The Homeseeker: Elemental Adventurer LitRPG [Isekai] (Series Complete!)

Zalan's eyes went wide, his face colored hot red. All the blood was forced to stop flowing in his body by the tight constrictions of the Swampstomp's vines. His only consolation would be that he died fighting. Even then, he couldn't find the satisfaction that he saw in Fran and Xavier's faces when they passed in battle. He didn't want to die like this. In what little sunlight was allowed to pass through the bog that was the Swampstomp, Zalan saw Rep fighting for his life, too far to see his dilemma.

Closing his eyes tightly in reluctant fear, Zalan accepted whatever would come next. The world churned under him, a rumble shaking him to his core. The vines stressed and loosened in an instant, followed by them collapsing on the floor along with Zalan. Flinging his eyes open, Zalan took in heaves of air. Looking around, he saw that each of the vines had been crushed by what looked like a mini meteor shower. They were shredded apart with expert precision. Gasping in a mix of gratitude and confusion, Zalan looked up to see Oshrad looking down at him with a small smile.

"It seems the Mind of Madness's killer has vulnerabilities after all," Oshrad claimed, pleased with himself.

Zalan coughed, his lungs aching far too much to come up with a reply.

"Tell Ma that I saved your life when we are done here," Oshrad said.

"Okay," Zalan croaked.

Oshrad boosted him to his feet with a pillar of earth he sprouted from the ground. Zalan knew that Oshrad had power over Elemental Earth, but he had never seen it used so casually. Ma's right hand man surrounded his arm in a massive conglomeration of stones, forming an impressive mallet as he rushed at the monster's foot. Targeting a toe, Zalan presumed.

Oshrad brought down his amalgamation of arm and hammer right at the edge of the Swampstomp's foot. It crashed with such a resounding blast that Zalan took a slight step back from the aftershock. A crack formed in the Swampstomp's foot, the first real sign of it having taken any serious damage.

The Swampstomp looked down directly at Oshrad, then kicked him away. Oshrad blew past Zalan like a cannonball, flying off in a blur. Zalan's eyes went wide. Even Oshrad could barely hold his own against it. The monster's foot began to move forward to take another step, on a direct course for Zalan. This time, he was ready and ran as fast as he could away from its trajectory.

Even with his head start, Zalan still felt the earth rumbling effects of the stomp just behind him. The monster could span several dozen feet in a single step. He stumbled, struggling to keep his balance and keep running.

Men ran in the opposite direction of Zalan, jumping and charging toward the monster. Zalan recognized many of them as Ma's men and wondered if even their collective power would be enough. Zalan felt the monster move behind him, followed by a handful of men flying off in random directions, spots of blood escaping them as they zipped by without any control.

Zalan spotted Sir Kilile just ahead of him, leaning awkwardly to one side. He rushed to meet the guardsman.

"Have we figured out a plan?" Zalan asked desperately. "I have no idea how to take one of these down!"

Sir Kilile remained silent, one arm gripping the other shoulder. Zalan gave it a triple take, eyes widening as he realized Sir Kilile had a stump where his right arm should have been.

"There is no plan but to keep it as far away from Oriton as possible," Sir Kilile said, determined.

"But how do we stop it from destroying the city?" Zalan asked.

Sir Kilile's eyes were fixed on the beast above them, vines whipping around to attack all those at its feet and up in the air.

"We do not," Sir Kilile said.

"What?" Zalan balked.

He turned back to Oriton. A stream of people were fleeing from the city, rushing to the Cliffs of Shadow in the distance. The line of people was solid, the entirety of the town having joined in the evacuation. Zalan finally understood that they were never intended to stop the monster, even by miracle. They were only meant to delay it from destroying the town. It was an inevitable outcome. They were bait so that the civilians could have enough time to leave the city.

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Muscles burned and his mind was abuzz with adrenaline and fear. He didn't think he would last very long in the battle, and knew he was doing only the most minimal amount of damage.

"Okay, then when do we know that we're done delaying it? When do we get to run away?" Zalan asked.

"We do not," Sir Kilile repeated.

Zalan's heart sank to his stomach. They were sacrificial, only intended as playthings for an unstoppable monster.

