The Crafter's Darkness: A Dungeon Core Novel (Dungeon Crafting Book 4) by Jonathan Brooks (e book reading free txt) 📕

and though the explosions seemed to shatter the bone well enough in a small area, unless more bolts were sent through the exact spot, then the Beasts were just inconvenienced and not damaged enough to stop them.  Even with some applications of elemental energy which the Rangers were using without reservation, they couldn’t be stopped completely, and they were getting entirely too close to the Ranger line for comfort.

After the Elephant Beasts were 10-foot-tall monstrosities that appeared to be a mix between a bear and an Ape.  It had brown fur and a head like a bear, while the rest of it reminded Sandra of one of her Apes – though much larger and made of flesh and blood.  They loped over to the Ranger group just as fast as her own Apes, too, which brought them within range of the Elves within seconds.

* Uh…I would run.  Get on and I’ll try to hold them back as long as I can! *

Sandra spoke to the Rangers who were already slowly backing up and firing as they retreated, managing to kill another of the Elephants and one of the Ape-bears, but unless they ran they were going to be in trouble.  Quickly, the Dungeon Core took control of the 6 remaining Wyvines and had them run next to the now-retreating Elves, who immediately jumped on their backs, more than half having to double up.  She had them take off running in the direction of the village while she had the surviving dozen Blademasters descend and get into the faces of the Elephants and the Ape-bears trying to distract them, but that lasted for all of two seconds as they were either batted away or ignored completely.

One of the Wyvines was lagging behind because one of the Rangers tripped on his way to climbing aboard the Shadow Beast.  The other Ranger dropped his bow in order to grasp his fellow Elf and pull him up, but it was already too late.  As soon as they started to move, one of the Ape-bears jumped from where it was running and landed on the tail of the Wyvine, trapping it in place.

The Rangers were flung off the front of the Shadow Beast at the sudden stop, and the Wyvine immediately turned around and started to attack – but it was overmatched.  A giant fist that was nearly the size of the Shadow Beast’s head slammed down on the Wyvine’s neck and Sandra could hear the hollow internal popping of its spine snapping in multiple places all the way from up in the trees where her Shears were watching the ongoing battle.

By the time that the two Rangers picked themselves up from where they had been flung, they were instantly impaled from behind by the tusks of one of the elephants, who then crashed into a tree, splintering the tree’s trunk with the impact.  It seemed as though the impressively large Beast couldn’t turn very well once it started moving, though that fact didn’t help the Elves impaled on its tusks.

There was only some weak struggling from the two Rangers, though they were positioned in a way that it was impossible for them to get off of the bone-like spike thrust through their chests.  Moments later, they went limp and Sandra felt a surge of Mana funnel into her Core, though she barely acknowledged it.  Seeing the two Rangers – whose names were Grehre and Lowan – killed before her eyes was shocking, not in the least because she had tried to do everything she could to prevent their deaths.  Or at least, that was what she told herself.

The Elves battling the Slimes in the other forest weren’t in a full-on rout quite yet, but they were getting close.  Slimes that were increasing in size, speed, and therefore danger were coming in waves, and it was all that they could do to stem the tide.  The problem there was that they seemed to be no end of them, the Rangers were running out of bolts, the four Titanium Anacondas that had been helping out were reduced to just a single heavily damaged one, and half of their Wyvines had been consumed by the Slimes as they protected the Elves’ flanks.

* Chryla – I suggest you pull everyone back to the village and reorganize your defenses; the Beasts broke through the perimeter and several Rangers are already retreating.  Although they are holding the line here at the secondary entrance, I don’t know how long that will last.  And I’m sorry to say, two of your fellow Rangers didn’t make it as a result of the breakthrough. *

The young Ranger sucked in her breath at the last thing Sandra said.  “Who was it?”

* It was Grehre and Lowan. *

She sobbed once, briefly wiped her eyes, and then straightened up before announcing, “Spread the word.  We’re going to pick the others up and retreat back to the village.”

Sandra did her part and let those fighting the Slimes know that help was on the way and that they would be retreating soon.  All of them sighed in relief and started fighting even harder, using all of their stored supplies and energy with impunity.  Flashes of fire, light, and even shards of ice accompanied the remaining bolts as they shot out from their compound bows, shearing through Slime bodies, and shattering their nuclei with unerring accuracy.  Just as they were all running out of all available projectiles, the others arrived and took over with efficiency, looking like they practiced the maneuver.  When the Slimes had been beaten back nearly to their entrance, everyone retreated in good order, climbing on the backs of their Wyvines as they raced back to their village.

The Slimes and Beasts still kept streaming out of their entrances for another 5 minutes, getting larger and deadlier-looking as time went on as they chased the Elves out of the forest.  The last Dungeon Monster