BXBX NOVEL Chapter 28: Just stay in that pose.
"{Endure}."
I began running at full speed with Red on my shoulder. After about a minute of running, I lifted my gun and pointed it behind me. Right now, due to {Carry} I weighed only a quarter of what I used to. 50 lbs was about the weight of a five- or six-year-old. I then began firing the 1911 blindly behind me.
The repeated gunfire pushed me forward. Normally this would not work. However, if you were in motion, the softest nudge could affect your direction and speed. Running with legs built for a 5'11 man, weighing only 50 lbs., and firing a 1911 repeatedly from behind surely did a number on that factor. I hoped this allowed me to go even just a little bit faster.
I then heard an extremely loud thud, along with a very bloodthirsty roar. Preparing for the worst, I scanned the horizon with {Perceive}.
"Shit, having 10x would be amazing right now. {Reload}," I complained.
The 1911 continued to fire round after round in order to boost me. Due to {endure}, I didn't feel any arm strain, but the recoil pushed me forward like a mini rocket. Each round allowed me to go a little bit faster, or so I wished.
Just then a huge shadow loomed over the edge of my vision. It looked faint but it was definitely the brute. It looked like it was in combat with flies as it flailed its arms about. I corrected my heading and prepared to bash myself into this gigantic piece of shit.
"{Sight} {Identify}, {Expose}, {Withstand}. Okay Red, time to fill your purpose for humanity."
Red, who looked delirious from blood loss, didn't even notice as his head lobbed around. I holstered the gun behind my back as I ran. The hot metal seared my skin as I freed my other hand.
"Ouch, that was way too hot."
Well, whatever. I then held Red by the neck and his groin. I held him sideways like a wooden plank.
"Be sure to remember me wherever you go afterwards Red. And thank you for your sacrifice."
I continued to run in this position, aiming for the backside of the brute's right knee. If this gigantic zombie followed the bone structure of a human, hitting it behind the knee would make it fold just like a normal one.
The closer I got the more I could see. Amari was down for the count near the brute. The brute's left shoulder seemed like it had gotten dislocated from its socket. Thus, it flailed one arm to smash its enemies while the other just flopped around like a wet noodle. However, the most important part was that it no longer walked. It stood completely still.
"Amazing, Jasmine did a great job aiming for that."
The brute roared nonstop as it tried to crush the shadows dancing around its body. When I tried to focus my eyes, I noticed the long blond and black hair of the ones jumping around.
Jasmine was shooting the zombie point blank while using its back and shoulder as footholds. Josephine was poking the thing in the eyes repeatedly with flying lunges. When she got the zombie's attention, she would run around it. However, I now noticed something weird from how the monster fought.
"The bastard cannot turn! Did Liv cast {Withstand} on that thing? Whoever thought of that is a genius!"
Right, {Withstand} could be casted on objects too as well as people. I granted it to the human shields I used to make them tougher. They wouldn't move anyway, and I could just deactivate and throw them away afterwards.
The main benefit of {Withstand}, which was negating force, did not hold any meaning for it as the strikes of small people were negligible to the 15-foot giant. So, they used the demerit of {Withstand} to control the bastard instead!
I surveyed further, looking for Bella, Aki, Liv and Robyn. I found Aki, and Liv throwing spears at the brute. Bella and Robyn were running around, collecting spears from the ground.
"What the hell are you guys doing? Are they trying to probe for a weakness?" I mumbled to no one in particular.
Well, I could only guess that without cheat {fates}, trial and error was to be expected. But they completed their task - to stop the thing from moving. As I got closer, I scanned Amari and noticed he bled from the head and no longer moved.
"He should not be dead yet right?" I hoped worriedly.
I was not ready to take on Mia yet. At level 3 and having a giant ass gorilla body, he should still be alive, right? The distance between the brute and I got considerably shorter to the point I could now hear the girls' voices and the monster's low growls.
Right, focus. In most video games, the fastest way to kill something big was to send it as close to the ground as possible. Making this zombie kneel would be the objective of my strike. Once we were face to face with it, something should stick.
All this time, I had not stopped running. On the contrary, my legs already felt heavy like lead. Still, I pushed them onwards. Force was mass multiplied by acceleration. You needed to increase one or the other if you wanted more of it.
'So, if you cannot make yourself heavier, make yourself faster instead. You could also use gravity to increase your acceleration,' I thought.
If all else failed, I could have the girls send me airborne and beat this bastard from a high enough altitude. I heard the sounds of the battle even clearer and could see the girls and the brute even without {perceive} as I got close enough.
As Jo was with them, she should be able to hear me from this distance.
"JO! TELL THEM TO HIT BEHIND THE LEFT KNEE! I WILL TAKE DOWN THE RIGHT!"
I noticed the sisters quickly stop their attack and head towards Bella's group. In less than a minute, they all started attacking the spot behind left knee. Annoyed, the brute tried to grab them from behind. It also raised its left knee in response to the attacks by the girls.
"Perfect. Just stay in that pose, you bastard."
If you stood on only one leg, your center of gravity would be off. Taking a blow behind your knee would send you crashing. With that in mind, I braced myself for impact. The body normally had an automated instinct to protect itself, even when you intended to crash, you would find yourself pulling back at the last moment.
The only exception to this rule was if you were doing it due to anger or bloodlust. Those two things had the power to override instinct. And right now, I wanted to kill this bastard so badly.
"You are the reason I cannot go home, you fucker. I will enjoy murdering your undead ass. {Save}."
I was going so fast the wind began to cut my face. Thus, I could only imagine what would happen to Red and I when we smashed into the hard skin of the undead brute.
"Well, let's find out. Thank you for your sacrifice for science, Red. See you in another life."
We now had less than two miles left before the impact. Due to the brute being in a pathetic state, Red and I could attack it unhindered. My arms were now already sore from holding Red, but it should be over soon.
"LIV! CANCEL {WITHSTAND}!"
I noticed the girls looking towards my way as I approached. Seeing my speed, they should have guessed how strong the impact would be. Bella had everyone clear out. Dumbfounded, the brute kept trying to look behind pitifully.
"Let's go."
At the last mile, I used Red to cover my face and prepared for impact. The moment we met the brute's tough skin I heard all the bones in Red's body shatter from the impact. Due to {Withstand} and {Endure} he would not get his momentum stopped, but the counterforce would still strike his body.
The same held true for me. As the force ran through my arms, I felt my wrists and forearms break and fracture. Before I could even scream, the pain traveled to my arms and shoulders. They similarly couldn't endure and collapsed.
As the force behind me still existed, Red and I were flattened like pancakes against the undead brute. Before I could figure out what to do next, Red's body burst into a bloody mist. I then felt my entire chest pressed from the back. The sounds of my ribcage breaking from the strain also sent shivers down my spine.
'I am going to die.'
Without the ribcage, my heart would be next. Not good. I needed to pull out immediately.
'This should be enough, right?' I worried in my mind.
"{Rewind}."
My body turned into light particles as I got returned to my save point. I turned my gaze towards the brute as he screamed in agony and faceplanted into the ground. Despite the success of my attack, I felt paralyzed from my close brush with death. If I had been a second slower, I would have died.
"Get on him and take out his other shoulder!"
I heard Bella command the girls and like a real combat group, they moved as one. Everyone except Liv and Robyn all brought spears and started stabbing the shoulder. The viking and the kid instead took war hammers and started smashing the spears deeper like nails.
"Calm the fuck down, John. We are alive, deal with it and move on," I reprimanded myself.
As I forced my wobbly legs to stand, I took a deep breath and I moved towards the boss. It was finally time to finish this.