System Break

Chapter 148: Between a tail and a hard place

The Gargscarab munched happily on the adventurers while we planned our attack, and by the time we were done it was on the move again, feeling its way forward. The monstrosity had no eyes but a million tiny feelers on its pincers, underbelly, legs and tail. 

Its biology was a mystery. Could it hear with its feelers? Did it just move forward blindly eating anything in its path? One thing was clear though it's chitinous armour was tough and a crossbow bolt bounced off it like it was a baseball thrown at a steel reinforced concrete safe.

My body flooded with qi and I sucked down on a core from my pack to refill before I got going. My qi ran up and down the wood which lined bones throughout my body and the panelling I had in my back. Every muscle, every tendon was supported with qi speed, agility and strength. I removed my pack and lay my spears on the ground next to the whitecloaks. 

They looked at the glaive in awe and with a little fear. It's size and weight made it an intimidating weapon. I held it in two hands and ran towards the humungous bastard. The bigger they are the harder they fall. 

Demon Bird flew overhead and watched it from above. Within moments I was at its side and hacked into its leg. The birds eye view showed me the tail coming down to squish me on its right, so after I carved the leg I kept running underneath. 

From a distance the leg looked spindly, but it was thick due to its sheer size; it was segmented and armoured like the rest. With all my force I cut it deep, but unlike the despicable adventurer guild members - I couldn't cut it in two. Not with a regular attack no matter how devastating it was to the shit kickers from Castaways.

Gisael shot a qi-arrow between its segments, aiming for the less armoured section which gave it flexibility. The arrow hit home with little fuss and buried itself in the Gargscarab's flesh. But did it care? It showed no signs that the arrow bothered it one bit. As I ran and struck she kept firing and Sakaala joined in.

The tail was tracking me - Demon Bird could see it from above. I would have been oblivious if not for the bird because the large body was between me and the tail. The feelers on its body must have been sensing me. I suppose it was a much better system than eyes, because if it had eyes it would be restricted, but with feelers it knew what was happening all around it. I wasn't even in contact with the damn things, but they sensed me nonetheless whether it was displaced air, scent or sound didn't matter. 

It knew where I was with pinpoint accuracy and its not like Gisael could shoot every feeler. Our standard strategy of taking out the eyes of a monster was out the door. But I had another idea.

The head of the glaive was like a long tear shaped axe blade and it was bloody sharp. My qi easily flowed up the living wood shaft like it was a qi stream in my own body and when it reached the head the Dokkalfar engravings directed it like little aqueducts filled with water. My qi shone brightly along its edge and waited for my second attempt to sever a leg.

I leaped high and swung with all my might. The Gargscarab could not dodge the blow because it moved too slowly, but its tail was homing in on me and descending where I would leave the protection of its undercarriage.

My qi enhanced my strength, my speed loaned force to the blow and I pumped the glaive with pure streams of qi.

A loud crack echoed over the field when the glaive met the ligament. I put everything I had into the strike which was enabled because the dumb beast moved so slow. Compared to my speed it was a stationary target.

The leg severed halfway up, and mucus sprayed from the still attached upper section. It was an off green colour and smelled like a hard night out. The beast rocked slightly but was still supported by six legs. I'd only damaged one with my first strike and the two guilds somehow managed to dislodge one.

I continued my follow through and lifted the glaive above my head to intercept the tail which was hurtling towards me. They two weapons of mass destruction clashed, and another cracking sound echoed across the field. 

The impact pushed me earthbound, interrupting my leap with the force of the blow. I tucked and rolled losing my glaive for a moment. I placed a hand in the dirt and clawed at it while I changed direction at high speed and then - with my legs pumping like pistons - I swooped past the glaive and picked it up before running back under the mucus filled beetle of death.

It's undercarriage was the best place to hide from the tail because it couldn't attack me through it, and it had no means to attack from this part of its body. It was a defensive juggernaut and relied on only two methods of attack, its tail, and its pincers. They were monstrous weapons but limited in where they could reach.

With glaive in hand I ran towards another limb. The centre of its body had lowered now that it was missing a quarter of its legs. Demon Bird watched the tail for me, and he could also see the protectors had arrived.

This time I swerved and ran just under the edge of its carapace. My qi was still at a healthy level when I slashed the third leg. I reached as high as I could without reducing the strength of the blow and it severed about halfway which is all I wanted. 

The tail thrashed and swooped along its edge trying to reach me. It had a million feelers to track me, I had one Demon Bird with whom I shared vision. The tail was fast, strong and precise. But despite all its speed and the way it predicted my course - I was faster - and I was becoming accustomed to its prediction. I changed direction suddenly and ran back across the field as the tail stuck the ground where I should have been.

When the fourth leg was severed the Gargscarab teetered and its entire body fell closer to the ground. I ran towards its head away from the falling middle segments. I watched with horror as its half legs still worked, they were just shorter, but they still held it upright and it continued to move forward. 

The head and tail sections were raised while the two middle sections were lowered. The middle was now only ten feet off the ground while the head and tail were twenty. The body segments curved like a hammock, but they functioned as before.

I ran under its head and its pincers drooled at the prospect of skewering me. I didn't want to test my wooden endoskeleton against their sharp snap. The tail still tracked me as I aimed for its forelegs. It's rear lifted and gave its tail the reach it needed.

I swept the front leg with the glaive as it turned its head. It was angling the opposite pincer into my path. It had incredible instincts or an alien intelligence because it trapped me between its tail and pincer.

When the front leg fell I skidded to a halt and its body teetered towards me. My glaive continued to sweep above my head and met the tail mid-air. I was naturally strong, stronger than any man, I had a wooden endoskeleton layered with qi, I had the qi body techniques which I worked hard to improve, but its tail was stronger than me. 

It weighed a ton and was powered by insect mucus hydraulics. I don't know, I just made that up. But what I did know was it knocked my glaive aside and because I would not let go, me along with it.

I rolled end over end with glaive in hand. The injuries from hitting the dirt were minor. But there was one problem. I was now prone and in reach of the pincer and the tail.