The Bard is Fantasizing Again

Honestly speaking, in the world of dwarves, there are very few things that could be called 'fearsome.'

Facing giant creatures far taller and more imposing than themselves, they would only show disdain, thinking "they're just big idiots."

Then they'd viciously kick their ankles, attempting to make these giants fall to the ground and look up at them.

Stonecrusher did this quite often—

Not long ago... roughly two hundred years or so, those giant races called the Goliath who lived nomadically in the northern Icewind Dale, chose to migrate south due to the gradually warming climate.

Back then, all the dwarves thought they were full of shit.

Until after an on-site investigation, they discovered that the land even further north than the frigid northern border was actually a goddamn active volcano.

Thus over two hundred years, the dwarves and Goliath had several conflicts, ultimately ending in a great integration, which led to the current northern Ironforge frequently holding wrestling competitions between dwarves and Goliath due to various historical reasons.

Wrestling requires technique, and a short person tripping a tall person requires even more skill.

But the prerequisite for all techniques is that you can actually find your opponent's legs and feet.

Now facing a massive giant formed by corpses clustered together, nearly occupying half the tomb—

Stonecrusher realized he couldn't utilize any of his past wrestling experience—

Not just because this zombie giant was so obese that its belly covered its own ankles.

But also because its belly was covered in densely packed hands and feet...

He had no idea where to start!

This was a Flesh Golem pieced and fused together from corpses.

Its origin should be the large skull emanating ghostly green evil light on that bloated torso beneath the ceiling—

"Damn it, can't even reach it."

"ROAR!!!"

The flesh mass's throat also seemed stitched together, causing roars of different ages and genders to mix together.

The earlier Shield Charge didn't even manage to scrape the skin bag dripping with corpse oil.

That giant 'arm' made of corpses and limbs stuck together came crashing down almost the instant it deflected Stonecrusher.

The shadow of the arm covered Stonecrusher's face. He tried to flee from the falling shadow, but found his short stature made it difficult to instantly escape to the cramped open space.

He understood he was about to be crushed beneath the flesh mass, and could only raise his tower shield above his head:

"This is why I don't like these fucking giants!"

"This giant is disgustingly ugly, even fatter and oilier than Melade!"

"Please, I'll lose weight later, can you not always bring me up when insulting people!?"

Song and complaint rang out simultaneously, and Stonecrusher turned to see the giant's steps become slightly unstable, causing even its stitched arm to tilt.

He quickly rolled to the side, barely rolling into a corner as a thunderous "BOOM" crashed behind him:

"That mage is hiding behind the giant! There's nowhere in the tomb for him to hide—Fuck!"

Just as he shouted, a wailing bell toll suddenly rang in his ears, like a blow to the back of the head, making his mind instantly grow drowsy.

His cochlea became extremely itchy, as if small insects hidden in his pores were breaking through the skin.

Stonecrusher quickly reached up to scratch his ear canal, only to realize it was all an illusion.

"Don't space out!"

Tang Qi's shout brought him back to his senses, and the flesh mass's horrifying arm immediately swept toward him again.

"Rua!"

Its obese body brought massive size and strength, but also came with the cost of slowness and being an easy target.

Unless Kuru's spell chanting was wrong, there was no reason for Ray of Frost to miss—

Ice crystals struck the center of the target just as the arm swept across, white frost flowers and cold air spreading and extending together, slowing its swing speed.

But Stonecrusher had already rolled into the corner with no more room to roll back.

He snorted coldly, pressing the tower shield beneath him:

"Shield Charge!"

The crashing impact failed to shatter the rocky floor beneath his feet, instead using the recoil to launch his entire body upward.

The slowed sweep failed to hit Stonecrusher, its 'fist' striking the tomb's stone wall, hammering the entire burial chamber with resonating booms.

At the same time, Stonecrusher strapped his spiked hammer back to his waist, extended his right hand, and tightly grasped a leg on the 'arm'—

He actually didn't want to do this.

Because he glimpsed that this leg's end had completely merged into the fused flesh mass. The connection point was covered in densely packed tumors that made one sick.

He could even smell a sanity-disturbing corpse stench near the flesh mass's torso.

But he was a dwarf, and flowing in his blood was robustness and tenacity—

Very few toxins could travel along his skin and invade his body.

This allowed him to be much bolder.

He tightly gripped that rotting calf, the corpse's skin lacking elasticity, making him suddenly squeeze out an obvious indentation.

Amidst the impact and trembling, he nearly tore this leg completely off!

But fortunately he steadied himself, raised his tower shield high, and treated the stitched hands and feet on the 'arm' before him as steps for climbing a peak, running step by step toward its shoulder and even the skull flashing ghostly green evil light—

Stonecrusher's actions were fully captured by Dais's eyes.

