Unas carefully made his way through several rows of tents and hurried toward a group of refugees.
"You there, in the black robe! Come here for inspection!" a voice shouted from behind him.
No way. I've only been out here for half a minute, and I'm caught already? Unas groaned inwardly. That's what I get for showing off.
Going over for inspection would be walking into a trap. What should he do now?
"Hey, I'm talking to you! Get over here!" the soldier behind him ordered again.
Unas didn't dare look back. He was just about to take off running when a black-robed figure suddenly burst out of the crowd beside him, shoving several refugees aside. The figure threw back his hood, revealing a bald head with an eerie black rune flickering on his forehead. Shouting, "My god shall grant me eternal life!" he activated several small beads in his hand.
The bald man swallowed the glowing beads in one gulp. They didn't seem to taste very good, for he let out a series of piercing screams. His clothes burst apart, and his twisted flesh began swelling at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Everyone, run! He's turning into a Flesh Golem!" the soldier shouted a warning. Rather than step forward to stop the enemy, he turned and ran.
At the words "Flesh Golem," the refugees screamed and scattered, scrambling away on hands and knees.
What disgusting thing is a Flesh Golem? Unas didn't retreat. He no longer wanted to run away. The bald man was only a few steps from him, and Unas had seen every change he underwent. Now seemed to be the critical moment in the monster's transformation.
I can't let you have your way.
He quickly pulled out the two-handed greatsword hidden beneath his cloak, mustered his courage, and thrust it with all his might at the bald man's swelling belly.
In just a few seconds, the bald man's body had rapidly swollen to over two meters tall, his clothes bursting apart. His flesh was still expanding as he stood motionless and faced Unas's charge.
With a squelch, the palm-wide greatsword plunged deep into the monster's abdomen, nearly piercing all the way through. Foul black blood sprayed out, splattering Unas all over.
I bet right! This monster can't dodge while it's transforming.
Holding back the stench, Unas planted his left foot against the monster's belly and pushed hard, using the leverage to pull out his greatsword and tear away a large chunk of flesh.
The monster's body faltered under the heavy blow, but its flesh didn't stop swelling. It tried to cover the gaping hole in its belly with two deformed claws, but to little effect. Foul blood continued to spurt out.
To kill the monster for good, attacking its head seemed to be the best choice. Unas didn't hesitate. He sprang into the air and swung his greatsword with both hands in as wide an arc as he could, aiming a horizontal slash at the monster's neck, which was almost buried in flesh.
Without heavy full plate weighing him down, he felt as though he could fly. The blade sank into the monster's thick, mutated neck as though cutting through tofu. Then, with a thud, both of Unas's hands went numb. Just as he was about to sever the monster's head, the blade finally met resistance.
The monster's neck bones seemed to have been greatly reinforced as well, enough to stop a full-powered strike from him.
The blade was stuck in the monster's neck, and Unas didn't want to abandon his weapon. For a moment, he hung in the air.
"Get clear! Don't tangle with that monster, it'll self-destruct!" Darian's roar rang out behind him. Drawn over by the commotion, he saw what was happening and immediately shouted a warning in alarm.
Fuck, it can do that too?
Unas kicked hard against the Flesh Golem's chest with both feet, hoping to use the force to spring away. But this time things didn't go so smoothly. The monster, which had been sluggish all along, suddenly became agile. It swiftly spread its arms and, before Unas could push off, seized him in a tight embrace.
Unas wanted to cry but had no tears. My first hug! Just like that, it's gone!
He struggled with all his strength, but there was no chance of breaking free. The monster's strength was clearly on a different level from his.
"Convert to my god's embrace!" the Flesh Golem roared, the words barely discernible.
Its whole body began to tremble as it swelled larger and larger, reaching its limit in an instant. Its body had almost become a ball when, with a muffled boom, it exploded into great chunks of flesh.
Darian was the only one left nearby. He had long since crouched down, his entire body tucked behind his shield. A large slab of flesh struck the shield, sending him tumbling across the ground.
The two rows of tents nearby were swept over by the shock wave. Fortunately, the refugees had already fled far away, and there were no casualties.
The stench of foul blood filled the air. Darian coughed twice and got up from the ground, otherwise unhurt. He looked back toward the center of the explosion, and a figure enveloped in silver light came into view.
That guy actually survived?
Yes, Unas was alive and well.
At the last possible moment, he had activated "invincibility," that is, Divine Shield (makes a Paladin immune to all damage and spell attacks for 12 seconds, with a cooldown of one hour).
A transparent barrier enveloped his entire body, streaks of silver light gliding across its surface. The visual effect was incredibly cool. The Paladins' nickname of "best actors" wasn't just empty boasting.
He shuddered at the close call. Learning Divine Shield immediately after leveling up had indeed been a wise choice. Looking at the mess all around him, the monster's explosion had been immensely powerful. Without that skill, he would already be a pile of minced meat.
With a pop, the Divine Shield vanished after twelve seconds. The silver light, however, seemed reluctant to leave, circling him several times before slowly fading.
Without the barrier's protection, the stench hit him immediately, and he hurriedly jumped away from the center of the explosion.
"You... all right?" Darian came over and asked uncertainly.
"You're here too, handsome. Thanks for the warning, or I might not have activated invincibility in time." Unas sincerely thanked the handsome young blond.
"No need to thank me." Darian stared at him in amazement. "That was Divine Shield, wasn't it? I didn't expect you to have mastered such a high-level spell."
A high-level spell? Unas thought. Judging by its effect, Divine Shield was indeed an extremely powerful spell, but in the game, you could learn it for a few gold coins.
Setting that topic aside, Unas asked, "What was that monster?"
"Another member of the Cult of the Damned who sneaked in to cause trouble. This is how the Cult of the Damned always operates. We've been subjected to suicide attacks like this all along, which is why we've become so cautious." Darian sighed. "Flesh Golems are usually giant weapons of war that necromancers piece together from various corpses. I never expected one person's flesh alone could swell to such a size this time. This was probably a new drug trial by the Cult of the Damned."
"In any case, your brave fight prevented a massacre. On behalf of the refugees, thank you for stepping forward."
"That counts as a meritorious deed, right? So do you think you could put off arresting me for a while?" Unas seized the opportunity.
"Well... that's not up to me." Darian looked troubled. "I believe you're a good person, but we have to make Sister Sally believe you too."
It looked like he still had to get Whitemane to recognize him as a good person, but he seemed to have thoroughly offended her. That made things a little difficult.
A thought occurred to Unas, and he pressed on. "Sister Sally? She's your sister? Why do you have different surnames?"
"Sister Sally is the daughter of one of my father's subordinates. Both her birth parents died in the war, so my father adopted her," Darian explained. "That's how she became my adopted older sister."
"So she's only your adopted older sister? What a shame. I always feel like an adopted older sister isn't as good as an adopted younger sister."
Speak of the devil: the alluring figure with the gleaming silver hair appeared in view, leading a squad of soldiers.