Nth Life - Chapter 3 (Patreon)

Zeke no longer wanted to run, even after seeing the monster before him. Instead, he felt himself becoming one with the body he inhabited. Mentally, he was grinning just as ferally as Barak. Before them, begging to feast on their blade, were the warriors of the enemy. Massive humanoid beings wearing hardly more than a loincloth. Their huge bodies looked human, just as the attack dogs had. They even shared the same onyx black skin and white eyes. However, they were not feral.

They marched in order and each carried a greatsword made of a bright silvery metal. He knew their smiths had tried to work with scavenged and looted weapons but they couldn’t even make the metal hot. The swords were sharp, retained their edge well, and were monstrously heavy. Whatever the metal they were composed of, it was better than their own.

Fortunately, it seemed they couldn’t wear armor made of the same metal or he and his brothers would never be capable of hurting them. Their best guess was the metal was simply too heavy to be used as armor. Wearing a breastplate made from it while carrying that heavy sword would make their slow enemies even slower. This fortunate circumstance made their bare flesh easy to reach and pierce.

Fighting these large onyx skinned men required different tactics. For the smaller feral ones, standing as a wall against them worked wonders. However, against the bigger and stronger foes before him now, that same tactic was stupid and would lead to death. Between the strength of their arms and the sharpness of their blades, sitting still and attempting to directly block a blow would only lead to broken bones or dying. He didn’t want either and wasn’t stupid enough to let it happen on purpose.

As the giants approached with their slow steps, Zeke and his brothers prepared themselves. He’d already checked his weapons and armor while awaiting his next turn at the front lines so he was well prepared. He and his brothers stood tall and prepared. Each and every one of them knew that death stood before them ready to reap their lives at any moment. None were afraid and all were grinning brightly in anticipation of battle. Battle was life! Death while defending his home and brothers was an honor! He refused to let any of them down.

When the giants got close they, like he and his brothers, acted as one and lifted their giants swords above their heads. This was one of the major weaknesses of the enemy soldiers. All of their attacks were broadcast so loudly that only a fool wouldn’t be able to see them coming. Still, despite how easy their attacks were to read, they were devastatingly powerful. Just a single hit could easily cleave him in half.

All of the enemy took a single step forward. Their large muscles bulged as they began swinging down the ungodly heavy swords as one. Zeke and his brothers all moved as one in response. Their shields came up but not with the intention to block. With timed precision, each of their shields caught the downward swings at an angle. The angle was just right to not be in a direct clash with the large swords and instead, directed the downward slashes to the side.

With a heavy thump, all the enemy swords slammed into the ground and caused a mild tremor that Zeke could feel from the soles of his feet. With the deadly attacks diverted, he moved with practiced ease and thrust his spear forward. Due to the difference in height, Zeke couldn’t strike at the known weak spots of the enemy too easily. Like humans, the enemy had hears in the same spot. Unlike humans, their hearts weren’t protected by ribs like he was familiar with. Instead, their hearts were covered by solid bone with no gaps to pierce through. The only option was to go from beneath or from behind, around the spine.

Since going for the heart was so difficult, they went with a tactic that would be considered dishonorable against other human foes. They aimed low. Zeke’s arm thrust out with as much force as he could put behind it and impaled the large onyx man right in his groin. Now, on a human this was dishonorable because if the opponent managed to survive they wouldn’t be able to have children. It wasn’t about the pain it could cause, but the chance of killing off other potential warriors. To do so was dishonorable and cowardly. Putting an end to a potential enemy of your own children before they could even be conceived? Cowardice!

The onyx men were a distinct exception though. Why? Because they simply didn’t have genitals. Or, if they did Zeke did now know where they were located. He did know that they were NOT located within the onyx man's crotch. Instead, their crotches seemed to contain powerful muscles that gave their legs extra strength. With that being the case, striking there damaged the muscles and weakened his opponents stance. This was acceptable.

Once the sharpened edges of his spearhead severed the muscles located in the onyx giants pelvis, the giant’s legs lost some of their strength causing it to sink lower. Cutting those muscles wasn’t like cutting the Achilles Tendon on a human, but it was enough to weaken their stance and force them down a bit. Zeke knew to take full advantage as the giant still hadn’t recovered its weapon and was now in a better striking position.

His spear thrust out quickly and repeatedly as he peppered the giant with wounds. Three rapid strikes containing all of his considerable strength were launched so fast it almost seemed simultaneous. Three small wounds opened up on the giants abdominal muscles allowing its surprisingly red blood to flow. Despite how much power Zeke had put into each thrust, the wounds were shallow. The giants tough skin and even tougher muscles made dealing damage to some areas of the body harder than others. On the bright side, he’d specifically targeted the prominently visible muscles to slice them and further weaken his opponent. Killing these giants was a matter of endurance instead of a simple killing blow.

To defeat the giant men, they had to be taken down in a similar manner as climbing a mountain. You had to start at the bottom and make your way to the top one step at a time. It couldn’t be rushed and every step was filled with peril. To defeat the giant men they needed to be brought down low to get to their heads. Aside from their hearts, it was the only guaranteed way to kill them.

Zeke had to stop being on the offensive and switch to the defensive as the giant finally managed to lift its sword once more. He thanked the Gods above that they were so slow. If they were both fast and strong, he and his brothers would die like sheep to the slaughter. Even so slow they were still deadly. He watched his opponent carefully and prepared himself to move and react as quickly as he could. He was not going to die today!

The giant cocked his sword to the side easily broadcasting the incoming horizontal slash. The giants were not great fighters by any stretch of the imagination. Seeing what was coming a mile away, Zeke was more than prepared to dodge at just the right moment. The big guy might be slow but he wasn’t stupid. If Zeke dodged too early the giant would adjust his swing to catch him off guard. That couldn’t be allowed.

With a grunt, the giant began his powerful swing. Everything else might have been slow but the speed of the swing was dangerously impressive. Zeke, already well prepared, ducked under the swing just moments before it could connect and remove his head from his neck. The instant the danger of the swing passed, he stood once more and thrust his spear out in rapid strikes. Blood flowed from new wounds he inflicted and further weakened his opponent.

Overextended from its swing and weakened from the multiple deep gashes to its muscles and blood loss, the giant started to collapse. Seeing the expected moment of weakness, Zeke fully prepared himself for the coming moment. As the giant started to fall to one knee, Zeke shuffled his left foot forward in a lunge and cocked his right arm back to level his spear for a deadly thrust. The moment the giant's knee hit the ground, Zeke struck like a coiled snake.

His spear whistled through the air and struck with precision. The spearhead pierced one of the giant's eyes, hesitated only a moment as it pierced through the thin layer of bone behind its eye, and drove deep into the giant's brain. The whole giant's body seized up at the sudden intrusion of a spear to its cranial cavity. Zeke wasn't finished though. He viciously twisted the spear in his hand before pulling it back toward himself with all of his considerable might.

With a sickening squelch, blood, brain, bone, and eye were ripped out of the giant's skull. With the spear removed from its head, the giant's body instantly lost all motor control and collapsed into a heap on the ground. While it fell, Zeke took a step back while sporting a victorious grin. He barely had a moment to register a flash of silver in his sight before everything went black.