The Landwyrm, seemingly unphased, paused to survey its surroundings, its gaze briefly locking with Amukelo's before dismissively turning back to its meal and striking Amukelo with its tail. This stoked his rage even further. How dare it underestimate him?
Amukelo widened his stance, readying for another attack. As the Landwyrm's tail whipped around in an arc towards him, Amukelo swung his sword with all the force he could muster. The blade met the thick, scaly tail with a resounding clash, halting its momentum but only sinking in a third of the way— a testament to the wyrm's tough hide.
Refusing to be deterred and driven by a powerful yell that tore from his lungs, "AAAAHHHH!!!", Amukelo tensed every muscle in his body, pushing the sword deeper, carving through the tough scales. The effort was immense; sweat beaded on his brow, and muscles screamed in protest, but the blade moved slowly, relentlessly. But his efforts weren't wasted, with a final burst of power into his sword, Amukelo cut through its tail.
This elicited a horrifying howl from the Landwyrm, louder and filled with pain. In a blind rage, it thrashed its injured tail, retreating slightly, its eyes now burning with primal fury. Amukelo stood his ground, his chest heaving with exertion but his gaze unwavering.
The Landwyrm, now recognizing Amukelo as a genuine threat. It gathered its energy, a visible aura coalescing before its gaping maw as it prepared its next attack. With a guttural roar, it unleashed a massive fireball, the air around it shimmering with the heat of the blast. Amukelo, anticipating the attack, leaped to the side, the heat of the fireball singing the air as it passed, the force of the blast palpable even in his evasive maneuver.
Before he could fully regain his balance, the Landwyrm was upon him, closing the distance with terrifying speed. Its jaws snapped open wide, a cavern of sharp teeth aimed directly at him. Reacting instinctively, Amukelo threw himself backward, the jaws snapping shut mere inches from his face.
Hardly had he landed from his backward leap when the Landwyrm's claw came sweeping towards him. Amukelo barely had time to react; he thrust his sword forward, intercepting the claw with the blade. The force sent him skidding backward across the rugged mountain terrain. Stones and dirt flew up around him as he struggled to maintain his footing, the shock of the collision reverberating up his arms and throughout his body.
Landing some distance away, Amukelo's breaths came in ragged gasps. He quickly assessed his position, readying himself for the attack. He knew retreat was no longer an option—not that he had considered it to begin with. With a better understanding of creatures' strength, he adjusted his tactics. No longer would he meet the creature's attacks head-on; instead, he planned to use its own momentum against it, redirecting its moves to create openings for his counters.
With a measured breath, Amukelo charged forward, his muscles tensed in anticipation. As the Landwyrm swiped at him with its claws, Amukelo deftly redirected the attack, using the flat of his blade and a swift pivot of his body. But he soon realized his plan was unraveling; the creature's tail, though previously severed and shorter, was still a deadly weapon. It whipped towards him, catching him off guard while his sword was still extended from redirecting the claw.
With no time to retrieve his blade to a defensive position, Amukelo's only option was a rapid sidestep. Fortune was on his side—the earlier wound he had inflicted on the tail made it miss narrowly, grazing past where he had just stood. His heart pounding, Amukelo seized the momentary reprieve as the Landwyrm reeled from its missed strike, giving him a clearer shot at its underbelly.
The creature, enraged by the pain lunged forward with a vicious bite. Amukelo, anticipating the move, sidestepped with agile grace, slashing upward at the underside of its jaw as he moved. The sword cut through flesh but only reached as deep as bone, leaving a superficial yet painful wound.
The Landwyrm howled in fury and spun around, aiming another clawed strike at Amukelo, who had already put distance between them. Recognizing the pattern, Amukelo prepared for another fireball—this beast's preferred method when the distance was involved. Sure enough, the Landwyrm gathered a fiery glow in its maw, launching it towards Amukelo's path.
Reacting swiftly, Amukelo sprinted to the side, his eyes tracking the incoming blaze. As the fireball neared, he executed a sharp turn, diving forward into a roll that brought him under the trajectory of the flaming orb. His role transitioned into a swift recovery, placing him unexpectedly on the creature's other side.
This positioning was perfect. With the Landwyrm momentarily disoriented by his unexpected maneuver, Amukelo swung his sword in a wide arc. Starting from above, the blade initially met the tough resistance of the creature's scaled back, doing minimal damage. However, as the sword descended to the softer, unscaled belly, it sliced deeply, opening a significant wound. The Landwyrm screeched, a sound that melded pain with unbridled rage.
Unable to reach Amukelo with its jaws or claws in its current stance, the Landwyrm instead struck with the side of its head. Though an awkward and desperate move, the force behind it was tremendous. Amukelo, caught off-guard, was sent flying backward.
The world blurred as he soared through the air, the wind knocked out of him. He crashed against a nearby tree with a sickening thud, his body carving a small niche into the thick trunk. The impact left him dazed, his vision swimming as he struggled to orient himself. Pain radiated through his back, and for a moment, he could do nothing but catch his breath, his mind reeling from the force of the collision.
Lying against the tree, Amukelo's chest heaved as he tried to regain his bearings. The Landwyrm, its instincts fueled by both rage and pain, eyed struggling Amukelo. Seeing him still attempting to rise, it charged, its massive form cutting through the air with lethal intent. Amukelo, though dazed from the collision with the tree, retained enough awareness to perceive the imminent danger. As the creature lunged, its jaws wide open ready to clamp down where he lay, Amukelo executed a swift roll to the side. The beast's teeth snapped shut on the trunk of the tree instead, sending splinters flying.
Leveraging the momentary confusion of the Landwyrm as it tried to dislodge its jaws from the wood, Amukelo scrambled to his feet. With a grunt of effort, he swung his sword in a wide, arcing slash, targeting the vulnerable underside of the creature's neck—the same spot he had aimed for previously. The blade sang through the air and bit deeply into the flesh, causing the Landwyrm to reel back in agony. Dark blood began to stain its scales as it thrashed its head wildly from side to side in an attempt to shake off the pain.
The creature's wild movements were unpredictable, and in its frenzy, it swung a clawed limb toward Amukelo. He raised his sword in an attempt to block the strike, but the suddenness of the attack and his loosened grip from the earlier impact made his defense falter. The claws raked across his chest, the tips breaching his armor to draw blood. Though the cut was shallow, thanks to the protection of his armor.
Yet, this uncalculated attack from the Landwyrm presented an opening. Gritting his teeth against the sting of his wounds, Amukelo retaliated with a powerful swing of his sword, aiming to sever the limb entirely. His strike, fueled by desperation and fading strength, missed its intended mark but still wrought havoc on the creature's claws, shearing most of them away and leaving only one intact.
Both combatants, hurt and weary, momentarily retreated, putting some distance between them. The Landwyrm, sensing its own weakening state, gathered its energy for another fireball. Amukelo, recognizing the familiar gathering of flames in the beast's throat, prepared to dodge; however, his injuries impeded his movement, a sharp pain shooting through his body with every attempt to shift his weight.
As the Landwyrm's throat glowed ominously with the buildup of fire, Amukelo watched, his body tense, his breaths coming in short, ragged gasps. The anticipation of the impending blast filled him with a dreadful expectation. But as the creature released the built-up energy, the fireball it intended to unleash was thwarted by its own injuries. The gash that Amukelo had inflicted on its neck acted as a vent, causing the fire to erupt sideways in a chaotic burst of flames and smoke, scorching the surrounding air but failing to reach Amukelo.
The unexpected malfunction of its attack left the Landwyrm stunned and even more vulnerable. Both were battered and bruised but the Landwyrm visibly more so.