That skull was the core of the zombie flesh mass, he absolutely couldn't let the dwarf easily destroy it!

He was about to snap his fingers and make Toll the Dead ring out again, completely shattering the dwarf's eardrums.

But a song wrapped with 'inspiration' arrived in an instant:

"You're a tiny little person, go pierce through that giant's big skull!"

"You didn't need to sing that first line!"

Though Stonecrusher cursed loudly, he felt this indignation in his heart made him even more excited—

Strange, he remembered he didn't have a hobby of being whipped or verbally abused?

But it was this inexplicable surge that when the death knell lingered at his ears, he was so focused on anger that he couldn't hear the wailing and howling at all.

"Why!?"

Dais, realizing the spell had failed again, couldn't help but shout in exasperation.

But the cursing immediately turned its spearhead toward him—

"Too busy cursing him, almost forgot about you.

You balding cowardly baldhead, skeleton uglier than zombies!"

That splitting headache struck again, and Dais immediately wailed.

Meanwhile, Stonecrusher had already charged to the Flesh Golem's skull using the adrenaline stimulated by anger, twisted his waist, drove the spiked hammer in his hand, and thunderously smashed it into the giant's skull!

"BANG, BANG!"

His movements didn't stop:

"One more time!"

Four strikes in an instant, as if he truly possessed the mountain-splitting, stone-crushing ability his name suggested.

That massive skull was suddenly hammered into pale white fragments, violent tremors forcing the entire flesh mass to topple sideways—

Simultaneously exposing Dais, whom it had been protecting behind it!

"Kuru!"

Even without Tang Qi's command, the wand already burst forth with cold light, shooting directly toward Dais who was trying to flee in panic.

Solidly hitting the mage armor on his sternum.

"I shouldn't have had any expectations of you."

Tang Qi sighed, ignoring the pouting, aggrieved kobold, and was about to run toward Dais's direction.

No matter what, he had to first get around that 'mountain of flesh.'

But he suddenly realized that the fleeing Dais wasn't escaping toward the deeper parts of the tomb.

Instead, he was running close to that central stone platform...

He remembered the instructions Dawn had given before entering the burial chamber.

"Can't let him get close there—"

He tried to quicken his pace, but simply couldn't cross the vast distance between them...

And Dais had already lifted the white cloth on the stone platform, looking at the pulsating broken sword at the waist and abdomen, murmuring an obscure incantation:

"By the beginning of life, by the shore of death, by the bridge of souls..."

A mysterious deep purple spiritual light transformed into a magic circle inscribed with runes, enveloping the area around the stone platform.

This was a ritual prepared in advance—

"Fuck you!"

Tang Qi's curse was rhythmic and brief, but whether this short mockery was beneath Dais's notice,

Or because he had fallen into an extremely focused state where the power of words simply couldn't affect him—

The result was that Vicious Mockery failed to achieve its intended effect.

Tang Qi understood that interrupting his chanting required him to simultaneously recite an incantation to summon that departed hero.

But he still needed to approach that body first!

Because Dawn's warning to him was to have the heroic soul seize the flesh first, to prevent the 'False God's' resurrection...

He needed time to approach that unfinished body—

A snow-white swift shadow swept past Tang Qi!

Tang Qi saw that little girl who, like a white wolf, was racing forward wildly.

He immediately strummed the strings and sang loudly:

"Bare your fangs and claws, go give your blood feud punishment!"

In a trance, Anbi's ears echoed with her childhood's innocent confusion—

"Papa, why do we have to live in the forest?"

"Because only this way, we won't hurt other people."

"What if other people want to hurt us?"

"Then Papa and Mama definitely won't let them hurt Anbi."

But Papa.

Do you know?

If the price is your leaving, that's also a kind of hurt?

It didn't cut through Anbi's skin.

But Anbi would still cry.

The little girl running toward her enemy didn't pause for a moment. She felt the world slow down before her eyes.

Her breathing became more and more steady.

And when beast-like claws extended from her fingertips, she noticed she was already close to the 'skeleton.'

"ROAR!!!"

A fierce wolf howl burst from her throat, her claws nearly tearing through Dais's face, forcing him to interrupt his chanting with a pained cry.

Also forcing the broken sword that had just been lifted to fall back before the torso's waist and abdomen.

Anbi knocked Dais flying to the ground, her claws again approaching his throat.

Only in this moment, hatred made her lose her reason.

Embracing her nature, like a true wild beast!

"Chill Touch!"

But in the struggle, Dais forcibly condensed a bone claw, thrusting it into Anbi's chest.

That bone hand seemed to penetrate her skin bag, scraping against her sternum.

