The Steel Kong was probably Earth ranked, like the Slack King. Unlike the Slack King, though, the Steel Kong wasn't lazy or wouldn't commit truancy by loafing around in the middle of combat. In addition to its immense strength (though just slightly lower than a Slack King's), it possessed a sturdy frame with gleaming steel in place of its fur. A metal type in addition to its other elemental types, if I wasn't mistaken (I doubted there was a "normal" type spirit beast, but whatever).
Its fists were about the size of pillars, and the Steel Kong itself stood at the height of a small building. Its silver fur glowed starkly against the iron crimson of the surrounding redwood trees, and as it knuckled its way forward, it left deep prints in the bark of the World Tree.
Sigmund Krieg met it steely, swinging his huge sword to cleave it apart. However, the Steel Kong reacted with a reflex that belied its immense size and parried his blade with its steel arm. The metallic surface almost appeared to shimmer, but it withstood the powerful blow with nary a nick. The silver fur rippled for a moment before the scratch disappeared, almost as if quicksilver was flowing to automatically heal the wound.
Without any hesitation, the Steel Kong threw another punch at Sigmund, who dodged it deftly instead of parrying the deadly fist head-on. He flipped himself over and slashed at the Steel Kong's shoulder, leaving another gouge. The Earth ranked spirit beast bellowed in rage and agony and swung its massive arm to swat him away, but Sigmund twisted about in midair to avoid it. He kicked out and planted a foot on the bulging forearm before propelling himself away. Sailing above the Steel Kong's head, he stabbed downward with his sword, a draconic blue aura wreathing it, but his opponent raised its other arm and deflected it away from what might otherwise be a lethal strike.
Swiping at Sigmund, the Steel Kong spun around to pursue him, but Sigmund weaved through its flailing fists to drop to a crouch at its feet. He slashed at its ankle, almost toppling it over, but the Steel Kong managed to pivot about and stomp on him. Sigmund slid to the side and avoided being flattened, then he stabbed his sword into the ground and used it to rotate himself back around. Slamming his boots against the ground, he yanked his sword out and unleashed a blue wave that took the form of a dragon as it streaked toward the Steel Kong.
The spirit beast roared its defiance and punched the draconic blast, dissipating the destructive mana in a single stroke. Sigmund appeared to have already anticipated that, and he was charging once more even before the cerulean embers could completely disappear. Leaping upward, he avoided another powerful punch before he whirled around in midair to counter with another slash that forced the Steel Kong back, despite it blocking the blade with its other arm.
The enormous creature snarled and hurled itself forward once more, making use of its superior mass to overwhelm Sigmund. The black swordsman wisely didn't try to take the blow and instead dodged to the side, lashing out with his sword as the Steel Kong hurtled past. There was a metallic shriek and sparks as blade brushed against quicksilver fur, and the Steel Kong stumbled to a stop as it struggled to halt its momentum. A thin, white line was left across its entire left flank, which was slowly sealed by its quicksilver ability.
Can that thing even die?
Nevertheless, I was sure Sigmund would figure something out. He was still as composed as ever, without a single ounce of panic in his stoic expression. His strokes were confident and he continued attacking without faltering even once. I understood the principle. Whatever the Steel Kong's ability was, it relied on mana. And I could feel its mana diminishing significantly every time it healed itself. Its regenerative ability was nowhere near the scale of a hydra's.
Rather, I should focus on the enemies right in front of me. I narrowed my eyes as I glared at the Angry Apes and Barbaric Baboons approaching us, accompanied by several Giant Gorillas. The latter were the real threat, being about Mystic ranked.
That was fine. I had Mystic ranked spirit beasts of my own. Without any hesitation, I summoned my Guardian Golems. They materialized between us and the Giant Gorillas before surging ahead and meeting them in combat. There was a clash of muscle against magma rock, and the Guardian Golems began wrestling with the Giant Gorillas, shoving them back and keeping them at bay. As the titans clashed, the smaller spirit beasts were trampled underfoot, the Barbaric Baboons and Angry Apes scattering not to get dragged into the goliaths' war. Even the Angry Apes that were swinging on vines had to swerve to avoid a painful collision, and the sheer density of fighting spirit beasts meant that more than a few inevitably crashed into burning rock or steely muscle.
The rest of the ape spirit beasts closed in on us, screeching and scratching. Myria took point, her sword turning into a flexible water whip that sliced through the horde and sent limbs and heads flying. The others wisely kept their distance, only to be bombarded by swords, fireballs and wind blades from Sylvie, Silvia and Eliza. A few of the more cunning Barbaric Baboons diverted away to grapple with the long-range support spellcasters, but Morten was there to meet them, his boots kicking into them and hurtling them back.
I was also doing whatever I could, shooting down Barbaric Baboons and Angry Apes from afar with my azure arrows. My ghost wood army were hovering about, making use of their ghost types to render the ape spirit beasts' physical attacks completely ineffective, the claws, nails, fists and other strikes passing through their spectral bodies harmlessly. It appeared that neither the Barbaric Baboons nor the Angry Apes had the Foresight to nullify the advantage that ghost type spirit beasts had over the physical world.
Unfortunately, I couldn't declare victory too soon. When the Barbaric Baboons, in particular, realized that their physical attacks weren't working, they were swift to switch tactics. Instead of slashing and flailing about, they launched a Pursuit of the ghost type spirit beasts. Channeling their mana into elemental energy, they were able to hurt my Phantom Stumps and Ghost Pumpkins super effectively. After all, Pursuit was a dark type attack.
Okay, I was ripping off a certain monster capturing game here. Perhaps I should explain it differently. The Barbaric Baboons were wreathing their nails with mana (or qi) to render their attacks more spiritual and less physical. This finally allowed them to deal with ghost type spirit beasts without their attacks simply passing through without doing anything.
