The loot was quickly split between bags, with Karl and Bob carrying the gold, while the others picked an item to either wear or put in their bag. The Wand of Fireball was hung from a belt, while the oversized rings were dangling from necklaces, which the others assured Karl was close enough to activate their abilities.
They weren’t major magical items, and they were all to increase strength, which was the only thing that the Giants truly valued. But when compared to the base strength of a petite mage, it was a considerable increase.
The extra strength would make it easier to move through the woods, especially with their gear on their backs, and it would leave them less exhausted at the end of the day.
[I think I found the hiding spot of the Ogres. There is a cave over here, carved into a hillside.] Hawk informed Karl after a few minutes of searching.
“Well, we’ve got our next target. There is a cave in the hills that Hawk thinks has Ogres. Are we all ready for this?” Karl asked.
The group collectively sighed and prepared to move out. They were going to have to put in work to clear a zone in half a day, as it wouldn’t be safe to rest overnight if they didn’t. Normally, it wouldn’t be an issue, but there was the underlying knowledge that they could come across a Commander Rank beast in this area, it was explicitly stated when they were assigned here.
None of them had much experience with that, and never before in a group that didn’t have a Commander Rank leader.
Bob followed the direction that Karl pointed, and then spotted Hawk circling over the cave. That was enough to guide them to their target, with Rae and Thor sticking close to the group, in case there was something that Hawk missed or failed to mention.
As they approached, the stench of unwashed bodies assailed their nostrils, and the sound of arguing in an unknown language slowly became audible.
“Golems first. Attack them and draw them back out.” Bob whispered as the cave came into sight. There were definitely either Giants or Ogres in there, the only question was how many and how strong were they.
Rae settled into the grass next to Karl, who was hiding behind a tree like the rest of the team as the Golems approached the cave.
The stomping noise of the large Wood Golems was unmistakable, and Karl heard the roars of rage that something dared to approach the cave that the monsters had claimed as their own.
A massive club came flying out of the cave entrance with such force that it knocked a Golem to the ground and continued on to shatter a tree to Karl’s left.
“Shit. I think we found our Commander Rank Giant.” Bob whispered.
[Rae, circle behind the cave entrance, so you can attack the back of whatever comes out. Getting hit with one of those clubs won’t end well, so wait for the last of them to come out, and make sure you can retreat up the cliff if they turn on you.] Karl instructed.
The Golem was rapidly repairing itself as Danni poured mana into it, and Donni had layered them with a fresh barrier, while Doug cast that enhancement spell again, making the golems look more complete and armoured.
Six giants rushed out of the cave, bent over at the waist to fit through the entrance, and the Golems attacked, striking them with vine whips while Hawk attacked from overhead, raining [Shred] attacks down on them.
The last one out was half grown, only a little larger than a Lizardman, or twice the size of Bob. That was Rae’s sign to attack, and with a deft pull of her web, she roped the monster by the throat and pulled it up into the air, out of the reach of its kin.
It couldn’t even make a noise as it was abducted, but the Giants were too busy to notice anyhow, as that was the moment that Bob chose to charge.
“Forward!” He shouted, charging with Thor at his side.
The mages and Doug didn’t leave the trees, but Karl moved up into the open, where he could get a clear line of attack on the Giants while they were engaged with the oversized Wood Golems.
Multiple Rend attacks kept the Giants annoyed and distracted, so they couldn’t focus on the incoming forms of Bob and Thor. The muscular scaled body of Thor slammed into the one on Karl’s right, and a twist of his head took the Giant’s legs out from underneath him, dropping the massive monster on its back, where it was pummelled by a Golem, while two more tried to push the attackers back so it could regain its footing.
But that left them vulnerable to Hawk, and the wounds were rapidly adding up, weakening them.
The first of the Golems was smashed out of existence a few seconds later, and the largest of the Giants turned on Bob, smashing at him with its club.
He rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the strike, but keeping his [Guard] barrier intact.
[Rae, when you see an opening, help Bob. Hawk, help Thor.] Karl instructed.
Thor was fighting two Giants, while two Golems worked to kill the prone Giant, and the last Golem was barely holding on in a two on one fight against the Giants.
Karl focused on that fight, putting all his power into [Shred] which shimmered with power as [Offensive Optimization] altered the spell to better cut through the target.
The strike caught one of the Giants across the face, blinding it in one eye and leaving a gaping slash from its ear to the middle of its chest, but the creature didn’t seem to even register the pain, and the wound was slowly closing already.
That wasn’t good. If he couldn’t do enough damage, it would just heal and keep fighting until the mages were exhausted and the Golems dropped.
A shrill shriek filled the air as Rae came hurtling past Karl’s face, involuntarily headed for the cliff.
She twisted at the last instant, but Karl could see that she was injured, and limping on the left side.
A glance left showed that the Commander Rank Giant was in much worse shape, and she had nearly torn his heart from his chest when she landed on his back, but the Giant had managed to grab her and throw her before Bob could stop him.
Green healing light glowed around her body as Doug took action, and a barrier shimmered back to life around her body, bringing the Bloodbath Spider back into the fight. She launched herself off the rock face back at the Giant, who turned to swat her away, only narrowly missing when she used her web to pull herself to the ground.
The move turned his back on Bob, and the Warrior glowed with golden light for an instant as he drove his blade into the creature’s chest from behind, using the gap in the creature’s armour that Rae had torn.
The blade sunk in up to the hilt, and silently, the creature toppled over forward, landing on the grass with a thump that seemed to freeze time for an instant as the others realized their leader was dead.
With him gone, they had lost their strongest chance at winning, and now there were two more attackers free to rescue the beleaguered Golem, while Thor fended off the attacks of two others.
Both his Lightning Barrier and Donni’s magical barriers were being broken and renewed every few seconds, but the Giants were bruised everywhere and limping, while bleeding from multiple puncture wounds.
The prone Giant was finished, and the fight was over in the next few seconds, as the survivors of the Giant Clan were surrounded and torn apart by Golems and [Lacerate] attacks.
“Head count.” Bob called.
“No injuries in the back lines.” Doug called back.
“Minor wounds on my side.” Karl replied.
With a smile and a sigh, the warrior sunk to the ground, still enveloped in healing light.
Doug made his way forward, looking much older than he had a few minutes ago, a weariness that could only have come from mana exhaustion.
“The mages are barely mobile. We need to find a safe spot to hide for the night.” The cleric informed his brother.
“Get them loaded onto Thor if we have to. Staying here is too dangerous. We will go a kilometre or so, and then find a spot. Can Hawk scout for us?” Bob asked.
Hawk was already started, so Karl nodded, and began to check the Giants for loot.
There was absolutely nothing on them but their weapons and crude armour, which was now utterly destroyed.
There might be something in the cave for them to take, but Karl got the feeling that these Giants didn’t have much to take in the first place.
“I will check the cave and meet you here in a minute. Thor, help the ladies onto your back. They need the help to get to camp.” Karl informed the others.
Doug gave him a weary thumbs up as he collapsed back to back with Bob, not even having the energy to go back to where the mages were sitting.
They had come much closer to death than anyone was willing to admit, and even one more minute of combat would have left the casters comatose, while the front line was left on its own with no healing and little ranged support.