The necromantic aura eroded every inch of her bones, forcing her to howl continuously in the sharp pain.

She was just a child who couldn't fully transform into a beast.

The huge disparity left her powerless to resist the bone claw's torment.

But Dais had no time to care about an injured wolf cub.

Pushing Anbi to the ground, attempting to stand up and return to that stone platform—

Only to look up and discover that the foul-mouthed poet already had his finger touching that broken sword.

Using a melody like a sacred hymn, chanting an extremely obscure yet familiar incantation:

"By the beginning of life, by the shore of death, by the bridge of souls.

I call upon the heroic soul lost in time's dust—

Aye Dawn.

Break free from these decaying shackles, fill this temple of flesh and blood.

With noble will, manifest the glory of daybreak again!"

"Hum!"

Without warning.

In the complex magic circle, from atop that broken sword, a flickering, brilliant light suddenly burst forth.

It was impossible to tell whether the sacred radiance had fallen into the broken sword, or if the broken sword had instantly ignited with golden flames...

But this light flame that almost condensed into substance instantly illuminated the four walls of the tomb, filling this dim burial chamber with dazzling golden brilliance.

Tang Qi had to close his eyes.

The flesh mass that had fallen to the floor also wailed at this sacred light.

In the roaring, the halo gradually extinguished.

Tang Qi forcibly opened his eyes that had been stimulated blood-red, seeing clearly that a headless person holding a broken sword had already stood before Dais.

That gorgeous broken sword had been supplemented by brilliant gold into a blade.

It was as dazzling as the blazing sun, sweeping away all rot and filth.

Before Dais's eyes, the completed blade swung into a golden half-moon.

Wherever it passed, even the crimson flesh and blood were burned by light flames into ashes!

Only in this moment did Dais seem to see that bridge connecting 'life' and 'death'—

As a necromancer, his entire life had been spent making others walk toward death.

So much so that he couldn't understand what the sensation of 'dying' actually felt like.

Now he understood:

Death is a cold embrace.

Not because it's painful enough.

But because it can make you recall...

That moment you couldn't let go of until the very end of your life.

"How could..."

In incomprehension, Dais walked to the other shore of the bridge.

And with his loss of breath, Stonecrusher felt the obese flesh mass beneath his feet immediately lose what little reason it already lacked—

It seemed that losing the 'master' controlling it caused this filthy aggregate to become exceptionally frenzied.

"I'm so sick of these fucking zombies! When can I smash them dead with one hammer!?"

Actually, Stonecrusher's four painful strikes had already shattered the flesh mass's skull.

But it was after all a 'zombie,' also possessing the characteristic of standing unyielding.

"Can't keep dragging this out with it!"

The consecutive battles and extensive use of combat techniques had already left Stonecrusher ravenous.

He couldn't swing the spiked hammer many more times...

And a sword light attached with light flames dispelled the dwarf's concerns.

"BOOM!!!"

The headless person raised the broken sword high, swinging the brilliant golden blade toward the rotting flesh mass.

Wherever the sword light passed, darkness had nowhere to hide.

That massive flesh mass was split in two in an instant, the scorched and smooth gap only scattering dispersing ashes.

And that flesh mass, in a painful roar, stepped onto the bridge's other shore together with its 'master.'

Stonecrusher possessed over two hundred years of experience.

This let him very clearly realize where this golden sword edge originated from:

"This is fucking...

Divine Smite?"

That was the might belonging exclusively to paladins, the most radiant profession on this continent.

But just as Stonecrusher was about to relax and jump down from the rotting flesh mass—

His eyes clearly caught Tang Qi's movement:

"Hey, poet!?"

He felt this foul-mouthed poet had gone mad—

Actually drawing 'Snake's Kiss' and swinging it toward that headless paladin!

The latter clearly noticed the danger behind her.

Too hurried to care about exposing her torso, she raised the broken sword in her hand, its golden light scattered and returned to its original appearance, hastily blocking Tang Qi's slash.

She immediately retreated two steps, using her heart's voice to transmit her shock to Tang Qi:

"I—I just helped you, why are you turning your blade on me?"

Tang Qi gripped the curved blade tightly, beginning to consider the possibility of slaying this 'paladin' before him:

"Because I discovered during the chanting process that the magic circle was never prepared for any 'False God.'

The target connected to the 'perfect work of art' has only ever been one thing from beginning to end—

Your soul."

"..."

Dawn fell into silence.

After contemplating for a long while, she seemed to understand this wasn't something she could muddle through with a random excuse.

Instead, she placed the broken sword before her, extinguished the light flames burning on her wrist, and used her heart's voice to ask in confusion:

"You shouldn't have discovered this."