Fortunately, that was where my Tree Revenants and Pumpkin Wraiths came in. Though their pre-evolved forms had been boosted by the booster spirit arrays that I had laid out all over the area, the Barbaric Baboons and Angry Apes were still Yellow ranked spirit beasts that massed in huge hordes. I could see that the buffs of my spirit arrays and support spells from me, Sylvie and Silvia weren't enough to completely offset the difference in rank. To be fair, the formations and teamwork between my Phantom Stumps and Ghost Pumpkins, as well as the spirit array buffs, would allow them to win eventually – but at a cost.
I didn't want to lose any of them, though. I never viewed them as expendable. That was why I was determined to minimize casualties. Ensuring their safety while simultaneously giving them the chance to accumulate combat experience, I had them fight alongside my Tree Revenants and Pumpkin Wraiths. Truth be told, I could have the Mystic ranked ghost and wood type spirit beasts fight the Giant Gorillas, and I was sure they would win. I didn't actually need the Guardian Golems' assistance for victory.
But I refused to underestimate my foe, and I also refused to put any of my spirit beasts in danger. I wasn't naïve enough to shelter them completely because I wanted them to become hardened veterans in combat – that was the only way they could evolve. But at the same time, I didn't want them to throw away their lives unnecessarily.
So my Tree Revenants and Pumpkin Wraiths interfered only when necessary. Whenever they saw a Phantom Stump or Ghost Pumpkin in danger or about to be shredded by the ominously glowing nails of a Barbaric Baboon or sheer elemental force from an Angry Ape's rampage, they weaved in quickly to either hammer the assailant with a wooden branch or behead it with a razor leaf scythe. Otherwise, they kept their intervention to a minimum and supervised from afar.
"Really?" Eliza frowned quizzically. "Why aren't the bigger spirit beasts participating more actively in the battle?"
She was really attentive. I shook my head.
"I'm holding them back as a reserve force in case of any unexpected developments. If the enemy has any trump card in hand, I'll counter that with these guys."
The Guardian Golems were holding up against the Giant Gorillas, trading blows after blows. Their sturdy defense made them impervious to the Giant Gorillas' punches and attacks, but despite their immense strength, their lack of speed meant their furry opponents could evade easily from fire punches and boiling lava.
It didn't appear like they had any trump cards, though, or any other forces in reserve. Once I had ascertained that, because the Angry Apes and Barbaric Baboons were being decimated and whittled down to a handful, I committed my forces. Myria pursued them with her sword, water lancing through them and cutting them into pieces, while my Tree Revenants blocked their paths of retreat. The Pumpkin Wraiths made use of their speed to dart in front of the fleeing Angry Apes and Barbaric Baboons, slicing them apart mercilessly with their leaf scythes and blades of grass. Those that were too slow were hammered and pulverized by giant wooden branches from my Tree Revenants, who also made use of Phantom Force to crush them.
Within a few minutes, the ape spirit beasts were completely routed.
Then the Giant Gorillas found themselves surrounded, hemmed in by my Guardian Golems, and struck from behind by my Tree Revenants and Pumpkin Wraiths. It didn't take long before they were slain to a man, their heads and muscular limbs amputated from their massive bodies.
"We did it!" Silvia cheered when the last Giant Gorilla fell, its head detached from its shoulders thanks to an opportunistic strike from one of my Pumpkin Wraiths. He held his grass scythe up proudly and I saluted him.
"Shouldn't you have done this from the start?" Eliza asked, annoyed. She was slowly returning back to her arrogant elf self, though I didn't blame her. Scratching my head, I bowed apologetically.
"Sorry. I was being cautious. I didn't want to commit my forces until I was sure the enemy had already overextended."
"You did fine," Myria said. "Strategically speaking, I would have done the same as you. It's not a good idea to reveal your hand until you're sure the game is over."
"Y…yeah."
"Speaking of which, how's Sigmund doing?" Morten asked, stomping on a dying Barbaric Baboon to finish it off and pulling his spiked boot from its carcass. I glanced over and saw that the Steel Kong was on its last leg – quite literally. It was missing one of its arms and its left leg, which resulted in it kneeling on the ground haplessly.
Even so, it remained defiant, glaring at Sigmund through a single bruised eye. Blood dribbled down its silvery face, staining the previously polished looking skin red. Upon its back, metallic spikes formed and launched violently, streaking toward the black swordsman like a barrage of missiles. Sigmund readied his sword for a final blow, but the Steel Kong slammed its remaining fist against the ground and conjured a shield that deflected his blade before he could reach it.
"It will not be enough," Sigmund said grimly as he cleaved the shield apart. Kicking the two halves away, he ducked under the last, desperate punch from the Steel Kong before he cut off its arm. The Steel Kong toppled over with a bellow, blood spurting out from its stump. The quicksilver healing ability or hardening effect that it used earlier to parry the blows seemed to have expired. Either that, or Sigmund had adjusted his strength to overpower the natural resilience of the Steel Kong's metallic fur.
He was certainly a scary swordsman. I wouldn't want him as my enemy.
Growling, the Steel Kong glared defiantly at Sigmund for one last second, its red eyes blazing demonically, before the latter beheaded it with a single blow. Its head flew across the air, blood trailing it like a billowing scarf, before hitting the ground with a thud. Then the headless corpse of the Steel Kong fell over thunderously, sending a tremor across Redwood.
"We did it," Eliza breathed in relief, lowering her hands and dismissing her wind spells. She turned to the village that was nestled amidst the redwood trees, smiling in delight. "We saved Redwood!"
Almost immediately, her expression turned into dismay when she saw the devastation wrought in the enclave.
"No…"
"Let's hurry," I said, taking charge and striding forward. "We should help out."