B3 Chapter 307: Kolnir, pt. 2

As soon as the kolnir’s fist shattered his brother’s jaw, Kaius was moving. Dropping a Zone of Discombobulation, he watched the creature shudder — barely enough time for Porkchop to rally his defence.

With the low level of his Glyph of Vyrthane, the spell was too weak to do much more than that. Kaius needed to move faster — assist Porkchop before he could be boxed into a corner.

He cast Expedient Shunt, force exploding behind him to send him racing towards the creature’s injured shoulder.

His team didn’t stand around aimlessly waiting for him to strike. Jadecrash smashed the kolnir back, while an arrow tore through its calf — causing the beast to stumble before it’s healing to help it recover.

In flight, he activated his Bladerite and Mystic’s Rend, the runes on his sword glowing as a wire of unstable arcane energy flooded its edge. Firing off another Nail, Kaius raked his blade over the injured joint. Arcane energy collapsed, blowing a crater in the creature. The wire on his blade reformed, courtesy of his Skill levels allowing a second detonation.

He saw the energy of his skill infest its flesh, sapping its recovery and weakening it’s defences. Even if it was a tough bastard, they could wear it down.

Growling in fury, the kolnir struck at him with a wild haymaker as it ignored the ongoing assault from the rest of his team. Uncanny Dodge screamed a warning, and he lurched to the side. The beast was faster. It struck. Regardless of his still-active Mystic Rend, the kolnir gave no heed of his defence. His blade-edge cut into its forearm as its knuckles brushed past his chest.

Pain shocked through Kaius as his ribs cracked. He spun away uncontrollably, tasting iron as the kolnir went back to pummeling Porkchop with hammerfist after hammerfist. Its chest was heaving from its sudden burst of speed, but to Kaius’s chagrin it fought on unhindered.

Throwing out an arm to get control of his momentum, Kaius watched arrow after cutting beam land on their opponent.

All were ignored as it weathered the attacks.

Porkchop rallied, his armour cracked but holding, and a lance of healing energy washed over him. Plunging a paw into the soft jungle earth, a wall of jade erupted between him and the kolnir.

The beast leapt over the hurtling barrier. Kaius’s heart lurched.

It was going for Porkchop’s back.

“Watch out!”

His brother reared up. The kolnir crushed him flat with a double-handed smash, a great crack splitting the battlefield as shards spalled off Porkchop’s armour. Kaius ran in as it clambered onto Porkchop’s shoulders, lower limbs holding it tight to his body. One arm wrapped around his brother’s gorget like a vice, the other slamming into his jade helm again and again.

Without his heavy-plate gorget, his brother’s throat would have long since been crushed. Claws ripped at the beast’s arm fruitlessly, every tear in its flesh slacking the creature’s grip just enough to fight on. Despite the blood Porkchop spilled, the kolnir’s wounds wriggled with the potency of its healing.

“Charged strikes!” Kaius called. They needed the kolnir off of Porkchop now! He growled, offhand flexing as he readied to call on Stormlash.

“Don’t! It’ll take more than this to take me down!” Porkchop warned him off, sensing his intent through their bond. The words were hazy — muddled, but the conviction in them sung clear

Bravado — it was obvious. He could feel the agony streaming from his brother. The kolnir’s fists might not have been able to shatter his Celadon Aegis, but the force that carried through his heavy-plate was still dangerous, even after it had passed through his dampening under-armour.

Switching tactics, the kolnir shifted on Porkchop’s back, the hands on its feet linking under his brother’s chest. Muscles popped as it started to squeeze.

Porkchop let out a hoarse wheeze, a frontfoot buckling before he could steady his stance.

The deep twang of a bowstring sounded as a lance-sized arrow raced over Kaius’s shoulder. The kolnir bared its fangs, rising tall in its seat. His hope was dashed as the projectile sunk deep into its chest — missing its head. It ignored the wound, tightening the grip it held with its legs.

Porkchop wheezed, wildly clawing at the arm still wrapped around its neck.

“Fuck!” Kenva growled in frustration.

Gritting his teeth, Kaius lay slash after slash into the beast’s legs — burning mana like water as he layered Rend again and again. Anything to weaken the death grip it had on his brother.

It was futile — flesh wounds barely even drew a reaction from it, and it’s bones may as well have been made of adamant.

The head. It was the only thing the creature even bothered to try and protect. It had to be far more vulnerable there — fucking everything was! It was utterly focused on laying into Porkchop, he could use that.

Lurching towards his brother’s back side, he bared his bloody teeth and raised his off hand. Three Nails fired from his outstretched arm, cracks filling the air.

Spikes of twisted steel slammed into the back of its skull. They tore through thickened hide and flesh with ease, blood spraying. Then they glanced off its skull, rocking its head forwards.

Glanced. Off. Bastard of a beast! He unloaded another for good measure. The attack fared no better.

Through the wounds, Kaius saw a shine. Metallic bones? No wonder it hit like a dragon.

Rocked by the force of his rapid fire attacks, the kolnir slumped for a moment — just barely a moment — and its grip slackened. It was enough. Porkchop howled his fury, summoning his Wardens Maw as he sank his fangs into the arm that slipped from his neck. Spikes of jade followed, skewering the limb.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

The kolnir snarled, pain rousing it from its daze.

It didn’t even look at Kaius as it loosed its hold on Porkchop’s neck to swing its fist at him. Reacting on instinct, he brought his blade up to block.

His guard shattered. So did his forearm.

A Father’s Gift slipped from his grip.

Pain flooded him as his dominant hand flopped at an angle, the sharp points of his bone straining against his flesh. It was only thanks to his Constitution that it didn’t rip free entirely.

Smashing back-first into the ground, Kaius gasped — fingers wriggling as he felt bone start to reknit. He snapped his head up — catching view of Porkchop still embroiled in a mortal grapple. The kolnir had wormed its fingers into his mouth in an attempt to wrench his jaw open.

It was only by dint of poor leverage that it hadn’t already succeeded. Porkchop’s mouth still opened all the same. Watching the muscles in his brother’s neck standout in stark relief, Kaius knew what was going to happen.

Another snap sounded, rocking him where he stood. Porkchop’s jaw hung unnaturally limp as the kolnir returned to its attempt at crushing his neck armor — its injured arm hanging to the side to heal.