The Tree Giant's Crushing Fist
The Tree Giant's colossal fist tore through the air as it smashed down toward the Blue Mane Tribe warriors. Was it the sheer unreality of that massive arm descending upon them? Most of the warriors just stared at it in a daze.
But not everyone was waiting idly for death. Zaken snatched the horn from the trumpeter beside him and blew into it with all his might. A dull bellow erupted from the goat's horn, jolting the warriors back to their senses. No matter how astonishing the sight before their eyes, how could they zone out in such a dire moment?
"Dodge! Get out of that arm's path!"
"Run! Fuck, if you're about to trip, roll if you have to—just evade it!"
The warriors who snapped out of it bolted across the snowfield with pale faces. A deafening roar grew closer overhead, but they didn't dare look up at the sky. Witnessing that falling fist again might sap the strength from their legs for good.
Watching the scene, Rektar's eyes bulged with burst blood vessels. He realized it was impossible to save them all. Roaring in fury, he drew his sword. It blazed hot, mirroring his rage.
"That's our chance while the spirit's focused on that tree arm. Charge!"
"B-but the warriors..."
"We can't save them all anyway! If you don't want their sacrifice wasted, then charge!"
It was a brutal order, but the warriors gripped their weapons with grim resolve. It wasn't entirely wrong. And unlike before, they had their own trump card this time.
"OneTon! Release the beasts and attack now!"
"Don't order me around! You think I can't judge that much for myself?!"
OneTon's eyes gleamed ferociously, and the beasts swelled in size, growing more savage as they surged forward.
This is bad. Wendigo clicked his tongue at the rapidly approaching beasts. Controlling the colossal fist made moving his body difficult. He'd boldly envisioned the biggest, most massive arm possible and gathered the trees into it... but he'd never handled this much mysticism before. The fist had slipped beyond his control. Any movement now would surely shatter it mid-swing toward the enemy.
Faced with the dilemma, Wendigo pondered.
What if I just take the bite? The spear only grazed me a bit, so beast teeth might be... No. These aren't ordinary beasts; who knows.
In that split second, Wendigo turned his barely mobile head to check the ice stake embedded behind him. Its mysticism had halved from full. He'd forcibly dragged roots from nearby plants to form the Tree Giant's fist, so that was expected. The key was that half still remained.
If I burst that, it should block the beasts, right?
He didn't need to unleash it all. Just enough to halt their advance. Freezing their legs would buy plenty of time for the fist to smash down!
"Greeeeek!!!"
Burst!
As Wendigo's will pressed upon the ice stake, it began emitting a crystalline glow. But...
...Is it bursting a bit more than I thought?
Desperate commands in emergencies could lead to mistakes. Contrary to plan, the mysticism in the stake halved again. It erupted in dazzling light and a shockwave.
The shockwave spread instantly, freezing everything around it. It swept over the beasts, turning them into living ice statues that tumbled across the ground before shattering into pieces.
Rektar, leading the warriors at the front, hurriedly raised his sword at the gruesome sight.
"Flames, protect us!"
The flames of the ancient Flame Horse that once scorched the plains burst from his sword, clashing with the shockwave. Rektar trusted the ancestral sword would fully counter it. At least until the flames scattered, swept away just before they did.
"Damn you, ancestors!"
Still, his effort wasn't entirely futile. The shockwave, poised to freeze the world, weakened noticeably—saving the warriors from becoming ice statues.
...Though that didn't mean zero damage. Most warriors had frostbitten hair and skin; the unlucky ones lost an arm or leg to ice.
The shock didn't stop there.
BOOM!
"Fuck. Chief, the warriors..."
"Don't look back. It'll shake your resolve."
In the end, failing to disrupt Wendigo's focus led to the warriors' massacre. The Tree Giant's fist pulverized them like bugs.
The wooden fist that crushed the warriors and the savage beasts—all frozen solid in one blast. At this point, Rektar turned his hidden suspicion into conviction. The spirit before him was no ordinary spirit!
Rektar unleashed the mysticism coursing through him fiercely. The Blue Mane Tribe's ancient revered blue wolf manifested through his body. As a near-perfect werewolf, Rektar swallowed his surging feral instincts and aimed his flame sword at Wendigo.
"You damned spirit bastard! What scheme are you plotting in this forest to go this far?!"
"Scheme? I'm really just fighting to protect my people."
"Bullshit! I may not know spirits well, but I know you lot wouldn't pull this crap for your underlings!"
Wendigo stared at Rektar in bewilderment, but Rektar was convinced. It had been off from the start. A spirit fighting for humans? Urging them to leave the forest? Why would a spirit do that? And why had Rektar come to the forest himself? For the evil rite of human sacrifice!
So suspecting Wendigo's odd actions stemmed from thwarting that wicked ritual wasn't so strange.
"I don't know what you're doing in this forest, but it sure as hell ain't normal. No other way to explain your power without some sinister ritual scraping up mysticism!"
"...Think what you want."
They say arguing with someone who's already decided the answer is for fools. Such people never admit they're wrong. And agreeing with their idiocy makes you an idiot too.
More of them are rattled than I thought. Bunch of morons?
Wendigo felt frustrated watching the warriors exude resolve, courage, and faith at Rektar's nonsense. Agreeing with such stupidity? Were all Blue Mane warriors idiots? He eyed them pitifully, but they had their reasons. Everything he'd done so far fit the "evil" label perfectly.
He does look exactly like a bad guy.
Maybe slaughtering warriors is part of some ritual?
Those swept by the eye fog went mad because this spirit bewitched them?
A little reflection would reveal his own actions were suspiciously extreme, but Wendigo wasn't pondering that deeply. Rektar acting heroic while forgetting his own atrocities was repulsive—but not bad for Wendigo. At least he'd fight desperately, making his head easier to claim.
At Wendigo's call, root-bound ice swords erupted from the ground. He yanked one free in a flash and pointed it at Rektar.
"I don't have any scheme... but if you wanna die that bad, I'll oblige. Come at me."
"Ha! Think I won't just 'cause you said so?!"
Rektar's bold shout sent the warriors charging... everyone except Rektar. Wendigo couldn't help admiring the shamelessness. Befitting a guy with a spirit like OneTon, his face was thicker than expected!
I even waited for the transformation, and he's still this petty.
"Honorable Blue Mane warriors, awaken the spirits of our ancestors!"
True to their role as Rektar's guards, they weren't ordinary. Unleashing hidden ancestral mysticism, they transformed into beasts: wolves, bears, yaks...
Wendigo swung lightly at the lead bear-man to gauge his strength. The bear-man tried blocking the ice sword with his shield. Fitting a bear beastman, it was solid steel...
CRUNCH!
"Monster... Don't block its attacks! The chill seeps in!"
The ice sword's frost flash-froze the shield. The bear-man hurled it away and yelled.
"Ancestors, look upon us!"
He swung his axe at Wendigo's legs. His bulk was huge, but Wendigo's was huger—he aimed to force a kneel first. But Wendigo's sword was faster. Its disproportionate speed was one thing; the power was overwhelming. The massive blade severed the bear-man's thickly leathered arm in one stroke.
The bear-man swallowed his scream and slashed with claws. Determined to leave a mark before dying.
"Grraaah..."
"Shut up."
BOOM!
Before his claws connected, Wendigo's fist smashed the bear-man's head. It tore clean off, slamming into the ground—or rather, exploding. The warriors felt a chill at the sheer violence. Never attack alone!
"He's by himself! Surround and strike!"
"Throw spears! Bows if you don't have 'em!"
They swiftly encircled Wendigo, hunting him like a dangerous beast. The problem? He was far beyond "dangerous."
As sharp spears flew, Wendigo deflected half with his sword and roared at the rest. The body-freezing chill and primal terror rooted them in place. Then their eyes caught his massive ice sword.
"Shit."
Mysticism-tempered hide or sturdy bone—useless. Wendigo's blade sprayed blood, cleaving foes.
OneTon approached Rektar, watching.
"OneTon! Where the hell have you been?!"
With warriors getting one-sidedly butchered, no way Rektar would mince words. Even OneTon couldn't brazenly retort this time. He'd dumped all the losses on Rektar. He'd held back the beasts, waiting for a chance to finish Wendigo.
But a true spirit states its case boldly, even here. OneTon started blabbering from his guilty maw.
"Sorry. But hear me out."
"Hear what? Nothing good's ever come from your stories—think I'm a moron who'd trust you again?!"
"...This time's different. Think: after rampaging like that, how much mysticism's left? Now's our chance to drop him."
OneTon's logic was sound. A spirit's strength depends on mysticism depth. That fist and shockwave demanded vast amounts—surely depleted now. Plus...
"Think hard. If we don't kill him now, you think the tribe forgives you?"
"That's..."
Rektar couldn't guarantee it. Win or lose is fate, but mass warrior deaths? No way the tribe forgives. Returning now meant his head rolling.
Sensing Rektar's wavering, OneTon pushed.
"And look behind. That guy you hate's rallying the warriors."
"!"
Rektar's gaze shifted to Zaken in the rear, tending survivors. Shockwave victims wouldn't rejoin easily—they were effectively sidelined. But post-battle, they'd return to the tribe. If they rallied behind Zaken in rebellion?
Plausible. Zaken constantly opposed him, slyly swaying warriors. Fronting care while coveting the chieftain's seat!
Rektar's only options: fell Wendigo, suppress dissent with authority—or flee in dishonor.
No way.
Swallowing unease, Rektar extended a hand to OneTon.
"Just this once, we'll sync up. No more after."
"Hmph. Be grateful for the honor of aiding a great spirit."
OneTon grudgingly placed a foot on Rektar's hand. The enemy of my enemy... Their first unity was astonishingly... repulsive, Wendigo thought.
Perfect for backstabbing idiots like them.
But he didn't deny the tension. After beheading the last warrior, Wendigo kept his guard up, glaring at them.