"Why not?" Zalan asked, desperate as he slashed vines down.

"Most will flee the city immediately. But others will delay for reasons good and bad. A man will not want to part from his family home. A stubborn merchant will want to make one last sale before closing his shop for good. A child will wander aimlessly in search of her mother. Every second we delay the monster gives them all another second to escape. The majority of the city is less than Level 5. They will not even be able to cut the vines, much less injure the Swampstomp," Sir Kilile informed him.

Zalan hated everything about the explanation. Mostly because it resonated with him. Fighting until the end. Spreading good, no matter how little. He could feel his mother's teaching within him like a gentle hand on his shoulder. She would certainly have wanted him to fight to save innocent people, even to his last breath.

"The fact you do not flee makes me proud to fight with you. If we survive, I will sponsor you to enter into my old guild, Journey House," Sir Kilile said with satisfaction.

"I'm already in Journey House," Zalan told him.

"Even better. I have the honor to battle alongside a brother."

Zalan found that sentiment heartwarming despite the monster looming over them. A smile wiggled at the end of his trembling lips. With that, Sir Kilile took a deep breath and charged forward with his sword raised. Vines swarmed him and he fought furiously in a twist of a fiery tornado.

Zalan threw both arms up and blasted the Swampstomp's eyes once more. Rep appeared next to him, covered in bloody scrapes and cuts. Moving quickly, he defended Zalan from more mossy plantlife darting after him.

"I'm thinking of using the Oculus of Annihilation against this thing," Zalan said, ducking under more vines. "I might be able to kill it before it kills anyone else."

Rep was punched in the stomach by a vine and Zalan severed it before it was able to strike again. Rep breathed in through grit teeth.

"Very well, give me the Artifact," Rep asked.

"You're just gonna use it to kill it, taking your own life," Zalan said, grunting in frustration when a vine tore out a small tuft of his hair.

"Yes! At least then you may still be able to return home!" Rep shouted.

"I won't let you kill yourself to kill this thing!"

"We are going to die anyway!"

"No you are not!" Oshrad appeared between them, blood streaming down his arm.

Several boulders orbited him and with a nod of his head, each one blasted toward the Swampstomp, crashing like rockets into its swampy exterior. Scratches formed on the monster, barely enough to be noticed. With a stomp, Oshrad sent the three of them skyward, flinging them up with a piece of Elemental Earth that popped up like a seesaw with too much weight on one side. Rep and Zalan let out battle cries in the air as they went straight for the Swampstomp's face.

Quickly regaining his sense of balance, Zalan shot bolts of Elemental Light at the dark black eyes of the creature. It flinched, twisting its head away. Rep imbued his sword with all the searing hot flame he could muster as he descended toward the head. As they went on their crash course for the creature's head, Zalan saw Sir Kilile and Sir Rolcoth flying through the air as well, both ready to stab it in the head. Zalan had a small seed of hope in his heart that they would be able to strike some sort of brain matter and kill it.

Zalan's light worked to distract the beast and Rep, Kilile, and Rolcoth all stabbed into the head with their respective swords and spears, all imbued with incredible power. Oshrad created a mallet of stone and bashed all the weapons deeper into the creature's head. The shockwave was enough to deafen them, the blow driving the weapons deep enough to not be dislodged easily. For a moment, Rep and Zalan looked to one another with a hint of excitement. Then they were met with Sir Kilile's grim expression. The monster still lived, moving like it barely noticed their collective efforts.

Zalan wondered if the colossal creature could even be killed. Even the Oculus of Annihilation seemed like a longshot after something as direct as several weapons lodged deep into its head.

Like hair sprouting from a scalp, hundreds of tendrils of vines appeared from the Swampstomp's head and held each of the five men flat. They stared at one another with eyes wide. Each of their voices were caught in the tight vice of the tentacle-like plants, rendering them all unable to speak. Every fighter tried to imbue himself with their power, to no avail. A gargantuan hand hovered above them, ready to crush them all into a fine paste. Zalan strained against his constriction to try and brush against the Homeseeker, but he couldn't shift his finger even an inch.

The Swampstomp's hand descended rapidly.