Monster Jousting Book 3 - Chapter 7 (Patreon)

Noah laid in wait in one of the dark alleyways of the street. They followed the demonic, fire spewing crab out of sight. He knew where it was based on the noise of its pincers. And thankfully, wherever it travelled, the other monsters in the surroundings fled the area in fear of being turned into charcoal. A valid fear.

Pillow had been gone for almost two hours now and honestly, Noah was becoming worried. But the small panda had survived until now, and had even made it all the way to the walls without a scratch. His nerves calmed.

But really, what was taking him so long?

Pillow refused to relay his plan. So all Noah could do was stand here in wait. And that’s what he did.

Noah brushed his hand through Gluttony’s soft fur. He moved his touch until he felt the powerful wings that his legs were pressed against. They felt like a toughened leather.

His companion hadn’t attempted flight yet. Noah didn’t know whether it was because he hadn’t reached the Level required to do so yet. Or maybe they just weren’t strong enough. Noah didn’t know how the wolf-bat race worked exactly. It was something that had to be tested.

Maybe he can already fly? Noah thought as he pet Gluttony’s fur again. The wolf-bat snorted in glee.

Maybe Gluttony was still like a baby bird? Noah recalled watching a national geographic show at Miles’ house a couple years ago. The spy camera was set on a gorgeous pair of eagle parents during the cold winter months. Among the blizzard, with snow and wind blowing the branches, they looked so valiant, so badass that Noah couldn’t get the image out of his head for a long while.

All the while they sat patiently on their egg. Their child. No matter how dense the snow got. No matter how strong the wind blew. They refused to move. If they moved, their child would die.

They cared for the chick so intently. They would take turns hunting. They would fend off any predators that came close with their fearsome talons, and their incredible screeches that echoed throughout the canyons.

When the egg hatched, the eagle parents would feed whatever food they had managed to hunt that day. Some days there was no food at all.

Then, when the chick grew its feathers, and the weather had settled, it was time for a leap of faith. It was the day that would alter the course of the chick's life forever.

It would either spread its wings and take flight. Or it would fall to its death.

The moment Noah witnessed the small chick with vestiges of its awe inspiring parents flap its wings and soar through the air–Noah couldn’t help but jump to his feet and cheer it onwards.

Flight… Noah looked down at Gluttony. He seemed to feel his gaze as his companion looked around at him with a silly smile on his face.

“Just like the eagles, we just need a leap of faith, huh?” Noah said, petting Gluttony.

Gluttony bounced on his two front feet. Noah didn’t know if his night-stalking companion understood him, but the meaning was clear within his emotions, at least. Gluttony trusted him.

Noah smiled. Then the sound of crashing stomps rang throughout the city’s streets. They were so close together that Noah couldn’t gain an accurate reading of how many monsters there were approaching. All he knew was that something massive was approaching. And it was moving fast.

He looked at Krall and Thraz, and said, “get ready.”

He nodded, expelling a strong burst of air from his beastly nostrils. It seemed Pillow had managed to pull off something. What that something was, Noah would find out very soon.

Noah moved to another dark alleyway that was directly facing the direction where the stomps were going to arrive. As they neared, it was made apparent that it wasn’t a stampede, but whatever was approaching was in an intense fight.

Then he heard an explosion. Rocks and debris scattered from the left of the street, to the right. Then came the fire. Like a dragon’s tongue, it roared passed the street, and branched down the street that Noah was standing at the end of.

He hoped that it wouldn’t reach him, and it didn’t. The blaze stopped about halfway down the street. And then he saw what was the cause of such ear-ache-inducing noise.

The demonic crab looked like it had crawled out of hell as it crashed against the corner of the right street, and slammed into the walkway where Noah was at the other end of. Fire spewed out from holes in its legs, shrouding the entirety of its horrifying chitin in cruel flames.

It used each of its twelve legs as cauterising lances against the monster it was on-top of; which was just as scary as itself.

For the first time since Noah had entered these streets, another species showed itself. It looked like a wolf. Just bigger. Far, far bigger. It was the same size as the demonic crab, towering over the nearby buildings. Red, smouldering eyes glared at the crab as it used its long, devastating claws to wreak havoc on its roughly shelled frame.

Holy shit. Noah smirked nervously.

If he hadn’t bothered to take the time and level over the course of an entire month, he wouldn’t dare set foot this far. But he had taken the time. And because of it, he knew with one swift attack, he could fell the terrifying monsters ahead of him.

But he could only kill one.

Noah glued his eyes to the demonic crab. He wanted it dead.

Pillow arrived by his side the next moment. He emerged from one of the houses to his side. There was probably a hole or something that he used as a tunnel. So that was how he managed to walk the streets without danger. He didn’t.

“So uh,” Pillow said nervously, his hands shaking. “I managed to bring the shark, but now what? Those are some grade A, terrifying bastards.” His shoulders flinched as the ground trembled. A roar from the wolf caused his own ears to fold back. And a blast of fire that could be felt against his fur made him take a further step back.

“Now we wait,” Noah said without moving his gaze. He was watching for a moment to strike. “With how intense their fight is, unlike normal predators, it won’t be watching its surroundings. You picked a very nice shark.”

“What can I say?” Pillow chuckled. “It’s my specialty.”

So that’s what Noah did. He waited. He watched as the two monsters tore into each other with carnal brutality. Chunks of armour-like chitin clanged against the stone pavement below. Tufts of fur scattered, those that weren’t drenched in blood floated in the air from the violent blowing wind brought forwards by their intense fight.

Noah had to pick the perfect moment to strike. Too soon, and even if he killed the demonic crab, he would be gulped down by the wolf. Too late, and well, it was all the same.

He had to pick the perfect moment.

Noah didn’t know how much time had passed. He only knew that his time to strike had arrived.

The shadowed hunter moved.