepted. 

Blinking under the falling worm, Noah concentrated the power of his Shard: Thrust and Monster. He let his arm fly. Undergoing the mutation from Beastly Pike, Krall’s monstrous visage spawned at the tip of his lance, now much larger. Krall’s head, expanding to ten feet, fiery and deadly, chomped down on the worm. Half of the creature vanished, severed from its body. The harsh stench of burnt flesh and blood surged into the hot, dry air.

Receiving the kill notification from the System, Noah quickly dodged the falling corpse of the worm. Then, the ground ahead trembled and quaked. He had only just killed the smaller one. 

Approaching, the entire area sank by over 10 feet. The pit was fast approaching, drawing a terrible line in the ground. Judging by the size of it, this one had to be at least 4x bigger. Noah tensed.

“Jump away!” Yidos screamed her command. 

Noah listened. On the back of Krall, he leapt out of the danger zone. Two of Yidos’s soldiers weren’t so lucky. They tried to jump, but the sand had transformed into a suction pit. From below, the grains sank, revealing a titanic mouth that was bigger than a football field. 

The soldiers' screams only sounded out for a second before they were severed.

“Krall, attack it from below now!” Seeing the opportunity, Noah commanded his companion to attack.

Krall dug into the earth even before Noah’s command had fully left his mouth. Connected by mind, Krall was like a crazed excavator as he kicked up sand and rock, then vanished underneath. 

Noah only heard the sound of the enormous worm’s pained screeches. The illumination of fire shone from its mouth, and then, a fire spout ejected out of the worm's maw. Krall’s attack was successful. 

Ignoring the fact Krall had bore a hole in the monster, and breathed fire down that hole, Noah remained patient. There was nothing he could do against the worm below the sand. No, this was entirely a fight for Krall.

How potent was the Mole King’s digging capabilities? He was about to find out. 

The worm returned back down to where it belonged, but Noah still heard the fighting from below. The ground shook, pained roars erupted. Noah couldn’t help but tighten his grasp around the handle of his lance, his raw knuckles turning white under the pressure.

From Symbiotic Radar, Noah knew exactly where Krall was, knew how he was doing, what pain he was experiencing. And although Krall was doing well, an uncomfortable sensation weighed down on Noah’s consciousness.

He felt helpless, and he didn’t like it.

I guess this is what they mean by letting your child spread their wings, Noah thought grimly as the battle reached its apex.

Once again, fire spurted out from the ground. And then silence reigned supreme.

You defeated a - Level 153 Sand Worm

…
| Extra experience is rewarded for defeating an enemy beyond your Level.

You have Levelled up!
| Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 112 -> Noah ( Phantom Lancer ) level 116

Krall, the Scourge of the Jungle has levelled up.
| Krall level 112-> Krall level 116

Gluttony has Levelled up.
| Gluttony level 111 -> Gluttony level 116

Gluttony has finally caught up, Noah thought with a smile. The wolf-bat hybrid that wasn’t so little anymore, looked up at him and tilted his head. Noah sifted his fingers through Gluttony’s soft neck fur, and he purred. Just like a cat, he purred. It was so cute. 

Noah shook his head. In the distance, more worms were approaching. He saw them in the hundreds. 

“Holy hell,” he said, eyes widening.

Yidos gazed at where she had lost her men, and clenching her teeth, she said, “We will not back down.”

“Are you really so concerned with other kingdoms arriving here before us?” Noah asked.

“With respect, Noah,” she said. “You do not know of our kingdom's struggles. If we lose the lost technology of Imprexis, it would be used for war against our own people. The weapons here… they aren’t something we can let our enemies get our hands on.”

“Ah,” Noah said, feeling the sand below his feet shift. “So now the truth comes out. You want the weapons for yourselves. And how do you know they will be used for defence? What’s stopping your emperor from using those same weapons as assault, not defence?”

Yidos turned silent.

“Where I come from, weapons are weapons. Whether it's used in defence, or attack, at the end of the day, they are designed to kill.” Noah chuckled. “Although, I don’t really care. As long as there are relics inside that, as long as I can build my house to my desire and win this bloody contest, I’m with you, Yidos.”

“Weapons are used to kill,” Yidos said, her voice subdued. She knocked an arrow in her bow. “That’s how it’s always been. And how it always will be. Let’s get to it then, shall we?”

“Ain’t no rest for the wicked, as they say.”

And so Noah and the rest got to work as Noah, Thraz, Gluttony, Krall, Yidos, tore into the worms. However, Krall was the star of the show. Like a ruler from underground, Krall ravaged anything that dared try to ambush them a second time. 

Because the monsters were stronger than usual, Levels rolled in. From Level 116, by the time the party had arrived to the illustrious remnants of the lost civilisation of Imprexis, had reached Level 129. It was a huge increase.

Noah’s power upgrades proved to be an incredible aid at improving his killing pressure. Even with the monsters in the Level 150 mark, it proved to be easy work. Although, he had his reservations at being so confident. 

Other monsters seemed to possess potent abilities, of which these worms didn’t have. With Krall underground, their main strength at ambushing and attacking from below was severed. If he hadn’t at Krall, then defeating these worms would have been a struggle–if not downright impossible.

Would they have even made it to the city? Noah doubted it.

It had only taken 2 hours to wipe out all of the worms. Now, Noah and the others stood below the towering structure. Honestly, Noah was baffled that he hadn’t seen it before. But he realised why. All around him was the overpowering feeling of mana. The pure white bricks of the building, as if they were the most pristine and pure marble in the world, speckled with mana.

The further he looked up, the more the building seemed to just vanish. It was peculiar. 

They were just below a stack of stairs. Considering that the staircase they were on just ended, consumed by the sand, meant that a lot of the structure had sank.

Two enormous statues, standing at least around 30 feet, loomed from above. They held two spears, they were humanoids, filled with wiry muscle; as if they were created by a master craftsman himself. Their heads reminded Noah of a phoenix, adorned in gold with a high plume at the back of their heads.

“The guardians of Imprexis,” Yidos looked up in astonishment. “Lost for hundreds of years, only to be found now.”

They moved.