Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger-Chapter 34: Ironclad Gorge [3]

"Scatter!" Moro bellowed.

Everyone jumped back just as the Golem’s fists slammed into the ground.

Boom!

The impact split the stone beneath them, sending cracks spiderwebbing outward in jagged lines. Debris erupted in all directions, sharp fragments pelting against armor and exposed skin.

Soren rolled to his feet, breathing hard. His ribs ached from the earlier dive, but he forced himself upright, staring at the golem in fear.

’One clean hit from that thing and we’re done.’

While the golem was slow and could be dodged, the force behind its punches was indeed terrifying.

Meanwhile, the Golem turned its attention back to Moro, lifting one massive leg and bringing it down with crushing force.

Moro used his Iron Body and raised his warhammer to block, but the sheer weight of the blow drove him back several meters, his boots carving deep trenches into the stone as he fought to hold his ground.

"Rea, the other eye!" He barked.

Rea was already moving, circling wide to the left. She nocked an arrow, drew the string taut, and exhaled slowly.

But the Golem shifted, its massive body rotating just enough to block her line of sight.

"I can’t get a clean shot!"

"Then... make one!"

Moro roared as he surged forward, swinging his warhammer with both hands. The weapon connected with the Golem’s chest in a brutal upward strike. The creature staggered backward, its balance disrupted for just a moment.

And that was all Rea needed.

Swoosh!

The arrow streaked through the air and struck the Golem’s right eye crystal dead center.

Crack.

The crystal shattered, fragments falling away in glittering shards as the glow died instantly.

"ROAAAAAR!"

The Golem let out a deafening roar.

Having lost its eyes, its movements became wild and erratic as it swung both arms in wide, sweeping arcs, no longer aiming but simply lashing out at anything nearby.

"It’s blinded!" Nami shouted. "Now’s our chance!"

"Wait! Don’t rush in! It’s more dangerous now!"

But Nick’s eyes were already locked on the chest crystal glowing faintly in the center of the Golem’s torso. The final weak point pulsed like a heartbeat. He could end this. Right now. In one clean strike.

"I’ve got this!"

Flames erupted along his sword as he channeled every ounce of Mana he had left into the blade and sprinted forward.

"NICK, NO!"

Nick ignored his father’s shout and leaped, sword raised high, aiming for the crystal with all his focus. Perhaps because of that, he failed to notice the Golem’s massive arm swinging in a blind arc. The heavy limb caught him mid-air, a sickening thud echoing through the gorge as the force of the blow slammed into his side.

The impact was deafening.

Clang!

Boom!

Nick’s body hit the cracked earth with a sickening thud, the force of the blow sending him skidding several meters across the jagged stone. His sword spun away, clattering uselessly into the dust. He came to a rest in a heap, limbs tangled and face down.

"NICK!"

Moro’s roar ripped through the arena, raw and panicked, as he abandoned his defensive stance and lunged toward his son. Even Nami’s composed mask shattered, her eyes widening as she gripped her staff, her breath hitching in her throat.

The Golem sensed the movement and reacted on pure instinct. Its other arm came crashing down straight toward Nick’s unmoving body.

"No!"

Moro threw himself between them, raising his warhammer with both hands.

The Golem’s fist collided with the weapon.

The impact was catastrophic. Moro’s boots dug into the stone, but the force drove him to one knee. The warhammer’s shaft cracked audibly, splintering under the pressure. Blood burst from Moro’s mouth, spraying across the ground in front of him.

But he managed to hold.

His arms trembled violently, veins bulging in his neck as he fought to keep the Golem’s crushing weight from falling onto his son.

"Soren!"

The words came out strained, wet with blood.

"Finish it!"

Soren’s mind snapped into focus. The chest crystal. It was the only target left. If he didn’t destroy it now, Moro would be crushed, and the rest of them would follow.

He gripped his spear and ran forward, his boots pounding against the earth.

His first instinct was to use the First Form.

But he quickly realized it wouldn’t be enough.

The chest crystal was massive, far thicker and more reinforced than the leg joint he’d struck earlier or the eyes Rea destroyed with her arrows.

A simple thrust, no matter how precise, wouldn’t shatter it completely.

He needed a stronger move.

Frost Palm?

No, he couldn’t use it in this situation.

Then...

He was only left with the Second Form, Glacial Sweep.

’Damn it.’

He’d only used it a handful of times in controlled practice, and his proficiency was barely at the elementary level. But he didn’t have a choice.

Soren gritted his teeth and began channeling ice Mana into his spear. The cold flooded through the weapon like water through cracked ice, spreading unevenly along the shaft. His hands trembled slightly from the strain of forcing the Mana to flow where he needed it. His control was still too rough to make it smooth.

’Focus. Like the instructor showed you. Wide arc. Let the Mana guide the blade. Don’t force it.’

The Golem’s arm pressed down harder. Moro’s warhammer cracked again, another fracture splitting through the metal.

In a few seconds, Soren reached the Golem’s chest. He planted his feet, twisted his torso, and swung.

Whoosh-!

The spear swept horizontally in a wide arc. Frost trailed behind the blade in jagged, uneven streaks. The Mana distribution was off. Too much at the tip, not enough along the edge. The angle wasn’t quite right.

But it managed to connect!

The blade struck the chest crystal with a sharp, ringing impact.

Crackle-!

Crackle-!

A deep fracture split through the crystal’s surface, spreading outward like a spiderweb; however, it didn’t shatter.

"ROOOAR!" The golem roared in pain and rage.

The sound reverberated through the gorge like an avalanche as it pulled its arm back from Moro and swung wildly toward Soren.

Soren barely managed to throw himself backward. The massive limb swept past him close enough to feel the displaced air.

The Golem staggered, its movements jerky and uncoordinated. The fractured chest crystal pulsed weakly, its glow flickering like a dying flame.

"Rea! The crystal! Hit it again!" Soren roared as he dodged the golem’s body.

Rea was already moving. She nocked an arrow and fired in one smooth motion, the shaft striking the fracture dead center. Another crack split the surface.

Nami darted in from the left, her staff raised high. A brilliant, concentrated spark of white light gathered at the tip before erupting into a searing bolt. The light laser slammed into the same spot Soren had hit, melting and fracturing the crystal further.

"One more!"

Moro forced himself upright, his warhammer raised despite the blood running down his chin.

"Together!"

Soren, Rea, and Nami struck simultaneously. Spear, arrow, and a final burst of light converged on the fractured core.

CRACK.

The crystal shattered.

The Golem froze mid-swing, its body going rigid. The red glow in its veins flickered once, twice, then died completely.

For a moment, it stood perfectly still.

THUD!

BOOM!

The next moment, its massive body crashed to the ground with a thunderous impact that shook the entire gorge.

The heavy silence that followed was broken only by the sound of ragged, uneven breathing.

Moro didn’t wait for the dust to settle. He dropped his ruined warhammer and sprinted toward the heap of broken armor and flesh where his son lay.

"Nick! Nick, look at me!"

He fell to his knees, his hands hovering over the boy’s chest, shaking too violently to touch him. Nick’s face was deathly pale, a thin trail of blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His eyes remained shut, his body limp and unnervingly still against the cracked earth.

"He’s not waking up!" Moro’s head snapped toward the others, his eyes wide with a frantic, primal terror. "Nami! Rea! Someone, help him!"

"He..."

"He’s not breathing!"