The boulder soared through the air like a meteor, spinning wildly before slamming into the ground with a deafening BOOOM!

The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the earth, shattering smaller rocks and kicking up a cloud of dust.

The knights scattered, shouting in panic as debris rained down around them.

“Keep shooting, cowards!” Volk yelled, grabbing another boulder with a gleeful laugh. “Let’s see if you can hit me before I crush every single one of you!”

An arrow zipped past his ear, so close he could hear the whoosh of its flight.

Volk turned his head, his grin unfaltering. “Nice try!” he called out, waving mockingly at the archer.

He hurled another rock, this one smaller but faster.

It shot through the air like a cannonball, slamming into a shield wall and sending knights sprawling.

CRACK! BOOM!

“Hah! Down you go!” Volk shouted, pounding his fist against his chest.

Another arrow came flying toward him, this time aiming for his face.

Volk didn’t bother dodging; he tilted his head slightly, letting the arrow glance off the thick skin of his temple.

PING! The arrow splintered on impact, falling harmlessly to the ground.

Volk burst out laughing. “Is that all you’ve got?!” he roared. “You think these little toothpicks can stop me?!”

He grabbed two smaller rocks, one in each hand, and hurled them in quick succession.

The first rock struck a knight directly, shattering his shield and sending him flying.

The second rock smashed into the ground near the archer, forcing him to dive for cover.

“Run, little worms!” Volk bellowed, his laughter echoing across the mountain. “Or better yet, keep trying! I’m just getting started!”

Another volley of arrows came his way, this time from multiple archers.

Volk’s eyes narrowed as he tracked their trajectories.

With a sudden burst of movement, he leapt to the side, rolling across the rocky terrain with surprising agility for someone his size.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! THUNK!

The arrows struck the ground where he had been standing moments earlier. Volk rose to his feet, brushing dirt off his shoulder with exaggerated nonchalance.

“Missed again!” he jeered. “You’re gonna need to do better than that!”

He grabbed another boulder, this one smooth and round.

“Here, let me show you how it’s done!” he said, chuckling darkly. He spun in place once, twice, building momentum before releasing the rock with a mighty heave.

The boulder arced through the air, its shadow passing over the terrified knights below.

BOOM!

It landed with catastrophic force, shattering into countless pieces that rained down like shrapnel.

The screams of the knights below only fueled Volk’s energy.

“More! More!” Volk shouted, his voice cracking with excitement. “Come on! Show me what else you’ve got!”

Another arrow came flying toward him, this time aiming for his chest.

Volk caught it mid-air with a loud SNAP!

He examined the broken shaft in his hand, chuckling to himself before tossing it aside.

“Pathetic!” he spat. “You’re not even trying!”

Grabbing a cluster of smaller stones, Volk began pelting them downhill in rapid succession, each throw accompanied by a wild shout.

“Take this!”

CRACK!

“And this!”

THUD!

“And don’t forget this one!”

WHAM!

The knights below were in utter chaos, their ranks crumbling under the relentless assault.

Some tried to flee, others desperately fired arrows in a last-ditch effort to slow him down.

Volk dodged and weaved, more for his own amusement than out of necessity.

“Hah! You call that aim?!” he taunted, leaping onto a higher ledge for a better vantage point. “I’ve seen blind goblins shoot straighter than you!”

The mountain seemed to come alive under Volk’s onslaught.

Rocks rained down in an unrelenting barrage, the ground below littered with shattered stone and broken bodies.

Volk stood tall at the peak, his laughter echoing like thunder as he reveled in the chaos.

“You wanted to play with the mountain?” he roared. “Well, the mountain plays back!”

…

The knights were frantic, their once-proud ranks now a scattered, disheveled mess under the relentless onslaught of boulders raining from above.

Arrows flew upward, whistling through the air with desperation rather than precision, each one arcing high before losing momentum and falling uselessly back to the earth.

“Keep firing!” shouted one of the knights, his voice cracking with strain. “We just need one lucky shot!”

The others obeyed, drawing their bows and loosing arrows as fast as their trembling hands would allow.

The sky above them seemed to shimmer with the flurry of arrows, but not a single one reached its mark.

Instead, gravity turned their defiance into futility, dragging their shafts down to bounce harmlessly off the rocky slopes or lodge themselves in the dirt.

“It’s no use!” cried another knight, his voice filled with panic. “The mountain’s too steep! The arrows can’t even reach him!”

“Shut your mouth!” barked a senior knight, his face red with exertion. “Aim higher! If we can get him in the eye or—”

BOOM!

Another massive boulder came crashing down, obliterating the very spot where the senior knight had been standing moments earlier. His body was flung sideways like a ragdoll, the metal of his armor screeching as it scraped against the rocks.

The other knights screamed, some diving for cover, others frozen in shock.

“Sir Drelan’s gone!” one of them shouted, his voice trembling. “What do we do?! What do we do?!”

“We hold formation!” barked another, trying to rally his comrades. “We’re knights of the Barony! We don’t break!”

But their formation had already crumbled. Fear was a poison spreading rapidly through their ranks, infecting even the most seasoned soldiers. Each thundering impact from above only tightened its grip on their hearts.

“Damn that creature!” one of the archers spat, his hands shaking as he nocked another arrow. “It’s playing with us!”

The archer loosed his shot, only to watch it veer wildly off course and plummet to the ground far short of its target.

“Why won’t these damn arrows reach?!” he snarled, throwing his bow down in frustration.

“It’s the mountain!” another knight shouted. “The incline’s too steep! The gravity’s against us!”

“Then what the hell are we supposed to do?!”

The panic was palpable now, a feverish cacophony of voices and clattering armor.

Some knights tried to regroup, others looked to the Baron for orders, their eyes pleading for guidance.

Baron Geisler stood apart from the chaos, his cold gaze fixed on the peak of the mountain.

Even as boulders crashed down around him and his men fell to their deaths, he remained unnervingly composed.

“He’s taunting us,” the Baron muttered to himself, his gloved hand stroking his chin. “That beast thinks itself invincible.”

Another boulder came hurtling down, striking the earth with such force that it sent a spray of dirt and shattered rock into the air.

The knights nearest to it were knocked off their feet, their cries of pain echoing through the valley.

“Baron!” one of the knights shouted, scrambling to his feet. “We need to retreat! We can’t fight him like this!”

“Retreat?” Baron Geisler’s voice was a low growl, cold and sharp as a blade. He turned to the knight who had spoken, his icy eyes narrowing. “You think retreat is an option?”

The knight faltered under the Baron’s gaze, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled for words.

“Our arrows can’t reach him!” another knight interjected. “We’ll all be crushed before we can even get close!”

Baron Geisler said nothing at first. Instead, he reached into a pouch at his side, his fingers brushing against the weathered parchment of an old scroll. He pulled it out, holding it aloft for all to see.

The knights fell silent, their eyes widening as they recognized the artifact.

“The creature thinks it can mock us,” the Baron said, his voice calm but laced with a quiet fury. “It thinks it can slaughter my son, destroy my men, and hide behind its mountain like a coward.”

He unrolled the scroll, the ancient runes etched into its surface glowing faintly in the dim light.

“Well,” the Baron continued, his lips curling into a thin smile. “Let’s see how it fares when the mountain itself turns against it.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep