Chương 50: Chapter 49 Bleeding the Giant

The ogre flailed its limbs inside the pit, forced itself upright, and planted its hands on the ground as it tried to climb out. The creature was insane. The trap was around two and a half meters deep, yet the ogre's immense body made it seem shallow. The edge of the pit barely reached the middle of its chest. It was clearly taller than three and a half meters, and perhaps close to four. Its arms, legs, and head were all proportionally enormous, each defying common sense.

"Attack it from behind!"

"If it looks directly at you, dodge immediately!"

"Do not fight it from the front!" Karath shouted with enough force to tear his throat as he directed the warriors. There was no reason to test the strength produced by that massive body using the tribespeople's lives. Even a grazing blow would probably break bones. If one of its attacks struck a vital area, the warrior would die instantly.

"Strike its fingers and palms! Do not let it escape the pit!"

"Warriors with axes and clubs, attack the fingers from the front and retreat immediately! Those carrying spears, stab from the sides!" The previous month of training had produced results. Not only the younger warriors, but even the uncles moved according to Karath's commands as they tormented the monster. The skin and bones of its hands were apparently weaker than the rest of its body. After being struck repeatedly by stone axes, the ogre's fingers became swollen and twisted, with blood seeping from them.

Small streams of blood also appeared where spears tipped with stone blades pierced its hide. Even so, the ogre did not fall.

"GRAAAAAAAH!" The pain seemed to drive it completely mad. It swung both arms wildly around the pit. During an ordinary battle, such enormous movements would have left countless openings. The problem was the ogre's absurd size and the strength accompanying it. Every careless swing was dangerous. One of the older warriors failed to evade completely. Thud! The ogre's hand only grazed his shoulder. The warrior's arm was left hanging like a shredded rag, the bones inside crushed beyond recognition.

"You bastard! I will kill you!" The orc remained defiant despite having his arm destroyed. It was an attitude worthy of a Bloodclaw warrior, but this was not the time to praise him.

"Damn it! Everyone, withdraw for a moment!" Karath ordered the warriors away from the pit. Their eyes had become bloodshot with excitement, but they still understood his command and retreated one step at a time. The ogre seized the opportunity. Unable to support itself with its mangled fingers, it pressed both palms against the ground and began lifting its body from the pit.

"Attack again!" The warriors charged at Karath's command. This time, the ogre ignored them. Stone axes and clubs battered its body while spears stabbed into its hide, but the creature continued dragging itself upward without reacting. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. By the time its upper body had completely emerged from the pit, Karath made his decision.

"Move away!" He charged forward with a stone axe.

"Raaagh!" Karath passed through the gap opened by the retreating warriors and swung the weapon at the ogre's eye with all his strength. The creature did not raise an arm to block or evade. Just before the axe landed, it turned its head and attempted to receive the strike with its forehead. Crash! Karath recognized the movement at the last moment and changed the direction of the axe. He failed to destroy the eye itself. Instead, the blade struck the area where a human's eyebrow would have been. Crack!

As always, the stone axe could not withstand Karath's full strength and broke apart. He had replaced the wooden handle with the bone of the troll he killed, believing ordinary wood was too weak. This time, the point connecting the handle and stone head separated. Still, the attack had accomplished part of its purpose. The eye had survived, but the flesh above it became swollen and partially crushed. Blood flowed from the wound and poured into the ogre's eye.

It would have difficulty seeing through the right side for some time. Karath found little comfort in that fact. The ogre's remaining eye stared directly at him, its veins swollen red. The gaze seemed to carry a clear promise. The moment it escaped the pit, Karath would be the first one torn apart.

"Everyone, fall back!" Karath did not give the command because the creature's glare frightened him. The ogre had already pulled its upper body free. It would soon escape completely, and anyone remaining nearby could be caught in its rampage.

"Karath!"

"Get away from it!" The other warriors retreated several steps and shouted when they noticed Karath still standing beside the monster. He was not remaining behind as a sacrifice.

"Karath will hold its attention! Move to the seventh trap!"

"Uncle Goldin, help Uncle Gwein return toward the settlement!" Karath continued issuing orders without taking his eyes from the ogre.

"GRAAAAAAAH!" The creature finally pulled itself from the pit and roared. The traps had not been useless. Blood covered the ogre's body. Its fingers, repeatedly struck by stone axes and clubs made from monster bones, had been twisted in every direction. The backs of its hands were soaked red. Blood flowed from countless wounds left by stone-tipped stakes and spears fashioned from bone.

Its thick hide prevented any single injury from becoming fatal, but even shallow wounds became serious when they numbered in the hundreds. The sharpened stakes at the bottom of the pit had also done some damage. The ogre's lower body was covered in blood. None of that meant it was close to death.

"GRAAAAAAH!" The blood-soaked ogre swung an arm toward Karath, seemingly determined to fulfill the promise in its gaze. Whoosh! The arm of a four-meter giant tore through the air.

"Hup!" Karath remained calm and threw himself sideways, narrowly avoiding the strike. The creature could no longer see properly through one eye. Karath had also observed its movements while remaining behind the other warriors and giving commands. His month of training with Roberto proved valuable once again. Having memorized the ogre's movements, Karath could read its intentions from minor changes in its body. Its enormous size made every small motion especially easy to notice.

"Krahahaha! You are far too slow, bald bastard!" Karath continued provoking the creature while hurling his body aside to evade each attack. He would have preferred using smaller movements, but the ogre's reach was too broad. He probably looked ridiculous as he leaped wildly from side to side, but survival mattered more than dignity.

"GRAAAAAAAH!" Crash! The ogre roared in frustration. Its arms and legs repeatedly destroyed bushes and trees without striking Karath.

"Over here, you stupid bastard!"

"You are even dumber than Kaden!" Karath continued taunting the creature as he avoided its brutal attacks. There was no guarantee it understood his words, so he also picked up stones and branches whenever possible and hurled them at its face. Whoosh! While evading every swing, Karath read the surrounding terrain and guided the ogre toward the next trap marked on the map.

"Now!" The instant the monster triggered it, the warriors who had moved ahead charged at Karath's shout.

"Withdraw again!"

"Krog, take several uncles back to the settlement! Bring more weapons and distribute them to everyone whose equipment has broken!" The same pattern repeated. While the ogre struggled within each trap, the warriors attacked relentlessly. Before it could recover fully, they retreated. Karath then acted as bait, drawing its attention and guiding it toward the next prepared position. It was a battle of attrition. Karath intended to bleed the ogre to death one trap at a time.

Had every warrior attacked without restraint at the first pit, they might have killed it there. Karath had no way to know how many tribespeople would have died in the process. Even if the battle became slow and exhausting, he wanted to minimize their losses. Only one part of the plan had disappointed him.

"You truly are disgustingly durable." The ogre's stamina surpassed everything Karath had expected. They had already used nearly every large trap around the settlement capable of harming such an enormous creature. The ogre now resembled a demon that had crawled from the depths of hell. The battle had continued for at least an hour. Blood had flowed and dried across its body repeatedly, covering it in a strange mixture of black, brown, and red. Its movements had also slowed noticeably compared with the beginning.

It had lost a tremendous amount of blood.

"We finish it at the next trap!" Karath decided to end the battle. If they continued testing its limits, the monster might finally turn and flee.

"Good! Let us kill it!"

"Krahahaha!"

"I claim its skull!"

"The first warrior to break it owns it, idiot!" The warriors laughed boldly and moved toward the final trap. They should have been exhausted after such a prolonged struggle. Perhaps their orc blood sustained them. Perhaps they had simply realized that victory was near. Whatever the reason, every voice remained powerful.

"Haa." Once again, Karath stayed behind alone to guide the ogre. The creature's attacks had become dull with exhaustion, but Karath was equally tired. Even when he could read the movements, constantly throwing his body aside under the pressure of knowing that a single grazing blow could kill him was far from easy.

"This ends now, you bastard!" Karath shouted as if attempting to convince himself, then led the ogre toward the final trap.